Coronavirus's Toll On The Upper East Side: 1 Year Later

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Though it may feel more like a lifetime ago, New York City confirmed its first coronavirus case on March 1, 2020: one year ago, as of Monday.

The anniversary of the first COVID-19 case provides a chance to reflect on the scope of the virus' toll in New York City, and in its neighborhoods.

Though the coronavirus likely arrived in New York in early February, the first person known to test positive for the virus in New York City was confirmed on March 1 in a 39-year-old health care worker who returned from a trip to Iran. Not long after, New York City marked another grim milestone with the first coronavirus death, an 82-year-old woman with emphysema, on March 14.

Compared to some New York neighborhoods, the Upper East Side was not as hard-hit by the virus. Most Upper East Side ZIP codes rank around the city's lowest, while within the neighborhood, the 10075 ZIP code suffered the highest rates.

Still, across the Upper East Side, at least 272 families have lost a loved one to the pandemic since it began, and more than 8,100 residents have contracted the virus, according to the city's data.

Here's a look at the virus' toll in numbers in each Upper East Side ZIP code:

10021 — Lenox Hill/Upper East Side:

• 1,749 total cases
• 3,812 cases per 100,000 residents
• 78 deaths
• 170 deaths per 100,000 residents
• 6.2 percent of people tested who tested positive

10028 — Yorkville/Upper East Side:

• 1,696 total cases
• 3,580 cases per 100,000 residents
• 44 deaths
• 93 deaths per 100,000 residents
• 6.2 percent of people tested who tested positive

10065 — Lenox Hill/Upper East Side:

• 1,137 total cases
• 4,075 cases per 100,000 residents
• 33 deaths
• 118 deaths per 100,000 residents
• 5.7 percent of people tested who tested positive

10128 — Yorkville/Upper East Side:

• 2,337 total cases
• 3,991 cases per 100,000 residents
• 60 deaths
• 102 deaths per 100,000 residents
• 6.3 percent of people tested who tested positive

Now, the coronavirus vaccine is already making an impact on the Upper East Side, where thousands of residents have already received at least one dose — among the borough's highest rates.

Of course, numbers only tell part of the story of the neighborhood's pandemic year. Home to some of the city's medical centers, the Upper East Side hosted an emergency field hospital, temporary "patient pods," and some of the city's worst nursing home outbreaks.

Meanwhile, neighbors also came together to save local businesses, help those in need and remember those who were lost.

A year later, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said March 1 will become an annual "Day of Remembrance" for New Yorkers lost to the virus. New York City has lost more than 29,000 people to COVID-19.

Patch reporter Anna Quinn contributed.