Coronavirus Pandemic's Toll On The UWS: One Year Later

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Do you remember what you were doing on March 1, 2020? The date may seem like a lifetime ago, but it was the day that the first coronavirus case in New York City was confirmed.

The anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in the five boroughs provides a chance to reflect on the scope of the virus' toll in New York City and on the Upper West Side.

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.

A year later, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said it will become an annual "Day of Remembrance" for New Yorkers lost to the virus. New York City has lost more than 29,000 people since the pandemic began.

Compared to much of New York City, the Upper West Side has been somewhat spared by the coronavirus. But that is of little comfort to the loved ones of hundreds of Upper West Siders who lost their lives to the virus.

In the three major ZIP codes that make up the Upper West Side, there have been nearly 8,200 cases of the virus in the last year.

Here's a look at the numbers for each ZIP code since March 1, 2020:

10025

• Number of cases: 3,983
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 4,347
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 244
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 7 percent

10024

• Number of cases: 2,114
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 3,619
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 154
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 6 percent

10023

• Number of cases: 2,099
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 3,397
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 107
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 6 percent

Of course, numbers only tell part of the story.

Read more about how an UWS photographer captured pictures of couples that met during the pandemic, how local churches started offering free testing, and how a ZIP code in the neighborhood had the lowest COVID-19 rate in the city for a period of time.