Looking Back At Coronavirus In Upper Manhattan: One Year Later

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — Do you remember what you were doing on March 1, 2020? The date may seem like another 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 Upper Manhattan.

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.

In Washington Heights and Inwood, as with many communities of color, the virus hit particularly hard. The neighborhood is among the 33 hardest-hit neighborhoods identified by the city, and ZIP codes in the area consistently had the highest seven-day positive rates in Manhattan.

In the four ZIP codes that include a portion of Inwood or Washington Heights, there have been nearly 14,600 cases of the virus in the last year.

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

10034

• Number of cases: 2,844
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 6,733
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 206
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 13 percent

10040

• Number of cases: 3,427
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 7,795
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 318
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 14 percent

10033

• Number of cases: 3,939
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 6,731
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 243
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 13 percent

10032

• Number of cases: 4,352
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 6,902
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 322
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 13 percent

Of course, numbers only tell part of the story.

Read more about how the neighborhood was still able to put on COVID-19 safe weddings, support its local businesses, and struggle through a lack of nearby vaccine sites.

Patch reporter Anna Quinn contributed to this report.