Coronavirus Rates Rise Across Inwood And Washington Heights

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — All three Inwood and Washington Heights ZIP codes have seen an uptick in the percentage of positive coronavirus tests, part of a trend that has alarmed health officials, according to city data released last week.

The data, which includes COVID-19 test results over four weeks up to Oct. 24, shows that positivity rates have risen in 10032, 10033 and 10034, which cover the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods.

The highest rate of the three zip codes is 10033, where 2.01 percent of those tested received positive results in the latest four-week period. Positivity rates in 10032 and 10034 were 2 and 1.7 percent, respectively.

The rates in all three ZIP codes show an increase from the previous four-week period, most significantly in 10032, where the positivity rate rose by 1.12 percent.

The most recent overall coronavirus test rates show significant jumps across the board in the different Upper Manhattan ZIP codes.

Last week's data showed 67 ZIP codes around the city with a positivity rate above 2 percent over those four weeks, according to Gothamist, which first reported on the new data. Sixteen are above 3 percent.

Last month, by contrast, only 20 ZIP codes had rates above two percent, including eight above 3 percent.

Here is the four-week testing data through Oct. 24 compared to the four weeks prior for the three ZIP codes covering Inwood and Washington Heights:

• 10032: Most Recent 4 Weeks: 104 positive cases, Prior 4 Weeks: 41 positive cases
• 10033: Most Recent 4 Weeks: 98 positive cases, Prior 4 Weeks: 52 positive cases
• 10034: Most Recent 4 Weeks: 55 positive cases, Prior 4 Weeks: 30 positive cases

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he had "real concerns" over the citywide case increase. New York's positivity rate over a seven-day average reached 1.92 percent, which de Blasio called a "meaningful jump" for a measure that has hovered near 1.5 percent for weeks.

"That alone is not a number that would overwhelm us, but the growth is what worries me," he said.

Notably, much of the recent growth has occurred outside of the localized coronavirus clusters and associated testing efforts in Brooklyn and Queens.

Instead, health officials have also seen a slow and steady rise in coronavirus cases in many places around the city, Jay Varma, the city's senior adviser for public health, said Thursday. They haven't identified a specific focal point, but roughly 10 percent of new cases are linked to travel, and various indoor settings have also contributed, Varma said.

"That's why right now our guidance is not about any one specific industry or type of setting, changing its behavior, but it really has to be across the state — wearing a mask, avoiding gatherings, keeping physical distance, particularly as it gets colder and people move indoors," he said.

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.