Harlem COVID-19 Rates Elevated Heading Into Holidays: Data

HARLEM, NY — Nearly a dozen Harlemites have died and hundreds more have been infected with COVID-19 in recent weeks, as the city and nation have experienced an increase in virus cases heading into the holiday season.

During the week that ended on Dec. 12, the most recent for which data is available, 551 residents of Harlem's zip codes tested positive for the virus, according to city data — a positivity rate of 12.8 percent.

That's well above where the neighborhood found itself a few months ago. In mid-October, for example, the same ZIP codes recorded a positivity rate of only 8 percent.

Virus rates across Harlem have been on the rise since around the start of November, testing data shows.

That's in line with both local and national trends — across the U.S., COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations have both spiked by a respective 56 and 24 percent over the past two weeks, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

And in New York City, the seven-day average of new cases reached 3,621 as of Monday — far above the numbers seen earlier this fall, though cases appear to have plateaued within the last two weeks, according to Health Department data.

A total of 11 Harlemites died from COVID-19 between Nov. 4 and Dec. 1, the most recent for which data is available. Another 224 were hospitalized.

About 75 percent of Harlem residents had been fully vaccinated for the virus as of early December.

To guard against COVID, as well as the flu and the respiratory virus R.S.V., city officials urged New Yorkers last week to keep wearing masks in public indoor settings.

"The holiday season is about togetherness and there is a way to gather safely – even as respiratory viruses in our city are unusually high," Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a statement.

"It starts with protecting yourself. Vaccination and boosters are critical but so are common sense precautions like masking when indoors or among crowds and staying home if you don’t feel well."