Harlem COVID Rates Start Dipping, But Cases Still High: Data

HARLEM, NY — Weeks after the omicron variant began its alarming surge in New York City, data shows that COVID-19 rates are beginning to dip in Harlem and around the five boroughs — though cases remain worryingly high.

During the seven-day period that ended on Thursday, more than 6,600 Harlemites tested positive for the coronavirus — a positivity rate of 28.9 percent.

While those figures would have been stunningly high just a few months ago, they represent a slight drop from previous days. During the week ending Dec. 31, Harlem's positivity rate stood at 36.2 percent, with more than 7,800 residents testing positive.

Local health experts have expressed cautious optimism that New York's omicron wave has reached or is nearing its peak — though that peak still represents "an extraordinary high level of spread," as Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said last week.

"We think with our modeling that the peak will happen next week," said Dr. Steven Corwin, CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, in a news conference with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday. "We've also seen some leveling the past couple of days — fingers crossed that that does represent a plateau."

Through Dec. 26, 372 Harlem residents had been hospitalized with COVID-19 in the previous 28 days — a number likely to rise as more recent data becomes available.

Citywide hospitalizations as of Thursday had reached a 7-day average of 518 per day — a drop from Jan. 2, when the city was averaging 847, but still far above any levels that the city has seen in months.

As the wave continues, numerous free testing sites are open across Harlem this week. For residents who have not gotten vaccinated or boosted, a pop-up clinic will be open at A. Philip Randolph Square from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., courtesy of the A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance, Uptown Rising and Community Board 10. Call 917-406-9187 or email [email protected] for more information.