52 Upper West Siders Have Died During The Omicron Wave

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Cases of COVID-19 are dropping steeply on the Upper West Side and around the city, but the contagious omicron variant still claimed dozens of lives in the neighborhood.

A total of 56 residents of the Upper West Side's three ZIP codes died from COVID-19 between Dec. 31 and Jan. 27, according to data from the city. The ZIP code seeing the most fatalities was 10025, which runs from West 91st to 110th Streets, where 30 locals died in recent weeks.

In the 10023 ZIP code, 16 residents died during the period, while 10 locals in the 10024 ZIP code lost their lives, according to the city.

Meanwhile, 269 Upper West Siders have been hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron wave, which began in mid-December, according to city data.

But data also shows marked improvement in the battle against the contagious variant.

The 3.16 average rate on the UWS from Jan. 29 through Feb. 4. is a steep fall from where the neighborhood was around a month ago, when the three ZIP codes saw its rate shoot from 2 percent to just under 7 percent, to over 20 percent in the span of two weeks at the end of December.

After an initial period of cautious optimism when rates began dropping in early January, leaders are now talking openly about the encouraging trends.

"Not only is New York City winning in the fight against COVID-19, but we are bringing even more help right to New Yorkers' front doors to continue beating this pandemic," Mayor Eric Adams said in a recent statement, referring to a new effort to deliver antiviral pills to residents.

Similar trends are holding across New York state, whose positivity rate dropped below 10 percent last month for the first time since December.

Patch reporters Anna Quinn and Nick Garber contributed to this report.