Alarm over New York City coronavirus hotbeds
- Six neighbourhoods in Brooklyn and two in Queens have seen their rates spike
- Mask-wearing compliance in the neighbourhoods much lower than elsewhere in the city
Coronavirus infection rates have increased at “an alarming rate” in several New York neighbourhoods, particularly among the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, city health authorities warned Sunday, threatening to sanction certain schools if they fail to comply with antivirus regulations.
Although the Big Apple has touted that it kept its infection rate under one per cent for more than a month, six neighbourhoods in Brooklyn and two in Queens have seen their rates spike, surpassing five to six per cent in Midwood and Gravesend.
The increase coincides with the Jewish High Holidays, the most holy days in the Jewish calendar, that culminate Monday with Yom Kippur.
“These areas account for over 23 per cent of new cases citywide … despite representing just under seven per cent of the city’s overall population,” New York city health services said.
They added that the data showed an increase in hospitalised patients in two Brooklyn hospitals, and at least one hospital in Queens.
01:12
Coronavirus: New Yorkers hold social-distancing ‘pod party’ during lockdown
The increase has raised fears of a second wave in New York, which reported a record 23,800 Covid-19 fatalities when the epidemic peaked in the spring.