Bed-Stuy Coronavirus Rates Rise Amid Citywide Uptick: Data

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — As a statewide coronavirus uptick prompts officials to resurrect a mask mandate across New York, neighborhood-level coronavirus positivity rates are on the rise, including in Bed-Stuy.

During the week that ended on Dec. 4 positivity rates in the ZIP codes covering the neighborhood rose as high as 3.48 percent, a steady climb from a month earlier when rates in all five ZIP codes stood around 1 percent, city data shows.

The local spikes come as coronavirus rates rise across the city and the state, most severely in parts of upstate New York.

In New York City, seven-day positivity averages — which stood around 3 percent on Dec. 4 — are the highest they've been since the summer.

Bed-Stuy's coronavirus rates were highest in 11221, which includes part of Bushwick, and 11216, which covers the western portion of the neighborhood and part of Crown Heights. The other three ZIP codes had coronavirus rates ranging from 2.2 to 2.74 percent, according to the data.

Here's a look at where they stood in each ZIP:

• 11221: Bedford-Stuyvesant (East)/Bushwick: 3.48%
• 11206: Williamsburg (South): 2.48%
• 11205: Bedford-Stuyvesant (West)/Clinton Hill/Fort Greene: 2.2%
• 11216: Bedford-Stuyvesant (West)/Crown Heights (West): 3.23%
• 11233: Bedford-Stuyvesant (East)/Ocean Hill-Brownsville: 2.74%

The coronavirus spike most recently led to a statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces, unless the venues already require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the measure — which is designed to end as soon as Jan. 15, 2022 — is necessary to fight rising COVID-19 levels and the omicron variant's looming threat.

The governor has also pledged to support burdened healthcare facilities by postponing some elective surgeries this week at 32 bed-limited, short-staffed hospitals — all of which are in upstate New York, where hospitalizations are up 150 percent according to Hochul.

"We have the tools to fight this pandemic and you can protect yourself and your loved ones by getting vaccinated and encouraging others to get the shot," the governor said on Monday, noting that getting vaccinated is also a way to reduce hospital capacity, since fully vaccinated people are less likely to be hospitalized with the coronavirus.

Patch reporter Kayla Levy contributed to this report.