Forest Hills COVID Rates Tick Up Amid Citywide Rise, Data Shows

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Coronavirus positivity rates in Forest Hills rose to delta-variant levels last week, amid a citywide uptick in cases.

During the week that ended on Nov. 27th — which includes Thanksgiving — 3.54 percent of COVID tests in Forest Hills' 11375 ZIP code came back positive, data shows. Rates haven't been that high since this past Aug., when the more contagious delta variant began to sweep through the neighborhood.

This uptick comes during a month when citywide seven-day positivity averages reportedly rose to their highest levels since mid-April, and as news of the possibly more transmissible omicron variant spread through the country; the first omicron coronavirus case with links to New York City was detected on Thursday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged to postpone elective surgeries at burdened hospitals in response to the statewide uptick, and urged New Yorkers to get vaccinated. Notably, case positivity has been more severe in other parts of the state, like Western New York and the Finger Lakes region — a pattern that Hochul herself attributed to residents' refusal to get vaccinated.

The governor's plan to support bed-limited, short-staffed hospitals — defined as facilities that only have 10 percent or less of staffed bed capacity remaining — could impact Forest Hills directly.

Most of New York's 37 burdened hospitals are upstate, but two facilities are in Queens: Queens Hospital Center and Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, according to data reported by Spectrum News.

A representative from Northwell Health, which operates LIJ Forest Hills, praised Hochul's "prompt response to a possible increase in COVID-19 patients" but disputes the state's claim that the hospital is nearing capacity.

"The NYSDOH data being used is not inaccurate, but it is outdated. It represents a moment in time. Because we are monitoring our capacity by the hour, these capacity issues have already been adjusted to ensure we can safely treat any patient in need," a spokesperson told Patch.

Similarly, NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said on Wednesday that he doesn't think that any hospitals in the city — including the two in Queens — will have to cancel elective procedures.

"Each hospital is... making sure they have the ability to staff up and add hospital beds as needed" before the Governor's executive order goes into effect, he said, adding that the best way for New Yorkers to reduce hospital capacity is by getting vaccinated.

Vaccination has largely not been an issue in Forest Hills: More than 76 percent of eligible residents have had at least one shot, and of those more than 70 percent are fully vaccinated, data shows.

Those rates are lower than the borough's overall vaccination rate, but roughly on-par with rates in the city at large. Also, vaccination has increased since July, likely bolstered by citywide vaccine mandates and the approval of vaccines for children over the age of 5-years-old.