Kew Gardens Seeing Uptick In Coronavirus Case Rates, Mayor Says

KEW GARDENS, QUEENS — City health officials are monitoring an uptick in the rate of Kew Gardens residents testing positive for the coronavirus that has the potential to turn into widespread community transmission, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Among Kew Gardens residents, 2.24 percent of coronavirus tests have been coming back positive, the NYC Department of Health said in a news release late Tuesday.

The citywide positive test rate is just over 1 percent.

The uptick in Kew Gardens has landed it on a list of six New York City neighborhoods that city health officials called "cause for significant concern," which also includes Borough Park, Far Rockaway, Flatbush, Midwood and Williamsburg.

"At this point in time, these increases could potentially evolve into more widespread community transmission and spread to other neighborhoods unless action is taken," the Health Department said in the news release. "We are monitoring the situation for the need to take further steps in these areas."

NYC Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said a "panoply" of coronavirus indicators caused concerns in those neighborhoods, though he didn't offer specifics.

The six neighborhoods will be the focus of a city-run "hyper-local effort" on increasing testing and outreach to curb the spread of the virus, de Blasio said during a news conference Tuesday.

"We need to apply a lot of energy and focus to these areas," de Blasio said.

City health officials previously warned of a similar uptick in the rate of Forest Hills residents testing positive for the coronavirus. In select sections of Forest Hills, the proportion of positive tests reached almost 3 percent at the end of August, according to the Department of Health.

Patch editor Matt Troutman contributed reporting.