While NYC Worried About COVID-19, 2,700 Caught Flu In Past Week

NEW YORK CITY — While the city worried about a handful of COVID-19 cases, 2,700 residents were sickened by the flu in the past week.

The figures put the extent of the outbreak of coronavirus in NYC into context. While it has the potential to become a pandemic, flu is 54,000 times more prevalent in the city.

As of Friday, there were five confirmed cases of COVID-19: a 39-year-old health worker, a Midtown lawyer, a woman in her 80s, a man in his 40s and another man in his 50s who has ties to the lawyer.

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Latest figures released by the state's health department show 2,700 people in the five boroughs were diagnosed with the flu in the week ending February 29. That number is likely to be much higher as many cases are not reported to doctors.

Across the nation, the Centers for Disease Control has recorded at least 34 million flu illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths — 136 of which were children. New York state has seen nine pediatric deaths, including two in New York City which happened last month, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu are very similar to the new coronavirus and include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (though not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

The coronavirus symptoms are:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath