Upper East Side COVID Latest: Rates Fluctuate As Subvariant Spreads

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — As a highly contagious subvariant fuels an uptick in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Upper East Side's virus rates have seen no dramatic increase so far.

During the seven-day period that ended Tuesday, a total of 510 Upper East Side residents tested positive for COVID — a 12.9 positivity rate.

That's roughly the same spot where the neighborhood found itself in early June. The Upper East Side's virus rates have fluctuated in recent weeks, city testing data shows, with all five of its ZIP codes seeing an increase in positive cases in late June, then a decline starting in early July.

But the Upper East Side's virus rates remain far higher than where they stood in mid-March, at the end of the first omicron wave — on March 11, for example, the neighborhood's seven-day positivity rate was just 2.7 percent.

In New York and across the U.S., the summertime jump in virus cases has been driven by BA.5, a subvariant of omicron that has been described as the most contagious strain of COVID-19 yet to emerge. Across New York state, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, BA.5 made up 80 percent of new cases during the week that ended July 16.

Hospitalizations have also been rising: 62 Upper East Side residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the 28-day period ending on July 8, the most recent for which data is available. (By comparison, on March 29, just 11 Upper East Siders had been hospitalized in the previous 28 days.)

No Upper East Side residents died from COVID-19 in the 28 days through July 8 — though the state as a whole is also seeing a rise in fatalities.

Amid the increase, however, New York's leaders have resisted putting any new restrictions in place. In a news conference on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York City schools would remain mask-optional in the fall — though the mask mandate for public transit riders would remain in place, she said.

"I'm going to reserve the right to return to this policy if the numbers change, the circumstances change and the severity of the illness has changed," Hochul said of the school rules.

Hochul said fall COVID-19 plans will include a "militaristic" level of preparation.

The state has 20 million at-home tests stockpiled that will be dedicated for students going back to school, she said.

"I know it's only midsummer, but we have the luxury now of time to prepare for the inevitability, which is parents and teachers being anxious about going back to the classroom again," she said.

Matt Troutman contributed to this report.