As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Philadelphia rises to 3,728, most Philadelphians report they are following social distancing guidelines.
Northeast Philadelphia ZIP codes account for 782 of the city’s confirmed cases, or 20.97%. ZIP code 19111, which contains neighborhoods like Fox Chase and Lawndale, has 139 positive cases as of 9 a.m. today. This gives the ZIP code the third highest number of confirmed cases in the city.
Northeast Philadelphia’s ratio continues to slowly but steadily grow. One week ago on March 30, Northeast ZIP codes accounted for 17.25 percent of positive cases.
The interactive map can be found on the city’s site.
Sixty-eight percent of city residents said they follow the guidelines very closely and 25% said they do somewhat closely, for a total of 93%, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley reported on Monday. Studies show traveling to locations such as retail or recreation is down 57% in the city.
“I give the city a B+,” Farley said, noting how travel is down further in other cities.
Police Lt. James Walker lost his life this weekend due to the virus, marking the first death of a city employee.
“This is a heartbreaking reminder that the virus is affecting people throughout our community, especially those on the frontlines,” Mayor Jim Kenney said.
The city reported 539 new cases since yesterday, the large number due partly because of the backlog of labs not reporting results over the weekend. Clusters of cases like nursing homes, prisons and behavioral health facilities are the most at risk. There are 54 cases confirmed in inmates.
There were two new reported deaths, for a total of 45. Eighteen of those deaths were in nursing homes. Farley said he expects the number of deaths to rise in the coming weeks as the virus spreads and possible coronavirus-related deaths are still under investigation.
