As the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread out of control in New York City, transmission rates are soaring, with 2% of all Manhattan residents infected in the last week and nearing that level in the other boroughs.
About 2,012 of every 100,000 Manhattan residents tested positive in the last seven days, according to the latest transmission data posted by the city. The citywide rate is 1,742 per 100,000.
The Manhattan figure is an average, though; some neighborhoods are substantially higher. The Chelsea and Clinton neighborhoods now stand at 2,600 cases per 100,000 residents in the last week; the Gramercy Park area is at 2,325.
At 2,600 cases per 100,000 residents, Chelsea may be one of the most infected places in the country. According to New York Times data, Washington D.C., where omicron is entirely out of control, has a rate of 279 cases per 100,000.
Omicron Variant: The Latest
The word "surge" is almost insufficient to describe what's going on in the city; the citywide transmission rate has risen 10x since the start of the month, more in some areas.
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As of Sunday the 7-day average of positive tests for city residents was 19.97%, an astronomical figure without recent precedent. Meanwhile, daily hospitalizations with COVID-like symptoms are now running double where they were just two weeks ago, and more than triple what the city said would "normally" be expected this time of year.
