Hotspots for COVID ‘level off’

The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in some of the neighborhoods labeled hotspots by the city and state is “not moving in the right direction,” Mayor de Blasio said Friday.

De Blasio, who was speaking on Brian Lehrer’s WNYC radio show, said the uptick in coronavirus cases is “plateauing” citywide and that some of the neighborhoods recently deemed hot spots have either “leveled off” or are showing a dip.

But Hizzoner added an important caveat.

“When I say leveling off, I’m saying that guardedly,” de Blasio told Lehrer. “In the communities that are affected, there are still some that are not moving in the right direction.”

De Blasio didn’t specifically point to any areas of concern, but the most recent city Health Department stats show that the percentage of people testing positive in some neighborhoods are still above the 3% threshold the city views as relatively safe.

As of Thursday’s statistics, Gravesend had a positivity rate of 8.1%, Borough Park was at 7.5% and Flatlands and Midwood were at 6.5%. Last week, the state forced businesses and schools in those and other neighborhoods to close in an effort to stem further spread of the virus.

City Hall spokesman Bill Neidhardt noted that while the numbers in some areas are still high, the rate of increase in those neighborhoods has dipped in recent days.

“They’re not climbing at the rate they were before,” he said.

De Blasio (photo) also pointed to citywide statistics, noting the overall percentage of positive test results stood at 1.02% on Friday. The seven-day average of that number is 1.56%, he added.

“These are numbers that certainly indicate something is plateauing on a citywide basis,” he said. “The point is we have to consolidate those gains this week, next week, to get out of these restrictions.”