NYC Has Not Built 'Herd Immunity' To Coronavirus: Top Doctor

NEW YORK, NY — New York City's metrics to track the coronavirus are holding low numbers even as several U.S. states see worrying surges in infection.

As the city continues its economic reopening, returning hundreds of thousands of people to work and livening up city streets, it has avoided a rise in hospitalizations and New Yorkers are testing positive at low levels, a stark contrast to spike occurring throughout the United States.

But despite New York's resilience, it's unlikely the city's population has built up any sort of "herd immunity" to the coronavirus, New York City top doctor Jay Varma said Friday.

New York City experienced one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks this spring, but a "vast majority" of New Yorkers are still susceptible to the disease, Varma said Friday. The city's top health adviser added, "there's a lot we don't know about immunity" when it comes to the coronavirus.

"The vast majority of New Yorkers actually weren't infected. So the most likely explanations for our current situation are, as the mayor pointed out, the combination of our defensive strategy — physical distancing, wearing face covers, good hygiene — and the offensive strategy, the massive increase in testing that's going on and testing that's tied to identifying contacts and safely separating cases with contacts," Varma said.

To keep up to date with coronavirus developments in NYC, sign up for Patch's news alerts and newsletter.

Nearly 215,000 New Yorkers have tested positive for the coronavirus with 18,637 confirmed deaths and an additional 4,610 probable deaths as of July 9, according to data from the city Department of Health.

De Blasio attributed New York City's lack of a spike in coronavirus cases to the "discipline, "focus" and "unity" displayed by the city's residents in following safety and social distancing regulations. The mayor added that New York City is now testing about 40,000 people for the novel coronavirus on a daily basis.

New York City admitted 62 people to the hospital, has 293 people in public hospital ICUs and saw 2 percent of people test positive for the coronavirus as of Friday, de Blasio said. The numbers are well within the city's thresholds — 200 admissions, 375 ICU patients and a 15 percent positive test rate — to keep the city on track for recovery.

Coronavirus In NYC: Latest Happenings And Guidance

Email PatchNYC@patch.com to reach a Patch reporter or fill out this anonymous form to share your coronavirus stories. All messages are confidential.