- New York City is the center of the coronavirus outbreak in the US.
- The city has reported nearly 30,000 coronavirus cases and at least 500 deaths since its first case was confirmed on March 1.
- The number of new confirmed cases in New York City each day remains in the thousands, with more than 2,400 new cases reported on Saturday morning.
- Here's what we know about the ages, locations, and genders of the New Yorkers who have been infected, hospitalized, or died.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
New York City has reported more than 25% of the US's coronavirus cases.
Nearly 30,000 people there have been infected (though that's only those who have been tested), and at least 517 people across New York's five boroughs have died — accounting for about one-quarter of all US COVID-19 deaths. The city reported its first case on March 1.
New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene releases daily summaries of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations across the city. The reports show how the city's outbreak is escalating and highlight the extent to which elderly New Yorkers are being hospitalized.
Here's the current breakdown:
New York City cases, hospitalizations, and deaths by age
New Yorkers older than 75 have the highest coronavirus-related hospitalization rate — 43%. This age bracket's death rate, which is calculated by dividing the number of total cases by the number of fatalities, is nearly 10%.
City residents between 64 and 74 years old have the next-highest hospitalization rate: about 30%. That means one in three people in that group confirmed to have the coronavirus have to go to a hospital. That age group's death rate, however, is about one-third of that of New Yorkers older than 75.
People between 45 and 64 in New York seem to have the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita. The data also shows that New Yorkers younger than 17 face less risk — fewer than 600 cases have been reported in the age group, and only 8% of those cases involved hospitalization.
No New Yorker under the age of 17 has died, though 22 people younger than 45 have.
The chart does not tell the full story of New York's coronavirus outbreak, however. That's because very few New Yorkers with mild cases of COVID-19 are getting tested. The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website urges New Yorkers who think they have mild COVID-19 cases to stay home and not seek care.
"If you think you have COVID-19 and your illness is mild, you do not need to see your health care provider and you will not be tested," the site says. "Getting tested will not change what your provider will tell you to do to get better. They will tell you to stay home so you do not get others sick."
Those who receive coronavirus tests in New York City tend to have the most severe COVID-19 complications.
"Unless you are hospitalized and a diagnosis will impact your care, you will not be tested," the city's health department said.
That means many people's cases (and their demographic information) are not included in the data.
A further breakdown of NYC cases
As of Saturday, 56% of New York City's coronavirus cases were men, according to data from city health officials.
About 32% of the city's cases, about 9,228 cases, were reported in Queens, making it the city's hardest-hit borough. Brooklyn reported 7,789 cases, or 27% of the city's total, followed by both Manhattan and the Bronx, which each reported about 18%. Staten Island has reported 1,718 cases or 6% of the city's total.
As of Saturday, at least 82% of the New Yorkers who have died from COVID-19 had confirmed underlying conditions, including diabetes, lung disease, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and asthma.
New York's new cases per day are increasing
In the last two weeks, between March 14 and 28, the number of cases in New York City jumped from 185 to 29,158: an increase of almost 75 times.
More than 2,400 new cases were reported on Saturday morning, marking the eighth day in a row that the number of new daily cases was above 2,000. NYC's epidemic curve looks like a steep staircase, as does the US's epidemic curve.
This suggests the nation has thus far been unsuccessful in efforts to "flatten the curve," or slow the spread of the coronavirus so as not to overwhelm the healthcare system.
The best ways to slow the virus' spread are to test widely, isolate people who are ill, trace those with whom sick people had contact to find others who might have been exposed, quarantine anyone who may have been exposed to the virus, close schools and nonessential business, and encourage people to practice social distancing.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order on March 20 mandating that all nonessential businesses in the state keep their workers at home. The order instructed people to stay home and practice social distancing. It went into effect at 8 p.m. ET on March 22.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 myths about the coronavirus, including why masks won't help
https://ift.tt/3dwIPRH