Which ZIP codes have the highest and lowest increases in COVID-19 rates in the Triangle?
Two Durham County ZIP codes have been among those with the highest number of COVID-19 cases of any ZIP codes in the state since August, according to an analysis of case numbers by the News & Observer. The ZIP codes 27703 and 27704 had 1,743 and 1,592 cases respectively on Wednesday.
The 27704 ZIP code, which encompasses the area northeast of the city of Durham, had the second highest per capita rate in the Triangle on Wednesday: 404 cases per 10,000 people.
The News & Observer analysis of case data from August, September, and October shows that some ZIP codes in the Triangle have spiked over the last two months, while others have stabilized.
High case numbers can be explained both by people in those areas not being able to work from home and to higher access to testing in those areas, according to a spokesperson for the Durham County public health department, Alecia Smith.
For example, in the ZIP code with the highest per capita case rate in Durham County (27704), the majority of workers work in jobs with high exposure. The largest share of the workforce works in health care and social services (18.1%), followed by education (15.6%), retail (11.4%), and food service (10.7%)., according to census data.
N.C. State reopening caused spike in Raleigh ZIP code
A ZIP code in Raleigh had the sharpest increase in COVID-19 cases between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1.
The number of cases in the 27607 ZIP code increased by 301% from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1, the highest of any ZIP code in the Triangle. That area is home to N.C. State University, where students returned for in-person classes in August before the university decided to move classes online later in the month.
A spokesperson for Wake County, Alice Avery, attributed the jump there to the return to campus.
Siler City case increase slows
Cases in the 27344 ZIP code in Siler City increased by just 22%. since Aug. 1, the lowest in the Triangle. That area had the second-highest per capita rate of COVID-19 in the state in early May.
Siler City is home to the Mountaire Farms poultry plant, where dozens of cases were reported in May. Chatham County, citing privacy of plant workers, didn’t release details on the number of positive cases at the plant.
The ZIP code now has the 14th highest per 10,000 population rate in the state at 483, down from the sixth highest in August. It remains the highest per capita rate in the Triangle.
The stabilization there is due to increased outreach to the Latino community in the area, according to Chatham County interim public health director Mike Zelek.
Zelek said that while the case numbers in Siler City are encouraging, residents should not take it as a sign to ease social distancing measures.
“We know that COVID is out there and so we don’t want to give anyone out there the impression that if they live in this area and not that area that they can’t get the virus,” he said.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 7:45 AM with the headline "Which ZIP codes have the highest and lowest increases in COVID-19 rates in the Triangle?."