Six Big Apple neighborhoods now account for 20 percent of all coronavirus cases citywide — part of a local surge in the global pandemic that includes a stretch of southern Brooklyn dubbed the “Ocean Parkway Cluster,” health officials said Tuesday.
The cluster, along the thoroughfare in Midwood, Borough Park and Bensonhurst, reported a 4.7 percent rate of positive tests last week alone, well above the citywide average of 1 percent, according to data from the city Department of Health & Mental Hygiene.
They weren’t alone. Nearly 3.7 percent of those tested in Edgemere-Far Rockaway also tested positive, as did 2.2 percent in Kew Gardens.
Williamsburg also recorded a 2 percent uptick in positive tests.
The areas — Williamsburg, Far Rockaway, Ocean Parkway and Kew Gardens — have seen cases double or triple since Aug. 1, and now make up one in every five cases in the city.
Health officials called the situation “urgent,” and said the test results represent “a significant concern” that “will require further action if noncompliance with safety precautions is observed.”
“At this point in time, these increases could potentially evolve into more widespread community transmission and spread to other neighborhoods unless action is taken,” the department said in an email. “We are monitoring the situation for the need to take further steps in these areas.”
City and state officials have struggled with large gatherings in largely Hasidic communities that violate social distancing restrictions.
The state law prohibits large gatherings and requires masks and social distancing.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed last month to crack down on large social events in Brooklyn after The Post reported massive gatherings at three Brough Park banquet halls hosting Hasidic Jewish weddings.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has also warned about an “uptick” in cases this summer, in part due to large Hasidic gatherings.
The Orthodox communities were among the hardest hit after the outbreak of the virus in March.
