ZIP code data reflects countywide downward trend in COVID-19

Mark Guydish, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·1 min read

Feb. 27—As of Friday Luzerne County had reported fewer than 100 new cases of COVID-19 for 13 consecutive days, and state data for this week shows the decline in new cases is fairly evenly spread among the 41 ZIP codes all or partially in the county that are tracked by the Times Leader.

Only one of the codes had more than 50 new cases this week, Wilkes-Barre's 18702, which has been at or near the top of the list for months. This week it reported 56 new cases, down from 66 last week and 75 two weeks ago.

The Kingston code of 18704, also near the top of the list for months, had the second highest total of 45, while the Hazleton code of 18201 — initially the county hot spot when the outbreak first surged last spring — reported only 32 new cases.

Of the remaining codes, nine had between 10 and 28 new cases, while 29 reported fewer than 10 new cases. That's the first time since mid-October that so many of the codes were below 10 new cases in a week.

Two codes actually reported a decline in COVID-19 cases, a rare anomaly that apparently happens when data is corrected by the state.

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