March 30, 2020: One reason New York City has become the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak is
extreme levels of population density. The most densely populated county in the United States is Manhattan with 67,000 residents per square mile.[1]
By way of comparison, the average U.S. city has a population density of about 1,600 people per square mile. In other words, Manhattan has more than 40 times the population density of the average city. The U.S. as a whole has about 90 people per square mile.[2]
After Manhattan, the next three most populated counties are also in New York: Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens.[1]
“The density of the population is reason No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 — it’s just been so easy for it to spread,” said Dr. Josh Sharfstein, the vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.[1]
Another factor makes lower-income neighborhoods more vulnerable. According to Jessica Justman, an associate professor of medicine at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, “It is also about the average number of people living in a household. People living alone in an apartment will be able to practice social distancing more easily than people who live with a large family, or who are sharing space with many others.”[1]
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