These North Carolina counties are releasing ZIP code data for their COVID-19 cases
Counties in North Carolina have slowly begun releasing more information that helps show where the novel coronavirus has spread in the state.
At least 10 counties — Cabarrus, Caldwell, Cumberland, Durham, Gaston, Henderson, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford and Union — have released data that show the number of COVID-19 cases in each ZIP code within their respective counties as of Thursday.
Four of those counties — Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cumberland and Durham — are providing only ranges of the number of cases in each ZIP code. The remaining six counties are providing raw numbers.
The state Department of Health and Human Services, by contrast, has provided only the number of coronavirus cases in each county. But the agency is working to release cases by ZIP code, communications manager Kelly Haight Connor said Tuesday.
Cabarrus and Rowan are the only two counties reporting ZIP codes with more than 100 cases, according to data collected Tuesday.
- ZIP code 28017 in Cabarrus is reporting 128 cases.
- ZIP code 28147 in Rowan is reporting 157 cases.
Of the counties that are reporting raw numbers rather than a range, cases in each ZIP code are largely correlated with population size, though there are some outliers.
ZIP code 28147 in Rowan, for example, is where The Citadel at Salisbury is located. The nursing home currently has one of the biggest outbreaks in the state, according to DHHS outbreak data released Tuesday.
Also in Rowan, ZIP code 28144 has the second highest case count in the county, with 82 cases as of Wednesday. Around 44 percent of the population there is black — more than double the state’s rate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Mecklenburg County, which has the highest number of cases, is reporting seven ZIP codes with more than 64 cases. Those areas could be seeing cases in the double digits, but the data does not show that information.
Durham is the only county in the Triangle providing ZIP-code-level data on coronavirus cases, but the county is only providing ranges of the number of cases in each ZIP code.
- Eight ZIP codes in Durham County have eight cases or fewer.
- One has between nine and 19 cases.
- Four have between 20 and 60.
- Two have between 21 and 78.
- One zip code, 27705, has between 79 and 180.
The 27705 ZIP code includes several group living facilities with outbreaks, the largest at Durham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 411 South LaSalle St. The facility had 111 reported cases as of Tuesday evening.
The News & Observer has requested ZIP code data from Johnston, Chatham, Wake and Orange counties.
Johnston and Chatham have not yet fulfilled requests.
Wake County has not fulfilled the request, but said that if the state begins releasing such data, Wake County will provide a link on its website.
Orange County has denied the request, citing HIPAA. The N&O did not request any identifying or personal information covered under HIPAA.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 5:38 PM.
