Parts of northeast, central and east El Paso showing highest rates of virus infections
EL PASO, Texas -- Coronavirus infections are five to six times higher in the hardest hit areas of El Paso compared to those with relatively few cases, an El Paso Matters analysis of public health data shows. Areas of northeast, central and east El Paso have the highest rates.
El Paso public health officials have been providing a daily map of positive test results by ZIP code. But that map can be misleading because it doesn’t take into account the widely different population numbers in each ZIP code. The county’s most-populous ZIP code — 79936 — has almost 115,000 people. The smallest — 79930 — has fewer than 2,700.
El Paso Matters looked at the number of positive virus tests per 10,000 people in each ZIP code. Excluded is Fort Bliss, which is tracking cases separately and not making public that information, based on a U.S. Defense Department directive. In the map, higher rates result in darker shading of the ZIP code. Hover over a ZIP code for more detail.
Hardest-hit areas
Countywide, the Covid-19 infection rate was 3.01 cases per 10,000 people as of April 10.
The highest rate as of April 10 was 7.56 cases per 10,000 people in central El Paso’s 79930, but that is based on two confirmed cases in a small population group.
Among ZIP codes with more than 15,000 people, the highest infection rates currently are in 79934 in northeast El Paso (5.19 cases per 10,000 people); 79905 in central El Paso (5.77 cases per 10,000 people); and 79935 in east El Paso (6.22 cases per 10,000 people). Many of the cases in 79905 appear to be linked to an outbreak at the El Paso Psychiatric Center.
The hardest-hit areas include one of El Paso’s highest per-capita income ZIP codes (79934) and one of its lowest (79905).
The lowest infection rates in ZIP codes with more than 10,000 people were in 79902 in west-central (0.93 cases per 10,000 people and 79903 in East-central (1.12 cases per 10,000 people).
The two largest east El Paso ZIP codes — 79936 and 79938 — have seen a significant rise in reported cases this week. The infection rate in 79936 was was 3.31 per 10,000 people as of Friday; in 79938 it had reached 4.32 per 10,000.
