4.13.2020 Montgomery County to Highlight Zip Code Data on COVID-19 Website

Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles today provided additional information on data released by the Maryland Department of Health showing zip codes in Maryland with the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Three zip codes in Silver Spring (20904, 20906, and 20902) were among the top five in Maryland.

“It’s important to level-set the conversation when talking about this information,” said Gayles. “Numbers alone cannot tell the full story. In fact, when looking beyond the raw numbers, the rates of infection in these three areas are on average less than one half of one percent.”

The population of zip code 20906 is 70,000, and there have been 132 cases, representing .1 percent of the total zip code population. There are 57,000 residents in 20904 and 126 cases, representing .2 percent of the total zip code population. In 20902, there are 48,000 residents and 125 cases, representing .2 percent of the total zip code population.

“If someone is looking at the raw numbers, there can be several different reactions,” Gayles said.  “One is ‘My zip code is not listed so I don’t have to worry,’ or two ‘My zip code is listed so I need to get out of here.’” The message to everyone is that someone may live in one zip code but work in another, belong to a religious organization in another zip code, and/or have family and friends in multiple zip codes.”

Access to healthcare is high in the areas noted, with major health care facilities, as well as numerous urgent care operations that may have led to increased access to testing and hence, more people tested and additional positive results. Given the lack of larger scale testing, this may mask other areas where testing is lower and may not be a true estimate of the real number of positives within the community.           

According to health officials, factors such as population density and number of people tested can contribute to a higher number of confirmed cases identified.  A closer look at other factors, such as age, show the numbers mirror what is being reported nationwide—older individuals are at higher risk of infection.  The County plans to release additional zip code maps on its COVID-19 website as soon as Friday, April 17, which will add additional information for residents about what is going on locally.

The County’s Department of Health and Human Services has done work in recent years to capture data on chronic disease, infectious disease and maternal and infant health across different areas of Montgomery County.  More information on previous reports are on the DHHS website.

For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.