Noah Smith, Columnist

New York Is a Hot Zone But Not Because of City Living

Some Asian cities are just as densely packed and yet the coronavirus has been kept in check.

March 30, 2020 at 2:30 PM UTC

Noah Smith is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He was an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University, and he blogs at Noahpinion.

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New York has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. As of this writing, it has about 40% of the confirmed cases in the country, much more than any other state:

The state has also had one of the fastest rates of increase. Part of that might simply be due to higher number of tests being performed; other states may have outbreaks that are as yet undetected. Part of it might be due to more international travelers introducing the virus at more points in February. But many commentators have zeroed in on another culprit: urban density.