Apr 22, 2020 3 min read

The 15317 zip code, which includes Canonsburg and surrounding communities, has the highest concentration of coronavirus cases in Washington County.

That is the marquee piece of information that comes from an interactive map released Monday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health that shows the number of positive and negative test results in each of the commonwealth’s 2,185 zip codes. In the 15317 zip code, according to the map, there were 22 people who tested positive for the coronavirus, and 248 who had tested negative.

The 15317 zip code not only includes Canonsburg borough, but also the Southpointe business park, and parts of McMurray and Cecil Township. The area also borders Allegheny County, which had more than 1,000 cases and 67 deaths as of Tuesday.

The 15301 zip code, which includes the city of Washington, has 10 positive test results, with 454 negative. The 15367 zip code, which encompasses parts of McMurray and Venetia, has five residents who have tested positive and 46 negative, and the Finleyville zip code 15332 has five positive cases and 54 negative results. Other parts of the county either have no cases or a negligible number.

In Greene County, the Waynesburg zip code 15370 has so far had six tests for coronavirus come back with positive results, and 105 negative. The 15320 zip code, which includes Carmichaels, has seven residents with coronavirus, while 55 have tested negative. Other parts of Greene have few, if any, reported positive cases.

The map was assembled by the Pennsylvania National Electronic Disease Surveillance System and is available on the health department’s website at https://www.health.pa.gov/.

The breakdown of cases across the commonwealth confirms that heavily populated urban areas have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus. But since the outbreak of cases in the United States, officials both in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have cautioned that a low number of cases in rural areas does not indicate the virus is not present, but that a lack of testing could prevent cases from being identified, or individuals could be infected but be asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms.

Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s health secretary, said at her daily briefing Monday, “What’s important to remember about this information is that if there are a lower number of cases in your zip code, it doesn’t mean it is safe to resume your normal activities, discontinue social distancing or go out without a mask.”

County officials across the state, including those in Washington County, have been eager to get detailed information on infections in their communities. Last month, Jeff Yates, Washington County’s director of public safety, sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Health expressing disappointment about the lack of concrete data. He hoped a breakdown by municipality would be available, and that such specifics would provide first responders and the public “with a minimal sense of understanding the scope of the issue.”

Yates said Tuesday the interactive map is “interesting,” but “it doesn’t give us the specifics we wanted.”

Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan echoed Yates’ sentiments, pointing out that while the 15317 zip code has the most confirmed cases, it covers a lot of residential territory.

“What would have been more helpful is having the information by municipality,” she said. “This is not really what we asked for.”