The Florida Department of Health dashboard breaks down cases by zip code. Since June 30 when the city of Pensacola issued a mask order the number of new cases increased from 685 to 6256 in the five zip codes that make up the city – 32501-32505. Â That’s a 813% increase.
The remaining zip codes jumped from 900 to 11,602 – 1189% increase. The most new cases occurred in 32514 – 2,339 – which is around UWF, The next highest is 32526 – 1,917 – which includes Beulah, Bellview, Brent, Ensley and Myrtle Grove.
| Zip | 30-Jun | 20-Dec | Increase | |
| 32501 | 120 | 1170 | 1050 | |
| 32502 | 103 | 353 | 250 | |
| 32503 | 167 | 1796 | 1629 | |
| 32504 | 160 | 1420 | 1260 | |
| 32505 | 135 | 1517 | 1382 | |
| 685 | 6256 | 5571 | 813.3% | |
| 32506 | 104 | 1572 | 1468 | |
| 32507 | 73 | 1136 | 1063 | |
| 32508 | 8 | 89 | 81 | |
| 32509 | 0 | 9 | 9 | |
| 32511 | 16 | 38 | 22 | |
| 32512 | 24 | 67 | 43 | |
| 32514 | 298 | 2637 | 2339 | |
| 32526 | 171 | 2088 | 1917 | |
| 32533 | 110 | 1696 | 1586 | |
| 32534 | 75 | 829 | 754 | |
| 32535 | 11 | 992 | 981 | |
| 32561 | 5 | 30 | 25 | |
| 32568 | 5 | 160 | 155 | |
| 32577 | 0 | 259 | 259 | |
| 900 | 11602 | 10702 | 1189.1% | |
In the 32535 zip code (Century, Bratt, Davisville), 774 cases are inmates at Century Correctional Institution.
The zip code math is complicated because of the city’s helter-skelter boundaries with some zip codes part-in and part-out of the city. This list shows 32514 as out of the city. Most of it it is but there are parts north of I-10 in the 32514 zip code that are in the city, in both District 1 and District 2. I can walk a short distance in multiple directions from my house in 32504 and be outside of the city. If I were to walk my dog from my house west to Fire Station 6 south to the Walgreens on 9th Avenue east to Hitzman Park and north back home on Hilltop, I probably pass over the city/non-city boundary at least five times. The city covers less than 4% of Escambia County but has about 16-17% of the county’s population. Another way to read the numbers above is that the per capita infection rate is higher in the city than outside of the city. I don’t know how else you can explain that 35% of the cases cited above are in the 32501 to 32505 zip codes. Perhaps the city council could hire UWF to review the numbers to assess whether the mask ordinance made a difference or not. As one variable not discussed is that a lot of businesses with “Pensacola” mailing addresses believe that they are subject to the mask ordinance to include the place where my wife has her hair done, located about a block outside of the city limit. I suspect that parts of Escambia County outside of the city but with a “Pensacola” mailing address are in better shape than those that use other names. Of course, people come from all over to shop at the Walmart on Creighton Road that is in the city but on its northern edge. The place is a super spreader store. During one recent visit, I probably counted a dozen people not wearing masks just in the first 3-4 minutes.