Rural covid-19 deaths surpassed 10,000 on July 30; daily death numbers doubled during the last half of July

Covid-19 red zones, July 26-Aug. 1.  Daily Yonder map; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

Covid-19 deaths in rural America more than doubled in the last half of July, leading to rural America's 10,000th death from the coronavirus disease on July 30. Hundreds more have died since, as the pandemic continues to spread.

"From July 16 to Aug. 1, the average number of rural residents who are dying each day from covid-19 climbed from 77 to 171. The number of rural deaths in July was 70 percent higher than the number of deaths in June," Tim Murphy, Bill Bishop and Tim Marema report for The Daily Yonder. "Rural deaths now constitute 6.7% of all deaths in the U.S. cumulatively, up by more than 2 points from July 1."

Another 12 rural counties were added to the White House Coronavirus Task Force's "red zone" list last week, bringing the total number to 746 (more than one-third of all rural counties). That's a much lower increase than the previous week's, which saw 104 rural counties being added. Red zones have a new-infection rate of at least 100 per 100,000 (or one per thousand) residents in the task force's seven-day reporting period, which runs from Mondays through Sundays.