New rural coronavirus infections topped 200,000 last week, breaking record for eighth consecutive week

Coronavirus infection rate ranges by county, Nov. 8-15
Daily Yonder map; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

New coronavirus infections in rural America hit a record high for the eighth consecutive week from Nov. 8-15, as covid-related rural deaths set a record high for the fourth week in a row. New cases are especially concentrated in the north central part of the country.

"New cases in rural (non-metropolitan) counties climbed to 195,795 last week, a 36 percent increase and more than double the number of new cases that were recorded only three weeks ago. Covid-related deaths in rural counties reached 2,026 last week, an increase of 8% from the previous week," Tim Murphy and Tim Marema report for The Daily Yonder. "Eighty-six percent of rural counties are now in the red zone, meaning they have an infection rate of 100 or more new cases per 100,000 population in a single week. More than a quarter of rural counties are now above the 500 new cases rate."

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