Rural counties reported record new coronavirus infections and Covid-19 deaths last week, but surge could be leveling

New coronavirus infections, Dec. 6-12
Daily Yonder map; click the image to enlarge it and click here for the interactive version.

Rural counties reported a record number of new Covid-19 deaths and infections last week, but a more modest rate of growth in new cases could be a sign that the current surge is leveling off," Tim Murphy and Tim Marema report for The Daily Yonder. "More than 3,800 rural residents died of Covid-19-related causes in the week of Dec. 6-12, an increase of 6 percent from the previous week."

Rural counties reported nearly 221,000 new infections last week, 4% higher than the record of 216,000 set the week before Thanksgiving. "Since Thanksgiving, the rate of increase in new infections has leveled off a bit in rural counties. Metropolitan counties, however, have not had a similar reprieve," Murphy and Marema report. Click here for more data and graphics from the Yonder, including an interactive map with the latest county-level data.