New rural coronavirus cases at lowest level since last June, but rural Covid-related deaths up about 10% from last week

New coronavirus infections, in ranges by county, May 16-22
Daily Yonder map; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version

The 25,876 rural coronavirus infections in the week of May 16-22 marked an 18 percent decline from the previous week's 31,683. It was the fifth consecutive week of decreases, and the lowest level seen since June 2020. "New infections in rural counties have decreased for nine out of the last 12 weeks and are down about 90% from their peak in mid-January," Tim Murphy and Tim Marema report for The Daily Yonder.

Meanwhile, new Covid-related rural deaths grew from 613 two weeks ago to 681 last week, a roughly 10% increase. "Despite the increase last week, Covid-related deaths in rural counties have also fallen nine out of the last 12 weeks and have declined by 85% since their peak in early 2021," Murphy and Marema report.

Click here for more charts and analysis from the Yonder, including a county-level interactive map.