New cases of the coronavirus in rural areas skyrocket

New coronavirus infections, in ranges by county, Nov. 28-Dec. 4
Map by The Daily Yonder; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

New rural coronavirus infections skyrocketed by nearly 50 percent over the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 4. Some of that may be Thanksgiving-related data reporting interruptions, but data "indicate the spike is based on conditions on the ground," Tim Marema reports for The Daily Yonder.

"New cases of Covid-19 in rural counties climbed to about 148,000 last week, an increase of 48,000 (or 48%) from two weeks ago. Covid-related deaths in rural counties also grew by roughly half last week, climbing from about 1,400 two weeks ago to 2,200 last week. Since the start of the pandemic, 135,339 rural Americans have died from Covid-19," Marema reports. "Last week, the rural death rate was 130% higher than the metropolitan death rate. The rural death rate has been roughly twice as high as the metropolitan rate since late August. Metropolitan counties also had a similar percentage increase in new infections and deaths last week."

Click here for more charts, regional analysis, and county-level interactive maps from the Yonder.