New coronavirus infections fell more than 40% in rural areas last week, and deaths fell 6%, as Omicron retreated

New cases of the coronavirus, in ranges by county, Feb. 6-12
Map by The Daily Yonder; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

New coronavirus infections in non-metropolitan counties fell more than 40 percent in the week of Feb. 6-12, hitting the lowest level of 2022. Rural counties reported about 221,000 new infections last week, down form 378,000 the week before. "Since peaking three weeks ago, new infections have fallen by two-thirds in rural counties," Tim Marema reports for The Daily Yonder. "The rural infection rate remained higher than the metropolitan infection rate, a trend that started a month ago. Before mid-January, the metropolitan infection rate was higher because the Omicron variant struck one to two weeks earlier in urban counties than it did in rural counties." That also means it peaked later in states with large rural populations; the current top five are Kentucky, Alaska, West Virginia, Idaho and Tennessee.

Rural Covid-related deaths fell by about 6% in the same time period. Metropolitan counties saw similar declines in infections and deaths. However, the coronavirus remains common: "Ninety-five percent of U.S. counties, both rural and urban, remain in the red zone, defined by the White House as having 100 or more new infections over a one-week period," Marema reports.

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