New rural coronavirus infections down nearly 50% last week

New coronavirus infections, in ranges by county, Feb. 27-March 5
Map by The Daily Yonder; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

New coronavirus infections in rural counties fell by nearly 50% during the week of Feb. 27-March 5, to a level not seen in four months. Rural counties reported about 65,000 new cases last week, down from 120,000 the week before. "Since the peak of the Omicron surge in mid-January, rural infections have dropped by 90%," Tim Marema reports for The Daily Yonder.

Rural counties reported about 1,750 deaths last week, nearly one-third lower than the 2,600 reported the week before. Metropolitan counties reported 238,598 deaths last week, a little more than one-third less than the 369,026 deaths the week before, Marema reports.

The last few weeks have also seen a dramatic drop in the share of rural counties in the red zone, defined as counties with 100 or more new infections per 100,000 residents in a week. Three weeks ago, nearly all rural counties were in the red zone, but last week only about one-third of them were, Marema reports.

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