New coronavirus cases in rural counties up for sixth week, longest continuing increase since Delta surge last summer

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

Rural counties reported 53,000 new coronavirus infections during the week of May 16-22, about 20 percent up from the previous week. That's the sixth straight week of climbing infection rates, and marks "the longest continuous increase in new cases since the Delta surge in summer 2021," Tim Marema reports for The Daily Yonder. "The current uptick in new cases has already lasted longer than the Omicron surge in December and January, during which new infections climbed to record-breaking rates in both rural and metropolitan counties." The new infection rate in metro counties is about twice as high as the rural rate because it's been on the rise for a few weeks longer.

Epidemiologists warn that the number of infections in rural and metro counties is likely much higher than the official count, since many people diagnoses themselves with at-home tests and self-isolate without needing medical attention, Marema reports. However, hospitalizations are only about 15% as high as those during the peak of the Omicron surge in January. That's because more people have some immunity through vaccination or previous infection, which tends to make for milder cases.

"The Covid death rate declined slightly in rural counties last week. Rural counties reported 390 deaths last week, down about 6% from two weeks ago," Marema reports. "In metropolitan counties, Covid-related deaths increased about 7%, to 1,716. The rural death rate of 0.61 deaths per 100,000 residents was about 40% higher than the metropolitan death rate last week."