New coronavirus infections in rural counties climb for fourth week straight, but urban infection rate is higher

New coronavirus infections, in ranges by county, May 2-8
Map by The Daily Yonder; click on the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

New coronavirus infections climbed in rural counties for the fourth week straight last week, but the infection rate remains at its lowest level since last summer. Meanwhile, the urban rate rose at a slightly higher pace, and is now twice as high as that of rural counties, The Daily Yonder reports.

Rural counties reported 33,300 new infections May 2-8, up 16 percent from the week before. "Over the past month, the weekly rate of new infections has doubled from about 36 new cases per 100,000 to 72 new infections per 100,000," Tim Marema reports. "Metropolitan counties reported 396,000 new infections last week, an increase of 18% from two weeks ago. In the past month, the metropolitan weekly infection rate has grown 80%."

Rural counties reported 476 deaths related to Covid-19 last week, nearly a third fewer than the previous week. Metro counties reported 1,989 Covid-related deaths, with the rate remaining steady, Marema reports. The rural death rate has been higher than the urban rate for more than a year.