Rural Covid-19 deaths fell 3.5% last week, but metro-area deaths fell 16%, expanding that gap for fifth straight week

Newly reported coronavirus infections, in ranges by county, Sept. 6-12
Map by The Daily Yonder; click on the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

"Both rural and urban America had fewer Covid-19 deaths last week, but the disparity between the two death rates expanded for the fifth week in a row," Sarah Melotte reports for The Daily Yonder. "Rural Covid-related deaths declined by 3.5% last week while urban deaths fell by 16%. That left rural counties with a death rate of 1.32 per 100,000, nearly 60% higher than the urban rate." The cumulative rural death rate for the pandemic is 36% higher than the metro rate.

New coronavirus infections fell by 10% last week in rural counties, while the metro rate fell by 5.9%. That translates to a rural infection rate 20% higher than the urban rate, Melotte reports. Click here for more statistics and an interactive, county-level map from the Yonder.