New rural coronavirus infections fell more than 40% last week and deaths fell 6% as Omicron surge retreats - Entrepreneur Generations

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 over the week of Feb. 6-12 to its lowest level since the beginning 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."

Rural Covid-related deaths, meanwhile, 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.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/aDZ6KtG New rural coronavirus infections fell more than 40% last week and deaths fell 6% as Omicron surge retreats - Entrepreneur Generations

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