Rural counties have seen record-breaking numbers of new Covid-19 cases for the last four days in a row.
The streak started on Tuesday, June 23, when there were 3,885 new cases of Covid-19 in nonmetropolitan, or rural, counties. The figure climbed each day, reaching 4,550 new cases on Friday, June 26.
The previous record for new Covid-19 cases on a single day in nonmetropolitan counties was set on June 12, when there were 3,655 new infections.
The rise in new cases of Covid-19 in rural counties is part of the national uptick in infections. Rural cases are rising at a slightly faster rate than the national average. In the last week, June 20-26, the cumulative number of rural infections climbed by 11.9%. Nationally, cases were up 9.5% for that period.
The rate of increase is greatest in midsized metropolitan areas (metros with populations of 500,000 to under 1 million). Those counties had an increase of 13.9% June 20-26.For our most recent county-level map of new infections, see our June 26 article.