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mfcorey1

(11,001 posts)
Fri May 1, 2020, 07:24 AM May 2020

Coronavirus outbreak spreading farther into rural America

The coronavirus that has infected more than a million Americans is increasingly moving into rural areas in search of new victims, as nearly one-third of the nation's counties experienced widespread transmission over the last week.

A new analysis by the Brookings Institute demographer William Frey shows the virus spreading to new areas in almost every state in the country. But its spread is now more concentrated in smaller towns, rural areas and exurban areas that had previously been untouched.

The coronavirus outbreak began as a largely urban phenomenon. A little more than 80 percent of the counties that were seeing a high prevalence of the virus by the end of March were urban cores, and only about 4 percent were composed mainly of small towns and rural areas.

But that ratio has changed as the virus has spread beyond city borders. In the last week, almost a third of the counties experiencing high prevalence for the first time are rural or smaller communities, while just a quarter are urban cores.

The people living in these counties are 62 percent white, a shift from the end of March when counties with high prevalence were 48 percent white.

Much of the growth in rural areas comes in places where people are forced into higher-density situations. Prisons and meat-packing plants have suffered outbreaks in recent days.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/coronavirus-outbreak-spreading-farther-into-rural-america/ar-BB13qVkD?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

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Coronavirus outbreak spreading farther into rural America (Original Post) mfcorey1 May 2020 OP
No. Nope. Not a chance. PCIntern May 2020 #1
A link to the analysis UpInArms May 2020 #2
Does not surprise me in the least Squidly May 2020 #3
Will we now see reports on how it is disproportionately targeting white people? jmg257 May 2020 #4
And it will continue. AirmensMom May 2020 #5
"In search or new victims" forthemiddle May 2020 #6
Rural area's are going to be harder hit, I think. OAITW r.2.0 May 2020 #8
Do these numbers have something do to with the meat plants? Rae May 2020 #7
Kick Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin May 2020 #9

PCIntern

(25,556 posts)
1. No. Nope. Not a chance.
Fri May 1, 2020, 07:39 AM
May 2020

It’s all bullshit. All of it. There was no pandemic. It’s a Democrat Hoax. And even if it were true, it can’t happen because they are praying it away. God wouldn’t permit it to happen, because, critically, they voted for Trump.

just in case...

UpInArms

(51,284 posts)
2. A link to the analysis
Fri May 1, 2020, 08:12 AM
May 2020
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/04/29/covid-19-is-expanding-further-into-trump-country/

The most recent week reported here, April 20 to April 26, reflects the broad expansion of high COVID-19 prevalence status for suburban, smaller, and nonmetropolitan counties in large parts of the Midwest and South. Notable swaths of such high-prevalence counties are evident in Kansas, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana in the Midwest as well as a span of southern states that includes Virginia, Florida, and Texas, among others.



Eta:

An indicator of how this coronavirus spread has impacted Trump country is the rise in the number of high COVID-19 prevalence counties between March 30 and April 26 that voted for Trump over Clinton in 2016. As Table 2 shows, 639 of the 901 counties newly designated as high-prevalence counties voted for Trump. Of these 639 Trump-winning counties, 486 are located in small and nonmetropolitan areas, and only four are urban cores. The largest numbers of these counties are located in the states of Georgia (80), Louisiana (45), and Mississippi (45). Yet a significant number of them are in swing states Michigan (21), Pennsylvania (19), and Florida (18), as well as the near-swing-state of Texas (32).

Squidly

(783 posts)
3. Does not surprise me in the least
Fri May 1, 2020, 08:38 AM
May 2020

With all the blatant disregard for social distancing recommendations that I see out here on a daily basis.

Back yard parties and bbq's, zero respect for peoples space in grocery and convenience stores, maybe 20% of people wearing masks, the list goes on and on.

Its the "it wont happen here" mentality. And now with our governor pushing for a reopening of businesses even though we (Iowa) are seeing crazy new case numbers and deaths on a daily basis, its only going to get worse...much worse.

AirmensMom

(14,643 posts)
5. And it will continue.
Fri May 1, 2020, 09:09 AM
May 2020

I know dentists and hairdressers are going back to work here next week. I know because I had appointments and they wanted to know if I was going to come. HELL NO!!! But plenty of people will.

My husband has been good about staying home except for grocery shopping, which he does with mask and gloves. But he had to THINK about whether or not he would go for his haircut next week! I mean, WTAF???? Finally he decided not to. But if the book club or his other club goes back, he will too. Then we'll both die.

I am grateful that our daughter's university will not be holding graduation, although they are getting together a virtual graduation for everyone to attend. I like that idea! I'm so glad they're being smart about it. And whether the state is open or not, summer classes will be held via Zoom. She'll be teaching one, so you can bet Mom is relieved.

Make no mistake about it: It's bad, but it will get worse because we, as a country, are too goddamn impatient.

forthemiddle

(1,381 posts)
6. "In search or new victims"
Fri May 1, 2020, 09:22 AM
May 2020

The first line of the article says it all.

The question isn’t how many, or where people are becoming infected, the question has to be can hospitals handle them yet.

Remember, the lockdown was never about stopping the spread, it was slowing the spread. This is a virus with no cure, or no vaccine. There is no way, we as a social society can wait it out.

I don’t know when we should reopen, I just know that whether we do it now, or in one month the virus will continue to spread. I also know that every day there are more, and more tests being performed (here in Indiana you no longer need a Doctor’s prescription for one), so obviously the numbers are going to increase. The infected number shouldn’t be our gauge, but rather the hospitalization rate.

OAITW r.2.0

(24,504 posts)
8. Rural area's are going to be harder hit, I think.
Fri May 1, 2020, 10:04 AM
May 2020

There are far fewer local hospitals in the rural areas of this country today as many have closed and consolidated into regional hospitals. Beds and staffing to care for these populations are going to be far more of a factor on the outcomes for those that contract this virus in the rural areas of this country.

I live in a rural area and went to Wal-Mart yesterday. Way more than 1/2 of the shoppers were wearing masks/scarves. I would expect that many are Trump voters who get their "news" from Fox. So they are being insulated from the reality of this pandemic. Sucks to be them.

 

Rae

(84 posts)
7. Do these numbers have something do to with the meat plants?
Fri May 1, 2020, 09:46 AM
May 2020

Aren't they mostly in rural areas? There are some large numbers there.

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