After adding over 148,000 new cases on Apr. 12, the U.S. now has more than 30.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 550,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country.
New cases continue to rise at a steady rate. In the past week, there were an average of 20.7 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there were an average of 19.5 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.
While COVID-19 has spread to nearly every part of the country, cities continue to be the sites of major outbreaks. Experts agree that the virus is more likely to spread in group settings where large numbers of people routinely have close contact with one another, such as colleges, nursing homes, bars, and restaurants. Metropolitan areas with a high degree of connectivity between neighborhoods and a large population may be particularly at-risk.
In the 50 largest metro areas, the incidence of coronavirus grew at an average rate of 22.9 new cases a day per 100,000 residents in the past week — 14.3% greater than the case growth in all counties outside of metro areas.
The Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI, metro area consists of Kent County, Ottawa County, Montcalm County, and one other county. In the past week, there were an average of 62.5 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Grand Rapids residents, greater than the national figure. The metro area’s average daily case growth in the most recent week is an increase from the week prior, when there was an average of 44.1 daily new cases per 100,000 Grand Rapids residents.
The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Grand Rapids-Kentwood metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in Montcalm County. There were an average of 75.2 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Montcalm County during the past week, the most of the four counties in Grand Rapids with available data.
Case growth in the Grand Rapids metro area is relatively uniform at the county level. In Kent County, for example, there were an average of 57.4 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Grand Rapids yet relatively in line with the case growth rate in Montcalm County.
While Montcalm County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Grand Rapids area, it does not have the highest incidence of cases overall. As of Apr. 12, there were a total of 7,109.0 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Montcalm County, the fourth most of the four counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 9,498.2 cases per 100,000 Americans nationwide.
In order to slow the spread of COVID-19, city and county governments have ordered the closure of thousands of consumer-facing businesses. These measures have led to widespread job loss and record unemployment. In Montcalm County, unemployment peaked at 26.6% in April 2020. As of January 2021, the county’s unemployment rate was 7.0%.
To determine the county in every metropolitan area where COVID-19 is growing the fastest, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked counties according to the average number of new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the seven days ending Apr. 12. To estimate the incidence of COVID-19 at the metropolitan level, we aggregated data up from the county level using boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates. Unemployment data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is not seasonally adjusted.
| Rank in MSA | County | Population | New daily cases per 100,000, week ending Apr. 12 | New daily cases per 100,000, week ending Apr. 5 | Cumulative cases per 100,000 | Cumulative deaths per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montcalm County | 63,413 | 75.2 | 46.4 | 7,109.0 | 146.7 |
| 2 | Ottawa County | 286,558 | 72.0 | 52.6 | 9,361.8 | 131.6 |
| 3 | Ionia County | 64,300 | 58.7 | 34.1 | 7,726.3 | 115.1 |
| 4 | Kent County | 648,121 | 57.4 | 41.1 | 9,318.0 | 117.1 |
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