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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, metro area consists of Catawba County, Burke County, Caldwell County, and one other county. In the past week, there were an average of 13.2 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Hickory residents, less than the national figure. The metro area’s average daily case growth in the most recent week is essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there was an average of 14.1 daily new cases per 100,000 Hickory residents.
The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in Alexander County. There were an average of 19.9 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Alexander County during the past week, the most of the four counties in Hickory with available data.
Case growth in the Hickory metro area varies at the county level. In Caldwell County, for example, there were an average of 9.9 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Hickory and more than the case growth rate in Alexander County.
While Alexander County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Hickory area, it does not have the highest incidence of cases overall. As of Apr. 12, there were a total of 11,326.7 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Alexander County, the second 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 Alexander County, unemployment peaked at 20.1% in April 2020. As of January 2021, the county’s unemployment rate was 5.2%.
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 | Alexander County | 37,213 | 19.9 | 33.5 | 11,326.7 | 220.4 |
| 2 | Catawba County | 157,613 | 14.3 | 14.5 | 11,686.2 | 187.2 |
| 3 | Burke County | 89,968 | 11.7 | 8.3 | 10,727.1 | 163.4 |
| 4 | Caldwell County | 81,884 | 9.9 | 10.9 | 11,033.9 | 124.6 |
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