Where In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA Metro Area Where COVID-19 Is Growing The Slowest

Atlanta GA

06 April, 2021

3:39 PM

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By Evan Comen, 24/7 Wall St. Atlanta 2021-04-05 After adding over 61,000 new cases on Mar. 31, the U.S. now has more than 30,000,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 540,000 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 17.4 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there were an average of 16.2 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 different 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 19.3 new cases a day per 100,000 residents in the past week — 14.5% greater than the case growth in all counties outside of metro areas. The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA, metro area consists of Fulton County, Gwinnett County, DeKalb County, and 26 other counties. In the past week, there were an average of 17.1 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Atlanta residents, in line with 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 were an average of 14.9 daily new cases per 100,000 Atlanta residents. The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metro area, COVID-19 is growing the slowest in Heard County. There were an average of 6.4 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Heard County during the past week, the least of the 29 counties in Atlanta with available data. Case growth in the Atlanta metro area varies widely at the county level. In Butts County, for example, there were an average of 28.2 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the most of any county in Atlanta and far more than the case growth rate in Heard County. Just as Heard County has the slowest case growth in the Atlanta area, it also has the lowest incidence of cases overall. As of Mar. 31, there were a total of 7,063.7 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Heard County, the fewest of the 29 counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 9,248.6 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 Heard County, unemployment peaked at 14.5% in April 2020. As of January 2021, the county's unemployment rate was 5.0%. To determine the county in every metropolitan area where COVID-19 is growing the slowest, 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 Mar. 31. To estimate the incidence of COVID-19 at the metropolitan level, we aggregated data 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. These are all the counties in Georgia where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it's still getting worse). Rank: Geography: COVID cases per 100,000 people: Total cases: Deaths per 100,000 people: Total deaths: 1 Heard County 7,099 829 154 18 2 Fayette County 7,646 8,515 140 156 3 Rockdale County 8,050 7,165 180 160 4 DeKalb County 8,219 61,080 125 932 5 Haralson County 8,730 2,528 273 79 6 Clayton County 8,855 24,677 153 426 7 Fulton County 8,947 91,428 123 1,261 8 Meriwether County 9,047 1,910 355 75 9 Spalding County 9,119 5,902 277 179 10 Carroll County 9,396 10,902 194 225 11 Forsyth County 9,547 20,991 77 169 12 Coweta County 9,632 13,534 137 192 13 Newton County 9,689 10,319 208 222 14 Cobb County 9,892 73,698 132 984 15 Jasper County 9,910 1,366 276 38 16 Douglas County 10,025 14,219 142 202 17 Paulding County 10,081 15,711 129 201 18 Pickens County 10,518 3,243 240 74 19 Lamar County 10,522 1,948 292 54 20 Henry County 10,666 23,604 134 297 21 Gwinnett County 10,704 96,586 117 1,055 22 Morgan County 11,105 2,025 154 28 23 Walton County 11,267 10,155 271 244 24 Pike County 11,896 2,151 199 36 25 Butts County 12,034 2,858 328 78 26 Cherokee County 12,139 29,365 122 296 27 Dawson County 12,166 2,903 163 39 28 Barrow County 12,291 9,450 165 127 29 Bartow County 13,382 13,866 207 214 This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.