This Is The County In The Fayetteville, NC Metro Area Where COVID-19 Is Growing The Fastest

Raleigh NC

14 August, 2021

11:34 AM

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By Evan Comen, 24/7 Wall St. Raleigh 2021-08-14 After adding over 883,000 new cases throughout the last week, the U.S. now has more than 35.9 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 610,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country. New cases continue to rise at a faster rate. In the past week, there were an average of 33.9 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — an increase from the week prior, when there were an average of 25.9 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. The Fayetteville, NC, metro area consists of Cumberland County, Harnett County, and Hoke County. In the past week, there were an average of 41.6 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Fayetteville residents, greater 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 36.8 daily new cases per 100,000 Fayetteville residents. The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Fayetteville metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in Harnett County. There were an average of 44.2 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Harnett County during the past week, the most of the three counties in Fayetteville with available data. Case growth in the Fayetteville metro area is relatively uniform at the county level. In Hoke County, for example, there were an average of 38.6 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Fayetteville yet relatively in line with the case growth rate in Harnett County. While Harnett County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Fayetteville area, it does not have the highest incidence of cases overall. As of August 12, there were a total of 10,080.7 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Harnett County, the third most of the three counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 11,074.2 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 Harnett County, unemployment peaked at 12.2% in May 2020. As of April 2021, the county's unemployment rate was 4.7%. 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 August 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. These are all the counties in North Carolina where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it's still getting worse). Can't see the article's infographic? Click here to view the original story.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.