These Are The Counties In The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area Where COVID-19 Is Growing The Fastest

Detroit MI

01 November, 2021

1:39 PM

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By Evan Comen, 24/7 Wall St. Detroit 2021-11-01 After adding over 499,000 new cases throughout the last week, the U.S. now has more than 45.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 730,000 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 23.5 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there were an average of 27.1 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, metro area consists of Wayne County, Oakland County, Macomb County, and three other counties. In the past week, there were an average of 22.3 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Detroit residents, in line with the national figure. The metro area's average daily case growth in the most recent week is a decrease from the week prior, when there was an average of 33.7 daily new cases per 100,000 Detroit residents. The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in Livingston County. There were an average of 54.8 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Livingston County during the past week, the most of the six counties in Detroit with available data. Case growth in the Detroit metro area varies at the county level. In Wayne County, for example, there were an average of 27.8 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Detroit and more than the case growth rate in Livingston County. While Livingston County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Detroit area, it does not have the highest incidence of cases overall. As of October 28, there were a total of 12,092.5 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Livingston County, the fourth most of the six counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 13,970.5 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 Livingston County, unemployment peaked at 21.6% in April 2020. As of June 2021, the county's unemployment rate was 3.1%. 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 October 28. 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 Michigan 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.