04/06/2020
Rural Health Policy Analysis: COVID-19 Rural Data Brief
RUPRI submission on 4/3/20
While much of the COVID-19 focus has been on major metropolitan areas, rural areas of the United States are not free of exposure. As of April 1, 2020, there were a total of 234,040 cases and 5,398 deaths identified in counties (data provided by USAFacts.org), with 8,866 cases and 206 deaths (about 3.8 percent of both) reported in non-metropolitan counties. But as many experts have pointed out, the rate of growth in cases is very different depending on location. Further, the stress on the health care delivery system is proportionate – a small number of cases creates stress for low capacity systems just as a large volume of cases creates stress for larger capacity systems.
