Special Report
These Are the Counties in the Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area Where COVID-19 Is Growing the Fastest
Published:
After adding over 718,000 new cases throughout the last week, the U.S. now has more than 34.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 600,000 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 22.8 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — an increase from the week prior, when there were an average of 17.1 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 Macon-Bibb County, GA, metro area consists of Bibb County, Jones County, Monroe County, and two other counties. In the past week, there were an average of 29.0 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Macon residents, greater than the national figure. The metro area’s average daily case growth in the most recent week is an increase from the week prior, when there was an average of 12.2 daily new cases per 100,000 Macon residents.
The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Macon-Bibb County metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in Bibb County. There were an average of 33.0 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Bibb County during the past week, the most of the five counties in Macon with available data.
Case growth in the Macon metro area varies at the county level. In Jones County, for example, there were an average of 14.4 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Macon and more than the case growth rate in Bibb County.
Just as Bibb County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Macon area, it also has the highest incidence of cases overall. As of August 3, there were a total of 11,099.2 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Bibb County, the most of the five counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 10,721.2 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 Bibb County, unemployment peaked at 12.0% in April 2020. As of April 2021, the county’s unemployment rate was 4.9%.
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 3. 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 August. 3 | New daily cases per 100,000, week ending July. 27 | Cumulative cases per 100,000 | Cumulative deaths per 100,000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bibb County | 153,200 | 33.0 | 14.8 | 11,099.2 | 304.8 |
2 | Crawford County | 12,325 | 27.0 | 10.4 | 5,793.1 | 170.4 |
3 | Monroe County | 27,171 | 23.7 | 6.2 | 10,367.7 | 386.4 |
4 | Twiggs County | 8,229 | 23.6 | 9.4 | 9,332.8 | 571.2 |
5 | Jones County | 28,579 | 14.4 | 5.4 | 7,509.0 | 213.4 |
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