These Are the Counties In the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area Where COVID-19 Is Growing the Slowest

After adding over 1,660,000 new cases throughout the last week, the U.S. now has more than 76.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 900,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country.

New cases continue to rise, albeit at a slowing rate. In the past week, there were an average of 99.0 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — a decrease from the week prior, when there were an average of 165.5 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.

The Memphis, TN-MS-AR, metro area consists of Shelby County, DeSoto County, Tipton County, and five other counties. In the past week, there were an average of 72.7 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Memphis residents, less than 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 were an average of 158.2 daily new cases per 100,000 Memphis residents.

The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Memphis metro area, COVID-19 is growing the slowest in Shelby County. There were an average of 49.0 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Shelby County during the past week, the least of the eight counties in Memphis with available data.

Case growth in the Memphis metro area varies widely at the county level. In Marshall County, for example, there were an average of 215.8 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the most of any county in Memphis and far more than the case growth rate in Shelby County.

Just as Shelby County has the slowest case growth in the Memphis area, it also has the lowest incidence of cases overall. As of February 10, there were a total of 24,036.8 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Shelby County, the fewest of the eight counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 23,544.4 cases per 100,000 Americans nationwide.

The pandemic has led to the closure of thousands of consumer-facing businesses around the country. These changes have led to widespread job loss and record unemployment. These changes have led to widespread job loss and record unemployment. In Shelby County, unemployment peaked at 14.8% in July 2020. As of June 2021, the county’s unemployment rate was 8.0%.

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 February 10. 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 Tennessee where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).