The ongoing spread of the Delta variant is claiming lives and threatening a return to normalcy in the United States. So far, 605,780 Americans have died from the virus — more than the total number of Americans killed in World War I and World War II combined.
In the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton metropolitan area, located in Pennsylvania, a total of 1,369 deaths have been attributed to the virus, equal to 246 fatalities for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, 185 deaths have been attributed to the virus per 100,000 people.
The higher than average per capita COVID-19 death rate across the metro area is being driven by one area in particular.
The broader Scranton metro area comprises three counties or county equivalents — and of them, Luzerne County has had the most COVID-19 fatalities per capita. So far, the per capita coronavirus death rate in Luzerne County stands at 261 for every 100,000 people.
Though it has the highest per capita death rate in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton metro area, Luzerne County ranks among the middle 50% of all U.S. counties or county equivalents with at least one COVID-19 fatality by death rate per capita.
All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of July 28, 2021.
| Rank | Geography | Deaths per 100,000 people | Total deaths | Confirmed cases per 100,000 people | Total confirmed cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luzerne County, PA | 261 | 830 | 10,161 | 32,300 |
| 2 | Lackawanna County, PA | 229 | 485 | 8,830 | 18,672 |
| 3 | Wyoming County, PA | 196 | 54 | 7,333 | 2,023 |
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