News Flash

For Immediate Release

11/16/2020                        

Phone: 980-432-1800
Website: www.rowancountync.gov/covid-19
Email: covid-19@rowancountync.gov

Rowan County Case Information: https://bit.ly/rowan-covid19-hub

Join us at the Rowan County Health Department for COVID19 testing Monday through Friday from 10 AM - 2 PM

North Carolina Rural Communities Seeing Rapid Growth in COVID-19 Cases

Since September, new COVID-19 cases have been increasing faster in rural counties, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. 

“It’s particularly worrisome to see high rates of COVID spread in our rural counties as healthcare can be harder to access. Most rural hospitals are small, and some are already feeling stretched to their capacity limits,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D.

This report, which looked at data since the start of the pandemic, found that since September 2020: 

• Nearly twice as many new cases have been reported from rural counties compared to urban or suburban counties.
• The majority of cases in rural counties are increasingly white, non-Hispanic as compared with previous months. 
• COVID-19 related deaths in rural counties also increased significantly, and account for the majority of deaths statewide compared with deaths in urban and suburban counties. 
• Among deaths in rural counties, deaths among white, non-Hispanic and Black/African American cases have increased over time.
• The majority of COVID-19 cases in rural communities are in people 49 years and younger.
• The increase is being driven by community spread, not congregate living settings like nursing homes or jails.

The report can also be accessed at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard/reports. 

North Carolinians can slow the spread of COVID-19 by practicing the 3Ws every day! 

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Contact:
Amy Smith
704-216-8859
amy.smith@rowancountync.gov

Download Media Release COVID-19 - November 16, 2020 (PDF)