MINOT, N.D. – After adding over 44,000 new cases on May 6, the U.S. now has more than 32.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 570,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country.
New cases continue to rise at a steady rate. In the past week, there were an average of 15.3 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there were an average of 16.8 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 Bismarck, ND, metro area consists of Burleigh County, Morton County, and Oliver County. In the past week, there were an average of 19.7 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Bismarck residents, in line with the national figure. The metro area’s average daily case growth in the most recent week is essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there was an average of 20.5 daily new cases per 100,000 Bismarck residents.
The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Bismarck metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in Burleigh County. There were an average of 20.0 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Burleigh County during the past week, the most of the three counties in Bismarck with available data.
Case growth in the Bismarck metro area varies at the county level. In Oliver County, for example, there were an average of 11.1 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Bismarck and more than the case growth rate in Burleigh County.
While Burleigh County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Bismarck area, it does not have the highest incidence of cases overall. As of May 6, there were a total of 16,423.2 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Burleigh County, the second most of the three counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 9,907.0 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 Burleigh County, unemployment peaked at 9.3% in April 2020. As of March 2021, the county’s unemployment rate was 4.1%.
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 May 6. 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.
