Five States Where Coronavirus Cases Are Rising Fastest

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have surpassed 6.8 million, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). At least a handful of states in the Midwest and the southern part of the country have reported a rise in new cases per capita (100,000 people) in the latest two-week period.

Here we take a closer look at the five states that have seen the largest increase in new cases per capita over the past week, from the previous seven days, according to data compiled by The New York Times. All population data below from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Wisconsin

Week-to-week change in new cases per capita: 4,775

• New cases per capita in week one: 13,092
• New cases per capita in week two: 8,317
• Total population: 5,822,434 (as of July 2019)
• Total confirmed cases: 108,656

Average daily new cases in Wisconsin mostly flattened out from late March to mid-June, before increasing on a sharper incline through late July. The average daily case count then slightly flattened out again before rising sharply from early September through the rest of the month, according to the latest report Tuesday from JHU.

Utah

Week-to-week change in new cases per capita: 2,721

• New cases per capita in week one: 5,953
• New cases per capita in week two: 3,232
• Total population: 3,205,958 (as of July 2019)
• Total confirmed cases: 64,404

Average daily new cases in Utah remained mostly flat from late March to late May, before mostly increasing on a sharp incline through mid-July. The average daily case count mostly declined through mid-August before briefly flattening out through early September and increasing sharply through the rest of September, according to the latest report Tuesday by JHU.

Tennessee

Week-to-week change in new cases per capita: 2,506

• New cases per capita in week one: 10,227
• New cases per capita in week two: 7,721
• Total population: 6,829,174 (as of July 2019)
• Total confirmed cases: 181,725

Average daily new cases in Tennessee remained mostly flat from late March to late May, before mostly rising on a sharp incline through July 27, when the average daily case count peaked at 2,749. The figure mostly dipped from then through early September before rising sharply through late September, according to the latest figures from JHU.

South Dakota

Week-to-week change in new cases per capita: 539

• New cases per capita in week one: 2,068
• New cases per capita in week two: 1,529
• Total population: 884,659 (as of July 2019)
• Total confirmed cases: 18,869

The average daily case count in South Dakota has remained mostly flat from mid-May to early August, after which it mostly rose on a sharp incline until August 28, when it peaked at 457. The figure sharply declined through early September before sharply increasing again through late September, according to the latest report Tuesday by JHU.

North Dakota

Week-to-week change in new cases per capita: 468

• New cases per capita in week one: 2,413
• New cases per capita in week two: 1,945
• Total population: 762,062 (as of July 2019)
• Total confirmed cases: 18,247

Average daily new cases in North Dakota mostly flattened out from late March to late June, before mostly rising on a sharp incline through September, peaking at 425 on September 18, according to the latest report Tuesday by JHU.

The wider picture

The novel coronavirus has infected over 31.3 million people across the globe since it was first reported in Wuhan, China. Over 965,700 have died following infection, while more than 21.5 million have reportedly recovered as of Tuesday, according to JHU.

The graphic below, provided by Statista, illustrates U.S. states with the most COVID-19 cases.

The below graphic, also provided by Statista, illustrates the percentage of Americans who do or don't want COVID-19 restrictions to be relaxed in the country.

The graphics below, also provided by Statista, illustrate the spread of COVID-19 cases in counties across the globe.

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