Limited testing may create undercounts, but isolation also seems to play a role in keeping the dwindling list of American places virus-free.
In just four months, the deadly COVID-19 virus has infiltrated every state and major U.S. city. But a scattering of remote counties continue without a single reported case, according to a USA TODAY analysis.The list is getting shorter by the day, though. In the first half of May alone, 40 counties went from zero recorded cases of the virus to at least one.
Local officials in counties without reported infections also point to another factor: The counties they live in are overwhelmingly rural, with isolated, sparse populations. More than 90% of such counties are rural, with a majority of residents living outside a city or large town. Most had five or fewer homes per square mile, and their populations averaged about 5,000.
Jones studies how infectious diseases spread. In Wisconsin, four rural counties have remained case-free, yet plenty of other rural counties have not. “It wasn’t a matter of if it was going to happen, but when,” said Lori Boyen, chair of the Glascock County Board of Commissioners. News of the initial infections in Georgia’s last two case-free counties brought a more urgent call to action. Last week, officials began hosting drive-thru testing sites at Glascock County and Taliaferro County schools.
Phil Harrison, the owner of Harrison Farm & Home supply, a True Value hardware store in town, did only curbside service for five weeks, despite being considered an essential business by the state. Kirschke said isolation and precautions by residents seem to have made a difference. He noted that cellphone tracking data gave Hancock County residents the highest grade in the state for limiting their travel during the pandemic.
Even after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds lifted sanctions on some counties that had fewer reported cases of the virus, Corning restaurant owners almost uniformly chose to keep their doors shut to dine-in customers, said Adams Community Chamber director Marti Gebbie. Even as business owners stay vigilant, Adams County Emergency Management Director Bill Lyddon has resigned himself to thinking that there will be cases in the county.
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