Rates of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the most affected U.S. counties June 9, 2020

The counties of Trousdale and Lake – both in Tennessee – had the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the United States as of June 9, 2020. Dakota, Nobles, and Lincoln also ranked among the U.S. counties with the highest number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.

Coronavirus hits the East Coast

In the United States, the novel coronavirus had infected around 5.4 million people and had caused nearly 170,000 deaths by mid-August 2020. The densely populated states of New York and New Jersey were at the epicenter of the outbreak in the country. New York City, which is composed of five counties, was one of the most severely impacted regions. However, the true level of transmission is likely to be much higher because many people will be asymptomatic or suffer only mild symptoms that are not diagnosed.

All states are in crisis

The first coronavirus case in the U.S. was confirmed in the state of Washington in mid-January 2020. At the time, it was unclear how the virus was spreading; we now know that close contact with an infected person and breathing in their respiratory droplets is the primary mode of transmission. It is no surprise that the four states with the most coronavirus cases are those with the highest populations: New York, Texas, Florida, and California. However, Louisiana was the state with the highest COVID-19 infection rate per 100,000 people as of August 24, 2020.