More than half the state's COVID-19 deaths in October were in rural counties, not the population centers.
THE S&P CLOSING AT A RECORD HIGH AFTER GAINING 48 POINTS. >>> STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS NOTED YESTERDAY COVID IS AGAIN ON THE RISE. THIS TIME AND RURAL NORTH CAROLINA AND IN FACT, THE DATA TRACKERS FOUND MOST OF THE DEATHS IN THE STATE LAST MONTH WERE NOT IN URBAN OR SUBURBAN AREAS, BUT RURAL. TRAVIS JOINS US WITH A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. >> Reporter: IS A CHARGE FOR THE STATE PERFORMANCE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES IS PRETTY STARK. YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE LINES AT THE NORTH CAROLINA RURAL COUNTIES. THE ORANGE THAT IS SUBURBAN AND THE GRAY IS THE SIXTH THE BIG URBAN COUNTIES. YOU CAN SEE AROUND EARLY SEPTEMBER WE CROSSED THE THRESHOLD. FOR THE FIRST TIME MORE THAN HALF OF THE COVID RELATED THAT HAPPENED IN RURAL COUNTIES INSTEAD OF THE STATES POPULATION CENTERS. THIS ISN'T BEING DRIVEN BY OUTBREAKS AT NURSING HOMES OR PRISONS WAS ORIGINALLY REFERRED TO AS CONGREGANT SETTINGS. IT IS COMMUNITY SPREAD AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE CHART. IT SHOWS RURAL COUNTIES, JUST RURAL COUNTIES AND THE LIGHT BLUE CASE IS ENTITLED TO NURSING HOMES, CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND THE LIKE. WE CAN SEE FROM THIS CHART THE BRAKES ON CASES BY RACE AND ETHNICITY. CASES HAVE MOVED FROM BEING PREDOMINATELY IN THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY TO LARGELY IN THE WAY TO COMMUNITY COMEDY LIGHT BLUE BARS. DEATHS IN THE RURAL AREAS OR FOLLOW THE TREND AS WELL. STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS ALSO TELL US THE MAJORITY OF TRINITY CASES IN THE RURAL PARTS OF NORTH CAROLINA RIGHT NOW USUALLY PEOPLE AGED 49 AND YOUNGER. THE UPSHOT HERE IS THAT THE AREAS ARE SPARED EARLIER IN THE POTOMAC BOOK COVID IS IN FULL FORCE ALL OVER THE STATE AS WE MOVE INTO THE COLDER MONTHS. >>> YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHICH COUNTIES IN OUR AREA ARE CONSIDERED URBAN, SUBURBAN, AND RURAL, AS YOU CAN SEE. WAKE AND ANTRIM COUNTY IS CONSIDERED URBAN. AND ALL OF THE OTHER COUNTIES INCLUDING POPULIST, JOHNSTON
