NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — An analysis published in the New York Times on Jan. 26 found that in a majority of U.S. counties, residents are at extremely high risk of contracting COVID-19 this winter.
This data is based of off coronavirus case and testing data by The New York Times and public health experts.
"Extremely high risk" counties are those that more than 640 cases per 100,000 people have been reported during the past two weeks. It is important to note that a county with fewer cases might also be in this category "if more than 10 percent of tests had a positive result over the past two weeks." This suggests that a county may not be testing enough and thus the numbers are undercounted.
The Times notes that an average of more than 3,000 coronavirus deaths per day were reported in January.
The newspaper also noted that this winter, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is much higher than at the beginning of the fall. At that time, the majority of U.S. counties were at very high risk level, while many were at a medium or high level.
In addition to this analysis, the Times also provides guidance in the article on how to protect yourself and others. For counties at extremely high risk - which is most of them - residents are advised to avoid non-essential travel, indoor activities, and events with "more than a handful of people."
Also in addition to this analysis, the Times published "county-specific guidance for common activities" so that people can lower their personal risk of contracting COVID-19. This advice was developed with the help of pubic health experts at Johns Hopkins University and Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. It will be updated regularly.
The Times quoted Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the president and C.E.O. of Resolve to Save Lives.
"Providing transparent, real time information about what people’s risks are is empowering,” he said. "You want to know how hard it’s raining COVID.”
Counties in WPMT's coverage area - York, Lancaster, Adams, Franklin, Juniata, Lebanon, Dauphin, Mifflin, Cumberland, Perry - are all at extremely high risk, according to the Times' data.