Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 10, 2020

Geographic Differences in COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, and Incidence — United States, February 12–April 7, 2020

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  • This MMWR report includes geographic differences in COVID-19 cases, deaths, and changes in incidence in the US, with cumulative incidence ranging widely from 20.6 to 915.3 cases per 100,000 population. These differences likely reflect a combination of jurisdiction-specific epidemiologic and population-level factors, including 1) the timing of COVID-19 introductions; 2) population density; 3) age distribution and prevalence of underlying medical conditions among COVID-19 patients (1–3); 4) the timing and extent of community mitigation measures; 5) diagnostic testing capacity; and 6) public health reporting practices
  • The article highlights the importance of monitoring jurisdiction-level numbers of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and changes in incidence to understand community risk and to make decisions about community mitigation, including social distancing, and strategic health care resource allocation.

Bialek et al. (Apr 10, 2020). Geographic Differences in COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, and Incidence — United States, February 12–April 7, 2020. MMWR. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/mm6915e4-H.pdf