Coronavirus: What Parts of the U.S. Have the Fewest Cases (Think Alaska)?

April 20, 2020 Topic: Health Blog Brand: Coronavirus Tags: HealthEconomyCoronavirusAlaskaMaineVermont

Coronavirus: What Parts of the U.S. Have the Fewest Cases (Think Alaska)?

According to the CDC, as of Saturday, the U.S. states with the fewest reported coronavirus cases are all places with smaller populations, and with fewer large cities than most other states. Alaska has 314 cases, Wyoming has 423, Montana has 426, South Dakota has 528, Hawaii has 574, Vermont has 803, West Virginia has 825, and Maine has 847. All other states have at least 1,000 cases.

 

Coronavirus is wreaking havoc around the country and around the world, and it's frequently pointed that some areas-New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and parts of Florida and Georgia-are major hot spots for the virus.

But what parts of the U.S. have the least?

 

According to the CDC, as of Saturday, the U.S. states with the fewest reported coronavirus cases are all places with smaller populations, and with fewer large cities than most other states. Alaska has 314 cases, Wyoming has 423, Montana has 426, South Dakota has 528, Hawaii has 574, Vermont has 803, West Virginia has 825, and Maine has 847. All other states have at least 1,000 cases.

As of late last week, Wyoming had the fewest deaths, with two, followed by South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota and Alaska.

The U.S., as of Saturday, had 720,630 total cases, and 37,202 deaths, although some news reports Sunday placed the overall U.S. coronavirus death toll over the 40,000 mark.

New York has the most cases, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan and California. And while the virus has spread faster in urban areas, it's begun more recently to spread in the suburbs and in rural areas.

The numbers are released by each state's health department, and submitted to the CDC.

The states with low numbers, however, should not be treated as places where citizens are "safe" from coronavirus, although the level of spread will likely have an impact on how quickly those states can lift their lockdown orders.

The Guardian reported late last week that a town called Point Roberts, Wash., has managed to avoid the coronavirus epidemic, but mostly because it's so isolated. The town of 1,300 is part of the U.S. but is only connected by land to Canada. It can only be reached by plane, boat, or by crossing in by car from Canada, which requires two separate international border crossings. Restrictions, meanwhile, have made it much more difficult for travelers to cross the U.S./Canada border.

“Economically it’s hurting our community, as with any community that’s going through this at this point, but it is in a sense also protecting our community,” the town's fire chief, Christopher Carleton, told the newspaper.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons.