Special Report

This is the County in the Lynchburg, VA Metro Area With the Least COVID-19

Samuel Stebbins

Published: September 10, 2021 5:00 am

With slowing vaccination rates and the emergence of the delta variant, COVID-19 continues to spread through the United States. To date, 39,893,580 Americans have been infected with the virus — and 635,606 have died as a result. On a per capita basis, the U.S. has one of the highest known infections rates in the world.

In the Lynchburg metropolitan area, located in Virginia, a total of 28,265 COVID-19 cases have been reported to date. Adjusted for population, there have been 10,843 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — below the national rate of 12,194 cases per 100,000 people.

The lower than average per capita COVID-19 infection rate across Lynchburg is being driven by one area in particular.

The broader Lynchburg metro area comprises five counties or county equivalents — and of them, Bedford County in Virginia has the fewest COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 7,935 infections in Bedford County, or 10,185 for every 100,000 people.

Not only does Bedford County have the lowest per capita infection rate in the Lynchburg metro area, it also has a relatively low per capita fatality rate.

There have been a total of 148 coronavirus-related deaths for every 100,000 people in Bedford County, below the 176 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Lynchburg metro area.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of Sept. 8, 2021.

These are all the counties in Virginia where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).