Special Report

These Are the Counties in the Columbus, GA-AL Metro Area With the Least COVID-19

Samuel Stebbins

Published: May 18, 2022 4:30 am

Since the first case of the omicron variant was detected in the U.S., new daily cases of COVID-19 have hit new highs. To date, 81,519,474 Americans are confirmed to have been infected with the virus — and over 1 million 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 Columbus metropolitan area, which covers parts of Georgia and Alabama, a total of 63,441 COVID-19 cases have been reported to date. Adjusted for population, there have been 20,616 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — below the national rate of 24,917 cases per 100,000 people.

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

The broader Columbus metro area comprises five counties or county equivalents — and of them, Russell County in Alabama has the fewest COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 10,111 confirmed infections in Russell County, or 17,369 for every 100,000 people.

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

There have been a total of 160 coronavirus-related deaths for every 100,000 people in Russell County, below the 358 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Columbus metro area.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of May 16, 2022.

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