As with real estate, location, location, location is often key to the likelihood of catching coronavirus and contracting COVID-19.
Raleigh, N.C. — The rate of new coronavirus cases in North Carolina has soared 400 percent in one month, fueled by the virus’ highly contagious Delta variant and the state’s lagging vaccination rate. The state added 8,105 cases on Friday, marking only the fourth time during the pandemic that more than 8,000 cases have been recorded on back-to-back days. The other three times were in early January, when the state saw what is still the peak of the pandemic. But as with real estate, location, location is often key to the likelihood of catching the virus and contracting COVID-19. Some areas have high vaccination rates and lower infection rates. In others, it’s the reverse. Robeson, Columbus and Duplin counties in southeastern North Carolina, for example, all rank in the top 10 statewide for least vaccinated and most new cases in last two weeks. Paul Delamater, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, decided to figure out the chances of meeting someone with COVID-19 anywhere in the state.
