The highest infection rates in localities marked black or gray; the lowest in green. Courtesy of The Daily Yonder

COVID-19 infections, which had been going down through the fall, are rising again in Virginia, and elsewhere. Twelve localities in Virginia now have infection rates higher than 400 per 100,000 population and all 12 are west of the Blue Ridge, according to federal data analyzed by The Daily Yonder, a website that covers rural issues. For the week ending Dec. 11, the locality with the highest infection rate in Virginia was Salem. However, the locality with the lowest infection rate was also west of the Blue Ridge — Covington.

Here are the localities that have infection rates higher than 400 per 100,000:

  1. Salem 624.5, up from 411.1
  2. Dickenson County 509.8, up from 433.0
  3. Norton 552.6, up from 427.0
  4. Washington County 519.2, up from 444.7
  5. Frederick County 474.7, up from 324.7
  6. Shenandoah County 465.4, up from 321.0
  7. Russell County 458.9, up from 327.2
  8. Page County 439.3, up from 246.8
  9. Clarke County 417.3, up from 266.8
  10. Floyd County 412.7, up from 146.0
  11. Grayson County 411.6, up from 263.7
  12. Craig County 409.3, up from 331.3

Here are the localities that have infection rates under 100 per 100,000:

  1. Covington 18.1, down from 216.7
  2. Manassas Park 28.6, unchanged
  3. Emporia 56.1, up from 18.7
  4. Fairfax (city) 70.8, up from 20.8
  5. Brunswick County 86.3, up from 49.3
  6. Surry County 93.4, down from 109.0
  7. Nottoway County 98.5, up from 52.5

You can look up every locality in the country on The Daily Yonder’s interactive map. The Virginia Department of Health has more updated numbers here. Generally speaking, infection rates are highest where vaccination rates are lowest. The Ballad Health system reported this week that 91% of those hospitalized for covid aren’t vaccinated.