Analysis

  ...  As coronavirus deaths soar across the country, deaths in communities that are home to colleges have risen faster than the rest of the nation, a New York Times analysis of 203 counties where students compose at least 10 percent of the population has found.

In late August and early September, as college students returned to campus and some institutions put into place rigorous testing programs, the number of reported infections surged. Yet because serious illness and death are rare among young coronavirus patients, it was unclear at the time whether the growth of infections on campus would translate into a major health crisis.

But since the end of August, deaths from the coronavirus have doubled in counties with a large college population, compared with a 58 percent increase in the rest of the nation. Few of the victims were college students, but rather older people and others living and working in the community.

Health officials and family members of some people who died in such counties described large surges of cases involving students followed by subsequent infections and deaths in the wider community.

Coronavirus Is Surging: How Severe Is Your State's Outbreak? View NPR's maps and graphics to see where COVID-19 is hitting hardest in the U.S., which state outbreaks are growing and which are leveling off. NPR.org

More than 15 million people in the U.S. have had confirmed coronavirus infections and more than 280,000 have died of COVID-19. Tens of thousands of new cases are reported daily nationwide. In the graphics (attached) , explore the trends in your state.

The darkest hour for America is still to come, experts say. What we do next is key. If Americans do not change their behavior quickly, experts warn, the weeks and months ahead will be filled with more death and despair, packed hospitals and unemployment lines. Daniel Arkin NBCNews

How was a microscopic virus able to bring the world’s richest and most powerful country to its knees?