The Hill
Rural communities with vacation homes are experiencing outbreaks of the coronavirus at a faster pace than rural areas without seasonal housing, according to a new study, suggesting residents of big cities who flee to the countryside are bringing the virus with them.
The survey found that in rural counties where more than 25 percent of the housing units are inhabited only part time, the average number of COVID-19 cases per capita is more than twice as high as the number of cases in counties where a greater percentage of the population lives there year-round.
Rural communities with high levels of vacation homes even have higher rates of infection than urban counties.