# Why is Covid positivity rate lower in the deep South than the rest of the country?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-covid-positivity-rate-lower-in-the-deep-south-than-the-rest-of-the-country/954685>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 20, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-covid-positivity-rate-lower-in-the-deep-south-than-the-rest-of-the-country/954685 "2021-11-20T19:23:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-covid-positivity-rate-lower-in-the-deep-south-than-the-rest-of-the-country/954685/21 "2021-11-22T19:05:22Z")

</div>

Also, keep in mind that climate and seasonal patterns differ from region to region. What we’re seeing this year is fairly similar, in its broad outlines, to what happened last year: a summer wave that hit Southern states the hardest, followed by a fall one that began in the inland northwest and spread outward from there (and then started _falling_ there while cases were still going up elsewhere in the country, a pattern that already seems to be repeating right now in places like Idaho and Montana). It could have to do with how much time people spend indoors vs. outdoors in different seasons (here in Mississippi, it’s currently 60 degrees and sunny), could be other environmental factors as well, but it’s not as simple as having a distinct respiratory virus season that is the same everywhere.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-covid-positivity-rate-lower-in-the-deep-south-than-the-rest-of-the-country/954685.md?page=1)