Rachel Maddow went digging through local news stories — to report on a tragic coronavirus trend

The host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC took a look at where COVID-19 deaths are occurring in America now that New York is no longer the country's epicenter.

"We're starting to see the American body count now, reflect rising death tolls everywhere else, after New York went first," she explained.

"It also does not take an epidemiological genius to see where exactly it is that most Americans are now being killed by this thing," she continued.

"It doesn't take any genius at all. It does take an internet connection and a willingness to subscribe to lots of local newspapers if you want to figure that out, because if you want to figure out where most Americans are dying now -- as American death tolls hit new highs -- it turns out the numbers are things you have to go look for," Maddow explained. "Those numbers are hidden in the local news, and sometimes now they're hidden on obscure state government web sites. but if you go looking, you can find it."

The host reviewed local news report in state after state, community after community, showing the shocking amount of deaths are occurring at long-term care facilities.

"It is one thing to have the data but what the data tells us is now we must act," she said.

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