Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.Lately, a lot of health and elected officials have been using one term an awful lot: positivity rate.That's the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested. This is an important limitation to the data that is available to track testing in the U.S., and states should work to address it.When states report testing numbers for COVID-19 infection, they should not include serology or antibody tests. The positivity rate is not the same as the proportion of COVID-19 cases in the American population at large, a metric called “prevalence.” * Nobody knows the true number of … From social distancing and self-quarantine to a new take on sheltering in place, our coronavirus vocabulary expands almost daily. It is a good indicator to assess the prevalence of the … New York had a positivity rate of more than 40 percent, with 11,000 new cases per day. If a community’s positivity is high, it suggests that that community may largely be testing the sickest patients and possibly missing milder or … States that wish to track the number of serology tests being performed should report those numbers separately from viral tests performed to diagnose COVID-19.This graph shows the total daily number of virus tests conducted in each state and of those tests, how many were positive each day. States that meet the WHO’s recommended criteria appear in green, while the states that are not testing enough to meet the positivity benchmark are in orange.This website is a resource to help advance the understanding of the virus, inform the public, and brief policymakers in order to guide a response, improve care, and save lives.Ethics of Digital Contact Tracing: Principles. ST. LOUIS — Missouri's positivity rate decreased for the first time since Aug. 23 even though the state reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row. This is an important limitation to the data that is available to track testing in the U.S., and states should work to address it.When states report testing numbers for COVID-19 infection, they should not include serology or antibody tests. States that wish to track the number of serology tests being performed should report those numbers separately from viral tests performed to diagnose COVID-19.If a positivity rate is too high, that may indicate that the state is only testing the sickest patients who seek medical attention, and is not casting a wide enough net to know how much of the virus is spreading within its communities. A low rate of positivity in testing data can be seen as a sign that a state has sufficient testing capacity for the size of their outbreak and is testing enough of its population to make informed decisions about reopening. Its 14-day average was 22% that day.A lot of officials, such as Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, point to a rising positivity rate to counter arguments that the increase in case numbers is simply the result of more people being tested.While a 0% positivity rate would be ideal, Miami-Dade County's goal is to get it back below 10%, where it was two weeks ago, Gimenez said.Los Angeles County, another Covid-19 hotspot, on Tuesday reported its positivity rate had.To find the positivity rate in your area, check your state and county health department websites.Doctor: Covid-19 is 'out of control' in southern US,Covid-19 testing: A spike in demand, a delay on results,almost 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases. But calculating the positivity rate is more complicated than it might seem, because some people get … If a positivity rate is too high, that may indicate that the state is only testing the sickest patients who seek medical attention, and is not casting a wide enough net to know how much of the virus is spreading within its communities. States that include serology tests within their overall COVID-19 testing numbers are misrepresenting their testing capacity and the extent to which they are working to identify COVID-19 infections within their communities. So, as more and more people are being tested, the focus is shifting to the positivity rate -- how many of those tested are actually infected.Miami-Dade County in Florida, where the number of cases is skyrocketing, on Sunday reported a staggering 26% positivity rate. The rate of positivity is an important indicator because it can provide insights into whether a community is conducting enough testing to find cases. Antibody tests are not used to diagnose active COVID-19 infection and they do not provide insights into the number of cases of COVID-19 diagnosed or whether viral testing is sufficient to find infections that are occurring within each state. States that include serology tests within their overall COVID-19 testing numbers are misrepresenting their testing capacity and the extent to which they are working to identify COVID-19 infections within their communities. The WHO has said that in countries that have conducted extensive testing for COVID-19, should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.This website is a resource to help advance the understanding of the virus, inform the public, and brief policymakers in order to guide a response, improve care, and save lives.Ethics of Digital Contact Tracing: Principles. Positivity rate reflects the proportion of people who test positive among those who are tested. A lower positivity may indicate that a community is including in its testing patients with milder or no symptoms. So, for every 100 people tested, 26% of them tested positive for coronavirus. When states report the number of COVID-19 tests performed, this should include the number of viral tests performed and the number of patients for which these tests were performed. Antibody tests are not used to diagnose active COVID-19 infection and they do not provide insights into the number of cases of COVID-19 diagnosed or whether viral testing is sufficient to find infections that are occurring within each state.