DENVER (KDVR) — COVID-19 rates have been rising since April in Colorado. The majority of the Denver metro area has a positivity rate over 12%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has moved 14 counties into the high level for community transmission on Monday:
- Adams
- Arapahoe
- Boulder
- Broomfield
- Denver
- Douglas
- Jefferson
- La Plata
- Mesa
- Ouray
- Pitkin
- Rio Blanco
- San Juan
- San Miguel
The CDC said communities with a high level of COVID-19 transmission should do the following:
- Wear a mask indoors in public
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness
As of Monday, the state’s seven-day positivity rate was 12.65%, which is up from 11.22% one week ago. Positivity rate measures the amount of COVID positive tests to the total amount of tests taken.
Overall, 42 counties saw an increase in COVID-19 positivity, 16 counties saw a decrease, and six counties administered fewer than 10 tests.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, incidence rates are up over the last week.
Here’s a look at positivity rates for every county over the last seven days:
- Adams: 14.9% (up)
- Alamosa: 10.3% (down)
- Arapahoe: 13.1% (up)
- Archuleta: 15.8% (up)
- Baca: 3.4% (up)
- Bent: 6.3% (up)
- Boulder: 13.9% (up)
- Broomfield: 15.2% (up)
- Chaffee: 14.5% (up)
- Cheyenne: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Clear Creek: 17.7% (down)
- Conejos: 10.5% (up)
- Costilla: 4.7% (down)
- Crowley: 9.4% (up)
- Custer: 22.6% (down)
- Delta: 8.1% (up)
- Denver: 12.3% (up)
- Dolores: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Douglas: 13.9% (up)
- Eagle: 15.5% (up)
- El Paso: 13.2% (up)
- Elbert: 11% (up)
- Fremont: 6% (up)
- Garfield: 10.3% (up)
- Gilpin: 41.9% (up)
- Grand: 0.0% (down)
- Gunnison: 7.4% (up)
- Hinsdale: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Huerfano: 5.7% (up)
- Jackson: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Jefferson: 11.9% (down)
- Kiowa: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Kit Carson: 7.1% (up)
- La Plata: 18.4% (up)
- Lake: 20.9% (up)
- Larimer: 13.6% (down)
- Las Animas: 4.7% (up)
- Lincoln: 7.7% (up)
- Logan: 2.3% (down)
- Mesa: 8.4% (up)
- Mineral: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Moffat: 15.1% (up)
- Montezuma: 7.3% (down)
- Montrose: 5.6% (down)
- Morgan: 1.4% (down)
- Otero: 10.7% (up)
- Ouray: 34.8% (up)
- Park: 14.3% (down)
- Phillips: 9.1% (up)
- Pitkin: 16.7% (up)
- Prowers: 8.1% (up)
- Pueblo: 11.3% (up)
- Rio Blanco: 11.3% (up)
- Rio Grande: 3.3% (up)
- Routt: 21% (up)
- Saguache: 17.2% (down)
- San Juan: 61.8% (up)
- San Miguel: 20.6% (up)
- Sedgwick: 60% (up)
- Summit: 18.5% (down)
- Teller: 14.9% (up)
- Washington: 0.0% (down)
- Weld: 12.1% (down)
- Yuma: 7.9% (up)
What is the positivity percent?
According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the percent positive is exactly what it sounds like: the percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that are actually positive, or: (positive tests)/(total tests) x 100%. The percent positive (sometimes called the “percent positive rate” or “positivity rate”) helps public health officials answer questions such as:
- What is the current level of SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) transmission in the community?
- Are we doing enough testing for the amount of people who are getting infected?
The percent positive will be high if the number of positive tests is too high, or if the number of total tests is too low. A higher percent positive suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet, Johns Hopkins shared.