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DENVER (KDVR) — COVID-19 remains high in Colorado but could this be the beginning of the end of the fall surge in cases?

Multiple counties in Colorado have announced new masks requirements over the last few days. Denver is expected to announce a mask mandate on Tuesday.

As of Monday, the state’s 7-day positivity rate was 9.26%, which is down slightly from 9.85%. Positivity rate measures the amount of COVID positive tests to the total amount of tests taken.

The highest positivity rate in the state over the past seven days is Yuma County with 23.2% positivity.

From Nov. 15 to Nov. 22, 20 counties saw an increase in COVID-19 positivity, 41 saw a decrease in COVID-19 positivity, and three counties administered fewer than 10 tests in the past week.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the incidence rates are similar to what they were last week.

CDPHE: 11/22/2021

Here’s a look at positivity rates for every county over the last seven days:

1-week positivity rate:

  • Adams: 11.8% (down from previous week)
  • Alamosa: 8.4% (down from previous week)
  • Arapahoe: 10.1% (up from previous week)
  • Archuleta: 17.2% (down from previous week)
  • Baca: 3.8% (down from previous week)
  • Bent: 4.8% (up from previous week)
  • Boulder: 5.8% (down from previous week)
  • Broomfield: 8% (down from previous week)
  • Chaffee: 5.5% (up from previous week)
  • Cheyenne: 10.2% (up from previous week)
  • Clear Creek: 9.3% (up from previous week)
  • Conejos: 8.7% (down from previous week)
  • Costilla: 8.7% (down from previous week)
  • Crowley: 7.5% (down from previous week)
  • Custer: 8% (down from previous week)
  • Delta: 8.5% (down from previous week)
  • Denver: 8.1% (up from previous week)
  • Dolores: 9.1% (down from previous week)
  • Douglas: 11.4% (down from previous week)
  • Eagle: 11.4% (down from previous week)
  • Elbert: 12.2% (up from previous week)
  • El Paso: 10.9% (down from previous week)
  • Fremont: 6.3% (down from previous week)
  • Garfield: 7.5% (up from previous week)
  • Gilpin: 6.7% (down from previous week)
  • Grand: 11.1% (down from previous week)
  • Gunnison: 6.5% (down from previous week)
  • Hinsdale: Fewer than 10 tests in the past week
  • Huerfano: 7% (up from previous week)
  • Jackson: 18.2% (up from previous week)
  • Jefferson: 10.5% (up from previous week)
  • Kiowa: 3.3% (up from previous week)
  • Kit Carson: .8% (down from previous week)
  • Lake: 15% (up from previous week)
  • La Plata: 8.4% (down from previous week)
  • Larimer: 8.1% (down from previous week)
  • Las Animas: 3.1% (down from previous week)
  • Lincoln: 5.7% (up from previous week)
  • Logan: 6.6% (up from previous week)
  • Mesa: 9% (down from previous week)
  • Mineral: Fewer than 10 tests in the past week
  • Moffat: 6% (down from previous week)
  • Montezuma: 11.2% (down from previous week)
  • Montrose: 9.6% (down from previous week)
  • Morgan: 13.2% (up from previous week)
  • Otero: 6.2% (down from previous week)
  • Ouray: 6.5% (down from previous week)
  • Park: 11.8% (down from previous week)
  • Phillips: 11% (down from previous week)
  • Pitkin: 7.9% (up from previous week)
  • Prowers: 7.1% (down from previous week)
  • Pueblo: 7.2% (down from previous week)
  • Rio Blanco: 6.9% (down from previous week)
  • Rio Grande: 7.8% (up from previous week)
  • Routt: 7.5% (down from previous week)
  • Saguache: 13.9% (up from previous week)
  • San Juan: Fewer than 10 tests in the past week
  • San Miguel: 6.6% (down from previous week)
  • Sedgwick: 14.8% (up from previous week)
  • Summit: 11.6% (down from previous week)
  • Teller: 9.4% (down from previous week)
  • Washington: 8.9% (down from previous week)
  • Weld: 11.3% (down from previous week)
  • Yuma: 23.2% (down from previous week)

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.