DENVER (KDVR) — COVID-19 rates have been steadily dropping in Colorado for over a month. However, the case rates have been relatively low since a large spike in January of this year.
If you walk into a grocery store, gym, or public place, there is a good chance you will see someone wearing a mask as a precaution.
Last week, we asked FOX31 viewers the question, “Do you still worry about getting COVID or are you just living your life and not thinking about it?”
We got a variety of responses.
“Living my best life yet being aware and not putting myself into situations where I could get sick. Too many high risk people in my life,” Judy shared.
“Living my best life!” Samantha shared.
“I didn’t worry about it in March of ’20, why the heck would I start worrying in ’22?” Kindra explained.
There is only one county in the state that has a high community level over the last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
- Baca County
The CDC said communities with a high community level of COVID-19 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 5.80%, which is down from 6.31% one week ago. The positivity rate measures the amount of COVID positive tests compared to the total amount of tests taken.
Overall, 28 Colorado counties saw a decrease in COVID-19 positivity, 26 counties saw an increase, six counties administered fewer than 10 tests, and four counties stayed the same.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, incidence rates are down over the last seven days.
Here’s a look at positivity rates for every county over the last seven days:
- Adams: 7.6% (down)
- Alamosa: 3.3% (down)
- Arapahoe: 6.4% (down)
- Archuleta: 9.3% (down)
- Baca: 0.4% (down)
- Bent: 2.4% (up)
- Boulder: 7% (down)
- Broomfield: 4.9% (up)
- Chaffee: 5.5% (down)
- Cheyenne: 0.0% (same)
- Clear Creek: 17.9% (up)
- Conejos: 1.4% (down)
- Costilla: 6.8% (down)
- Crowley: 4.1% (down)
- Custer: 6.7% (up)
- Delta: 1.8% (up)
- Denver: 5.7% (down)
- Dolores: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Douglas: 6.9% (down)
- Eagle: 16.1% (up)
- El Paso: 6.3% (down)
- Elbert: 6.3% (down)
- Fremont: 3.2% (down)
- Garfield: 4.8% (down)
- Gilpin: 10.5% (up)
- Grand: 22.2% (up)
- Gunnison: 4.5% (down)
- Hinsdale: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Huerfano: 2.8% (up)
- Jackson: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Jefferson: 5.5% (up)
- Kiowa: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Kit Carson: 2.6% (up)
- La Plata: 5% (down)
- Lake: 23.1% (up)
- Larimer: 6.5% (down)
- Las Animas: 1.1% (down)
- Lincoln: 7.7% (up)
- Logan: 2.1% (down)
- Mesa: 3.4% (same)
- Mineral: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Moffat: 8.5% (up)
- Montezuma: 11.9% (up)
- Montrose: 4.3% (up)
- Morgan: 1.7% (same)
- Otero: 3% (up)
- Ouray: 10.5% (up)
- Park: 15.6% (up)
- Phillips: 34.8% (down)
- Pitkin: 15.6% (up)
- Prowers: 5.4% (up)
- Pueblo: 4.9% (same)
- Rio Blanco: 4% (down)
- Rio Grande: 3.1% (up)
- Routt: 4.8% (up)
- Saguache: 4% (down)
- San Juan: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- San Miguel: 5.9% (up)
- Sedgwick: 1.8% (down)
- Summit: 13.2% (down)
- Teller: 5.7% (up)
- Washington: 4% (up)
- Weld: 6.4% (down)
- Yuma: 2.9% (down)
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.