DENVER (KDVR) — COVID-19 rates remain low across Colorado and they have been dropping steadily since a minor spike in July.
But is the pandemic over? Colorado Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said Monday that it’s too soon to say.
“You know, I think it’s really difficult to say. We certainly hope the worst of COVID-19 is behind us but we know that COVID-19 is unpredictable and we know there is always potential for new variants to emerge,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are no counties in our state with a high community level over the last week.
As of Monday, the state’s seven-day positivity rate was 5.13%, which is down from 5.21% one week ago. The positivity rate measures the amount of COVID positive tests compared to the total amount of tests taken.
Overall, 30 Colorado counties saw a decrease in COVID-19 positivity, 26 counties saw an increase, seven counties administered fewer than 10 tests, and one county stayed the same. The state has 35 counties below 5% positivity as of Monday.
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: 4.7% (down)
- Alamosa: 3.8% (up)
- Arapahoe: 5.1% (down)
- Archuleta: 5.8% (down)
- Baca: 1.6% (up)
- Bent: 7.3% (down)
- Boulder: 6.8% (up)
- Broomfield: 6.5% (down)
- Chaffee: 6.3% (up)
- Cheyenne: 7.4% (up)
- Clear Creek: 0.0% (down)
- Conejos: 6% (up)
- Costilla: 3.2% (down)
- Crowley: 1.1% (down)
- Custer: 4% (down)
- Delta: 4.9% (up)
- Denver: 5.3% (same)
- Dolores: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Douglas: 5.1% (up)
- Eagle: 14.7% (up)
- El Paso: 5.8% (up)
- Elbert: 4.2% (up)
- Fremont: 2.6% (up)
- Garfield: 5% (down)
- Gilpin: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Grand: 0.0% (down)
- Gunnison: 5.1% (down)
- Hinsdale: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Huerfano: 1.8% (up)
- Jackson: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Jefferson: 4.7% (up)
- Kiowa: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Kit Carson: 0.0% (down)
- La Plata: 8.2% (down)
- Lake: 9.1% (down)
- Larimer: 6.3% (down)
- Las Animas: 1% (down)
- Lincoln: 1.9% (down)
- Logan: 1.9% (down)
- Mesa: 2.3% (down)
- Mineral: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- Moffat: 8.2% (up)
- Montezuma: 3.8% (down)
- Montrose: 2% (down)
- Morgan: 2.1% (up)
- Otero: 0.9% (down)
- Ouray: 0.0% (down)
- Park: 6.3% (down)
- Phillips: 5.9% (down)
- Pitkin: 19.8% (up)
- Prowers: 4.3% (up)
- Pueblo: 5.9% (up)
- Rio Blanco: 6.3% (up)
- Rio Grande: 1.3% (down)
- Routt: 12.9% (up)
- Saguache: 2.8% (up)
- San Juan: Fewer than 10 tests over last week
- San Miguel: 8.7% (down)
- Sedgwick: 13% (up)
- Summit: 14.3% (up)
- Teller: 3.8% (down)
- Washington: 16.5% (up)
- Weld: 5.2% (down)
- Yuma: 2.5% (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.