New: Texas health officials published new data this week that shows the state’s COVID-19 positivity rate was higher in the spring than originally disclosed, even as public officials cited the data to justify business reopenings. bit.ly/3mD9UY2
.@TexasDSHS on Monday announced a new method for calculating the positivity rate, or the proportion of positive tests, and conceded the previous method obscured the extent of viral transmission by combining old and new cases.
The new formula relies on the date a coronavirus test was administered, rather than the date it was reported to health officials and verified as a case.
As Texas prepared for the first phase of reopening in late April, Gov. Greg Abbott repeatedly pointed to the state’s positivity rate, even as the number of new cases and deaths continued to rise.
When Abbott spoke at a May 5 news conference, state data at the time placed the seven-day average positivity rate at 5.84%, near the 5% benchmark recommended by the World Health Organization before governments ease restrictions.
The actual rate, however, was higher.
According to the new method, Texas’ seven-day average positivity rate was actually 8.4%, near the 10% threshold Abbott had called a “warning flag” indicating a high level of community spread.
Read more: bit.ly/3mD9UY2
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