Indiana Department of Health officials have changed the way they calculate positivity rates after a computer software glitch was found.
During Governor Holcomb’s COVID-19 press briefing Wednesday, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said the newest positivity rate information was launched this week showing the change.
“As I noted last week, this has led to an overall increase in our statewide positivity rate by about two percent,” explained Dr. Box. “The rates today also reflect changes in how we calculate the positivity rate for the week. Previously, we added each day’s positivity rate for seven days and divided by seven to obtain the week’s positivity rate. Starting today we’re adding all of the positive tests for the week and dividing by the total tests done that week to determine the week’s positivity rate. This will minimize the effect that a high variability in the number of tests done each day can have on the week’s overall positivity, especially in our smaller counties.”
As a result, the statewide positivity rate for all tests is 13.7 percent. It was 11.8 percent on Tuesday under the old formula.
On Wednesday, 45 counties were coded red, 46 counties were coded orange and Jay County was coded yellow. Marshall, Starke, Pulaski, La Porte, Porter, Kosciusko, Jasper, and White Counties were all coded red. Fulton County was coded orange.
When a county is in the red metric, stricter requirements remain in effect until the metric has returned to orange or lower for two weeks.
Social gatherings of any kind, indoor or outdoor, are limited to 25 people.
Dr. Box encourages all residents to be safe when ringing in the New Year.
Dr. Box said, “I’m sure many of us would like to put this year behind us. There are ways to ring in the New Year without putting yourself or others at risk. Those include having a celebration with members of your immediate household, calling friends and family members to countdown the New Year together, or even planning a neighborhood countdown at midnight where people stand on the front of their homes or in the streets and cheer at midnight. The safest way to mark the end of 2020 is by staying home with your own family. If we all do that, we will have a much brighter 2021.”
