Week Ending | New Cases | Viral Tests * | Antibody Tests * | % Positive Tests * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 28 | 1,859 | 7,031 | 26.4% | |
| April 4 | 3,794 | 15,243 | 24.9% | |
| April 11 | 5,999 | 25,421 | 23.6% | |
| April 18 | 5,682 | 23,029 | 24.7% | |
| April 25 | 5,375 | 42,056 | 2,214 (5%) | 12.8% |
| May 2 | 5,105 | 50,209 | 5,577 (10%) | 10.2% |
| May 9 | 4,265 | 52,656 | 7,868 (13%) | 8.1% |
| May 16 | 4,626 | 72,883 | 12,862 (15%) | 6.3% |
| May 23 | 5,030 | 99,352 | 33,116 (25%) | 5.1% |
| May 30 | 4,089 | 62,938 | 16,198 (prior to 5/27) 6,968 (after 5/27) Total: 23,166 (27%) | 6.5% |
| June 6 | 5,028 | 68,019 | 15,091 | 5.7%** |
| June 13 | 5,442 | 76,823 | 13,511 | 6.6%** |
| June 20 | 7,008 | 88,908 | 24,718 | 7.7% |
| June 27 | 11,176 | 101,225 | 14,097 | 10.4% |
| July 4 | 18,334 | 136,546 | 15,828 | 12.3% |
| July 11 | 21,082 | 138,514 | 12,318 | 13.2% |
| July 18 | 25,471 | 166,933 | 17,265 | 14.2% |
| July 25 | 25,316 | 176,034 | 13,774 | 13.2% |
| August 1 | 24,824 | 188,245 | 13,469 | 12.6% |
| August 8 | 23,415 | 201,881 | 14,294 | 11.0% |
| August 15 | 21,741 | 190,100 | 12,436 | 9.0% |
| August 22 | 17,054 | 161,104 | 14,289 | 9.3% |
| August 29*** | 15,536 | 163,009 | 9,560 | 8.5% |
| Sept. 5 | 13,790 | 148,550 | 7,824 | 8.7% |
| Sept. 12 | 11,357 | 123,528 | 5,390 | 7.7% |
* Estimated Antibody Testing
In late May, it was discovered that GA DPH was including antibody testing in total test numbers. On May 27, they reported that 77,835 antibody tests are included in the total tests. I deducted a rough guess of the number of antibody tests that each week from April 19-May 30 might include, weighted much more heavily to later weeks, assuming that antibody testing expanded as as total test numbers surged in Georgia, in order to estimate percent positive. Even after removing estimated antibody tests, there were still huge increases in testing from May 10 – 23. Numbers in italics are based on my antibody testing estimates.
** % Positive Methodology Change
Starting with the week ending June 6, we know the number of PCR and antibody tests without estimating because DPH began providing total viral tests and antibody tests daily.
However, we learned on June 2 that testing totals only include tests that are reported electronically to DPH. Some cases are reported to GA DPH outside of the electronic reporting system via fax/email/phone, and they don’t know how many total tests were done to identify those cases. As a result, I now calculate % positive from electronically reported testing numbers only. As a result, the % positive for the week of June 6 is an estimate because we don’t have electronic reporting data for the full week.
*** Data Dump on August 24
- There was a major issue on 8/24 where a very large backlog of old tests (over 20K according to one source) was reported from Navicent Health. This messed up the testing and % positive numbers.
- These old labs generated over 10,000 tests and almost 800 new cases in Bibb County alone. It likely also affect numbers for nearby counties, including Baldwin, Houston, Crawford, Twiggs, Monroe, Jones, Wilkinson, and Peach. However, the majority of cases were from July or earlier.
- Testing and case numbers for this week are inflated as a result of the data dump, but it’s unclear by how much. As a result, I did not adjust the case and test numbers; however, I excluded the data from August 24 when calculating % positive for the week.