Key metrics show new COVID-19 cases, positive rate declining in Kansas and Missouri
The number of new COVID-19 cases, positivity rate and hospitalization rate appear to be declining in Kansas and Missouri.
One month ago in Kansas, the positive testing rate, based on a seven-day average, was 12.42%. By Monday, that had dropped to 3.31%.
In Missouri, it went from 6.63% to 3.59%.
The positivity rate is one of three metrics public health experts pointed to in understanding the trajectory of the coronavirus and how safe reopening has been.
Jennifer Tolbert, a director of state health reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said ideally the rate should be 3% or lower.
The number can provide an idea of who is able to obtain a test in a given area.
With expanded testing, Tolbert said, the percent of positive tests should decrease because more asymptomatic people are tested for the virus.
Until the pandemic is over, the overall number of cases will continue to increase.
However, information can be gleaned from the rate of increase in cases over a 7-day period. In general, this number decreasing is an indication of the virus spreading more slowly.
The number of new cases in Kansas went from a seven-day average of 284 one month ago to 80.
On May 5 in Missouri, the seven-day average was 216. On June 5, which is the most recent data available, the average was 173.
The number of hospitalizations per capita can be used to understand the severity of the pandemic, according to Tolbert.
Experts said this is a preferred metric because it is not affected by testing inconsistencies.
On May 2 in Missouri, there were 876 hospitalizations. On June 2, there were 666.
Kansas does not provide daily hospitalization numbers. Instead it tracks the cumulative number of hospitalizations, of which there have been 936.
It also tracks the number of new hospital admissions. There were three on May 31, six on June 1 and eight on both June 2 and 3.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 9:59 AM.
