Umatilla Electric is partnering with the University of Oregon to host a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at our offices. Stop by between 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Saturday in Hermiston for free confidential testing. Results in 2 - 4 days. No immigration status or insurance needed.

Understanding the "Percent Positive"

A message from Johns Hopkins

EXCERPT: Individuals rely on test results to guide their medical treatment and decisions on whether to self-isolate. Public health officials rely on the results to track the state of the pandemic, and policymakers use this information to guide decisions on reopening schools and businesses.

One number—the “percent positive”—is often cited in these decisions.

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.

The percent positive is a critical measure because it gives us an indication how widespread infection is in the area where the testing is occurring—and whether levels of testing are keeping up with levels of disease transmission.