re: Univeristy of Alabama school tested 30,000 students for covid: 0.83% positive rate

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It also Lorelei tells you that that is a secondary factor and requires consistent testing. Not the situation you originally described when you made the statement about positive percentage being THE number the state looks at in phasing.

Eta: Alabama isn't and hasn't been following any specific phasing criteria anyway. The governor has been making decisions on her own.

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I am not being sneaky or disengenuous about shite

I am reading directly from your states page on guidelines and phasing

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Metrics: Percent Positive Declining and Testing Goals Met
Confidence in trends is dependent upon testing volume within the county, the second measure. Adequate testing is considered to be at least 0.8% of a county’s population every two weeks (or about 2% per month). The timeline of two weeks is designed to ensure that counties provide testing opportunities for their citizens regularly, with the consideration that some weeks may not be conducive to high test rates (i.e., holidays). If a county meets the measure of at least 0.8% of its citizens being tested over the most recent 14-day period, the county remains in the same level as the initial assessment above. If fewer than 0.8% of the population was tested, then the county will move up one level (i.e., low to moderate). The percentage of positive tests is also taken into consideration, with the goal being a significant decrease in the percentage positive and/or less than 10% of people tested resulting in a positive test result. If a county fails this measure but passes the measure to test 0.8% of the population, it will still move up a level as this indicates a potentially higher percentage of persons with COVID-19. If a county fails both measures, it will still only move up one level. If a county passes both measures, it will remain at the same level.

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Alabama Public Heath Webpage

And like I said, consider yourself lucky. We have to have 14 days of under 5% testing positivity to move to phase 3


And that MAKES ZERO SENSE

Because, like I have pointed out, your positivity rate of those that choose to get tested is flawed and doesnt represent the actual rate of infection. Its crazy to tie anything to this

Our inept school district (Columbia, SC) is virtual only until a later date with the only determining metric being "percent positive". What an absolute garbage indicator of community spread considering only people with symptoms get tested...

Risk Categories
A color-coded health guidance system has been developed by the State of Alabama to guide health behaviors for individuals and businesses. Categories: Very High (red), High (orange), Moderate (yellow), and Low (green) indicate the risk of spread in the community. Each level of the dial is guided by a rigorous measurement system which can be different by county.

High-risk individuals in the red risk category, including older adults and those who are immunocompromised, should continue to follow stricter protocols, and exercise all possible caution. Individuals who work or live with persons in high-risk categories should also continue following stricter guidance.

Find out your county's risk category using our COVID-19 Risk Indicator Dashboard. Shortened Link: arcg.is/045191. Mobile Version Shortened Link: arcg.is/0ee50W.

Dashboard Data Source: ADPH Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks Division using the Alabama NEDSS Base System (ALNBS), our disease reporting and surveillance system, and the Alabama Syndromic Surveillance System (AlaSyS).

Data posted on our dashboard are updated on Fridays for data reported through the previous Saturday. Data are lagged to allow for completeness in reporting. These data can change as new information about cases is gathered or updated, which means the risk categories could change from red to green and back to red. All data are provisional and subject to change.

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Current Status of Alabama's 67 Counties
(Updated: August 7, 2020)

Low Risk (Green) Category [0]: none

Moderate Risk (Yellow) Category [50]: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Cherokee, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Covington, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lee, Limestone, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, St. Clair, Shelby, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

High Risk (Orange) Category [14]: Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Coosa, Crenshaw, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Lawrence, Lowndes, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Walker

Very High Risk (Red) Category [3]: Bullock, Geneva, Jackson

Most Recent Risk Indicator Table and Map: 8/7

Archived Tables and Maps: 7/31 | 7/24 | 7/17 | 7/10 | 7/3 | 6/30

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Phased Guidelines for the General Public and Businesses
People living in a place in the red, orange, or yellow categories should follow these guidelines to help move their area into the low risk phase. People living in a place in the green category should follow the guidelines below to help keep their area in the low risk phase.

Low Risk (Green) Phase Guidelines | Spanish version
Moderate Risk (Yellow) Phase Guidelines | Spanish version
High Risk (Orange) Phase Guidelines | Spanish version
Very High Risk (Red) Phase Guidelines | Spanish version

AL Guidelines for Reopening - Lowest (Green) AL Guidelines for Reopening - Low Risk (Yellow)

AL Guidelines for Reopening - Moderate Risk (Orange) AL Guidelines for Reopening - High Risk (Red)

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How Risk Categories Are Assigned
Calculations for each county’s risk of COVID-19 spread in the community is based on number of new cases each day. To better represent when the person could potentially spread the disease, the “case date” is calculated based either on the date of specimen collection or symptom onset, depending on which date was first. These factors were chosen because they are not subject to reporting delays. If both specimen collection date and onset date are not available, case date is determined through either the date the test was entered into the lab system or the date the public health investigation of the case was initiated. Once again, we use the earliest date, to determine case date. The number of new cases each day is calculated with a rolling 3-day average to account for fluctuations in reporting.

Metric: Declining New Cases
Our main indicator for limiting the risk of COVID-19 spread in the community is the number of days a county has a downward trend of new cases each day. Whether the case counts are increasing or decreasing influences a county’s level (e.g., low risk). In determining the trajectory of cases, there is a five-day grace period, meaning that each county can have up to five days with an increase in new cases in a 14-day window before they are considered to not be in a downward trajectory. The purpose of the five-day grace period is to account for minor fluctuations that do not truly change the downward trend in cases.

If the number of cases is staying the same or is increasing, the category will be Very High Risk (Red).
If a county has decreasing case counts for 1 to 6 days, they will begin in the High Risk (orange) category.
If a county is in a downward trajectory of 7-13 days, they will begin in the Moderate (yellow) category.
If a county is in a downward trajectory of 14 or more days (or has a rate of 10 or less over the previous 2 weeks), they will begin in the Low Risk (green) category.
Several factors can influence a county’s trajectory of COVID-19 cases, so other factors are examined to additionally inform which level a county should be in.

Metrics: Percent Positive Declining and Testing Goals Met
Confidence in trends is dependent upon testing volume within the county, the second measure. Adequate testing is considered to be at least 0.8% of a county’s population every two weeks (or about 2% per month). The timeline of two weeks is designed to ensure that counties provide testing opportunities for their citizens regularly, with the consideration that some weeks may not be conducive to high test rates (i.e., holidays). If a county meets the measure of at least 0.8% of its citizens being tested over the most recent 14-day period, the county remains in the same level as the initial assessment above. If fewer than 0.8% of the population was tested, then the county will move up one level (i.e., low to moderate). The percentage of positive tests is also taken into consideration, with the goal being a significant decrease in the percentage positive and/or less than 10% of people tested resulting in a positive test result. If a county fails this measure but passes the measure to test 0.8% of the population, it will still move up a level as this indicates a potentially higher percentage of persons with COVID-19. If a county fails both measures, it will still only move up one level. If a county passes both measures, it will remain at the same level.

Metric: Visits for Covid-Like Symptoms Declining
The third factor to be considered at this time is trends in the percent of visits that are people presenting with COVID-like symptoms in emergency rooms or urgent care clinics. This measure is designed to detect residents of the county with COVID-19 who may not be tested for various reasons. If a county has a decreasing number of people presenting in with COVID-like symptoms, or if the number of people presenting with COVID-like symptoms remains stable or is fewer than 10 over a 12-day period, the county will remain at the same level. If the number of people presenting with COVID-like symptoms in urgent healthcare settings is significantly increasing, then the county moves up a level.

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You are simply wrong

Here is every fricking paragraph for you

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Now read them slowly you doldt.

Main indicator=decline in cases
Confidence in trend requires a certain level of testing.
With declining cases and certain level of testing, look to percentage positive to confirm declining trend.

YeS, COVID disproportionately affects the elderly and unhealthy. No shite. AIDS affects gays and IV drug users. Can the rest of us move on with out lives now?

That's a waste of tests

That is an absurd rate

No way it’s accurate

That said, I know of 2 kids that had to get tested for bama and they were positive. They reported no symptoms.
Seems pretty smart to me that they require testing before admitting to campus based on that anecdotal evidence

With a .85% rate, people under 50 years old basically have nothing to fear .

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well I'm not sure how much I trust a bunch of 18-22 year olds with mail-in kits either

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Wait until they get mail in ballots