National COVID-19 test positivity has climbed above 3 percent for the week ending Aug. 8, the first time it has crossed that line since March, according to CDC data, with positivity rising in every state. Emergency department visits remain low in many regions but are increasing in the West and South as of Aug. 12.
The more consequential development sits underneath the numbers. Officials who track this at the state level are now saying publicly that they cannot characterize the size of the increase, because the denominators that once gave a positivity rate its meaning have thinned out.
