05-15-2020, 05:02 PM
(05-15-2020, 04:27 PM)taylortbb Wrote: The Record has some interesting (and concerning) analysis of the local testing situation, https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...y-far.html .
Especially:
Quote:Waterloo Region has the lowest testing rate for COVID-19 in Ontario by far. But when people are tested here, they test positive more often than almost anywhere else.
[...]
The study found that this region tested 5,198 people by April 30. That’s a rate of 871 tests per 100,000 residents.
This per-capita rate falls 21 per cent below the next lowest testing rate across 34 public health units. No other health unit has a rate below 1,100 tests.
Hamilton has almost the same population as this region. It tested 11,182 people for a rate of 1,896 tests per 100,000 people, more than double the COVID testing rate in this region.
Analysis? I read the article, and I was complaining to my wife that there was no analysis.
All the author (our favourite Record writer, Jeff Outhit) did was publish the ICES dashboard data for the number of tests and the positivity. And the data is now two weeks old, half an eternity given how fast things change.https://www.ices.on.ca/DAS/AHRQ/COVID-19-Dashboard
The full study actually has a lot more detail and could have been used as a basis for an in-depth article of what's going on in the Waterloo-Welligton public health unit.
https://www.ices.on.ca/Publications/Atla...in-Ontario
There is no question that the number of tests is low. But why is that? Where is the bottleneck? Is it because our public health had to focus on testing at LTC facilities? Was there any attempt to contact public health to get their reasons?
The positivity rate is quite high at 9.6%, but with the low number of tests one expects it to be higher. Adjusting for the amount of testing, I think the positivity is mid-pack for the Ontario regions. And the high number of cases in LTC certainly contributes to the high positivity.
I would really love some proper analysis.