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ProfessorGAC

(76,715 posts)
4. The Positivity Rate Is The Key
Mon Jun 22, 2020, 01:01 PM
Jun 2020

Test 100,000. 5% positivity, so 5,000 cases.
Test 200,000. Same rate, so 10,000 cases. But, it's not twice as bad. No context without knowing that tests doubled.
Test 200,000. 7% positivity, 14,000 cases. Twice as many tests, but 2.8 times the cases.
That's why the positivity rate is a key statistic. It's a dimensionless number. It's already in context.

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