More than 10 per cent of COVID-19 tests are coming back positive in some pockets of Toronto, a metric that shows the city’s second wave surging even more alarmingly than previously known and lends urgency to calls for local restrictions. But rising test positivity suggests surging transmission levels, independent of how many tests are completed. Changes in testing criteria, such as Ontario’s move to swab many fewer people without symptoms, can also influence the rate. Toronto Public Health also set a goal for the previous week’s citywide test positivity to remain under 3 per cent, according to its online dashboard of important indicators. Three months later, the city’s second wave — which far eclipsed its first — is finally showing signs of coming under control.

Source: thestar October 06, 2020 01:52 UTC