San Antonio’s COVID-19 positivity rate is ticking up, but officials say there’s no need for concern

San Antonio’s COVID-19 positivity rate is ticking up, but officials say there is no need to be alarmed.

After hovering around 1 percent for weeks, the current rate stands at 3.8 percent. The 5 percent threshold is generally the rule of thumb that signals the need for tighter control on transmission.

San Antonio Metro Health Public Information Officer Cleo Garcia says “as of now there is no concern.”

She adds that the uptick is due to a decrease in testing.

Metro Health calculates the positivity rate by dividing the number of positive tests returned for the week by the total number of tests administered for that time period.

“We went from 20,000 tests two weeks ago to [around] 10,000 tests last week,” Garcia adds. “When the denominator decreases, the same number of positive tests will result in a higher rate.”

Garcia points to other key indicators for progression, such as the case rate, 7-day rolling average of new cases (105) and hospital census (125), which continue to trend in the right direction.

“We have more good news to share. San Antonio has over 72 percent — 1,207,057 people — who have had at least one dose,” Garcia says of vaccination distribution.

The city offers a list of free testing locations throughout the city, which can be found here.