Record High Coronavirus Positivity Rate Caused By System Errors

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(Austin, TX) — Governor Greg Abbott says the record high coronavirus positivity rate reported Wednesday was due to coding errors.

The Texas Department of State Health Services calculated 24.5% of tests were coming back positive for the first two weeks of August. An investigation revealed the high rate was because of a lab reporting problem and a computer upgrade that multiplied positive results. Once the errors were fixed, the positivity rate dropped to 16%.

Abbott says the rate needs to be below 10% for a sustained period of time before the state moves forward with reopening efforts.