COVID-19 incidence and positive test rates in El Paso County are climbing despite reaching vaccination milestones, health officials cautioned Thursday.
The percentage of positive results among those tested, which hovered between 5% and 6% for weeks, is now at nearly 7% -- the highest it has been since late January, the health department reported Thursday. A rate of 5% or less is the recommended level for opening communities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Our metrics are trending in the wrong direction right now, moving us further away from Level Blue,” Fadi Youkhana, epidemiologist for El Paso County Public Health, said, referring to the state's color-coded system of pandemic restrictions. El Paso County remains in the Yellow level, which is more restrictive than Blue.