El Paso County COVID numbers worse than this time last year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- According to El Paso County health officials, the positivity rate for COVID testing is ticking up and reaching higher levels than seen at the same time last year.

Looking at the public health data and analytics for COVID-19 testing in El Paso County, this time last year the average positivity rate stood at 2.45 percent. The positivity rate stands at 9.22 percent as of Wednesday, and it's climbing. Just in the last two weeks, the positivity rate increased by 1.14 percent.

According to hospitalization data, on September 14, 2020, there were 17 confirmed COVID cases severe enough to be hospitalized on Sept. 14, 2020 -- as of Tuesday, there were 141 total COVID cases in area hospitals.

Watch KRDO NewsChannel 13 this evening to hear from El Paso County Health officials on where we are headed in the fight against COVID-19, and what local officials plan to do to mitigate the spread.