Comments for sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/help-me-with-the-math-here

Comment #3169

2022-01-15T00:15:48Z

Subsequent levels have been much higher, then much lower. At this point I'm still proud of our city, but don't trust any of the numbers. (More to the point, I don't trust the reporting of the numbers. But I don't much care. I'm just happy that so many people are developing antibodies without suffering any obvious symptoms.

Comment #3168

2022-01-14T23:10:25Z

The tests are weighted toward those who have symptoms (plus routine testing). Not everyone with symptoms has Covid-19. I believe the tests here have roughly a 35% positive rate right now; it used to be much lower. The line initially was that a higher positive rate than 5% meant there were quite a few people infected that weren't testing; that changed as self-administered tests became available, leading to an increase in the positive rate.

But I agree that it seems audacious to conclude an infection rate from viral presence in combined wastewater.

Comment #3167

2022-01-12T17:58:54Z

I'm guessing that the results really say that there's COVID in 70% of the small units in the sewage system that they are testing. Even if they actually could test every building's sewage separately, they couldn't know how many of the residents were infected.

Comment #3166

2022-01-12T13:53:31Z

I hoping the results are accurate, even if the math seems odd. If 70% of us have the disease and haven't a clue that we do, at least most of the population is developing antibodies. That's got to be a good thing, right?