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Posted: January 4, 2022

ihscovid19The Indian Health Service has updated its coronavirus data, showing results through January 1, 2022.

According to the data, 307,954 tests have returned positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. That represents an increase of 2.2 percent from the 301,191 cases previously reported by the IHS on December 25.

Altogether, 3,609,592 coronavirus tests have been administered within the IHS, the results show. That represents an increase of about 1.2 percent from seven days prior.

Since mid-October of 2020, the IHS has been providing additional information about the spread of the coronavirus within the system. The cumulative percent positive column shows the historical COVID-19 infection rate, meaning the number of tests that have returned positive since the onset of the pandemic.

Based on the cumulative percent positive, the highest rates have been seen in five areas. Two of them include the state of Arizona, indicating a disproportionate toll of COVID-19 in the state:

The 7-day rolling average positivity column offers a more contemporary look at the impact of the coronavirus. The data shows where COVID-19 cases have been increasing recently.

Based on the 7-day rolling average positivity, 11 out of 12 IHS areas are seeing high COVID-19 rates, marking yet another instance of surges across every region of Indian Country. The 📈 red graph symbol indicates the areas in which positivity rates are on the rise, with multiple symbols indicating notable increases:

Notably, the release of the January 1 data marks the return of the Alaska Area to the list of regions with high 7-day positivity rates. The state had fallen below 5.0 percent in early December after seeing a long stretch of higher rates.

Overall, 9.1 percent of IHS tests have been positive since the onset of the pandemic, the data shows. Meanwhile, the 7-day positivity rate has dramatically jumped to 17.6 percent following a short period of declining rates. A long period of extremely high rates was seen in Indian Country starting in the summer of 2021.

The data, however, is incomplete. While 100 percent of facilities run directly by the IHS are reporting data, only 33 percent of tribally managed facilities and 44 percent of urban Indian organizations are doing the same, the agency has told Indianz.Com.

Beginning June 7, the IHS began updating its coronavirus data on a weekly basis. But as the number of COVID-19 cases grows again, the agency is updating results on Mondays and Thursdays. During the height of the pandemic throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021, results were provided by the IHS every day.

COVID-19 Cases by IHS Area

Data are reported from IHS, tribal, and urban Indian organization facilities, though reporting by tribal and urban programs is voluntary. Data reflect cases reported to the IHS through 11:59 pm on January 1, 2022.

 
IHS Area
 
 
Tested
 
 
Positive
 
 
Negative
 
Cumulative
percent
positive
7-day rolling
average
positivity
Alaska 901,201 28,336 760,032 3.6% 9.0%
Albuquerque 128,309 10,452 97,185 9.7% 22.4%
Bemidji 251,622 20,015 230,892 8.0% 21.2%
Billings 136,367 10,233 122,176 7.7% 2.9%
California 141,358 13,672 121,880 10.1% 21.8%
Great Plains 208,502 18,837 188,984 9.1% 14.0%
Nashville 130,432 10,974 116,135 8.6% 22.8%
Navajo 392,704 46,639 287,407 14.0% 18.1%
Oklahoma City 825,634 98,536 714,774 12.1% 18.4%
Phoenix 251,198 32,659 217,257 13.1% 25.2%
Portland 187,862 13,128 174,205 7.0% 14.5%
Tucson 54,403 4,473 49,807 8.2% 18.3%
TOTAL 3,609,592 307,954 3,080,734 9.1% 17.6%

COVID-19 testing data is updated on Mondays and Thursdays.

Source: Indian Health Service (https://www.ihs.gov/coronavirus)

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