I am awaiting the updated #COVID19 Average Daily Case Rate map for #Massachusetts. This one is a week old and digging for new data I noted the #BakerAdiminstration has shifted the color coding such that it hides rapidly rising case rates. 1/

The scaling on last week's map marks any community as "red" if its has an average case rate greater than 8/100K population. 2/

The new map (for Nov. 6) is not yet published, but the raw data is available as is the "new" definition for the color coding now being used. The old standard of >8/100k is now >10/100k AND a positive test rate higher than 5%. The impact of this change is chilling. 3/

Here is the data for east Longmeadow on October 29th. It is coded red because the case rate of 18.16/100k exceeds the standard of greater than or equal to 8/100k. But look at the data for the same community a week later... 4/

The most current case rate for East Longmeadow is now 29.0/100k but the community is now coded "yellow" despite a staggering 60% increase. Why? 5/

The new standard of greater than or equal to 10/100k is not the key, its the new positive test rate standard of >5%. East Longmeadow falls below this new criteria and is thus "downgraded" to yellow despite the 60% increase in daily cases. 6/

Sources:
https://www.mass.gov/doc/weekly-covid-19-public-health-report-november-5-2020/download https://massgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=9f5b8ae8d0e24a1b98c55f704aaa24f3

How are schools supposed to remain safe with data being obscured this way? /e