For the first time since Kern County began to reopen its economy nearly a month ago, Kern’s positive tests are under 8 percent.

Kern’s positive tests now make up 7.8 percent of all COVID-19 tests administered, according to the Kern County Public Health Department’s dashboard.

This meets the state standards for California counties to continue with the reopening process.

The California Department of Public Health’s monitoring program looks at three metrics to determine if a County is meeting the state guidelines: a rise in the number of positive cases; COVID-19 hospitalization rates; and if hospitals are reaching capacity.

The California department of Public Health measures transmission rate by look at if there are more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents in a 14-day period in a given county or more than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents in a seven-day period and a positivity rate above 8 percent.

Kern, just as other California counties, have bounced back and forth on the state’s watch list. As of Tuesday, Kern was in compliance with all state metrics, according to the California Department of Public Health’s County Monitoring dashboard.

Over the past month and before Tuesday, Kern’s positivity rate has fluctuated between 8 percent to around 8.65 percent. When the County began reopening, on May 21, there were about 19,000 COVID-19 tests administered. As of Tuesday, there were almost 52,000 tests administered in Kern.

Health officials confirmed 84 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the total to 4,059 cases. Of the total cases, 2,811 people have recovered, while there are still 1,178 active cases, according to the dashboard.

Kern Sol News is a youth-led journalism organization in Kern County. In their stories, reporters shine light on health and racial disparities in under-served communities across Kern. For more stories by South Kern Sol, head to southkernsol.org.