Is Your State Doing Enough Coronavirus Testing?
The number of daily coronavirus tests being conducted in the United States is 65 percent of the level considered necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus, as many states struggle to increase testing.
10
states* meet the testing target
7
states are near the target
34
states are far below the target
*Includes 9 states and Washington, D.C. States within 20 percent of the testing target are considered “near” the target.
An average of 962,000 tests per day were performed over the past week, according to data collected by the Covid Tracking Project, well below the current nationwide target of 1.5 million daily tests. The target, which is based on a methodology developed by researchers at the Harvard Global Health Institute, is different for each state and varies over time as infection rates change.
The figures for some states, marked with an asterisk (*) below, indicate one test reported for each individual tested, even if that person is tested more than once. The figures for the other states indicate the total number of specimens tested, including when an individual is tested more than once, which can lead to higher reported test numbers and lower positivity rates. For states that report both individuals and specimens tested, the table below will eventually be updated to indicate specimens tested, as that is the more common metric reported by states.
How each state’s current testing measures up
Average daily testing and hospitalizations in the last two weeks
Daily tests Daily tests |
Percentage of Percentage |
Positive Positive |
Hospitalized Hospital |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
United States U.S. |
5% | |||
Iowa* Iowa |
18% | |||
Idaho Idaho |
23% | |||
Wisconsin* Wis. |
20% | |||
South Dakota* S.D. |
23% | |||
Wyoming* Wyo. |
19% | |||
Nevada* Nev. |
15% | |||
Kansas* Kan. |
16% | |||
Indiana* Ind. |
14% | |||
Nebraska* Neb. |
13% | |||
Alabama Ala. |
13% | |||
Florida* Fla. |
11% | |||
Montana Mont. |
11% | |||
Mississippi Miss. |
11% | |||
Oklahoma Okla. |
8% | |||
North Dakota N.D. |
8% | |||
Utah* Utah |
15% | |||
Arizona* Ariz. |
7% | |||
Delaware* Del. |
6% | |||
Missouri Mo. |
7% | |||
Arkansas Ark. |
7% | |||
North Carolina N.C. |
6% | |||
Tennessee Tenn. |
7% | |||
Oregon* Ore. |
6% | |||
Pennsylvania* Pa. |
8% | |||
Maryland Md. |
6% | |||
Georgia Ga. |
6% | |||
Texas Texas |
7% | |||
South Carolina S.C. |
5% | |||
Kentucky Ky. |
5% | |||
Virginia Va. |
5% | |||
Minnesota Minn. |
5% | |||
New Mexico N.M. |
4% | |||
Alaska Alaska |
4% | |||
Illinois |