WEBSTER COUNTY, Iowa - Corrections to COVID-19 test reporting from a community-based clinic in Webster County has dramatically dropped the county's rate of positive cases, and changed the start of school.
The Webster County Public Health Department says the clinic failed to report 3,000 negative tests, which artificially inflated the positive rate.
The Messenger newspaper reports the county's 14-day positivity rate dropped from more than 23 percent last Friday to under 13 percent Monday. The rate has since dropped to 11.4 percent.
As a result, the Fort Dodge School District has withdrawn its plans to delay the start of school by two weeks and in-person classes there will now begin next Tuesday (August 25th).
The county's current positivity rate falls within state guidelines calling for schools to hold 50 percent of classes in-person. Schools can request to conduct online only classes once the 14-day positivity rate climbs to 15 percent, and there's a 10 percent absentee rate.
The clinic involved in the test reporting error has not been named. The state’s reporting system initially rejected the 3,000 negative tests found by the county.