WASHINGTON — The world hit staggering and grim numbers on the coronavirus this past week. More than 10 million people have been infected globally and more than 500,000 have died.
Looking at the numbers alone, it is hard to tell how the United States is doing in this pandemic.
We asked an expert: What are the most accurate numbers to study that give a real sense of the coronavirus impact in our area?
To answer that we found Dr. Amesh Adalja, a pandemic expert from Johns Hopkins University. He said the most important indicators of how your state is dealing with the virus comes down to testing.
"(It's) not the sheer number of the tests or number of cases diagnosed, but how hard you need to look I your given area for a case," Adalja said.
For example, as of Saturday morning, D.C. had a 2% positive test rate, Maryland had 4.8%, and Virginia had 4.4%.
The other indicator Adalja said to look at is hospital capacity.
"What percentage of patients in a hospital have COVID?" Adalja asked.
As of Friday, June 26th, D.C. was at 6%. In Maryland, it was 15.4% and Virginia was at 3.4%.
As we gear up for more flare ups, these are the numbers health experts look at to determine policies.