SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- San Diego County officials are warning that the county could move into a lower, more restrictive COVID-19 tier, but explained if it does happens the shift wouldn't happen overnight.
In just one week, San Diego County's COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 residents is up from 5.8 to 6.9. The positivity rate is also up from 3.4% to 4.2%.
These two metrics determine whether or not the county moves up or down on the state's new colored tier system.
The positivity rate is low enough to move the county from the red to a less restrictive, orange tier. The case per thousand rate is moving the county closer to going from red to purple, the tier with the most restrictions.
County officials explain moving up or down from a tier would only happen if there were two consecutive weeks of data in one specific tier.
The increased positive cases among students at San Diego State University could have an impact on the state's increasing numbers. As of Wednesday night, there are 440 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and four probable cases. Just last week, the campus only had 20 cases.
On Wednesday the county also talked about a discrepancy with testing data, saying the state is not getting the county's correct testing numbers. Dr. Wilma Wooten couldn't say how many tests aren't being recorded properly but says the county is working with the state to resolve the issue in the next two weeks.
Case counts will now be updated by the state every Tuesday and the county says they will provide those numbers the following day on Wednesdays each week.