OLYMPIA – Health officials have changed the way they report COVID-19 testing in Washington state.

The Washington State Department of Health is now reporting the total number of tests instead of the total individuals who were tested. This is a change from the old approach, which counted just one test per person, even if someone was tested more than once.

Officials say with this new change, every test is counted, and the new data will improve understanding of the testing situation as it now fully reflects the actual testing volume.

The percent of total tests that are positive will also shift from being based on the percentage of unique individuals who test positive to the percentage of tests that are positive.