TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) -- Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box announced another way the state is going to be tracking COVID-19 cases.

She said it's to help accurately compare Indiana to other states.

So, here's what we know. Right now, Indiana's COVID 19 dashboard shows total positive cases, new positive cases, new individuals tested, and total individuals tested.

Now, Indiana is adding more to that dashboard.

Up until now, Indiana has gotten their positivity rate by counting positive cases from unique individuals.

That means if you tested positive for the virus you would be counted in Indiana's positive rates.

But, if you tested a second time and it came back positive again you would not be added for a second time, that's because your case was already included.

Now, ISDH will be look back on tests. Dr. Box said they are going to be taking the number of positive
cases in the state and dividing it by the number of tests given.

She said that will give them more insight into community spread and be able to compare more accurately to other states.

Box said this may change exact numbers, but the positivity trend will stay the same.

"What's important to note is that the positivity trend is the same for both methods. Whether the percent of positivity is decreasing, increasing, or staying the same remains consistent," Box explained.

Box also pointed out the CDC does not tell states how to calculate the positivity rate. They have used the method on the dashboard since the start.

But, they are hoping this new method will give them more data they can share with Hoosiers and other states.

This does not mean anything will change on your county website.

This information is for the state dashboard as of right now.

Indiana will also be adding more test results to its dashboard.

Box said the CDC is now recognizing another way to tell if someone is positive.

That's with an antigen test. That tests for proteins outside of the virus.

Before, they only recognized PCR tests. Which identified the genetic material of the virus.

Starting Monday, Indiana will be adding all positive and negative antigen tests to its dashboard.

This will not go into new cases or daily updates, but it will go into total numbers.

They will be using all antigen tests taken since late July.

All of this will be added to Indiana's dashboard on Monday. You can find the dashboard here.