An overwhelming majority of coronavirus cases in the District are resulting from community spread, D.C. Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt revealed on Monday at the mayor’s press conference, presenting a new metric detailing how residents are contracting the virus.

This indicates that few cases are connected to one another, which concerns local officials because it makes containing the virus more difficult.

“Many of the people who are being diagnosed with COVID-19 in the District are not people who were already in quarantine or are not someone else’s close contact,” said Nesbitt. “Ideally, what we want to see is more of our cases connected to each other … and more of our cases occurring in clusters, meaning that we have more evidence of containment.”

The new metric’s “percentage of new cases from quarantine contacts” shows that only 2.6% of positive cases in D.C. are from those who are already in quarantine or a close contact of someone who is. This indicates that a vast majority of positive cases are from those who have gotten the virus outside of the home and from someone who isn’t a close contact.

Nesbitt says that 60% is the current hoped-for benchmark, meaning that the goal is for more than half of positive cases in the city would come from quarantined individuals or those in close contact with them.

At this point, the District is far off from that number. This metric will help determine when the city will be able to move to Phase Three, per Nesbitt. (However, D.C. did not follow its own metrics when moving to Phase Two.)

Nesbitt attributes the large number of cases contracted through community spread to more folks slacking off when it comes to following guidance for social distancing, wearing masks, and only venturing out for essential activities.

“I think we have a challenge… with the ‘choosing activities wisely’ aspect of containment,” said Nesbitt. “I think people have gotten very relaxed. We still need people to be very judicious about choosing their activities.

D.C. is currently in Phase Two, which allows for restaurants, libraries, and nonessential businesses to allow patrons inside at half capacity.

When asked if the city will consider bringing back more mandated restrictions, Nesbitt responded that the city is having those discussions and there may be opportunities for “intervention.”

In a statement to DCist, a D.C. Health spokesperson said that “there are multiple factors that impact this metric, including how data are reported and linked, as well as community factors related to testing behaviors and elevated levels of risky interactions.”

In recent weeks, the region has seen coronavirus case numbers increase with other states nationwide having spikes.

The city has also come under criticism for the number of delayed (or even lost) test results. When asked about this, Bowser put the onus on the labs as opposed to the city.

“We can collect samples. We’ve pretty gotten that down. But we need the labs to complete the tests,” said Bowser. “And these labs, largely, are national in scope. So, what they do in Delaware affects processing time for us here in D.C..”

Even if their test results are delayed, says Nesbitt, residents should be acting as if they have a positive result and quarantinine. “We know there are a lot of people who are going out and getting a test and saying ‘I just want to know’,” said Nesbitt. “If you are curious enough to know … you should immediately start doing those quarantine behaviors. You should not be doing any activities that would put more people at risk if you went to get a test.”

Related to this new metric and to improve contact tracing, the city is also launching “home visit teams” next week. They will visit individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their quarantined close contacts to assess social service needs like food, medication, and housing. They will also determine the resident’s ability to safely isolate from others. The initial focus for the teams will be on the highest-risk populations and individuals who have not yet completed contact tracing interviews.

This story has been updated with a statement from the D.C. Health Department.