D.C. recorded its highest number of daily positive coronavirus cases in nearly a month on Friday.

The District tallied 81 new cases today, the highest number since Aug. 14, when it recorded 94 cases. Since the beginning of September, the city has seen daily new case counts ranging from 25-47, and prior to the jump on Aug. 14, daily new case counts hovered between 40-70.

The city’s seven-day average of daily new cases has been steadily decreasing since mid-August, dropping to 40 on Thursday for the first time since July 8. It’s unclear how today’s spike will impact that metric. The city has also maintained a positivity rate (which measures the number of positive cases out of total tests administered) below 3% since Aug. 15. 

Day-by-day jumps are only a piece of the puzzle in looking at how the coronavirus is spreading in the community. The District also measures “community spread,” a metric that excludes cases in closed environments like nursing homes and jails, and that measures new cases by the date of symptom onset, rather than by the date of a positive test result. There were 43 cases reported in this tally on Friday, reflecting cases with a symptom onset of August 29.

D.C. also provides the daily number of new tests administered. Today, there appears to be a discrepancy in D.C.’s new test data. On Thursday, the city recorded an increase of only 261 new tests for D.C. residents, and an increase of 1,528 overall new tests. (Maryland and Virginia residents can also receive a test at a District site.) On Friday, the number of new D.C. resident tests increased by 2,860, while the overall number of new tests increased by a lower number: 2,248.

DC Health did not immediately respond to DCist’s questions about interpreting the data.

DC Health has yet to identify a timeline for moving into Phase Three of reopening, but earlier this week DC Health Director LaQuanda Nesbitt said that the city would not move into the next phase until schools in the city were ready to reopen — which is not expected to happen until at least November.

In late July, the city announced it would need to achieve a positivity rate (as measured by a seven-day rolling average) of 5% or lower before moving to Phase Three. The city is currently meeting this measure.

Meanwhile, parts of Maryland moved into Phase Three last Friday, while other jurisdictions in the D.C. area like Prince George’s and Montgomery counties are choosing to remain in Phase Two.