From a news article in the Wall Street Journal:
The most recent data for the more accurate PCR tests showed 14 out of 31 European countries reported that the rate of tests coming back positive was above 3%, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. A higher percentage of positive results suggests other cases remain undiagnosed in the population and more tests are needed to locate and isolate infected individuals to halt the virus's spread, the agency said.
By this measure, France (9.22%), Spain (10.18%) and the Netherlands (8.36%) are struggling—while Italy (1.76%), Germany (1.10%) and the U.K. (1.39%) are posting rates below the 3% threshold.
Recent data from the U.S.—though not strictly comparable because other types of tests are included—suggest some 4%-5% of tests are positive.
Meanwhile, in New York City, the New York Times reports, in a front-page story:
In recent weeks, neighborhoods with large numbers of Orthodox Jewish residents have consistently been posting positivity rates of more than 3 percent, and as high as 8 percent. Several other areas with Orthodox populations have had rates between 2 and 3 percent. Hospitals in Brooklyn have begun bracing for an influx of patients from these areas.
The overall daily positivity rate in the city has recently been between 1 and 2 percent. If the surge in these neighborhoods spreads and the citywide rate averages 3 percent or higher for a seven-day period, that would force an immediate shutdown of the entire public school system, as well as a citywide ban on indoor dining — a big blow to the city's recovery.
If you rely on the New York Times or the Biden-Harris campaign for your coronavirus news and information, they'd have you believe, essentially, that the virus is the fault of President Trump and Orthodox Jews. How to explain, then, the high positivity rate in Spain, which is not presided over by President Trump and which does not have a large population of Orthodox Jews? Trump isn't in charge of France or the Netherlands, either.
Bad virus news in Europe is good news for the Trump campaign in the U.S., assuming that the campaign is capable of getting this comparative story across to American voters. France, Spain, and the Netherlands all have "universal" largely government-financed health care of the sort that the left has long aspired to impose on the United States. According to John Hopkins, Spain and France are both doing worse than the U.S. in observed case fatality ratio, and Spain is also doing worse in deaths per 100,000 population, though even these statistics are tricky because coronavirus deaths may be overcounted in some places and undercounted in others.
None of that is to say that the U.S. response has been flawless or that Trump (or Orthodox Jews) are entirely blameless. But knowing that France, Spain, and the Netherlands as countries are doing worse than the Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods that the New York Times is all worked up about sure puts the politics of the coronavirus response in a different light. It's useful context.