Surprising absolutely no one, the Tampa Bay Times is reporting this evening that Florida’s state health authority under the leadership of Trump Mini-Me, Governor Ron DeSantis, is not releasing the true numbers of COVID-19 deaths:
State officials have stopped releasing the list of coronavirus deaths being compiled by Florida’s medical examiners, which has at times shown a higher death toll than the state’s published count.
The list had previously been released in real time by the state Medical Examiners Commission. But earlier this month, after the Tampa Bay Times reported that the medical examiners’ death count was 10 percent higher than the figure released by the Florida Department of Health, state officials said the list needed to be reviewed and possibly redacted.
…
Dr. Stephen Nelson, the chairman of the state Medical Examiners Commission, said the change in policy came after the state health department intervened.
…
Nelson — who is also the medical examiner for Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties — said state officials told him they plan to remove causes of death and case descriptions. Without that information, the list is meaningless, he said.
Nelson said he believes the entirety of the list is public information — a stance supported by Florida public records experts.
“This is no different than any other public record we deal with,” Nelson said. “It’s paid for by taxpayer dollars and the taxpayers have a right to know.”
…
Transparency advocates, public health experts and medical examiners say comprehensive information about deaths is critical to understanding the epidemic’s path and impact.
Barbara Petersen, president emeritus of the First Amendment Foundation, said the interactions between the health department and medical examiners seemed to fit a troubling pattern.
“It’s just shocking to me the level of interference,” Petersen said.
DeSantis’ health authorities are not including deaths of “snowbirds,” visitors from up north who winter in the state. They die in Florida, but they don’t count as Florida deaths, got it?
But the state health department has kept its own count of coronavirus deaths and published it to an online dashboard. Its figure has been lower than the medical examiners’ figure.
A spokesperson for the health department’s Hillsborough County office said a lag in reporting accounts for some of the difference. The health department is also excluding some snowbirds and other seasonal residents, along with visitors who died in Florida, from its count. The medical examiners are including anyone who died in Florida.
All of this is happening as DeSantis has been pulling a full Trump, denying any responsibility for coronavirus deaths in Florida after he refused to shut down spring break activities on Florida’s beaches, while simultaneously putting even more lives at risk by reopening without adequate testing.
But mini-Trump can’t hide the truth forever:
Florida’s increase in deaths Tuesday is likely part of a trend in how the state reports its data.
And just yesterday, DeSantis was with Trump in the White House with both of them touting Florida’s “success” and celebrating Florida’s re-opening scheduled for Monday.
All is well. Bring out your dead.