For weeks, medical experts and the news media have told us that if we begin to reopen various aspects of the economy, there would be a resulting spike in COVID-19 cases. It appears that they were correct. They warned against the hasty reopening of restaurants and other industries, arguing that if we did so too quickly, then we would undo the work we've done to flatten the curve and there would be a surge in the coronavirus cases. They stated that all schools should continue to remain closed and that the states that had begun to open should go back to phase one. Now, there seems to be staunch data that supports their claims and backs their ominous warnings. After all, these are doctors and medical experts and media pundits. They are prophets and if we had listened to them, the numbers wouldn't be on the rise, right?
Wrong. We should be skeptical of media host and pundits and we should absolutely question the veracity of the statements coming from alleged health experts. We should examine their data with a fine-tooth comb until they've extinguished all doubt because, believe it or not, and it saddens me to write this, they, too, can lie. This is evident from what's going on with COVID-19 numbers.
One state that has received a lot of attention, mostly negative, is Florida. The numbers within the state allegedly continue to rise as social distancing guidelines are lifted. But a more in-depth look at the data reveals something sinister is at play. Perhaps it's because many of the "responsible" entities know that if they report higher numbers, they'll receive larger funding. But, whatever the reason may be, inflating the numbers should be illegal and those who are perpetrating this manipulative scheme should be put out of business and held accountably.
As with every other state in the country, Florida's state department of health reports new COVID-19 numbers collected from laboratories throughout the state. Regardless, the problem is that many of the testing sites have been reporting a 100% positivity rate, which should make any sane person scratch their head. There's one glaring problem with that alleged positivity rate: It's flat out false. In fact, the Southwest Florida hospital system recently stated that to say 100% of COVID-19 tests are positive is not accurate.
Furthermore, the hospital system reported that laboratory testing of COVID-19 cases has shown a positivity rate of only 18%, nowhere near 100% as reported by the state's department of health. In a tweet, Jessi Melton a candidate for congress in Florida, tweeted, "33 Florida labs were just busted cooking the books, reporting 98% positivity rather than 9.8%."
Again, who can we trust if the very labs we are relying on for data have been lying about their numbers? The result of this blatantly false reporting is that governors are led to halting or reverse-opening their respective states, which causes further economic damage to both the states' economy and the national economy.
The labs in Florida have reported incomplete data with multiple discrepancies, and if it's happening in Florida, then it's likely happening in other states. The rush to report numbers is problematic and does not help us contain COVID-19. Instead, it causes distrust in both medical experts and the media, potentially causing more harm to the American people.
To be clear, I'm not castigating all health care officials, but there are multiple stories of people signing up to take a COVID test, not showing up for the test, and then still receiving a positive result is a disgrace and must not be tolerated.
We cannot continue to make decisions about our economy based on numbers from labs that are deceiving us. Yes, we should be smart. Yes, we should take precautions to keep each other safe. But people with ulterior motives should not dictate our future.
We should be even more skeptical because this is a political year. We all know that the mainstream media is vehemently against President Trump and his campaign for reelection. It has been clear for quite some time that they will use anything they can to hurt his odds of winning in November. We have to stand up to the lies and say enough is enough!