Florida Department of Health Calls Out CDC for Screwing Up State's Covid Count

The Florida Department of Health called out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for incorrectly combining several days of data into a single day. The result was that news outlets ran with headlines blaring that the Sunshine State had a “record-breaking 28,317 new cases of Covid-19” on Sunday. 

The Department of Health’s Twitter account called out local stories that repeated the incorrect information. 

This is not accurate. Florida follows CDC guidelines reporting cases Monday through Friday, other than holidays. Consequently, each Monday or Tuesday, there will be two or three days of data reported at a time. When data is published, it is attributed evenly to the previous days. https://t.co/NjjUmIgM9h

— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) August 10, 2021

The number of cases @CDCgov released for Florida today is incorrect. They combined MULTIPLE days into one. We anticipate CDC will correct the record. https://t.co/NjjUmIgM9h

— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) August 10, 2021

Wrong. @cdcgov combined multiple days of data. We anticipate a correction. Please correct this story to ensure accurate reporting to your audiences. https://t.co/5IIDg0rjq2

— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) August 10, 2021

Wrong again. The number of cases @CDCgov released for Florida today is incorrect. They combined MULTIPLE days into one. We anticipate CDC will correct the record. https://t.co/nbKnBNLzvU

— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) August 10, 2021

The Department of Health corrected the record, noting that Sunday's total case count was 15,319. 

Some Democratic state representatives jumped on the story, claiming the Florida Department of Health employees were “apparatchiks” of Gov. DeSantis. 

The CDC messed up the data reporting, and a Florida state representative attacks our state’s Department of Health by calling them “apparatchiks” of @GovRonDeSantis? Most of the people who work there are Democrats, and all of them are doing their best to keep us safe, cmon man… https://t.co/BCyKaC6QYI

— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) August 10, 2021

This is misinformation being spread on twitter @TwitterSafety https://t.co/8Fopj8ZGuZ

— Jenn Jupitee (@jennyjupite) August 10, 2021