The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admitted that it overcounted Florida’s total COVID-19 cases for last weekend, claiming that all of the cases from the entire weekend – 28,000 – occurred on one day, and thus creating the appearance that the highly survivable disease was spiking under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ watch.
In reality, the CDC for some reason failed to note that states do not report data for weekends until the following week, leading to a large number of total cases reported on the first day of the week. For some unknown reason, the CDC attributed Florida’s entire number of new COVID cases to one day, Sunday August 8, instead of the entire weekend. This was used to claim the state was reaching “record” numbers of infections.
The CDC was later forced to admit that it miscounted the total case numbers, and changed the number from an apparently record breaking 28,000 cases in one day to a mere 19,000. According to The Daily Mail, the CDC did not offer a statement on why they used the incorrect number to claim the state was breaking records for number of COVID-19 cases.
Additionally, the Florida Department of Health released its own numbers, showing that there were only 15,000 cases on Sunday. The agency responded to many local news outlets who ran with the CDC’s false information without fact checking it. “Florida follows CDC guidelines reporting cases Monday through Friday, other than holidays,” the agency wrote on Twitter. “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.”
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
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 Florida Department of Health then released the individual case numbers for the entire weekend. Per the agency, on Friday the state recorded 21,500, on Saturday 19,567, and on Sunday 15,319, for a daily average of only 18,795. “The daily case counts for Florida currently posted on the CDC COVID Tracker are incorrect,” the agency noted.
The daily case counts for Florida currently posted on the CDC COVID Tracker are incorrect. The current listing states 28,317.
The accurate data are as follows:
Friday, August 6: 21,500
Saturday August 7: 19,567
Sunday, August 8: 15,319The 3 day average: 18,795
— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) August 10, 2021
Florida has become a battleground between those who view COVID-19 restrictions, ranging from mask mandates to vaccine passports, as an affront to liberty versus those who believe unelected doctors should be allowed to set policy for states without question. Recently, the Florida Board of Education announced that parents living in one of the two counties that intend to force children to wear face masks at school will have the option of taking their tax dollars, in the form of a voucher, to private schools. Additionally, DeSantis announced plans to strip officials behind these mask mandates of their taxpayer-funded salaries.
