COVID measures are lessening as more people get vaccinated. Masks are no longer required. More places are open and ready for business. And now, the latest news is that Florida will no longer report the daily COVID-19 reports.
This article looks at the Florida Department of Health's latest policy change and what the DeSantis administration has to say about it.
No More Daily Reports... What Can We Expect Instead?
Starting June 4th, there will be no more daily COVID-19 infection and death reports. These reports were used by both the news and the public to track COVID in the state. Instead, they are switching from a daily to a weekly report schedule.
This change is not abrupt, though it may seem as though it is.
Previously, Florida has already stopped the daily reporting of COVID among staff and residents at long-term care facilities. These facilities were required to report cases daily. They were given to the media and state in a separate report since long-term care facilities contain our most vulnerable population: the elderly.
In addition to stopping that reporting requirement, Governor DeSantis indicated in previous days that he does not intend to extend the state of emergency for Florida. The state of emergency (due to COVID) expires in the sunshine state on June 26th.
You can find the weekly COVID report on the Florida Department of Health website here: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/
DeSantis Administration Gives It the Go-Ahead
According to Christina Pushaw, Governor DeSantis's press secretary, the Florida administration is all for the reduced reporting of COVID cases.
“COVID-19 cases have significantly decreased over the past year as we have a less than 5% positivity rate, and our state is returning to normal, with vaccines widely available throughout Florida."
Therefore, because of the decreased positivity and the vaccines, they no longer see daily reports as necessary.
What do you think about the new weekly policy?
What do you think of the new weekly reporting policy?
Many Floridians are against this, as it makes it more difficult to track COVID-19 spread within the state. Also, they worry that with new variants spreading, tracking COVID-19 is more important now than ever.
However, an equal amount of Floridians seem to be for the new policy, as it alleviates some pressure from data reporters and allows them to focus more attention elsewhere.
Do you think that Florida should have to continue to submit daily reports to the public or that weekly reports will be sufficient?