Beware: Sudden Change in Florida COVID Reports May Mask Count

– Gypsy C. Gallardo for Power Broker Media Group

Overnight, Florida Department of Health (FDOH) made a major change in the way it reports Coronavirus case counts to the public. After faithfully posting updates twice daily (at around 11 am and 6 pm each day), the FDOH changed its reporting protocols sometime between 7:30 pm on Thursday night and Friday morning at 8 am.

Look at the panels on the left and right of this graphic below. The left side shows the number of identified cases at 2,484 (which I reported last night); when I went to check the dashboard this morning for some data on South Florida, the blaring figure had changed to 2,359 cases.

I dug deeper and discovered that FDOH is still reporting the 2,484 figure but in tiny text on the county detail tab.

The difference? The 2,484 figure is ALL positive cases in Florida, and the 2,359 figure is a count of positives among Florida residents only. This distinction is meaningless for contagion purposes. The 2,484 souls are situated here in the Sunshine State, regardless of their official place of residence.

For those of you tracking the FDOH dashboard, be aware of the change.