Red States Cut Back Reporting As New Cases Skyrocket

The Associated Press reports:

Several states scaled back their reporting of COVID-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities.

The shift to weekly instead of daily reporting in Florida, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota marked a notable shift during a pandemic in which coronavirus dashboards have become a staple for Americans closely tracking case counts and trends to navigate a crisis that has killed more than 600,000 people in the U.S.

When Florida changed the frequency of its virus reporting earlier this month, officials said it made sense given the decreasing number of cases and the increasing number of people being vaccinated. Cases started soaring soon after, and Florida earlier this week made up up one-fifth of the country’s new coronavirus infections.

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Florida and three other states have shifted to weekly instead of daily reporting of COVID-19 statistics as cases across the U.S. skyrocket. Coronavirus dashboards are a staple for many Americans. https://t.co/fM0oWe6KXz

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 24, 2021