Nothing To See Here? Florida Bans Release Of COVID-19 Death Statistics

Nothing To See Here? Florida Bans Release Of COVID-19 Death Statistics

The Florida Department of Health would rather the public didn't know how many people have died of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

According to Business Insider, the department has withheld the state's coronavirus death data for more than a week.

The health department is also preventing Florida's medical examiners from publishing the state's death tally on their own.

The move came after a discrepancy was found between their count and the department's official count.

State officials instructed the state Medical Examiners Commission chairman to remove the cause of death from the medical examiners' death toll.

It's the first time Florida officials have successfully withheld coronavirus death data.

However, it's not their first attempt in doing so.

Last month, the state health department tried to prevent Miami-Dade County from providing death data to the Miami Herald.