Doctors push for Florida to resume daily COVID-19 reports

ORLANDO, Fla. — Across the state of Florida, hospitals are reporting a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases with many experiencing a demand not seen since the first month of the year.

In the wake of this recent spike, many doctors are now pushing the state to resume its daily COVID-19 reports instead of the current weekly schedule.

READ: COVID-19 hospitalizations near all-time high at AdventHealth, officials say

“In any epidemic or pandemic, transparency is of the essence, it is very important,” Dr. Frederick Southwick, an infectious disease specialist, said. “The only way we can make judgments about what to do and how to behave is to have the real data and feedback about what is going on.”

On Monday, AdventHealth, central Florida’s largest healthcare provider, reported more than 860 COVID-19 patients, its largest number since January when it reported 900. The influx of patients in Central Florida mirrors hospitals across the state, which are seeing a spike in cases due to the delta variant of COVID-19 and Florida’s large population of unvaccinated residents.

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COVID-19 delta variant The COVID-19 delta variant has been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States. (WFTV Staff)

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“It is important to understand that we are trying to protect everyone,” said immunologist Dr. Mona Mangat.

But while COVID-19 cases continue to spike across the state, the Florida Department of Health has been reluctant to reverse course and release data daily, instead opting to only update its numbers every Friday,

“Public health surveillance and controlling the spread of infectious diseases have always been core functions of the Florida Department of Health. That has not changed,” wrote the department in a statement. “Insinuating that reporting frequency somehow correlates to a lack of action and response is misleading to the public – this also derails the credibility of tens of thousands of public servants that have worked diligently to protect Floridians and visitors during the entire course of the pandemic.”

READ: Coronavirus: CDC considering mask recommendation for the vaccinated

According to Johns Hopkins, just 49.8% of Flordians are fully vaccinated — a number that lags other large states, including New York (56.2%) and California (53.3%).