Ousted manager was told to manipulate COVID-19 data before state's re-opening, she says
Going further than previous comments that led to her ouster this week, a former data manager for Florida’s Department of Health said Friday that a top official directed her to change data to downplay the threat of COVID-19 in rural counties leading up to the reopening of the state.
In text messages to the Tampa Bay Times, Rebekah Jones said the Deputy Secretary for Health, Dr. Shamarial Roberson, directed her to “manipulate” data used in the state’s plan to lift stay-at-home orders.
That reopening plan was first presented by Gov. Ron DeSantis during an April 29 news conference. Jones said the manipulated data was included in that presentation.
“Shamarial Roberson, Deputy Secretary (for) Health, asked me to manipulate the data to mislead the public to support reopening mostly rural counties after the preliminary plan was already drafted and about to be presented,” Jones said in the statement.
Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/05/22/ousted-manager-was-told-to-manipulate-covid-19-data-before-states-re-opening-she-says/
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