“Allegations that Florida’s government may have tried to manipulate or alter data to make reopening (the economy) appear safer is outrageous. These kinds of actions are dangerous and, frankly, should be criminal. An independent investigation into these allegations is needed immediately,” Rizzo said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “Meanwhile, city and state officials across Florida should closely monitor the situation to protect the public’s health.”
Rizzo’s statement came after the Florida Today newspaper reported Monday that the dashboard’s former point person, Rebekah Jones, sent an email last week to subscribers of the COVID-19 listserv saying that she had been reassigned from her position on May 5 and that she was no longer in charge of maintaining the website that she had created.
“As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it,” Jones, a department geographic information systems manager, said, according to Florida Today.
The dashboard had been praised by the Trump administration and was widely used by researchers and journalists.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken a series of steps this month to try to reopen the state’s economy, which has sustained major damage during the coronavirus pandemic.
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This article appears in May 14-20, 2020.