FACT BRIEF

Was a recent Florida report of more than 1,200 COVID-19 deaths in a day well above the recent overall trend?

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

By Austin Tannenbaum

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YES

Florida has experienced a sharp recent rise in COVID-19 deaths. The 7-day average as of Sept. 10 was 350 per day, compared with 50 or fewer in late June.

Health officials focus on average numbers for a more accurate picture than that offered by daily reports. On Sept. 7 the state reported 1,291 deaths; the prior day, the Labor Day holiday, it reported none.

Tracking changes during August was made more confusing for the public by a change in how the state recorded fatalities. Along with a couple of other states, Florida changed from using the date the death was reported to the date the death occurred. The Miami Herald noted that the change resulted in a temporary understatement of the state's mortality rate—in one week cited by the Herald, there were 262 daily deaths measured under the old method, but 46 under the new.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

USAFacts Florida coronavirus cases and deaths

Miami Herald Florida changed its COVID-19 data, creating an ‘artificial decline’ in recent deaths

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