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Saturday, Jun 27, 2020

Is Florida planning to stop counting ICU bed availability?

Peter Lagershausen, Gigafact Foundry
yes

Instead of asking hospitals to report the number of occupied ICU beds—as is the practice across the country—the Florida Department of Health wants to instead track the number of in-hospital COVID-19 patients receiving "an intensive level of care." The Department maintains that this change is designed to more accurately track the number of cases that have become critical. "Some of the hospitals had told us they were just using their ICU wing as their COVID wing," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

Critics have asserted that reframing the data is a step to sustain the state's reopening plans. "This is an attempt to cook the books and hide the number of patients with COVID-19," the head of an advocacy group for retirees asserted, according to a news site in the state.

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