A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking to reporters in Hialeah Lakes on Wednesday, shot down a question about claims from a former health department data worker.
“You guys have been on the conspiracy bandwagon for months. You have no evidence for it. You need to move on. You really do. It’s embarrassing at this point,” DeSantis said, regarding fired data worker Rebekah Jones and her claims that COVID-19 data is cooked, including “deleting deaths.”
Jones worked on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard before being fired for insubordination. Since her dismissal by the Department of Health, she has maintained that the state is fudging the COVID-19 data, an insistence she made on national television earlier in the day.
On CNN’s New Day, Jones questioned the state’s approach to data, one that has seen shifting parameters in recent days and weeks, including changes in how ICU bed capacity is calculated.
Jones has charged on her Twitter account that the state is actually “slowly” deleting cases and even deaths. She alleges the goal is to create a narrative that Florida has gotten over the hump, in terms of case management, ahead of the July 4 holiday.
When asked about claims the state deleted 1,200 cases in the last week, which she says were confirmed by DOH employees, Jones said she “vetted” the claims fully, adding that internal contacts are still on her side after her firing.
“I’ve checked the numbers myself,” Jones said. “That does seem to be what’s going on.”
The deletions come from the master death list, Jones alleged. Some previously identified cases “have just disappeared from the file.”
For his part, the Governor has discredited Jones’ claims.
DeSantis disparaged her after her firing in May, saying she’s “not even a data scientist … not involved in collating data, she lacks the expertise to do that. She is not an epidemiologist. She is not the chief architect of our web portal, that’s another false statement.”
“What she was doing was putting data on the portal which the scientists didn’t believe was valid data,” DeSantis said. “So she didn’t listen to the people who were her superiors. She had many people above her in the chain of command.”
4 comments
Frankie M.
June 24, 2020 at 4:52 pm
I like how Ronnie is turning Jones into some kind of glorified data entry clerk. Next thing you know she will be the night shift security guard. I wonder if he learned that gaslighting move from his benefactor Donnie? At least DuhSantis didn’t blame the recent spike in covid cases on young people attending BLM rallies where social distancing took a backseat to social protesting. Or did he?
Lenny would’ve done the same here in Duval if he hadn’t marched in a BLM rally with his bestie 904nette a few weeks ago. Instead Lenny blamed all those liberals packed into beach bars like sardines talking smack about Lenny because apparently politics is all people want to talk about when they’re drinking…well that and religion. Newsflash Lenny: not everything is about you. But while we’re on the subject everyone knows the RNC coming to Jax has less to do with economic impact than it does with getting your brand out there. So that in a couple of years when when you run for statewide office everyone will know you were the idiot with an R by your name who wanted to bring covid errr I mean the RNC here. I sit corrected. Maybe everything is about Lenny Curry? Why else would the RNC be here?
RICHARD PEARCE
June 24, 2020 at 5:56 pm
‘Conspiracy Theory’ , a term that was coined by the C.I.A. to discredit the ludicrous JFK assassination by a ‘single-bullet’ theory. So when an articles uses “Conspiracy Bandwagon’ in the title, be warned it may be pushing the ‘party-propaganda’.
The presence of COVID-19 doesn’t equate with sickness. The PCR test for COVID-19 only detects the presence of some small trace of COVID-19. Any other number of diseases or environment factors could be causing the sickness and not COVID-19, despite a PCR detecting any trace amount of COVID-19.
Florida residents will get very sick very soon, but it’s going to be from the roll-out of the 5-G network.
Russia has enough compassion for it’s people to outlaw 5G except for the military.
Millions of elderly will die from the 5G and the government vaccines won’t stop that. Vaccines are another method that will kill off more people.
BlueHeron
June 25, 2020 at 11:35 pm
Sarcasm, right?
Sonja Fitch
June 24, 2020 at 8:14 pm
Duffus Desantis is doing the goptrump cult conspiracy crap! DUH! Duffus Desantis will lie for the goptrump cult leader trump!
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