Stop hiding the numbers, Florida. Tell worried parents how many COVID cases are in our schools | Editorial

A South Florida dad wanted to know how many COVID cases were in his child’s school. But the state health department, which has tap-danced, downplayed and obfuscated its way through this pandemic, wouldn’t tell him.

John Silver, a registered nurse in Broward County, was persistent. He asked his son’s school, the county health department, even the state health department’s inspector general. No one had answers for him. A state website contained only limited data and did not include some schools, including University School in Davie where his son is enrolled.

Eventually, he filed a complaint with the Public Health Accreditation Board. Six months later, the result is nothing more than a “slap on the wrist” for the Florida Department of Health, along with this helpful suggestion: Florida’s health department should try to improve how it communicates healthcare data to the public — in this case, crucial information for parents gauging the risks of sending children back to school in person.

Improve how it communicates? We can think of a lot better advice to offer a health department that routinely kept the public from seeing detailed information about the course and intensity of the pandemic. Funny how that information would often come out once trends had shifted to better match Gov. Ron DeSantis’ version of events.

Do better

Since we’re doling out advice to the state health department, too, here’s a thought: How about arming parents with all the information they need to make good health choices for their children? How about the DOH acting like a partner rather than an obstacle? How about, for once in this terrible 14 months, putting public health above public relations?

Eric Toner, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, called the action by the accreditation board “a slap on the wrist,” but he said he thinks the health department will pay attention to the rebuke.

We’re not as optimistic. This is a state where we brag about being “wide open” for business, but neglect to mention that more than 37,000 people have died in Florida of COVID-19. Another 81 deaths were announced on Tuesday. Plus, we’ve been here before. At the outset of the pandemic last year, we implored the state — on behalf of those with loved ones in assisted-living facilities and nursing homes — to tell worried families the senior facilities where COVID had been found.

Obviously, secrecy remains the DeSantis administration’s cruel MO.

Fighting the state

The accreditation committee’s March 22 memo on Silver’s case noted that his complaint “highlighted the importance of the health department having strong relationships with key partners — in this case, school districts — to facilitate timely collection and dissemination of data during an emergency.”

We certainly agree. Citizens should not have to fight their own state government for basic information about COVID cases. Parents should not have to beg the bureaucracy to find out how many infections are in their children’s schools. It’s been tough enough to be a parent during the pandemic.

Why does the state make it harder?

This story was originally published May 26, 2021 at 6:00 AM.