A federal document claiming Palm Beach County, Florida, saw a 71% increase in coronavirus cases might be “based on inaccurate information.”
Yahoo News reported Friday on Department of Homeland Security data claiming that Palm Beach County is an “emerging virus hotspot” and saw a 71% increase in COVID-19 virus cases over a weeklong period. The Palm Beach Post reported Saturday, however, that “a federal report listing Palm Beach County among three coronavirus hotspots in the nation appears to be based on incorrect information.”
The Palm Beach Post noted that the county saw a 17% increase in weekly cases, according to Florida Department of Health data from May 11.
“The only way the figures result in a 71 percent increase is if officials looked at the seven-day rise in cases on May 10, when it was 740 vs. May 3, when it was 433,” the outlet said. “But that number is so variable that the very next day, the comparison would have resulted in a 5 percent increase, from 548 to 578.”
“Palm Beach County has not had a weeklong increase of 71 percent since early April, when case numbers were far lower and increases resulted in a larger percent change, DOH figures show,” the report added.
Local officials were described by the South Florida Sun Sentinel as being “surprised” and had never seen the federal data and claimed Yahoo News did not reach out to them before publishing the story.
San Bernardino County, California, and Marshall County, Alabama, were also considered “emerging hotspots” in the Yahoo News story. A San Bernardino County official called the government stats “insane” on Saturday.
“The numbers they have are completely insane,” county spokesman David Wert said.
The news comes as people across the country question the accuracy of coronavirus case data.
It was revealed last week that New York omitted coronavirus deaths from nursing homes after a significant number of people were dying from the virus in long-term facilities. White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Deborah Birx also reportedly suggested coronavirus death figures in the United States could be inflated by up to 25% due to the way deaths have been coded in hospitals.
“There is nothing from the CDC that I can trust,” she said in May.
A Yahoo News spokesperson told the Washington Examiner, “Yahoo News stands by the accuracy of its reporting. We will continue to report on this important issue, including any possible discrepancies between federal and local officials, in the weeks ahead.”
