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Florida 33 Labs Busted For Cooking the Books: Florida COVID-19 Positive Numbers Fact Check

Trust is the one thing required in getting people to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines. But, several incidents that happened in Florida over the past few weeks have raised questions about the authenticity of COVID positive numbers given by the laboratories. According to netizens, Florida COVID numbers are wrong. Let’s do a fact check.

The alarming figure of more than 15,000 people testing positive on one day in Florida has disturbed everyone. The state made international headlines for the record-breaking number of positive cases in a day.

People are questioning if the labs are providing accurate details or tampered results. Read as we break down the news of 33 Labs Busted in Florida for cooking the books.

Florida 33 Labs Busted For Cooking The Books

The news broke out after Jessi Melton, an American Congress Politician, tweeted that 33 labs were busted for cooking the books. Check out the tweet.

So, is it true that Florida busted the labs for tampering the COVID-19 positive results?

The answer is mixed. The labs have not tampered the reports, however, it contained numbers gathered over several days by a single laboratory, according to WTSP.

About half the positive cases out of 15 thousand reported on the day, came from GENTEWORx in Richmond, Virginia. The lab, Florida’s fourth-largest processor of tests, stated that the Florida Department of Health reported the cases in a day that had been collected over the course of several days.

Florida 33 Labs Cooking The Books – 98% Positivity Rate

The allegation made by Jessi about labs reporting “98% positivity rather 9.8%” is not entirely true. The glitch is caused by the Government not reporting the negative results.

Orlando Health, a lab situated in Florida, reported 512 positive cases and just 10 negatives giving the appearance of a 98% positive test rate.

The imbalance is caused by labs not reporting the negative results and only releasing data of positive cases which automatically increases the positivity rate. The COVID-19 report available on Florida Department of Health website only shows positive results. The negative column is blank which lets people believe that all the results performed came back positive.

In an email sent to Tampa Bay, the company stated, “We’re looking into this. But that 98 percent positivity rate is incorrect. Our positivity rate is 9.4 percent as of July 12.”

Florida 33 Labs Busted Cooking The Books COVID-19 Fact Check, Florida Positivity Rate

The state Governor Ron DeSantis talked about the rising coronavirus cases during a press conference, he said, “Look, some of the tests that we get are two weeks old in terms of the behavior – when that infection happened, when they took the test and when it gets reported.”

The cases have already crossed 300K in numbers in Florida alone. Adding the negative cases will not have any significant impact on the overall figure. However, accuracy is important, USF Health’s Dr. Jay Wolfson said.

“It gives us a more balanced perspective on what’s happening in the community. We want to know what the numbers are so we can prepare for those numbers,” he said.

Conclusion: Florida 33 labs busted for cooking the books is not entirely true. There is no record of 33 labs reported to tamper the COVID-19 positive results. This is due to a glitch in the system.

Stay tuned with TCD for more updates on Florida Coronavirus cases.

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Sachin Jangra

Pursuing a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (B.D.S.) degree.

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