Florida medical examiners were releasing coronavirus death data. The state made them stop.

State officials have stopped releasing the list of coronavirus deaths being compiled by Florida's medical examiners, which has at times shown a higher death toll than the state's published count.
But earlier this month, after the Tampa Bay Times reported that the medical examiners' death count was 10 percent higher than the figure released by the Florida Department of Health, state officials said the list needed to be reviewed and possibly redacted.
Dr. Stephen Nelson, the chairman of the state Medical Examiners Commission, said the change in policy came after the state health department intervened.
Nelson -- who is also the medical examiner for Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties -- said state officials told him they plan to remove causes of death and case descriptions.
The health department acknowledged that it "participated in conference calls" with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which provides administrative support to the Medical Examiners Commission.
Other Florida medical examiner offices have been making the information public, including the offices that cover Pinellas and Pasco counties; Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties; Orange and Osceola counties; and Broward county.
The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner used to provide a spreadsheet of its COVID-related deaths, but was directed last week by county attorneys to stop releasing it, that office's operations manager, Paul Petrino, told the Times.
Transparency advocates, public health experts and medical examiners say comprehensive information about deaths is critical to understanding the epidemic's path and impact.
Under Florida law, the state's 22 medical examiner officers are responsible for investigating and certifying all COVID-related deaths.
Nelson said medical examiners have been keeping such lists during every state emergency since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Earlier this month, after the Times report, Florida's Congressional Democrats wrote Gov. Ron DeSantis a letter expressing concern over "inconsistencies between COVID-19 death tracking methods used by the Florida Department of Health and county medical examiners."
"We ask that you work with the Department of Health and county medical examiners to ensure that COVID-19 cases are detected and reported accurately," they wrote.

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