Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, following reports that the Florida Department of Health ceased reporting data on flu-like illnesses that may be important to tracking COVID-19, Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet, issued the following statement:
“While expanded testing has been an improvement in recent weeks, to know the true impact on our state, we need data including flu-like illnesses. To have an accurate picture of how our state is being affected, we need transparency from the Department of Health and the Governor. With cases and deaths from COVID-19 continuing to rise at an alarming rate, we must release all the available data, so we can track and identify potential hot spots.”
