Unfortunately, all of us were born at exactly the right moment so as to ensure we must endure this current era of brainlessness, which is perhaps most apparent in the way some are choosing to move forward amid COVID-19 concerns. In addition to the dearth of intellect on display in virus conspiracy theory corners, we also have to contend with troubling developments in the health leadership sector, as is the case with the recent removal of the "architect and manager" of Florida's COVID-19 data and surveillance dashboard.
"I understand, appreciate, and even share your concern about all the dramatic changes that have occurred and those that are yet to come," Rebekah Jones—who headed the website crafted by a team of Florida Department of Health data scientists and other health experts—said in a statement, per Florida Today's report on her removal. "As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it."
And in an email to a Florida-based CBS affiliate, Jones said definitively that her exit was "not voluntary." Furthermore, per that report, Jones suggested she had been removed after refusing to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen."
In recent weeks, data from the site in question is said to have "disappeared with no explanation."
Word of Jones' removal in Florida comes at a time when several states, Florida included, are pushing for widespread reopening measures despite health officials voicing concerns about such an approach. Trump, meanwhile, has threatened to permanently end U.S. funding of the World Health Organization.
