The Florida Department of Health will be conducting a more thorough review of all coronavirus-related fatalities reported to the state.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees announced the additional review process in a Wednesday news release.
The department of health said the change is being made because fatality data reported to the state "consistently presents confusion and warrants a more rigorous review," the news release said.
Of the 95 fatalities reported to the state on October 21, 2020, 16 had at least a two-month separation between the time the individuals tested positive and passed away, and 11 of the fatalities occurred more than a month ago, the release said. Another five had at least three months between the time the individuals tested positive and passed away.
"During a pandemic, the public must be able to rely on accurate public health data to make informed decisions," Rivkees said in a statement. "To ensure the accuracy of COVID-19 related deaths, the Department will be performing additional reviews of all deaths. Timely and accurate data remains a top priority of the Department of Health."
The additional review process will not affect the work of any epidemiologist or county health department in the state, Rivkees said.
Officials didn't say whether the new process was affecting the release of the state's daily COVID-19 report, which wasn't posted until Wednesday evening.
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More than 16,000 deaths among Florida residents have been attributed to COVID-19 dating back to March.
