Trending
For nearly a year, COVID-19 has been making its mark on Ohio, sickening residents and claiming lives.
Throughout that period, state officials have made admirable efforts to keep the public informed. Gov. Mike DeWine has addressed Buckeye State residents at least weekly, and the Ohio Department of Health has made a wide variety of resources available to residents.
One thing state and county health officials have not done very well, though, is show a unified front on the number of people who have died while infected with the coronavirus.
With 88 counties to collect data from, of course there will be delays in updating state records and the tallies listed at coronavirus.ohio.gov. But when it takes days or weeks to align state and county figures, or when numbers released by a county never match the state's official data for that county at all, it becomes apparent that there is a problem with the reporting system -- and that can undermine the public's trust.
Earlier this month, the Harrison County Health Department reported 16 COVID-related deaths among residents there. At the same time, the state's COVID-19 Ohio Dashboard listed just eight deaths. The discrepancy was a result of clerical errors by county health department staff members, Administrator Garen Rhome said.
As of Thursday, the Belmont County Health Department reported 87 COVID-related deaths, but the state lists just 40. Monroe County lists 19 deaths connected to the virus, but the state reports 31.
These discrepancies need to be corrected. The state's numbers on infections, recoveries and deaths have differed from the local numbers for the duration of the pandemic. That's unacceptable.
These inconsistencies cause confusion among the public, and that leads to distrust, as Ohioans are left to wonder which agencies they can turn to for accurate information.
State and county health officials need to streamline the reporting process, clearly define the criteria for reporting and ensure that health department employees in each county understand how to properly complete the process. And then, most importantly, they need to make sure the numbers are correct.