The Florida Department of Health would rather the public didn't know how many people have died of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.<br />According to Business Insider, the department has withheld the state's coronavirus death data for more than a week.<br />The health department is also preventing Florida's medical examiners from publishing the state's death tally on their own.<br />The move came after a discrepancy was found between their count and the department's official count.<br />State officials instructed the state Medical Examiners Commission chairman to remove the cause of death from the medical examiners' death toll.<br />It's the first time Florida officials have successfully withheld coronavirus death data. However, it's not their first attempt in doing so.<br />Last month, the state health department tried to prevent Miami-Dade County from providing death data to the Miami Herald.
