Az. health department tells university COVID-19 modeling team to stop work, limits data access.

[RandySF]

The Arizona Department of Health Services told a team of university experts working on COVID-19 modeling to "pause" its work, an email from a department leader shows.

The modeling team of about two dozen professors at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona was compiling the most robust public model in Arizona of COVID-19.

The email, from DHS bureau chief of public health statistics S. Robert Bailey, came on Monday evening, after Gov. Doug Ducey announced plans to begin easing social distancing in the coming days.

ABC15 first reported on the email stopping the modelers' work.

The state is instead relying on a model from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This model has not been released to the public.

The universities' model had shown that reopening at the end of May was the only scenario that didn't dramatically increase cases.




https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2020/05/05/coronavirus-officials-stop-arizona-state-university-covid-19-modeling-team/5173380002/

[mr_lebowski]

1. Gee I wonder where this order REALLY came from? nt

[Initech]

2. And Chump was in Phoenix today. How coincidental.

[Newest Reality]

3. Well then...

We don't like the results of your model so we will use another one that fits our plans.

Alternate facts time.

Cherry picking for Trump? I guess we can just toss the idea of concern for public health into a bedpan.

[Solly Mack]

4. SMH

Gonna classify stuff next.

[canetoad]

5. I fear this is the new Covid-19 reporting standard in the US

Don't report cases or deaths. Sweep it under the carpet. What you don't know won't hurt you.

Fucking monsters.

[aquamarina]

6. Why can't these

Researchers just tell the ADHS to go pound sand. If their work is legit why do they have to stop?

[uponit7771]

9. +1

[struggle4progress]

7. Oh? Can the Department of Health tell university researchers what to model?

[Captain Zero]

8. No. But sounds like they will stop supplying raw data

Nt

[druidity33]

11. You mean... Public Health data? Can they do that? nt btw...

"nt" btw is meant to only go in the subject line. It's a relic from the dialup past when a long thread would load the subject/reply lines first THEN the body of the messages. It's kind of a useless indicator now, but still fyi...

[Hav]

10. Seems smart

The moment you make policy changes, you stop tracking the development. Makes sense if you already know the outcome, the cause for that and if there is no interest at all to change course once it goes downhill.
This is what covering your tracks looks like.