Florida, Georgia Scrutinized Over Coronavirus Case Data

Two of the earliest states to begin relaxing restrictions are now being scrutinized as all 50 states have started reopening.

Customers enjoy dine-in service at a Waffle House in Brookhaven, Georgia, on April 27.

ALL 50 STATES HAVE MADE moves toward reopening their economies and relaxing restrictions put into place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but two states are facing questions over their transparency with COVID-19 data.

The developments come out of the state health agencies in Florida and Georgia, which were two of the earliest states to begin the reopening process.

In Florida, the former head of the state's COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard said she was ousted from the project that she spearheaded, and she questioned the Department of Health's pledge to maintain "accessibility and transparency," according to an email obtained by Florida Today.

"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," Rebekah Jones wrote in the email.

Jones told a CBS affiliate that she was removed from the project because she was told to censor some data but refused to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen."

A spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday criticized Jones as having a record of insubordination and accused her of making "unilateral decisions to modify the Department's COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors," according to the Miami Herald.

Florida health officials report nearly 47,000 cases of the virus and more than 2,000 deaths.

In Georgia, the Department of Public Health was questioned over a bar chart that appeared to show a decline in the number of new cases in the counties with the most reported infections for two straight weeks, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The graph, however, didn't put the dates in chronological order and changed the counties positions on the chart, which has since been removed from the department's website.

"Our mission failed. We apologize. It is fixed," tweeted Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for Gov. Brian Kemp.

Georgia health officials report nearly 39,000 infections and close to 1,700 fatalities.

President Donald Trump criticized the state's decision to start up certain businesses like salons and gyms last month, despite pushing other states to reopen faster.

"I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities, which are in violation of the phase one guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia," Trump said in April.

More than 1.5 million cases of the virus have been reported in the U.S. and nearly 92,000 deaths.