An Open Letter to the Department of Public Health

To whom it may concern:

I am still confused about the death numbers. On the daily MA coronavirus  dashboard, page 12, if you add up the “confirmed” deaths  from 7/26 to 8/8, the number is 160.

If  you go to the weekly report, on page 35, the total for the same period is 14.

Which is the official state number — 160 or 14? Please explain the discrepancy.

Also, on the Aug. 6th MA coronavirus dashboard,  the daily increase in “confirmed” deaths was 32 — a number that produced very big headlines (that is why I remember it clearly).

Now, however, I see that on the daily page 11 chart, the official number of deaths for that day is listed as 12.

Please explain.

Also, I would like a fuller explanation why the daily death-by-age-groups chart, which I found the most revealing, has been eliminated.

The new chart on page 35 of the weekly report is not nearly as revealing, and totally confusing considering that its numbers are completely at odds with the daily report.

I would think that the state would want people, especially younger people, to understand that their risk of death during this panic is negligible, in order to reduce the hysteria. Thus I am perplexed by the state’s decision to eliminate the one chart most likely to reduce the panic of the past months.
I would like explanations for all these discrepancies as soon as possible, preferably by noon but no later than 3 p.m.,  when my radio show begins.

Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters.

Howie Carr