The decisions being made about schools, economic activity and the basic functioning of society need to be made based on the facts. This should be true regarding all government activity, but it especially needs to be true in the case of a medical crisis, where -- due to privacy requirements -- only the government has access to the facts. Lives are at stake as well as the fortunes and happiness of persons in society, and people need to have confidence that all their needs are being properly balanced, based on the facts available.

For example, in a Facebook post, Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg reported that the Oregon Health Authority is reporting “presumptive positives” for employees who have tested negative for the disease. These reports go into the numbers that make up case statistics and are ultimately used to issue shutdown orders or move counties between phases.

In another case, Malheur County announced its first COVID-19 death on June 6, a 70 year-old male. No details were reported by the county, except that the test results were reported postmortem. It turned out that, while he may have tested positive for the disease, his death was actually caused by falling off a ladder -- a cause that can hardly be attributed to a respiratory infection.

In the letter obtained by the Freedom Foundation, the OHA explained what they mean by a “COVID-19 death.” It is

death of a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case within 60 days of the earliest available date among exposure to a confirmed case, onset of symptoms, or date of specimen collection for the first positive test; or someone with a COVID-19-specific ICD-10 code listed as a primary or contributing cause of death on a death certificate

In still another instance of the state's inability to follow the facts, in a letter to constituents, Marion County Commissioner Colm Willis calls out the Governor and the OHA for a mistaken assessment that placed Marion County on a watch list.

You may have heard recently that the Governor added Marion County to her COVID-19 watch list. This was based on the Oregon Health Authority's conclusion that we had too many cases in Marion County that could not be traced to a source. Unfortunately, OHA came to this conclusion without all of the relevant information. After our epidemiologists finish a case investigation they upload information into a statewide database that OHA manages. However, because OHA changed its criteria without advance notice to our team, not all of the case information for Marion County was uploaded into the statewide system. Once all of our information was uploaded it turned out that Marion County did not meet the criteria to be included in the Governor's watch list. This was brought to the attention of the Governor, but she decided to keep Marion County on the watch list, "out of an abundance of caution." Frankly, this is ridiculous.

Other states have has similar missteps in reporting facts. Washington reported gun shot deaths as COVID-19 deaths. Colorado had to redefine its methodology for reporting fatalities after it was caught fudging the books.

These are not just one-off mistakes that can be explained away. These are all deliberate departures from facts for the purpose of keeping and exercising power. If there's any question about whether decisions are being made based on power and not safety, one only needs to look at the way in which the facts are being reported -- or not reported.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-08-20 10:41:02

Last Update: 2020-08-20 12:35:59