U.S. states warned over scaling back on reporting COVID-19 data: media

People walk through Bryant Park in New York, the United States, May 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"As far as I know, we're still in a public health emergency as a country," a U.S. health official warned. "That has not been downgraded yet."

NEW YORK, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Only about half of U.S. states still provide daily updates on key COVID-19 metrics such as new cases, deaths, hospitalizations and vaccinations, a trend that worries some public health experts, CNN reported on Friday.

Two of the largest scale-backs took effect this week, with Florida dropping down to one update per week and Alabama cutting back to two to three updates per week, depending on the type of data.

Alabama's decision to publish updates less frequently came alongside steady decreases in daily cases, deaths and hospitalizations, Karen Landers, a health officer with the state health department, was quoted as saying.

"The changes are smaller and less dramatic, for lack of a better word," she said. "It's time to refocus our efforts."

Average daily COVID-19 cases in Alabama have dropped about 93 percent since their January peak. The state reported an average of 321 cases per day over the past week and 12 deaths per day, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Average daily reported cases in the United States overall have also dropped more than 90 percent since their January peak, down to about 15,000 per day, and back to levels last seen in March 2020. But about 300 people are still dying each day in the country, JHU data showed.

Customers wearing masks order food at a restaurant in San Mateo, California, the United States, May 17, 2021.(Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

Some experts said the shift away from daily reporting is happening too soon.

"As far as I know, we're still in a public health emergency as a country," Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, was quoted as saying. "That has not been downgraded yet."

Beth Blauer, executive director of the Johns Hopkins University Centers for Civic Impact, said that she expected such an adjustment, but it's happening sooner and more aggressively than she expected.

Blauer said she and her team pay close attention to public releases and other updates from states regarding their COVID-19 data to manage the quality and consistency of their data feeds. They noticed subtle changes in the fall, with states starting to cut back on weekend reporting, but she said she's surprised at how strong the trend has become.

"You wouldn't be human if you didn't experience some pandemic fatigue," she said. "But I think it's a little premature."