About the Coronavirus numbers…

Over the past couple to few weeks, we have noticed the daily numbers of new cases changing after they were posted. In every incidence, the number declined (usually just by one or two).

However, yesterday MoreThanTheCurve.com and its sister sites reported a daily number of 60 for September 14th that was posted on Montgomery County’s COVID-19 hub. When we started working on a report for today, the number had declined to 55.

We wondered whether the county has stopped cleaning the state data as it has since the start of the pandemic. Yes, the state has released data throughout the pandemic knowing it was incorrect and needed cleaning. The incorrect data usually involves people who have tested positive who were found to live outside the counties they were originally allocated or duplicate entries.

However, what we found is that the county has continued to clean the state data, but cases among college students have resulted in the recent discrepancies.

From the county:

The state data we receive is cleaned for duplicates and discrepancies in addresses every day. The (new) changes in case numbers are due to identifying cases that are not in our jurisdiction after contact tracing. Typically, college students will list their parents’ address when they receive medical treatment. But, after contact tracing, we discover they are quarantining in a college dorm/apartment outside of Montco and were not exposed to COVID in Montco.

So if you read our ongoing reports and notice numbers changing, this is why.