IN THE DARK

California Health Officials Admit They Have No Idea if Their COVID Numbers Are Accurate

The state’s electronic system for tallying cases, ironically called CalREDIE, isn’t working, as death toll tops 10,000.

California’s system for recording coronavirus cases is completely broken, leaving public-health officials with absolutely no idea if their figures are accurate or completely useless. The Los Angeles Times reports the state’s electronic system for tallying cases, ironically called CalREDIE, isn’t working and there’s no indication of when it might be fixed. “CalREDIE has broken,” Peter Beilenson, director of Sacramento County’s Department of Health Services, told the newspaper. “The bottom line is we don’t know the real caseload... We don’t know if we are missing 250 cases [a day] or 50 cases... We have no idea.” On Wednesday, the state reported 5,300 new coronavirus cases—a steep downturn from the 13,000 reported around two weeks ago—but officials don’t know if that number can be trusted or if it’s a wild undercount. Mark Ghaly, California’s Health and Human Services secretary, said in a statement: “Having accurate data is critical for public confidence, contact tracing and hospital surge planning. We will not rest until this problem is resolved.” California’s death toll from coronavirus topped 10,000 on Thursday.