State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D), who is arguably the most flamboyant and Progressive member of the Florida House of Representatives, appears to be exploiting a COVID records request he has made to the Florida Department of Health, stating that Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is "hiding the truth & muzzling county health directors" from giving him "confidential" pediatric health records of Floridians.
According to Rep. Smith, the health department "officially DENIED" his public records request for "daily Orange County PEDIATRIC COVID hospitalizations + cases.," adding that health officials "claim this vital public health data is "confidential."
This past weekend, when The Floridian inquired about specific and blanket pediatric cases at Broward Health in Broward County, we were told that information about specific data on "cases" was confidential.
What parent would want the details of their child's specific case to be released? HIPAA?
The Florida Health Department responded to Rep. Smith's initial request by citing a long-standing Florida rule regarding his request. According to state "administrative code," rule 64D-036.036, "Notifiable Disease Case Report Content is Confidential."
Smith was recently publicly denounced for defending Socialism on the floor of the Florida House.
UPDATE: @HealthyFla officially DENIED my public records request for daily Orange County PEDIATRIC COVID hospitalizations + cases.
They claim this vital public health data is "confidential".
I call BS! @GovRonDeSantis is hiding the truth & muzzling county health directors.👇🏽 https://t.co/ym6brhCDzJ pic.twitter.com/pwNcx18Msn
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) August 10, 2021
