For months Governor Newsom has played God in the lives of Californians based on “data.” Now we learn the data was wrong because of his Administration’s negligence.

I’ve sent the Governor 13 questions about the COVID case data “glitch” that led to his Public Health Director’s resignation.

I encourage the Governor to cooperate, as this isn’t going away until we get satisfactory answers.

1) When did the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) first become aware that case numbers reported through the CalREDIE system were inaccurate?

2) Presuming CDPH quickly attempted to resolve the problem, what immediate actions were taken to do so?

3) How many days elapsed before the problem was elevated to CDPH leadership?  Who was informed and when?

4) How many days elapsed before CDPH leadership elevated the problem to the Health and Human Services Agency?  Who was informed and when?

5) At what point were counties informed of the data reporting problems?

6) Why did it take until August 4 for the Administration to alert the Legislature and the public that CalREDIE has been “experiencing issues processing incoming reports”?

7) Did the administration knowingly report inaccurate case data to the public? If so, who was responsible for these decisions?

8) Once the problem was disclosed, why did the administration continue to report inaccurate data with a footnote explaining that numbers were unreliable?

9) If the actual case numbers were not known, what was the value in reporting fabricated numbers? 

10) If the county monitoring list is frozen “until further notice,” doesn’t this mean that the administration continues to lack confidence in its own data?

11) Has the backlog been eliminated (within the 24-48 hour timeframe articulated by Secretary Ghaly)? If not, what is the status of resolving that backlog, and when do you anticipate it to be eliminated?

12) There are various rumors and reports to explain the cause of a 300,000 test result backlog, ranging from “data failures,” to a server outage, to a data-sharing contract that lapsed.

(a) If “data failures” are the cause, can you explain/describe what is meant by “data failures”?

(b) If it was a server outage, can you share what caused the server outage? Was the outage a one-time event, or have there been additional outages since the first?

(c) If it was a contract lapse, has that been resolved? Please share details on which contract lapsed, and why renewing that contract wasn’t a number 1 priority to ensure that we had the best data available?

13) What protocols have been implemented to ensure the public that case information is now accurate and reliable?

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