Hi,
From your New York Times Github database, for the State of Missouri, the data for May 12, 2022 confuses me.
[“2022-05-11”,1449743,20555],
[“2022-05-12”,1450282,20554],
[“2022-05-13”,1453876,20586]

I see that 20,554 Missourians are reported dead on the 12th, while 20,555 are reported dead on the 11th. The difference of one dead does not seem like a big deal. But it does raise questions of inconsistency and or unreliable data.

Why is there one less reported death on 5/12/2022 for Missouri?

Kind regards,
Nick Strauss

Hi Nick,

This decrease occurred in St. Louis County, based on data we collect from the county’s Covid-19 data dashboard. The county did not provide an explanation for this particular decrease, but does have a general note: “The data reflects cases entered into Missouri’s communicable disease surveillance database and are subject to change as we receive more information.” It’s common for jurisdictions to occasionally remove deaths from their totals for various reasons, such as identifying duplicate records or determining that a person’s location of residence was somewhere else.

These daily changes and shifts are more apparent because there are, thankfully, fewer deaths being announced each day, and also because Missouri’s state health department is updating its data only once a week.

– Lisa

Hi Lisa,