PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Elected officials, businesses and others are depending on coronavirus testing and infection-rate data as states reopen so that they will know if a second wave of contagion is coming — and whether another round of stay-at-home orders or closings might be needed.
But states are reporting those figures in different ways, and that can lead to frustration and confusion about what the numbers mean.
In some places, there have been data gaps that leave local leaders wondering whether they should loosen or tighten restrictions.
In others, officials are accused of spinning the numbers to make their states look better and justify reopening. In a continuing theme for the outbreak in the United States, a lack of federal leadership