Data Scientist Rebekah Jones Tests Positive For COVID-19 At Jail
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TALLAHASSEE, FL — Rebekah Jones, a former Department of Health data scientist who built Florida's coronavirus dashboard early in the pandemic, tested positive for the coronavirus when she was booked into Leon County Detention Facility on Sunday night.
She turned herself in to authorities after learning there was a warrant for her arrest. She was charged with one count of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
She was fired from the DOH in May for what Gov. Ron DeSantis described as "insubordination." Jones, considered a whistleblower by many, said she was fired for not manipulating coronavirus data to support the state's reopening. She went on to create a competing dashboard, Florida COVID Action, and has been an outspoken critic of DeSantis and his administration.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents raided her Tallahassee home in early December, seizing her computer and smartphone.
According to a search warrant issued at the time of the raid, an unauthorized message compelling DOH employees to speak out about Florida's handling of coronavirus was sent from the state's emergency management account Nov. 10. It was traced back to an IP address at Jones' home, reports said. She has denied sending the message.
Jones tweeted that she has been in isolation since being released from jail so she doesn’t spread COVID-19 to her family.
She warned her followers about getting the virus.
“I’m 31 and healthy. And COVID hit me like a freight train,” she tweeted. “Do not forget how dangerous this virus and its new variants can be. We’re not out yet.”
She also slammed Florida’s coronavirus response.
“Florida contact tracers still haven't contacted me, even though I tested positive at the jail Sunday,” Jones tweeted. “Maryland contact tracers contacted my husband within an hour of getting our daughter tested, even with results pending. Florida fails us all every day.”
This article originally appeared on the Miami Patch
