Covid-19-data: Data inconsistency: Cumulative data between us-counties.csv and us-states.csv are not equal

[lRn2Win]

If you sum the deaths and cases between each of your sets, they aren't equal. Why?

[dannguyen]

State and county agencies don't act or report in lockstep. Some/many states likely don't have a centralized reporting system, which leaves counties to report their own unaudited numbers that will later get reconciled.

Here's a good write up by the Texas Tribune, which talks about the various issues, including different methodologies:

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/24/coronavirus-cases-in-texas-why-the-numbers-are-different-everywhere/

One reason for the previous discrepancies between state and county numbers was that different methodologies were being used.

Until Tuesday evening, the state tracked cases by county of residence. This meant that if a University of Texas student who lived in Houston contracted the new coronavirus and was tested and treated in Austin, the tally appeared as a positive case in Harris County.

Many counties, on the other hand, have been reporting anyone who tested positive in their jurisdictions. DSHS’s new method will use tallies directly from counties.