Pennsylvania has had to remove hundreds of coronavirus deaths from its official death count this week, following questions of accuracy and highlighted discrepancies by area coroners.
The PA health department decided to include “probable” coronavirus deaths, or an assumed COVID-19-related death without testing for the virus, to their death tolls, dating back days and even weeks ago. But the death toll spike raised questions from coroners who came forward to highlight a discrepancy in death totals, which were not adding up to the number of all-cause deaths.
The scrutiny triggered multiple revisions and statements from the department, including the removal of 200 “probable” COVID-19 deaths and a claim of computer “glitching.”
“Pennsylvania started to include ‘probable deaths’ in its fatalities. As a result, the total number of coronavirus deaths grew by 276, then 360, in successive nights, almost doubling the number of deaths in the state in two days,” a Fox News report explained. ” The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) subsequently removed 200 deaths from its count after facing mounting questions about the accuracy of the count.”
Health Secretary Rachel Levine, who decided to include “probable deaths” in the department’s total count, acknowledged to the Philadelphia Inquirer that such deaths may change over time.
“We realize that this category can be confusing, since it does change over time,” Levine told the outlet.
“At times, there are things we need to review, and potentially revisit the way the data is being analyzed,” she said. “And this is one of those times.”
Probable cases make up <2% of total cases + give us an idea if something is happening in an area that needs investigation.
We rely on CONFIRMED case counts to make data driven decisions. As we work to move regions from red to yellow, we use confirmed data to base decisions.
— PA Department of Health (@PAHealthDept) April 23, 2020
It’s unclear when the department started including probable deaths in the COVID-19 death tolls. Though Levine announced Tuesday that such deaths would be included, “department spokesperson Nate Wardle told the Inquirer that ‘probable deaths’ had been included in the count far earlier than that,” Fox noted. Wardle, however, later retracted the statement to align with Levine’s announcement.
And it was weeks ago when questions concerning accuracy bubbled to the surface, as coroners highlighted discrepancies.
“There’s a discrepancy in the numbers,” said Charles E. Kiessling Jr., president of the Pennsylvania Coroners Association and coroner in Lycoming County. “I’m not saying there’s something going on… I’m not a conspiracy theory guy. But accuracy is important.”
“Kiessling said it was a matter of public safety that the DOH clarify the discrepancy. Coroners have complained over the past month regarding discrepancies in the death figures,” Fox reported. “As of early Thursday, Kiessling said the DOH had not yet reached out to his office about the matter. Levine later said she would contact coroners next week, giving the department time to understand ‘the different nuances’ of the issue.”
“This is why I’m so upset,” Kiessling added. “Our job is to investigate… We do this every day.”
As noted by The Daily Wire last week, New York City is also including untested patients into their COVID-19 death totals: “New York City added a huge number of deaths to the total number of deaths caused by the coronavirus after deciding to include over 3,700 victims who had not tested positive for the virus but were presumed to have the virus because of their symptoms and medical history.”
Earlier this month, White House coronavirus task force leader Dr. Deborah Birx explained that COVID-19 deaths in the United States have “very liberal” recording guidance, noting that anyone who tests positive for the virus and dies would be included in their numbers of coronavirus deaths.
Odd… China cheated the numbers down to try and make their response look good and we have people cheating the numbers up to try and make our response look bad. What a world.
In the end, we can have no idea how many actual deaths were caused by COVID19. Remind me again, WHO doesn’t trust science?
Push the numbers up, done to reinforce the china model of lock down pump up the fear porn.
@Deplorable Me: @kitt:
How long before we learn that New York State has been padding its numbers as well. Of course, Cuomo, being the leftist he is, wants those numbers high. The higher the numbers, the more he can demand that American taxpayers bails out his fiscal failure called NY budget.
And let’s not forget that when asked about seniors, who tested positive for the Chi-Com virus, being sent to nursing homes where those seniors infected other seniors as well a nursing home personnel, he feigned ignorance of that.
He is no better than his lying, hot-headed brother. But hey, the DNC knows they have a loser in Biden so the powers at Fox are helping groom Gov. Cuomo to take over the DNC convention.
https://www.theherald-news.com/2020/04/21/what-counts-as-a-covid-19-death/a38v0ed/
If you get smeared across the landscape by a freight train and you had the ChiCon Flu, it will be counted as a Corona Virus death.
This is about money and power, the more deaths you claim, the more relief funds you can get.
And the more totalitarian your state can be.
@retire05: We already KNOW they pad the numbers. It was the CDC rule. But, you know… Trump lies and denies science and stuff.
@Petercat:
One ER doctor described it this way: if he had a patient that was in an auto accident and had a collapsed lung and could not be resuscitated but tested positive for the Chi-Com virus, CDC guidelines requires him to list the cause of death …Covid 19.
Nah, these blue state governors who have spent like drunken sailors are not using the Chi-Com virus to make the taxpayers all across the nation bail them out, right?
@retire05: Plus all their other liberal programs, like sanctuary cities, free health care for illegal immigrants, Green New Deal and such have choked the citizen on high taxes, driving revenue out of their states. No state should get a nickel until it is cleared of sanctuary policies and fiscal responsibility is restored.
@retire05: #6
“Nah, these blue state governors who have spent like drunken sailors are not using the Chi-Com virus to make the taxpayers all across the nation bail them out, right?”
I’m glad that I have been professionally trained to recognize sarcasm, or I would have thought only “You poor, deluded fool.”
The financial incentive for reporting covid cases needs to be removed.
@Bookdoc: Morons need to be voted out…https://news.yahoo.com/ny-nursing-home-forced-covid-090031181.html
the medical board in Oh requires that a test be positive for the diseased before a DC can be issued with the diagnosis of virus and only as item #3 on the DC.