Post navigation

Prev: (04/30/20) | Next: (05/01/20)

Washington investigating state totals after COVID-19 ‘excess deaths’ report

(Image: doh.wa.gov)

Officials say an investigation is beginning into the number of deaths across Washington since the start of the COVID-19 crisis after a Washington Post and Yale School of Public Health examination revealed an estimated “15,400 excess deaths” across the nation not publicly attributed to the virus during the outbreak.

An analysis of the “overall state mortality” with assistance from the UW School of Health will examine the issues identified in the Washington Post report, Kathy Lofy of the Washington State Department of Health said Wednesday during the governor’s press conference on COVID-19 metrics being assessed as the next extension of “stay home” restrictions is readied.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week on around 15,000 “excess deaths” — “the number beyond what would normally be expected for that time of year” — that occurred in March through April 4th. 8,128 deaths were attributed to COVID-19 during the same period. “Higher-than-normal mortality is a starting point for scientists seeking to understand the full impact of the disease,” the Post report reads.

A more complete picture of deaths related to the outbreak and crisis could also help inform policies and decisions around distancing and any easing of restrictions.

In King County, determination of what deaths are attributed to COVID-19 in the publicly available reporting hinges on the decision of a physician if the person died of natural causes, or “a coroner/medical examiner if injury or poison was involved in the death,” a Public Health spokesperson tells CHS.

“For any King County resident whose death certificate includes COVID-19 as either a primary or contributing cause of death, we would count toward our overall COVID death count,” the spokesperson said. “That is reflected in the dashboard.”

CHS has been reporting on daily updates to the Public Health dashboard from the onset of the outbreak.

Through Wednesday, there have been 446 COVID-19 related deaths reported in the county and six across the main ZIP codes covering Capitol HIll and the Central District. The reported state death total has now reached 801 some 101 days since the first Washington positive case was identified — at the time, that case was believed to be the first “presumed positive” in the nation.

 

PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.

 

 
Subscribe and support CHS Contributors -- $1/$5/$10 per month

3 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Marsha Trower
Marsha Trower
3 years ago

Please resume elective surgeries and construction work. These people wear protective masks regularly. Those over 65 could take longer to reengage with public activity.
Place hand sanitizers at the entrances of all buildings and offer masks to all for now.
People’s livelihoods are being destroyed.

CD Neighbor
CD Neighbor
3 years ago
Reply to  Marsha Trower

FYI – the protective masks that we usually wear in the hospital are to protect the (medically vulnerable) patients from *us*…. not the other way around. If you haven’t heard there’s a shortage of actual PPE out there.

Karen l Hurd
Karen l Hurd
3 years ago

Would like to see a break out by Zip code of COVID-19 in Washington.
How many people have COVID-19?
How many have recovered from COVID-19? (seems to be a big secret why?)
How many have died from COVID-19 broken out by confirmed death from COVID-19 and or 2nd diagnosis?