US State Counting Deaths 'Clearly From Other Causes' as Coronavirus Cases

Since first being detected in 2019 in China, coronavirus has spread around the globe, and been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. In all, the US has recorded 1.7 million cases of the virus, with 345,000 aflictees recovering, and around 100,000 having died.

Officials in Washington have admitted gunshot victims were included in official state coronavirus death count statistics.

On 18th May, the Freedom Foundation found of the 828 coronavirus deaths reported as of 8th May 8, 681 (82 percent) deaths “list some variation of COVID-19” as a cause on the official death certificate. 41 (five percent) don’t list COVID-19 as a cause of death but indicate it was a “significant condition contributing to death”, while 106 (13 percent) involved people who’d previously tested positive for COVID-19 but didn’t have the virus listed as a cause or contributing factor to their death on their death certificate.

​As a result, Washington’s Department of Health reported around 100 cases of people with coronavirus or “probable” cases of the virus who died and were included in the total tally of deaths attributed to the pandemic, despite it not being remotely clear whether the virus in fact contributed to their death in any way.

“Our method we use to give up to date counts related to COVID death is not our usual process for how we track data for deaths in Washington. We had to modify what we normally do in order to quickly meet the data and informational needs of the pandemic. We’re aware that there is some confusion about how this works and whether or not this modified process is accurate. Our dashboard numbers include any death to a person that has tested positive to COVID-19,” Dr. Katie Hutchison, health statistics manager for Washington’s Department of Health, explained at a press briefing. 

Still, Dr. Hutchinson claimed she suspects the number of coronavirus deaths are “actually more likely” to be under-counted than over-counted, and “it may take up to a year or more to get final counts on COVID-19 deaths.”