Coronavirus Update: Officials Seek To Explain The Apparent Undercount In The Death Toll
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Thousands of people are dying at home due to complications from the coronavirus. Now they're being added to the death toll.
Despite the new coronavirus death toll in New York City topping 10,000, local leaders still believe the number of people dying from the vicious disease is even higher.
"We do see a significant number of individuals who are dying outside of hospitals," said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot.
The sharp increase came after the Health Department added more than 3,700 people who were not previously counted, but it was determined their deaths - dating back to March 11 - were due to complications from the disease, although they never received a test.
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Many died at home, but 60% were treated at a hospital.
"Another possible explanation for probable cases that weren't diagnosed is also the limits to testing that we had early on, which have, at this point, at least for inpatients have been resolved," said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, deputy commissioner at the NYC Department of Health.
Urgent care doctor Uche Blackstock says too few tests that at first were only for those who traveled out of the county put the most vulnerable in communities of color at higher risk.
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"What we know now is that the coronavirus had been circulating in these black and brown communities for weeks prior. I wonder how many people we missed because they had not visited Italy or China," Dr. Blackstock said.
Blackstock is the founder of Advancing Health Equity, that focuses on health care disparities. She says even now, because of distrust of the health care system, she has to convince her sickest patients to go to the hospital.
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"I tell them, 'If your symptoms deteriorate, you may have to go to the ER,' and they always respond with a resounding no. Those numbers make sense to me. It makes sense to me that people would feel more comfortable at home versus going to a place where they were considered about the care they were going to receive," Blackstock said.
With each life lost, another devastating void local leaders are still trying to understand.
