Accounting the Biggest Share of deaths in US
The hardest hit US city in the coronavirus pandemic, New York city recently revised its official COVID-19 death toll sharply higher to more than 10000, to include victims presumed to have perished from the lung disease but never tested. The new cumulative figure from the “confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths” released by the New York City Health Department marked a staggering rise of over 3700 deaths formally attributed to the pandemic since March 11.
The 60 percent increase in the reported deaths underscores the enormous losses endured in the nation’s most populous city. The city’s revised count10367 in all, raised the number of coronavirus deaths nationwide to more than 28300. New York accounts for the biggest share of deaths in the US.
COVID-19 Continues to agitate the US
With only a tiny fraction of US population tested for coronavirus, the number of known infections climbed to more than 600,000. The US public health authorities have generally only attributed deaths to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The New York City’s health department said it will now count any fatality deemed a probable coronavirus death, defined as the victim whose death certificate lists as the cause of death COVID-19.
March 11 was used as a starting point because that was the date of the first confirmed coronavirus death. “Behind every death is a friend, a family member, a loved one. We are focused on ensuring that every New Yorker who died because of COVID-19 gets counted. The new approach in the New York City could pave the way for similar policies elsewhere across a country, possibly leading to a surge in reported US coronavirus mortality.
