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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nby MARTHA BELLISLE<\/strong> (5-21-20)\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nWashington state\u2019s death toll from the coronavirus could be two to three times the current total because some people who died of virus-like symptoms early in the outbreak were never tested, health officials said Thursday.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nAs of Thursday, at least 1,037 people in Washington state have died from the disease, but health officials have identified 3,000 deaths dating back to Jan. 1, 2020 that involved symptoms like pneumonia or acute respiratory syndrome, which are commonly associated with COVID-19, said Katie Hutchinson, health statistics manager.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nSince they occurred before the first case was identified in the state, officials are investigating those 3,000 deaths to determine whether they\u2019re from coronavirus and should be added to the state death toll, Hutchinson said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be extremely hard to figure out if any of these were covid-related,\u201d Hutchinson said. \u201cSo we\u2019re trying to work on that.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nHaving an accurate death count helps health officials plan for and prevent the disease, said Cathy Wasserman, state epidemiologist for non-infectious conditions.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cWe want to understand as fully as we possibly can the impact of COVID-19 on our population,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that means we want to understand the full spectrum of the disease and of course the COVID-19 deaths are the most severe end of the spectrum.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThose details will help officials understand who is most at risk and what they\u2019re seeing in terms of manifestations of the illness, she said. This will help them take actions to prevent transmissions and prevent deaths going forward, Wasserman said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThe rapid onslaught of coronavirus forced officials to part from their normal process of counting deaths, Hutchinson said. Their goal was to get the data out as quickly as possible, \u201cin near-real time so immediate decisions could be made to protect the health of Washingtonians,\u201d Hutchinson said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nSome COVID-19 deaths were easier to confirm. They included people who were already in the system after testing positive for the disease, she said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThey\u2019ve also identified about 100 deaths that are not linked to a positive case, but \u201cwe can\u2019t rule them in or out,\u201d Hutchinson said. About five case involved covid-positive deaths involving gunshot wounds, she said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cOur current dashboard reflects anybody that has died from covid irrespective of cause of death,\u201d she said. The data has a 3% variance, she said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s a commitment to provide data as rapidly as possible and we have to balance that with our commitment to accuracy,\u201d Wasserman said. \u201cSo the data we are publishing on our website every day are the most accurate data that we have on any given day with the intention to be extremely transparent and make the information as understandable as possible.\u201d\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by MARTHA BELLISLE (5-21-20) Washington state\u2019s death toll from the coronavirus could be two to three times the current total because some people who died of virus-like symptoms early in the outbreak were never tested, health officials said Thursday. As … Continue reading