DOH has new system to track COVID-19 deaths

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

Among counties that encompass the Mon Valley, only Westmoreland County reported new deaths Monday. 

There were six new deaths reported on the same day the state Department of Health unveiled a new reporting system and new data was made available on its website.

According to the DOH, there have now been 38 fatalities in Westmoreland County. But Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha’s running total remains at 32.

For some time, the DOH total trailed behind Bacha’s count and just recently the totals matched up. 

Bacha said the number of deaths linked to COVID-19 reported by the state versus his office “will likely never match” because the state is recording deaths based on where patients reside instead of the county where the death occurs.

“If a patient lives in Westmoreland County but dies at a hospital in Allegheny County, that person is calculated as a Westmoreland death,” Bacha said. “For example, a few weeks ago, a person in Indiana County who lived in a nursing home in Westmoreland passed away from COVID-19 and that death was listed as an Indiana County coronavirus death.”

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said during her daily briefing that her department overhauled the way it collects and reports death data, switching from one reporting system to another.

Data will now be collected and reported via the state’s Electronic Death Registration System.

Levine said that system allows the information to fall more in line with CDC reporting guidelines, mainly that deaths be attributed to the county in which the person legally resided.

There will also be a weekly report released that will have information broken down demographically. Almost 70% of those who have died of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania have been 75 or older. 

Another facet of the new data is the state breaking down, by percentage, where the deaths have been statewide.

Allegheny County has accounted for 3.2% of the deaths in the state and Westmoreland accounts for .8%. Fayette and Washington both registered just .1% of deaths in the state.   

Of all deaths, 43% happened in longterm living facilities such as nursing homes or personal care homes.

Cases

There have now been 63,056 cases of coronavirus in the state, including 822 new cases since Sunday.

There were 87 new deaths reported for a total of 4,505 fatalities due to the virus. 

Allegheny County now has 1,641 cases, an increase of 38 patients. There were no new deaths reported and that total remains 143.

In Fayette County, there were two new cases for a total of 91. There have been four deaths.

Washington County saw two new cases and no new deaths, those totals are 133 and four respectively.

Westmoreland County reported five new cases, so that total is 432. 

DOH has new system to track COVID-19 deaths