Coronavirus Death Tally Misses Thousands Who Died At Home: Report

NEW YORK CITY — The number of people killed by the new coronavirus in New York City could be much higher than the official tally because people who die at home are not being counted, according to a report from WNYC and Gothamist.

The city's health department told the outlets Tuesday night that it was working to change that policy.

“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and the NYC Health Department are working together to include into their reports deaths that may be linked to COVID but not lab confirmed that occur at home," a statement said.

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The change came after WNYC and Gothamist reported that perhaps thousands of people were not being added to the tally. Official numbers showed the largest number of deaths yet in a 24-hour period, from Monday to Tuesday, at 727 victims, bringing the city's total to 3,544.

WNYC's reporting showed that another 280 people died outside of a hospital Monday, many of whom may have had COVID-19, according to fire department data. Those numbers would not have been part of the city's count.

Before the pandemic, the fire department saw an average of 25 home deaths a day.

The report said 2,192 people died in their homes over the last two weeks, compared with 453 over the same time period in 2019.

"What I would say as a layman is let's just assume...the vast majority are linked to COVID-19," said Mayor Bill de Blasio Wednesday. "Let's start counting them."

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