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Message: [QUOTE="jostar1, post: 3531283, member: 1737"] [B]Testing the dead for COVID-19 Investigators from medical examiner's office go to funeral homes to get accurate count of victims [/B] In an effort to better track the number of people dying at home or in nursing homes from the coronavirus, investigators from the Connecticut medical examiner's office have been going to funeral homes across the state to get samples from the dead before they are cremated or buried. So far, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has done 137 tests for COVID-19, of which 73 - more than half - came back positive. The majority of those tests were taken at funeral homes; most of the others were done during autopsies. Fully chronicling the extent of the death toll from the coronavirus has become a critical issue in Connecticut amid indications that early data may have missed many who died of related illnesses - such as respiratory failure - but were not included in the COVID-19 death toll. So far, the medical examiner has amended 173 death certificates to include COVID-19 as a contributing factor in the person's death - or about 10% of the COVID-19 deaths as of Friday. Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill said some death certificates were amended without a COVID test "using the recommended probable terminology based on a compelling clinical history" such as reviewing medical and hospital records. As of Saturday there have been 1,862 deaths in the state attributed to COVID-19. The number has jumped as state officials say they "catch up" with cases. Many of them are the amended cases that Gill sends DPH every day. Even with the efforts, Gilll acknowledged not all COVID related deaths are being captured. Gill said "no system is perfect" and his office relies on medical staff, whether it be in a hospital or a nursing home to report and certify deaths properly. Gill said there have been many nursing homes that haven't reported possible cases and the medical examiner only found out about them from funeral directors. "If a 90-year-old man dies in a nursing home and the death is certified as arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, it is unlikely to get reported to us and get any further investigation," Gill said. "If we see a death certificate from a nursing home that states "respiratory failure," we will investigate." "Respiratory failure is not an acceptable cause of death. It is really a synonym for death. One must ask: what caused the respiratory failure and list this specific disease responsible for the death," Gill said. Gill said knowing who had the virus also creates a complete record of the virus' impact. "There certainly will be people who claim that governments over-called or under-called COVID-19 deaths. Having comprehensive investigations will provide confidence to the public," Gill said. "Our investigation is the last opportunity to do this testing and we never know what issues might occur in the future." [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-coronavirus-testing-thedead-20200427-qtolhjowpnebtisghxlk3k5fvq-story.html[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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