Colorado Changes it Wuhan Virus Death Count, Claims Fewer People Have Died than Previously Reported

According to a Fox News report, Colorado has changed the way it counts Wuhan virus deaths that lowered the statewide figure from more than 1,000 to 878.

Fox 31 Denver reported on May 15, 2020 that the change came following the Colorado’s Department of Public Health admission that its Wuhan virus death toll was counting individuals who tested for the Wuhan virus but died of other causes.

The department now claims that 1,150 Coloradoans died of the Wuhan virus but only 878 of those deaths were because of the virus.

“We have been reporting at the state, deaths among people who had COVID-19 at the time of death and the cause of that death may or may not have been COVID-19,” Dr. Eric France, the health department’s chief medical officer told the station.

“We started to hear stories about ‘are these correct or are these incorrect?” France said.

One story of how Colorado misleadingly counted deaths “involved a 35-year-old man from Montezuma County who died May 4 of alcohol poisoning but whose death was counted in Colorado’s COVID-19 death toll.”

“The state is reporting that death as a COVID death, but our health department wanted to let people know that even though the person did have the virus, they did not die from it,” the Montezuma County Health Department described about the man’s death.

A few hours before the health department lowered the death count, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said at a Wuhan virus news briefing that the state had reached a “reflection point” as the number of Wuhan virus deaths had gone over 1,000.

“It’s important to remember that every number has a name,” Polis stated. “It’s easy to say over 1,000 people. Each one of those is a person with friends, loved ones and family. If you’re fortunate enough not to have known someone who was lost, take a moment and remember why we all need to do our part.”

Fox 31 was able to receive a statement from Polis’ office after the death count was reduced that said the governor was in complete support of efforts launched by the health department to detail how many deaths were specifically due to Wuhan virus “and not just specific to CDC guidelines that include people who died with Coronavirus but not necessarily from it.”

“State epidemiologists believe that once the data is up to date then the number will, unfortunately, be higher,” the statement concluded.

 

 

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