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Pa. Health Dept. reverses virus ‘probable death’ toll by 200
Shanon Peckham
:
OAN Newsroom – One America News Network

Dr. Ala Stanford administers a COVID-19 swab test on Wade Jeffries in the parking lot of Pinn Memorial Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:25 PM PT — Saturday, April 25, 2020
Pennsylvania has corrected its official coronavirus data yet again, now saying the number of deaths in the state is lower than previously recorded. The state’s health department retracted more than 200 cases of COVID-19 “probable deaths” on Thursday.
The category is for those were suspected to have died from the virus, but were never tested for it. Health officials stated they realized they needed more information before including those cases in their data.
“At times there are things we need to review, and potentially revisit the way the data is being analyzed,” explained state Health Secretary Rachel Levine. “This is one of those times.”
The state began to add “probable deaths” to its fatality tally earlier this week, causing significant fluctuations in its case amount.
Probable cases make up <2% of total cases + give us an idea if something is happening in an area that needs investigation.
We rely on CONFIRMED case counts to make data driven decisions. As we work to move regions from red to yellow, we use confirmed data to base decisions.
— PA Department of Health (@PAHealthDept) April 23, 2020

People wait in line to receive food as part of a new initiative called Step Up to the Plate, outside City Hall in Philadelphia, Friday, April 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
On Sunday, the state raised its death toll by 273 deaths overnight, bringing the total to over 1,000. On Tuesday, those numbers spiked to over 1,500.
In just the span of a few days, health officials reported the number of deaths had nearly doubled. Reports contributed the discrepancies to the fact some of these new “probable deaths” were from days or weeks ago.
#COVID19 Update (as of 4/23/20 at 12:00 am):
• 1,369 additional positive cases of COVID-19
• 37,053 total cases statewide
• 1,394 total deaths statewide
• 142,061 patients tested negative to dateCounty-specific information + statewide map: https://t.co/7pzosEXhEX
— PA Department of Health (@PAHealthDept) April 23, 2020
The confusion has brought on criticism from local coroners, who criticized the Health Department’s tracking system as inept.
“They claimed their system is more streamlined and live time, and obviously it is not,” said coroner Ken Bacha. “If these numbers could have gotten to the right agencies,…they could have concentrated their efforts.”
This comes as governors across the country are using each state’s official coronavirus data to determine a timeline for reopening their economies.
MORE NEWS: COVID-19 Fatality Rate Significantly Lower Than First Thought
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