California county cuts COVID-19 death toll by 25% after finding some deaths ‘clearly not’ caused by virus

A California county cut its COVID-19 death toll by around 25% after determining that some deaths were not a “direct result” of the virus.

Alameda County revised the total number of deaths caused by the coronavirus to 1,223, down from 1,634.

County officials decided to revise the numbers to align with the California Department of Public Health’s guidance on how to classify deaths. The county previously included deaths of anyone infected with the virus, regardless of whether COVID-19 was a direct or contributing cause of death.

Neetu Balram, a spokesperson for Alameda County Public Health, said that some of the deaths “were clearly not caused by COVID,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“Obviously our definition was broader than the state’s,” Balram said, adding that the department had always planned to conduct an update “when cases and deaths stabilized.” – READ MORE