April 14, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The Health Department has added nearly 4,000 new names to the Coronavirus death count– taking the number of people killed by COVID-19 in New York City to well over 10,000.
The massive jump was the result of the DOH adding approximately 3,700 people to the list– people whose cause of death was listed as coronavirus but were never tested for it.
The number of COVID-19 deaths in New York City ballooned to 10,367 as of April 13, according to the revised count released this evening. The so-called “probable deaths” were added to the 6,589 people who died and tested positive for it.
The “probable deaths” were added to the count by the DOH because the death certificates for each listed the cause of death as “COVID-19” or an equivalent — even though the person had not been tested for the virus.
The number of Queens residents who have been killed by the virus jumped to 2,632, according to the revised data. The DOH added 527 Queens residents where Coronavirus was listed as the “probable death.”
The Health Department also released information on the locations of the deaths. The vast majority of people died in the hospital, but a significant number died in their homes or in a nursing home, hospice care or similar facility, the data shows.