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Study: Virus Death Toll in NYC Worse Than Official Tally

Associated Press

   NEW YORK - New York City's death toll from the coronavirus may be
   thousands of fatalities worse than the tally kept by the city and
   state, according to an analysis released Monday by the U.S. Centers for
   Disease Control and Prevention.

   Between March 11 and May 2, about 24,000 more people died in the city
   than researchers would ordinarily expect during that time period, the
   report said.

   That's about 5,300 more deaths than were blamed on the coronavirus in
   official tallies during those weeks.

   Some of those excess fatalities could be COVID-19 deaths that went
   uncounted because a person died at home, or without medical providers
   realizing they were infected, the researchers at New York City
   Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said.

   It might also represent a ripple effect of the health crisis, they
   wrote. Public fear over contracting the virus and the enormous strain
   on hospitals might have led to delays in people seeking or receiving
   lifesaving care for unrelated conditions like heart disease or
   diabetes.

   "Tracking excess mortality is important to understanding the
   contribution to the death rate from both COVID-19 disease and the lack
   of availability of care for non-COVID conditions," the report said.

   The report underscored the challenges authorities face in quantifying
   the human toll of the crisis. Deaths caused by the coronavirus are
   believed to be undercounted worldwide, due in large part to limits in
   testing and the different ways countries count the dead.

   Through Sunday, New York City had recorded nearly 14,800 deaths
   confirmed by a lab test and another nearly 5,200 probable deaths where
   no test was available but doctors are sure enough to list the virus on
   the death certificate.

   In its analysis, the report released Monday said the 5,293 excess
   deaths were on top of both confirmed and probable fatalities.