San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond says that only six of the 194 deaths recorded from Wuhan coronavirus in the county are actually “pure” virus deaths. (Photo: Howard Lipin/San Diego Union-Tribune)
The supervisor of San Diego County, California, is pushing back against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order, arguing that only six of the county’s 194 recorded coronavirus deaths are “pure, solely coronavirus deaths.”
“We’ve unfortunately had six pure, solely coronavirus deaths — six out of 3.3 million people,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said in an interview this week, according to the San Diego Tribune.
“I mean, what number are we trying to get to with those odds? I mean, it’s incredible. We want to be safe, and we can do it, but unfortunately, it’s more about control than getting the economy going again and keeping people safe.”
“There is nothing from the CDC that I can trust," {White House COVID Response Coordinator Deborah] Birx reportedly said.
San Diego County Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten disagreed with Desmond, who downplayed deaths resulting from patients with preexisting conditions.
“Their life is no less valuable than someone’s life who does not have underlying medical conditions,” she said. “This is not just San Diego. This is how this is done throughout the entire nation in terms of identifying who has died of COVID-19.”
Desmond responded to Wooten, saying that “any loss of life, for any reason, is worth preventing” but added that “clearly, those with underlying circumstances are the most vulnerable. I believe we can keep people safe and responsibly open our businesses.”
"This is how this is done throughout the entire nation in terms of identifying who has died of COVID-19.”
A study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association in late April concluded that 94% of coronavirus patients in New York City hospitals suffered from preexisting conditions that made them more likely to succumb to Wuhan coronavirus.
Friday, Colorado adjusted its death toll drastically downward after Colorado’s Department of Public Health admitted that its Wuhan coronavirus death toll was counting those who tested positive for the coronavirus but had died of other causes.
Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) spoke to the media earlier this week about the state's reopening plans. Friday, the state reduced its Wuhan coronavirus death toll by nearly 300 upon determining those victims died of other causes while having the virus. (Photo: Daniel Adfams/AP)
The department now says 1,150 Coloradoans who died had COVID-19 but only 878 of those deaths were “due to” the virus itself.
Desmond’s comments come as states across the country are debating how to classify coronavirus deaths in hospitals. Polls show that people are growing skeptical about the death counts being released by their local governments.
Coroners in Pennsylvania and Colorado have expressed frustration with the way coronavirus deaths are being tallied. In addition, White House coronavirus task force response coordinator Deborah Birx said the official death toll may be inflated by 25% through attribution of nursing home residents and other comorbidly infected patients' deaths to the virus..
“There is nothing from the CDC that I can trust," Birx reportedly said.
Fellow task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said he believes the number is being under reported.
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