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Oregon may soon adjust upward the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 to produce a fuller picture of likely fatalities from the virus.
Thus far, the state has tallied only deaths of Oregonians who had tested positive for the virus, but the state may in future also include people presumed to have died of the illness.
Because of testing shortages, there has been limited testing of people who aren't hospitalized.
Last week, a contradiction emerged in the methodology for counting COVID-19 deaths. At a Oregon Health Association and Department of Human Services press briefing on nursing homes, state officials reported that 14 residents and staff had died at Healthcare at Foster Creek—13 of those had been confirmed as due to COVID-19 and one was a presumed case. So that 14th case was not officially counted in the state's 74 deaths, OHA officials say.
"We haven't started posting presumed cases yet, but my understanding is that that's coming, based on new [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance," said OHA spokesman Jonathan Modie in an April 16 email.
On Sunday, Modie said a decision on counting more cases is imminent.
“Our senior health advisers (public health physicians) have been discussing it,” Modie added in the email. “I would imagine a decision could be made in the next several days.”
New York City revised its count April 14 to include deaths presumed to have been caused by COVID-19 and not just confirmed cases—in order to offer a fuller picture of what's happened in the city facing the nation's worst outbreak of the virus. That change increased the official death toll nationwide by 17 percent, The New York Times reported.
The Times also reported that the CDC has advised since March 14 that presumed cases of COVID-19 should be identified on death certificates.