Life

State Now Adding “Probable” Cases To Total COVID-19 Death Total, Revises Other Numbers

- by Staff Writer

On Sunday the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced two additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The also provided an update on the number of positive cases, along with the number of those that have recovered and the number of individuals hospitalized.

DPH says they are now reporting deaths of laboratory-confirmed individuals and deaths involving “probable” cases where the individual had clinically consistent symptoms and was exposed to a confirmed case, but was never tested before their death. This new guidance comes from the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The state says that In total, 35 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19.  They did not say how many of those patients were actually tested compared to how many were “probable” COVID-19 Cases.

According to officials, the most recent deaths involve a 33-year-old female resident of a long-term care facility in Sussex County who had underlying health conditions and an 88-year-old female resident of a long-term care facility in Sussex County who had underlying health conditions. Individuals who have died from COVID-19 ranged in age from 33 to 96 years old.

What We Know:
  • 51% of patients (18) that are being listed as COVID-19 deaths died at a long-term care facility in New Castle County.
  • 14% of patients (5) that are being listed as COVID-19 deaths died at a long-term care facility in Sussex County.
  • 6% of patients (2) that are being listed as COVID-19 deaths died after being hospitalized in Kent County.
  • 3% of patients (1) that are being listed as COVID-19 deaths died after being hospitalized in Sussex County.
  • 3% of patients (1) that are being listed as COVID-19 deaths died after being hospitalized in NCC.
  • 3% of patients (1) that are being listed as COVID-19 deaths died in NCC and was not hospitalized or in a long-term care facility.
  • The first “COVID-19 related fatality” from Delaware died in a Maryland hospital (3% of cases)

What We Don’t Know:

  • Information for 17% of patients (6) that are being listed as COVID-19 deaths is not publicly available. We do not know is these patients were in long-term care, hospitalized or were being treated out of state at the time of their deaths.
  • We also do not know how many patients that are currently hospitalized are out of state residents.
  • We don’t know if any out of state resident has been counted as a Delaware COVID-19 death or if there are plans to do so should a non-resident die in Delaware due to COVID-19.
  • On two separate occasions, the state’s official COVID-19 dashboard did not match numbers published by the state.  We do not have an answer for that at this time.
  • We also don’t know if the first Delaware death (in a Maryland hospital ) was tested or if they were a “probable COVID-19 related fatality.”

The latest Delaware COVID-19 case statistics, cumulatively since March 11, include:

1,625 total laboratory-confirmed cases
New Castle County cases: 880
Kent County cases: 281
Sussex County cases: 464
Males: 725; Females: 900
Age range: 1 to 97
Currently hospitalized: 201; Critically ill: 51 (This data represents individuals currently hospitalized in a Delaware hospital regardless of residence, and is not cumulative.)
Delawareans recovered: 213
10,195 negative cases*

*Data on negative cases are preliminary, based on negative results reported to DPH by state and commercial laboratories performing analysis.

On Sunday the Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health and Division of Health Care Quality also released revisions to the Friday, April 10, announcement of positive cases and deaths in Delaware care facilities, including long-term care facilities. The revisions are:

HarborChase of Wilmington has one resident death; it was listed as having two.
New Castle Health and Rehab in New Castle was listed as having three resident deaths; it does not have any deaths among residents.
Shipley Manor in Wilmington was listed as having multiple positive cases; it does not have any positive resident cases.
No facilities have reported staff deaths related to COVID-19.

In Saturday’s report, the state said that 13 people that had tested positive for COVID-19 are from an unknown county. This is a new category and has not been explained by the state. It’s unclear if the state did not collect that information or if the 13  cases are from out of state. On Sunday the unknown county fell to zero.
 
We know that last week that the state said as hospitals continue to see an increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19, the Division of Public Health will now report the total number of individuals hospitalized and those considered to be in critical condition in Delaware hospitals, including both Delaware and non-Delaware residents. The remaining categories of case statistics reported by DPH represent Delaware residents only.
First State Update has heard rumors that non-Delaware residents were being treated in Delaware hospitals for weeks, however, we have not been able to confirm that to be the case. The statement by the DPH appears to suggest that Delaware is currently treating patients with “COVID-19” from other states or has in the past weeks.