The daily tally of New York City residents who died at home with coronavirus-like symptoms exploded from 45 on March 20 to 241 on April 5, according to Fire Department of New York data - suggesting the city may be significantly undercounting COVID-19 deaths.
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective mask is seen at Central Park during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in New York City, U.S., April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
The fire department data are based on information collected during emergency calls involving cardiac or respiratory arrest, with fever and cough. Those are symptoms characteristic of a severe case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The official daily death count had stayed relatively flat, going from 309 on from March 31 to 290 on April 5, according the health department’s website. During that same period, according to the fire department data, the number of daily deaths at home among people with COVID-19-like symptoms rose from 167 to 241.
The fire department would not comment on the significance of its figures, which first were reported on the website gothamist.com.
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