Coroners say scarce tests mean some suspected coronavirus cases go unconfirmed, casting doubt on official death tolls
Jill Romann, the coroner in Douglas County, Colorado, was so desperate for coronavirus tests that she began calling hospitals in the middle of the night to avoid management, begging whoever was on duty for one or two test kits.
Her total collection reached about 13 before the hospitals caught on and shut her down. She asked the state health department for help getting the tests needed to determine whether deaths were linked to the virus. But she said the agency told her it was not providing them to coroners because it was prioritizing the tests for the living. She hasn't been able to get the supplies she needs from private labs either.
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