The Way the U.S. Is Counting Wuhan Coronavirus Deaths Seems Problematic

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During the White House Wuhan coronavirus task force briefing Tuesday evening, Dr. Deborah Birx said the United States has taken a "liberal approach" in the way doctors classify deaths from the virus.

"The intent is right now if someone dies with COVID-19, we're counting that as a COVID-19 death," Birx said. "There are other countries that if you had a pre-existing condition and let's say the virus caused you to go to the ICU and then have a heart or kidney problem. Some countries are recording that as a heart issue or a kidney issue and not a COVID-19 death."

Dr. Birx confirms ALL DEATHS of people infected with coronavirus -- regardless of underlying conditions -- are classified as COVID-19 deaths

"We've taken a very liberal approach to mortality." pic.twitter.com/v2rteBQMqL
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 8, 2020

Well, Dr. Birx just said it. Anyone in U.S. who dies with Covid 19, regardless of what else may be wrong, is now being recorded as a Covid 19 death.
— Brit Hume (@brithume) April 7, 2020

Tucker Carlson: "It seems entirely possible that doctors are classifying conventional pneumonia deaths as COVID-19 deaths. That would mean this epidemic is being credited for thousands of deaths that would have occurred if the virus never appeared here."

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— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) April 8, 2020

There is a difference between dying from something and dying with something. The way Wuhan coronavirus deaths are counted matters for a number of reasons, but most importantly, its "lethality" has been the driving force behind a countrywide economic shutdown.

This is remarkable. Dr. Birx says here very plainly that anyone who dies “with COVID-19” is being counted as having died from COVID-19. She admits this is a “liberal approach” to recording mortality. The suspicions many of us had are now confirmed.

pic.twitter.com/NxmfwyfjTC
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) April 7, 2020

2. It emphatically provides that doctors are to enter the COVID19 code when recording the cause of death even whether it may not be the main cause of death or is the suspected cause of death. It is the default code to be used.https://t.co/IMBkxcgyNo
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) April 8, 2020

According to the latest numbers compiled under this classification by Johns Hopkins University, there are 398,185 positive diagnoses, 21,849 recoveries and 12,844 deaths.