The number of deaths caused by the new coronavirus in New York could be underestimated by several thousand, according to a study published Monday by the United States Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).
According to this study, the number of deaths in New York from March 11 – the date of the first known death of the coronavirus in the first American metropolis – to May 2 was approximately 32,000, or 24,000 more than expected, compared to previous years.
However, over this period, the city’s official figures identified 13,831 confirmed deaths from the virus and 5,048 probable deaths from the Covid-19, for a total of 18,879 deaths linked to the virus. This leaves 5,293 dead exactly without a recorded link with the pandemic but which could be linked “directly or indirectly to the virus”, according to this analysis.
Estimates of excess mortality are often used to measure the severity of epidemics, note the CDC. The organization specifies that the measurement of “probable” or “confirmed” cases notably excludes the deaths of people who had no access to tests, those whose test would have returned negative by mistake, or who died far from everything hospital.
With more than 330,000 cases reported, and more than 26,000 deaths reported according to Johns Hopkins University, New York State has been the hardest hit by the epidemic in the country.
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