NYC Is Taking Hundreds of Body Bags Out of Houses--and Soon They Will Be Counted

[LiberalArkie]

The coronavirus death count in New York City, already unfathomable, is expected to surge in the coming days as officials begin including people who have been dropping dead at home without an official diagnosis.

Emergency Medical Service data first reported by Gothamist suggests the undercount of individuals who have likely died from the virus is massive. On Tuesday alone, 256 people were pronounced dead at home across the five boroughs. Until this month, about 25 people in New York City were found dead in their homes on a typical day, suggesting that most of Tuesday’s calls were related to the outbreak that has already killed over 5,400 people across the state and infected 140,386 more.

According to New York City Fire Department data obtained by The Daily Beast, first responders have reported 2,192 “dead-on-arrival” calls over the last two weeks. On average, the department handled about 453 of those calls over the same period last year.

That data also showed that the number of cardiac or respiratory arrest calls has exploded, from 20 to 30 a day at the end of March and the beginning of April in 2019, to 322 on one day in April in 2020—with more than 100 calls every day since March 28. While 30 to 50 percent of those calls ended in a death in 2019, more than 50 percent of those calls have ended in a death every day since March 22 this year, with the percentage steadily rising to 75 percent as of April 5.

More

https://www.thedailybeast.com/nycs-coronavirus-death-toll-expected-to-surge-as-officials-include-deaths-at-home?ref=home

[nitpicker]

1. If I recall correctly, the new policy in the NYC area

Is to not bring cardiac victims to hospitals if they can't be resuscitated in the field.

Obviously, that increases the count of those pronounced dead at home.

It is unclear how many of those who have "died at home" had coronavirus. The only way to know going forward is for the morgue to submit specimens for testing.

[Initech]

3. And I wonder how many have died at home because they couldn't see a doctor?

Of causes unrelated to COVID? That's a scary and unsettling thought.

[Mariana]

6. Cardiac ARREST victims who can't be resuscitated in the field.

People whose hearts have stopped beating altogether, for who knows how long. In other words, they're not transporting dead people to the hospital to make the family feel better anymore. But yes, those poor people are now being pronounced dead at home rather than at the hospital.

[Blue Owl]

2. Donny Moneybags is now Donny Bodybags

n/t

[malaise]

4. Nicely played

[Dopers_Greed]

7. +1000

[MsLeopard]

12. Excellent!

[WhiskeyWulf]

13. Brilliant. nt

[SheltieLover]

18. This!👆

That should be spanky's new name!

This is so sad I feel like I've been punched in the heart.

And it is all on him! 💔😭

[Pepsidog]

20. In 3 years I think this is the best nickname for Dotard I have heard. Make it stick.

[Squinch]

28. Oooh! Good name. Can I use that?

[Blue Owl]

29. Please!

Whatever it takes to get rid of Public Enemy #1: Donald Trump

[NutmegYankee]

5. Lack of human communication and anxiety might be causing more heart attacks.

The stress could be dropping people without COVID-19.

[catbyte]

8. Jesus. This is starting to look like the first episode of "Stephen King's The Stand"

[yaesu]

9. As I understand it people who die at home or on their way to the hospital aren't counted in the

official numbers.

[grantcart]

14. It depends on the death certificate

[keithbvadu2]

10. +1

[coti]

11. At some point, with regard to the numbers, Trump will say, "Well, if you don't count New York..."

Guaranteed.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

15. Sounds like him.

Even with the wild ups and downs, policy changes and meltdowns, he's becoming more predictable in his instability.

[Chicago1980]

16. These body bags should be red...

And say "Make America Great Again".

Send a message to the masses.

[Pepsidog]

21. Wow this thread is on fire. Some great ideas. Magat body bags.

[BComplex]

25. That needs to happen.

Trump and the republicans need to wear this pandemic into the next century.

[Ms. Toad]

17. There may be a jump beyond NY -

Dr. Acton (Ohio) talked about different standards for diagnosis that would not require testing. I haven't found any other reference of it, but if this is a national change we're in for a few-day jump that mirrors China's 2/12-2/13 jump when they added all of the newly identified cases.

[leighbythesea2]

19. In China

When I was watching it as closely as I could,
got the distinct impression they were NOT counting people in homes.
We will never know. I havent searched recently to see on the topic. So what do i know, really. But I am glad they are looking at trying for an accurate number. The cardiac arrest component on this is scary.

[ancianita]

22. I hope photos are taken of it all for the historical record, for those who later deny this horror.

[StarryNite]

23. And there will be the deniers.

The idiots who say this was all a hoax.

[BComplex]

24. This is a nightmare that we can't awake from.

And trump and his republican enablers are at the heart of the whole thing.

[duforsure]

26. I suspect many red state Governors it has been suggested

To them many different ways they can manipulate the numbers to show less for trump and themselves for him to promote falsely until after the election. trumps undermining Americans being tested to hide the truth too by claiming he isn't responsible for getting them test kits, and refusing to help the states get them. The truth is, and has always been trump and the GOP's biggest enemy.

[mucifer]

27. Consider people wanting multiple family members with them when they die Hospice is something

people are more likely to consider than aggressive treatment when that choice is taken away.

I know it's subjective. But, I am a hospice nurse and I have a few patients whose families have decided on death at home instead of going to the hospital for more non life saving treatments that they would have done if not for the Covid situation.