MCHD discusses COVID-19 deaths

Is there a difference between dying of COVID-19 and dying with COVID-19?
That was a topic of conversation during a recent Monongalia County Board of Health meeting.
There have been five deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Monongalia County — all occurring between April 3 and May 2 and claiming victims between the ages of 76 and 100 years old.
Monongalia County Health Department Executive Director Lee Smith said all five had some variation of Alzheimer’s disease. Three were receiving hospice, or end of life, care.
“The 100-year-old person who died tested positive, but was asymptomatic,” Smith said. “So is it fair to say this elderly person died of coronavirus or with coronavirus? I don’t know the right answer, but it gets put on the death certificate and distributed out there.”
Asked if Smith believed instances like the one described were artificially inflating COVID-19 death numbers, MCHD Public Information Officer MaryWade Triplett said he does not.
“He was speaking about a specific incident at Sundale [Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care],” she explained.
All five deaths were tied to an outbreak at the Morgantown facility.
In other COVID-19 related news, Smith said he hopes a recent situation between a young construction worker and his employer is not a portent of things to come as more and more people return to work.
According to Smith, the man became ill and was told he could not return to work until he received a COVID-19 test. Because his symptoms did not meet the criteria, the local hospitals would not test him.
“We worked out a solution, but now I have a young man who has been punished for the very thing we don’t want to sweep under the rug. We want people who are ill to stay home,” Smith said, adding that he’s afraid people won’t admit to being sick if they fear employers will require testing.
“This is just one example, but I’m concerned as things move forward,” he said. “Now, was it appropriate for the construction worker to demand a COVID test? Probably not, but I have no control over that.”
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