Harrisburg, Pa. (WENY)-- The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,156 new positive COVID-19 cases today, along with 58 new deaths. But according to several county coroners, there is a discrepancy with the total number of deaths. The Department of Health said they are starting to include “probable” COVID-19 cases and deaths in the statewide total numbers. But that’s causing confusion across the state.

“We’ve actually had 3 COVID-19 deaths here in Bradford County,” says Bradford County Coroner Thomas Carman.

According to Carman, only one of those three deaths was a Bradford County resident. The other two were New York residents who passed away at a Bradford County hospital. But the Pennsylvania Department of Health is reporting 5 total COVID-19 deaths in Bradford County.

“We jumped in four deaths according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health overnight,” Carman explains.

According to Carman, the Bradford County coroner is notified when a person passes away from COVID-19 complications at a hospital. But so far, Carman has only been notified three times. That’s where reporting the presumed cases most likely comes in.

“I have no idea, nor, do the funeral homes, where the DOH is getting these presumed cases,” says Carman.

WENY News reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Health on this topic. In response, they said: 

“The probable deaths, as first reported yesterday, include those that coroners have listed COVID-19 as either the cause or contributing cause of death, and it is unknown whether the person had symptoms, was potentially exposed, etc. It also includes probable cases that have passed away. The probable case definition: Deaths among individuals who were investigated and had both appropriate symptoms and high-risk exposure; or A positive antibody test and either appropriate symptoms or high-risk exposure.”

When asked about the New York residents counting toward Bradford County numbers, the state Health Department said cases should only be identified by county of residence, and that a data-cleaning process will catch this and refer those deaths to New York State.

As for the two deaths that Carman isn’t sure how the Department of Health received those numbers, a lengthy response says the following:

“A death attended to by a medical professional, which includes a physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, physician assistant or dentist who is a staff member of a licensed health care facility does not need to be referred to a coroner. These medical professionals, through their hospital or facility, would have access to our data system and if they do not have access to our death reporting area, more information on that is at the below links.

Deaths are referred to a coroner if a death case occurs when a medical professional is not able to certify the death, or if the circumstances surrounding the death suggest the death was sudden, violent, suspicious in nature or was the result of other than natural causes. 

A death of natural causes, such as from COVID-19, can be certified by a medical professional.

The department believes that the current structure of handling deaths, where medical professionals handle deaths in which they attend to, is appropriate. This is what happens for other diseases, such as the flu. Deaths are referred to a coroner if a death case occurs when a medical professional is not able to certify the death, or if the circumstances surrounding the death suggest the death was sudden, violent, suspicious in nature or was the result of other than natural causes.

The Vital Statistics Law says that deaths are referred to a coroner if the death is not attended to by a medical professional, or if the death is sudden, violent or suspicious.

The Coroner’s Law in the county code comes into play when the coroner views the body. If the death is attended to by a medical professional, the coroner would not see the body. The coroners only have authority if they are referred the death case, which again occurs if the death is not witnessed, or if it sudden, violent or suspicious.

A death associated with COVID-19 would not be sudden, violent or suspicious, and in most cases would occur in a health care setting.”

Essentially, the Department of Health says COVID-19 deaths would not require the notification of the Coroner. Meanwhile, Carman suggests the Department of Health includes more specification in its numbers when it comes to confirmed and probable cases.

“I do respect Dr. Levine and her experience and her expertise. I think if they were just to put total 5, 1 Bradford resident and 4 presumed, I think what would satisfy everybody’s needs, and everyone would have a clear picture,” Carman explains.

The Bradford County Coroner isn’t the only on in his field reporting discrepancies. Lycoming County Coroner Chuck Kiessling, who is also the President of the Pennsylvania Coroner’s Association, is speaking out as well.

“Today [Tuesday], Dr. Rachel Levine announced that there were two deaths in Lycoming County, however, none of those deaths have been reported to my office. Therefore, we don’t believe that those cases did occur here in Lycoming County,” Kiessling explained in a video on Facebook.

In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, Kiessling says his office is diligently continuing to investigate and confirm the official death count from Tuesday, and will post again when his office confirms. He also asked Lycoming County residents to refer to his Facebook page for official Lycoming County information regarding COVID-19 numbers.

Wednesday afternoon, the Department of Health reported 1,156 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total to 36,684. They also reported 58 new deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related fatalities to 1,622. Again, those numbers now include some “probable” COVID-19 cases and deaths. Despite the discrepancies from various coroners, the Department of Health stands by the data they’re reporting.

“We know there have been some discrepancies, but we believe our data is accurate based on the information we have. During the data cleaning process, which is continuous, if we find out new information sometimes totals may change based on that, but we are confident our numbers are accurate,” says Nate Wardle, Press Secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.