New York City’s coronavirus death toll passes 10,000 in revised count

April 15, 2020 12:05 am • Last Updated: April 15, 2020 12:05 am

By By Anna Sanders and Shant Shahrigian, New York Daily News

Alfina Schicker takes a solitary walk through the woods in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Tuesday, April 14, 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

NEW YORK — More than 10,000 people have died in New York City due to coronavirus, under a revised count that factors in “probable” cases that were previously excluded from the grim toll, the Health Department revealed Tuesday.

The new count includes 6,589 deaths of people who had tested positive for COVID-19, along with 3,778 individuals whose death certificates listed the virus as their cause of death even though there was no known test for them — making a total of 10,367 deaths as of Monday.

The city reported another 8,184 deaths between March 11 and Monday that were not known to be confirmed or probable coronavirus cases. During the same period last year, 5,167 people died.

More than one out of five of the probable deaths took place at the victim’s home, with another 17.8% happening at a nursing home, long-term care site or hospice, according to the Health Department. Nearly 60% of such deaths occurred at a hospital.

By comparison, more than 90% of confirmed deaths happened at a hospital, with 4.8% happening at a nursing home or similar site.

Out of the probable deaths, 59.8% happened in a hospital, 17.8% in a nursing home

The mayor’s office did not immediately answer a request for comment about the revised numbers, which came as the city has struggled to disseminate vital information about the outbreak.

At a Tuesday morning press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio said some newly available data suggested potential improvement in the devastating outbreak.

City hospitals admitted 326 patients with suspected coronavirus symptoms on Sunday, down from 383 the day before, de Blasio said.

But there was a slight uptick in people sent to intensive care, and a higher percentage of people tested positive for the dreaded virus — 59.6% of those tested got positive results on Sunday, up from 58.1% on Saturday.

“Every day, we have to win that battle to prove that we can reduce the spread of this virus, get those indicators to go down in unison over a longer period of time,” de Blasio told reporters. “And then we’ll be in a position to talk about our next steps.”

Statewide, 778 New Yorkers died in the past day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths to 10,834. The number of positive COVID-19 cases came to 202,208, an increase of several percentage points over the previous day.

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PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194):

A jogger wearing a mask runs along Brooklyn Bridge Park, Tuesday night, April 14, 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic in New York. Known as "The City That Never Sleeps," New York's streets are particularly empty during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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