08 April 2020
Americans Who Die Infected With Coronavirus Will Be Classified as a COVID-19 Death, Even If It Wasn't the Cause
At a briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, said that the federal government will count the deaths of people who died with coronavirus as COVID-19 deaths, despite other countries not doing the same.
"There are other countries that if you had a pre-existing condition and let's say the virus caused you to go to the ICU and then have a heart or kidney problem — some countries are recording that as a heart issue or a kidney issue and not a COVID-19 death," Dr. Birx said during the briefing. "The intent is...if someone dies with COVID-19, we are counting that as a COVID-19 death."