Westmoreland coroner says county has 11 coronavirus deaths

Westmoreland County has 11 deaths related to coronavirus, according to Coroner Ken Bacha.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Health reported one death in the county through Thursday, with that number rising to five in its Friday update.

But Bacha said Friday morning that 10 additional fatalities are attributed to covid-19, all of which have ties to four nursing homes.

“The Department of Health is way behind. We have 10 deaths as of Thursday,” Bacha said. “I won’t specify which facilities, but three died in a hospital and all of the others came from nursing homes.”

The 11th death was reported to him overnight and made public Friday morning.

State officials reported 12 new cases and four more deaths in the county from 12 a.m. Thursday to 12 a.m. Friday, bringing the health department’s count to 202 cases and five deaths. The state updates coronavirus numbers at noon daily. It reported Westmoreland’s first coronavirus death Wednesday.

Excela Health confirmed it has had three covid-related deaths at it’s hospitals in Westmoreland County but didn’t disclose which ones. Those deaths are included in the deaths reported by the state health department. An Excela Health spokesman said it reports deaths using an electronic death certificate submission system, which is the conduit to the state. He said Excela has reported deaths this way for a number of years.

The health system said, as of Thursday, it is treating 18 covid-positive patients and another 13 are suspected and awaiting final test results.

Bacha said covid-19 deaths were reported at two nursing home facilities in Unity and one in Ligonier. Three other deaths involved hospitalized patients, he said.

One additional death at a local nursing home is suspected to be related to the coronavirus, but test results are pending, Bacha said.

The reporting delay is attributed to the system employed by the state’s health department, which requires the state to sign off on all covid-19 related deaths as part of a central system that excludes county coroners, Bacha said.

“Most of the doctors aren’t on the system and that’s responsible for the delay,” Bacha said.

Nate Wardle, a spokesman for the state health department, confirmed that reporting of coronavirus deaths rests with doctors and hospitals and not county coroners. Reports of covid-19 deaths are kept in a central registry administered by the health department.

“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, would have access to our data system,” Wardle said.

County officials are prepared for even more deaths. Bacha said up to 124 bodies can be kept at the county morgue and at local hospitals if needed. So far, his office has not been asked to hold the bodies of those who die from covid-19.