A sign that the COVID-19 death toll in Australia is higher than the official numbers.
The COVID-19 toll in NSW has reached 51 after NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant announced that the 85-year-old man’s death on 27 April at the Western Sydney aged care home was reclassified under changes to the national guidance on the classification of COVID-19 deaths.
The man had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and transferred to hospital, but passed away on 27 April following two negative tests.
“The clinical treating doctor diagnosed COVID as contributing and so in accordance with the national guidelines, we’ve included that as a death and that has been updated,” she said.
As we covered here in our interview with Opal CEO Rachel Argaman, the outbreak at the home saw three residents and three team members test positive in March and April, with the other two residents also sadly passing away.
The death brings the total number of deaths among residential care residents from COVID-19 in Australia to 30, while the toll among home care recipients stands at three – 31% of Australia’s 104 coronavirus deaths.
