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A Mississippi county coroner said his state's death count from coronavirus could be incorrect, adding that possible misreporting has led to "unnecessary fear in the public." Joshua Pounder, coroner for DeSoto County in northwest Mississippi, included a breakdown of all causes of death in the county in July on his Facebook page.
The Mississippi State Department of Health demands that anyone who has a positive coronavirus test at the time of their death is reported as a COVID-19 death without acknowledging the fact that "many of them were terminal prior to a [positive] test," Pounder said.
Pounder’s office reported 144 deaths in July, and he attributed the highest number of deaths to heart conditions, cancer, lung or vascular diseases and strokes. Of the 11 causes of death, coronavirus was not among them.
Source: Newsweek August 8, 2020