Cook County daily death toll may not actually be how many people died in previous 24 hours

This time last year, the Cook County Medical Examiner was reporting 900 deaths. So far this year, they have had more than 4,000.

As the numbers keep pouring in each day, we are learning the daily death toll might not actually be how many people died in the last 24 hours.

The Cook County chief medical examiner says it is possible that some of the fluctuation in numbers of daily COVID-19 deaths in the county may be related to when hospitals are reporting the deaths to the medical examiner's office.

Dr. Ponni Arunkumar says it is possible on the weekends and when hospitals are overwhelmed, the deaths are not being reported right away.

“But we are eventually getting reported on these deaths and we're able to take care of reviewing the hospital records and the test results in determining cause,” the doctor said.

So far, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has reported 2,630 COVID-19 related deaths.

“We are not seeing any decreasing trend as yet,” Dr. Arunkumar said.

To ease overcrowding at morgues, the county has been using a refrigerated warehouse referred to as a “Surge Center,” which can hold thousands of bodies if needed.

Since it opened in April, about 330 bodies have been stored there. About 150 are there now -- most COVID-19 related.

Dr. Arunkumar says the National Guard has been helping take the bodies from the hospitals to the center.

“We are having staff work longer hours, they’re working extra shifts,” the doctor said.

Some are working six or seven days a week.

“We need to make sure that staff have the time to rest and take care of this increased caseload. So far we’ve done very well, but we need to maintain that,” Dr. Arunkumar said.

The medical examiner’s office has handled 4,039 total deaths since March 16 of this year. That is more than four-times the amount of deaths the county had during the same time last year.

“I have not heard of or know of any other time in the history of this office where we have seen such an increase in caseload,” Dr. Arunkumar said.

As far as reporting goes, the chief medical examiner also said her office is careful not to include deaths in the overall coronavirus total where the patient had COVID-19, but died in a manner other than the virus.