Apr 21, 2020 5 min read

After a public dispute between the Washington County coroner and the state Department of Health, the commissioners last week approved an agreement with a Minnesota company to provide tests for the novel coronavirus in someone who has died.

The lack of test kits has been an issue nationwide as the coroner’s office has searched for solutions.

The county will be contracting with the distributor, Premier Biotech Labs of Minneapolis, Minn., for a test manufactured by Hangzhou Biotest Biotech Co. Ltd. for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in whole blood, according to the Premier Biotech website. SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Tests for the deceased will cost $900 per case of 60, with purchases being made as needed, according to Coroner Timothy Warco. The source of the funding will be determined based on reimbursement eligibility from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Warco serves as executive vice president of the Pennsylvania State Coroners’ Association.

A second novel coronavirus death in Washington County was noted by the state Department of Health over the weekend, and, according to the county code, it should have been reported to the coroner’s office as “a death known or suspected to be due to contagious disease and constituting a public hazard.”

The Department of Health, however, does not agree, wrote Matt Yancosek, chief deputy coroner. “We’ve directed county-area facilities to report to us, but the Department of Health has kind of undermined that effort,” Yancosek wrote in response to an email inquiry, adding that he could not confirm the death Monday afternoon.

There is still no resolution with the Department of Health, having been told coroners should request supplies through the proper channels.

“We have been, from the start,” Yancosek claimed.

In its dealing with the Department of Health, the coroner’s office was told kits were being sent to counties’ emergency management and public safety departments. Shipments of personal protective equipment arrived when the office was still waiting for test kits.

Eventually, the coroner’s office received a request form, and, via fax on April 7, requested 15 test kits through the state Department of Health.

After about a week, a shipment of three test kits to swab the nose and throat of the deceased arrived at the coroner’s office.

“Three kits won’t go very far,” Yancosek said, and there was uncertainty about how long it might take for additional kits to appear.

“Further, when using the DOH kits, we’re told we still have to call the DOH, wait in queue, and discuss the circumstances with them. Only if they approve may we test.

“We certainly would prefer to partner with the Department of Health, but it has been a battle to even obtain those three kits and some guidance.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health last month recommended coroners and medical examiners follow guidance established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Washington County coroner’s office sought the agreement with Premier Biotech.

The coroner’s office also tried to set testing up with another firm before recommending a contract with Premier Biotech to the commissioners. That fell through at the last moment when a representative of the other firm said because the deceased are not “actionable,” it would instead focus their resources on the living.

“I think their families and our first responders would disagree with that,” Yancosek said.

“What it comes down to is safety and responsibility. We feel it’s in the best interest of all – the families living with this potentially infected person, the emergency services personnel – police, fire, EMS, funeral directors, deputy coroners responding to the home to ensure that this testing is done,” Yancosek wrote.

The coroner and his deputies don’t intend to test each decedent, because 911 operators and emergency medical personnel are screening calls to identify risk factors. Before someone is pronounced dead, there are discussions with families about whether the deceased or anyone in the home had traveled or been ill recently, the symptoms and how long they had persisted, according to Yancosek.

“If something leads us to be concerned for a respiratory illness like COVID-19, we will perform the test,” he said.

Before the second death occurred, Yancosek wrote, “What we do take issue with is the state’s stance that COVID-19-related deaths in hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities should not be reported to the local coroner.

“Absolutely they should – I’ve communicated with colleagues from other states, and they just can’t fathom that a state Department of Health would take this position. After all, our goal should be similar: to act in the best interest of public health.”

As of Monday, Washington County had 83 positive COVID-19 tests and 1,553 negative tests in addition to the two deaths.

State Sen. Kim Ward of Westmoreland County is seeking co-sponsors of a bill that would require the Pennsylvania Department of Health to release communicable disease information by municipality. Under the proposed legislation, county commissioners or their designated county emergency management coordinator would be notified of confirmed contagious disease cases such as COVID-19 without releasing the names of patients.