Washington County coroner criticizes state guidance on handling COVID-19 deaths
Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco has criticized Pennsylvania’s Department of Health for what he describes as a “lack of concern” about how coroners and other personnel should handle individuals who die in their homes and may have had the coronavirus.
The coroner’s office released a statement late Friday afternoon taking the Department of Health to task for not providing Pennsylvania coroners and medical examiners with the same sort of guidance they have given to medical professionals. The statement further said, “The Department of Health and state leadership have also not provided us with a means to perform testing, and have implied that we may have no role at all.”
It continued, “Well before the first COVID-19 case was reported in Washington County, we, along with the Pennsylvania State Coroners’ Association, proactively sought direction from the state leadership as to our role in deaths with symptoms congruent with COVID-19.”
Warco explained that his concerns center on the safety and health of personnel who are dispatched to homes where someone might have had the coronavirus, and whether those personnel could become infected themselves.
“Once they go to a home, they’re going to go to their home, and that is how it’s going to spread,” Warco said. “If we lose these people, we’re in trouble.”
He also said there is not a way to test someone who has died to determine if they had the coronavirus, and relay that information to families.
Warco, who is a member of the executive board of the state coroner’s association, said his concerns are shared by other coroners and medical examiners across the state.
Nate Wardle, a spokesman for the Department of Health, said the department is trying to formulate guidance for coroners and medical examiners to handle individuals who die as a result of the coronavirus. As of now, it is recommending coroners and medical examiners follow guidance established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It is worth noting that a lot of the guidance that the department provides is either the same as CDC guidance, or similar to it,” Wardle said. “Officials who would like more information are always encouraged to contact the department.”