State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, is calling on the Winnebago County Health Department to release complete and accurate COVID-19 fatality statistics in their daily report that distinguish between:
- Individuals who died and had a confirmed case of COVID-19 (had a test); and
- Individuals whose cause of death was from an underlying health condition but where COVID-19 was a “suspected contributing factor” of death but was not tested nor confirmed.
Currently, the Winnebago County Health Department is reporting daily the total number of confirmed cases, the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19, and the number of those who have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19. Rep. Sosnowski is calling for additional information to verify that all individuals listed as having died of COVID-19 in fact had a positive test that confirmed the virus.
“The numbers we receive daily from Winnebago County don’t tell the whole story,” Rep. Sosnowski said. “Doctors across the country have come forward to say that they are under pressure to list a death as COVID-19 even if the deceased patient did not have a positive case confirmed by a test. Manipulation of public health statistics is dangerous, misleading, and wrong. Our community deserves to know that the information we receive each day from the Winnebago County Health Department is fully accurate.”
Statewide as of April 28, there have been 48,102 positive cases of COVID-19 identified and 2,125 deaths. The Illinois Department of Public Health reports that a total of 242,189 tests have been performed as of April 28.
To view updated official daily totals of COVID-19 cases in Winnebago County, please click HERE. To view the statewide daily totals, please visit the Illinois Department of Public Health by clicking HERE.