Coroner says mistake was made when DHEC reported a Midlands child died of COVID-19
Health officials got it wrong when reporting a Midlands child died after testing positive for COVID-19, the Sumter County Coroner’s office said Wednesday.
A pediatric death should not have been included in the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s coronavirus update on Monday, Coroner Robbie Baker said in a news release.
It was actually a person in their 80s who suffered a COVID-19 related death, and not a child 17-years-old or younger, according to the coroner’s office.
Baker said his office was never made aware of a child in or from Sumter County dying, which is normal procedure for any child death.
After checking again with his office, Baker said he reached out to DHEC about the pediatric death.
“It was found by DHEC that it was reported incorrectly,” Baker said in the release. “The individual that passed was in their 80s.”
By DHEC’s classifications, that would mean an elderly person (65 and older) died after it was confirmed they had the coronavirus.
DHEC spokeswoman Laura Renwick agreed, telling The State, “It’s my understanding the date of birth was incorrectly submitted.”
Prior to Monday, two pediatric deaths were reported in South Carolina. That remains the current total, Renwick said.
In all, health officials reported 19 more COVID-19 deaths Monday, and one new probable death.
Through Tuesday, there have been 123,801 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 2,772 coronavirus deaths reported in South Carolina by DHEC.
In Sumter County, 2,918 people have tested positive for the virus and 68 have died since testing began in March, according to DHEC.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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DHEC Age Scale
▪ Pediatric: 17 & younger
▪ Young adult: 18-34
▪ Middle-aged: 35-64
▪ Elderly: 65 & older
Source: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 12:15 PM.
