West Virginia governor announces 168 unreported COVID deaths

By CUNEYT DIL and JOHN RABY Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced on Wednesday that an estimated 168 coronavirus deaths went unreported. The news threw into question the data officials used to justify lifting pandemic restrictions. Justice says officials discovered that 70 facilities — mostly hospitals and nursing homes — did not report the deaths to the state’s health department. State health officer Dr. Ayne Amjad said officials are waiting to find out if there are more unreported deaths. She blamed it on facilities not filling out death reports online to the state’s health department in a timely matter.