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WASHINGTON, Pa. (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - The Washington County Coroner’s Office is expressing frustrations with the PA Department of Health over lack of guidance for coroners and medical examiners dealing with cases of COVID-19.
In a statement the coroner’s office says, “While the Department of Health has provided guidance to medical professionals on how to handle presumptive COVID-19 cases in hospital settings, they have not provided the Commonwealth’s coroners and medical examiners with the same sort of thorough guidance for home deaths.”
They add that the health department has not provided them with any way to preform testing, “and have implied that we may have no role at all.”
PA Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said during a briefing on Friday that the coronavirus does live on the body of someone who dies from coronavirus, “for a period of time,” but the length of time is not yet known.
Dr. Levine adds that specific protocols from the CDC that the health department will be releasing as guidance for coroners and funeral directors.
Coroner Tim Warco says that Washington County and the PA State Coroners’ Association were looking for guidance before the first cases were reported in the county.
“We continue to seek guidance, just as we continue to support our first reponders.”
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