COVID-19 leads to more deaths in general

A New York City doctor died of an apparent suicide after working with coronavirus patients in a hospital emergency unit. Dr. Lorna Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at New York–Presbyterian Allen Hospital in Manhattan, died at her family’s home in Charlottesville, Va, on Sunday. She was 49 years old. Her father told The New York Times that his daughter had no history of mental illness and in their last conversation talked about how quickly she saw people die of COVID-19 in her unit. The Times reported that Breen was a deeply religious Christian.

Have there been similar deaths? A new analysis found the United States reported about 15,400 more deaths than expected from the beginning of March through April 4, about two times the COVID-19 death toll for that time. A research team led by the Yale School of Public Health analyzed federal data for The Washington Post. Their findings could mean the coronavirus death toll is higher than reported, but it could also include deaths not directly caused by the disease but still related, like people too afraid to go to the hospital to seek medical treatment for other conditions.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report in Relations about how healthcare workers are trying to connect isolated patients with their families.