Summit County officials this week addressed discrepancies in the number of COVID-19 deaths listed on the county’s website and previous reporting from the Summit Daily News.

On March 10, the county reported two new deaths among COVID-19 cases, which should have brought the total to eight. However, the county’s website listed the total number of deaths at seven. On Wednesday, Summit County Director of Communications Nicole Valentine explained that the death of a 75-year-old man who died of a hemorrhagic stroke on June 15 has since been removed from the total.

Valentine said all deaths are reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm that they fit the definition of deaths among COVID-19 cases. After reviewing the death, it was determined that it did not meet the criteria because the date of death was more than 30 days after the victim’s COVID-19 diagnoses. The review process can take months to complete, according to Valentine.

That leaves Summit County with three deaths that were determined to be caused by the virus:

• An 89-year-old man died April 25 from respiratory failure due to COVID-19
• A 71-year-old woman died Nov. 18 from respiratory failure due to COVID-19
• A 47-year-old man died Dec. 7 from respiratory failure due to COVID-19

The state’s total number of deaths for Summit County also includes four people who had the virus but other primary causes of death were listed on their death certificates, including the two February deaths that were reported last week.