[mirimir]

Right, they're likely dying at home, and being counted as COVID-19 deaths. That's the safest guess, in the absence of epidemiologic data.

Even so, medical systems and coroners ought to be archiving samples for testing. Eventually there'll be adequate RNA and antibody testing capabilities. Without that data, we won't know what happened.

[zenexer]

They’re not being counted as COVID-19 deaths; they’re not being counted at all. A lot of people are living in isolation right now, often with no regular contact with the outside world. The sad truth is that there are probably a lot of people lying dead in their homes right now, and they could go unnoticed for months.

[mirimir]

Woah, I didn't think of that. I know that it happens, for those without close friends and family. But for many, the first clue has been failure to report for work. Which doesn't happen so much now. And it's eerie to think that it's become far more common.

[zenexer]

Indeed. People aren’t working, aren’t seeing friends/family, and don’t have regular appointments. For many of us, if we died tomorrow, it’d take a while before anyone noticed. I have no idea how many of my friends are still alive; I assume most are fine because they're young, but I’ve lost contact with most of the people I normally see on a daily or weekly basis.

When we come out of this, who will be left behind? And how many of those lives could’ve been saved if we weren’t in quarantine? That’s not to say the quarantine isn’t necessary, but it’s an important question to ask, as its a significant cost that isn’t obvious.

[wiether]

> I have no idea how many of my friends are still alive

Where do you live ? They don't have phone or Internet ?

I exchange daily with every people I call friend; I exchange daily with my close family; I exchange weekly with the rest of my family and people I don't consider friends but still care about.

I'm not a health worker nor someone working in something that matters and I have the luck to still be able to work from home so I've seen as my duty to make sure everyone I care about doesn't feel abandoned and is okay.

I'm not judging or anything but it seems odd to me to call someone a friend and still don't make anything possible to be sure they're safe in those dark times.

[zenexer]

I keep in touch with many of my friends online, but not all of them. There are plenty of friends I typically only see in person.

[belltaco]

Happened in Ecuador.

[BLKNSLVR]

My assumption is that cause of death wouldn't be blindly written off as COVID-19 though.

How thoroughly do deaths of the elderly and infirm get looked into as per the cause?