For Carbon County Coroner Robert W. Miller Jr., accuracy is crucial.

That’s why he’s concerned that the numbers of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus he’s been tallying don’t match the ones released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

As of Wednesday, Miller says, “we have 56 deaths from the virus. ”

The Department of Health pegged the number at 70.

Department Deputy Press Secretary Maggi Mumma says the difference is due to how the numbers are gathered.

“The Department of Health’s death counts are inclusive of all COVID-19 deaths, including those determined by medical professionals as well coroners,” she says.

Carbon COVID-19 deaths

COVID deaths as of Wednesday, according to Carbon County Coroner Bob Miller:

• 12 at St. Luke’s Lehighton ICU

• 15 at Weatherwood Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center

• 4 at The Summit Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

• 22 at Mahoning Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

• 3 at Maple Shade Meadows Senior Living

“The department reports deaths by the county of residence, as the (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) does. This is different from coroners, who often report deaths by the county of death,” Mumma says.

Further, a “death can be attended to by a medical professional, which includes a physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, physician assistant or dentist who is a staff member of a licensed health care facility, and does not need to be referred to a coroner,” she says.

Mumma says deaths are referred to a coroner “when a medical professional is not able to certify the death, or if the circumstances surrounding the death suggest the death was sudden, violent, suspicious in nature or was the result of other than natural causes.”

As of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, there were 220 new deaths reported statewide for a total of 11,762 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Gov. Tom Wolf early in November vetoed a bill written by state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, that would have required county coroners be notified of any suspected COVID-19 deaths in their jurisdictions.

Wolf said the requirement would have slowed the reporting of such information, jeopardizing public safety.

Miller says the state’s explanation of the differences just doesn’t add up.

He believes the department is attributing more deaths to COVID-19 than it should.

“They count everybody as presumed positive for COVID-19,” he says. “The more numbers they get, the more money they get.”

His Schuylkill County counterpart, Dr. David J. Moylan III, is equally concerned, although cryptic.

“We’re going to find out. We’re investigating it,” he said.

Moylan deferred further comment pending the completion of his inquiry.

While coroners Miller and Moylan are skeptical, the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association says that while the state’s method is a bit more cumbersome, nothing nefarious is afoot.

“Coroners have deaths reported to them at the time of death, which is instantaneous. The (state) system is relying on the electronic death registry system and other systems to compile their death numbers, which results in a delay,” says organization President Charles Kiessling Jr.

The state is using the “deceased’s home address to compile the deaths, where coroners use the location where the death occurred,” he says.

“Some persons die outside of the county where they resided, and therefore this can cause different numbers being reported as well.”

Kiessling points out that both addresses can be important for contact tracing to reduce the spread of the virus.

That’s crucial, says Lehigh County Coroner Eric D. Minnich.

His office works with the Allentown Health Bureau.

“We provide them with information about (COVID-19) deaths, so they can trace as quickly as possible.

That’s important, “especially with notifying emergency medical services and other first responders,” he says.

Minnich says he also sees differences between his and the state’s numbers.

“We have slightly different numbers from state, but not a great disparity,” he says.

The state reported 381 COVID-19 deaths in Lehigh County as of Nov. 25; Minnich had 377.

“I’m sure some Lehigh County residents died in other counties. That could explain the disparity,” he says.

Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said Thursday he’s not had a chance to check the state’s most recent numbers.

Monroe County Coroner Thomas A Yanac Jr. was unavailable for comment.