Michigan’s health director on Thursday acknowledged that the state’s COVID-19 death toll in long-term care facilities could be undercounted.
“Not all of those are reporting,” Elizabeth Hertel, the head of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, told members of a state House panel, referring to nursing homes and COVID-19 deaths. She said that long-term care facilities, which include nursing homes, that have 12 or fewer residents are not required to report such deaths to the state.