Virginia Health Department says data error cause of incorrect report that a child died of COVID-19

FAIRFAX Co., Va. (WWBT) - The Virginia Department of Health says a data error is the cause of it incorrectly reporting that a child had died in the Fairfax County Health District due to COVID-19.

Data from the VDH website on Friday reported that a child age 9 or under in the Fairfax Health District died from the virus. A spokesperson said that is not the case and “the error is a result of a data entry error that classified a case as a death.”

The Fairfax County Health Department says it has made the correction, and the correction will be reflected on the state health department’s website on Saturday morning.

As of Friday, the state reported 22,342 total positive coronavirus tests, 812 deaths and 3,059 hospitalizations throughout the commonwealth.

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