The Department of Health has reported a COVID-19 fatality for Warren County.

The Tuesday report came as a surprise to people in the county who are in the know.

It does not necessarily mean that a person in the county contracted the virus here, was tested here, and/or died here. Reporting is based on a patient’s place of residence, not the location of testing or death, according to DOH.

The Times Observer asked for comment from Warren General Hospital personnel shortly before noon Tuesday.

“Your inquiry is a little bit of a surprise to us,” Chief Nursing Officer Joe Akif said. “We have received all of our tests back and they are all negative.”

The hospital would be notified if a positive test initiated at the facility.

“They were not tested at Warren General Hospital,” Akif said. “They were not patients at Warren General Hospital.”

State Rep. Kathy Rapp was not expecting any new COVID cases nor fatalities in the county Tuesday morning, either.

“I am in constant contact with the hospital and the Department of Health,” Rapp said Tuesday afternoon. “I am a bit puzzled.”

Prior to previous announcements of new cases in her district, she has been notified.

“I usually get a confidential phone call from the Department of Health,” she said. “Today, I received nothing. The Department of Health did not reach out to me, as they usually do.”

The department does not violate any Disease Control and Prevention Act restrictions on releasing information.

“The department does not give me information narrowing down to place of residence or location,” Rapp said. “It is strictly by county. That is the extent of my information.”

The department did not provide any additional information regarding the positive and the fatality.

“We are not able to comment on specific cases,” Maggi Mumma, of the Department of Health Press Office, said. “The information on our website will confirm the county of residence. The Disease Control and Prevention Act limits information being released to only what is necessary to protect the health and well being of Pennsylvanians.”

“With all that being said, we can share the county of residency for the individual. So, even if they were tested or died in another county, their number would count for the county that they reside in,” Mumma said.

It is possible — but no one has said it is the case — that the patients in Tuesday’s report were not anywhere near the county.

“COVID reporting is completed by a person’s place of residence,” Akif said. “It is not reported by where the infection occurred.”

“If these results are accurate, the individuals reported could be traveling or became infected outside of Warren County,” he said. “Due to Warren County being their place of residence, it is reported as a Warren County result.”

“So, even if they were tested or died in another county, their number would count for the county that they reside in,” Mumma said.

It is possible the that the new case is also the fatality. “They may be the same individual,” Akif said.

It is also possible that the patient died before having a confirmed positive COVID test. According to Akif, if testing is indicated for a deceased patient, the test could and would be done posthumously.

Hospital personnel have checked around the county to see if there is a new positive case in the county.

“Positive COVID tests and deaths from COVID are reported to the State Departments of Health and through the National Electronic Data Submission Surveillance (NEDSS),” Akif said. “If a case is identified by Warren General Hospital or a Pennsylvania-based organization, it is submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and NEDSS.”

“WGH has reached out to the PA Department of Health who cannot explain the new reporting,” he said. “We reached out to our local health department and they have no reports that show any positives or deaths. As of the time of writing this note, there is nothing listed in either database for an additional positive or death. It still lists only one positive case from Warren, PA.”

“WGH has reached out to local healthcare organizations — nursing homes, personal care homes and local physicians,” Akif said. “None have any information reading new cases to include a death.”

“WGH has reached out to hospitals in Erie and they have reported no knowledge of new cases or any deaths,” he said. “The hospital continues to attempt to gain more specific information about these new reportings and will share with the team as soon as we have a better understanding of the new reporting.”

The department’s update and its hospital dashboard initially disagreed Tuesday. The dashboard indicated two cases but no fatalities for Warren County.

Asked about that discrepancy, the department clarified and corrected the dashboard.

“We can confirm it is one death, two cases,” Public Information Officer Brittany Lauffer said. “There was just a delay in the data reporting.”