POLITICS OF DEATH

San Diego Official Sets Purity Standard for COVID-19 Deaths

The record says 194 people died of coronavirus in San Diego, but the county official doesn’t want to count anyone with a pre-existing condition.

The San Diego County Health Department says 194 residents have died of COVID-19, but the county supervisor says he is only recognizing six of those. Appearing on a conservative podcast this week, Jim Desmond said because 188 of the victims had underlying health conditions, they were not really part of the coronavirus death count. “We’ve unfortunately had six pure, solely coronavirus deaths—six out of 3.3 million people,” Desmond said on Armstrong & Getty Extra Large Interviews. Desmond, who has been calling for an immediate reopening of the county, came under fire for the comment, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Their life is no less valuable than someone’s life who does not have underlying medical conditions,” Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten said of the 188.