MENU

Sections

  • Home
  • About
    • The Chestertown Spy
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising & Underwriting
      • Advertising Terms & Conditions
    • Editors & Writers
    • Dedication & Acknowledgements
    • Code of Ethics
    • Chestertown Spy Terms of Service
    • Technical FAQ
    • Privacy
  • The Arts and Design
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
  • Community Opinion
  • Donate to the Chestertown Spy
  • Free Subscription
  • Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy

More

  • Support the Spy
  • About Spy Community Media
  • Advertising with the Spy
  • Subscribe
July 4, 2025

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

  • Home
  • About
    • The Chestertown Spy
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising & Underwriting
      • Advertising Terms & Conditions
    • Editors & Writers
    • Dedication & Acknowledgements
    • Code of Ethics
    • Chestertown Spy Terms of Service
    • Technical FAQ
    • Privacy
  • The Arts and Design
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
  • Community Opinion
  • Donate to the Chestertown Spy
  • Free Subscription
  • Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy
News COVID-19

Discrepancies in Reported COVID-19 Deaths in Kent, Queen Anne’s

May 11, 2020 by John Griep

Share

The websites for the state of Maryland and for Kent and Queen Anne’s counties show discrepancies in the number of deaths in those two counties.

The state and the Kent County Health Department report 13 deaths in the county; yet the state also reports that 15 residents of a Chestertown nursing home have died as a result of COVID-19.

In neighboring Queen Anne’s, the county reports zero COVID-19 deaths, but the state reports eight.

Health officials in both counties have said the discrepancies are based on the address listed on the death certificates for those patients.

“The dilemma that we have is the state webpage uses the information that is listed on the death certificate,” William Webb, the Kent County health officer, said. “The county of residence for the death certificate is determined between the funeral director and the next of kin. Typically, the Bureau of Vital Statistics does not get involved.”

“What happens is, for the sake of expedience and also for estate processing purposes, they will decide to put the residence for any number of reasons on the death certificate,” Webb said.

Queen Anne’s County officials have said the eight deaths listed for that county were Queen Anne’s County residents living in facilities elsewhere when they were infected and later died. Of those eight cases, five were living in Kent County at the time of diagnosis.

The Spy is listing the number of deaths in Kent County as 18. We get that number by adding the 13 deaths reported on the county and state websites with the five Queen Anne’s County residents who died after contracting COVID-19 in a Kent County congregate living facility.

We will continue to use that method in the future until the discrepancies are corrected.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: COVID-19 Tagged With: Covid-19, deaths, Kent, Queen Anne's

About John Griep

John Griep has spent more than 25 years as a reporter and editor covering Talbot County and the Mid-Shore, including county and town governments, courts, police, planning and zoning, business and real estate. Contact him at [email protected].

Op-Ed: Facebook Brings Out the Worst in Us by Maria Grant Art on Lockdown: Author Robert Blake Whitehill

Letters to Editor

  1. Marcia yeager says

    May 11, 2020 at 3:23 PM

    The question remains: where are the cases not in group facilities? If you can’t tell us,can you tell us how to get that info?

  2. John Griep says

    May 12, 2020 at 11:18 AM

    The state’s website at coronavirus.maryland.gov shows cases by ZIP code for any ZIP code with at least 8 cases. On the map at the top of the page, click on the “Cases by ZIP code” tab at the bottom. Click on a ZIP code area to see the number of cases in that ZIP code. As of this morning, there are 80 confirmed cases in the Chestertown ZIP code (21620), which includes a portion of northern Queen Anne’s County. There are 17 cases in the 21651 (Millington) ZIP code, which also extends into northern Queen Anne’s County. There are 10 cases in the 21678 (Worton) ZIP code. Additional details about individual cases would not be available due to medical privacy laws.

Trackbacks

  1. Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 11 says:
    May 11, 2020 at 2:52 PM

    […] • The Spy reports the number of deaths in Kent County as 18. We get that number by adding the 13 deaths reported on the county and state websites with the five Queen Anne’s County residents who died after contracting COVID-19 in a Kent County congregate living facility. See related story at chestertownspy.org/2020/05/11/discrepancies-in-reported-covid-19-deaths-in-kent-queen-annes. […]

  2. Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 15 says:
    May 15, 2020 at 2:52 PM

    […] ** See related story here. […]

  3. Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 16 says:
    May 16, 2020 at 2:52 PM

    […] ** See related story here. […]

  4. Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 17 says:
    May 17, 2020 at 2:52 PM

    […] ** See related story here. […]

  5. Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 18 says:
    May 18, 2020 at 2:52 PM

    […] ** See related story here. […]

  6. Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 19 says:
    May 19, 2020 at 2:52 PM

    […] ** See related story here. […]

Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article

We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.

Copyright © 2025

Affiliated News

  • The Cambridge Spy
  • The Talbot Spy

Sections

  • Arts
  • Culture
  • Ecosystem
  • Education
  • Health
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Spy Senior Nation

Spy Community Media

  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising & Underwriting

Copyright © 2025 · Spy Community Media Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in