The old-fashioned way Canada records deaths means the country could be missing out on data important to addressing the COVID-19 crisis.
The confirmed number of COVID-19 deaths — about 4,900 across Canada as of Monday afternoon — represents people who have tested positive for the viral disease.
Experts suggest that may not tell the whole story. Testing protocols vary province to province, making confirmed cases an imperfect measure of the true impact of the virus.
Comparing the total number of deaths to previous years could offer a better insight, and the government is working with Statistics Canada to gather and analyze that information.