[Get the latest news and updates on the coronavirus in the New York region.]

Virus deaths may be undercounted as more people die at home.

The official death figures, awful as they are, may not reflect the virus’s true toll. Around the country, according to experts and officials, virus-related deaths are being undercounted because of inconsistent protocols and limited resources.

In New York City, the leader of the City Council’s health committee, Mark Levine, wrote on Twitter that people were dying at home at about 10 times the normal rate, presumably in large part because of the virus, but that many deaths were not being counted as virus deaths.

According to the news site Gothamist, the city medical examiner’s office has not been testing dead bodies for the virus and has instead referred what it considers “probable” virus deaths to the city’s health department.

But the health department counts only confirmed virus cases in its official death tally, Gothamist reported, suggesting that many virus deaths were being missed.

Asked on Tuesday about an increase in people dying at home, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “I’m assuming the vast majority of those deaths are coronavirus-related.”

[Coronavirus in New York: A map and the case count.]

Donating to E.M.T.s is one way to help.

The anxiety and isolation resulting from the virus outbreak can feel crippling. But for New Yorkers who want to do something constructive, there are ways to help.

The nonprofit EMS FDNY Help Fund provides financial support to the city’s emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Like doctors and nurses, these emergency services workers are on the front lines of the crisis, and they have been responding to constant calls over the past several weeks.