New York state officials are explaining why the state's COVID-19 death tracker increased by nearly 1,000 overnight.

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The New York State Department of Health's COVID-19 fatalities workbook increased by nearly 1,000 when it was updated late Wednesday. The death total was increased by 952 deaths despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo saying around 230 Empire State residents died from the virus in the previous 24 hours.

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"The increase in fatalities reflects new data reported Wednesday, May 6 in addition to confirmed fatalities within nursing homes and adult care facilities that were identified as part of a data reconciliation process earlier this week," the state's COVID-19 death tracker wrote in an update on the increase in deaths.

The State Department of Health didn't release any more details about the dramatic increase in reported deaths. NBC hasn't confirmed this but reports the increase might be because the state is now including COVID-19 related deaths from people who didn't die in hospitals.

As of this writing, the New York State Department of Health reports 20,828 New Yorkers have died from COVID-19. Over 2,200 Hudson Valley residents have died from the virus.

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