The Use of Cremation Data for Timely Mortality Surveillance During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario, Canada: Validation Study

Gemma Postill   ^{1, 2, 3} , BMScH ;   Regan Murray   ^{2, 4} , BSc, MPH ;   Andrew S Wilton   ⁵ , MSc ;   Richard A Wells   ² , MD, DPhil ;   Renee Sirbu   ^{2, 3} , BSc ;   Mark J Daley   ¹ , PhD ;   Laura Rosella   ^{3, 5, 6, 7} , HBSc, MHSc, PhD

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, ON, Canada

² Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada

³ Epidemiology Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

⁴ Public Health Agency of Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada

⁵ Population and Public Health Research Program, Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada

⁶ The Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Toronto, ON, Canada

⁷ Institute for Better Health, Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga, ON, Canada