Covid 19 stats website.

That's pretty much as it should be. That's not inflation.
Contributed to is what is being counted. We all die eventually. The stats are about the immediate contributing cause.
As far as first hand info., not really. First hand info is what a person sees and experiences themselves.
Of course putting suspected patients in with those who actually have the virus makes no sense. Most likely the details and procedure has been confused in the telling and retelling. That's normal too.
I heard it first hand, not some account that I read somewhere from who knows who, or heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend...... Great song by the way. The point about the count is these people are wheeled in to the floor where they treat the corona. If they are there, then it must be from corona. There is more, but I'm just responding to the death count. Hospitals are most likely to get reimbursed for the money spent on the care, and if it's a for profit hospital?
And the black blood, here is definition

The main cause of black blood in the body is due to low blood oxygen levels. This occurs especially when there are few or inadequate red blood cells in the body that can carry oxygen to several organs and tissues in the body. There is also a situation where fluid buildup in the lung sacs.

Black Blood - Meaning, Causes and Treatment
hellomrdoctor.com/black-blood/