COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state announced Wednesday afternoon it will add up to 4,000 previously uncounted COVID-19 deaths to its figures. 

The Ohio Department of Health said in a statement "as many as 4,000 COVID-19 deaths may have been under reported through the state’s reporting system." The deaths will be added to Ohio's mortality metrics next week, the statement said.

In October, the state encountered "process issues affecting the reconciliation and reporting" of the deaths, the statement said. 

"The largest number of deaths were from November and December. Although being reported this week, the deaths will reflect the appropriate date of death on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard," the statement said.

The Ohio Department of Health is working with the Ohio Auditor of State, which is auditing Ohio's COVID-19 reporting. 

"The issue related to the unreconciled COVID-19 deaths was identified by the Ohio Department of Health during a routine employee training," the statement said.

The health department said there will be "increased quality assurance" for death reporting moving forward, but there could be anomalies for the next few days as the deaths are added. 

As of Wednesday's update, Ohio has reported 11,856 COVID-19 deaths.