E.R. Visits Drop Sharply During Pandemic - The New York Times

People even with heart problems are avoiding emergency rooms because they are worried about possible coronavirus infection, according to a C.D.C.

Emergency room visits in the United States have dropped sharply during the pandemic, underscoring concerns that people with serious medical conditions, like heart attacks, are avoiding hospitals, according to a new analysis released on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the coronavirus spread across the United States this spring, visits to emergency rooms decreased by 42 percent over four weeks in April, compared with the same period in 2019.

Visits to the emergency room were down 26 percent in the last week of May, compared with figures from a year earlier.

While hospitals in hot spots like New York City were often overwhelmed by the numbers of seriously ill coronavirus patients, and admissions for infectious diseases and pneumonia climbed, there were drastic declines in the volume of patients who typically come to the emergency room for care.

visits fell nationwide in March and April after the declaration of a national emergency for Covid-19.

Thomas Balcezak, the chief clinical officer for Yale New Haven Health, who recalled walking through his hospital system’s emergency departments at the peak of the epidemic and being struck by the lack of patients.

In a possible sign that patients were coming in later and sicker, he pointed to the C.D.C.’s finding that visits for conditions like ventricular fibrillation had increased, suggesting that patients might have had heart attacks and initially stayed home before coming in with a worsening condition.

He said that many patients were returning for rescheduled surgeries, but that hospital executives were reporting that people, worried about possible infection, continued to avoid their emergency rooms and urgent care clinics.

“This is a national concern that patients are worried that the hospitals, health care systems, physician offices could be more dangerous than grocery stores, hardware stores and other essential businesses,” said Dr.

In some cases, patients may be opting for virtual visits or some other alternative, said Dr.

But in other cases, patients are forgoing needed care, he said.

Klasko said, where someone who feels dizzy or has chest pain can find out if a trip to the emergency room is warranted.

Hospitals are taking numerous steps to ensure patients remain safe from infection, said Dr.

Emergency rooms are not only less crowded, he said, but they have taken a number of steps to screen patients for potential infection and to make sure both patients and providers wear masks.

While emergency room visits for minor ailments like stomach pains, earaches and sprained ankles have been far fewer this year, agency officials pointed to a more disconcerting drop in the number of people who arrived with chest pain, including those experiencing heart attacks.

Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases.

A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals.

This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms

Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing

Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor

But the officials also said the drop in emergency room visits could affect people’s ability to get care when they have no other alternative sources

People who use the emergency room “as a safety net because they lack access to primary care and telemedicine,” they said, might be disproportionately affected if they avoid seeking care because of concerns about the infection risk.”

The analysis of visits from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program, which collects real-time electronic health data, representing nearly three-quarters of all emergency room visits in the United States, was published in an early release of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report by the C.D.C