New York City Hospitals Reckon With Onslaught Of Patients In Heart Of Country’s Outbreak

The New York Times: ‘We’re In Disaster Mode’: Courage Inside A Brooklyn Hospital Confronting Coronavirus
It was not even 9 in the morning and Dr. Sylvie de Souza’s green N95 mask, which was supposed to form a seal against her face, was already askew. In freezing rain on Monday, she trudged in clogs between the emergency department she chairs at the Brooklyn Hospital Center and a tent outside, keeping a sharp eye on the trainee doctors, nurses and other staff members who would screen nearly 100 walk-in patients for the coronavirus that day. (Fink, 3/26)

The Associated Press: A New York Doctor's Story: 'Too Many People Are Dying Alone'
As an emergency medicine physician in New York City, Dr. Kamini Doobay has always known that death is part of the territory when trying to care for the city’s sickest. But it hasn’t always been like this — patients hit the hardest by the coronavirus, struggling to breathe and on ventilators, with no visitors allowed because of strict protocols to prevent spreading the virus. “So often a patient will be on their deathbed, dying alone, and it’s been incredibly painful to see the suffering of family members who I call from the ICU, hearing the tears, crying with them on the phone,” said Doobay, 31. (Bumsted and Hajela, 3/27)

ABC News: 'Lot Of Fear': Coronavirus Pandemic Compounds Dire Situation For Poor Americans
By 8 a.m. on Wednesday, the line outside St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in New York City stretched around the block. But this wasn't any ordinary morning. Fixed-income residents like 66-year-old Patricia Sylvester faced an agonizing choice -- weighing the risk of catching the coronavirus or going hungry in the pandemic that has seized America's largest city. (Hutchinson, 3/27)

The New York Times: Coronavirus On Long Island: 6 Die In Outbreak At Retirement Community
The first sign appeared two weeks ago, when an employee tested positive for coronavirus. By Wednesday, Peconic Landing, an upscale elder community on the North Fork of Long Island, announced its sixth death from the virus, sparking fears of an even bigger outbreak among a vulnerable, confined population. What was a peaceful waterfront resort by the shores of Long Island Sound has become a scene of emergency crews and spreading anxiety. Employees worked double shifts or filled in for missing workers; when one threw out her mask to go on break, her supervisor reprimanded her for not reusing it. (Leland, 3/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Deaths Climb In New York
The number of novel coronavirus-related deaths in New York increased by 35% to 385 on Thursday, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned that the toll would worsen and that hospitals were being overrun. The number of fatalities rose by 100. Some patients are spending weeks on a ventilator, he said. The average time for most Covid-19 patients is between 11 and 21 days, which is more than triple that of patients with other illnesses, he said. (Honan, 3/26)

The Washington Post: ‘Channel Anxiety Into Vigilance’: Tips From A Top Health Official At The Center Of New York’s Coronavirus Fight
Wash your hands. Keep six feet from each other, but don’t be afraid to say, “Hi.” Be vigilant but not anxious. Demetre Daskalakis, deputy commissioner for the Division of Disease Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is pushing these messages aggressively as he seeks to reassure those living here through the worst public health crisis in a century. (Guarino, 3/26)

CNN: Why New York Is The Epicenter Of The American Coronavirus Outbreak 
There were over 74,000 cases of coronavirus in the United States as of Thursday midday. About half were in New York -- almost 10 times more than any other state. Why has the outbreak hit New York so much harder than other places?Health experts said the answers are largely specific to the New York metropolitan area -- its density and population, primarily -- but they are also a warning to other states that think they may be spared. New York is the epicenter for now, but Covid-19 will not stop there. (Levenson, 3/26)

The New York Times: What Made New York So Hospitable For Coronavirus?
Perhaps it was inevitable that New York City and its suburbs would become an epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States. The population density, reliance on public transportation and constant influx of tourists — all would seem to make the metropolitan area a target. But to stop the virus, scientists have to figure out which factors played a greater role than others. As it turns out, that is not so simple. “We have more speculation than facts,” said Dr. Arnold Monto, professor of epidemiology and global health at the University of Michigan. (Kolata, 3/26)

The Wall Street Journal: As Coronavirus Patients Flood Hospitals, The Rest Of New York Feels ‘Like The Twilight Zone’
Before dawn on Wednesday, Brian Levy, a union electrician, drove into work in Manhattan’s Financial District from his home on Long Island. The commute, normally clogged by traffic, took half as long—the roads were nearly empty. From his perch working on the upper floors of 222 Broadway, Mr. Levy looks out on a silent city: darkened windows, deserted streets, shuttered businesses. Blocks south, as markets opened on Wednesday morning, an empty cobblestone plaza gave the New York Stock Exchange the air of a mausoleum. There is no morning rush hour at the Oculus transportation hub in the shadow of the World Trade Center. (O'Brien, Parker and Passy, 3/27)

Modern Healthcare: NYC, NJ Hospital Leaders Brace For 'Enormous' Hits To Revenue
Running out of ventilators has been a major topic of discussion among New York City hospital leaders, but one finance chief said that's not his biggest fear in the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our number one concern is staff," said Kevin Ward, the chief financial officer of New York-Presbyterian Queens, a 535-bed acute-care hospital. "We can have all the ventilators in the world, but we don't have enough respiratory therapists. They're in short supply." (Bannow, 3/26)

The Associated Press: Coronavirus Cases Hit 2 Largest US Cities Differently
Los Angeles recorded its first case of coronavirus five weeks before New York City, yet it’s New York that is now the U.S. epicenter of the disease. Public health officials are keeping a wary eye and warning that LA could end up being as hard hit as New York in coming weeks, in part because a planned increase in testing may uncover a dramatic surge in cases. Testing in Los Angeles County is expected to increase from 500 per day to 5,000 by the end of the week. (Melley, 3/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: New York’s Coronavirus Surge Holds Lessons For California, Which Is Listening
In the escalating battle against the coronavirus, California and the Bay Area have looked across the oceans to China, South Korea and Italy to anticipate how bad things may get — and now they’re looking much closer to home in New York, the epicenter of the U.S. epidemic. New York state has nearly 40,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. That’s roughly half of the country’s total, and 10 times as many as in California. About 385 people in New York have died, or more than a third of the U.S. total and five times California’s death toll. (Allday, 3/26)

Los Angeles Times: Silicon Valley Faces Tough Coronavirus Projections
Silicon Valley could see a coronavirus-related death toll of 2,000 to 16,000 by the end of May, depending on how seriously people take the order to stay at home as much as possible, according to projections presented at a San Jose City Council meeting this week. The thinking behind the rough estimates illustrates why health and elected officials across California have sounded the alarm about the exponential rise in coronavirus cases reported since the beginning of March. (Lin, 3/26)

CNN: California Cities Could See Coronavirus Outbreaks As Bad As New York City, Officials Say 
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had a grim warning about the coronavirus pandemic for cities in California and across the country. "No matter where you are, this is coming to you," Garcetti said in an online address Thursday. "Everybody is the new 'whatever the worst city is' right now. Take all the measures you can now to make sure people are home." (Moon and Maxouris, 3/27)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Reports 9 New Coronavirus-Related Deaths
As both the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in Los Angeles County rose by more than half Thursday, public health officials warned that the trajectory of new infections would likely grow dire in the coming weeks. Health officials reported nine new deaths, bringing the death toll to 21. Officials also reported 421 more confirmed cases of the virus, for a total of 1,229, an increase of 52% over Wednesday. (Wigglesworth, Vega, Megerian, Chabria and Nelson, 3/26)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus In L.A.: Analyzing The Rise Of Cases, Deaths
Los Angeles County on Thursday saw a spike in both confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. Officials have expected the number of cases to increase as more testing became available, and that is occurring. The question is: How much longer will the case numbers explode so dramatically? Many of those now listed as being infected got sick before social distancing rules were imposed across California, so it’s still not fully clear how much the restrictions might slow the spread. (Wigglesworth, Karlamangla and Chabria, 3/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Coronavirus Cases Climb As Testing Grows: 26% Test Positive At Hayward Site
More than a quarter of the people tested for coronavirus at a Hayward site that opened this week turned up positive, city officials said Thursday, as confirmed cases climbed in the Bay Area, topping 1,400, with at least 32 deaths.At the city-run site, 26% — 54 out of 207 tested Monday, its first day — were positive, as new sites open daily in the Bay Area and confirmed cases of the illness caused by the coronavirus rise. (Moench, 3/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Refugees’ Flee Bay Area For Taiwan, Hoping To Leave Coronavirus Behind 
Leaving the Bay Area is on a lot of minds, as local infection numbers escalate. Reports of local public health supply shortages have emerged, as news from Italy and New York reminds citizens how horrifying it can be for the sick, especially the elderly, when hospitals exceed their capacities. Several Bay Area residents have confirmed they left the country, started a planned trip early or are making plans to leave the U.S. following concerns about care here. (Hartlaub, 3/27)