New York hospital doctor prepares for the worst, says peak near

With the rapid rise of hospitalizations and a health system nearly at capacity, New York doctor Shamit Patel is preparing for the worst over the next few days, all while hoping he won’t have to start choosing which coronavirus patients to treat.

Just 10 days ago, only half of the 46-year-old internist’s patients at Beth Israel — one of the Mount Sinai hospitals in Manhattan — were suffering from COVID-19.

“We’re not over capacity yet, but we’re planning for it to go over capacity,” he says, adding he thinks the hospital has “planned well.”

The wave of virus patients at Beth Israel corresponds to the one inundating New York City, which shot from 463 confirmed cases two weeks ago to 36,000 on Monday.

“At the rate that I’m seeing, the peak could be anywhere from end of this week to sometime next week,” says Patel.

Under extreme pressure for the past two weeks, he is preparing for the worst, even if “it’s something that we hope we don’t have to see.”

— AFP