Posted on 04/28/2020 11:54:22 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Dr. Daniel G. Murphy is chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital in The Bronx. New York City is ground zero for the COVID-19.
So Murphy knows a thing or two about the virus.
Murphy has been in the ER every day for the last few weeks, either supervising or providing direct care, the doctor wrote in a piece for The New York Post. “I contracted a COVID-19 infection very early in the outbreak, as did two of my daughters, one of whom is a nurse. We are all well, thank God.”
Murphy said the virus has been the worst health care disaster in his 30-year career, but now, he said, “the lasting impact is what worries me the most. And it’s why I now believe we should end the lockdown and rapidly get back to work.”
It is precisely what I have witnessed that now tells me that it’s time to ease the lockdown. Here’s why.
First, the wave has crested. At 1 p.m. April 7, the COVID-19 arrivals slowed down. It was a discrete, noticeable event. Stretchers became available by 5 p.m., and the number of arriving COVID-19 patients dropped below the number discharged, transferred or deceased.
This was striking, because the community I serve is poor. Some are homeless. Most work in “essential,” low-paying jobs, where distancing isn’t easy. Nevertheless, the wave passed over us, peaked and subsided. The way this transpired tells me the ebb and flow had more to do with the natural course of the outbreak than it did with the lockdown.
Second, I worry about non-coronavirus care. While the inpatient units remain busy with sick COVID-19 patients, our ER has been quiet for more than a week. We usually average 240 patients a day. For the last week, we averaged fewer than 100. That means our patients in this diverse, low-income community are afraid to come to the ER for non-COVID care.
Gotham-wide, the number of 911 ambulance runs declined to 3,320 on April 18, down from a peak of 6,527 on March 30, according to New York Fire Department data. The current nadir is significantly below the average.
Murphy said “our pediatric volume in the ER has practically disappeared,” and “visits to primary-care pediatricians are also down, with vaccine schedules falling behind. Everyone seems to be avoiding the health system — an important and unfortunate consequence of the stay-at-home strategy.”
“Third, inordinate fear misguides the public response. While COVID-19 is serious, fear of it is being over-amplified. The public needs to understand that the vast majority of infected people do quite well.”
Finally, COVID-19 is more prevalent than we think. Many New Yorkers already have the COVID-19 infection, whether they are aware of it or not. As of today, over 43 percent of those tested are positive in The Bronx. We are developing a significant degree of natural herd immunity. Distancing works, but I am skeptical that it is playing as predominant a role as many think.
A recent antibody study in New York City found that 1 in 5 (21.2%) of residents have already been infected with the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week. With 8.5 million people in New York City, that means more than 1.8 residents in New York City may have had the virus.
The study tested 3,000 New York residents across the state — at grocery and big-box stores — for antibodies. “What we found so far is that the statewide number is 13.9% tested positive for having the antibodies,” Cuomo said. “What does it mean? They were infected three weeks ago and four weeks ago and five weeks ago or six weeks ago,” Cuomo said. “They have the virus and they developed the antibodies and they are recovered.”
“What you do in a place with 21% is very different,” he said. “The facts dictate the actions.”
Murphy concludes his piece by saying:
More testing will better establish the numbers among those with mild illnesses and no symptoms. My professional experience tells me the number of infected people will be high. Testing is important work, but it should happen in parallel to the immediate resuscitation of the economy and getting people back to work.
At present, the testing is imperfect. We can’t wait months. We must protect the vulnerable and mitigate without destroying the economy.
Standing up to this virus can’t be the job of essential workers only. We’ve been strong, but we’re tired, and we need the rest of you to help us. By getting back to work.
He JUST WANTS PEOPLE TO DIE /sarc
The dam is developing cracks.... the two docs in Cali, now this guy.
I agree with his position.
RE: The dam is developing cracks.... the two docs in Cali, now this guy.
The powers that be and their cohorts are trying to patch the cracks, the two California doctor’s video on YOUTUBE have been taken down after they appeared at Laura Ingraham’s show at Fox last night.
Everyone seems to be avoiding the health system ...It's a prison system without the visitation!
HOORAY Dr. Daniel G. Murphy! Stop making sense. It’s uncommon.
President Dr. Trump should add this guy to his task force. At least he’s actually treated a patient within the last 40 years. Unlike Fauci or Birx.
When ER visits and ambulance visits are down 60% during Coronavirus, it tells me that there is something else fundamentally wrong and inefficient with the health-care system.
If you people choose not to take an ambulance, or go to ER, then those are not emergencies.
No matter.... other more friendlier places exist.
I thought it was just the flu bro. (I never thought that)
"Everyone seems to be avoiding the health system — an important and unfortunate consequence of the stay-at-home strategy.”
No emergency care was never banned. They are avoiding it because of the VIRUS not the stay-at-home strategy. Get the virus out of the hospitals and the waiting rooms and people will come back.
So how do you get rid of the virus? Stay at home strategy + masks when you reopen. Or the flubros' strategy of letting another 40 times as many people get infected, however long that takes and irregardless of the additional fear that would create.
“A recent antibody study in New York City found that 1 in 5 (21.2%) of residents have already been infected with the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week. With 8.5 million people in New York City, that means more than 1.8 residents in New York City may have had the virus.”
I do not understand why they added this in Gateway Pundit it was not in the Doctors opinion piece. Who conducted the recent antibody study or did they pull this from an unsighted reference so some other article?
I would like to read that report/study. Maybe we can get Tucker to interview the Doctor.
Don’t think so. Immunology 101 according to the Cali Docs.
See above.
“If you people choose not to take an ambulance, or go to ER, then those are not emergencies.”
The hospital was in the poor part of New York Cities.
I wonder if the locals were using the hospital ER for everyday illness because they have no Heath Care Insurance. I would not go to a hospital for a everyday illness if there was a killer virus there.
It’s too late. 6 weeks of anything can form a habit. MILLIONS are used to lockdown, and will accept more such tyranny, two weeks at a time. There are MILLIONS who love the present state of affairs. Dozens of governors are not opening up. Governor Ivey in AL just sentenced us another two weeks of business destruction.
I. WILL. NOT. COMPLY. No matter how many people like you tell me I must “shelter in place.”
I fear you are right.....
Trump needs to start pounding the drum to open back up and open smartly.
This “phased” plan does not open things back up fast enough for those with minimal risks (the majority of our nation).
So the anti body test numbers don't include the large number of people who were infected over the last three weeks, and who are asymptomatic.
Many New Yorkers already have the COVID-19 infection, whether they are aware of it or not. As of today, over 43 percent of those tested are positive in The Bronx. We are developing a significant degree of natural herd immunity.
Add the newly asymptomatic to the 43% and we're starting to talk herd immunity numbers.
Please don’t remind me. I’m still incensed, but not surprised.
Thank goodness that I don’t live in Birmingham. I can’t believe the idiot mayor made wearing masks mandatory.
Embarrassing.
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