vox--2020-04-01--Sneezeguards, toilet paper, and visits from lonely seniors: Running a post office during the pandemi

Sneezeguards, toilet paper, and visits from lonely seniors: Running a post office during the pandemic

In rain , heat , or dark , postal work is an essential service that ’ s playing an important role as regions in the US and around the world go on lockdown to try to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic .
People across the US are relying on the USPS — and to meet their needs , post office workers are taking big risks .
While more and more people are being instructed to stay home and most nonessential retail stores have closed , post offices have remained open and mail carriers are continuing to deliver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sales of consumer packaged goods rose 91 percent year over year in the US during the week ending March 14 , according to Nielsen , and that data doesn ’ t even capture what ’ s happened as more US metro areas have issued stay-at-home orders in the weeks since .
While the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said there is currently no evidence of the virus spreading through the mail or packages , at least one study has found that the novel coronavirus can remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for at least a day , and sometimes more .
Translation : This is a fast-moving situation that carries a lot of unknowns both for anyone receiving mail and packages , but also for those handling them .
What we do know is that leaving your house at all and interacting with people in post offices , mail sortation centers , and on door-to-door postal carrier routes can increase the risk of contracting the virus .
On top of this , some postal workers have said that they ’ ve been pressured to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world , the pandemic has tested economies and the supply chains that power them , from manufacturers trying to keep up with the demand for hand soap and toilet paper to the delivery drivers transporting those goods the final miles to customer doors .
For the United States Postal Service ( USPS ) , the agency and its workers find themselves in an especially precarious position .
The service , on one side , is a federal agency required to serve residents no matter how remote the locale .
At the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private shipping carriers like FedEx , UPS , and its frenemy , Amazon , which both relies on the USPS for Sunday delivery while at the same time aggressively ramping up its own Amazon delivery network .
Not surprisingly , the postal service ran nearly $ 9 billion in the red in its 2019 fiscal year , as modest package delivery volume increases could not make up for decreasing volume in first-class mail .
And the pandemic is expected to make things worse : USPS officials have warned that the crisis could lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volumes and a significant loss in needed revenues.
” What is it like for postal employees working through this pandemic and how has the pandemic changed — perhaps in lasting ways — how people use the mail service ?
Recode spoke to a postmaster who runs a mid-sized post office in the northeastern US to find out .
The 30-year veteran of the USPS asked for anonymity to talk to the press because they are not authorized to do so .
We obliged .
Are you and your carriers scared at all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , why are you all still coming to work ?
We are all worried ; I wouldn ’ t say scared .
To be honest , we are all worried for our families more so than ourselves .
We are all coming to work because we serve the public .
Yeah , we don ’ t like delivering stupid crap , but in this time if we can deliver anything that puts a smile on someone ’ s face , God bless them !
Believe me , none of us are working right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can say what they want about the post office , but they have told us : “ If for any reason you don ’ t want to work ” — stress , etc .
— “ take the time off.
” Do you get paid if you want to take off because of stress or being concerned ?
If you have [ accumulated ] sick leave or personal leave you would get paid .
If you test positive , you would get paid .
If [ it ’ s ] stress and you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ you ’ d be ] just [ Family and Medical Leave Act ] protected , but no pay .
I have over a year of sick leave saved and 19 weeks of personal time , so personally I could be out until almost until July 4 , 2022 , on stress or anxiety .
But the USPS is taking good care of us .
I do have a carrier , not tested , but [ who ] had contact with someone who just tested positive this weekend ; we gave him the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has zero leave saved .
He wanted to work but we said stay home , we ’ ll pay you , but follow the 14 days just in case .
What precautions are you taking when interacting with customers inside the post office ?
Has customer traffic slowed at all and what kinds of things are customers still visiting the post office for ?
I ’ ve installed sneeze guards .
Like most places that are still open ... [ we ’ ve added an ] ” x ” [ on ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traffic has slowed but not as much as you would think .
We actually had a customer come in telling me he was self-quarantined !
I told him if he was , he wouldn ’ t be in here .
He said , “ Well , I ’ m still going to run my regular errands , I ’ m just not having people over.
” People are still express mailing toilet paper ; we had a customer express mail it at a cost of $ 155 for six rolls .
But then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ask if we are open , or if we are closing .
Most people just want to get out of their house .
That is why [ the pandemic ] isn ’ t going to go away anytime soon ; people don ’ t really seem to be taking it seriously .
[ US federal guidelines for the pandemic include urging people who feel sick and all senior citizens and those with serious underlying health conditions to stay home .
But many cities and states have implemented even stricter rules , including “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ typically require all people to stay home at all times , except to get food or medicine or to work at jobs deemed by local governments to be essential . ]
What do you think customers still should and shouldn ’ t be going to their local post office for ?
We can sell stamps by mail ; you can forward your mail , hold your mail , change your address online — yet we have many people coming in every day for those services .
Mailing a package is all you should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a post office box .
We can even pick up your mail and packages at your house or business !
[ You can schedule mail or package pickup here . ]
What trends , if any , are you seeing in the online shopping orders your carriers are delivering ?
Essential goods ?
Nonessential goods ?
Can you give some examples ?
I would say 80 percent nonessentials .
I was disgusted with that last week , but , as this goes on , I would rather have people order silly things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ store ] and possibly giving or receiving the virus .
But , yeah , seeing chair covers , Razor scooters , bathroom shelves , hemorrhoid cream , potato chips , cases of energy drinks — just a lot of nonessentials coming through .
What types of items do you think people should and shouldn ’ t be ordering online right now , if any ?
I know since we last emailed it has gotten crazier and more restrictive , so anything anybody wants , I would say just order it [ instead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s keep the public safe .
What do you want to get across to post office customers and online shoppers that they don ’ t seem to understand right now ?
Stay at home means stay at home .
I have a sweet old lady that has come in every day for one stamp .
We keep telling her , “ Just buy a book [ of stamps ] , ” but she says she likes coming in and has nothing else to do anyway .
There have been reports of carriers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flu-like symptoms unless they have either positive test results or doctor notes .
What guidance are you getting on this from USPS HQ and what are you telling your carriers if they don ’ t feel well ?
The USPS is doing great — at least where I am — telling us if anyone feels sick or even stressed , tell [ ing ] them to stay home and report when better .
Anyone that tests positive is to stay out the 14 days and will be paid .
I don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but ours is really pro employees right now , more than ever in my 30-plus years with the service .
[ While this postmaster has positive words for USPS management , more than 80,000 people have signed a petition urging USPS leadership to take further steps to address worker concerns , such as time-and-a-half hazard pay and pausing direct delivery to facilities such as nursing homes . ]
What cleaning or personal care supplies has USPS HQ made available to your office and your carriers ?
Is it enough ?
What are your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ potentially customers ) ?
Cleaning supplies are running low .
My office has enough for a few weeks and we are getting some hand sanitizer from a local distillery .
We have gloves and masks available .
I am getting an infrared thermometer Monday to take employees ’ temperatures , but that is out of my own pocket .
Many postmasters up here are buying and building our own sneeze guards for the retail window , as HQ isn ’ t supplying them .
The main reason it isn ’ t enough is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ social distancing ] serious [ ly ] .
We have customers coming in just to hang out because nothing else is open and they just want to get out of the house .
What would you want to get across to USPS HQ that you haven ’ t been able to or fear saying ?
We all wish the retail window [ for post offices ] would shrink hours to protect exposure , but so far that is falling on deaf ears .
Going to a five-day delivery week , or possibly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are currently doing ) and “ mail ” every other day is an option we would like to see in the field as well , as that would decrease exposure for both employees and customers .
HQ and [ administrative ] staff are working from home so there is a slight disconnect .
How much coordination is there overall between USPS and each post office on issues surrounding Covid-19 ?
What guidelines are being given , if any ?
Every office receives CDC guidelines and Covid-19 communications daily , but we really lean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long-term impact , if any , will this pandemic have on your post office and how it and your carriers work ?
I see sneeze guards being a way of life for all retail [ stores ] , supermarkets , [ and ] gas stations from now on .
Better personal hygiene .
Maybe those and other things we learn will help us against future viruses .
What , if anything , do you think the government should be doing differently than it is today ?
Listen to the health experts and stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too early , the economy will only be worse .

In rain, heat, or dark, postal work is an essential service that’s playing an important role as regions in the US and around the world go on lockdown to try to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. People across the US are relying on the USPS — and to meet their needs, post office workers are taking big risks.
While more and more people are being instructed to stay home and most nonessential retail stores have closed, post offices have remained open and mail carriers are continuing to deliver mail and packages to residences. Online sales of consumer packaged goods rose 91 percent year over year in the US during the week ending March 14, according to Nielsen, and that data doesn’t even capture what’s happened as more US metro areas have issued stay-at-home orders in the weeks since.
While the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said there is currently no evidence of the virus spreading through the mail or packages, at least one study has found that the novel coronavirus can remain on surfaces such as cardboard and plastic for at least a day, and sometimes more. Translation: This is a fast-moving situation that carries a lot of unknowns for anyone receiving mail and packages, but also for those handling them. What we do know is that leaving your house at all and interacting with people in post offices or mail sorting centers and on door-to-door postal carrier routes can increase the risk of contracting the virus. On top of this, some postal workers have said they’ve been pressured to work despite having coronavirus symptoms.
Across the world, the pandemic has tested economies and the supply chains that power them, from manufacturers trying to keep up with the demand for hand soap and toilet paper to the delivery drivers transporting those goods the final miles to customers’ doors. For the United States Postal Service (USPS), the agency and its workers find themselves in an especially precarious position. The service, on one side, is a federal agency required to serve residents no matter how remote the locale. At the same time, it’s competing with private shipping carriers like FedEx, UPS, and its frenemy Amazon, which relies on the USPS for Sunday delivery while at the same time aggressively ramping up its own Amazon delivery network.
Not surprisingly, the postal service ran nearly $9 billion in the red in its 2019 fiscal year, as modest package delivery volume increases could not make up for decreasing volume in first-class mail. And the pandemic is expected to make things worse: USPS officials have warned that the crisis could lead to a “rapid drop in mail volumes and a significant loss in needed revenues.”
What is it like for postal employees working through this pandemic and how has the pandemic changed — perhaps in lasting ways — how people use the mail service? Recode spoke to a postmaster who runs a midsize post office in the northeastern US to find out. The 30-year veteran of the USPS spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the press.
Are you and your carriers scared at all of working through this? And if so, why are you all still coming to work?
We are all worried; I wouldn’t say scared. To be honest, we are all worried for our families more so than ourselves. We are all coming to work because we serve the public. Yeah, we don’t like delivering stupid crap, but in this time if we can deliver anything that puts a smile on someone’s face, God bless them! Believe me, none of us are working right now because we have to. People can say what they want about the post office, but they have told us: “If for any reason you don’t want to work” — stress, etc. — “take the time off.”
Do you get paid if you want to take off because of stress or being concerned?
If you have [accumulated] sick leave or personal leave, you would get paid. If you test positive, you would get paid. If [it’s] stress and you used up all your leave, then [you’d be] just [Family and Medical Leave Act] protected, but no pay.
I have over a year of sick leave saved and 19 weeks of personal time, so personally I could be out until almost until July 4, 2022, on stress or anxiety. But the USPS is taking good care of us. I do have a carrier, not tested, but [who] had contact with someone who just tested positive this weekend; we gave him the 14 days off paid, even though he has zero leave saved. He wanted to work but we said stay home, we’ll pay you, but follow the 14 days just in case.
What precautions are you taking when interacting with customers inside the post office? Has customer traffic slowed at all, and what kinds of things are customers still visiting the post office for?
I’ve installed sneeze guards. Like most places that are still open ... [we’ve added an] “X” [on] the floor every 6 feet. Customer traffic has slowed but not as much as you would think. We actually had a customer come in telling me he was self-quarantined! I told him if he was, he wouldn’t be in here. He said, “Well, I’m still going to run my regular errands, I’m just not having people over.”
People are still express-mailing toilet paper; we had a customer express-mail it at a cost of $155 for six rolls. But then we have customers coming in just to ask if we are open, or if we are closing. Most people just want to get out of their house. That is why [the pandemic] isn’t going to go away anytime soon; people don’t really seem to be taking it seriously.
[US federal guidelines for the pandemic include urging people who feel sick and all senior citizens and those with serious underlying health conditions to stay home. But many cities and states have implemented even stricter rules, including “shelter in place” orders, which typically require all people to stay home at all times, except to get food or medicine or to work at jobs deemed by local governments to be essential.]
What do you think customers still should and shouldn’t be going to their local post office for?
We can sell stamps by mail; you can forward your mail, hold your mail, change your address online — yet we have many people coming in every day for those services. Mailing a package is all you should be coming in for, unless you have a post office box. We can even pick up your mail and packages at your house or business!
[You can schedule mail or package pickup here.]
What trends, if any, are you seeing in the online shopping orders your carriers are delivering? Essential goods? Nonessential goods? Can you give some examples?
I would say 80 percent nonessentials. I was disgusted with that last week, but, as this goes on, I would rather have people order silly things online rather than going [to a store] and possibly giving or receiving the virus.
But, yeah, seeing chair covers, Razor scooters, bathroom shelves, hemorrhoid cream, potato chips, cases of energy drinks — just a lot of nonessentials coming through.
What types of items do you think people should and shouldn’t be ordering online right now, if any?
I know since we last emailed it has gotten crazier and more restrictive, so anything anybody wants, I would say just order it [instead of going to a store]. Let’s keep the public safe.
What do you want to get across to post office customers and online shoppers that they don’t seem to understand right now?
Stay at home means stay at home. I have a sweet old lady that has come in every day for one stamp. We keep telling her, “Just buy a book” of stamps, but she says she likes coming in and has nothing else to do anyway.
There have been reports of carriers being told to come to work despite flu-like symptoms unless they have either positive test results or doctor notes. What guidance are you getting on this from USPS HQ and what are you telling your carriers if they don’t feel well?
The USPS is doing great — at least where I am — telling us if anyone feels sick or even stressed, tell[ing] them to stay home and report when better. Anyone that tests positive is to stay out the 14 days and will be paid. I don’t know about other [regions], but ours is really pro-employees right now, more than ever in my 30-plus years with the service.
[While this postmaster has positive words for USPS management, more than 80,000 people have signed a petition urging USPS leadership to take further steps to address worker concerns, such as time-and-a-half hazard pay and pausing direct delivery to facilities such as nursing homes.]
What cleaning or personal care supplies has USPS HQ made available to your office and your carriers? Is it enough? What are your carriers doing to protect themselves (and potentially customers)?
Cleaning supplies are running low. My office has enough for a few weeks, and we are getting some hand sanitizer from a local distillery. We have gloves and masks available. I am getting an infrared thermometer Monday to take employees’ temperatures, but that is out of my own pocket. Many postmasters up here are buying and building our own sneeze guards for the retail window, as HQ isn’t supplying them. The main reason it isn’t enough is that the public isn’t taking [social distancing] serious[ly]. We have customers coming in just to hang out because nothing else is open and they just want to get out of the house.
What would you want to get across to USPS HQ that you haven’t been able to or fear saying?
We all wish the retail window [for post offices] would shrink hours to protect exposure, but so far that is falling on deaf ears. Going to a five-day delivery week, or possibly delivering packages seven days (as we are currently doing) and “mail” every other day is an option we would like to see in the field as well, as that would decrease exposure for both employees and customers. HQ and [administrative] staff are working from home, so there is a slight disconnect.
How much coordination is there overall between USPS and each post office on issues surrounding Covid-19? What guidelines are being given, if any?
Every office receives CDC guidelines and Covid-19 communications daily, but we really lean on neighboring offices for resources.
What long-term impact, if any, will this pandemic have on your post office and how it and your carriers work?
I see sneeze guards being a way of life for all retail [stores], supermarkets, [and] gas stations from now on. Better personal hygiene. Maybe those and other things we learn will help us against future viruses.
What, if anything, do you think the government should be doing differently than it is today?
Listen to the health experts and stay locked down. If we open up too early, the economy will only be worse.


vox--2020-04-01--What it takes to get an abortion during the coronavirus pandemic

When Paige Alexandria found out she was pregnant , she wanted a medication abortion .
But she lived in Austin in 2016 , three years after Texas passed abortion restrictions that drove more than half the state ’ s clinics out of business .
While many clinics were still open in Austin , they were so busy serving patients from other parts of the state that Alexandria couldn ’ t get an appointment for three weeks .
Alexandria called the clinic every day , hoping someone would cancel so she could get an earlier appointment .
“ For any person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t want to be , ” she told Vox , “ every day feels like a year.
” Now , countless Texans are having a version of Alexandria ’ s experience , wanting an abortion but uncertain when — or if — they ’ ll be able to get one .
Last week , Gov .
Greg Abbott announced that abortion did not qualify as essential health care during the coronavirus pandemic and ordered all procedures postponed unless the life of the pregnant person is threatened .
The state was one of at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic — a move that anti-abortion groups have championed but that abortion-rights groups have characterized as a ploy to exploit a public health crisis for ideological gain .
Abortion-rights advocates have been fighting the bans in court , but on Tuesday , a court ruled that the Texas ban can go into effect , for now .
That leaves Texas patients with a choice : Delay the procedure for an uncertain amount of time , or try to travel out of state during a pandemic to end their pregnancies .
Even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the current crisis has placed serious new obstacles in their way .
In many states , an abortion requires multiple visits to a doctor — which could mean multiple exposures to the coronavirus in waiting rooms and other facilities .
Meanwhile , the enormous economic toll of the pandemic has made it even harder for many low-income people to afford the procedure .
“ For our callers , expenses like groceries and rent are already difficult to obtain , ” Cristina Parker , communications director at the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vox in an email .
“ But with the added instability of our economy — and with so many losing their jobs virtually overnight — paying out of pocket for an abortion can be next to impossible.
” For Alexandria , the daily calls paid off .
She was able to get an abortion after two weeks instead of three .
But it was still too late for her to get a medication abortion ; she had to get a surgical procedure , which was more expensive and required more time away from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she feels for those who are trying to end their pregnancies but are faced with fear , uncertainty , and delays .
“ Abortion is essential , ” she says , “ even during a pandemic.
” At least five states have essentially banned abortion during the coronavirus pandemic As coronavirus sweeps the country , many areas are placing restrictions on businesses and services deemed nonessential , as well as pushing back nonemergency medical care .
In the midst of such moves , officials in several red states — including Texas , Ohio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — categorized abortion as nonessential and ordered that clinics postpone procedures until the crisis is over .
“ No one is exempt from the governor ’ s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures , including abortion providers , ” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement last week .
“ Those who violate the governor ’ s order will be met with the full force of the law.
” Abortion opponents argue that abortion is an “ elective ” procedure and that providers should stop offering it and donate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus response .
“ Somebody needs to tell the abortion industry there ’ s a pandemic going on , ” Mark Harrington , president of the anti-abortion group Created Equal , said in a statement last week .
“ Abortion is an elective procedure or they wouldn ’ t call it a ‘ choice.
’ ” But providers and abortion-rights advocates say abortion is just as necessary now as it ever was .
“ Abortion is essential health care , ” Dr. Ashley Brant , an OB-GYN in Ohio and fellow with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told Vox in an email .
“ Many of my patients are experiencing fear , ” Brant said .
“ Fear of contracting Covid-19 , fear of losing their jobs and income , and fear of not being able to support their families .
They should not have to fear losing access to reproductive health care , too.
” Abortion-rights advocates say that opponents , and governors of states like Texas , are just using this moment to score political points .
“ I can ’ t emphasize enough how shameful it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just further shame women seeking abortion care , ” Kelsey Ryland , director of federal strategies at the abortion-rights group All* Above All , told Vox .
After Texas and other states announced bans , clinics had to cancel or postpone appointments for many patients , as Ema O ’ Connor reports at BuzzFeed .
Planned Parenthood , the Center for Reproductive Rights , and other groups supporting abortion rights filed suit in five states to allow abortions to go forward .
And on Monday , federal judges in Texas , Ohio , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meaning that clinics in those states could stay open .
But Texas appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit , which on Tuesday allowed the state ’ s ban to take effect , at least for now .
That leaves Texas patients in limbo , facing the possibility that abortion may be banned in their state for weeks , months , or even longer .
Since abortion becomes more expensive later in pregnancy — and since some states , including Texas , ban it after 20 weeks ’ gestation — the delay is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Some are already trying to travel out of state for the procedure , said Alexandria , who now works at the clinic where she got her abortion in 2016 .
Traveling at this time is especially difficult — some public transit routes have been reduced due to the pandemic , and contact with others during travel could increase patients ’ chances of exposure .
The bans are just one of many barriers to abortion access right now Even if patients can get to a clinic , they face a host of obstacles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states require multiple in-person clinic visits for an abortion , even by medication .
“ This means that patients have to travel for care , sit in waiting rooms , and interact with multiple health care providers , ” Brant said .
“ This endangers families and communities and promotes spread of the virus.
” In order to mitigate those risks , a group of 21 attorneys general is asking the Trump administration to lift restrictions on medication abortion so that it could be prescribed by telemedicine around the country .
Given the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on abortion , however , it is unlikely to agree .
And the pandemic will only worsen obstacles that many people already face when seeking abortions , many reproductive rights advocates say .
“ Things that were already hard like getting to the clinic for multiple visits , getting child care , could be nearly impossible right now , ” Ryland of All* Above All said .
People who are low-income — the majority of abortion-seekers in America — may be facing job layoffs and more difficulty paying for an abortion than ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already prohibits the use of federal funding for most abortions , and Republicans insisted on Hyde Amendment language in the recent coronavirus stimulus bill to ensure that states and localities couldn ’ t use the stimulus funds to help pay for abortions .
As someone who had an abortion , Alexandria knows what it ’ s like to have to delay the procedure .
For her , it wasn ’ t just the added cost of the surgical abortion .
Because she didn ’ t have a ride to the clinic , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the procedure , increasing her discomfort .
“ It was really just hard not being able to access care when I needed it , ” she said .
But now , as a patient counselor at a clinic , she says she also sees the ways that advocacy groups are trying to help people get abortions during this time , whether it ’ s sending money to abortion funds in states affected by bans or booking hotel rooms for people who need to travel to get the procedure .
“ Even though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said , “ there are so many people fighting right now to make sure that access remains a reality .
”

When Paige Alexandria found out she was pregnant, she wanted a medication abortion.
But she lived in Austin in 2016, three years after Texas passed abortion restrictions that drove more than half the state’s clinics out of business. While many clinics were still open in Austin, they were so busy serving patients from other parts of the state that Alexandria couldn’t get an appointment for three weeks.
Alexandria called the clinic every day, hoping someone would cancel so she could get an earlier appointment. “For any person who is pregnant when they don’t want to be,” she told Vox, “every day feels like a year.”
Now, countless Texans are having a version of Alexandria’s experience, wanting an abortion but uncertain when — or if — they’ll be able to get one. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that abortion did not qualify as essential health care during the coronavirus pandemic and ordered all procedures postponed unless the life of the pregnant person is threatened. The state was one of at least five to essentially ban abortion during the pandemic — a move that anti-abortion groups have championed but that abortion-rights groups have characterized as a ploy to exploit a public health crisis for ideological gain.
Abortion-rights advocates have been fighting the bans in court, but on Tuesday, a court ruled that the Texas ban can go into effect, for now. That leaves Texas patients with a choice: Delay the procedure for an uncertain amount of time, or try to travel out of state during a pandemic to end their pregnancies.
Even if they’re able to travel, the current crisis has placed serious new obstacles in their way. In many states, an abortion requires multiple visits to a doctor — which could mean multiple exposures to the coronavirus in waiting rooms and other facilities. Meanwhile, the enormous economic toll of the pandemic has made it even harder for many low-income people to afford the procedure.
“For our callers, expenses like groceries and rent are already difficult to obtain,” Cristina Parker, communications director at the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity, which funds abortions in Texas, told Vox in an email. “But with the added instability of our economy — and with so many losing their jobs virtually overnight — paying out of pocket for an abortion can be next to impossible.”
For Alexandria, the daily calls paid off. She was able to get an abortion after two weeks instead of three. But it was still too late for her to get a medication abortion; she had to get a surgical procedure, which was more expensive and required more time away from her two children. And today, she feels for those who are trying to end their pregnancies but are faced with fear, uncertainty, and delays.
“Abortion is essential,” she says, “even during a pandemic.”
At least five states have essentially banned abortion during the coronavirus pandemic
As coronavirus sweeps the country, many areas are placing restrictions on businesses and services deemed nonessential, as well as pushing back nonemergency medical care. In the midst of such moves, officials in several red states — including Texas, Ohio, Alabama, Iowa, and Oklahoma — categorized abortion as nonessential and ordered that clinics postpone procedures until the crisis is over.
“No one is exempt from the governor’s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures, including abortion providers,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement last week. “Those who violate the governor’s order will be met with the full force of the law.”
Abortion opponents argue that abortion is an “elective” procedure and that providers should stop offering it and donate their masks and other protective gear to the coronavirus response.
“Somebody needs to tell the abortion industry there’s a pandemic going on,” Mark Harrington, president of the anti-abortion group Created Equal, said in a statement last week. “Abortion is an elective procedure or they wouldn’t call it a ‘choice.’”
But providers and abortion-rights advocates say abortion is just as necessary now as it ever was. “Abortion is essential health care,” Dr. Ashley Brant, an OB-GYN in Ohio and fellow with the group Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Vox in an email.
“Many of my patients are experiencing fear,” Brant said. “Fear of contracting Covid-19, fear of losing their jobs and income, and fear of not being able to support their families. They should not have to fear losing access to reproductive health care, too.”
Abortion-rights advocates say that opponents, and governors of states like Texas, are just using this moment to score political points. “I can’t emphasize enough how shameful it is to take advantage of this pandemic to just further shame women seeking abortion care,” Kelsey Ryland, director of federal strategies at the abortion-rights group All* Above All, told Vox.
After Texas and other states announced bans, clinics had to cancel or postpone appointments for many patients, as Ema O’Connor reports at BuzzFeed.
Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and other groups supporting abortion rights filed suit in five states to allow abortions to go forward. And on Monday, federal judges in Texas, Ohio, and Alabama ruled in their favor, meaning that clinics in those states could stay open. But Texas appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit, which on Tuesday allowed the state’s ban to take effect, at least for now.
That leaves Texas patients in limbo, facing the possibility that abortion may be banned in their state for weeks, months, or even longer.
Since abortion becomes more expensive later in pregnancy — and since some states, including Texas, ban it after 20 weeks’ gestation — the delay is likely to have serious repercussions for many.
Some are already trying to travel out of state for the procedure, said Alexandria, who now works at the clinic where she got her abortion in 2016. Traveling at this time is especially difficult — some public transit routes have been reduced due to the pandemic, and contact with others during travel could increase patients’ chances of exposure.
The bans are just one of many barriers to abortion access right now
Even if patients can get to a clinic, they face a host of obstacles and concerns when they arrive.
Many states require multiple in-person clinic visits for an abortion, even by medication. “This means that patients have to travel for care, sit in waiting rooms, and interact with multiple health care providers,” Brant said. “This endangers families and communities and promotes spread of the virus.”
In order to mitigate those risks, a group of 21 attorneys general is asking the Trump administration to lift restrictions on medication abortion so that it could be prescribed by telemedicine around the country. Given the administration’s past embrace of restrictions on abortion, however, it is unlikely to agree.
And the pandemic will only worsen obstacles that many people already face when seeking abortions, many reproductive rights advocates say. “Things that were already hard like getting to the clinic for multiple visits, getting child care, could be nearly impossible right now,” Ryland of All* Above All said. People who are low-income — the majority of abortion-seekers in America — may be facing job layoffs and more difficulty paying for an abortion than ever, she said.
The Hyde Amendment already prohibits the use of federal funding for most abortions, and Republicans insisted on Hyde Amendment language in the recent coronavirus stimulus bill to ensure that states and localities couldn’t use the stimulus funds to help pay for abortions.
As someone who had an abortion, Alexandria knows what it’s like to have to delay the procedure. For her, it wasn’t just the added cost of the surgical abortion. Because she didn’t have a ride to the clinic, she wasn’t able to be sedated for the procedure, increasing her discomfort.
“It was really just hard not being able to access care when I needed it,” she said.
But now, as a patient counselor at a clinic, she says she also sees the ways that advocacy groups are trying to help people get abortions during this time, whether it’s sending money to abortion funds in states affected by bans or booking hotel rooms for people who need to travel to get the procedure.
“Even though access looks really hard right now,” she said, “there are so many people fighting right now to make sure that access remains a reality.”


vox--2020-04-01--“I just want my family to see I got handed a diploma”: 5 students on how coronavirus has affected se

“I just want my family to see I got handed a diploma”: 5 students on how coronavirus has affected senior year

In the face of school and college closures nationwide due to the novel coronavirus , life for most students has continued on — just indoors .
Students have migrated online to stream lectures , attend courses , and take tests ( as part of Zoom University , some college students joke ) likely for the remainder of the year .
The pandemic has forced campuses to abruptly cancel their spring terms in a matter of days , making the last moments of the academic year especially bittersweet .
For soon-to-be graduates in both high school and college , though , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ milestones — events like graduation , prom , grad night , and other end-of-year celebrations that would ’ ve brought together family and friends before they move onto the next chapter of their lives .
These students didn ’ t have the chance to say proper goodbyes or make the most of what should ’ ve been their final days on campus .
Here are five high school and college seniors on how they came to terms with Covid-19 affecting their final academic year , what commencement celebrations mean to them , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interviews have been shortened and condensed for clarity .
“ I ’ m the editor-in-chief of my school paper ... we ’ re working to publish stories on what students are doing at home.
” Graduation , for our school and my family , is a huge deal .
It ’ s such a universal milestone , and everyone I know has graduated and walked the stage .
The seniors usually have an event called “ Reflections , ” where students and organizations perform , and then there ’ s Class Night , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people wear a T-shirt of what college they ’ re going to .
The school district has no information yet on what ’ s going to happen .
There have been jokes about us having a Skype graduation among my friends and I , but it ’ s unfortunate .
My family and I postponed my grad party indefinitely , and I even had my graduation dress picked out since last June .
Right now , everyone wants to stay connected with each other and connected to the school .
I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Knight Crier .
We ’ re an entirely online publication , so editors are working to publish stories on what students are doing at home .
It ’ s very strange though that we ’ re having staff meetings over FaceTime because we ’ re so used to seeing each other .
I ’ m also in the school ’ s audio-visuals club , which produces a morning TV show that the entire school watches .
That has also been affected , but the production team put together a morning show that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days ago , so that was nice to see how other clubs are finding ways to keep doing what they can .
The events calendar isn ’ t necessarily wiped out but we can ’ t count on anything that has been scheduled previously .
Personally , I ’ m very Type A and like to have a schedule or plan , but I realized there ’ s something valuable about not having a schedule , taking things as it is and being grateful for all the people working hard to help each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ d been working for ... was all gone in an instant.
” The day before our theater class was supposed to load all our props and equipment into where we were supposed to perform , our school announced that all extracurricular activities on campus would be canceled until April .
At the time , we still had to go to school .
But the next day , we were told that we couldn ’ t go to school until the end of March and that date has now been extended until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sad faces , and people were crying .
It felt like everything we ’ d been working for , things you look forward to even as a freshman , was all gone in an instant .
It felt awful .
My friends and I are worried about missing prom , senior awards night , and all those big senior tradition moments that we ’ ve been looking forward to all these years .
The school closures didn ’ t really hit me until I heard that my choir show wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realized what a big deal that was .
We host a big choir show every year , and the program financially needs it since we invest money in costumes , lighting , a band , and sound .
We spend all that money before we even sell a ticket , so if the show is off , then that ’ ll be a huge financial hit for the program and what it does next year .
For theater , we have to buy the rights to the show , and we also buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s really hard to make back that money as well if there ’ s no show this year , especially when the arts are so defunded for other things like sports .
And even if the school postpones the musical until the fall , I can ’ t really perform in it because I ’ ll be in college .
“ I just want my family to see that I got handed a diploma.
” It felt like a really hard and sudden break-up when I was told this was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing most of my peers .
We didn ’ t expect it to happen .
I actually distanced myself for a few days after and didn ’ t respond to any texts or calls from my friends because I couldn ’ t accept that was how my year was going to be over .
I didn ’ t want to lash out or have a breakdown in front of them .
I ’ m in a group chat with other seniors , including the class president , and we ’ re thinking of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our school as a gift to the class of 2020 .
Regardless of what happens , we want to have something to commemorate what happened during our senior year .
I ’ m a part of the Filipino American community , and our club has been practicing for our city ’ s Asian Festival since last year .
It really hurt because we worked so hard for it , and my track season was also canceled .
Our school announced that our prom , which was on April 25 , wouldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter .
I ’ d already bought my prom suit and graduation outfit , and I was planning to run for prom king but that ’ s not going to happen now .
I also already paid for my graduation cap , gown , and a sash with a Filipino flag , but it hasn ’ t been discussed yet whether graduation , which is on the third week of May , is off .
What my peers and I feel is , even though prom is canceled , all we want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graduate with our families watching us .
I wouldn ’ t mind if it was delayed .
I just want my family to see that I got handed a diploma .
“ I graduated high school 10 years ago , so I didn ’ t think I ’ d see the day that I ’ d walk across a graduation stage and receive my college diploma.
” Zach Bruhl , 27 , senior at the University of Oregon majoring in journalism I ’ m a nontraditional student and not very much a campus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t spend a lot of time socializing I didn ’ t lose a lot there in terms of my campus life .
Still , it ’ s disappointing for me because I graduated high school 10 years ago , so I didn ’ t think I ’ d see the day that I ’ d walk across a graduation stage and receive my college diploma .
I have a very large family ; my dad remarried and all of my siblings were going to come up and see me , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together for the first time in 11 years .
We were all looking forward to that , but from what I know right now , my dad and stepmom are still coming in from Hawaii .
For me personally , I ’ m moving forward with my graduation weekend .
I might have some cake and throw a little barbecue with some close friends and just do what we can .
I mean , we ’ re still graduating college .
It ’ s still an exciting moment , despite not having all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceremony .
I ’ m a very hands-on learner , and being in a classroom where I ’ m able to sit with a professor and chat or go to their office hours , those are things I take advantage of when I ’ m on campus .
I ’ m taking a photojournalism class , and we don ’ t have access to cameras .
To think that in my last term , these things won ’ t be available … That ’ s a seriously different learning experience compared to what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s really taking a toll on me in the past few weeks as I decide what course of action to take .
I ’ ve considered delaying a semester to come back in the fall and fully reap the benefits of the journalism program we have , but there ’ s a lot of factors that will go into that decision .
“ I know community colleges aren ’ t taken seriously , but I created friendships , made memories , received my first ever paying job , all in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Iman Alamri , 20 , sophomore at Reedley Community College majoring in liberal studies .
Alamri is planning to transfer to California State University , Fresno in the fall .
A week into online instruction , the chancellor said there will be no more face-to-face classes for spring or summer semester .
This was not what I expected my last semester to be like .
All these lasts just came by and left , without me knowing .
I know community colleges aren ’ t taken seriously , but I created friendships @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever paying job , all in the two years that I was there .
And now it is all gone .
I didn ’ t know when it was going to be the last time I walked into the Reading and Writing Center where I ’ m a tutor .
I did not know when it was going to be the last time I ate lunch with my tutor friends and shared memes with each other .
I did not know when it was going to be the last time my boss came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Good morning , Iman !
” I did not know when it was going to be the last time I drove 15 minutes to campus and struggled to find a parking spot .
I did not know when it was going to be my last time walking into my favorite class of the day .
On March 23 , our chancellor sent a mass email saying that the graduation ceremony would be canceled and that the school was working to develop “ virtual and remote celebrations.
” That really set me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked above and beyond to achieve in my classes , just for it to be recognized in some silly virtual graduation ?
I was extremely upset by this news .
I have been in the honors program since I ’ ve stepped foot on campus , and I ’ ve looked forward to the day when I would be wearing the gold honors stole .
What bugs me most is that I have experienced discouraging looks whenever I mentioned to other people that I am going to a community college , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when I wore that gold honors stole upon my graduation gown and walked across that stage while my name was heard over the speakers , just so I could prove to them that community colleges are not something to just scoff at .
Ironically , what makes this unfortunate turn of circumstances bearable is knowing that I am not the only one .
I am among the millions of students in this country not able to walk across the stage on graduation and celebrate my achievements with the people I love .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brought us together and knowing my generation , we will come up with a way to make up for our losses .
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In the face of school and college closures nationwide due to the novel coronavirus, life for most students has continued on — just indoors. Students have migrated online to stream lectures, attend courses, and take tests (as part of Zoom University, some college students joke) likely for the remainder of the year. The pandemic has forced campuses to abruptly cancel their spring terms in a matter of days, making the last moments of the academic year especially bittersweet.
For soon-to-be graduates in both high school and college, though, the pandemic threatens to impact several meaningful milestones — events like graduation, prom, grad night, and other end-of-year celebrations that would’ve brought together family and friends before they move onto the next chapter of their lives. These students didn’t have the chance to say proper goodbyes or make the most of what should’ve been their final days on campus. Here are five high school and college seniors on how they came to terms with Covid-19 affecting their final academic year, what commencement celebrations mean to them, and their hopes for the future.
These interviews have been shortened and condensed for clarity.
“I’m the editor-in-chief of my school paper ... we’re working to publish stories on what students are doing at home.”
Alexis Bamford, 18, high school senior in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Graduation, for our school and my family, is a huge deal. It’s such a universal milestone, and everyone I know has graduated and walked the stage. The seniors usually have an event called “Reflections,” where students and organizations perform, and then there’s Class Night, which is a big barbecue night where people wear a T-shirt of what college they’re going to. The school district has no information yet on what’s going to happen. There have been jokes about us having a Skype graduation among my friends and I, but it’s unfortunate. My family and I postponed my grad party indefinitely, and I even had my graduation dress picked out since last June.
Right now, everyone wants to stay connected with each other and connected to the school. I’m the editor-in-chief of my school paper, The Knight Crier. We’re an entirely online publication, so editors are working to publish stories on what students are doing at home. It’s very strange though that we’re having staff meetings over FaceTime because we’re so used to seeing each other. I’m also in the school’s audio-visuals club, which produces a morning TV show that the entire school watches. That has also been affected, but the production team put together a morning show that could be streamed online a couple of days ago, so that was nice to see how other clubs are finding ways to keep doing what they can.
The events calendar isn’t necessarily wiped out but we can’t count on anything that has been scheduled previously. Personally, I’m very Type A and like to have a schedule or plan, but I realized there’s something valuable about not having a schedule, taking things as it is and being grateful for all the people working hard to help each other.
“It felt like everything we’d been working for ... was all gone in an instant.”
Ashley Jones, 18, high school senior in Orange County, California
The day before our theater class was supposed to load all our props and equipment into where we were supposed to perform, our school announced that all extracurricular activities on campus would be canceled until April. At the time, we still had to go to school. But the next day, we were told that we couldn’t go to school until the end of March and that date has now been extended until April 24. There were a lot of sad faces, and people were crying. It felt like everything we’d been working for, things you look forward to even as a freshman, was all gone in an instant. It felt awful. My friends and I are worried about missing prom, senior awards night, and all those big senior tradition moments that we’ve been looking forward to all these years.
The school closures didn’t really hit me until I heard that my choir show wasn’t going to happen, and then I realized what a big deal that was. We host a big choir show every year, and the program financially needs it since we invest money in costumes, lighting, a band, and sound. We spend all that money before we even sell a ticket, so if the show is off, then that’ll be a huge financial hit for the program and what it does next year. For theater, we have to buy the rights to the show, and we also buy materials to make costumes and the sets. It’s really hard to make back that money as well if there’s no show this year, especially when the arts are so defunded for other things like sports. And even if the school postpones the musical until the fall, I can’t really perform in it because I’ll be in college.
“I just want my family to see that I got handed a diploma.”
Cyle Mendoza-Ramirez, 17, high school senior in Monterey County, California
It felt like a really hard and sudden break-up when I was told this was my last day of classes, of seeing most of my peers. We didn’t expect it to happen. I actually distanced myself for a few days after and didn’t respond to any texts or calls from my friends because I couldn’t accept that was how my year was going to be over. I didn’t want to lash out or have a breakdown in front of them. I’m in a group chat with other seniors, including the class president, and we’re thinking of doing a big mural in front of our school as a gift to the class of 2020. Regardless of what happens, we want to have something to commemorate what happened during our senior year.
I’m a part of the Filipino American community, and our club has been practicing for our city’s Asian Festival since last year. It really hurt because we worked so hard for it, and my track season was also canceled. Our school announced that our prom, which was on April 25, wouldn’t be happening a few days ago on Twitter. I’d already bought my prom suit and graduation outfit, and I was planning to run for prom king but that’s not going to happen now. I also already paid for my graduation cap, gown, and a sash with a Filipino flag, but it hasn’t been discussed yet whether graduation, which is on the third week of May, is off. What my peers and I feel is, even though prom is canceled, all we want to do is meet on the stage and graduate with our families watching us. I wouldn’t mind if it was delayed. I just want my family to see that I got handed a diploma.
“I graduated high school 10 years ago, so I didn’t think I’d see the day that I’d walk across a graduation stage and receive my college diploma.”
Zach Bruhl, 27, senior at the University of Oregon majoring in journalism
I’m a nontraditional student and not very much a campus life type of kid, and since I don’t spend a lot of time socializing I didn’t lose a lot there in terms of my campus life. Still, it’s disappointing for me because I graduated high school 10 years ago, so I didn’t think I’d see the day that I’d walk across a graduation stage and receive my college diploma. I have a very large family; my dad remarried and all of my siblings were going to come up and see me, so we were all going to be together for the first time in 11 years. We were all looking forward to that, but from what I know right now, my dad and stepmom are still coming in from Hawaii. For me personally, I’m moving forward with my graduation weekend. I might have some cake and throw a little barbecue with some close friends and just do what we can. I mean, we’re still graduating college. It’s still an exciting moment, despite not having all the fanfare that comes with an actual ceremony.
I’m a very hands-on learner, and being in a classroom where I’m able to sit with a professor and chat or go to their office hours, those are things I take advantage of when I’m on campus. I’m taking a photojournalism class, and we don’t have access to cameras. To think that in my last term, these things won’t be available … That’s a seriously different learning experience compared to what I was expecting the class to provide. It’s really taking a toll on me in the past few weeks as I decide what course of action to take. I’ve considered delaying a semester to come back in the fall and fully reap the benefits of the journalism program we have, but there’s a lot of factors that will go into that decision.
“I know community colleges aren’t taken seriously, but I created friendships, made memories, received my first ever paying job, all in the two years that I was there.”
Iman Alamri, 20, sophomore at Reedley Community College majoring in liberal studies. Alamri is planning to transfer to California State University, Fresno in the fall.
A week into online instruction, the chancellor said there will be no more face-to-face classes for spring or summer semester. This was not what I expected my last semester to be like. All these lasts just came by and left, without me knowing. I know community colleges aren’t taken seriously, but I created friendships, made memories, received my first ever paying job, all in the two years that I was there. And now it is all gone.
I didn’t know when it was going to be the last time I walked into the Reading and Writing Center where I’m a tutor. I did not know when it was going to be the last time I ate lunch with my tutor friends and shared memes with each other. I did not know when it was going to be the last time my boss came out of her office and cheerfully said, “Good morning, Iman!” I did not know when it was going to be the last time I drove 15 minutes to campus and struggled to find a parking spot. I did not know when it was going to be my last time walking into my favorite class of the day.
On March 23, our chancellor sent a mass email saying that the graduation ceremony would be canceled and that the school was working to develop “virtual and remote celebrations.” That really set me off. I earned this! I worked above and beyond to achieve in my classes, just for it to be recognized in some silly virtual graduation? I was extremely upset by this news. I have been in the honors program since I’ve stepped foot on campus, and I’ve looked forward to the day when I would be wearing the gold honors stole. What bugs me most is that I have experienced discouraging looks whenever I mentioned to other people that I am going to a community college, and I couldn’t wait for the day when I wore that gold honors stole upon my graduation gown and walked across that stage while my name was heard over the speakers, just so I could prove to them that community colleges are not something to just scoff at.
Ironically, what makes this unfortunate turn of circumstances bearable is knowing that I am not the only one. I am among the millions of students in this country not able to walk across the stage on graduation and celebrate my achievements with the people I love. In some way, this worldwide pandemic has brought us together and knowing my generation, we will come up with a way to make up for our losses.
Sign up for The Goods’ newsletter. Twice a week, we’ll send you the best Goods stories exploring what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters.


vox--2020-04-01--We don’t know yet if lockdowns are working. But we could see results as early as this week.

Now that most states have shut down temporarily to combat the coronavirus , our greatest enemy is our own impatience .
The measures taken over the past two weeks in 37 states and parts of eight more hurt .
They kill off businesses that are critical to the livelihoods of millions of people .
They throw millions of Americans out of work and off their health insurance .
And for a little while longer , it won ’ t even be clear if they ’ re doing anything .
“ We have sacrificed so much already , but it feels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s because it takes weeks to see results .
We must stay committed and trust that the social distancing we are enduring now will save thousands of lives , ” Dr. Caitlin Rivers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security wrote on March 23 .
Here ’ s why it will take so long for our sacrifices to have visible effects .
The thing we ’ re trying to reduce — new coronavirus infections — is invisible at first .
It takes between two and 14 days for a newly infected person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin to show , it can take more than a week for them to be eligible for testing ( many people are not eligible at all ) .
And then , thanks to backlogs in testing availability , it can take days for them to learn they tested positive .
As a result , every positive test today reflects infections that occurred , on average , a few weeks ago .
If shelter-in-place orders worked , we should just start to see their effects this week in the states that acted soonest , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see their effects nationwide .
New York ’ s numbers appear to be falling , but it ’ s too soon to say that the city has rounded a corner thanks to its March 20 stay-home order — these infections being detected by tests now would nearly all have occurred before the order happened .
In other words , once you shut down your city to fight the virus , you might even see things get worse before they get better .
There ’ s a very real risk that that will discourage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We shouldn ’ t .
Let ’ s say we lock down a city to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus , and the lockdown works very well , as the one in Wuhan seems to have .
Where previously the average infected person spread the disease to two or three other people , after the lockdown in Wuhan it is estimated that each infected person only spread the disease to .32 people .
If we accomplished the same thing , the number of new infections would start declining right away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : The number of new positive tests ?
That would keep growing .
Here ’ s why : Symptoms of the coronavirus typically take some time to start showing after infection .
The average incubation period is five to six days but “ may range from 2-14 days , ” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
So keep that in mind when thinking about people who are starting to develop symptoms now : Those were people who were exposed to the coronavirus about a week ago , in some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people can not get a test as soon as they start to show symptoms .
In some parts of the country , in fact , it ’ s impossible to get a test until you are hospitalized , unless you are a health care worker or are otherwise considered high risk .
The coronavirus has a long course of illness — people are usually sick for a while before they get sick enough to need hospitalization .
In one study from China , the average time from symptom onset to hospitalization was nine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficulty breathing usually surfaced five to 13 days after symptoms started .
That means that , in the parts of the US where most patients aren ’ t tested for the coronavirus until they are hospitalized , a patient may be tested 14 days after they were infected — five days for the average patient to show symptoms and nine days after that to end up in the hospital .
Finally , tests don ’ t always get results right away .
There are some testing sites that advertise same-day turnaround , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many parts of the country results take longer .
Rand Paul ’ s positive test for coronavirus reportedly took six days to come back .
Add it all up , and it will take at least two weeks , likely longer , for a coronavirus infection to be reported in official statistics .
That means that it will look — for weeks — like the measures we ’ re taking now like self-quarantines , school closures , and social distancing are not working , even if they are .
And if they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — we won ’ t know just yet .
The data out of the San Francisco Bay Area ( which issued its shelter-in-place order on March 17 ) and New York ( March 20 ) over the next week will be critical to understanding how stay-home orders work .
We should watch those numbers closely to understand our next steps .
On January 23 , China locked down the city of Wuhan amid a growing epidemic .
On that date , the country had 830 cases .
Much of the rest of Hubei @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and then restrictions were imposed on the whole country .
For the next few weeks , things got worse .
By February 13 , the country had 63,851 cases — most of them in Wuhan ’ s Hubei province .
But things were starting to turn around .
That day , China reported 5,090 new cases — more than on any previous day ( except the day of a one-time change in the types of cases reported ) .
On February 14 , however , officials reported 2,641 new cases .
On the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kept declining from there ; China now reports no new local transmission cases ( though they could be either missing some or hiding some , experts don ’ t think they ’ re hiding a full-blown epidemic . )
Take a look at that gap again : The peak of new cases came fully three weeks after the lockdown started .
In Italy , it ’ s starting to look like the same dynamic is at work .
“ These big social distancing measures take time to work , ” Johns Hopkins Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 23 .
“ The impact of big interventions in Wuhan China took about 3 wks to start to reverse things .
And then everyday after the situation got better.
” Should the US expect the same thing ?
Not necessarily .
Some things are definitely different .
The US implemented social distancing measures more gradually than Wuhan , which escalated quickly from few restrictions to a full lockdown .
No place in the US is employing measures as strict as Wuhan ’ s .
China separated symptomatic people from their families and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of stay-at-home orders has , so far , been lax in the US .
But if our measures suffice to reduce transmission so that each new patient infects less than one person , it wouldn ’ t be surprising if the overall trajectory of the disease in a city like New York looks somewhat like China ’ s , with cases peaking three weeks after the measures went into place .
That would put us into early April .
( There are some signs that cases are flattening already , only a week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains to be seen if these gains will last , and it ’ s probably a mistake this early to attribute them primarily to the stay-home order . )
Graphs like this one are cited as evidence that the Bay Area ’ s shelter-in-place policy has worked , when they largely reflect infections from before shelter-in-place went into effect .
In other parts of the country , where those measures haven ’ t yet been put into place , the peak is even farther off .
“ We know when this started .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it will end , ” former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb argued on March 24 , projecting a peak in New York in two to three weeks .
It ’ s difficult to be patient and wait for that .
The costs of social distancing measures — upended routines , shuttered stores and restaurants , lost jobs , vulnerable people put at risk — are apparent already , while the benefits aren ’ t .
Social distancing measures save lives , but the lives they save are a month away while the lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now .
Unsurprisingly , there is overwhelming pressure to identify results from these measures right now .
And preliminary data that looks good is not hard to find .
Articles have proliferated comparing states that implemented social distancing to states that didn ’ t , or declaring that early data shows California ’ s stay-at-home order is working .
It ’ s tempting to draw those conclusions .
But it ’ s really too early to say any of those things with certainty .
The numbers published today reflect measures taken in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay-home orders began .
They don ’ t reflect the effects of the lockdowns , or even , in many states , the school closures .
The states that are doing well can not credit their success to measures they ’ ve taken in the last few weeks , and the states that have imposed such measures shouldn ’ t expect results yet .
What ’ s important to remember is that if the numbers suddenly get worse in a state that recently implemented stay-at-home measures , it won ’ t prove that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed cases we are seeing today are largely people infected a few weeks ago , and the data on how well our current measures are working won ’ t be available for a while .
“ For a while it will feel like nothing is working but it takes time , ” Rivers wrote March 23 .
When things are changing as rapidly as they are with this crisis — and when families are struggling with lost jobs , wiped retirement accounts , sick loved ones , and closed schools — the few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before case numbers hopefully start declining feel like an eternity .
But the best thing we can do is help our cities develop a plan for the next stage of virus response , support essential workers , stay home , and wait .
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Now that most states have shut down temporarily to combat the coronavirus, our greatest enemy is our own impatience.
The measures taken over the past two weeks in 37 states and parts of eight more hurt. They kill off businesses that are critical to the livelihoods of millions of people. They throw millions of Americans out of work and off their health insurance.
And for a little while longer, it won’t even be clear if they’re doing anything.
“We have sacrificed so much already, but it feels like nothing is working. That’s because it takes weeks to see results. We must stay committed and trust that the social distancing we are enduring now will save thousands of lives,” Dr. Caitlin Rivers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security wrote on March 23.
Here’s why it will take so long for Americans’ sacrifices to have visible effects: The thing we’re trying to reduce — new coronavirus infections — is invisible at first. It takes between two and 14 days for a newly infected person to start showing symptoms. After symptoms begin to show, it can take more than a week for them to be eligible for testing (many people are not eligible at all). And then, because of backlogs in testing availability, it can take days for them to learn they tested positive.
As a result, every positive test today reflects infections that occurred, on average, a few weeks ago. If shelter-in-place orders worked, we should just start to see their effects this week in the states that acted soonest, and it will take weeks more to see their effects nationwide.
New York’s numbers appear to be falling, but it’s too soon to say that the city has rounded a corner thanks to its March 20 stay-home order — these infections being detected by tests now would nearly all have occurred before the order happened.
In other words, once you shut down your city to fight the virus, you might even see things get worse before they get better. There’s a very real risk that that will discourage us and prompt us to give up. We shouldn’t.
Lag time, explained
Let’s say we lock down a city to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, and the lockdown works very well, as the one in Wuhan seems to have. Where previously the average infected person spread the disease to two or three other people, after the lockdown in Wuhan it is estimated that each infected person only spread the disease to .32 people.
If we accomplished the same thing, the number of new infections would start declining right away. But here’s the thing: The number of new positive tests? That would keep growing.
Here’s why: Symptoms of the coronavirus typically take some time to start showing after infection. The average incubation period is five to six days but “may range from 2-14 days,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So keep that in mind when thinking about people who are starting to develop symptoms now: Those were people who were exposed to the coronavirus about a week ago, in some cases even longer.
Now, most people cannot get a test as soon as they start to show symptoms. In some parts of the country, in fact, it’s impossible to get a test until you are hospitalized, unless you are a health care worker or are otherwise considered high risk.
The coronavirus has a long course of illness — people are usually sick for a while before they get sick enough to need hospitalization. In one study from China, the average time from symptom onset to hospitalization was nine days, and in another study, difficulty breathing usually surfaced five to 13 days after symptoms started.
That means that, in the parts of the US where most patients aren’t tested for the coronavirus until they are hospitalized, a patient may be tested 14 days after they were infected — five days for the average patient to show symptoms and nine days after that to end up in the hospital.
Finally, tests don’t always get results right away. There are some testing sites that advertise same-day turnaround, but other labs are backlogged, and in many parts of the country results take longer. Rand Paul’s positive test for coronavirus reportedly took six days to come back.
Add it all up, and it will take at least two weeks, likely longer, for a coronavirus infection to be reported in official statistics.
That means that it will look — for weeks — like the measures we’re taking now like self-quarantines, school closures, and social distancing are not working, even if they are. And if they’re not actually working? Same thing — we won’t know just yet. The data out of the San Francisco Bay Area (which issued its shelter-in-place order on March 17), Washington (March 23) and New York (March 20) over the next week will be critical to understanding how stay-home orders work. We should watch those numbers closely to understand our next steps.
Experience from other countries
On January 23, China locked down the city of Wuhan amid a growing epidemic. On that date, the country had 830 cases. Much of the rest of Hubei province locked down later that week, and then restrictions were imposed on the whole country.
For the next few weeks, things got worse. By February 13, the country had 63,851 cases — most of them in Wuhan’s Hubei province. But things were starting to turn around. That day, China reported 5,090 new cases — more than on any previous day (except the day of a one-time change in the types of cases reported). On February 14, however, officials reported 2,641 new cases. On the 15th, 2,008. New case numbers kept declining from there; China now reports no new local transmission cases (though they could be either missing some or hiding some, experts don’t think they’re hiding a full-blown epidemic.)
Take a look at that gap again: The peak of new cases came fully three weeks after the lockdown started. In Italy, it’s starting to look like the same dynamic is at work.
“These big social distancing measures take time to work,” Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security director Tom Inglesby tweeted March 23. “The impact of big interventions in Wuhan China took about 3 wks to start to reverse things. And then everyday after the situation got better.”
Should the US expect the same thing?
Not necessarily. Some things are definitely different. The US implemented social distancing measures more gradually than Wuhan, which escalated quickly from few restrictions to a full lockdown. No place in the US is employing measures as strict as Wuhan’s. China separated symptomatic people from their families and locked people in their houses. Enforcement of stay-at-home orders has, so far, been lax in the US.
But if our measures suffice to reduce transmission so that each new patient infects less than one person, it wouldn’t be surprising if the overall trajectory of the disease in a city like New York looks somewhat like China’s, with cases peaking three weeks after the measures went into place. That would put us into early April. (There are some signs that cases are flattening already, only a week after the stay-home order, but it remains to be seen if these gains will last, and it’s probably a mistake this early to attribute them primarily to the stay-home order.)
Graphs like this one are cited as evidence that the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place policy has worked, when they largely reflect infections from before shelter-in-place went into effect.
In other parts of the country, where those measures haven’t yet been put into place, the peak is even farther off.
“We know when this started. We can get a good estimate on when it will end,” former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb argued on March 24, projecting a peak in New York in two to three weeks.
It’s difficult to be patient and wait for that. The costs of social distancing measures — upended routines, shuttered stores and restaurants, lost jobs, vulnerable people put at risk — are apparent already, while the benefits aren’t. Social distancing measures save lives, but the lives they save are a month away while the lives they throw into turmoil are visible right now.
Unsurprisingly, there is overwhelming pressure to identify results from these measures right now. And preliminary data that looks good is not hard to find. Articles have proliferated comparing states that implemented social distancing to states that didn’t, or declaring that early data shows California’s stay-at-home order is working.
It’s tempting to draw those conclusions. But it’s really too early to say any of those things with certainty. The numbers published today reflect measures taken in the first weeks of March — before the stay-home orders began. They don’t reflect the effects of the lockdowns, or even, in many states, the school closures. The states that are doing well cannot credit their success to measures they’ve taken in the last few weeks, and the states that have imposed such measures shouldn’t expect results yet.
What’s important to remember is that if the numbers suddenly get worse in a state that recently implemented stay-at-home measures, it won’t prove that stay-at-home doesn’t work. The confirmed cases we are seeing today are largely people infected a few weeks ago, and the data on how well our current measures are working won’t be available for a while.
“For a while it will feel like nothing is working but it takes time,” Rivers wrote March 23.
When things are changing as rapidly as they are with this crisis — and when families are struggling with lost jobs, wiped retirement accounts, sick loved ones, and closed schools — the few weeks we’ll need to wait before case numbers hopefully start declining feel like an eternity. But the best thing we can do is help our cities develop a plan for the next stage of virus response, support essential workers, stay home, and wait.
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vox--2020-04-01--My Queens hospital is at the center of America’s coronavirus crisis. Here’s how doctors can prepare.

Share All sharing options for : My Queens hospital is at the center of America ’ s coronavirus crisis .
Here ’ s how doctors can prepare .
Before Covid-19 took over our hospital , I may have heard this page — which summons a medical team because a patient ’ s heart has stopped — once or twice a week .
In the past couple of days , I ’ ve lost count of how many times I ’ ve heard it .
One recent page stands out : It was the afternoon of March 23 , for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical problems .
We had maxed out on his ventilator settings yet his lungs couldn ’ t deliver the oxygen his body needed , so his heart had naturally stopped .
Over the past week , the hospital in Elmhurst , Queens , where I ’ m a resident in emergency medicine has been inundated with coronavirus patients needing ventilators .
On a typical day , we are one of the busiest emergency departments in the country .
We take pride in serving one of the most diverse and vulnerable patient populations in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are common occurrences here .
Our sheer volume and diversity also meant that we were uniquely susceptible to a pandemic .
When the first case made its way to New York City , we suspected it was only a matter of time .
However , we didn ’ t expect that we would become a “ ground-zero ” hospital for Covid-19 .
Initially , we just had one patient with a high clinical suspicion for Covid-19 , but over time , patients with relatively low or no clinical suspicion without fevers were turning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus ’ s symptoms vary : Some presented with cholera-like diarrhea with profound dehydration that then progressed to respiratory distress , whereas others had mild headaches with muscle aches .
This taught us one of many valuable lessons early on .
As other hospitals around the country prepare for the pandemic to arrive in the coming days , we hope that our first-hand experiences can help them avoid the same mistakes and pitfalls .
Here are six of the most important lessons we ’ ve learned so far : 1 ) Assume that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proven otherwise At the beginning of the pandemic , we underestimated the number of asymptomatic carriers that were admitted for unrelated reasons .
We didn ’ t test these patients , as it wasn ’ t considered clinically indicated .
A lack of testing kits compounded the problem .
And the lack of early , widespread mobilization of personal protective equipment ( PPE ) made it even worse .
The scarcity of PPE meant that we were judicious in using it only for “ persons under investigation ” ( PUI ) for Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disastrous and futile policy .
We weren ’ t using protective equipment for unknown asymptomatic carriers and likely became reservoirs of transmission .
It meant that nurses and doctors likely transmitted the disease silently , but to what extent remains largely unknown .
The only way to prevent this transmission is by either testing all providers and patients each day or by using PPE for every patient .
The latter strategy was far more practical .
2 ) It is impractical to isolate Covid-19 patients from non-Covid-19 patients We tried to isolate PUI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , but as the hospital became overwhelmed with PUIs , the policy had once again proven to be futile .
This , coupled with a large turnaround time to get test results , meant we weren ’ t able to appropriately triage patients to Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 areas of the hospitals .
Though this may change with the availability of rapid-turnaround tests , the lack of sensitivity of the test made us cautious about sending patients to a non-Covid-19 unit .
We thus came to a grim realization : The only way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again use our PPE for any and all patients .
Over the next several days , as we were coming to grips with our reality , we started seeing a staggering number of patients that needed ventilators .
At the beginning of the pandemic , we had predicted that elderly patients or patients with chronic conditions would likely be affected more .
Though that has largely been true , we also started increasingly seeing young patients with no medical problems in respiratory arrest , needing a ventilator .
3 ) Expand the number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exponentially For us , it meant hospital floors that weren ’ t equipped to manage ICU patients suddenly became mini-ICUs .
Sections of the “ fast track ” in our ER were carved off into ICUs with vented patients .
At one point , it even meant transferring patients to nearby hospitals with ICU beds .
Needless to say , that was short-lived as every hospital in NYC soon became inundated with Covid-19 patients .
Frankly , we have even explored the option of turning operating rooms into ICUs .
Just when we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we needed more .
My advice is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best .
4 ) Minimize the exposure to nurses and staff As all the patients in the ICUs required multiple blood draws , titration of medications , and adjusting ventilator settings on an hour-by-hour basis , the staff had to find ways to minimize our overall exposure to the virus .
Early on , we decided to place the ventilator as well as the IV poles outside of the patient rooms while also consolidating all of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For us , it meant every vented patient had multiple peripheral IV accesses , a central venous catheter as well as an arterial line .
This enabled the nurses and doctors to minimize their overall exposures .
Expanding the physical space and bridging the equipment and testing shortages was one feat , but the unexpected shortage of clinicians and nurses trained in intensive care medicine was another .
The sheer volume of patients coupled with nurses and doctors who fell ill to Covid-19 made this a penultimate issue .
In our hospital , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical care medicine was simply not an option , but a necessity .
It meant training cardiologists on complex vent management .
Needless to say , when the ER doctors and intensivists fall ill , having a safety net of clinicians trained in parts of intensive-care medicine will be crucial for patient care .
6 ) Telemedicine is a critical way to decompress your ER and your hospital As we were inundated with critically ill patients , we also saw an exponential rise in “ worried-well patients ” requesting an evaluation .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turns answering questions from patients and triage them on whether they should be sent to the ER or not .
This has proven to be effective in decompressing the ER , likely preventing patient-to-patient and clinician-patient transmissions .
However , in a hospital that serves some of the poorest patients like mine , telemedicine is simply not an option .
For these hospitals , testing tents outside the hospital have proven somewhat effective , but still not enough to keep up with the demand .
Even with the best of these measures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yorkers have lost their lives to Covid-19 , more than 376 of them in Queens .
One-third of the city ’ s total cases ( 45,672 as of April 1 ) are in Queens , too .
As the code team runs to the bedside , the team leader assigns members their roles .
They press on the patient ’ s chest and push all the necessary medications to rescue his heart .
After several minutes , just when we felt defeated , the patient ’ s heart started beating again .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looked at each other , knowing that it was only a matter of time until our next code .
Suresh Pavuluri is a resident physician with the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai .

“Team 700 to B4.”
Before Covid-19 took over our hospital, I may have heard this page — which summons a medical team because a patient’s heart has stopped — once or twice a week. In the past couple of days, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard it.
One recent page stands out: It was the afternoon of March 23, for a man in his early 30s with no medical problems. We had maxed out on his ventilator settings, yet his lungs couldn’t deliver the oxygen his body needed, so his heart had naturally stopped.
Over the past week, the hospital in Elmhurst, Queens, where I’m a resident in emergency medicine has been inundated with coronavirus patients needing ventilators. On a typical day, we are one of the busiest emergency departments in the country. We take pride in serving one of the most diverse and vulnerable patient populations in the world. Esoteric and rare diseases are common occurrences here. Our sheer volume and diversity also meant that we were uniquely susceptible to a pandemic.
When the first case made its way to New York City, we suspected it was only a matter of time. However, we didn’t expect that we would become a “ground zero” hospital for Covid-19.
Related How the US stacks up to other countries in confirmed coronavirus cases
Initially, we just had one patient with a high clinical suspicion for Covid-19, but over time, patients with relatively low or no clinical suspicion without fevers were turning out positive. We learned that the virus’s symptoms vary: Some presented with cholera-like diarrhea with profound dehydration that then progressed to respiratory distress, whereas others had mild headaches with muscle aches.
This taught us one of many valuable lessons early on. As other hospitals around the country prepare for the pandemic to arrive in the coming days, we hope that our firsthand experiences can help them avoid the same mistakes and pitfalls.
Here are six of the most important lessons we’ve learned so far:
1) Assume that everyone at the hospital has Covid-19 until proven otherwise
At the beginning of the pandemic, we underestimated the number of asymptomatic carriers who were admitted for unrelated reasons. We didn’t test these patients, as it wasn’t considered clinically indicated. A lack of testing kits compounded the problem. And the lack of early, widespread mobilization of personal protective equipment (PPE) made it even worse.
The scarcity of PPE meant that we were judicious in using it only for “persons under investigation” (PUI) for Covid-19. This soon proved to be a disastrous and futile policy.
We weren’t using protective equipment for unknown asymptomatic carriers and likely became reservoirs of transmission. It meant that nurses and doctors likely transmitted the disease silently, but to what extent remains largely unknown. The only way to prevent this transmission is by either testing all providers and patients each day or using PPE for every patient. The latter strategy was far more practical.
2) It is impractical to isolate Covid-19 patients from non-Covid-19 patients
We tried to isolate PUI into our intensive care units (ICUs), but as the hospital became overwhelmed with PUIs, the policy had once again proved to be futile. This, coupled with a large turnaround time to get test results, meant we weren’t able to appropriately triage patients to Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 areas of the hospitals.
Though this may change with the availability of rapid-turnaround tests, the lack of sensitivity of the test made us cautious about sending patients to a non-Covid-19 unit. We thus came to a grim realization: The only way to minimize some transmission was to once again use our PPE for any and all patients.
Over the next several days, as we were coming to grips with our reality, we started seeing a staggering number of patients who needed ventilators. At the beginning of the pandemic, we had predicted that older patients or patients with chronic conditions would likely be affected more. Though that has largely been true, we also started increasingly seeing young patients with no medical problems in respiratory arrest, needing a ventilator.
3) Expand the number of ICU beds in your hospital, exponentially
For us, it meant hospital floors that weren’t equipped to manage ICU patients suddenly became mini-ICUs. Sections of the “fast track” in our ER were carved off into ICUs with vented patients. At one point, it even meant transferring patients to nearby hospitals with ICU beds.
Needless to say, that was short-lived as every hospital in NYC soon became inundated with Covid-19 patients. Frankly, we have even explored the option of turning operating rooms into ICUs. Just when we thought we had enough ICU beds, we needed more. My advice is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
4) Minimize the exposure to nurses and staff
As all the patients in the ICUs required multiple blood draws, titration of medications, and adjusting ventilator settings on an hour-by-hour basis, the staff had to find ways to minimize our overall exposure to the virus. Early on, we decided to place the ventilator as well as the IV poles outside of the patient rooms while also consolidating all of our critical care procedures in one sitting.
For us, it meant every vented patient had multiple peripheral IV accesses, a central venous catheter as well as an arterial line. This enabled the nurses and doctors to minimize their overall exposures.
5) Train essential clinical personnel in critical care medicine early
Expanding the physical space and bridging the equipment and testing shortages was one feat, but the unexpected shortage of clinicians and nurses trained in intensive care medicine was another. The sheer volume of patients coupled with nurses and doctors who fell ill to Covid-19 made this a penultimate issue.
In our hospital, training non-ICU nurses and non-intensive doctors in critical care medicine was simply not an option but a necessity. It meant training cardiologists on complex vent management. Needless to say, when the ER doctors and intensivists fall ill, having a safety net of clinicians trained in parts of intensive-care medicine will be crucial for patient care.
6) Telemedicine is a critical way to decompress your ER and your hospital
As we were inundated with critically ill patients, we also saw an exponential rise in “worried-well patients” requesting an evaluation. Some hospitals have adopted telemedicine where doctors take turns answering questions from patients and triage them on whether they should be sent to the ER. This has proven to be effective in decompressing the ER, likely preventing patient-to-patient and clinician-patient transmissions.
However, in a hospital that serves some of the poorest patients like mine, telemedicine is simply not an option. For these hospitals, testing tents outside the hospital have proven somewhat effective, but still not enough to keep up with the demand.
Even with the best of these measures, as of April 1, 1,374 New Yorkers have lost their lives to Covid-19, more than 376 of them in Queens. One-third of the city’s total cases (45,672 as of April 1) are in Queens, too.
As the code team runs to the bedside, the team leader assigns members their roles. They press on the patient’s chest and push all the necessary medications to rescue his heart. After several minutes, just when we felt defeated, the patient’s heart started beating again. We sighed with a sense of relief and looked at each other, knowing that it was only a matter of time until our next code.
Suresh Pavuluri is a resident physician with the department of emergency medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.