Some Americans are scared to visit the hospital for emergencies in fear of catching COVID-19. | Pixabay
Some Americans are avoiding hospital care for medical emergencies in fear that they will catch COVID-29, the Star Tribune reported.
Emergency room visits have dropped by 42% in April nationwide, with hospitals across the country seeing less than 900,000 emergency room visits each week.
“That is just a stunning number that suggests a lot of people are not seeking care for things they should be seeking care for,” Dr. John Hick, a state adviser on the coronavirus and an emergency medicine doctor at Hennepin Healthcare, told the Star Tribune.
St. Louis Park's Methodist Hospital saw 86 patients per day in April, which is approximately half of what the hospital usually sees. Regions Hospital in St. Paul saw a 35% drop in visits, according to the Star Tribune.
“I have a lot of patients apologize for coming in,” Dr. Katherine Katzung, chairwoman of the emergency department at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in south Minneapolis, told the news agency. “During the protests I even had people apologizing for coming in. I was like, ‘Well, you were sprayed with tear gas. That’s a very reasonable reason for you to be in the emergency department.’”
Alerts Sign-up