The surgery chair of a New York City hospital says more patients are departing than arriving.
Dr. Craig Smith of the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center also said the number of patients in the Intensive Care Unit and on ventilators appears to be leveling off at two hospitals who are bearing the brunt of those cases.
Smith wrote these details in a daily note to faculty and staff.
“These trends support our pivot towards restoration of normal,” Smith wrote.
There are also less autopsies: Smith says autopsies have become uncommon in most settings, notes “phone consent is not considered acceptable”
“We have very little idea why Covid-19 is so lethal and resistant to treatment in certain patients,” Smith said. “Autopsy in Covid mortalities has a relatively high probability of contributing to the advancement of medical science."
He added: "Because phone consent is not considered acceptable—a significant hurdle when visitors are not allowed. We are pursuing solutions to that unintended consequence of an administrative policy that was less often objectionable pre-pandemic.”