Soaring COVID-19 case numbers, long testing lines and event cancellations might feel a bit like déjà vu, but so far New York City hospitals aren’t seeing a repeat of the surges that swamped emergency rooms early in the pandemic.

The state reported Saturday that nearly 22,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday — eclipsing the previous day’s mark for the highest single-day total for new cases since testing became widely available. More than half of the positive results were in the city.

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The Rockettes on Friday canceled remaining performances of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, citing “increasing challenges from the pandemic,” lines at some testing sites in the city stretched around the block and at-home tests remained hard to come by, or pricier than usual.

But new hospitalizations and deaths — so far — are averaging well below their spring 2020 peak and even where they were this time last year, during a winter wave that came as vaccinations were just beginning, city data shows.

 

 

 

 

Mount Sinai Health System’s emergency rooms are seeing about 20% more patients — with all conditions — in recent days, according to Dr. Eric Legome, who oversees two of the network’s seven ERs. But at least so far, “we’re seeing a lot more treat-and-release” coronavirus patients than in earlier waves, he said.

Many are looking for tests, help with mild or moderate symptoms, or monoclonal antibody treatment, but very few require oxygen or a hospital stay, said Legome. He runs the ERs at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside.

Hospital admissions and deaths tend to rise and fall weeks after cases do. But Dr. Fritz François, the chief of hospital operations for NYU Langone Health, says so far, “we’re actually seeing something different” than in previous surges.

Source: Latest COVID spike isn’t swamping NYC hospitals like before