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People Are Avoiding Emergency Care Because Of COVID-19
Doctors are concerned patients are delaying care because they fear COVID-19. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
Since stay-at-home orders have been put in place, ER doctors in Los Angeles have told me they've seen fewer patients overall. Volumes are down by half in some places. That makes sense as fewer people are on the roads and getting into accidents.
But doctors have been wondering where all the other patients have been -- the heart attacks, the stroke patients. They're concerned patients aren't going to the ER when they need to because they're scared about COVID-19.
And when patients finally do come in, they're often really sick because they've waited days after developing symptoms.
Doctors' message for patients: Don't sit at home waiting for things to get better.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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