Coronavirus News: Doctors Say Emergency Rooms Are Safe As People Delay Treatment Amid Infection Worries

Patients who have been delaying seeking out medical care for fear of contracting coronavirus may be damaging their health in other ways, a Kentucky doctor warns.

Emergency rooms across the nation have been seeing a drastic reduction in their typical volume of patients due to concerns over COVID-19. Healthcare professionals on the frontlines are seeing individuals putting off medical care when required because patients don't want to compound their illness with a respiratory disease.

According to Floyd County emergency room physician Dr. Kevin Wurst, he's been seeing patients whose health has diminished due to delays in medical care. But doctors around the area (and others in the nation) agree that it's safe to go to the ER to seek treatment when necessary. COVID-19 patients are treated in areas that are separate from others, which minimizes any risk of potential infection.

In New York, doctors at St. Peter's Hospital and Albany Med echo these statements, with plenty of protocols in place to ensure the safety of their patients.

"Patients who come in with heart attacks, or stroke-like symptoms, or abdominal pain - we put in a completely different area of our emergency department," said Dr. Dennis Pauze, chairman of the Emergency Department at Albany Medical Center.

But despite doctors offering advice to the contrary, people are still hesitant to be treated, as they believe they'll only be making things worse for themselves if they compound one illness with another potentially life-threatening one, which was sweeping the globe at this very moment.

These concerns have likely risen from previous reports that hospitals and physician's offices were seeing patients dying in waiting rooms while seeking treatment because of a lack of hospital staff on hand. This hasn't been the case at every healthcare facility, however, and if patients need serious medical care, they're urged to seek it out. Officials also added that patients who have passed out, experienced severe chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, blindness, or bleeding should make haste when seeking out treatment from an emergency room.

The bottom line? If you're experiencing a health emergency, then go to an emergency room.