New York City Nervously Braces for Another ‘Explosive Spread’

Most of the country looked on in horror this spring as COVID-19 flooded New York City hospitals and morgues, and a disease many had never heard of threw America’s biggest city into paralysis. According to this article in Politico, now New York is watching the same scenario play out in states throughout the U.S., while presiding over three months of sustained success in keeping infections low. But with cold weather approaching, schools tentatively reopening and many forced back indoors, the threat of a new outbreak is never far from the minds of public health officials — and this time they know outside help will be harder to come by.

In many cases, the city is better prepared: it knows the warning signs, hospitals are communicating weekly to share best practices and other information, and New Yorkers are largely complying with social distancing and mask guidance to cut down on transmission. The hospitals need to create space for surge capacity while maintaining operations that were halted when the virus first struck.

The biggest challenge, though, is staff. The army of medical worker reinforcements who came to New York’s aid are now dispatched to hot spots around the country, and many of those based in the city are still enduring the trauma of witnessing horrors they never could have imagined in February.