Claire Dawson
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some people claimed that New York hospitals were empty despite being in the epicenter of the pandemic. However, this claim is misleading as it only represents a partial view of the situation. Routine surgeries were cancelled and coronavirus patients could only have one visitor, which could explain the perceived lack of foot traffic and ambulance traffic. Furthermore, upstate hospitals in New York faced a capacity crunch due to a loss of staff, even though they were not dealing with as many COVID patients as downstate hospitals.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | April 2020 |
| Hospitals | NYC's Largest Emergency Hospital, USNS Comfort, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal |
| Occupancy Status | Empty |
| Reason for Empty Hospitals | Strict admission requirements, routine surgeries cancelled, fewer non-COVID-related illnesses and injuries |
| Number of COVID-19 Hospitalizations in NYC | 36,000 |
| Number of Patients Treated at USNS Comfort | 179 |
| Number of Beds at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal | 8,300 |
| Status of Brooklyn Cruise Terminal | Never opened |
| Hospitals Running Out of Beds | Upstate hospitals |
| Hospitals with Available Beds | Downstate hospitals |
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Staff shortages
The vaccine mandate for healthcare workers came at a time when hospitals were already facing staff shortages due to various factors, including rising demand, workers retiring, and pandemic burnout. In addition, some healthcare workers were leaving their community positions to accept jobs with temporary agencies offering significantly higher pay. This combination of factors resulted in a challenging situation for hospitals in New York, as they struggled to maintain adequate staffing levels to meet the healthcare needs of their communities.
The issue of staff shortages in New York hospitals is not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2022, hospitals in upstate New York were facing a capacity crisis due in part to staffing shortages. This crisis resulted in patients being treated in hospital hallways while awaiting rooms and, in some cases, being transferred to hospitals hundreds of miles away. To address the issue, state and local officials approved spending $13 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to subsidize nursing homes and worker training to help alleviate staffing shortages.
The Healthcare Association of New York State described the challenges facing hospitals as long-term issues without a single solution. They advocated for distributing Medicaid funds sooner to nursing homes to boost staffing levels and sought reforms to ensure Medicaid reimbursements covered the cost of care. The association also acknowledged the impact of the national workforce shortage, which has made recruiting and retaining healthcare workers increasingly difficult for hospitals in New York and across the country.
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Ambulance traffic
In response to these videos, some commenters have pointed out that routine surgeries were cancelled and coronavirus patients could only have one visitor, which could explain the absence of heavy foot traffic outside hospitals. Additionally, it's important to understand that not all COVID-19 cases require hospitalization, and many infected individuals were advised to self-isolate at home.
However, the issue of ambulance traffic in New York City goes beyond pandemic-related concerns. Several online discussions highlight the frequent occurrence of ambulances getting stuck in traffic, particularly in busy areas like Midtown. This has led to concerns about delayed emergency response times and the potential impact on patient outcomes. Some commenters suggest that private ambulances, which respond to non-emergencies and transfer critical patients between facilities, may contribute to the traffic congestion.
To address these challenges, suggestions have been made to utilize bus lanes and bike lanes as emergency routes for ambulances to bypass traffic. However, implementing these solutions can be complex due to the high volume of traffic and the need to prevent vehicles from blocking these designated lanes.
In recent years, there have also been policy changes regarding ambulance patient transportation. As of March 12, 2025, a new FDNY policy requires EMS ambulance crews to take patients to the nearest hospital, regardless of personal doctor relationships. This policy has faced backlash from doctors and patients, especially in cases where specific hospitals are better equipped to handle certain medical conditions.
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Foot traffic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in New York City and its surrounding suburbs reported low occupancy rates. However, this was not the case for all hospitals in the state. While hospitals in the areas hit hardest by the Omicron variant, such as New York City, reported low occupancy rates, hospitals in upstate New York experienced a capacity crunch, with a significant drop in the number of available beds.
It is important to note that the absence of foot traffic does not necessarily indicate that a hospital is empty. As one commentator points out, there may be other entrances or areas within the hospital that are busy and require permission to access. Additionally, ambulances may be entering and exiting the hospital without the use of sirens due to reduced traffic.
The perception of empty hospitals in New York during the pandemic may also be influenced by the media's portrayal of the situation. Some commentators believe that the news media may exaggerate or selectively present information to provoke a reaction from viewers, leading to a distorted understanding of the reality on the ground.
Overall, while there may have been variations in foot traffic across different hospitals in New York during the pandemic, it is challenging to make definitive conclusions based solely on observations of foot traffic. Multiple factors, including hospital capacity, staffing levels, and pandemic-related restrictions, play a role in determining the overall activity within a hospital.
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Bed capacity
In March 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered hospitals to increase their capacity by 50% as the state grappled with the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, there were 53,000 hospital beds, but the governor predicted a need for 110,000 beds as the number of cases increased. The governor also considered building 1,000 separate beds for "lighter medical care."
In January 2022, the New York State Department of Health updated the impacted hospital determination list to include 40 hospitals that were notified to stop non-essential, non-urgent elective surgeries after meeting the state's threshold for "high-risk regions" or low-capacity facilities. Criteria used to determine "high-risk regions" include a low current regional bed capacity with 90% or more beds occupied based on the previous 7-day average or an 85-90% occupancy rate based on the previous 7-day average and a new COVID-19 hospital admission rate for the region greater than 4%.
In January 2023, Central New York hospitals were reported to be at or over capacity, with some resorting to using non-traditional clinical spaces to accommodate patients. This was due to a combination of the usual case spike after the holiday season and a triple outbreak of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 and the flu.
The bed capacity and occupancy rates vary across counties in New York. For example, one data set from February 2022 shows that inpatient beds were occupied at rates ranging from 56.0% to 71.0%, with COVID-19 patients occupying 5.0% to 30.0% of those beds. ICU bed occupancy rates ranged from 48.0% to 73.0%, with COVID-19 patients occupying 0.0% to 34.0% of those beds.
It is important to note that hospitals have surge plans to accommodate more patients during times of high demand, and the reported data on bed occupancy may not always reflect these additional measures.
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COVID hospitalizations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in New York City faced overcrowding with COVID-19 patients. In response, temporary hospitals were set up to help ease the burden on existing hospitals. However, some of these temporary hospitals saw very few patients and were criticised for being unnecessary.
For example, the USNS Comfort, a US Naval Hospital ship, docked in New York Harbor in March 2020, only treated 179 patients during its time in the city. It was shut down in May 2020 as it was deemed unnecessary. Similarly, a $21 million field hospital in Brooklyn never saw any patients and was closed soon after opening.
In April 2020, NYC's largest emergency hospital, the Javits Center, was also reported to be mostly empty. This was due to strict admission requirements, which were later relaxed. However, even after relaxing the requirements, the center had only admitted 500 patients by May 2020, while city hospitals were dealing with over 20,000 patients.
The phenomenon of empty hospitals during a pandemic can be misleading. While temporary hospitals or specific facilities within hospitals may appear empty, regular hospitals are often overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. Additionally, the lack of foot traffic or ambulance sirens does not necessarily indicate empty hospitals. Routine surgeries may be cancelled, and hospitals may be organising patient treatment in ways that are not visible to the public or the media.
During the Omicron wave of the pandemic in New York, a puzzling pattern emerged. Downstate hospitals were dealing with a large number of COVID patients, while upstate hospitals were running out of beds, even though COVID hospitalizations in that region remained relatively low. This discrepancy led to questions about the accuracy of the metrics used to track the pandemic in hospitals.
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Frequently asked questions
No, they are not empty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in New York City and its surrounding suburbs reported occupancy rates low enough to remain fully operational. However, upstate hospitals were running out of beds.
During the pandemic, routine surgeries were cancelled and coronavirus patients could only have one visitor, which may have contributed to the perception of empty hospitals.
A possible factor is the state-imposed vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, which may have been less popular in upstate New York. This could have resulted in a loss of staff and a decrease in available beds.
During the pandemic, hospitals in New York faced challenges such as staff shortages and an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, particularly in downstate hospitals.
Governor Hochul ordered a halt to elective procedures in regions where the Omicron surge was relatively mild but hospitals were nearing capacity, such as the Finger Lakes, Central New York, and the Mohawk Valley.
