\n

A Bronx doctor who has treated the novel coronavirus for weeks and has even contracted the virus himself called for an end to nationwide lockdown measures in \u00a0op-ed published by The New York Post<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n

Daniel G. Murphy, MD, the chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, argued that the brunt of the virus has already passed in his area, once a COVID hotspot, and that is likely not<\/em> due to lockdown measures. Instead, he argued, the virus has naturally run its course.<\/p>\n

Backing this argument, Dr. Murphy noted that his hospital serves low income people who have \u201cessential\u201d jobs where social distancing is generally not possible. He also highlighted that the virus is widespread in the Bronx \u00a0\u2014 about 43% of those tested have the virus \u2014 and thus, the neighborhood is on its way to herd immunity.<\/p>\n

The negative effects of the COVID response, like cutting off non-coronavirus essential care and building fear of visting the hospital for lifesaving treatment, lest patients also contract the coronavirus, is causing needless destruction, the doctor outlined.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lasting impact\u201d of COVID \u201cis what worries me the most,\u201d wrote Dr. Murphy. \u201cAnd it\u2019s why I now believe we should end the lockdown and rapidly get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weeks ago, the doctor said his staff saw a \u201cwave of critically ill patients in numbers none of us had ever seen.\u201d That lasted for two weeks, he said.<\/p>\n

But the wave of the criticality ill Dr. Murphy witnessed is the reason he feels lockdown must end.<\/p>\n

The \u201cwave has crested,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAt 1 p.m. April 7, the COVID-19 arrivals slowed down. It was a discrete, noticeable event. Stretchers became available by 5 p.m., and the number of arriving COVID-19 patients dropped below the number discharged, transferred or deceased.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[T]he community I serve is poor,\u201d the\u00a0doctor said. \u201cSome are homeless. Most work in \u2018essential,\u2019 low-paying jobs, where distancing isn\u2019t easy. Nevertheless, the wave passed over us, peaked and subsided.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way this transpired tells me the ebb and flow had more to do with the natural course of the outbreak than it did with the lockdown,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worry about non-coronavirus care,\u201d Dr. Murphy said. \u201cWhile the inpatient units remain busy with sick COVID-19 patients, our ER has been quiet for more than a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0significant drop in 911 ambulance runs, which is currently \u201csignificantly below the average,\u201d suggests \u201ca\u00a0large share of those staying home surely have emergency medical and surgical conditions not related to the novel coronavirus.\u00a0The growing numbers \u00addying at home during this crisis must include fatal myocardial infarctions, asthma exacerbations, bacterial infections and strokes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pediatric volume in the ER \u201chas practically disappeared,\u201d he noted.\u00a0\u201cVisits to primary-care pediatricians are also down, with vaccine schedules falling behind. Everyone seems to be avoiding the health system \u2014 an important and unfortunate consequence of the stay-at-home strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[I]nordinate fear misguides the public response,\u201d Dr. Murphy\u00a0explained. \u201cWhile COVID-19 is serious, fear of it is being over-amplified<\/a>. The public needs to understand that the vast majority of infected people do quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCOVID-19 is more prevalent than we think,\u201d he wrote. \u201cMany New Yorkers already have the COVID-19 infection, whether they are aware of it or not. As of today, over 43 percent of those tested are positive in The Bronx. We are developing a significant degree of natural herd immunity. Distancing works, but I am skeptical that it is playing as predominant a role as many think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t wait months. We must protect the vulnerable and mitigate without destroying the economy,\u201d Dr. Murphy closed. \u201cStanding up to this virus can\u2019t be the job of essential workers only. We\u2019ve been strong, but we\u2019re tired, and we need the rest of you to help us. By getting back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full op-ed, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0WATCH: E.R. Doctors Urge A Reopening: Lockdown Creating Public Health Crisis, Doctors \u2018Pressured\u2019 To Add COVID To Death Reports, Quarantining Healthy \u2018Never Seen\u2019 Before<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media\u2019s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i>subscriber<\/i><\/a>.\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Bronx doctor who has treated the novel coronavirus for weeks and has even contracted the virus himself called for an end to nationwide lockdown measures in \u00a0op-ed published by The New York Post on Monday.Daniel G. Murphy, MD, the chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, argued…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[2627,5],"class_list":{"0":"post-24530","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-front","9":"tag-coronavirus"},"yoast_head":"\n