A few months ago, emergency departments across the tristate area were inundated with patients with 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and hospitals had to adjust how they triaged and cared for patients. However, as cases have dropped in the past month, hospitals have gone back to a new kind of normal in many areas. Despite this, doctors are saying that many people are afraid of returning to emergency departments for fear of COVID-19.

Catherine Jamin, MD, vice chair of emergency medicine at NYU Langone Health speaks to CBS New York’s Max Gomez on the importance of not delaying care. Delays in emergency care cause worse outcomes, and waiting because of fear can be crucial.

“Our patients in our community are very afraid. They want to know, are they safe? Is it safe to come into the emergency department?” says Dr. Jamin. “In many medical conditions, time is of the essence to help fix things before they get worse, so our biggest concern is for people to not delay care so we can intervene early and get people back up on their feet sooner.”

NYU Langone is constantly adapting to the pandemic in order to maintain the safest environment possible for their patients.

Read more from CBS New York.