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City officials have released stark new guidance to equally overworked ambulance crews, effective immediately, if they can't resuscitate a patient in the field, they must withhold CPR and declare the person dead.
They can no longer continue to the hospital.
"These orders are binding and the FDNY will devise a plan for implementation," said Deputy Fire Commissioner Frank Dwyer.
The new approach shows how stretched thin EMS and hospitals are.
"When you're doing the CPR, you're pushing really hard on the patient's chest and they're expelling some air in the process as well, so if they are COVID patients, they'll be spreading it all around," said Dr. Vinayak Kumar with the Mayo Clinic. "This is the risk-benefit math you have to take into account."
Coronavirus News: New guidelines for EMS in NYC show grim reality of COVID-19 pandemic
They can no longer continue to the hospital.
"These orders are binding and the FDNY will devise a plan for implementation," said Deputy Fire Commissioner Frank Dwyer.
The new approach shows how stretched thin EMS and hospitals are.
"When you're doing the CPR, you're pushing really hard on the patient's chest and they're expelling some air in the process as well, so if they are COVID patients, they'll be spreading it all around," said Dr. Vinayak Kumar with the Mayo Clinic. "This is the risk-benefit math you have to take into account."
Coronavirus News: New guidelines for EMS in NYC show grim reality of COVID-19 pandemic