ER visits drop sharply during the pandemic

Emergency room visits in the United States have dropped sharply during the pandemic, underscoring concerns that people with serious medical conditions, like heart attacks, are avoiding hospitals, according to a new analysis released on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the coronavirus spread across the United States this spring, visits to emergency rooms decreased by 42 percent over four weeks in April, compared with the same period in 2019. The declines were greatest among children 14 and younger and women, and in the Northeast.

While there have been a recent rebound in visits, the C.D.C. noted, the volume of visits remains significantly lower. Visits to the emergency room were down 26 percent in the last week of May, compared with figures from a year earlier.