New COVID Patients Contracting Virus at Home

A new survey of COVID-19 patients in New York hospitals shows that many contracting the disease are retired, unemployed and at home.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said a new three-day survey of COVID-19 patients in 113 New York hospitals revealed that over 80 percent of current cases are people that are retired or unemployed. This points to numerous conclusions, one of which shows that social distancing is working as a drop in cases coincides with major drops in people contracting the virus at work. A downside to this data is that people are still catching COVID-19 while at home, especially those over the age of 50 and those with pre-existing conditions.

Another sobering finding was that nearly half of all cases are African Americans and Latinos. This points to a continuing socioeconomic disparity for who is contracting the virus – namely, a higher infection rate for persons of color who live in areas of poverty.

Most cases still involve those with pre-existing conditions, as 96 percent of patients in the New York survey were recorded with them. Another reinforced fact is that the virus is predominantly affecting older people, with 73 percent of those in the survey above the age of 50.