TORONTO -- The U.S. has quickly become the epicentre for the coronavirus outbreak, with New York State being one of the hardest-hit regions with more than 9,000 deaths.

Dr. Eric Blutinger, a New York City emergency medicine physician, what a day in the frontlines looks like for health-care workers treating the hundreds of COVID-19 patients that enter into their care every day. 

“I’m a little bit anxious going into work, I don’t really know what today will be like. Everyday is like a jack in the box,†Blutinger said as he makes his way to Mount Sinai hospital in Queens. 

Having only been working a year out of training, Blutinger admits he knew his first year would be difficult, but says he couldn’t imagine he would be working to treat patients during a mass outbreak. 

Blutinger’s video diary, shows footage of his shift on April 7, leading up to what U.S. health officials say could be a peak week for virus cases in the state. However, with the consistently packed hospital hallways, Blutinger said it’s difficult to see the difference when everyday feels like a peak day. 

“I know Governor Cuomo announced we’re potentially getting close to the plateau, or peak, but it’s really hard to see that day-to-day just given the extreme volume and acuity of our patient population,†he said. 

As the emergency doctor walks through the hallways of the emergency care unit, wearing a mask, goggles and robe, he points out that all that can be heard in the background are oxygen machines. 

“Everyone is COVID-19 positive in these hallways. All you hear is oxygen…I’m seeing young patients, old patients, people of all age ranges who are just incredibly sick,†he said. 

Among the many tasks Blutinger takes on throughout his shift, he demonstrates perhaps the most critical task amid the pandemic; testing patients for the virus.

“It’s very uncomfortable and all patients hate it,†Blutinger says as he shows the large swab that is used to test patients. 

Dressed in his personal protective equipment (PPE), Blutinger demonstrates how he covers his eyes, mouth, nose and head before administering the test. 

With the rise in cases, many hospitals are quickly running out of space to treat patients. Blutinger shows how Mount Sinai set up “surge†tents for patients when the emergency departments become overcrowded. 

In these tents, curtains are used to separate rooms for patients, trolleys are filled with medical equipment and oxygen tanks and ventilation is set up in the tents’ ceiling to maintain a safe and confined space to treat patients. 

While the current pandemic can be a traumatic experience for health-care workers, Blutinger said the hospital began a new initiative to play the Beatles 1969 classic “Here Comes The Sun,†whenever a COVID-19 patient is discharged from the hospital.

“It’s great to see that even though the prospects are quite dim and there’s a lot of distress and despair in the community and in our hospital, there are bright spots which can be extremely powerful and uplifting throughout the day,†he shares.

As his shift comes to an end, Blutinger describes how he has to decontaminate himself every night by disposing of the protective gear he wore and washing his hands and face.

Recollecting on his shift, Blutinger notes that he treated more male patients with COVID-19 than female.

“A lot of my patients who are super sick are actually male, which kind of coincides with reports of the New York City area where male patients are sicker than their female counterparts,†he said. 

New York City men are contracting the virus at a higher rate than women, with a reported 712 cases per 100,000 women in the city, in comparison to 932 cases for every 100,000 men. 

Before ending his video diary, Blutinger said he takes his work home with him by constantly thinking of ways to fight the virus and hopefully help put an end to it.

“I think on my drive home, like I do every night, of what more I could be doing to help fight this crisis and what cures are possibly out there and what next study is going to come out that will give us more of a direction in fighting this awful enemy,†he said.