ER Doctor Who Diagnosed First Confirmed NYC COVID-19 Case Reflects 1 Year Later

Dr. Angela Chen, an emergency medicine doctor at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, says she is pretty good at dealing with the unexpected. It's part of what drew her to emergency medicine, and her work on emergency cases trained her to navigate uncertain times.

Then, there was COVID-19.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the coronavirus outbreak had reached the level of a pandemic with "alarming levels of spread and severity." The NBA postponed a game after a player tested positive and the league immediately suspended its season. President Trump announced a travel ban on Europe and actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announced they both fell ill with the virus. Americans started panic shopping at grocery stores, and many people entered self isolation. Healthcare workers were thrust onto the frontlines of a crisis that so far has left more than half a million dead in the U.S.