A paper was recently published in Plos One regarding research conducted from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic focused on changes in SARS-CoV-2 viral load and mortality during the initial wave of the pandemic in New York City. 

The findings reveal, public health interventions such as social distancing and mask wearing decreased the incidence of severe or lethal acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and the viral load of infected patients at first diagnostic. It is unclear whether the changes in viral load impacted mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or the changes in mortality and viral load were independent consequences of non-pharmacological interventions or other changes as the outbreak progressed.

Dr. Luis Schang of the Baker Institute, collaborating with other researchers on this project, evaluated 6923 patients with COVID-19 at six New York City hospitals from March 15-May 14, 2020, corresponding with the implementation of public health interventions in March. Read more in the public abstract to learn more about the findings.