New York's coronavirus data sheds new light on the most severe cases: 40% died within 15 days of going to the hospital, and 67% were men

• New York City has been the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the US — at least 50,000 New Yorkers have been hospitalized.
• Since March 1, the city has reported nearly 200,000 cases and more than 16,000 deaths.
• A new study offers insight into what happens to critically ill coronavirus patients. It found that 40% of those people died within 15 days of being admitted to a hospital.

New York City has reported about 13% of the US's 1.5 million coronavirus cases.

More than 200,000 people in the city have been infected (though that's only those who have been tested), and at least 16,000 have died — that's more than 17% of all confirmed US deaths from COVID-19.

In a new study, published Tuesday in The Lancet, researchers examined what happened to the sickest New Yorkers after they were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.

They found that, of a cohort of 257 critically ill New York City residents treated at two Manhattan hospitals, 39% died. On average, that happened nine days after they were admitted. Another 37% of patients with severe cases were still in the hospital after four weeks of treatment.

Men, people with obesity, and those who have underlying conditions face a higher risk of critical illness

The study authors looked at 1,150 New York City adults with confirmed COVID-19 cases who were admitted to two hospitals affiliated with the Columbia University Irving Medical Center between March 2 and April 1. Using medical records and laboratory test results, the researchers tracked those patients for at least 28 days.

Of that group, 257 became critically ill and were admitted to intensive care units. Two of every five critically ill patients ended up dying in the hospital, between five and 15 days after being admitted. About 80% needed to be placed on a ventilator, and they stayed on that support for an average of 18 days.

The average age of the critically ill patients was 62, and 62% were Hispanic or Latino. About 67% were men.

More than 80% of the patients had at least one underlying health condition, the most common of which were high blood pressure and diabetes. Nearly half had obesity.

New York City cases, hospitalizations, and deaths by age

New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene releases daily summaries of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations across the city. Here's the current breakdown:

New Yorkers older than 75 have the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita, as well as the highest coronavirus-related hospitalization rate: 62%.

The death rate in that age bracket — which is calculated by dividing the number of fatalities by the number of total cases — is more than 34%.

City residents between 65 and 74 years old have the next-highest hospitalization rate: about 47%. That age group's death rate, however, is less than half that of New Yorkers older than 75.

The data also shows that New Yorkers younger than 17 face less risk — just 9% of their cases involved hospitalization, and only 10 died. More than 630 New York residents under 45 have been killed by the virus.

The chart does not tell the full story of New York City's coronavirus outbreak, however, as it does not include the 4,828 "probably COVID-19" deaths that have not been confirmed by a positive laboratory test. Additionally, due to limited test availability earlier in the outbreak, New Yorkers were told not to seek tests unless their cases were severe, so many were not included in the official totals.

A further breakdown of New York City cases

As of Tuesday, 51% of New York City's coronavirus cases were in men, according to data from city health officials.

About 31% (more than 58,000 cases) were reported in Queens. Brooklyn's cases make up 27% of the city's total, followed by the Bronx, which has 23%. Manhattan has about 12% of the city's cases, while Staten Island has about 7%.

In the last two weeks, the number of new coronavirus cases per day in New York City has leveled off. Some parts of the state began to reopen Friday.

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