Lenox Hill's Coronavirus Episode Puts the Spotlight on the Harsh Realities of the Pandemic

The new episode of Netflix's docuseries shows the toll the coronavirus has taken on patients and healthcare workers alike.

The toll of the coronavirus pandemic is vast. It's worldwide—and deeply personal at the same time. Netflix's Lenox Hill, a docuseries about four doctors in a New York City hospital, had cameras there to capture the personal toll on patients, their families and the healthcare providers.

A special episode out on Wednesday, June 24, features the subjects, including Dr. Langer and Dr. Boockvar, grappling with the difficult reality of delivering tough news. The clip below features Dr. Langer checking in on a patient on the mend and connecting him with his family via digital means.

Dr. Boockvar's patient is another story.

"This young man will die today from brain stem—brain death. After having what's called an anoxic brain injury after being told her had COVID. He went into some cardiac arrest," the doctor explains in the clip below.

They treated him for three weeks, to no avail. Now his wife is there to "let nature take its course," Dr. Boockvar says, clad in PPE.

"I'm going to end his life," he says point blank.

The episode is titled "Pandemic" and came out after the release of the eight-episode first season.

"We had the privilege of getting to know these doctors when filming this series and we felt a deep responsibility to continue to share their stories as they navigated this unprecedented and life-changing situation," Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash, executive producers and directors of the series, said in a statement. "With this special episode, we wanted people to see the impact this pandemic had, and is still having, on our hospitals and healthcare workers through the eyes of people on the frontlines."