'New Amsterdam' star Jocko Sims on how the cast and crew are staying connected during the pandemic

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Even though production on the NBC medical drama "New Amsterdam" was suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak, the cast and crew are staying connected.

One of the show's stars, Jocko Sims who plays cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Floyd Reynolds, spoke with Fox News about how despite being socially separated, the "New Amsterdam" team is remaining tight-knit.

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"We definitely do keep in touch," he said. "We have a chat room on our phones. It's about 30 people in there. [Recently] I got 230 text messages in one day from the cast and crew, so we're staying very closely in touch."

The text group chat includes everyone from the cast to producers to makeup artists, grips, and the show's medical advisors. "We are very tight with each other during a very tough time and are keeping updated as to what's going on here in New York City," Sims explained.

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The NBC series recently decided to pull an episode that was scheduled to air in April because it was about a deathly pandemic that hit the city.

Pictured: Jocko Sims as Dr. Floyd Reynolds
(Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

For obvious reasons the network and the showrunner believed it hit too close to home and they didn't want to capitalize on the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Sims believed they made the right choice. "I gotta tell you, even coming off of my last show -- 'The Last Ship' -- I did five seasons of the show that was about a pandemic. And I remember working on the show. It scared me and [I feel] the same when we're on 'New Amsterdam.' Sometimes I'd see a piece of the storyline and, you know, I'd see one of the writers and say, 'Was that true?' The writers are always drawing from real-life -- something that has happened or something that very well could happen."

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"[New Amsterdam] does a good job of bringing these [topics] to the forefront and shining a light on some of the issues that we might be dealing with here. Even with the pandemic episode that we had to pull. It was just very, very close to home," he added.

On Tuesday night, the series aired its final episode of the abbreviated season. Sims teased that the leftover episodes and storylines, which weren't finished, will most likely be rolled over into Season 3.

Pictured: Daniel Dae Kim as Dr. Cassian Shin  (Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

"We were glad to shut down production for safety reasons and to do our part to not spread the virus. That was our first concern," Sims said.

"We were devastated that we didn't get to finish the season in a proper way, but I'm pretty sure that they will come back with the storylines that we're missing and either will finish this season or we'll start the new season with some of these stories because they were fantastic," he continued. "A lot of people were trying to figure out, for example, what's going on with my character. The last time we saw him, he left the hospital and was headed for San Francisco. People are wondering, is he gone for good?"

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Reynolds' absence introduced fans to a new character, trauma surgeon Dr. Cassian Shin, played by Daniel Dae Kim, who tested positive for coronavirus but is on the road to recovery.

"I don't think Dr. Reynolds would like Dr. Shin's style much at all," Sims said. "Dr. Shin is a bit unconventional."

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"He comes in and he keeps you on the edge. You see the way that he handles his work. You know, he's nice but he doesn't go by the book," he added. "He follows what's convenient for him but at the same time, he ultimately makes good decisions."

Currently, "New Amsterdam" is set to return in the fall with new episodes.