Abstract Background and purpose Investigating clinical characteristics of patients presenting with cerebrovascular events during the pandemic may provide valuable insight into further understanding the phenomenon of decreased stroke admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method Data of patients presenting with a cerebrovascular event to the emergency department during weeks 12–17/2020 were compared to data from the respective weeks in 2019. Results A significant reduction in the number of admissions by 35.9% (p = 0.005) was observed during the COVID-19 epoch. In addition, significantly more patients arrived by ambulance during the COVID-19 epoch (2019: 75.7%, 2020: 94.2%; p = 0.001). Conclusion Our data may have implications as to how campaigns raising awareness for serious medical conditions in the context of the pandemic should be framed.