Coronavirus outbreak

US health system headed for crisis as infections spike

Hospital staff voice anger over shortage of protective gear, poor planning

San Francisco's Powell Street, usually busy with traffic and the city's famed cable cars, was largely deserted on Tuesday. There are fears that the US, with more than 7,000 confirmed cases and over 110 deaths yesterday, is heading the way of Italy, w
San Francisco's Powell Street, usually busy with traffic and the city's famed cable cars, was largely deserted on Tuesday. There are fears that the US, with more than 7,000 confirmed cases and over 110 deaths yesterday, is heading the way of Italy, where the health system is overwhelmed. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
San Francisco's Powell Street, usually busy with traffic and the city's famed cable cars, was largely deserted on Tuesday. There are fears that the US, with more than 7,000 confirmed cases and over 110 deaths yesterday, is heading the way of Italy, w
An employee delivering food to a customer on Tuesday at a drive-through area set up by Canlis Restaurant in Seattle, Washington. Many businesses throughout the area were closed and restaurants were offering only takeaway food because of the coronavirus outbreak. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Nirmal Ghosh US Bureau Chief In Washington
Updated
Mar 19, 2020, 05:00 AM
Published
Mar 19, 2020, 05:00 AM
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Some time over the weekend, the trickle of patients started becoming a stream.

And now, starting days ago in Washington state but increasingly seen in hospitals across the country, N95 masks are being reused. Some hospitals are on their last ventilators.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 19, 2020, with the headline US health system headed for crisis as infections spike. Subscribe

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