U.S. hospitals hunt for medical equipment

In Washington state, a hospital sent 140 expectant mothers elsewhere so it could refit its birthing unit to treat COVID-19 patients. New York City is beyond that: It is converting a convention center into a temporary hospital. Health officials set up a makeshift morgue outside Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan and are searching for more beds and medical equipment. The city’s police force is shrinking as officers fall ill, but they still have orders to patrol the nearly empty streets to enforce social distancing.

Are things that bad? The U.S. death toll topped 1,000 on Thursday, and more than 69,000 Americans have contracted the disease. With the number of cases doubling about every three days, health officials project there won’t be enough intensive care beds in hospitals to treat new patients soon.

Dig deeper: Read Rachel Lynn Aldrich’s report in The Sift about an Arkansas church where at least 37 people contracted the novel coronavirus in early March. The pastor reported on Facebook late Wednesday that the church’s 91-year-old greeter had died.