Hospitals and medical facilities in the US are preparing for the continued spread of coronavirus in the country after a stern warning was given by the top US health officials.
Measures are now being implemented to avoid the shortage of medical supplies, and even staff needed to treat patients and combat the further spread of the virus. Part of these measures includes checking the supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE).
In a recent report, the American Hospital Association asked Congress for an additional $1 billion on top of $2.5 billion already sought by the Trump administration. This fund is primarily needed to provide prompt emergency funding. As per the association, the fund will be used to cater to the needs of hospitals, health systems, physicians, and nurses.
A health system seeks help and assistance
One of the biggest health systems, Group Purchasing Organization (GPO), claimed to have been receiving calls from its members in an attempt to get clinical updates. GPO is an entity that helps healthcare providers, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies. Currently, it has 4,000 member hospitals.
These GPO members are checking inventory and supply chains for key devices, such as masks and ventilators. These medical facilities are also looking to reevaluate vendor relationships and set contingency plans for potential disasters that might further be brought by the spread of coronavirus.
Some hospitals heighten preparation and response level
Providence Regional Medical Center in Washington is said to be one of the first hospitals to treat a coronavirus patient in the US.
According to its executive director of System Infection Prevention at Providence, the hospital has heightened its preparation and response levels as there still seems to be no stop to the increase in coronavirus cases. They believe they’re ready for the coronavirus after having faced previous outbreaks, such as Ebola and H1N1.
A global outbreak of coronavirus has further increased
According to the Worldometer, the coronavirus cases across the globe have summed up to over 126,000, as of March 12, 2020. The statistics show a total of 4, 633 deaths, and 68,304 recovered cases.
The coronavirus COVID-19 has impacted a total of 124 countries around the world. The origin of the virus – that is China, currently has 80,796 total cases with 62,802 recovered cases and 3,169 total deaths.
Coming next to China is Italy, with a total of 12,462 cases (10,590 active cases, 1,045 recovered cases, and 827 deaths). Other alarming countries include Iran, South Korea, Spain, France, and Germany, with over a thousand cases, as of the time in writing.
The rest included in the 124 countries expect to have a rapid increase in cases. However, reports show how each country implements its own measures to address the problem and reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus pandemic has become real
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the threat of a coronavirus pandemic “has become very real,” seeing that the global cases have now reached over 110,000.
Coronavirus has sickened more than 110,000 people and spread to more than 100 countries. However, WHO officials stressed that the spread of the virus can still be controlled, as long as each country takes responsibilities and proper measures.
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