US cases rise by 15,000 bringing nationwide total to over 100,000
Doctors and nurses on the front lines of the US coronavirus crisis pleaded on Friday for more protective gear and equipment to treat waves of patients expected to overwhelm hospitals as the number of known U.S. infections surpassed 100,000, with more than 1,600 dead, Reuters reports.
Physicians have called particular attention to a desperate need for additional ventilators, machines that help patients breathe and are widely needed for those suffering from Covid-19, the respiratory ailment caused by the highly contagious novel coronavirus.
Hospitals in New York City, New Orleans, Detroit and other virus hot spots also have sounded the alarm about scarcities of drugs, medical supplies and trained staff while the number of confirmed US cases rose by 15,000 on Friday to just over 100,000.
That was down slightly from more than 16,000 new cases reported on Thursday, the largest one-day US surge to date, but kept the United States as the world leader in the number of known infections, having surpassed China and Italy on Thursday.
