Will Stone

White flags planted by volunteers visualize lives lost in the U.S. to COVID-19 as part of an installation by artist Suzanne Firstenberg in Washington, D.C. The death toll has now reached 300,000.

Will Stone

Eleven months into the COVID-19 crisis, an unimaginable death toll has been reached. NPR spoke to doctors, nurses and the bereaved about how they face loss every day.

As U.S. Looks Forward To COVID-19 Vaccines, Hospitals Are Inundated

Will Stone

Hospitals are overwhelmed in several Sunbelt states, with New Mexico's governor threatening to move to "crisis standards." Care has stabilized in the Midwest which saw an earlier surge.

Health care workers in Houston, Texas, perform a procedure on a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit on Thanksgiving. This past week has seen continued steep growth in cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.

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'Extraordinary Acceleration': Takeaways From The Pandemic Last Week

Will Stone

Deaths from COVID-19 have jumped nearly 40% this week, and hospitals around the country are straining under their patient load. Here's what happened in the first week after Thanksgiving.

An ambulance pulls up as nurses outside a triage tent for the Emergency Department at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle put on gowns and other protective gear at the start of their shift, on April 2, 2020. A resurgence of the coronavirus has health care workers and government leaders worried about dwindling resources and an exhausted workforce.

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'We're All Tired Of This': Health Care Workers In Seattle Prepare For Another Surge

Will Stone

Harborview Medical Center faced the country's initial swell of coronavirus cases. Now, health care workers there are offering advice to people facing the latest surge in COVID-19 patients.

Surge Advice From 1 Of The Early Hospitals To Battle COVID-19

Will Stone

Staff members at a Seattle hospital that faced the country's initial surge of coronavirus cases offer advice to people working in hospitals that are facing the latest surge in COVID-19 patients.

PPE Shortages Persist Nearly 9 Months Into The Coronavirus Pandemic

Will Stone

A national nurses union is raising alarm about a shortage of masks and gowns as hospitals enter the combined flu and COVID-19 season.

Medical staff prepare for an intubation procedure on a COVID-19 patient in a Houston intensive care unit. In some parts of the U.S., as hospitals get crowded, hospital leaders are worried they may need to implement crisis standards of care.

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Near Crisis, Some Hospitals Face Tough Decisions In Caring For Floods Of Patients

Will Stone

Hospitals are getting so crowded with COVID-19 patients that they're having to resort to workarounds to treat them all. Experts warn this may hamper doctors' ability to save lives.

What It Means When Hospitals Say They Have To Ration Care

Will Stone

As more hospitals across the U.S. reach the level of rationing care, NPR explains what that move, called "crisis standards of care," means in practical terms.

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States Announce New Mandates As COVID-19 Cases Rise Sharply In The U.S.

Will Stone

A rapid, frightening spread of the coronavirus across the U.S. leads to a fresh round of stay-at-home guidance and mask mandates. Health officials are urging families not to gather for the holidays.

Medical staff members check on a patient at the COVID-19 ICU in United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Cases and hospitalizations rose dramatically in the U.S. this week.

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The Pandemic Is Entering A Dangerous New Chapter. Here Are The Week's Big Takeaways

Will Stone

With record cases and hospitalizations and newly rising deaths, experts wonder, will this surge ever slow down? Find out where the virus is hitting hardest and what is being done to stop it.