Workers at 6 US hospitals reveal how they respond to potential coronavirus cases — including face shields and negative-pressure isolation chambers.

A medical worker puts on a face shield during a drill
as part of preparations for a potential Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
outbreak, at a private hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, June 24, 2015.
Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Hospitals across the US have negative-pressure isolation chambers, face shields, and infectious-disease experts at the ready. They're all preparing for somebody to walk through their doors with a case of the new coronavirus.

The outbreak has spread to over two dozen countries since it started in Wuhan, China, in December. More than 30,000 people have gotten sick, and more than 630 have died. The US has confirmed 12 cases of the virus; the first was identified at the Providence Regional Medical Center in Snohomish County, Washington, on January 21. (For the latest case total, death toll, and travel information, see Business Insider's live updates here.)

"Once we either identify or a patient self-identifies as potentially being at risk, we try incredibly hard to prevent any kind of spread beyond that moment in time," Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, chief clinical officer at the Providence medical network, told Business Insider.


By Morgan McFall-Johnsen.
Full story at Business Insider.