Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) says first responders and medical facilities at the heart of America’s coronavirus outbreak will run out of desperately needed protective gear if they do not receive new supplies from a national stockpile in the coming days and weeks.
In an exclusive interview, Durkan told The Hill that current estimates suggest there are more than 1,100 people in the greater Seattle area who are infected with the coronavirus, many of whom show few symptoms and therefore have not sought medical attention.
“It is perhaps the most consequential and complicated event that I’ve ever been involved in,” she said.
There have been 373 confirmed cases in Washington state, the highest total of any state in the country, and the majority of those cases are in the Seattle area.
Those who become sick enough to need hospitalization are already stretching health systems as city, county and state officials scramble to build capacity.