HHS watchdog finds ‘severe’ and ‘widespread’ shortages of coronavirus tests and masks

Published April 6, 2020 4:12pm ET



The Health and Human Services Department watchdog found “severe” shortages of coronavirus tests and “widespread” shortages of personal protective equipment that put doctors, nurses, and patients at risk in its survey of hospitals dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investigators said hospitals told them “their most significant challenges centered on testing and caring for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 and keeping staff safe” in the HHS inspector general’s 41-page “national snapshot” report released on Monday, based on phone interviews between March 23 and March 27 with 323 hospitals across 46 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

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