The Daily Folgen

States and cities across the United States are reporting dangerous shortages of the vital medical supplies needed to contain the coronavirus. Why is the world’s biggest economy suffering such a scramble to find lifesaving equipment?Guest: Sarah Kliff, an investigative reporter covering health care for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: The scarcity of ventilators has become an emergency, forcing doctors to make life-or-death decisions. The collapse of a government effort to produce an emergency stockpile reveals much about the challenges now being faced in fighting the pandemic.This map of the United States shows gaps in the existing health care infrastructure — and which areas may face a shortage of hospital beds as the virus spreads. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Across the United States, many hospitals are confronting their first cases of coronavirus. Today, we speak to New Jersey’s first confirmed coronavirus patient, a medical professional, about what having the virus was like for him, what he learned from the experience and why he thinks, “America is not ready.”Guests: Susan Dominus, a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, spoke with James Cai, a physician assistant. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: James Cai was told his test for coronavirus had not been completed. Then he heard from the governor on the news that he was the first confirmed case in New Jersey. Why states must ask knotty questions about how much to tell the public — and when.President Trump, listening to his health advisers, has said that the country should be practicing social distancing until at least the end of April. Here are the latest updates. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

After weeks of caring for her sick husband, our colleague wanted to write an essay about her family’s battle against the coronavirus — a warning to those in isolation who haven’t experienced the ravages of the virus intimately. Today, we read her letter from the future aloud.This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.