(Inside Science) — For almost a month, Lombardy, the prosperous, mountainous section of northern Italy, has been the world’s hotspot for COVID-19, the severe respiratory pandemic now raging in cities like New York and around the globe.
The Italians were unprepared. So is the U.S.
Italy’s excellent universal health care system is now in danger of crashing. Doctors there are facing stunning existential decisions: Who will they treat, and who will they let die? Hospital capacity is overwhelmed and medical staff are falling ill from the virus. They simply can’t treat everyone.
In a pandemic, the standard rules of medicine no longer apply, and health care providers in the U.S., including those in Detroit and New York, either are now facing or may soon face the same conundrum.
