Patients with cancer are a high-risk group during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a World Health Organization report published in February. The report, which is based on data collected in China, found that COVID-19 patients with cancer are more than five times more likely to die from the disease compared to COVID-19 patients who have no comorbid conditions.

The researchers estimated that if 80% of the U.S. population was infected, that could result in 44.6 million hospitalizations, 10.7 million ICU admissions, 6.5 million ventilators used, and 249.5 million hospital bed days, at a total direct cost of $654.0 billion during the pandemic.

Of those physicians who’ve taken a financial hit or a furlough, 18% said they were treating COVID-19 patients, and 30% said they were not, according to the findings in an online survey of 842 physicians, conducted last week by Irving, Texas-based physician recruiters Merritt Hawkins.

Last month, the Trump administration declared a state of emergency and changed federal rules to allow licensed healthcare workers to practice medicine across state lines. The move is designed to address shortages of healthcare workers as COVID-19 patients surge and hospital staff are sidelined by coronavirus infection.

CMS published guidelines Sunday for hospitals who want to expand their operations again, but as with the White House and CDC criteria on “Opening Up America Again” issued April 16, moving toward normal depends on the number of COVID-19 cases in a region and whether those numbers are going down.

To boost resources for treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients, governors across the country have ordered hospitals to delay elective surgery procedures. Last month, ACS released guidance for determining which elective surgeries could be delayed appropriately.

The process has N95 masks placed in a room, sprayed with vaporized hydrogen peroxide using a special machine, and left to dry. A mask can be reprocessed up to 10 times for single-user reuse.

With coronavirus patients surging beyond New York, the COVID-19 pandemic is straining healthcare organization workforces from coast to coast. The United States has more reported COVID-19 cases and deaths than any other country, at more than 644,000 cases and more than 28,000 deaths as of April 16.

Using sterile, disposable bronchoscopes would “substantially reduce the risks” to patients and healthcare staff, the researchers wrote. But single-use bronchoscopes are not widely available and may not be effective for some bronchoscopy uses, they added.