by NBC News
AS COVID-19 SPREADS across 13 states and public health officials urge Americans to work from home, wash their hands, and stop touching their faces, hospitals and urgent care clinics are preparing for an onslaught of feverish, coughing, and highly contagious patients.
Hospitals are stocking up on protective gear for staff, preparing quarantine rooms, and coordinating with state health departments, which are in charge of testing to confirm suspected novel coronavirus cases. But the number one strategy hospitals and urgent care clinics are relying on isn’t face masks or isolation wards: It’s asking people to stay home.
