The U.S. federal government 's health inspectors surveyed 323 hospitals in late March ; reporting `` severe shortages '' of test supplies , `` widespread shortages '' of personal protective equipment ( PPE ) , and other strained resources due to extended patient stays while awaiting test results .
The governor of New York claimed before March 26 that the doubling of cases of the 2019-20 coronavirus slowed down from 2.0 days to 4.7 days due to social distancing .