As the coronavirus spreads in the U.S., public health agencies are starting to worry about hospital capacity.

Overseas, China was forced to build two new hospitals on an emergency basis, and in South Korea earlier this week, the government said over two thousand people were waiting for hospital care.

The potential numbers in the U.S. are daunting. Richard Waldhorn is a pulmonary critical care physician who’s studied hospital preparedness for the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Last week, he co-wrote an article arguing that American hospitals should prepare for the possibility of too many patients.

*Photo by Martin Kaste/NPR