Coronavirus pandemic
The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Hospitals consider universal do-not-resuscitate orders for coronavirus patients

Worry that ‘all hands’ responses may expose doctors and nurses to infection prompts debate about prioritizing the survival of the many over the one

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March 25, 2020 at 10:28 p.m. EDT
The Washington Post spoke to doctors throughout the country who say shortages of medical equipment and supplies could cost lives. (Video: The Washington Post, Photo: Kolin Pope/The Washington Post)

Hospitals on the front lines of the pandemic are engaged in a heated private debate over a calculation few have encountered in their lifetimes — how to weigh the “save at all costs” approach to resuscitating a dying patient against the real danger of exposing doctors and nurses to the contagion of coronavirus.