Lost time: How coronavirus spread while supply orders lagged

The government's stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment is nearly drained just as the number of people infected with the coronavirus is surging.

A body wrapped in plastic that was unloaded from a refrigerated truck is handled by medical workers wearing personal protective equipment at Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City. (Photo | AP)

WASHINGTON: The government's stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment is nearly drained just as the number of people infected with the coronavirus and in need of critical care is surging.

Back in January, the first alarms were sounding about the outbreak in China.

In time, it would become a global pandemic.

An Associated Press review has found that the Trump administration squandered precious months before bolstering the federal stockpile of urgently needed medical supplies and equipment.