Hospitals have already sounded the alarm on quickly vanishing supplies as the outbreak in the US shows no signs of slowing -- in just 24 hours, cases soared by more than 40%. The US government announced this week it would help make up for potential medical supply shortages and deploy two hospital ships to help increase medical capacity. Nearly 9,000 Americans have tested positive for the virus. At least 149 have died. "I view it as, in a sense, of wartime president," President Donald Trump said in a news conference Wednesday. "I mean, that's what we're fighting. It's a very tough situation here."