Ex-Obama official warns US health system faces 'tsunami' over coronavirus

Andy Slavitt, formerly Medicare and Medicaid administrator, tweets outline of threat after 'Trump's months-long denial'

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Hospitals in the US could be overrun by coronavirus cases in little more than a week, a former Obama administration senior health official has warned, fearing a "tsunami-like" escalation that would leave tens of thousands in need of inpatient medical care but unlikely to receive it.

Andy Slavitt, who was Obama's acting administrator of Medicare and Medicaid, said the trajectory of the spread of the virus in the US could follow that of Italy, which has seen cases soar to almost 20,000 and deaths exceed 1,300 in short order.