NYC Death Toll Spikes 110% in 36 Hours; Supply-Starved Nurses Seen Wearing Trash Bags for Gowns

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Makeshift morgues. Cases doubling every 72 hours. Nurses wearing trash bags for lack of protective personal equipment. Economic shutdown. Staggering unemployment. Not enough aid.

The tri-state area is grappling with a months-long crisis that has shown no signs of slowing down. The curve will flatten eventually. But in the meantime, whole states, cities and everyday people are just struggling to figure out how to survive.

As of Wednesday night, nearly 33,000 cases had been confirmed in New York, an increase of more than 7,000 from the day before. At least 366 people have died. The city, impaired by the density that makes it one of the world's most vibrant places, bears the brunt of the impact, with more than 20,000 cases across the five boroughs as of Wednesday night. The mayor's office said the death toll had soared to 280, the biggest increase in deaths the city had seen so far - that's 28 percent of what NBC News estimates to be the total fatality number nationwide.