This haunting picture of iPads in a hospital room shows how the coronavirus pandemic is crippling hospitals in the US.
The US is by far the hardest hit country in the entire world, with more than 14 million infections and 276,000 deaths so far.
This has resulted in hospitals across the country struggling to cope with the sheer volume of coronavirus patients.
A doctor working on the Covid-19 frontline in one hospital shared the image of a quiet storeroom with a small army of iPads on Twitter.
He explained the iPads are on standby so coronavirus patients can faceTime their loved ones to say goodbye.
The doctor wrote: “These are iPad stations being prepared for virtual ICU end of life visits by a palliative care doc I know. Jesus."
The post has been liked more than 24,000 times and received more than 1,300 comments with some people saying they were forced to say goodbye to a loved one this way.
One person replied: "I had to do this with my mother. She wasn't even conscious, hooked up to the ventilator. Worst thing I've done in my life behind seeing her lifeless in a casket.
"People that still call this a hoax can truly f**k off. It didn't have to be like this."
Another commented: "I was a patient in a covid room, alone, staring at the iPad on a stand for hours on end knowing full well what it was for.
"It's a terrifying experience that I legitimately have PTSD from. Please wear a mask and take care of yourself so you don't have to experience it firsthand."
A third said: "These types of pictures need to be circulated more to get people to wear a mask."
The image also attracted comments from other medics fighting on the coronavirus frontline.
One said: "I work in a hospital with a similar room. It’s just heartbreaking, but thank goodness they are available for the moments the families need with one another."
Another hospital worker commented: "We have something like this at work we have to do when the family can't come and they're marked "end of life". It's so hard to handle."
A doctor in San Francisco likened the image to the way powerful photos from the Vietnam War educated the public during the time.
The number of people admitted to hospital in the US with coronavirus hit an all-time high Wednesday at more than 100,000, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
This means the figure has more than doubled over the last month leaving hospitals straining to cope.
Daily infection rates in the US have begun exceeding 200,000, data released by Johns Hopkins University.
