>> good evening. the president today signalled he is looking for quote a way to get our country open again. he said he was talking in terms of weeks, not months. and he said it at the end of the sing single biggest day rise. he asked as he did in a tweet last night if the cure, which involves shutting down large chunks of the economy is worse than the disease. we'll play you some ever his remarks in a moment and debate that question tonight. first, some context to it. since we last left you on friday, the number of deaths and cases has more than doubled. nearly 43,000 confirmed cases of the disease. about half of them in one state, new york. here in new york city, more than 12,000 people are infected. and the mayor today said hospital supplies could run out in a week. the army corps of engineers today began converting a giant convention center just two blocks from here into a thousand

bed hospital. we are still awaiting test results from our colleague here at 360. i personally have no symptoms and had no close contact with the person. we broadcast from my home on friday. my staff is all still working from home. tonight, i'm in a remote studio with a robotic camera so i'm not in contact with anyone else. but again, no symptoms. globally, late today, britain's prime minister put the uk on the tightest lockdown since the second world war. this morning, the president's surgeon general said this. >> i want america to understand this week, it's going to get bad. and we really need to come together as a nation and so we really, really -- >> you don't think people are taking it seriously? >> well, that was this morning. now, here's the president this evening. cnn's kaitlan collins asking him whether his desire to loosen restrictions was medically sound. >> you said it's likely going to be weeks, not months, before you suggest easing these guidelines you put out. have any of the doctors on your

team told you that's the right path to pursue? >> we spoke to them today. and i was telling them that we have two things to look forward. don't forget, the doctors, if it were up to the doctors, they may say let's keep it -- let's shut down the entire world. because again, you are up to almost 150 countries. so let's shut down the entire world. and when swe shut it down, that would be wonderful and let's keep it shut for a couple years. you can't do that. especially the number one economy anywhere in the world by far. number one economy in the world. you can't do that. >> cnn's jim acosta was listening in the press conference as well and has his own reporting on what led up to it. he joins us now. the president really seems to be suggesting is that somehow the measures being taken to counter the virus are becoming worse than the virus itself. >> that's right, anderson. you heard the president say a number of times during this briefing at the white house that he doesn't want the cure to be worse than the problem. and so he is announcing, he was announcing just a few moments ago, that he plans on getting the country moving again. getting the economy going again.

there are not a lot of specifics at this point as to how that's going to take place. but you could hear where the president's mind is going in all of this. at one point, he was talking about how the coronavirus so far has not been as deadly as the seasonal flu. that it's not as deadly as car accidents. those are comparisons that he made during the briefing. but, anderson, huge implication in all of this. questions that are going to be asked is if this country reopens again, gets the economy revved up again, does that mean people can go to the airport? does that mean they can go out to eat in restaurants? can they go back to the beach? can kids go back to school and so on? so a lot of questions just haven't been answered at this point. but the president indicated very clearly that this era of social distancing, he would like to see come to an end. >> and do any of the president's top medical officials actually support that? >> i think that is a big question at this point. and one thing we should point out in just the last several

minutes, the president announced that the first lady melania trump has tested negative for the coronavirus. the president and the first lady, the vice president, mrs. pence, have all tested negative for the coronavirus. but getting to your question, anderson, the president has been getting some pushback. top officials have been getting some pushback behind the scenes by doctor anthony fauci. the top infectious diseases expert for the administration. according to sources i'm talking to. dr. fauci has been urging some of these social distancing guidelines to continue. that he wants to see appropriate public health measures to continue. but you heard the president say, during this briefing, that you can't let these things go on forever. he doesn't want to see this last for months. and he indicated during this press briefing that within the next week or so, when the original 15-day period comes to an end, he is going to be making a decision. he was talking at one point, anderson, about certain parts of the country that are dealing with, you know, a very big outbreak like new york city and new york state. that those areas may remain

somewhat shut down versus other states like nebraska and idaho where he mentioned they don't have as big of a problem. where things could reopen basically back to where they were. but, anderson, the president was pressed specifically whether or not dr. fauci agrees with the direction he is heading. and the president, and i think this will probably go down in some infamy in the days to come, said dr. fauci doesn't not agree with me. that was not a clear answer. and even dr. debbie birx who was in the briefing, dr. fauci was not in the briefing, said at one point she wants to look at the data. so she did not answer the question as to whether she agrees with the president's recommendations. it seems the top doctors of the administration and the economists, people like larry kudlow, people who are pushing the president to get the economy going again, are on opposing sides of this. and this is going to get hashed out behind the scenes in the coming days. and not too distant future

anderson, i would suspect days, not weeks from now. anderson. >> and we didn't hear much about the relief bill being negotiated in congress. what's the status of that? >> democrats seem to be saying that there could be a deal tonight or tomorrow. to get $2 trillion stimulus deal passed by the congress and to tell to the president's desk in the coming days. they were almost at each other's throats earlier today where senate majority leader mitch mcconnell was accusing democrats of essentially tanking the markets, tanking the economy to get provisions they would like to see. democrats were saying, no, republicans, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, that he was putting unnecessary voting guidelines to make the democrats look bad. so they have been going at each other all day long, anderson. but our sources are tolling us it sounds as though they are moving toward passing a stimulus in the next days or so.

but the point is, is it needed at this point if the president is talking about reopening this economy again? >> appreciate it even as the debate at the white house goes on over relaxing restrictions, states across the country were tightening them bracing for the wave that could be coming their way. implored georgia's governor to declare a two week shelter in place order. suggesting that tomorrow is a point of no return, beyond which any delay increases chances of completely overwhelming the hospital system. late today, florida's governor ordered 14 days of self-isolation from anyone arriving there from new york and new jersey. in all, at least 13 states now have some form of stay at home measures in effect or about to be. that includes california. cnn's nick watt joins us. so where do preparations and supplies stand at this hour? >> well, anderson, like many other places in the country, here in los angeles, officials are really taking the initiative. l.a. county and city just cut a deal with a south korean company

to buy tens of thousands of coronavirus test kits. they hope to be performing around 5,000 tests a day. by the end of this week. and in terms of the bigger picture, i mean, we heard from the american hospitals association and they say that every hospital in every community will experience shortages -- will experience shortages, particularly of those protective equipment for the health workers. so it is not just going to be the current hotspots like new york. >> this massive manhattan convention center, about to be converted into four field hospitals. a thousand beds between them. >> we have not even begun to see the influx of patients. this is still the relative quiet before the storm. >> reporter: the governor has ordered every hospital in new york to increase bed capacity by 50%. new york state now home to around half the confirmed cases

in this country with more than 20,000, that's tripled in three days. and with more than 150 deaths. >> if we don't get the ventilators, in particular, we will actually start to lose lives who could have been saved. >> the state says many cases are ages 18 to 49. experts suggest vaping might be a factor. >> you can get it. the numbers show you can get it if you're a young person. >> the economy, cratering. the restaurant food service industry alone estimates 7 million could lose their jobs. restaurant manager jay bokin, already has. >> people are not going to be able to support their families. >> and stay at home orders still spreading. ohio, louisiana, connecticut, indiana, west virginia, and michigan, among the recent additions. but not everyone is taking social distancing seriously enough. >> we can't have the kind of social distancing that parts of italy had or we will turn into italy with those case counts and those death rates.

>> more than 6,000 have now died in italy. among them, more than 20 doctors. here, thousands of retired healthcare workers are now heeding the call to come back to work. >> i feel i have a moral obligation to share my skills. we can't imagine what it's going to be like a week or two from now. >> so many places now struggling for supplies. >> we just received our allotment from the federal government's national strategic stockpile. the allotment of personal protection equipment for one of our hospitals, that allotment is barely enough to cover one shift at that hospital. >> and mercy, the navy hospital ship with 800 personnel aboard, today, set sail for los angeles. >> is there a sense of how effective the shelter in place order has been there in california? >> well, i mean, anderson, in

terms of whether it has slowed the spread, it might be a little while before that data is really readable. but i can tell you that officials here do not think that we have been social distancing enough. and, frankly, they're right. i took my kids for a hike yesterday. pulled into the parking lot. it was packed. there were maybe 40 people standing very close together. all waiting to touch that parking ticket machine. so i drove straight out. today, the county closed all the trails and closed the beach parking lots. anderson. >> nick watt, thanks very much. because there are so many fast-moving developments also controversy over expanding versus narrowing the restrictions on day to day life, we are glad to have two medical professionals back on the program. cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta and dr. leana wen. sanjay, so the president saying the country's going to be open for business soon in weeks not months. the white house concerning the idea of scaling back the social

distancing guidelines which i mean really just got started. and in many places, clearly aren't even being followed. does this make sense? >> you know, look, i think any doctor or public health official who looks at this, if they are being completely honest, it doesn't make sense. i mean, first of all, you know, the numbers are going to get worse. i -- i think everyone sort of has conceded that point over the next week. we know that there is a lag time that's going on right now. so the numbers that we're seeing actually reflect people who may have been exposed up to a couple weeks ago. so i don't know how you could justify, as the numbers are getting worse and the pace at which the numbers are getting worse, it's like building inertia. you then say, at that point, let's pull back on -- on the social distancing measures. it really would not have given it a chance at all. so i think if anyone's being honest within the medical public health community, they would say, no, now is not the time. it's going to be greater sort of impact now. it's obviously a lot to ask

people to do. but unless you do it, this is going to spread out a lot longer. and -- and cause a lot more pain later on. so, you know, it doesn't make sense. i get the balance here. but it doesn't make sense, anderson. >> dr. wen, when you hear the president say, you know, that the -- the -- the treatment is worse than the, you know -- i'm getting it wrong -- the cure is worse than the -- i'm totally blowing it. you know, when he says essentially that it's -- it's -- you know, it's worse to continue these -- these social distancing, the isolation because it's destroying the economy. that's going to cause more harm, more deaths. >> i mean, there is a big disconnect between what the president is saying and the reality on the ground. i mean, sanjay mentioned the rising numbers. well, we're also seeing doctors and nurses plead for medical equipment. plead for ventilators. plead for protective equipment. we're seeing things getting out of control with no sense of how we're going to get it under control. and then to hear the president

talk about how we're going to be scaling back restrictions at a time when we have exponential spread of this disease, that's killing -- it killed 100 people in the last 24 hours. it just really doesn't make any sense. and, actually, sends a confusing message because there are people, a lot of people are taking these social distancing measures seriously. but there are a lot of people who are not. and for the -- for them to hear the president say that maybe we should pull back these restrictions, it's really not emphasizing the gravity of the situation that we have. and i really fear that if we do pull back the restrictions, we'll have many tens of thousands, if not more, deaths. and it's all going to be because we didn't listen to the public health experts. >> sanjay, i mean, the number of cases the u.s. -- in the u.s. has more than doubled since friday. is that mainly because more people are being tested? >> yeah. i think, in part, it's because more people are getting tested. but i think it's also evidence that the virus is spreading. and, again, you know, i can't

emphasize this enough. but, you know, it's kind of like looking at the light that's coming from a star, anderson. i mean, we know that light actually originated many, many years ago. we're just now seeing it. the same could be said for testing. so what we are seeing right now is something that's reflective of maybe up to a couple weeks ago. we know there's been greater spread since then. so the numbers -- it's not just the fact that the numbers tick up. it's the pace at which these numbers are going up. as you just mentioned, doubled since friday. 100 now, sadly, deaths in a single day. these numbers are going in the wrong direction. how do you then justify the strategy that was designed to try and mitigate these numbers, how do you justify pulling back on that at a time when the numbers are not only going up but the pace at which they are going up is increasing as well? so it is testing but i think the -- the -- the evidence of spread is clear as well. >> and sanjay, what's the breakdown of cases young people, older people, those with underlying health conditions? >> yeah, it's interesting because everyone i think often

looks at this as a binary thing. people who survived. people who died. which is a fair way to look at this. but i think the fact that people are getting sick and requiring hospitalization, even at a younger age, is a point that's worth emphasizing. so there is a study came out that looked about some 500 patients in the united states and found that about 12% of them required hospitalization. so you know, 50 to 60 patients. so over 10% are requiring hospitalization. the biggest group of people requiring hospitalization was those 65 to 84. about a third of those hospitalized fell into that age group. but, anderson, people age 20 to 44, about -- they made up about 20% of the hospitalizations as well. so, yes, they are much more likely to survive. they are much more likely to recover if you're younger. but, you know, it can be a significant illness and i think that shouldn't be minimized either, anderson. >> dr. wen, you have the surgeon general saying, today, that this week it's going to get bad. any sense of how bad? >> it's definitely going to get

bad. and i would say that it's already gotten bad. it's just going to get worse this week and worse next week. and how bad it gets depends on the actions that we each can take today. and this is why we've talked about this so much, anderson, but the idea of taking matters into your own hands. doing what you can. and i like what sanjay often says about this, which is that we should act as if we each have coronavirus. and that other people around us all have it as well. if we each behave that way, and think about how can i protect myself? how can i protect those around me? and how can i reduce the rate of transmission in the community? we actually have a chance of slowing this down. we have a chance of saving people's lives. but that takes each of us. and i would say it takes the federal government, too. it's hard to ask people to take matters into our own hands and do what we can if we don't see the federal government also stepping up and doing everything in their power to assist state and local officials and to assist people on the ground. >> yeah. sanjay, you heard from the

michigan governor in nick watt's piece, you know, the -- the -- the allotment they got of personal protective equipment for their state was, you know, she said would like cover one shift in one hospital. >> i mean, that is the issue here. you know, i mean, you know, these front line workers, they have to assume that every parent they' patient they are dealing with has the virus. even if they're coming in for a noninfection related thing, they got to put on the personal protective equipment and act as if the patients have the virus. and that's why they are running out so quickly. i mean, i don't want to harp on this point, anderson, but, you knows, we had known this for some time. we've known that up to 3 billion masks were going to be necessary. that's what the buying time was all about since the beginning of this year. so it's sad that we are finding ourselves behind now in this particular regard because they can't -- they can't protect themselves. >> yeah. dr. wen, sanjay, stick around. coming up next, dr. wen, thank you. coming up next, we'll be joined

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♪ ♪ now yard time, is our time. this is a scotts yard. download the scotts my lawn app for your personalized plan. as we reported at the top of the hour, the surgeon general says americans should prepare for the pandemic in this country to get worse. breaking news at his news conference a short time ago, president trump flirted with the idea of easing guidelines that have closed businesses across the country suggesting the cure should not be worse than the problem. over the weekend, "the new york times" published an editorial arguing for a more surgeical approach. i believe we may ineffectively

be fighting the contagion even as we are causing economic collapse. unquote. joining me now, author of that editorial. back with us also is dr. sanjay gupta. he'll ask some questions as well. dr. katz, your article is fascinating. you write about needing more of a surgical -- if this is a war, which, you know, president and other politicians have used that analogy, rather than a all-out campaign, you're proposing a more surgical strike or raising the idea of a surgical strike. can you explain what that would look like? >> yeah. well, anderson, great to be with you. and really good to be with my friend sanjay. and the first thing i want to say is that i'm completely in support of what we're doing right now. social distancing. sheltering in place. doing everything possible to mitigate spread of the virus which, if all the infection spread at once to the most vulnerable people, really can cause a huge surge in severe infection death, overwhelming the medical system.

totally in support of the public health measures. but if i may, anderson, at the beginning of this, i want to put a human face to it. i'm thinking about people like my parents. my parents are both 80 and generally in pretty good health. and they are sheltering in place. and separated from the rest of the family because, you know, they really can't associate with young people who could potentially, inadvertently, transmit the virus. and i have spoken to them both about, you know, what are you most concerned about right now? and my father, his biggest concern, he obviously doesn't want to get coronavirus and die certainly. but right now, the recommendations seem to be an indefinite period of shutting everything down. his biggest worry is his life's legacy. losing his life savings, everything he's work -- he was a cardiologist. up until recently, was still seeing patients. and, you know, really deeply concerned that his entire life is -- everything he's worked for may slip through his fingers in this twilight period. and my morgther's biggest worrys

that she may be required to stay in social isolation so long that she dies of something else before she can ever hug her grandchildren again. what i am suggesting is we use this period where we do everything possible to mitigate spread. gather data to see who is subject to severe infection, risk of death, and what segment of the population is not. and i've looked across the seas to the data from other countries. south korea's done the best job of gathering data. germany's not far behind. south korea reports that 99% of all cases are mild and the high risk is very concentrated in the elderly and people with chronic illness. we can use this initial period to tell people, look, we're going to carefully gather data. i think it's folly to say it's a week or two. some amount of time to reach a critical mass of data to say we can now, very clearly, risk stratify. there is a large section of the population. may be very prone to get the infection but it's extremely likely it'll be mild. and then a portion of the

population, we have to very diligently protect because they can't afford to get it. >> so how would that work? you are saying essentially focus on the most vulnerable. gather data now. keep the things in place currently. but, ultimately, use that data to see if it aligns with south korea, what you -- you mentioned. the diamond princess data. and -- and -- and sort of mobilize forces to protect -- protect the -- the elderly. how would you do that, though? would they be socially isolated then? or they would still be in some sort of quarantine i assume? >> yeah, well, see, they're doing it now. so, you know, again, i'm not proposing anything for the high-risk population that we aren't doing now. except maybe more because, you know, for example, we sent college students home. we laid off young people from businesses that shuddered. a lot of those came back home to live with their older parents, including in my house. so three of our kids came back home. two college students from boston. one who was working in new york

city. potentially infect their almost 60 something parents and by the way, i'm not feeling great. so, you know, that may have happened. now, thankfully, my wife and i are very healthy and i suspect if we get this, it'll be very mild. but yeah, i would say we double down to make sure we identify the people most at risk of severe infection and death. it appears to be a relatively small segment of the population. i don't think anybody should be too sure of that too soon. and i think -- >> sorry. sanjay, i want you to be able to ask a question here. >> yeah. so, dr. katz, it's good to see you. so you're basically saying that the current plan, you agree with. but as time goes on and more data is collected, that we may better be able to identify exactly how the strategy changes. and -- and i think most people have said that should focus on the vulnerable populations. the one thing i do want to ask you about, though, is -- is -- you know, everyone sort of uses this did they live or did they

die sort of scenario. if you look at the data here, and granted it's early data here in the united states, about 20% of the hospitalizations are in people between the ages of 20 and 44. so they're recovering but they do need to be hospitalized. and some of them have longer-term problems. you know, lung function problems. stuff like that. how would you address that? >> yeah. i think it's a crucial point, sanjay, and just to reiterate, i don't think we have enough data in the united states to make well-informed decisions. and we shouldn't make next decisions until we do. what i'm talking about is to very carefully do case ascertainment, found out where this is, find out if there are low-risk populations, and do that here in the united states so we don't just assume what happened in south korea will happen here. but i think what we could do is tell the public, now, look, this is not an indefinite hunker with your anxiety and dread and, you know, hope there is a vaccine so you eventually get to see your grandchildren again. no, we have a specific plan. it's in phases. this phase is we mitigate spread. you stay socially distanced from

one another. while we gather data to see if we can do a risk stratified approach. and then the idea there is that, you know, the data will tell us we can or we can't. i think they'll say we can. and what i would say about young people, sanjay, is, you know, again, early in an outbreak, you don't miss people who need hospital beds. you don't need somebody who -- you don't miss somebody in your icu. you don't miss -- those are obvious events. young people with extremely mild symptoms who don't report them to anybody and go about their business are easily overlooked unless you go out looking for them. south korea did that and their data shows so i still think they have the best in the world population-level data. 99% of cases are reported as mild. we have no reason to think that's going to be very different here. what's very different here so far is the degree to which we're finding cases. governor cuomo reported, today, that in the last 24 hours, for example, in new york, they wrapped up -- ramped up from doing a thousand tests a day to doing 16,000 tests today.

and they intend to ramp up further. i think we are going to have much more detailed understanding of what our data show very soon. and we need to wait for that. but i think we could plan a -- if the data allow us to pivot from what i call horizontal interdiction. shut everything down, keep everybody away from everybody else. to vertical interdiction that's risk based because we are going to hurt people other ways than with the virus. again, people's life savings are being lost. they're despairing. they're anxious. they may be hesitating to seek medical attention for other problems. they may be experiencing hunger. resource interruptions. service interruptions that -- that, you know, threaten their health. the social determinants of health are hugely important issue in health. and those are going to be affected, too. what i am proposing really, what is the best sequence, phased sequence of strategies, to minimize all of the harm? the direct harm of the virus. absolutely crucial. but also the indirect harm.

we are at risk of hurting people, seriously hurting them and causing deaths, by our responses to the virus if we don't optimize them. >> dr. david katz, i urge people to read your piece and i appreciate it. hope to talk to you again no doubt in the coming days. david katz. dr. sanjay gupta's going to stay with us. next, we are going to fact check president trump on those drugs he repeatedly says could be a game changer. what does the evidence actually say? when we return. hey you, yeah you. i opened a sofi money account and it was the first time that i realized i could be earning interest back on my money. i just discovered sofi, and i'm an investor with a diversified portfolio. who am i?! i refinanced with sofi and i was able to cut my interest rate by forty percent. thank you sofi.

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changer today for one of them. a malaria drug. chloroquine. that's also used to treat lupus and which is now in short supply for some who need it for lupus and other things. he told the story of a man whom he did not name who took the drug and recovered. he did not tell the story of the arizona man and his wife who self-dosed on chloroquine phosphate, which is used to clean aquariums. that man died. his wife is critically ill, likely because of something they saw or read about chloroquine. despite a new but still not peer reviewed study, identifying 69 drugs that might be effective against the virus, what is lacking is a solid body of evidence that any of them work and are safe. more now on the subject from dr. sanjay gupta. >> why should we be testing it in a test tube for a year and a half? when we have thousands of people that are very sick. they're very, very sick. and we can use it on those people. and maybe make them better. and, in some cases, maybe save their lives. >> president trump says he's optimistic about some potential treatments for the novel coronavirus. in particular, a malaria drug

called chloroquine. >> you know, this has been something that's been around for many years. it's been phenomenal. stro strong, powerful drug for malaria. but we think it might work on this. based on evidence. based on very strong evidence. >> it's true the medication has been around for more than 80 years, and has a few side effects, including nausea and mood changes. as well as possible interactions with other drugs. now, enthusiasm for the possibility of treating the novel coronavirus largely centers on one study out of france, which used a derivative of chloroquine, used with an antibiotic commonly known as the z-pak. the study was small and the patients were followed for only six days. >> the study that looked at that drug and showed activity was -- was a study that involved about 20 patients and only six that showed the benefit. and the benefit that they showed was they decreased the amount of virus in their noses when you did nasal swabs in those patients. so it could very well be the

drug is reducing viral shedding but having no impact on the clinical course of those patients so the data on that is very preliminary. >> we took a closer look at the study and here's what we found. there were originally 26 patients in the study who were treated. 20 completed the trial. one left the hospital before the trial ended. one couldn't tolerate the medication. three went to the intensive care unit. that's an 11% critical care rate. and one died. a 4% mortality rate. now, those numbers are higher critical care and mortality rates than the general population of infected. but keep in mind, again, it's a small study. there was another study from 2011 which found that while chloroquine was effective in the lab against the flu, it ultimately wasn't effective in humans. look. that's why trials are needed. and they can be done quickly. many labs in the world health organization had already started studying these drugs in dozens of others to help us find an answer for a disease that currently has no known cure.

>> using untested medicines without the right evidence could raise false hope. and even do more harm than good. and cause a shortage of essential medicines that are needed to treat other diseases. >> and at the end of last week, chloroquine was added to the american society of health system pharmacist drug shortage list. >> so, sanjay, is there a timeline of just when more of these trials might be completed by? >> well, you know, it's probably going to be a few months. you know, it's hard to say. there is two trials going on with chloroquine. one is for treatment. and one is to try and give more as a prophylaxis to try and prevent people from getting as bad an infection. it's going to take a while, anderson. i mean, the fact that it's an existing drug, that helps. but you still got to go through trials. i mean, it's not entirely clear

at all that this has worked. there was a very promising trial that just ended last week, anderson. probably the most promising trial started just a week after the first patient was diagnosed. and after they went through the trial, they found that it didn't work. this particular drug therapy. so they move on. you -- you've got to do these trials to make sure you are actually dealing with what you think you're dealing with. >> it is so interesting to have the president of the united states kind of touting these and the medical folks, you know, dr. fauci and others, standing behind him. sort of not wanting to contradict him directly and say, essentially, you know, there's a reason studies are done. things might look good on paper or might look good in a test tube. but unless it's actually been legitimately studied, you can't say but this president does say. >> yeah. i mean, look. that -- that was -- that was wild, frankly, to watch. this back and forth between president trump and -- and dr. anthony fauci. i mean, you know, dr. fauci was sort of just having to sort of fact check on the fly.

but, look, you know, there is a lot of hunches out there. there's -- there's dozens of drugs that are being looked at right now. there's lots of hunches out there. but the reality is that most of them don't really get beyond phase two trials. so again, that's why you got to do -- do the studies, anderson. >> yeah. dr. sanjay gupta, thanks very much. just ahead, nursesoutside the life care center outside seattle saw the coronavirus infect staff and residents before many knew its full effect. we'll have their story when we return. according to sheila, there's no limit to the number of videos

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some breaking news in just the last few minutes. washington state governor jay inslee issuing a stay at home order for the next two weeks effectively immediately. he said this weapon distancing ourselves is the only weapon we have against this virus. especially the nurses at the life care center nursing home outside of seattle who lived through as the virus before it was called a pandemic infected staff and residents. it's the first time they are telling their story. more from our sarah sidener. >> it was like a war zone. all of a sudden, there were so many patients. everybody needed medications. everybody needed treatment. >> we had 70 staff, within a week, that were out. >> these healthcare workers were among the first to battle a covid-19 outbreak in america. few in the united states have more experience with the deadly toll it took. >> how quickly do you see the

demise of someone with covid-19? >> less than 24 hours. >> they work at life care center of kirkland, the nursing home where the first known u.s. cluster of covid-19 deaths and infections occurred. for a month, they have been treating and continue to treat coronavirus-infected patients. >> have any of you had symptoms of the novel coronavirus? >> no. >> have any of you tested positive? >> no. >> for covid-19. >> for weeks, this was the location of the most deaths from the novel coronavirus in the united states. this is the first time their story of what happened inside has been told. >> if you google signs and symptoms of coronavirus, runny nose, fever, and cough. i haven't seen a runny nose yet. what i see is much different than that. i saw what i described as red eyes. >> i've never heard of red eyes before. why is that? is that information just not gotten out to the public? >> it's something that i witnessed in all of them. they have, like -- you can

describe it like allergy eyes. the white part of your eye is not red. it's more like they have red eye shadow on, on the outside of their eyes. but they ha we've had patients that just had the red eyes as the only symptom we saw and go to the hospital and pass away in the hospital. >> as of now, the cdc does not list red eyes as a symptom of covid-19. chelsea earnest is a registered nurse and the nursing director at another life care center facility in washington state. and that is what she saw. when an urgent call for help came from the kirkland facility, she volunteered. she arrived one day after the staff learned a patient tested positive for coronavirus. >> why did you answer the call? you didn't have to be there. this was voluntary. >> well, i'm a nurse. and they're not my patients. but -- hold on, i'm sorry.

>> it's okay. take a breath. >> earnest and her fellow staff members saw the death toll rise like a rocket. the terrifyingly fast deterioration of the patients always seemed to happen on the night shift. her shift. >> that is a h's how i describe. is you are a going off to war and you're in a battlefield where supplies are limited. the help's slow to get to you. and there's lots of casualties. and -- >> can't see the enemy. >> and you can't see the enemy. >> suddenly, a third of the staff had symptoms and was out sick. before they all knew it, the virus was sweeping through the entire building. it was the oldest patients who were dying fast. >> was 80 years old. >> nancy butler is the president of life care centers of america northwest division. >> just the patients. losing them. because we've been with them for so long. and it's hard.

>> after two days of madness, things seemed to calm. but not for long. >> there was a little lull. and i heard a cough and so i started following the >> according to the cdc and life care center, at the height of infections 129 people linked to this nursing home tested positive. three quarters of the patients about a third of the staff and 14 visitors. 29 people associated with this facility have died due to coronavirus. in the weeks that followed, the cdc came out with a report on the facility. it found in part the facilities limitations and staff members working in multiple facilities contributed to the spread of the virus both inside the facility and out. >> many nursing staff work in one or more facilities. >> do you think that that will change?

the idea of having people work at different facilities after covid-19? >> i don't know that it would. and again, in health care you work in different settings. >> if everyone was trained on infection control, how is it that so many patients got covid-19 and so many members of the staff also got covid-19. >> there's usually two patients to a room, some of the rooms are bigger and they have three patients. you have care giving staff that are very close to their residents. we hug them, we kiss them, we love them. and i couldn't have been perfect on my ppe process. >> you couldn't have been perfect because things were happening so fast, you were trying to save lives? >> yes. >> she arrived after the first person tested positive, it took five days to get the results. frightened families were outside furious.

>> who is they so we can follow up with it? >> they couldn't get information on their loved ones for days. >> we just could not answer the phone quick enough. we had a significant drop in staff. we had significant care needs that were a priority over unfortunately talking to families on the phone. >> the first few days, the life care center said they made a cry for help from county agencies, to federal, to state. >> did you get what you need when you needed it? >> no. no. >> no one was doing just one job. stephanie booth is in charge of payroll. >> i worked in the kitchen. i don't know, i've done a little bit of everything. i've done some housekeeping. >> everyone was doing everything until doctors and nurses arrived from the centers for disease control and health and human services. the number of patients in the facility has dropped from 120 to

42. of those 42 patients 31 have tested positive for novel coronavirus. >> what advice would you give other facilities, other doctors and nurses. other staff members about dealing with covid-19. >> i didn't expect it to be so lethal. and i have no shame in saying that i was wrong. >> anderson, chelsea says she was wrong about thinking that the coronavirus was kind of like the flu. she does not think that any more, and they do admit as a staff they made mistakes, but they were the first in america to battle this new virus. >> just a reminder of all those nurses and doctors out there risking their lives. up next, remembering some of the lives lost to coronavirus. a doctor included, a mom, others, when we continue. feel the clarity of new

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more than 500 people have died in the u.s. from the coronavirus. we wanted to take a moment to remember some of those whose lives have been stolen from them. they're not statistics or numbers, they're people who are loved by family and friends and missed greatly. dr. steven schwartz was a well known pathologist, university of washington, and well known for vascular biology. colleagues say he was larger than life and leaves a lasting imprint not only on the university but the broader scientific community. he was 78 years old. bill pike thought he had a case of pneumonia when he went into a connecticut hospital. that's before they were aware of the threat of the virus. in the end his loved ones couldn't be by his bed holding his hand. had to say goodbye by phone,

when he was in quarantine. those who knew him describe him as a person of incredible character. they're taking some comfort in knowing he had a long life that was filled with joy and love. bill pike was 91 years old. patricia friesen worked as a nurse before she retired. she wanted to go into the field because of her faith. she felt she needed to help people, she went to the hospital because she thought her asthma was acting up, she became the first person in illinois to die from the virus. patricia was 61 years old. cindy rutter survived stage 4 breast cancer but not the virus. she's described as being the kindest person you'd ever met. she's a single mom with six beautiful kids and she loved them fiercely. she was always careful about germs because of her compromised immune system from her cancer treatments. she died about a week after being admitted to the hospital. she was 42 years old. larry edgeworth was a long time

employee of nbc news. he worked in the equipment room at 30 rock in new york city. he travelled around the world for the network. he had seen a lot of things. he was the type of guy you wanted to be by your side according to his colleagues. they called him a gentle bear of a man who always had your back. he was 61 years old. our coverage of the coronavirus continues right now, i want to hand it over to chris for cuomo prime time. >> thank you very much. i am chris cuomo, welcome to prime time. we're still at the studio in new york city. i don't know how long that will be the case. people at cnn and at all the companies that are broadcasting to you are so committed. but the realities are more cases by the hour. more importantly, hospitalizations in a place like new york are only increasing and rapidly. our ability to treat the worst cases is not growing as quickly. if those are the facts. why is the president talking