i just want to make sure people know there is light at the end of the tunnel. we can save lives between now and the summertime by putting these guidelines into practice, wolf -- >> but why not do a national -- >> and we can put this behind us sooner. >> why not do a national govern says that would carry a lot of weight in his state, where there are a lot of retirees. why not get that over with for the whole country? because people are moving around the country freely right now. >> well, actually, i've been very inspired by the way o the last 15 days, people in states that have very little outbreak of coronavirus are still putting into practice the guidelines for america. what i can promise your viewers is we're going to continue to bring the recommendations based on real-time data and science for what every state, what every

community should be doing. but at the present moment, we truly do believe that the strong actions taken in places like california and washington and new york and new jersey are appropriate. we fully support those efforts. we're resourcing those efforts. but for every american heeding the travel advisory the president announced this weekend, making sure that people in those areas of connecticut, new york, and new jersey refrain from travel, and if people have traveled out of those areas, check your self-monitor for 14 days if you're somewhere else in the country. all of those principles are what our scientists are telling us are the best recommendations to slow the spread, but i promise you, we're going to continue to look at every option. we'll bring the best science and the best recommendations to the president. >> should regular americans start wearing masks or scarfs or bandannas right now? we're getting a lot of confusing, conflicting advice on that.

>> well, i can tell you that the white house coronavirus task force has the cdc looking at the issue of masks as a protective measure right now. it was a number of weeks ago the cdc did issue guidance that if you have the coronavirus, even if you're asymptomatic, one of the ways to protect others is to wear a mask. but right now, i've had them looking at the science. we'll have a recommendation for the president, but every american should know that as you go out of doors and you're taking a walk, you're getting some exercise, as long as you keep six feet distance from anyone, you practice that social distancing that we've been making clear over the last several weeks, that that will give as much protection as anything else. but we're looking at the issue of masks and we'll have cdc's recommendation. we'll bring those recommendations to the president at the appropriate time.

>> and just two final questions before we let you go, mr. vice president. i know you're very busy, and thanks for your time. but dr. fauci now says there could be a second wave coming in the fall. are we going to be -- is the american public going to have to be living with this throughout the rest of this year, basically, these kinds of guidelines? >> well, we believe that the likelihood is that, just like the flu, that the coronavirus will likely manifest again either in the fall or in the winter of next year. the good news is, is that because the president brought together pharmaceutical companies right out of the gate, they formed a consortium, we're spinning up clinical trials on a number of vaccines. we have done that already in record time. but just as promising are the therapeutics that are being developed. we think by this spring or

summer, we could have therapeutics, what a layperson like me calls medicine to make you feel better, already in the marketplace. and then there's what the scientists tell us is also, once the coronavirus has impacted the country, there will be a certain amount of immunity that is built up. and so, for a broad range of reasons, new medications, a certain degree of immunity, and the development of vaccines as well as just good practices that i think the american people are going to continue forward, we think we'll be in a much, much better place in this fall or even in the years ahead, if the coronavirus stays with us. >> and especially if there's a vaccine, but dr. fauci says that could be a year or a year and a half away. hopefully, it can go more quickly. >> could be a year, a year -- the most important thing about a vaccine is, in the fda, i think in 62 days, brought a vaccine proposal to its first clinical trial. that was a record. president trump has been driving

the fda to move as quickly as possible. the announcement this weekend on abbott laboratories being approved for a 15-minute coronavirus test is a result of the team at the fda doing a phenomenal job. but dr. fauci also said yesterday that there is a permission that can be given. if we have a vaccine that is promising by the end of 2020 that we think can have an impact, there may be some ability to authorize the use of that in a shorter period of time than a year and a half. but i promise you, under president trump's leadership, we're going to continue to make medicines that are available today available for what's called off-label use, like hydroxychloroquine, a malaria medicati medication. we're going to develop those therapeutics. and with the best pharmaceutical companies in the world. we're doing all of that in record time. and we'll also have a vaccine for the american people for the years ahead.

>> bottom line right now, americans are watching. people all over the world are watching us right now. what's your message to the american people right now, what they should be bracing for over the next few months? >> our message to the american people today is there are challenging days ahead, but your future is in your hands. and the truth of the matter is the president unveiled, again, the 30 days to slow the spread. and we know over the last 15 days, tens of millions of americans have heeded the federal guidance that we've issued. they've been listening to the state and local authorities in places where the coronavirus outbreak has been more significant. and as you saw in those final charts yesterday that dr. deborah birx put forward, other than in the greater new york city area, where we believe

that city may well have had exposure to the coronavirus earlier than other parts of the country because of the international travel and other factors, that even places like washington and california have made real progress. we think that's a credit to the american people heeding the guidance of their local authorities and every american putting into practice the president's guidelines for america. and so, our encouragement to every american is, it's important every one of us continue to do our part to protect our health, the health of our family, to keep in our hearts, in our minds all of those that are struggling with coronavirus, the families that have suffered loss, to be grateful for all of those like the people here at this great distribution center that are keeping food on the table around america and all of the people in law enforcement, and most especially, our health care workers. keep them in your hearts and in

your prayers. if we all of us do all that we can, we'll get through this and we'll get through this together. >> we eventually will, i am sure, because we are a great country and people are working. and thanks so much to everything that you're doing. i know this past month has been extremely difficult on you, mr. vice president, as well. you do have an excellent team. thank dr. fauci, dr. birx and the whole team on behalf of all of the american public for what they're doing. we are grateful to them, and hopefully, we'll get through this without too many more deaths. unfortunately, that doesn't look like the case. good luck. >> thank you, wolf. >> all right, let's go back to kate. kate? >> wolf, thank you so much. a very important interview with the vice president. a lot of things to discuss here. i really appreciate it, wolf. and as you can see, we're after the top of the hour, everyone. thank you so much for sticking around with us. i'm kate bolduan. and what we are looking at right now is a new reality in the coronavirus pandemic. the death toll has nearly doubled over just the past three

days, now reaching nearly 3,900. moments from now, we just heard from vice president mike pence. moments from now, we're also going to hear from new york governor andrew cuomo with an update on the coronavirus response. when he begins, we will bring that to you as soon as it gets under way. it comes, of course, as president trump is warning -- there's been a shift in his tone -- he's now warning that in the next two weeks, it could be very painful, very tough is how he put it. and we just heard something startling from vice president mike pence, telling wolf blitzer that, in his view, italy might be the best coronavirus comparison for the united states. his words exactly were, "we think italy may be the most comparable area to the united states at this point." as you've been watching this play out, that is a terrifying comparison, from what we have learned on the ground. that's also -- italy is a country of 60 million people that has been completely locked

down. the united states not. we're covering every angle of this for you. let's get to it and start in florida, where the governor is resisting putting statewide coronavirus restrictions in place. wolf blitzer asked. rosa flores is joining me now from port everglades in florida. wolf asked the vice president about the situation in florida. the vice president really didn't answer when he was asked about the governor and his decision to not do a statewide lockdown, a statewide stay-at-home order, rosa. what is the situation there? >> reporter: you know, democratic leaders here, the agriculture commissioner, experts have been pressuring governor ron desantis to issue a statewide order, but instead, what he has done, he has focused on some of the hotspots. first of all, issuing a mandatory isolation period for any airline travelers coming into the state of florida from new york, new jersey, connecticut, and later, louisiana, and then also issuing

a regional stay-at-home order. that includes miami-dade, broward, palm beach counties, and monroe county as well. but kate, a lot of the experts and the people criticizing the governor have said that that's too little, too late, because a lot of the local governments had already issued safer at home orders. governor desantis has already said he's waiting for the white house, and as you mentioned, the vice president didn't answer wolf's question about issuing an order that is u.s.-wide, but the governor has also said and maintained that the virus has not reached every corner of the state, and so it is not necessary. a lot of controversy, kate, here in florida, because the governor is getting a lot of pressure, a lot of criticism from people in this state because he has not issued a statewide order. >> yeah, the governor there saying he's looking for the administration for direction. the administration very

seemingly thinks that the governor is doing a good job, and they almost seem to be looking for the governor and what's happening on the ground there. there seems to be a complete disconnect between the federal government and what's happening in florida, from what you're seeing in new york and the mitigation policies that have been had to be put in place to slow the spread, which is exactly what the administration wants. it is confounding at this point. rosa is on the ground there. rosa, thank you so much. so, as we obviously need to keep a close eye on florida, there is also a big focus right now on louisiana. the governor there says his state could run out of ventilators in just a few days, as early as this weekend. louisiana had 14 cases of coronavirus three weeks ago. now the number is at over 5,000. let's get some perspective on this. joining me right now, steven rousseau, interim secretary of the louisiana department of health. thank you so much for being here. >> pleasure to be here, kate. thank you. >> really appreciate it. yesterday we learned that louisiana is one of, i believe it was five states that reported over 1,000 new cases in 24 hours. can you bring us up to speed on

what's happened in the last 24 hours there? >> yes, ma'am. very sobering numbers. we've showed 1,200 new cases in the greater new orleans region, while statewide 1,212 new cases. we have had 54 new deaths. that brings our total in the greater new orleans region up to over 3,000 cases in that region. we are showing right now a time to zero vents in that region, as you pointed out, around april 6. that is where we are going to get to a critical need level. >> april 6th. that's next week. the governor said -- >> yes, ma'am. >> the governor said that you could run out of ventilators in the state by saturday, hospital beds by next week. you just said this has been another day, another 24-hour period, folks, where louisiana is seeing over 1,000 additional

cases. it is really starting to roll in, in your state. what can you do about it with what you have? sorry. go ahead. >> yeah, i mean, what we're looking at right now, we are sourcing vents from any possible source we can get them from. right now we have gotten in about 450 vents. they are being immediately cleared out of the warehouse when we do it. we got 150 from the strategic national stockpile. what the case is now, is you know, making those orders, tracking them down. i think, like i said, we have 14,000 that are on order now, and just kind of waiting for them to trickle in. so, it is a very, very critical stage right now of this process. >> can i ask you also, we just heard wolf, my colleague, wolf blitzer, was just interviewing the vice president. and what the vice president said was that right now, here's his quote -- "we think italy may be the most comparable area to the

united states at this point." when you hear that, knowing what happened in italy, just your reaction. >> well, my reaction is, you know, we have a very proactive governor here that is a leader. i know the governor has said this on at least two or three occasions, that there is absolutely no reason why we will not be the next place like that, unless you know, folks heed the governor's orders, stay indoors, use social distancing. i think his quote was, "why don't you tell me why we won't be like that?" that's the sobering facts. >> i think that's a really important way of thinking of it at this point, unfortunately. talking about the leadership of governor john bel edwards, i want to put up a map. i think it's really startling when it comes to louisiana. you might not be able to see it, but i'll describe it. it's a map that shows states, just shows the united states. and it highlights which states have issued statewide stay-at-home orders and which

states have not. and when you look at the map, what sticks out to me very distinctly is that louisiana is surrounded -- do you see right there? louisiana is surrounded by states that have not issued statewide orders, as louisiana has. what do you say to texas, arkansas, mississippi at this point? how big of a problem is that for louisiana? >> well, kate, this is what we've been telling people in the other regions of louisiana is, don't wait until you start to see your numbers rise, until you start taking social distancing, taking a lockdown seriously. by the time you start to see your numbers rise, guess what, it's too late. it's already in your community and it's already probably going to start spreading. you need to be proactive like our governor has been and start to take those measures now and take them seriously.

>> look, what -- is it safe to say that what you're getting from the federal government is not enough? that's what i've been hearing from governors across the country. but i've heard it day in and day out. but what's going to change that? >> well, i think what's going to change that is when you start to get closer and closer to this timeline, like i said, date for the end of beds is going to be around april 10th, dates to the end of vents in the new orleans region is going to be the 6th is what our models are showing now. so, it's going to, i think, driving towards the end of those dates, and so the federal government can actually see that those models are correct models, and then hopefully, they're going to spring into action and get us the ventilator supplies we need. >> yeah, but what we hear from doctors is when a patient needs a vent, a patient doesn't need a vent in two days. the patient needs a vent in two minutes. stephen russo -- >> exactly. >> thank you so much for coming

on. we'll stay close, let us know what you need, let us spread the word. thank you so much. >> thank you, kate. i appreciate it. >> thank you. still ahead for us, while major cities like new orleans, as stephen was just talking about, and new york have been a major focus, one rural community in southwest georgia is also one of the worst-hit areas in that state. i'm going to talk to a top hospital administrator on how it is coping with such a large cluster of cases, what they're doing to try to get ahead of it. we'll be back. liberty biberty- cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ my skin gets so tired. this new olay serum feels so dewy, and hydrated... gives my skin an extra boost of life. it's full of energy. it finally matches me. i'm denise bidot, and my skin is powerful. and i can face anything with my olay.

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>> the number tested is up 15,000, 220,000 total people now tested -- >> beginning his press conference. >> -- is 7,900. total cases 83,712, down to one county that now doesn't have a covid case. that's what you're going to see going all across the nation. well, we're a rural area. we're not going to get it. oh, really? go visit upstate new york if you want to talk about rural areas. we have rural areas. and just the way it's gone

through rural new york, it will go through rural america. total numbers -- 83,000 tested positive, 12,000 people currently hospitalized. that's up 1,200 people, 3,000 people in icu. 6,000 patients discharged. that's up 1,167. people go into the hospital. they get better. they leave the hospital. most impacted states. new york is at 83,000. new jersey is at 18,000. that's governor phil murphy, who's been a great partner to me, a great partner to the people of this state. governor ned lamont also in connecticut has been a great partner. we've done a lot of great work as a region, which is very unusual. you know those lines between states often become walls. not with governor murphy and not with governor lamont.

we're working together, and we're going to work cooperatively with new jersey because they have a real problem. california's ticking up. michigan's ticking up. florida is even ticking up. massachusetts. but no one is anywhere near where we are, 83,000, compared to 18. number of deaths, 1,900, up from 1,550. that number will continue to go up. that is people who have been on ventilators for a period of time. if you go on a ventilator, there's roughly only a 20% chance that you will come off the ventilator. the longer you're on the ventilator, the lower the chance you come off. we're still looking for a curve. we're still looking to see where we hit the plateau. total number of new hospitalized. again, you see the number goes up and down, but the overall trajectory of the number is up.

change in icu admissions, bounce here, bounce there, but the overall number is still up. change in intubations, same thing. the line is basically a line that is going up. change in number of discharged, line is going up. why? more people going in, more people treated, more people coming out. everyone asks the same questions, and they're all good questions. when is this going to be over? what happens? how does it end? and people want answers. i understand people want answers. i want answers. but the answer is nobody knows for sure. anyone who goes on cable tv and says, or network tv, and says, this is what is going to happen, that's not true.

nobody knows what's going to happen. and i understand the need for closure, the need for control. we're at a place we've never been before. we're out of control. i need to know. i need to know. nobody can tell you. what you do know are facts. and you know, facts are funny things. what you're now getting are subjective facts, people who are optimists want to interpret it one way. people who are pessimists want to interpret the other way. people who bring their own subjective agenda tend to interpret the numbers a different way. for me, facts are facts, and the facts that we offer the people of this state and the people of this country, they're not pessimistic facts or optimistic facts. they're not interpreted facts.

they are just the best information we have as of this time. and i think that is empowering and in some ways relaxing. as i've mentioned to you who have worked with me, i say to my team all the time, i don't -- i'm interested in your opinion, but i'm interested in your opinion second. i'm interested in the facts first. and give me the facts unjaded by your opinion, because once a person has an opinion or once a person wants a certain outcome and they look at the facts through that filter, then you can interpret facts differently. just give me the straight facts. sergeant joe friday, "just the facts, ma'am, just the facts." no opinion. there's something empowering to that. we look for the facts to projection models. that's how we gauge what we do.

we follow the projection model. every day you get additional data, they run that data into the model, and they refine the model. and basically, we then have a composite model, because you have many different people out there with many different models. we use mckinzie, which is a consultant to the state, for this purpose, to basically look at all of the models and come up with a composite model. and if people wonder, well, where do you get these numbers, governor, how do you decide what you're going to do? we have a model, we have a projection, and that's what we follow. the current model -- and the model, by the way, even more maddening, the model changes the more data that comes in. because they started with assumptions and presumptions, and then the more data that comes in either affirms or

discounts their presumptions that they started with. so, they refine the model over time. and the model changes and the numbers change. but what we're looking at now is the apex, the top of the curve, roughly at the end of april, which means another month of this. the apex, the recent number is you're going to need 110,000 covid beds. what does that mean? beds for covid people as opposed to other people who are in the hospitals for other reasons. 37,000 ventilators. that is our current model. that model -- that model is based on minimal impact from

social distancing, meaning what? one of the great variables is, how effective is the social distancing? are people doing it? are they complying with it? and to what extent and how effective is it? nobody knows that answer. so, they do different projections depending on how well social distancing works, how well people comply with it and then how effective it is. minimal social distancing impact is where we get the 110,000/37,000 ventilators. high compliance with social distancing, you still have 75,000 covid beds as opposed to 110,000. you're 25,000 ventilators, okay? so, when i keep pushing for high compliance on social distancing, it's because high compliance on social distancing will reduce

the number. this is what they began talking about, flatten the curve, flatten the curve, flatten the curve with social distancing. this says, this is the difference between high compliance with social distancing and less compliance. if you have high compliance, you're down to 75,000 covid beds, 25,000 ventilators. less, it goes up to 110,000 and 37,000. interestingly, both are looking at the same point of apex. it's just a lower apex. both models say you apex at the end of april, just lower, a lower need at that apex. and that is what we want, because this all comes down to at the apex, can your hospital system manage the volume of people coming into the hospital system? that's all this is about at the

final analysis. now, there are also different models out there based on different presumptions. people studied china. people studied wuhan. well, if you have the same compliance that you had in wuhan. wuhan basically just locked up society. i don't even know that if the federal government enacted the wuhan model that the american people would comply. we have a totally different social structure and governmental structure. so, you have different models that project higher or lower. what we're doing with mckinzie is studying all of them and coming up with a moderate model that is a basis for us to make planning decisions, because i have to make decisions. and i want to make decisions off the numbers, so that's what we're doing. it's not to say that there aren't other people with other opinions. there are many people with many

opinions. and some have the apex happening sooner. some have the apex happening later. you can find people who believe the apex will come in seven days. you can have people who say the apex won't come for six weeks. you have that kind of range. you have a broad range on the number of beds. you have a broad range on the number of ventilators. our course for planning purposes is a moderate model, because in truth, the higher models, we don't even have a chance at meeting that capacity anyway. you say, over 110,000 beds. there is no possible way we could get there. so, in some ways, an overly aggressive estimate doesn't even

mean anything to us because it's just unachievable. people ask, well, what's going to happen? and dr. fauci said yesterday or the day before -- the days blend together -- estimated 100,000 americans may pass away. some people have said 100,000 to 200,000 americans may pass away before this is over. when is it over? when you achieve what they call herd immunity. how do you say 100,000 to 200,000? that's a broad range. well, it goes back to the other point -- nobody really knows, but 100,000 to 200,000, you're saying a significant amount of people lose their lives. there is a group that is funded by the gates foundation. thank you very much, bill gates. that projects 93,000 americans

will lose their life by the time this is over. that model suggests 16,000 new yorkers will pass away by the time this runs its course. my guess is, so, when dr. fauci says 100,000 -- there are models out there that make these types of projections. and what would that mean to new york? that would mean about 16,000. frankly, that would mean that new york is only 16%, roughly, of the number of deaths. i don't even understand that, since new york is so much higher right now. but what that does say to the rest of the nation is, this is not just new york. if you believe these numbers,

16,000 deaths in new york, that means you're going to have tens of thousands of deaths outside of new york. so, to the extent people watch their nightly news in kansas and say, well, this is a new york problem, that's not what these numbers say. it says it's a new york problem today. tomorrow, it's a kansas problem and a texas problem and a new mexico problem. that's why i say to my fellow governors and elected officials all across this country, look at us today, see yourself tomorrow. and let's address it in new york and let's cooperate to address it in new york because it's going to be in your town tomorrow. metaphorically. and if we learn how to do it right here or learn how to do it the best we can, because there is no right -- it's only the

best we can -- then we can work cooperatively all across this country. the other thing this model says -- people say, well, when is it over? two weeks, three weeks, four weeks? this model projects you're going to have a high death rate through july. if this model is correct, this could go through the summer. now, other people talk about getting back to work, starting the economy, april, may, june. this model says it could go on through july. now the questions become nuanced. well, could you still be dealing with a virus and get the economy up and running and get people out of their homes? yes, i think there are ways to

do both, not picking between human life and the dollar bill, because no one is going to pick a dollar bill over human life. but can you come up with a public health strategy that is consistent with people getting out of their homes and starting to get back to work? yes, you can. my opinion is the best way to do that is to come up with a rapid testing procedure where people can test. they know who's positive. they know who's negative. and they know who can go back to work and come up with a test quickly, and they're starting. that is readily available that people can do at home, so you can take the taste, know where you are, and we can start ending

this terrible situation that we're in. also, you come up with testing and rapid testing, not only do you get up and get the economy running, you end the anxiety. the anxiety is what is most oppressive here, not knowing, not knowing if i'm positive, if my friend is positive, if my loved one is positive, not knowing when this is going to end. the anxiety of dealing with this isolation day after day after day after day. it's like a bad a groundhog movie, you know? day after day after day. when does it end? how does it end? i don't know. i'm out of control. i think the testing is going to be the best mechanism to try to work through that. on the good-news front, we have new testing available in new york. regeneron, which is a great new york company, has created 500,000 testing kits at no charge. thank you, regeneron.

and they are distributing them across the state. corning, another great company, has donated 100,000 tubes and $500,000 at reduced cost so we can do more tests. new york is very aggressive on testing. we have been from day one. and we think that has helped us slow the spread of this virus. my favorite topic. young people must get this message. and they still have not gotten the message. you still see too many situations with too much density by young people. they can get it. they're putting their lives at risk. this can kill young people. rare circumstances, but it can. but you get infected, you give it to someone else. so, think about somebody else. and i've said this 100 different ways. the compliance is still not

where it should be. you saw the models on the differential in the compliance versus major compliance and minor compliance. so, we're going to take more dramatic actions. we are going to close down the new york city playgrounds. i've talked about this for weeks. i warned people that if they didn't stop the density and the games in the playgrounds -- you can't play basketball. you can't come in contact with each other. that we would close the playgrounds. i've spoken to speaker johnson from new york city who feels very strongly about this and did from day one. we agreed initially with the mayor that we would try compliance, and the mayor was going to try to use the nypd to enforce compliance, social distancing in playgrounds. it is still a problem. we're working with the speaker.

we're working with the mayor. but we're going to close down the city playgrounds and leave the open spaces available. so, use the open space in a park. walk around, get some sun. great. no density. no basketball games. no close contact. no violation of social distancing, period. that's the rule. other good news. we are working with all of the hospitals in the state to do something they have never done before, which is to act as one, to cooperate, to share supplies, share staff, support one another, shift patients among hospitals, which really has never happened to any great extent. and the hospitals have been very cooperative and i want to thank them very much. in this war, we must plan

forward for the next battle, meaning, we have been behind from day one. this virus has been ahead of us from day one. you don't win a war that way. the next battle is the apex. the next battle is on the top of the mountain. see that curve? you see a curve, i see a mountain. the next battle will happen at the top of that mountain. that's where it is going to be joined, and that's where the enemy either overwhelms our health care system or we are able to handle the onslaught of the enemy on the top of that mountain, and that's what we're planning for every day. but i want to offer you a different perspective that i'm starting to think about, and i think we all should start to think about. as a society, beyond just this immediate situation, we should start looking forward to

understand how this experience is going to change us or how it should change us, because this is going to be transformative. it is going to be transformative on a personal basis, on a social basis, on a systems basis. we're never going to be the same again. we're not going to forget what happened here. the fear that we have, the anxiety that we have, that's not just going to go away. when do we get back to normal? i don't think we get back to normal. i think we get back or we get to a new normal, right, like we see in so many facets of society right now. so, we will be at a different place. our challenge is to make sure

that transformation and that change is positive and not negative. let's make sure we're taking the positive lesson and not the negative lesson. you could get wary of intimacy and contact and density. social distancing. don't go near anyone. what a terrible thing to live with as a human being. what a cruel torture. isolate yourself from other people. be afraid of hugging someone. just think how emotionally and personally repugnant that concept is, right? we crave human connection, and now we're being told that could be dangerous. you can't kiss. you can't hug. you can't hold hands.

so, how we come out of this, and making sure that it's positive and not negative. how do we learn from this and how do we grow from this, right? society life. you will get knocked on your rear end. you will deal with pain. you will deal with death. you will deal with setback. you will deal with suffering. question is, how do you get up? first, do you get up? and second, if you get up, how do you get up? do you get up smarter? do you get up wiser? or do you get up bitter and you get up angry? and do you get up fearful? we are in control of that, and we have to start to think about that. and we also have to be smarter from what we went through. how do you make the economy more resilient? what happens when something like this happens again?

and something like this will happen again. oh, no, this is a once-in-a-lifetime never again. something like this will happen again. we're seeing it in the environment. we're seeing it with floods. we're seeing it with hurricanes. something like this will happen again. you can't just turn off the economy like a light switch. how do governments work together? you can't figure it out on the fly what the federal government does, what the state government does, what the local governments do. figure it out before. learn the lessons from this. telemedicine and tele-education. we had to close the schools. well, why weren't we ready with a tele-education system? why weren't we better at telemedicine? why didn't we have that capacity, rather than having people wait on all these lines to come in to get the same basic diagnosis and the same basic

advice? why don't we have medical supplies made in this country? why we shopping in china for basic medical supplies? why don't we gear our medical research to these types of threats and challenges, which we know are on the horizon? we know these viruses are changing. we know that they mutate. why don't we get ahead of it? you still have to run society. let's talk about first responder capacity. we now have first responders who are getting sick. and the workforce is dropping. well, that was inevitable, right? that was going to happen. what's the backup to that situation? and let's talk about societal stability and engagement at times of crisis. you can't just tell everyone, go ahead and lock your doors and sit on your couch and order

takeout for the foreseeable future. that's not who we are. it's not even a mental health issue. it's just a personal health issue. it's how we relate to one another. we're not built to be isolated for long periods of time and not have human contact. so, how do we deal with that? and these are the types of questions that we have to start to think through. but not today. that is the next challenge, i believe, and that is what we're going to have to think about soon. but for now, one crisis at a time, as they say. and we have plenty to handle with the current crisis preparing for the battle on the

mount, which is what we are doing every day. and that's what we are doing. and not only are we doing it, but we have to succeed at it, you know? government process is very good at saying, well, we're trying, we're working on this, we're doing our best. we're doing our best. winston churchill, "it is no use saying we are doing our best. you have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." a tad harsh goes with that expression, which i think you could say tad harsh, handsome, but a tad harsh, but it's true. and that's what i say to my team every day. this is beyond best to get this.

we have to make it happen, because too much is at stake. last point on a personal note. my brother christopher, as i told you yesterday, tested positive for the coronavirus. he's at home. he's doing fine enough. he has a fever. he has chills. symptoms of basically a very bad flu. but i think this is illustrative of in a number of ways. first of all, anyone can get this disease. relatively young people, strong people, people who take a lot of vitamin pills, people who go to the gym a lot. anyone can get this disease. there is no superhero who's immune from this disease. that goes for a new yorker as

well as a texan as well as a californian. anyone can get it. no one can be protected from it. i couldn't protect my own brother. with all he knows and as smart as he is, he couldn't protect himself. so, anyone can get it and everyone has to be protected. i understand the data. i understand 80% self-resolve, 20% go in the hospitals. christopher is not in the category that is problematic by all the data. he should have it, will have it for a period of time, and he will then resolve. if he has bad symptoms, he'll go into the hospital, he'll be treated, and he'll be released. that's what all the numbers say. even though that's what all the numbers say, when he told me he

had the coronavirus, it scared me. it frightened me. why? because we still don't know. we still don't know. and even if there's just a 1%, 2% chance, it's frightening. it is frightening. it frightened me. and i deal with all sorts of stuff, and i've seen all sorts of things. and it frightened me. why? because we're talking about my brother. we're talking about my little brother. this is my best friend. i talk to him several times a day. basically, spent my whole life with him, and it is frightening on a fundamental level. and it's frightening because there's nothing i can do, and i'm out of control and there's

nobody who can tell me, and doctors can't tell me anything. and tony fauci can't tell me anything because nobody really knows. and this situation is the same situation for everyone. for everyone. so, yes, i'm frightened for my brother. i'm worried about my brother. as everyone is worried about everyone in their family and everybody they love. i take solace in the numbers and the facts, because you can't divorce yourself from the facts. otherwise, you go to a place of irrationality. but we're emotional beings. and as an emotional being, it is frightening and it is unknown and it is threatening and it is scary and people are dying. he's going to be okay. i believe that. he's in his basement.

and i sent him over a book that could be helpful, "beginner's guide to striped bass fishing." i hope he picks up some tips from that. but i also want to say to him, because i want him to know, he found out yesterday morning that he had coronavirus. he did his show last night. he did a show last night from his basement. what a gutsy, courageous thing to do. and we talked about it. and in some ways, this can be very instructive, i think, to many people, because everybody wants to know, well, what happens if you get coronavirus? all right, he did. and he does the show every night. maybe some nights he won't be able to do it, but he does his

show every night. so, what's the positive? show the country what it means to have coronavirus. and that information, that experience can be helpful to people. and that's why he did the show last night. okay, i have coronavirus. but you know what, here i am. i'm doing my show. i didn't fall over. i didn't collapse. it's not a death sentence. here i am. i'm doing my show. kudos to him. my pop would be proud. i love you, little brother. and even though this isn't a flattering picture -- i did not pick this picture with your mouth open, but it is suitable in some ways. any questions, comments? >> governor -- >> policy for posthumous testing

of suspected cases? >> if you can repeat that, please, because i missed it? also, let's do any questions on coronavirus, if you want to do questions on budget or anything else, let's do them at the end. but i'm sorry. i didn't hear your question. >> what's the state's policy or procedure for posthumous testing of suspected coronavirus cases? >> what's the state's policy for posthumous coronavirus testing? i have no idea. do you know? >> so, this is based on a clinical picture, right. so, if someone died as a result of respiratory illnesses, the person would be tested to be sure and try to figure out what happened to them. because there are contacts that that person has been exposed to. >> so, that includes people that tested positive for coronavirus or also people who have coronavirus-like symptoms? >> so, when we hear -- we know those who have died and if

they're tested at the time of autopsy, those are included in the deaths. >> governor, can you confirm that there were some patients who were moved from new york city to albany medical center, and i believe also ellis hospital as well last night? >> were there patients who were moved, coronavirus patients moved from new york city to albany med? yes. and we've talked about, this is one state, this is one family of new york, this is one family of the united states of america, by the way. we support one another. in two ways -- staff from upstate hospitals will be going to downstate hospitals, because one of the real critical situations are staff shortages and staff exhaustion. so, upstate staff will come help the downstate hospitals, and downstate hospitals who are at overcapacity can transfer patients to upstate.

>> is it safe to move covid patients who are being -- >> it depends on the patient. but if they're in a place where the hospital can't treat them, then it's better to move them and be in a hospital setting where they can get treated. >> we're doing this now, does that mean that the downstate hospitals are full? i know that the doh has data on beds, including icu beds. can you make that available? and also, if -- you said 110,000 beds for covid. what is the total capacity? is it still 140,000? >> about 140,000. 110,000 for covid would suggest you have 30,000 non-covid patients. we tried to bring down the non -- we tried to bring down the patient count by mandating no elective surgery that was noncritical. so, people are not going to the hospital right now to have a hip

replacement unless they really need it. they're not going in for any type of elective surgery. so, it brought the number of patients down so we could get more covid patients in. the transfer from new york city, the new york city hospital to albany medical, was more of a one-off situation which had been individually arranged. we are now, department of health is now coordinating all transfers. and you're right, the first step is transfers within the system. so, downstate new york, you have the h&h system transfer among the 11 h&h hospitals to balance load, balance capacity and transfer among the private hospitals to balance load, then transfer among those two systems. and then worst-case scenario, transfer upstate. >> how much capacity is left between h&h and the private

hospitals in the state? i guess long island and westchester, too. >> yeah, they are not at capacity now. it depends on how fast that curve goes up. we monitor it on a daily basis, and that's the $64,000 question, jimmy, is when you get to the apex, you will be overcapacity. any of those models, by the way, say you are overcapacity. you are over 100% by the model at any apex. >> who determines -- >> you're watching new york's governor andrew cuomo. he says there were nearly 400 deaths across new york state alone the past 24 hours and the number will continue to rise. the face of the pandemic here in new york has been elmhurst hospital in queens. they even brought in a refrigerated truck to act as a makeshift morgue. now they're seeing another uptick in the need for inten