hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm michael holmes. the u.s. struggling to get ahead of the coronavirus pandemic still ripping through the country. john hopkins reporting more than 8500 people have died and president trump is saying it's about to get much worse. >> this will be probably the toughest week between this week

and next week, and there will be a lot of death unfortunately, but a lot less death than if this wasn't done. but there will be death. >> well, the white house coronavirus task force says these next two weeks are crucial to flatten that curve. saying social distancing is quote the most important tool. now despite that, the president still refusing to issue a national stay-at-home order and eight states still don't have one. meanwhile, state leaders are warning of dire medical supply shortages, the governor of illinois saying they don't even have enough tests to see how many people have the virus. he says the lack of a federal plan is creating what he called the wild west out here. let's dig in to what the white house coronavirus task force is doing. jeremy diamond with this report from washington. >> reporter: well, as the united states marked a record on saturday for the single most coronavirus deaths reported in a single day, president trump

warns of the grim reality to come. and that reality is that things are about to get a lot worse. so the president warning that this will and horrendous time for the country, saying that there is going to be a lot of deaths in the coming weeks, specifically, this next week to come. but the president even as he said that, in the next breath, we heard him talk about the extent to which he would like to see the country begin to reopen. this has been a singular focus for the president as he looks at the economy in an election year, so the president once again sending mixed messaging. i did get a chance to ask the president on saturday about this issue of ventilator shortages. ventilator manufacturers have been ramping up production, sometimes in cooperation with auto manufacturers. but even as they do that, there is still likely to be a shortage of ventilators, that at least according to the models. so i asked the president about that. >> ventilator manufacturers are

doubling, tripling manufacturing in some case. >> that's try. >> but they are still predicting there will be shortages of tens of thousands of ventilators. is it time for you to level with the american public that there likely will be shortages of ventilators in some cases? >> could be. it could be that you have shortages and you could have way overestimated the number of ventilators that they need. we think we have a good amount ready to move. i mean, literally, like an army, they're ready to move to any hot spot. but some of the ones that you're talking about, always a nasty question from cnn. but some of the -- yeah, because i think you know what, you've asked that question about ten times over the course of about a month. look. we're mobilized and ready to go. we have a lot of ventilators ready to go. and if we had given them all out we wouldn't, and you would be overstocked in many areas. >> and you see the president there conceding that indeed

there could be a shortage of ventilators in parts of the country. that as the task force coordinator, dr. debbie birx said the apex in several hotspots is expected to hit in the next six to seven days. even as you see ventilator manufacturers ramping up production that is a matter of weeks and months, not days. butt preside but the president faced questions on another front, why he is not urging these eight republican governors who so far have refused to issue stay at home orders. the president saying it's not his role to direct governors but at the same time suggesting he might change his tune if indeed there is a significant outbreak in one of those states. what we do know is because of that asymptomatic spread, once you do see an outbreak, in many cases it's already too late. jeremy diamond, cnn, the white house. more than 114,000 coronavirus cases are reported

in new york state alone. more than 3500 deaths. hospitals overwhelmed and the virus isn't at its peak. evan mcmorris santoro looks at how that state is coping. >> reporter: another day of preparing for the worst here in new york, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the united states. governor cuomo announced that the jacob javits center will be converted into a field hospital, specifically for coronavirus patients, 2500 beds specifically to help with the pandemic. >> it's going to be very staff intensive, equipment intensive, but the theory there is to the best we can, relieve the entire hospital system downstate by bringing those covid-19 patients to javits. and from the intake to the treatment. and it's going to be very difficult to run that large a a

facility, but, if that works, and if that works well, that changes the numbers dramatically. >> reporter: in other news, the governor accepted 1,000 ventilators from the government of china as well as another load of supplies from that country. other states in the united states, oregon, sending 140 ventilators to this state for, to a governor and to a mayor who still say they need more material and more personnel to be able to handle the apex of this virus, which they expect to come in a week or maybe a little more. evan mcmorris santoro, cnn, new york. so the worst is apparently yet to come for many countries. dr. peter tdroback is with the business school in the uk. let's talk about these test kits that are such a big issue in the

uk. how important is it to get them, get them distributed and to more people. both for health care workers but to track and isolate the asymptomatic, or is it just more mitigation now? >> it's extremely important, and this is i think one of the biggest failures we've seep hn e in the uk, and that's adequate testing. we have no idea the size of the epidemic and where it's spreading right now. even health care workers, only about 1% have been able to get tested. and so what you find now is that when the health system is undergoing tremendous strain with the surge in covid-19 patients, a health worker who gets a cough has to take two weeks off in self-isolation without being able to be tested to why they have coronavirus or not. the only way we're going to get out of lockdown is to have better intelligence about where the oepd epidemic is spreading.

>> same problem we're seeing in the u.s. as well. how well is the stay-at-home instruction working there? people in london are saying it's a beautiful day, and too many people look like they're going to go out and enjoy it. >> the weather is lovely, and we do worry about that this weekend. if you look back over the past 1 12 days, since the lockdown was announced, social movements have decreased very significantly, and it looks like it's going to have good effect. it's a little early. we expect three weeks before we see the effect of that intervention in the number of hospitalizations and deaths. early signs are promising, but it's very important that everyone sticks with it, doesn't get antsy and hopefully resists the temptation to get outside with the nice weather. >> there's a lot of debate in the u.s. over what wasn't done, what wasn't acted on despite any number of reports and studies over years as recently as last

year warning of the shortages that the u.s. is watching unfold. is there a similar report in the uk in how the response has been handled? >> absolutely. i think it was too little and too late and marked by complacency in the beginning. the reasons for it were slightly different in the uk. here there was an explicit decision made early on to not test, and to try to have the controlled spread of the virus through the population with a hope of getting herd immunity, meaning at least 60% of the population would get infected. when it became how catastrophic that would be in terms of how many people would die, hundreds of thousands, they reversed course in early march. but by that point we had lost six weeks of time when we should have been preparing the health system, buying test kits and other things to get ready and we've been behind the curve ever since. >> and time lost, lives lost. i know you do a lot of work as

well in africa, and i'm wondering about your concerns elsewhere around the world. africa for example where many nations do not have good medical infrastructure, where people are crammed together out of necessity, where millions can't even really wash their hands properly. it just seems to me to be terrifying the potential of what could happen there. >> you're right, the cases of many cases are small so far and many have acted decisively to stem the spread. but we're talking about hiliber, where there could be only a handful of ventilators in the whole country, you can imagine the catastrophe if we got the spread of the disease in countries like that. some of us have social distancing and shelter in place to be inconvenient, but if you don't know where your next meal is coming from, it's a matter of survival. for a lot of families living on the edge, particularly in poor

countries, this extended period of lockdown is going to be very difficult. >> yeah, hard to even contem contemplate. >> thank you for your insight. president trump is once again suggesting that the country should get back to work. he says he is considering putting together a separate coronavirus task force, focussed on reopening the economy. that economy going through a devastating period at the moment, a staggering 6.6 million americans filing for unemployment in the last week. the restaurant industry among the hardest hit with dining in largely a thing of the past. i spoke to an award-winning chef and restauranteur a short time ago and asked him if the above the is doing enough. >> there is a threading together that makes a really strong fabric in this country, which is small business. and when we pull that apart and

pr fray it and provide them with nothing we fall apart. we've seen that with the unemployment roll this week. this is not a bailout. this is an investment in the c.a.r.e. act and ppe. it is a means to this economy and culture that we have. it's so important that we have restaurants right now. most of all, i'm just worried about all sorts of things right now, but mostly about undocumented workers in this country which are very much tied to our industry in a lot of ways, that they won't have anything to fall back on. so we just have to make a lot of headway and a lot of different areas. we were the first line of defense against a war. and we got knocked over faster than anything. and we put up a good fight every day. this is what we do. but we didn't win this one.

>> all right, spain looking to extend its state of emergency as its number of confirmed cases overtakes that of italy. we're live in madrid just ahead. also, when we come back, if you are teaching your kids at home we have tips from experts and kids as well about what helps them learn and what does not. we'll be right back.

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spain is set to extend its restrictions on movement and businesses through most of this month. the decision coming as data tracked by johns hopkins shows the country has overtaken italy in its number of confirmed virus cases. but while infections are rising, there are signs that the increase rate might be slowing. journalist al goodman joins me now from madrid with the latest. you get the numbers stabilizing, but what does that mean? >> reporter: well, this is what the spanish officials have been talking about for almost two weeks, that they're trying to reach the peak so they can start to push the numbers down, but the key numbers, the numbers of new cases, deaths, even though they are second in the world

behind italy, the absolute numbers and percentage increases as you just said, they're moderating, so we're seeing increases that we hadn't seen in quite a while in terms of the moderate growth of this, and there seems to be an easing on the intensive care unit beds. nonetheless, the prime minister announcing on saturday that the lockdown order would be extended for another two weeks, basically he and other officials saying they don't want to let everybody out on easter sunday, which is when it was supposed to end, they don't want to let everybody come out suddenly and have a repeat and have to do it all over again. it will be a six-week extension. this is a very hard extension for the spanish people and traditionally roman catholic spain. palm sunday, normally would see a big attendance at mass. and holy week is a holiday as well as religious festival pour much of spain. so that good friday's a national

holiday. there are processions. people go away to see relatives, second homes. so basically being told to stay inside is a huge burden as well as also a major hit on the economy. michael? >> yeah, and to that point, al, just briefly, i'm wondering how spaniards are adjusting to the stresses of the lockdown, bobby nadeau was telling us yesterday that people are dissatisfied. there are concerns over crime, domestic violence, that sort of thing. what is the situation in spain in terms of the tolerance mood? >> reporter: the senior police and civil guard officials who have been briefing every day alongside health officials have been talking about domestic violence, that that is going up. they've been talking about the numbers of spaniards who have tried to violate the lockdown order. so you could go out to get food, can you go out to the pharmacy. you can walk your dog, but you can't be out walking around.

they've started 90,000 fines, starting at $100. they've arrested 1200 people and crime has continued, including takeout delivery of food can come to your house, police arrested a couple guys who were using that as a cover to deliver drugs to people's homes. michael? >> goodness me. 1200 arrests. al goodman, good to see you, thanks there, in madrid. you know it's an extraordinary moment in time when this happens. queen elizabeth is about to address the uk about the coronavirus crisis. now her televised speech is going to be broadcast sunday night, if you're watching us in the uk it will be at 8:00 in the evening. the queen rarely addresses the nation like this, but the pandemic warrants it. more than 42,000 confirmed infections in the uk as of saturday with more than 4300 deaths. health officials warning the death toll likely will be high for the next couple of weeks. the pregnant partner of prime minister boris johnson

says she is recovering from symptoms of the disease, although she hasn't actually been tested. she was symptomatic. boris johnson did test positive and continues to self-isolate. let's bring in nick paton walsh from london. and i know you've been looking into this issue of testing which is still a big issue in the u.s. and one that is not sorted in the uk, right? >> reporter: absolutely, a global shortage of tests, but the united kingdom lagging behind in the realization that this is key in fighting the disease, partly because the free uk health is service, the national health service is struggling to put its interests back to work, nearly a tenth out of work because they cannot get the tests that show they are not infected. but this two weeks ahead is a key period for the united kingdom. yesterday they reported another 708 deaths. cast your mind back about a week ago, two weeks ago before the

death toll picks up in the u.s. that was a straggering number. i'm on hamster teeth, a popular park. and even at 8:00 in the morning it is frankly busy, people trying to keep their distance, but officials have warn that if they don't see people adhering to social distancing they will close public spaces. we're now in an uncomfortable moment of truth for the united kingdom in the two weeks ahead where their nhs service struggles to deal with the cases and keeping up with the promise of testing. >> it is no longer needed for us to identify every case. >> reporter: for the uk testing was not a priority a month ago yet now it is. >> because it is so important. >> reporter: why now? the uk's sudden rush to testing perhaps explained by a health care testing center behind me here. nearly a tenth of health care

workers aren't turn being ing u work because they're not sure if they have the disease. that's a question increasingly difficult for people to answer. here is a gold standard, samba ii. >> i can teach it to you. if you know how to cook you know how to do sam ba. >> reporter: one line means negative, two a slight infection, three a bad one. >> so you are negative. >> reporter: kick started by $3 million from a wealthy donor. the company says it costs $24,000 a machine and 3$38 a test. but they can't make enough of them fast enough. the uk health service wants a lot. now they say health workers, officials, everyone, all want a test. but that's just not possible. >> it's really, i said, like a

worldwide tsunami. and you don't have the life jacket for the whole world. >> reporter: and here, in a cramped, airless office in london, life jackets for sale, right-angled, used to do dna testing and is repurposing its kits to test the coronavirus. for about $250, less if you're a health care worker, you receive it at home. express mail it to their lab and the results come about three days later. we're talking thousands senseine launched. >> 200,000 pounds of inventory. >> we're talking about bulk units coming from other areas. >> reporter: put it in your mouth, back of your throat. >> put it in the back of your throat and gag, and keep doing this for a minute. >> reporter: it's cramped here, not ideal. they declined to name the lab

they use but say it has government approval, but no home testing does yet. we don't have confidence in their reliability, they told us. what would you say to anyone who looks at what you're doing and torn between deciding whether you are a good samaritan or making money out of a crisis? >> we say we are simply offering a service at a very reduced prize from what other providers are doing. >> reporter: the uk behind in a global race to test with no mass solution at hand. fundamentally, the uk is going into a very dark period, essentially what the queen addresses tonight will be to shore people up for ahead. take a daily run somewhere like this. but at the same time, avoid public gatherings of more than two. this place here will fill up, in a sign of britain straining to

listen to the advice by a government whose boris johnson is locked away in isolation. a very twrieing two to three weeks as the united kingdom sees whether the messages are enough to get it through. 700 reported a day, staggering at any team at alime at all, bu global crisis a number we hear too often. >> every one of them are human being. great reporting, nick paton walsh there. scientists around the world racing to find a vaccine against this deadly virus. why a researcher in germany is excited about the potential he sees in a century-old drug. we'll be right back. tremfya® helps adults

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and welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. it is time to check the headlines for you this hour. johns hopkins says there are more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases around the world. the u.s. has more reported cases than any other country and has just suffered its deadliest day so far, more than 1300 people in the u.s. died on saturday alone, bringing the total to more than 8500. president trump says the coming weeks will bring many more deaths, but he isn't issuing a national say at home order, despite health advisers saying social distancing is the key to slow the curve.

hard-hit new york, converting a convention center into a hospital for coronavirus mai patients. it will have 2500 beds and governor cuomo says it will be staffed by the federal government and should take pressure off other hospitals in the state. and turning to louisiana, a truly sobering announcement saturday by the mayor of new orleans. the city's mortuaries have reached their limit and cannot acomment da accommodate or even pick up more bodies. this comes as the number of confirmed cases went up by more than 2,000 in louisiana between friday and saturday. cnn's ed lavandera is in new orleans with more. >> reporter: the state of louisiana is bracing for what could be a very difficult week. these are the coming days where the governor of this state and medical officials have been warning that the onslaught of coronavirus cases here in this

state could begin to tax hospitals across the state with a shortage of beds, ventilators, medical equipment that they so desperately need. the latest numbers we have is that there are nearly 12,500 cases in the state. just over 400 deaths as well. and the numbers that state officials and medical officials look at is the number of beds and ventilators being used and that continues on an upward trend as well. to prepare for all of this, medical teams here have unveiled and say that the makeshift hospital at the new orleans convention center, it will be up and ready to go by monday morning and will be accepting its first patients. that thousand-bed hospital unit set up there will treat coronavirus patients, but not necessarily the ones that need the most acute and serious attention. these are people who are not quite ready to go home, still need round the clock medical attention. the first patients will be arriving there, and the hope is that will alleviate pressure on

the hospitals, especially here in the new orleans area. this is the area that has seen by far the most cases in this state. and it has become so dire here, this is what the mayor has said here in recent days of just how dire the situation is in this city. >> our coroner's office is at capacity as it relates to our dead bodies of our loved ones. mortuaries cannot even go pick them up or store. because they're out of capacity. i've had to ask the federal government for additional refrigeration, so that we can take care of our people, while they're resting in god's peace, but not resting well, because they haven't been laid to rest as they deserve. >> reporter: medical and state officials here say they have been basing a lot of their projections on what will happen in these hospitals on the scientific models and data

coming in to these teams, and one of the grim predictions that they are looking at in these numbers is the projected death toll, the death toll that could be reached here in the state of louisiana, and that total ha they're seeing right now is just over 1800. and that is the same number of people that died here during hurricane katrina 15 years ago. ed lavandera, cnn, new orleans. the u.s. food and drug administration is allowing people who have recovered from coronavirus to donate their plasma, which may be filled with potent anti-bodies. cnn's paul vercammen has the story of one covid-19 survivor doing that right now, hoping to help others get well. >> reporter: the antibody-rich plasma from recovered covid-19 patients is valuable to hospitals, because they can use it to treat current patients in dire straits. here in orange, they found their

marn man, jason garcia, 36 years old, recovered. he had been isolated from his family, inside his house. he couldn't even pick up his 11 month old daughter. he was getting served food underneath the door. but once garcia recovered, they found that they could use him here. he donated his a-positive blood to one person at the hospital who was undergoing some very tough times. they say that patient turned around. then blood went to a second patient. it will go to a third, and garcia is ex-static. >> i felt amazing. it felt good. i'm gr i'm grad th i'm glad that the nightmare of testing positive, the fear, the dread, and i recovered and now this bad thing can potentially, my antibodies are there to give

to other people and potentially help them fight the fight that they are having problems with, you know, and pretty much help them fight the fight of their lives and survive. so i'm glad that this turned out to be a positive thing. >> reporter: so using the blood from somebody who has survived the disease is a long-time strategy, and now the fda has approved two trials of patients who have survived covid-19. and this will be available around the country no doubt. reporting from orange, california, paul vercammen, back to you. we are all looking for signs of hope in the fight against this pandemic. now scientists in germany are running tests to see if a 100 year old drug could potentially become a lifeline. fred flight agapleitgen with th. >> reporter: as they struggle to deal with an influx of patients,

scientists are racing to develop a vaccine, a micro biologist from germany believes he may have an interim solution. >> what we propose is we could use an intermediate stage of higher immunity, of higher protective mechanisms. >> reporter: it's called vpm 1002, an enhanced version of an almost 100 year old tuberculosis vaccine named bcg. and while they have virtually nothing in common, tb being a bacteria infection, they both can cause severe respiratory problems. he believes bpn 1002 could help them fight coronavirus. >> to provide an innate, non-specific immunity against other infectious diseases, that

includes viruses that cause pulmonary diseases, and coronavirus is one of them. >> reporter: researchers are gearing up for trials with groups at high risk of suffering severe complications with coronavirus, medical professionals and elderly patients. an advantage of the clinical trial as a tuberculosis vaccine have almost been completed and so pfar the drug has proven to e safe. now they need to see if it really is effective against covid-19, which could take several months, then it could be available fast, the professor says. >> our hope is that we can at least produce significantly the proportion of individuals who develop disease and hopefully the disease is also milder. >> reporter: it proven effective, bpn 1002 should only be used as an interim solution, saving lives until a target vaccine is market ready.

u.s. experts believe it could work. >> i think it's a very innovative idea. you know the vaccines that we're working on are against the virus itself. this would be a vaccine that stimulates the immune system so that it can fight off covid-19. >> reporter: if the interim vaccine is effective against covid-19, they're already working together with some of the biggest manufacturers in the world to try and make sure that in millions of doses could be available globally in a very short period of time. fred pleitgen, cnn. many christians celebrating palm sunday, it is a holy week as they get ready for easter next sunday. but, with the lockdowns all over the world because of the pandemic, this year of course will be very different. many churches closed, like here in naples, italy. and they will be through easter.

catholic churches in rome have been closed for weeks. and authorities in the lombardy, italy reasonablgion, they're or everyone to wear masks in public. we are joined from rome to discuss this. easter, as we say, usually one of the busiest times of the year for the faithful but tourists in rome. what is going to be allowed this year? >> reporter: well, as you say, it's a very vestrange easter, n only in rome but countries around the world in lockdown. on palm sunday we normally see thousands of people in the square at st. peter's pofor the pope's mass. remember those beautiful candle lit ceremonies outside the coliseum for the stations of the cross and the events for next weekend for easter, and all of that is going to be different this year here in rome and for christians around the world.

the pope today is going to be live streaming his mass from a very empty st. peter's basilica. and christians around the world will be seeing that in their own churches, that priests are going to have to live stream their masses, and they will be celebrating, as it were, from the confines of their own home. kind of a strange thing, because easter is sort of the celebration of hope, of new life happening at this time, when there is so much death and bad news. but there has been a bit of good news for italy, michael. yesterday the numbers of patients in icu, excuse me, declined for the first time since this crisis. that's by about 74 patients. that's a small but significant number. because the head of italy's civil protection said it allowed hospitals to breathe a little bit. took a little bit of the pressure off of hospitals. and so that number, combined

with the kind of slowing down of this curve, the flattening of the curve, the fewer cases of positive people positive for the virus has allowed authorities here to talk about a little bit of hope for italy. obviously, the hope is that trend will continue. >> absolutely. we all hope that. delia gallagher there in rome for us. we'll take a quick break. with schools closed amid the pandemic, so many parents home schooling their kids or trying to. ahead, great tips from teachers and children who are learning at home themselves. also, this famous horse race found a unique way to give fans a show. we'll have the details after the break. never run dry of...

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face masks are getting pretty hard to find you may have noticed. some people are making their

own. if you don't sew, don't worry, we have a solution for you. esco world scientist has this tutorial, showing you how to make one from paper towel. you'll need a few rubber bands, a stapler as well. turn the sides in, staple them, you'll be good to go. it's not likely to off full protection of course, but it will discourage you from touching your face, and that's better than nothing, of course. now, with schools closed around the world because of covid-19, millions of parents and guardians are now home schoolers, faced with the task of educating their children themselves at home. good luck with that. kristie lu sto kristy lou stout is one of them and talked to experts about what to do and what to avoid. >> reporter: here in hong kong ask any family about home schooling and prepare to take notes. because of the coronavirus,

schools have been closed since january. as the outbreak grows and more and more countries embrace home learning, students here have a few tips to share. >> i put away all my phones and ipads in like in my drawer or under my bed. i don't want myself to be distracted by any games or my friends. >> if it was online, i would just open tabs that are really just necessary, like for learning and like don't open tabs that will like constantly distract you, like social media or like some games. >> reporter: okay, so samuel annet and etta have their act together, but what about others? >> pencils and pens and books and blue tissue. >> yeah. >> reporter: running a virtual classroom can also be tough. and educators here who are pioneered virtual learning

recommend zoom and google hangouts, but what makes a good online lesson? >> have fun with them. interactive learning is the best thing with online. kids learn more, i feel, when they're online. because you talk to them, and you use tools on the ipad. and they learn quicker, i feel. >> reporter: when schools are closed for an extended period of time, children lose a crucial social outlet and cabin fever can kick in. but kids don't lose hope. >> eat and play with my toys and play leg fwoe. >> i use what's and, zoom. >> and we can talk together or play video games together so we can stay contact. we really miss each other. and we sometimes have some topics to talk, and then we are just very happy. >> my family, like, we would,

like, normally go, like, for, like, a walk or like, something, it like, to the countryside on the weekdays like after school, but never on the weekend, because there are too many people in the countryside, because everyone wants to escape the city. and hong kong especially. >> being on daddy and mommy's bed. >> reporter: as a parent, it's hard. i have a 11-year-old daughter taking part in daily live video chats in english and chinese and i have to provide tech support, keep an eye on her to-do list and brush up on my fractions. and this is the reality for scores of parents across the region here and increasingly the world. kristie lu stout, cnn, hong kong. >> okay. good luck if you're doin' it. we're going to take a break. when we come back, with basically all sports competitions on hold, this famous horse race decided to improvise and give fans a hshow anyway. we'll have details when we come back. road-trip companion.

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and listen to it. because i listened to her story over and over again, i made the decision to go ahead and follow my own dream, which was to help other veterans. i think there's like 180 books in my, in my library now. it changes your perspective; it makes you a different person. it's true, it's so true. (laugh) to start your free 30-day trial, just text listen25 to 500500. for the same medications as the vet, but up to 30 percent less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. well, with much of the world essentially on hold, including sports, brittain's grand national horse race had to improvise with a virtual reality tournament. don riddell gives us an exciting

play by play. >> reporter: the grand national is one of the most popular events in the british sporting calendar. it's a steeplechase horse race they've been doing for more than 180 years. there was no national this weekend because the coronavirus has shut down pretty much every aspect of daily life. but there was a virtual national. it was broadcast live on television and almost as good as the real thing. >> they're off. so the robbie circle gets them away for the virtual national. >> reporter: this isn't the first time they've run the virtual national but the first time anybody has paid much attention to it. every detail was fed into an algorithm before cgi animation brought it to life. and listening to the enthusiastic race commentators you could almost be fooled into thinking it was the real thing.

the animation brought you both high and low camera angles. you could hear the sound of the horses, crashing through the fences. and there was even a virtual ambulance following along just in case. and just like in real life, sometimes the fences were just too daunting. >> and elegant escape at the back of the field refused. refused has pulled up. >> reporter: had the race been real, the hype would have surrounded tiger roll, aiming to be the first horse ever to win it three times in a row and only the second behind the iconic redrum to win three in total. tiger roll briefly took the lead. but in the end, it was the 18-1 shot, potters corner that took the prize. >> potters corner, all out. potters corner won the virtual national. tiger roll. >> with the recent growth of

esports and video games, some provocatively wondered if the new technology would mean the end of real sports, but nobody could have forecast a future in which a simulation was the only thing to watch. whatever, this is all for a good cause. profits raised from the kbgamblg will be donated to national health charities and not a single horse was injured in this year's running of the national. don riddell, atlanta. thanks for watching "cnn newsroom" and spending part of your day with me. i'm michael holmes. do stay with us. we'll have more news in a moment with natalie allen. you'll enjoy that. everyone is working a little differently now.

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♪ they walk into those hospitals, you see them putting on their gear and they're putting it on as they're walking through the front doors. some of those people are going to die. they're going to die. >> the u.s. president says things will get a whole lot worse for health care workers as well as ordinary americans. also this hour -- >> stress level is high. 100% difficulty sleeping at night. >> courage under pressure. doctors and nurses on the front lines risking their own lives to save others. and bonding with a newborn takes on new meaning during this crisis. a mother reunited with her baby days after giving birth. welcome to our