hello, and welcome to "cnn newsroom," everyone, i'm michael holmes. thanks for your company. the unit ed states is now reporting the most coronavirus deaths of any country on earth according to johns hopkins. of the daily 109,000 deaths reported, nearly 20,000 have been in the u.s. and of the cases reported worldwide, 500,000 of those are in the u.s. and, in the pandemic's american epicenter of new york, the governor says the curve is continuing to flatten, but the number of deaths remains staggering. new york city officials reporting more than 4,000 new cases on saturday. more than 300 deaths. president donald trump was asked about a timetable, meanwhile, for easing back on restrictions and reopening the country. here was his response.

>> we have to bring our country back, and so i'll be making a decision reasonably soon. we're setting up a council now of some of the most distinguished leaders in virtually every field, including politics and business and medical. and we'll be making that decision fairly soon. >> but, would mr. trump listen to any of the advice given him? a report in the "new york times" reveals how the president down-played or even ignored warnings about the virus very early on. cnn's jeremy diamond explains. >> reporter: it was the third week of february when the government's top public health experts concluded that aggressive social distancing measures would be needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. but when that decision was made by public health experts the president was traveling in india. so the experts decided to brief him in person when he returned.

but that flight back to washington was a momentous one. the president grew furious at watching the stock market crash after a doctor warned there would be disruptions to daily life. so upon his return, the president held a news conference, putting vice president mike peps nce in char of coronavirus efforts, and from there we know the administration's focus began to shift, trying to assure people that they had the response under control. we also know beyond that briefing and beyond those conclusions by those public health experts, there were warnings inside the trump administration in january as well as in february. we reported, of course, on the memo by peter navarro, the president's trade adviser warning of trillions of dollars in economic losses and that millions of americans could be

infected with this virus. we know the deputy national security adviser was sounding alarm back in january about the potential for a global pandemic. the president, meanwhile, we know exactly what he was thinking at the time, because he was telling the public. the president in january and february repeatedly down playing the threat of this coronavirus pandemic, insisting that he had it under control. jeremy diamond, cnn, the white house. now staying with this story, the "new york times" reporting that on january 28, a senior medical adviser sent an e-mail about the virus which read in part, we'll read some of it for you, anyway you cut it, this is going to be bad. the projected size of the outbreak already seems hard to believe. again, january 28. yet the president, the administration, kept playing it down, saying it would go away. cases would soon be down to zero. and so on. just how early did the

administration know it should be acting decisively but did not? a short time ago i spoke with david sanger, one of the authors of that "new york times" report, and asked him about that warning. >> that quote came from an e-mail we obtained that had been written by the, is the chief medical officer of the veterans affairs administration, or agency. and he, of course, has long experience and dealing with these kind of pandemics, but, by the third week of february, just three weeks later, this was pretty much the widely-held view inside the white house, the full medical community, so forth, and yet it took them three weeks, until the middle of march, to convince the president. the president said three contradictory things here. first he said no one could imagine this happening.

of course they did. they ran exercises in the situation room of what this would look like. the second thing he said was i knew it would be a pandemic all along. well, then, why didn't he act on it? and then the third thing he said is, you know, i wanted to be a cheerleader for the country. it's fine to be a cheerleader for the country, but if you think something's coming that's going to kill a good part of your populace, before you're a cheerleader, you have to get up there and do some warning about the preparations that need to be made. >> david sanger speaking with me a short time ago. let's turn now to some of the many questions about how this deadly virus works and what more we need to do to keep ourselves safe. anthony costello is with the university college london institute for health. you've raised some pretty crucial questions, among them, whether covid-19 reinfects

people whose appointi-body resp is weak or not there. how important is it to know the answers to those? >> oh, it's very important. i think all countries are struggling with how to suppress this virus. how to save lives of those infected, and also how to get your economy going again. my country, the uk, the netherlands and sweden have initially started with this herd immunity idea, that you could build up immunity across the population and that would gradually solve your problem, but because of the rising death rates and the threat of overwhelming our health services, they've moved into a national lockdown, like most other countries. >> hmm. >> the challenge is how to lift those lockdowns, and how to build some kind of community protective shield that enables you to lockdown the people you really want to lockdown, which are the cases of contact, also

getting the rest of us back to work in some way. >> and that leads me to this. i mean, speak to the importance of mass testing, which is not happening, to suppress that chain of transmission, you know, mass immunity testing, tracing and so on. that's not happening in the u.s., anywhere what it needs to be, and from what i understand, it's not in the uk either. how important is that before there's any unlocking? >> no, i think it's really important. i think there are three potential strategies. one is mass digital monitoring of movements, contacts and whether you abide by quarantine on mobile phone. to some extent, the koreans did that, who of course suppressed their oeepidemic at a very low death rate and really, because they got in very quickly.

the problem is, the americans consider this intrusive into people's lives. it may be difficult to set up. the second thing is mass testing, like the nobel prize-winning recipient suggested. the third, i think the most likely is some expansion of testing like korea did, with multiple sites around the country and a public health approach whereby you go out in teams and contact trace and have a personalized service to people in different communities. this is not one oepepidemic but series of epidemics. in rural areas, they're much less affected. >> and it's not just going to go away when this waive is over. if you go back to work too soon there will be another wave.

i'm curious about your concerns for aftrica, for camps of displaced people, myanmar, bangladesh, what are your concerns about that? >> well, it's a huge concern, because they will find it very difficult to do social distancing. they don't have the personal presentati protective equipment that we would have. they don't have ventilators. so, unless they can come up with their own strategies, and i'm sure they will try that. in india, they've had a three-week lockdown and are trying to do aln extension. but many, many poor people will suffer from this because of lack of employment and security. at the moment, they're in the southern hemisphere, where the rates seem to be lower, most of these countries, but that will change as the seasons progress. so i hope there's not going to

be a catastrophe there. we have to be prepared for that. in the meantime, we should learn from china, because a recent paper from hong kong shows that they can monitor, they look to how from the catastrophe of wuhan, they shut down spread into their major cities. and they showed that they could monitor that, and that it only took about two weeks to shut it down. but then you have to be very careful about letting it up again, because, as your economy restarts, you get social mixing, local transmission and imported cases from people who are coming in as the economy gets going. and this is happening in asia right now in singapore, japan and the like. and they have to be vigilant all the time. so we'll be going to it, not back to normal, we'll be going to a new normal, where we use different strategies in different countries to try to quiet this epidemic down. >> and it will be interesting to

see how this evolves in the southern winter. we're right out of time, anthony costello. fascinating, thank you so much for your time, appreciate it. all right, we're going to take a break. when we come back, as japan battles a spike in coronavirus cases, the prime minister touts a drug he says could hold promise for a treatment. sound familiar? we'll discuss when we come back. and, in the crucial early days of the spread of coronavirus, a cnn investigation found the u.s. government actually blocked private labs from using tests. we'll have that story, too, ahead here on "cnn newsroom." i got this mountain bike for only $11. dealdash.com, the fair and honest bidding site. an ipad

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welcome back. we turn our attention to japan, where, for five straight days now, more people have died of the coronavirus than the day before. cnn's will ripley is joining us live from tokyo. good to see you, will. let's start with those new figures. they really do show quite a spike. >> reporter: you know every day, michael, we're seeing a new record daily increase of the number of cases here in japan. but when you look it he overall numbers they are actually

smaller than a hot of other countries, and some are saying that has to do with extremely limited testing here in japan. only about 7,000 people have been tested here in tokyo. 69,000 people tested nationwide, raising the question, why is the japanese government focussing so little on testing while they are focussing on expanding the production of an unproven drug that prime minister shinzo abe thinks could help patients with coronavirus. as the world battles the novel coronavirus pandemic, u.s. president donald trump and japanese prime minister shinzo abe are peddling possible treatments. trump is touting malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, despite slim evidence it's actually feffectie against the virus. >> what do you have to lose? >> reporter: for abe, it's anti-flu drug afghan mavigan, m

fuji film. researchers point out key differences between the pills promoted by president trump and prime minister abe. is what shinzo abe doing any different from what president trump is doing? >> marginally different. avigan has been around for a while and unlike hydroxychloroquine, it has been used to test its effectiveness on other viruses. >> reporter: clinical trials are under way in japan and set to begin in the u.s. japan plans to provide the drug for free to 20 countries. there are potentially dangerous side effects, including birth defects. if someone has coronavirus. >> yes. >> reporter: would you recommend that they take this drug? >> this covid-19, that may kill people, okay. so life or death? which do you choose? >> reporter: hydroxychloroquine

can also have serious side effects like heart trouble and eye damage. researchers around the world are testing all kinds of drugs. they may be the only hope until a vaccine is developed, if a vaccine is developed. patients under quarantine, isolated in their homes can battle loneliness and desperation. >> you feel really depressed. >> reporter: this tokyo apartment is full of supplies. she has to wait up to ten days for her coronavirus test results. she is frustrated. >> japan hasn't set up any kind of computer system, you know. even the test result will come in post, in letter. so not els-mail. that makes me get really anxious. and getting test result as soon as possible is more important than stressing on using an avigan at this stage. >> reporter: she wonders why her government is focussing on an

unproven drug, instead of speeding up the testing process for patients in limbo. t a ep deem yol gist warns that when they have to wait more than a week to have a letter come in the mail, that risks the possibility of them continuing to walk around and leave their homes, potentially infecting other people with the virus, even if they're instructed to self-isolate. and we have seen that the state of emergency has certainly reduced the number of people out on the streets in tokyo. one of the seven prefectures affected by the state of emergency, but a lot of people are taking public transportation, still going to the office. and restaurants and whatnot have still remained open. that's why the government has ramped up these warnings that businesses need to do more to encourage their employees to work from home. the problem is a lot of employees feel they don't have a choice because 80% of japanese companies aren't set up to allow

telework. that could be a really big problem. if japan doesn't do more to shut down human to human contact right now, these infection numbers we are seeing increase avenue day a every day will continue to skyrocket. >> testing, testing, testing. it's extraordinary in a tech savvy country. will, good to have you, thank you. will ripley in tokyo. shocking new details on the rollout of coronavirus testing in the u.s. cnn has learned some private labs were eager to develop testing as early as january, anticipating t anticipating inevitable outbreak. but the tests were blocked from being produced and made available to the public. >> reporter: as coronavirus was silently racing around the world in late january and early february the firld government not only failed to use the

massive arsenal of laboratories across the country but left roadblocks in place. that is according to documents obtained by cnn and interviews with more than a dozen scientists and physicians. >> at the very beginning of this pandemic it was the federal government that had the sole ability to do the testing and made it difficult for private labs, university labs to make their own test based on regulatory hurdles. >> reporter: several labs say think saw the coronavirus approaching and developing their own tests as early as january to detect the virus. but the red tape with the fda's regulatory process prevented them from moving forward, meaning labs sat idle. >> rather than enlisting the tremendous strength and power of the u.s. laboratory capacity, getting everybody working on this and creating tests and having widespread test

availability, we had cdc trying to keep running everything by itself. >> reporter: the federal government was prepared to enforce the rule, sending this memo on february 6, telling state health departments to actively police against labs using their own coronavirus tests. the reasoning behind the tight regulations were good, assure the safety and efficacy of tests. but dr. glen morris of the university of florida says the fda rules were written for normal situations, not a crisis. >> when we suddenly hit the point when we were looking at china and seeing what was going on there, what we needed was extremely aggressive leadership. we've got to move fast. because otherwise we're going to run into a problem. >> reporter: the problem developed as soon as the cdc rolled out its own test for verification. it didn't work. and weeks were lost, as the cdc scrambled to make a new test. >> so we really were in a basically on a pause for a few weeks within the public health system. and meanwhile, the academic

laboratories who had developed their own test also were not able to test because the regulations didn't allow it at that time. >> reporter: what's even worse, in 2018, after the zika outbreak, the cdc came up with a plan to avoid the very testing disaster that's happening. cnn obtained a copy of this memorandum of understanding between the commercial and public labs and cdc that were supposed to increase national laboratory testing in an emergency by engaging commercial labs early in the response. it didn't work. dr. karen call, who runs the laboratory services for north shore university health system in evanston, illinois was one of the labs pushing to use its own test and stopped by red tape. >> i think there's room for improvement. what's happened is we've had a number of laboratories and manufacturers and groups that are not all working together in a coordinated fashion. >> reporter: in a statement to

cnn, the fda insist there was nothing wrong in its process and instead blames individual lab delays where labs did not understand the fda process and mistakenly believed there was more work involved. despite that, the fda did publish new guidelines on february 25th allowing labs to begin testing. experts telling cnn it was just too late. in a written response to questions, the cdc says it did keep laboratories up to date and informed on what was hang, but the cdc did not answer questions on why the agency didn't pursue those laboratories getting involved in this massive testing program sooner. drew griffin, cnn, atlanta. well, we've heard plenty of sad stories these past few months. the need for people to quarantine themselves when they contract the virus, people not being able to be near loved ones, but sometimes, sometimes

the unimaginable is all too real. here's cnn's ryan young. >> it ain't going to go away like this. he didn't. but just know this. we done the best that we could. >> reporter: these short cell phone videos of her husband ray shon's funeral are the only way she could see it from quarantine. she hasn't left her house since testing positive for the same virus that killed him. >> i didn't want hum to leave here alone. like i just file like he was there for everybody, and i feel like he was alone, like nobody was able to be there for him. i had to make an executive decision to keep myself and my daughter home. we don't want to go to another funeral. >> reporter: in the last few weeks, mariny, she and her brother have all tested positive for covid-19. >> people in the family started

displaying flu-like symptoms. no idea it was corona, nothing like that, just hey, i don't feel so good. my husband, his symptom was a high fever. >> reporter: with strict social distancing rules in place, their trip to the hospital march 16 would be the last time she saw him. >> think was like you can't be here, you can't be here. they sent my daughter and i out. and we were sitting in the car sleep, and he said baby, they're going to admit me. >> reporter: the next conversation, a last-minute gesture from a worried nurse. >> she used her personal phone and face timed us, which i thought was really, really nice. she let us speak with minimum. and him. asked him if he was scared. he's not afraid of anything, but he was very scared. >> reporter: just seven days after arriving at the hospital he was gone. >> he went in on a monday and passed away on a monday. >> reporter: the speed of the

deadly and contagious coronavirus is living families like the smiths at unattended funerals at a frightening pace. in detroit, no more than at any might family members can pay their respects in person. >> just receiving so many death calls at once. you know, this week has been one of the most overwhelming weeks that i've ever had in my career. >> i'm doing everything i can to safeguard myself and my family. >> reporter: as for those waiting to say their last good-byes. >> i promised her, when this is all over, we're going somewhere, we're going to scream and cry and hold each other, and we're going to go visit her dad. >> reporter: ryan young, cnn, detroit. [ "one more time" by daft punk ]

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and welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm michael holmes. the british government says boris johnson is making very good progress one week after he was hospitalized for coronavirus. the prime minister, one of nearly 79,000 confirmed cases in the uk. cnn's nick paton walsh is joining us from london. when you think back, it was such a shock around the world, really, to see a country's prime minister catch the virus and end up in the icu, and the prime minister speaking for the first time. fill us in. >> reporter: yeah, a remarkably brief statement which captures in it the gravity of what boris johnson has been through, as he appears to be on a continued road to recovery, reports suggesting he's been able to

take short walks. but still in the ward of st. thomas' hospital, he says i can't thank them enough, referring to the national health service workers who provide free health care across the uk, also to him as well. quote, i owe them my life. that last phrase capturing the gravity of what seems to have unfolded. initially, messaged by his office at downing street as routine tests, precautionary move into a hospital and suddenly it deteriorated into intensive care unit and requiring oxygen treatment. but a few nights later improved and appears to be on a slow road to recovery. i should point out, though, he is still in hospital. it does not appear he is involved in the day to day business of government according to the last time we were briefed on this matter, and certainly, the gravity of the illness conveyed by the brevity of that

statement. a free health service in london facing the same as others in the world. >> in terms of infected health care workers and the supplies of what they need? >> yeah, there has been an enduring issue with personal protective equipment, ppe as it's known in the united kingdom, but acutely hire, frer. front line workers complain they haven't been given enough protective equipment. a lot of the time we see nhs workers in a surgical mask and a light bin-liner-type apron. we spoke with a doctor about two weeks ago who went to a hardware store and bought his own visor.

he was told to take them off or go home. throughout this the government has said they are doing all they can to get hold of the ppe. but i have to say, the health secretary, matt hancock was asked 48 hours ago how many people in the h nhs had died during the pandemic. he said 19 lost their lives, and that contributed to the sense that some press themselves working in very difficult conditions, some testing like mr. hancock himself, positive for covid-19 and getting back on the job. this, really a terrifying moment for britain. we are seeing death tolls on a daily basis of over 900. when italy and spain was going through that a few weeks ago

that captured global attention, really bringing home the sheer enormity of the problem of this disease. now sadly, death tolls of that size are common place in european countries. in fact, small, compared to that which we're seeing in the united states, half. and while these death tolls themselves possibly don't capture the full death toll in the united kingdom, you have to test positive in hospital and subsequently die to be part of that daily reported figure. it's still now we've nearly hit 10,000 death the as they see the plateau of the peak. very disturbing times here in the united kingdom. normally, 900 deaths a day would normally cause the world to stop. and there is a frightening thought that we are pushing through this particular moment trying to get through to the other side. these numbers hard to kpree

helped. >> you make a really good point, too. a lot of countries are admitting that they're probably grossly underestimating the death toll because people are just now being counted. thank you so much in london there. all right, stay inside is the message of course we're hearing throughout much of the world, but not everyone is listening. now moscow has a strict new system designed to keep people off the street, but critics worry it could go too far. matthew chance explains. >> reporter: the new system of mobile passes comes into force in moscow on monday morning. it will require residents to download a pass before they travel anywhere. an attempt by city authorities to tighten up an already strict lockdown in the russian capital. roy moscow's mayor says the rollout of the pass system will be gradual and will start with pass being issued to people who need

to travel to work. obviously, people in essential jobs like medical workers are going to get those passes first, where workers who are regarded as non-essential may be denied them. later the passes will be given to people who travel for reasons other than work, perhaps for medical appointments. and in a final stage, even short journeys around a single district in the city could be limited to people who get passes. so it could be potentially an i have restrictive set of rules, which will be policed, we're told, with fines for those who violate them. the moscow mayor, who is the public face of the tough anti-coronavirus measures in moscow says the rapid spread of the virus across the city is why these tough measures are being nut in place. >> translator: from monday, the situation continued to deteriorate. the number of seriously ill patients with pneumonia is growing fast. if earlier we had some 50 people

admitted to hospitals daily, now it's 1300. the majority are admitted before the coronavirus diagnosis is confirmed in a lab. >> reporter: earlier, russian authorities floated the idea of a cell phone app which would use facial recognition technology and geolocation technology to monitor the whereabouts of citizens who are meant to be on lockdown, obviously meant to be a way on keeping tabs of infected people. but the whole issue is raising concerns around the world about how far government should suspend privacy and freedom of movement in the name of public health and where countries like russia with a strong authoritarian streak will ever surrender that control once the pandemic has passed. matthew chance, cnn, london. as the coronavirus began to spread across europe, greece was one country that acted early, putting stringent measures in place to control the spread.

now that may have paid off, as the rate of infection in that country is now far lower than its northern neighbor italy. cnn's lynda kincaid with more on that. >> reporter: the first case of coronavirus in greece was reported late february. authorities there wasting no time going into action immediately. >> translator: we saw the impending danger of this crisis to national health early. >> reporter: it was the height of carnival season. 40 days of celebration and festivities leading up to lent. authorities immediately canceled all carnival events. by the second week of march, schools were also shut down. closures of restaurants and other businesses soon followed. >> translator: we quickly set up committees of specialists, ep deem yol gists to advise us. >> reporter: by march 22nd, the country was under a stay-at-home order. the measures are strict.

police on the streets. and people who venture outside have to show papers, granting them permission to be out. authorities say the country is reaping the result of those early measures. while its northern neighbor italy has reported is 00,0100,0s of the virus greece has about 1,000. >> we are waiting for the result of their test for coronavirus. >> reporter: nowhere is the success felt more than on the front lines of the battle against this disease. in hospitals like this one in athens. this doctor says the pressure on staff is eased because the number of confirmed cases is low. the greek authorities are not letting their guard down. restrictions remain in place, and they're urging everyone to remain vigilant in the coming days. lynda kincaid, cnn.

well, it is now easter sunday. of course the most important day for christians. but celebrations at the vatican so far have had to adapt. how christians are celebrating easter and jews passover in the time of coronavirus. that's when we come back. [coughs] kim is now demonstrating her congestion. save it, slimeball. i've upgraded to mucinex. we still have 12 hours to australia. mucinex lasts 12 hours, so i'm good. now move- kim nooooo!! mucinex has a patented tablet that lasts 3x longer, for 12 hours.

hello, i'm t. d. jakesof the potter's house and i just want to interject a thought into your heart and into your mind during the turbulence and the unrest that we are seeing in this time. because of the corona virus and so many things are going on in the world today there's much that we could be worried about today. but we're not, because we have learned to allow our heart to rest in god. the bible says he will keep us at perfect peace if we will keep our mind stayed on him. yes, you must be aware of the times and yes you must be aware of the news and yes we must be aware even of what our physicians are telling us. but we can not allow any voice to be louder than the voice of god in our spirit, and in our lives. and that is the voice that spoke to the winds and the waves and said peace be still. i pray you will allow that peace to saturate your soul and slay the wind that would assault your mind.

welcome back. it is easter, of course, for many christians who celebrate jesus rising from the dead. it is the entire focus of their faith in many ways, and easter sunday mass will be starting soon. delia gallagher joins me live. yes, far from the usual vatican easter. >> that's right. this is an easter like really we have never experienced before. the silence is noticeable.

normally, we would be in st. peter's square with the thousands of tourists, of course that's not possible today. and it is going to be an experience for the millions of people who are celebrating easter sunday on lockdown as well as those who have been commemorating passover this past week. take a look at how some people are adjusting to the changes. >> reporter: it's a strange time to be celebrating, but perhaps now more than ever, the ancient rituals of easter and passover bring us together. the via delarosa, the streets said to have been walked by christ before his crucifixion normally crowded is empty like never before, but a few representing the many, carry the memory. ♪

>> translator: today, lord, during holy week, the whole world is ravaged by a pandemic that is reeking death and immobilizing us. >> reporter: and in a small sign of rebirth from notre dame thiethie cathedral, prayers are lifted for the covid-19 victims and their families. a pryce iest in ireland offerin blessings from a popemobile used by john paul ii. and in germany, drive-in services. >> translator: for weeks we have been at a distance. we stay at home. krchs a kr churches are closed. right now, for easter, there's a need to come together this week. >> reporter: passover commemorating the jewish exodus from egypt during a time of plagues, takes on new meaning today. >> celebrating passover, as we

hope the coronavirus will pass us over. >> reporter: jews celebrate while social distancing. while all are urged to stay home this easter. >> after all the sacrifices so many people have made, let's not ruin it now. >> reporter: it may be song which can unite us. ♪ amazing grace >> reporter: opera ligd legend andrea bocelli will sing alone. >> who wants to be with me spiritually in that moment. >> reporter: a celebration of human spirit and transcendence, a prayer of harmony, in a time of hardship. and michael, that will be a treat for those who want to tune in to andrea bocelli. you can find it live streamed on

his youtube account at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. michael? >> a beautiful story, delia, thank you so much for sharing it. delia gallagher there in rome. with most of the country under stay at home orders, what about those who have to go to work? we will talk with people who are keeping essential shops open and deliveries arriving on our doorsteps. we do need to be thanking them. their story, when we come back b? unlike ordinary memory supplements neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference. too many after-parties. neutrogena® bright boost with dullness-fighting neoglucosamine. boosts cell turnover by 10 times for instantly brighter skin. bright boost neutrogena®

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good for them. many people earning their living from home during the pandemic of course. the work from homers, but some can't do that. they simply have to go to work. and they obviously include health care workers but also store clerks, drivers, delivery people, and it means putting themselves at risk. and we should be grateful. jason carroll spoke with some of them about the special challenges they now face on the job. >> reporter: businesses closed, streets empty, as new yorkers, like many people across the country, continue to live under a stay-at-home order. but for those who are deemed essential, >> a lot of stress. >> reporter: staying home is not an option. >> just pray to god that i make it through the day. >> reporter: a number of so-called sancti so-called essential workers we found shared a common worry,

thankful to have jobs now when so many do not but also grave concerns about working during a pandemic. >> it's not easy. it's scary, i'm telling you. every day we come in. we pray to god, you know, to keep us safe, you know. but it's a responsibility at this time to take care of the customers and patients. >> reporter: the focus here at thomas drugs on manhattan's upper west side ensuring the staff's safety while keeping up with customer needs such as thermometers, gloves and masks. >> it's hard as we get from the distributors. we're just trying to get it, but still, it's not easy. >> reporter: but for some essential workers, they have to deal with scenes like this before they can even get to work. marian varella works at an emergency room and shot this video in a bronx subway station last friday. >> what do us essential worker does? how do we stay safe where we're not safe at work where we're supposed to be safe because we

have to deal with their pandemic. we're not safe getting to work. >> reporter: varella says she has no choice but to take the subway. she doesn't have the luxury of a car so she has to commute by train an hour and a half each day every day from her home in harlem to the hospital in the bronx. she says the cdc recommendation of six feet of social distancing is challenging at best. >> to be honest with you, that really doesn't exist in the train. >> reporter: doesn't exist. >> it as like nonexistent. you're lucky when you get on when there's a little bit of people. usually it's very crowded in the morning. >> reporter: the city's transportation authority say the ridership is down 90%. but they watch for hotspots and it is difficult operating a reduced schedule because there are fewer people to run the trains. cloe says she does what she can

to keep her distance on the way to work where her job is to help customers keep their distance. >> it's a little bit scary, but i'm trying to keep the safe precautions of trying to keep six feet away. constantly wear my mask. change my gloves, wash my hands frequently. it is a scare, got to stay safe. >> reporter: it's not just grocery store workers. keeping spirits in supply is in need as well. customers wait outside for orders. here they've hired furloughed restaurant workers to keep up with demand. >> at the end of the day, ultimately, it's about the people. if we can keep people employed, we feel happy. >> reporter: jason carroll, cnn, new york. >> thanks for spending part of your day with me. i'm michael holmes. this has been "cnn newsroom." the news continues with the one and only natalie allen after the short break. you'll enjoy that.

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♪ welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm natalie allen coming to you live from cnn world headquarters. this is "cnn newsroom." thank you for joining us. easter is supposed to be a day of hope. it's also the day president trump said last month he wanted the u.s. economy reopened. instead, the u.s. enters the holiday with more reported covid-19 deaths than anyone else -- anywhere else on the planet. johns