hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom" and i'm rosemary church. just ahead, no signs of letting up, the global death toll from the coronavirus climbs relentlessly as it does here in the united states. the protesters in several states backed by donald trump are pushing for a quick reopen. and results in just eight minutes. could this trial test in italy become our new normal? ♪

well, the united states with far and away the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the world is now approaching 41,000 deaths. and that is according to johns hopkins university which confirms nearly 760,000 cases nationwide. and you can see which states are the most affected. more than 2.4 million cases are reported worldwide. on sunday, president donald trump said the u.s. is rapidly expandi expandi expanding its testing which experts say is key to reopening the economy. on cnn the mayor of new york warned against acting too soon. >> i fear that the president in sort of his endless desire, sort of ra, ra, let's restart, is ignoring the facts, ignoring the science, and he's going to lead us into something that will boomerang back on us harshly.

he's only got one chance to get this right. >> and governors say they need more tests before they can safely reopen. the white house says they have plenty. natasha chan looks at the state of the nation right now. >> reporter: it's been 50 days since the first coronavirus death in the u.s. tonight that death toll is more than 40,000, nearly double from one week ago. yet with 22 million people who filed for unemployment in the last month, there are increased calls for and indications of america's soon reopening. florida's reopening beaches. texas is rolling out planning to resume commerce. and people are protesting in several states against stay-at-home orders. >> freedom and ever liberty. we're losing it. >> president trump is itching to reopen america. >> we're going to start to open our country. >> reporter: not just to reboot an economy in free fall, but with his poll numbers sliding and election just months away to resume a treasured past time.

>> i hope we can do rallies. it's great for spirit and a lot of things. >> but trump has acknowledged it is the governors who are the authorities when it comes to reopening society. >> governors will be empowered to tailored approach that meets the diverse circumstances of their own states. every state is very different. >> reporter: and many of those governors from both parties say it won't be safe to reopen until the trump administration extends them one critical lifeline. more help is needed from the federal government on testing. >> we simply don't have enough test kids. >> we're doing the best we can with what we've got. >> the president doesn't want to help on testing. >> reporter: trump fired back and called the governors complain complainers. >> they don't want to use all the capacity we've create. the governors know, that the democrat governors know that.

they're the ones complaining. >> republican governors are sounding the alarm too. >> to push this off to say the governors have plenty of testing and they should just get to work on testing, somehow we aren't doing our job is absolutely false. >> just a day after trump sent tweets urging his supporters to liberate states, protesters have disregard social distancing measures while millions more heed the experts' advice is stay at home. s i just think that some of the governors have gotten carried away. >> reporter: offering only blame instead of the assistance the governors say they desperately need. already we're starting to see one state planning to reopen some things this week. according to the charleston south carolina paper, the governor there is expected to announce tomorrow that beach goers and visitors have have

access to rivers and lakes and retail stores will be allowed to accept customers purchasing clothing, jewelry, and furniture according to the new order. a new poll by nbc news and "the wall street journal" shows most american voters, 58%, are worried the government will loosen stay-at-home restrictions too soon. and that is compared with 32% who are more concerned the u.s. will take too long to loosen restrictions which will harm the economy. well, the united kingdom's government is slamming a "sunday times" article that says british prime minister boris johnson didn't attend five coronavirus meetings in january and february. a spokesman is refuting claims the government missed key opportunities to slow the pandemic and said it started to act as soon as it was alerted to a potential outbreak of coronavirus. well, here to discuss all this is cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson.

nic, good to see you. and of course like the united states, the uk is being criticized for its slow response to this coronavirus pandemic. how damaging is all this, and how is the uk government pushing back on this damning report in the "sunday times." >> it's quite unprecedented really which shows how the system has been felt and how strongly they believe that the article is wrong. they've broken it down into what the claim is and what their response is and there were over ten points the government chooses to pick apart. it says the prime minister was at the helm of the government, that the government was doing everything that it should have been doing, that it was having the appropriate meetings with the appropriate meetings in charge, the cobra meetings, the five critical important meetings the prime minister didn't attend. the government said nothing was done wrong but it was on the ball that it was preparing the country for the pandemic. there is a credibility gap here,

and there continues to be a credibility gap and it continues to be made worse by some of the things that government ministers are saying, the current sort of test of that credibility, if you will, particularly for the front line doctors and nurses is that going into this week there was a critical and acute shortage, government words, of vital personal protective equipment in some hospitals, the fluid repellant aprons desperately short supply. some hospitals expected to run out. the government said extraordinary circumstances, we're trying really hard but you're going to have to reuse some of the equipment. then on saturday government minister said there is delivery of this equipment, 400,000 coming from turkey over the weekend. they'll be here in time. 84 tons of medical personal protective equipment coming from turkey over the weekend. it didn't materialize. so, you have this current credibility gap that the

government is saying things that they can't deliver on, and that sort of fundamental understanding that if the government as this newspaper article charges wasn't on the ball properly, this explains in part why there are such shortages in this personal protection equipment at the moment. the government says while everyone is trying to buy this equipment on the global mark, the thrust of the article is if the government was better prepared it would have been ahead of the curve in going to the big suppliers before a lot of other countries stepped up to replenish their stocks as well. >> many thanks, nic. weeks into the lockdown, many governments looking at how and when to safely get things back to normal. but in countries like the u.s. and the uk, essential steps like proper medical testing and constant contact tracing have been lacking. and i want to discuss this further with dr. richard

darrwood in london. good to have you with us. >> hi there. >> it has to be said that both the u.s. and the uk have dropped the ball when it coms to testing citizens for covid-19, unage for whatever reason to offer extensive coronavirus testing and contact tracing. why have these two nations failed so miserably to do this, and why is extensive testing so important during a pandemic? >> well, it is just so hard to ramp this up from nothing to the kind of level that is needed now. i mean, there are essentially two kinds of tests. there are the tests they use to tell if the virus is actually present. we've seen big increases in capacity and speed with which these tests can be done, but we're nowhere near the volume that's required.

and to create this out of almost nothing is very hard. we've got to -- i'm just not sure whether governments, any government really, has got the skill set that's needed. it's not just the production of these tests. it's the management, the implementation, the handling, the results, what you do with the information, how you interpret it, how you react to it. these are skills that take a long time to hone. and i'm not sure that government as it stands is capable of managing that. i think what's needed rather than constantly looking back at what we could have done better and how things were done wrong and to develop a coherent plan for what can be done moving forward to get us out of this mess. and i think what it was is a much more collaborative involvement in experts outside

of government, in the medical sector, in public health n business, in the supply chain, the whole mass of skills at this moment of lockdown are sitting idle. we've got the brain power and the ability to bring lots of people together to help manage this crisis. we can't expect that people -- civil servants, politicians -- have innately got the skills to handle this kind of crisis. >> the only problem with that is we have seen germany do it, taiwan, australia, new zealand, so many other countries have been able to do this. but if the united states and the uk don't have extensive testing and contact tracing in place, then how wise is it to open up the country as the u.s. is preparing to do despite having the highest death toll in the world at more than 40,000 right now? >> yes, the countries you mentioned have done this from a

base of being much better prepared and having the different systems. i think that in that respect, what we need to be able to do is to watch what they've done and to learn from the experience of other countries as the situation evolves. it is very hard for us, you know, to watch them emerge from lockdown and think we can just do the same without putting in place much more by way of testing and infrastructure to deal with that. and i think also there's a problem because we've had a certain period of lockdown and, you know, i think what's happening in the u.s. shows you've got to find a way to carry the public with you on this. you've got to make a good case for the lockdown continuing. and you need scientific input that people can trust and follow. and that's really the only way, improving the level of testing and the eququality of tests ande

antibody tests. we really are at a very early level to know what those tests mean and how best to use them. >> you make a very good point about taking people with you. you may have seen pictures and videos of proest thors out on the streets in michigan and other states pushing to get the country opened up and rejecting stay-at-home orders all in response to tweets from president trump calling on these same protesters to liberate themselves against his own administrations' recommendations. so, as a doctor, what are your thoughts when you see those protesters shoulder to shoulder ignoring calls to social distance, protesting in the midst of a pandemic? >> it's all very deeply depressing. i think the other thing that people may not realize looking at the united states is we think of the united states as one country. but the circumstances in each state and each city are entirely different. you can't compare new york to

rural midwest. each of these states that are different points in curve, and that's why a lot of expert advice and opinion needs to be sought and we need a collaborative approach to inform each state of where they are and what needs to be done and appealing to the populous in this way i think is incredibly counterproductive. >> you're absolutely right. dr. richard darrwood, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your insight. >> thank you. >> so, is it possible to have had the coronavirus and not known about it? antibody tests could hold the answer to that. but are they reliable? cnn's team in italy tried one out, and we'll show you the results. that's next.

welcome back, everyone. in europe, a few more countries are starting to ease some of the restrictions they imposed to contain the coronavirus. starting today, germany is allowing smaller shops to reopen as long as they follow hygiene plans. officials say the number of new

infections has been falling, and it's given them the chance to slowly restart the economy. similarly, neighboring denmark is lifting some of its own restrictions. small businesses like salon, chiropractors, and driving schools are now allowed to resume operations. and italy is now looking to adopt antibody tests designed to see if someone has had the virus in the past. the quick test could be key to reopening the country. there are questions about their reliability. cnn's ben wedeman and his team tried one of the tests under consideration with mixed results. >> just three drops of blood aren't enough for a chinese made antibody test for the coronavirus now going through a trial run in italy, just one of several tests being examined by the italian government. other countries have had mixed success with such

quickly-designed tests, but we gave it a try. we were up in the north of italy in the red zones for 17 days, so we are very anxious to see the results of this test. unlike swabs, this test gives results in just 8 minutes. the results, says doctor john dominic can tell us three things, either that you never had anything or that you are currently infect or that you had the infection and overcame it and have antibodies and are no longer contagious. i received a clean bill of health. >> nothing.

>> negative. >> negative. >> and never had it? >> no. >> never had it? alfredo who drove us all over northern italy for two weeks, also negative. cnn veteran camera man al san droe had a different result. positive, he had the virus in the past and has brilliantly overcome it. alesandro never had any symptoms. but our bodies can't take time to produce antibodies, so

experts caution these tests may miss some recent surnt infections unlike the more current swab tests which should be able to detect whenever someone is shedding the virus. antibody tests like the one i got -- quick, painless, and inexpensive, just under $20 -- can show who's already been infected with covid-19 and may be immune to the virus. a critical step as italy shifts into phase two, the phase when the country reopens. deputy health minister who caught the virus and has since recovered says such tests will initially focus on critical sectors before becoming widespread. >> who is working in the health system should do the test. who is working for families should do it. plus i will check the population, especially the north. >> the number of new coronavirus

cases in italy is slowly declining, but the daily death toll remains high. while the international monetary fund warns the country's gross domestic product could plummet by more than 9% this year, striking a balance between the economy and public health will not be easy. ben wedeman, cnn, rome. well, turkey has surpassed china in the number of reported coronavirus cases. the turkish health ministry reported almost 4,000 new cases sunday, bringing their total to more than 86,000. the country had already overtaken iran for the most cases in the middle east. and cnn's arwa damon joins me now from istanbul to talk about this. good to see you, arwa. what's turkey's government doing in response to this increase in coronavirus cases with a death

toll of almost 2,000 people now. >> at the moment, rosemary, they haven't actually changed the restrictions that they have in place. and here's a summary of what those restrictions are. if you are under 20 or over 65, you're under a full curfew. you're not allowed to go out. on weekends only, that curfew applies to the entire population in 31 provinces. so, about 3/4 of turkey's population. but the problem they're facing right now is that the weather is getting nicer. so, on friday, for example, before this curfew went into place, some areas were packed. and yes people were wearing face masks, but they weren't necessarily paying that much attention to the social distancing measures. and turkey has been reluctant to implement a full-on curfew that would apply to everyone during the week as well because like so many other cup countries, it's trying to balance itself between taking precautions, implementing

restrictions, but also trying to salvage what it can of the economy. but experts are saying with the kind of growth that turkey is exhibiting in terms of confirmed coronavirus cases, these types of measures may not be sufficient at this stage. the country may find itself in a rather precarious position as others have as well that tried to save their economies while trying to protect the population. now, at this stage -- and this is good news for turkey -- its hospitals are not overwhelmed. there is still plenty of room in the icus. there are plenty of beds that are available in covid wards. many hospitals responding very quickly to this crisis. and they're not facing, unlike other countries the united states and countries in europe a shortage of personal protective equipment. they don't have a shortage in life saving medical gaer. but doctors we spoke to said

from the get go they have been warning the government they need to implement more severe measures. they're ready for an influx up to the a certain degree should that happen. of course they hope that it's not going to. but at the same time, there is this sense that maybe the government is going to have to do something stricter. right now they're gambling that their partial lockdown strategy is going to work, but rosemary, it's a very risky gamble. >> absolutely. arwa damon bringing us up to date on the situation in turkey. many thanks. the pandemic's impact on the oil market is deepening. with demand all but gone, u.s. crude prices have plunged to levels not seen in decades. and canada has just seen one of the worst killing spree's in its history. we'll bring you the latest on the shooting rampage in nova scotia. . that's ahead. when we need to sy apart to stand together,

we've built new tools to make and individually ship custom gear to group members, and soon, we'll stand together, together again. visit customink.com today. i got this mountain bike for only $11. dealdash.com, the fair and honest bidding site. an ipad worth $505, was sold for less than $24; a playstation 4 for less than $16; and a schultz 4k television for less than $2. i won these bluetooth headphones for $20. i got these three suitcases for less than $40. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save.

there are times when our need to connect really matters. to keep customers and employees in the know. to keep business moving. comcast business is prepared for times like these. powered by the nation's largest gig-speed network. to help give you the speed, reliability, and security you need. tools to manage your business from any device, anywhere. and a team of experts - here for you 24/7. we've always believed in the power of working together. that's why, when every connection counts... you can count on us.

welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom" and i'm rosemary church. updating head lipos on the coronavirus, the u.s. has more than 3/4 of a million confirmed cases and more than 40,000 deaths. that's according to johns hopkins university. both figures, by far the highest in the world. president donald trump says he will compel a company to make more swabs for testing. he's also pushing back on the nation's governors saying they have ample testing capacity for some states to start reopening

their economies sooner than later. and as the pandemic batters the economy, u.s. business leaders insist they need more testing to reopen and bring back lost jobs. president trump opened his sunday briefing by discussing the negotiations on capitol hill saying a deal on funding small businesses could be announced by monday. >> we're continuing to negotiate with the democrats to get our great workers and small businesses all over the country taken care of. i think we -- we're getting close to a deal. could happen. could happen. a lot of good work has been going on. and we could have an answer tomorrow. >> cnn's vanessa yolk vich shows us the toll taken on small business owners. >> everything was just prospering and just growing. >> everything was really good. >> business was great.

>> reporter: but then for these small business owners it all came crashing down. like many businesses around the country, covid-19 changes everything. >> it was like apocalyptic. >> was the scariest day ever. >> americans who are self-employed, gig workers can now apply for unemployment. anna castillo is one of them. her family owns a cruise parking lot in miami, but with no cruises, it's zero. >> my parents put blood, sweat, and tears into making something of themselves, but safe cruise parking was built from their savings from every penny they worked for. >> business is slow in atlanta. as a single mom to a 9-year-old, she's the family's breadwinner. she hasn't heard back about her unemployment, and her rainy day fund is drying up.

>> sticking to the bear minimum, i would say the end of april, first two weebs of may, that will be gone. >> christopher payne is in the same boat. >> the bills don't stop between now and then and the money is running out. >> his gaming shop in north carolina is a month away from shutting down. >> i applied for the ppp, the idle loan, the grant, and also unploumt. nothing has worked out at this point. >> with the back up in unemployment processing, payne believes he's weeks away from a check. >> if the unemployment came through i would be able to turn all that money into money i would use for my business. >> 43% of small business owners say they have less than 6 months until they'll close because of covid-19 according to a survey by the u.s. chamber of commerce. for some, the pure will to survive could be enough. >> failing is not something that's in my radar or even in the back of my mind when it comes to my business.

i know i won't be that 40% to 50%. >> for others, the wound may be too deep. >> it's not just like the business, it's like the people behind it and everything that they do to provide a service to you and to make a living themselves. just support your local businesses. >> cnn, new york. and u.s. futures are down suggesting wall street may not be able to extend last week's rally. investors are waiting some big earnings reports this week from companies like delta and netflix and of course are hoping that small business relief we mentioned comes through. and u.s. oil prices have plunged to lows not seen in more than two decades. the collapse in demand appears to be outweighing last week's agreement by opec+ to slash production. now john defterios is in abu dhabi. he joins us live.

always good to see you, john. do we need to accept that in the midst of a pandemic supply and demand are going to be out of kilter? >> i think out of kilter is the perfect way to describe it, rosemary. if you go back to 2008, we had record prices of 147 tl$147 a b and they plunged to $30 a barrel because of correction in demand in the second half of the year due to the financial crisis. this is a much worse situation. if you look at prices today, it's most acute in the united states because the spread between the u.s. benchmark and international benchmark is around $12 a barrel. we have oversupply of half a billion barrels. it ended the price war last week. donald trump took a victory lap saying we've solved the problem, but here is the real problem. they're cutting 10 million barrels a day starts may 1st through the end of the year. it'll be a huge correction. they're going to take out 2

billion barrels. but they've dropped three times that amount. you can't cut fast enough to make up for the oversupply in the market today. and you're 100% correct. it's all due to the pandemic. >> and john, what will this sell off mean for the u.s. oil patch this year and next, of course? >> well, there's a bit of irony because the u.s. was the number one producer, projected to hit 13 million barrels a day in the first quarter. we had prices at $65 a barrel due to tensions with iran. then they plummeted because of the pandemic right now. they're probably going to lose barrels a day in production in 2020. they'll probably lose 140 companies in the oil patch this year and another 400 companies in 2021, rosemary. and it takes a while to correct. i was suggesting 2 billion barrels between may 1st and the end of the year by opec+, another three to four by the united states.

it'll take 2 1/2 barrels off the mark. >> it is such a domino effect in the midst of this pandemic. john defterios joining us live from abu dhabi. many thanks. police say at least 16 people are dead after a horrific shooting rampage in nova scotia. it began late saturday night in a small town. the suspected gunman led police on a chase that ended in enfield on sunday morning. canadian prime minister justin trudeau says the government will help the people of nova scotia recover from this tragedy. >> my hearts go out to everyone affected in what is a terrible situation. i want to thank the police for their hard work and the people for cooperating with authorities. >> police say the suspect's motive remains unclear at this

time. cnn's paula newton has more now from ottawa. >> reporter: police really describe this as a reign of terror that went on more than 12 hours. the 911 calls started to come in late saturday night. police went to one property and saw several victims insioux id and outside the property. at the same time, they saw lots of fires if that area and other areas, in some cases dozens of miles apart. they were trying to attend all of these multiple crime scenes. at the same time there was a man hunt on for a local businessman. people say they had no indication that anybody would try and attempt this kind of a rampage in what is really a rural and very quiet community. the man hunt continued throughout the night. people terrified already, already in lockdown, were told to really barricade themselvess in a basement if they had one and to look out for this man. he was said to be perhaps

wearing some type of an rcmp uniform, a police uniform, and perhaps in a police car. police point out this means these acts were premeditated. they also say in terms of the victim thals he may have known some of them but others the acts looked senseless and absolutely random. they finally tracked the suspect down at a gas station. they won't say how he died but do confirm he is decease. the heartbreak will be coming in the next few days. but one personal already, constable heidi stevenson, mother of two. people trying to mourn, just trying to process this, certainly one of canada's worse mass killings in history and a national tragedy and so difficult for the country to

cope with given what so many are already dealing with. paula newton, cnn, ottawa. the united states is condemning the arrest of 15 well-known pro-democracy leaders in hong kong. you're seeing one of them here. the lawmakers and activists were arrested for their alleged involvement in some of the antigovernment protests that swept the city last year. cnn is live in hong kong. she joins us now. why is hong kong's government focusing on the arrest of these pro-democracy activists in the midst of a pandemic, and how is this being viewed there? >> rosemary, you're right. the timing remarkable. amid the pandemic there was sweeping arrests taking place, 15 high profile pro-democracy activists have been arrested on charges of taking part of unauthorized gathering during

the 2019 hong kong protests. 81-year-old martin lee, a man known as the father of democracy. he is the founder of the democratic party, also jimmy lie as seen on your screen. he is publisher of the apple daily, a publication known for being critical of the chinese government as well as hong kong. also opposition lawmakers like albert ho. earlier today i spoke to martin lee for his reaction to his and the other 14 arrests. >> i was hoping that it will come because i don't want to be left out when so many young people are arrested and many have friends arrested without me joining them. i've been fighting for democracy in a peaceful way for 30 odd years. i believe the way forward is to

continue to ask the chinese government to simply carry out it's promise to hong kong and to the national community not just the british government in 1984 which is to hong kong people be martyrs of our own house. >> why are these arrests taking place now? another well known pro democracy activist here took to twitter to say he believes china was acting under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic to clamp down on democratic movements here in hong kong. on that point, martin lee told me he believed the hong kong government was advised to perceive the virus at a time when countries were busy dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. as for the government itself, they have issued a statement saying investigations will proceed. prosecutions will be made free from any interference. >> the timing very questionable.

kristie lu stout bringing that live report from hong kong. many thanks. remarkable story of hope in the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak. ahead one doctor turned patient shares his recovery story and the medicine that saved his life. paying an arm and a leg for postage. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go. our costs for shipping were cut in half. just like that. shipstation. the #1 choice of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 months free. shipstation. the #unlike ordinary of onlwmemory supplementsr? 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.

my sister moving differently, i didn't know what was happening. she said it was like someone else was controlling her mouth. her doctor said she has tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medication she takes for her depression. her ankles would also roll and her toes would stretch out. i noticed she was avoiding her friends and family. td can affect different parts of the body. it may also affect people who take medications for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. she knows she shouldn't stop or change her medication, so we were relieved to learn there are treatment options for td. - if this sounds like you or someone you know, visit talkabouttd.com to sign up to receive a personalized doctor discussion guide to help start a conversation with your doctor about td. you'll also be able to access videos and a free brochure that show the different movements of td. visit talkabouttd.com or call to learn more. - we were so relieved to learn there are treatments for td. - learn more at talkabouttd.com.

this virus is testing all of us. and it's testing the people on the front lines of this fight most of all. so abbott is getting new tests into their hands, delivering the critical results they need.

and until this fight is over, we...will...never...quit. because they never quit. to get back to normal -- taking a walk, grabbing coffee with friends -- the world needs a vaccine for the coronavirus. on sunday, the american president announced a new program to help speed that effort along. as well as looking for a vaccine, there's a hunt for effective treatments that could be available almost immediately. cnn's elizabeth cullen explains where we stand on that. >> it seems to be president trump's favorite drug. >> i think it could be something really incredible. >> it's hydroxychloroquine and early study results suggest it

might not work and it could cause heart problems. thursday the ed had of the u.s. food and drug administration told "the washington post" that he doesn't feel political pressure to push this drug forward as a treatment for covid-19. >> i can promise the american people that fda will use science and data to drive our decisions always. >> and there are other drugs being studied to see if they might work against the novel coronavirus. on thursday, in just one day, nearly 40 new clinical trials to study treatments for covid-19 better registered here. biotech company announced that the fda had been given approval to move on. a similar drug kevzara is also being used to treat covid-19. doctors from the university of

chicago discussed how their patients taking remdesivir for recovering quickly but it was literally just talk, not published research. no one knows for sure, not yet anyways, whether remdesivir was designed but didn't work for ebola, will work for covid-19. beyond drugs, the fda has put out a call for people to develop blood plasma. studies are underway in new york and in universities around the country. the ultimate weapon, a vaccine, is moving along at research centers around the world including at the university of oxford in england. they teamed up with an italian manufacturer to make a vaccine, all with an eye towards putting an end to the pandemic. >> and as the pandemic grows, it's easy to feel scared and to wonder how we're going to come out of this.

but remember people do. the majority of patients recover. take dr. arnold weg, a gastroent rolgs, a father and grandfather in new york and he contracted covid-19 early on before new yorkers were told to stay home. he was still seeing patients and he later learned one of them had covid-19. then his condition deteriorated until one night he was in bed gasping for air. he was admitted to the very icu where he often treats patients. his family went online and pleaded for help. they asked for prayers. they asked pharmaceutical companies to make experimental drugs available and for the fda to allow for more drug trials. this is dr. weg returning home to family after being released from the icu, something his family says they weren't sure they would ever see. well, now that dr. weg is out of

the icu and he spoke to cnn's ana cabrera about his recovery. >> the experience was something i must tell you i never ever had the experience in my life, nor could i ever have imagined how difficult it was between the fevers and the shortness of breath and the sense that i was drowning, there was this overwhelming sense of doom that ultimately wound up in my transfer to the intensive care unit where i narrowly avoided intubation. i'd like to take a second just to share what i think really made the difference acutely was a medicine called actemma which is an anticytokine which takes the water out of the lungs. my physicians were eager to intubate me when i went into the intensive care unit, but i had an instant sense of well being after having received this

medication. i think it contributed to my sense of well being to the degree that i was able to avoid intubation. and it was followed by remdesivir that after subsided helped kill the virus. >> so, you heard dr. weg there credit the drug remdesivir for part of his recovery. here's what we know about it. remdesivir is an antiviral medication made by gilead slienss. it's administered intravenously and tricks the slievirus into mimicking its building blocks. it was developed the in 2014 to fight the ebola epidemic and it also demonstrated some success treati treating mers and sars in animals. those are similar to covid-19. we'll continue to watch and see what happens with that treatment. we'll take a short break here. we're back in just a moment.

rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but up to 30 percent less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. an inventive way to practice

social distancing. two young girls put their minds and talent to work. they took to the rooftop to play tennis. their ingenuity has impressed global tennis stars, a former world number one sweeted this is next level. i don't think this can be topped. well done, girls. thanks for joining us. i'm rosemary church. i'll be back with another hour of cnn newsroom in just a moment. stay with us. i'm searching for info on options trading,

and look, it feels like i'm just wasting time. that's why td ameritrade designed a first-of-its-kind, personalized education center. their award-winning content is tailored to fit your investing goals and interests. and it learns with you, so as you become smarter,

so do its recommendations. so it's like my streaming service. well except now, you're binge learning. for a limited time, get up to $800 when you open and fund an account. call 866-300-9417 or visit tdameritrade.com/learn. ♪ there are times when our need to connect really matters. to keep customers and employees in the know. to keep business moving. comcast business is prepared for times like these. powered by the nation's largest gig-speed network. to help give you the speed, reliability, and security you need. tools to manage your business from any device, anywhere. and a team of experts - here for you 24/7. we've always believed in the power of working together. that's why, when every connection counts... you can count on us.

hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom" and i'm rosemary church. just ahead, re-open american rallies, president trump calls it cabin fever. others want massive testing about to kick off in new york. your round of money for small businesses and for the 22 million americans who have recently filed for unemployment, it can't come soon enough. plus, terror in canada. a gunman goes on an hours' long shooting spree with multiple crime scenes leaving many dead. well, 40,000 lives lost to the coronavirus in the united states, and more than 3/4 of