but at least there was anecdotal evidence for the drug helping some people and we'll see if there is any science to it. but let's be honest. the chloroquine thing was a genius stroke compared to this poppycock. >> supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light. and then suppose you brought the light inside the body, which you can do through the desiskin or some other way. and i think you said you are going to test that, too. sounds interesting. right. and then i see the disinfectant. in a minute, one minute. and is there a way we can do something like that? by injection inside or almost a cleaning. as you see it gets in the lungs and does a tremendous number on the lungs. so you are going to have to use medical doctors. but it sounds interesting to me. >> take two shots of windex,

swallow this light bulb, and call me in the morning. come on, man. kaitlan collins had a front-row seat to all this at the white house. she joins us now. what was the thought in the gallery as this was going on? >> one really notable moment was when the president turned to dr. birx and the president asked her if she had ever heard about light or heat being used to kill a virus in a way like this. she said not as a treatment. she talked about fevers that are, obviously, used to break viruses and treat them. in the human body and its natural reaction. but she did not seem to -- seem like she had any idea really about the results of this. she seemed a little confused. it's not clear if the doctors were briefed on this ahead of time so it's really notable to see this homeland security official come out, talk about the results of this, say that it is not something that had been peer reviewed. it was not going to be used -- or they were not going to be

doing the work of seeing if it was a potential treatment, while the president was saying he saw it as a little bit of a vindication since months ago, chris, you remember he was saying coronavirus could go away in april or when it warms up. obviously, that hasn't happened and there are a lot of questions about this because in countries like singapore. so, still, so many questions about this. it was really notable they came out in a briefing with slides and all to talk about results of this study. >> right. the study was about surfaces, though. and what kind of light or other type of treatments and different media you could use to affect viruses on surfaces, not in the human body. and the idea of household disinfectants inside the body i mean, we can't say enough. nobody was briefed on that. there is no science behind that. the only question is where the president got this or what did he misinterpret? so let's go from, you know, the

bizarre to what we actually know happened, in fact, but we're figuring out why. and that goes to, kaitlan, dr. rick bright. is the best reckoning, still, that this was all about him saying things about hydrochloroquine and priorities of the white house that that's why he was moved? or is there more to the story now? >> those are his allegations. he has not filed a whistle-blower complaint yet, but he says today that he intends to do so soon because he is basically saying he wants them to inspect why he was removed from this post because he says he and other scientists were facing political pressure. there was this really notable moment in the briefing today where the white house has really not responded, chris, formally to these allegations that were laid out in this very long, scathing statement from dr. rick bright. so today, i tried to ask the president what was his response? does he dispute these allegations? and this is the way he responded. >> the white house has not responded to these allegations from mr. bright. >> cnn is fake news. don't talk to me. go ahead, please.

>> but he's saying he was retaliated against and that's why he was removed from his job. do you have response to that? >> next question. >> so you see no response at all. there were no other questions about dr. bright. the president didn't weigh in any other times. we have one statement from hhs that we got late last night, where they were saying disputing something that dr. bright did about requesting an emergency-use of hydroxychloroquine, putting it in the national stockpile. his team disputed that today but we are not hearing anything from the white house on this. >> well, i'll tell you, it's interesting. you know, fauci's team put out a memo, i think a day or so ago, about all the active protocols for treating coronavirus. and hydrochloroquine was in there as a net neutral. they weren't advising it or not advising it, and obviously that's a nod to the fact that they don't know enough yet. but, kaitlan, good for you. your job is there to ask the questions. it doesn't matter what you're told and i got to tell you, it takes a lot to talk about what's

fake after talking about maybe swallowing household disinfectants being the key to ending coronavirus. thank you for doing your job. it's great to have you tonight. all right. dr. william schaffner joins us now. he is an infectious disease specialist and cdc advisor. good to have you, doc. doctor, you hear me? all right. let's try this. i got andy slavitt with us, who understands how to put policy at play in the white house and dealing with the public health policy and how we deal with that, politically, and with the public. as the former acting administrator of the center for medicare and medicaid. andy, do i have you? >> you've got me. >> always have a backup. so was i wasting my time shivering and sweating when i was just a couple of sprays of fantastik away from getting over

this virus? >> i only wish that was the answer. i mean, it would be so much easier if that was, in fact, the case. we could just -- some hand sanitizer. but i think this idea of clutching at straws, one day, and having to reverse yourself the next day. you know, it's not a great strategy. you know, the public is actually going to be more patient than he realizes. there was a poll out, this morning, that said that 80% of americans, actually, believe that the right thing to do was staying home. people realize this is a complex problem. i don't -- i think you've got public officials, including your brother, the governor of yonew york, who are more than willing to level with the public and say this is a hard challenge, it's a marathon. but why the president keeps trying to find quick fixes pulling them out of his bag, it just feels like an impulse of his. >> it's definitely an impulse and, you know, look. you have to learn how to cover these things the right way.

and you're not a psychiatrist, which some may suggest is the kind of doctor that would have to take this on. but, look, the best reckoning of why he does this is testing, he puts down, why? because it is a limitation on recovery. and giving this, what they'll say is optimism even if it's completely irrational and farfetched, it seems to be something that's in his wheelhouse. hydrochloroquine. what have you got to lose? try it. you know, that was one thing. that was a little bit risky as it was. but he had to have heard something about using uv light on surfaces, and just made a leap that maybe someday light would be in the body. the household cleaner thing. i don't know what possessed him to think eating anything like that could be a good thing. >> you know, the problem when

you have yes people around you is, when you say stuff like that, they know they're going to get crushed if you disagree with him. they say, well, gosh, maybe, that's an interesting idea. and he goes, see? i've got an interesting idea. and you know -- >> well, i felt bad for dr. birx. you know, you saw what happened, you know e in the sessi you know, in the session there. and look, you want to be respectful. at the end of the day, this is the president of the united states and, yes, he has to respect the presidency in terms of how he acts but you can't put people on the spot like that. i don't think it's fair to do with birx, i don't think it's fair to do with fauci outside the wheelhouse of their responsibility. but also, arguably, not the job of a slavitt or a fauci. you know, for me to put you on the spot when you were in there and say, hey, do you like the way he explained that? kind of puts you in a bad position. >> it's difficult to do. but increasingly, he is going to

have the opposite effect, chris, of what i think he is trying to do. for example, he leaves this impression that he can choose to open the economy or not open the economy. the truth is he didn't shut down the economy. the american public shut down the economy. we decided what was in our best interest. so the sense that our politicians will control things, if we feel well-led, we will follow. when we don't, we will -- we will end up trying to do what we think is in our best interest and be confused. some people will be misled, and i think that's -- that's the scary part and that's the dangerous part. >> right. well, first of all, let me be very clear. i'll have some fun with andy because, look, i'm giving the president a break by making fun of this and joking about it. because fifif i were to take it really seriously that he was making this kind of suggestion about sucking down some windex to deal with covid, it's too absurd a conversation to have. it speaks to an incompetence level that i don't even really want to fathom. so i'll take it as a joke and

just assume that he wasn't joking but it was absurd, what he said. the problem is what andy's referring to. which is people believe what he says, hopefully not about drinking household disinfectant but that, you know what? i don't really trust testing. and i don't really think this is that serious. and, by the way, i think this reopening really needs to happen. and, then, he sends that message. now, he takes a step back on georgia. this is the part i don't understand. then speaks truth. the governor is going too fast. i think loss of live fe is an ie here. how does the same guy say that and then say swallow some clorox? >> i think we probably have a similar interpretation, which is as soon as he thinks something bad might happen, he distances himself. whether that's economic or health wise he doesn't want the responsibility for things that could, potentially, go wrong. and of course, he'll want the credit and claim the credit when things go well. and i think that that's what is

happening in the case of georgia. he felt like it was a mistake. he felt like there could be problems. someone told him there's going to be hotspots so he did the self-protective thing. and, look, that was the right thing to do, in that particular case. but i don't think it was motivated by him having some clairvoyance about the public health crisis. i think it was motivated by him sensing doom, and wanting to distance himself. >> yeah. i think that's probably it. and, look, it's unfortunate that we have to have this kind of political mind reading thing when what we should be talking about are different options on the table. different protocols and plans in place for reopening and how that assessment will go. i mean, that's got to be the biggest concern right now is that, as people start to get sick of the story, okay, they've heard it all. 90%, in this poll, reflect that we have enough information to make good choices for ourselves. we know. we get it now. we've learned enough. i'm sick of this. i want to reopen. let's go.

this is the most critical point for leadership. because, andy, as we both know, even with your expertise, we both want things to reopen. you know? i want to be able to go places with my family. and eat again and live my life. and, you know, and do all the things that we want to do before we run out of time. it's very appealing. and it's hard to get people to hold off on that. and this kind of leadership. what does it do, in your opinion, to keeping the public where they need to be during a very delicate time of transition and patience? >> well, look. we -- we -- we all should have a bit of empathy for all of the public officials. they didn't invent this situation. none of them want people to die. and there's no good choices. and -- and so they are all wrestling, in their own way, with the fact that whatever they do, these are challenging choices. now, i think the leaders that have emerged, that we respect the most, are ones that help explain to people, look, this is what's good for all of us even if this doesn't feel what's

right for you, individually. by doing what's right for all of us, you are going to help the workers in the local hospital. a you're going to help the scientists have more time. and they really explain that, and they tell people what they know and what they don't know, with a fair amount of humility. and when someone calls the surgeon general on something, it's perfectly okay to say i thought that then, i think this now. the public can and should be forgiving of people who say we are learning as we go along. but it's the bravado and the confidence that's -- that -- that's too early around things that we don't know work. that's where the public can get misled and that's where i think we have a problem. >> mixed messages, you lose your audience, at this level. and let's be honest. we are coming out of a huge deficit of trust to begin with. the bright light, though, not to make a play on what the president was saying on shining a bright light. but the bright line in the

situation, thus far, is you have got governor dewine in ohio, republican. you've got governor murphy in new jersey, democrat. you've got hogan in maryland. governor hogan, republican. you've got cuomo in new york, democrat. and they are all in communication. they're working together. they're burying spats. they don't talk partisan. that's been the best part of leadership to come out of this, in my opinion, so far. and we're seeing people respond to it. all these men and women, whitmer in michigan, democrat governor in the 70s of approval. if you're straight, if you're consistent, people will respect the job of government and respond well to the leadership. andy slavitt. a very redoubtable leader in his own rite. thank you for joining me. >> thank you, chris. >> all right. the president versus science on coronavirus. this ongoing effort to downplay the science and scientists. and then, pitch wacky stuff.

why? and why does it leave us? next. these days, it's anything but business as usual.

that's why working together is more important than ever. at&t is committed to keeping you connected. so you can keep your patients cared for. your customers served. your students inspired. and your employees closer than ever. our network is resilient. our people are strong. our job is to keep your business connected . it's what we've always done. it's what we'll always do. all right. let's just get a little context for what's going on now with the message from the top and what it

means for our overall public health policy. we had the president openly supporting the drug, hydrochloroquine, that had not been proven. the research, since then, has been sketchy. but got to stay open. we will see what the science shows. some studies showed some dangers. some showed it's neutral. it was certainly premature. but that was a different category of reckless from what he said today. you know, people use ultraviolet light on surfaces and there are other suggestions to how it could be used in treatment. but shining light inside the body? and maybe swallowing disinfectants, as a way of getting rid of the virus? i mean, nobody is talking about this. this is not about a briefing. this is not about science. but it is about trump's ideas of trying to be better than the science and the facts. with more on this story, here's al al alex marquardt.

>> it's a showdown that plays out over and over again. the president versus science. president trump chooses to, instead, go with his gut. >> this is just my hunch. >> or what he hopes will happen. >> it's also possible it doesn't come back at all. >> the latest episode was saying, wednesday, that the coronavirus may not come back later this year. it was in response, and direct contributi contradiction, to the head of the cdc, dr. robert redfield telling "the washington post" that the virus could come back in the winter and be even more difficult when coupled with the seasonal flu. when dr. anthony fauci took the microphone, he backed up redfield, and set the president straight. >> there will be coronavirus in the fall. >> the other medical expert on the coronavirus task force, dr. deborah birx, also, unwilling to agree with the president. >> a good chance that covid will not come back. >> we don't know.

>> trump has said he wants to give people hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. but false hope can be damaging, even deadly. president trump has promoted the use of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, with no proof that it's effective against covid-19. >> if you're a doctor, a nurse, a first responder, a medical person going into hospitals, they say taking it before the fact is good. but what do you have to lose? they say take it. >> several new studies, including one by the va, say the drug may actually harm critically ill patients. >> so what do i know? i'm not a doctor. i'm not a doctor. but i have commonsense. >> trump's boosting of the treatment was part of the firestorm that resulted in a top hhs scientist losing his job. in a stunning statement on wednesday, dr. rick bright said he was sidelined after he resisted, quote, efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections. bright said he insisted that

money for the coronavirus be invested into safe and scientifically-vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines, and other technologies that lack scientific merit. one of those was hydroxychloroquine. the president claimed, wednesday, he'd never heard of dr. bright. >> if the guy says he was pushed out of a job, maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. >> another scientist the president has heard of it dr. nancy messonier. the director of the national center for immunization and respiratory diseases. she infuriated the president after warning, in late february, that severe illnesses in the u.s. related to the coronavirus were not a question of if, but when. the president got the news as he boarded air force one in india, to head home. he then cancelled a meeting with top health experts about mitigating the virus, after he heard what messonier had said and the stock market crashed. trump's skepticism for science extends well beyond the covid

crisis. it's been a threat throughout his term. from pulling out of the paris climate accord, to ripping up environmental regulations. even disputing the paths of hur kans. hurricanes. >> that was the original chart. >> last september, showing a map of the path of hurricane dorian. the president changed with a sharpie to include alabama. even though meteorologists said there would be no impact on the state. >> the president, of course, is not a fan of anyone whose messages run counter to his. so, after dr. nancy messonier spoke out in february, she wasn't fired but she was no longer allowed to speak on behalf of the cdc about coronavirus. we should note that the cdc hasn't held one of their own press briefings since last month. instead, the cdc now participates in the coronavirus task force briefing at the white house, which of course is now led daily by president donald trump. alex marquardt, cnn, washington. >> our thanks to alex for doing

that story for us tonight. and remember, look, i know everything's heavy right now. this is all so scary. i am having a little fun with this because why? there's no question. don't try to make it okay. all right. don't flood me with these explanations. oh, but the homeland security guy said use uv light to kill the virus, and people use bleach. yeah, on surfaces. on surfaces, they use those things. there was no discussion about the body. and doing those things to the body. this idea of one upping him, that trump has an instinct about how to sell it bigger, does not make it okay. why? well, one, there's no basis in fact or science. two, we need our leaders to reflect our best understandings right now. why? because there's a lot of irrational wants right now. how do you counter, for instance, what's about to happen in georgia? it is a premature opening. yes, the president has said the right thing. but what kind of credibility does he carry when he says something like that? and leads us to our next

question. how likely are the consequences, negative consequences, from reopening too soon there? let's bring in a top medical mind looking at georgia, next. (slow music plays) ♪ (laughter) ♪ ♪ ♪ (baby coos) ♪ (laughter) man on video chat: hey! man chasing dog: oh no no no no! (baby crying) ♪

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all right. here is the latest. georgia's governor moving forward with his plan to reopen the state tomorrow. deaths in georgia, still, have not peaked. more on that in a second. but, to be clear, the state does not meet cdc guidelines for phase one. now, to his credit, the president shifted on this and, now, says he is against what georgia is doing. now, about that study. let me show you the data. look at the curve. okay. when they pop it up there, you see the top of the curve? georgia is not projected to hit the top, okay, which means the

most case growth. then, it starts coming down. still, a lot of case growth as it starts to flatten. it's not supposed to hit the peak until next week, wednesday, april 29th. scientists say georgia won't be able to safely reopen, therefore, until at least june 22nd. so going this early, what does it mean? what are the risks? nearly 50,000 americans have, already, died of coronavirus. so let's discuss the probabilities. dr. william schaffner is here. infectious disease specialist, cdc advisor. doc, you got me? >> i'm with you. we triumphed over technology, chris. i'm glad to be with you. >> it's good to have you. although, i'm sure you got some great lines for the president's kind of misreading of the different ways to kill a virus on surfaces and turning them into ways to treat it within the body. i'm sure you got some funny lin lines on that. but let's deal with georgia. the early bird gets the worm,

doctor. and they're confident that the reopening has worked, and that there are different places where they can do it and they can't let the cure be worse than the disease. and the economic toll is severe in georgia. time to reopen. what are the risks? >> yeah. well, my -- my aphorism is, if you open pandora's box, all kind of mischief will come out. i think we need to remember this is a highly, highly contagious virus. it can make people very, very sick. and it's, also, a stealth virus. it can be transmitted, even though you have minimum or no symptoms. the vast majority of the population of this country, and my colleagues in georgia are the same, are susceptible. so there are many, many people in georgia that this virus could make sick. we need to open things up. that's very important. but we need to do it in a graduated, careful fashion.

not with exuberance but with caution. >> couple questions. the first pushback is, well, we're going to do it smart. we're going to have social distancing. we're going to tell people to be careful about where they go, and how they go. andwe and we're not opening everything. sure, you can get a haircut, a massage, and a tattoo. but we're going to try to do it in a sensible way as possible. does that give you enough prophylaxis? enough protection? >> we need to hear that message as strongly as we need to open things up because i think that there will be people who will hear the spirit of the governor, and what the governor would like to do. cutting corners. and they'll cut corners, also. will they wear those masks? will they keep distant? will people with chronic underlying illnesses and older persons continue to shelter at home and be cautious? will we still have lots of good

hand hygiene out there? i'm particularly keen on people wearing masks. that protects them but, even more important, it protects everyone around them. i'm -- i'm skeptical that those -- those social-distancing concepts will be very penetrant. people will start shucking them off because they'll remember the way it was. anyhow, the governor is enthusiastic about opening up, i am, too. >> right. governor also said, a couple weeks ago, i think it was on april fools day, that he had just learned that asymptomatic people could transmit the virus. could be contagious. and that had been common knowledge, especially at that level of leadership, since the beginning. now -- not the beginning but close to the beginning -- here is the biggest obstacle that i think we face right now. compassion fatigue. that people will start to get more comfortable with cases.

and loss. and even death. because they've been hearing the numbers. the numbers have been big. so when they start to hear numbers that are smaller, they're tired of being -- tired of it. and they want to reopen. and how do you deal with that kind of fatigue in a population? that they're okay with a certain amount of death. they're okay with a certain amount of cases. >> what you have to have, chris, as you well know, is sustained, consistent leadership with all those messages. and you have to oblige the population to do these things. you really have to enforce social distancing in restaurants and in other locations where people are going to go. and you have to oblige people to wear mask is. why should any establishment permit anyone to enter the establishment that's not wearing a mask? if that becomes the social norm, and is supported by leadership, you can sustain the rationale

behind the compassion. and i think you can make it work. but you can't give the appearance you're cutting corners and you're tolerating folks not behaving according to the way they ought to be. >> and, quickly, doctor, people will say, yeah but, you know what, the projections are always gone. you know, it's going -- and you always try to scare us about -- but that's what they say, right? that's the feeling is that you guys said it was going to be really bad. it's not that bad. we did the flattening. we did the isolating. it's going in the right direction. it's not as bad as you think. >> well, it's not as bad as we, first, feared because we did all of those things. and you can't let up when you are only partway there because that second wave that's sure as shooting is going to happen. all of us in public health and infectious diseases just

anticipate that if we go too -- many more people sick and many more people hospitalized and, yes, many deaths, i'm afraid. >> all right. dr. schaffner, thank you very much. always appreciate your expertise, and thank you for the perspective. and, look, we'll watch in georgia. hopefully, unfortunately, we got to hope they get lucky. that, even though they're doing this at a time when they're not on the way down, hopefully, it goes the right way because nobody wants to see anybody getting hurt or sick anymore. all right. you have seen this powerful picture, right? this icu nurse, who counterprotested at a rally to reopen in arizona. her name is lauren leander. and she says she was out there to represent those who are too sick to speak out. what do you think of what she did? what does she want people to know? what does she want to change? next. - [announcer] at custom ink, we believe community

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i love this story, and i hope you do, as well. an icu nurse. okay. she's working 12-hour shifts. what does she do on her day off? she goes and stands silently against shutdown protestors in arizona. and we'll show you her there. silently. and, remember, this is her day off. she's treating coronavirus patients at a phoenix hospital. for hours, monday, she stood, in silence, protesting, along with several of her co-workers. even as some rally goers hurled insults at the healthcare workers who are saving our lives. what a study in contrast. her name is lauren leander. she is the nurse behind the mask. and she joins us, now, on

"primetime." thank you so much for taking your precious time to be with us. >> you're so welcome. thank you for giving us a chance to speak. >> so you're working. you're killing yourself in there with your co-workers. where does the idea come from that, on my day off, here's what i think we should go do? >> you know, we were really inspired by the other viral photos from the healthcare workers in denver, you know, that were going around the internet. and we just were so impressed by their action and just the power in their silence, and what they did, and we said, yes, like that's the kind of action that we can take with something like this. that's what we could do. >> what was your message? >> you know, my message, being a nurse, is just to speak for the people who can't speak for themselves. and to speak for the people in our hospital that are suffering in ways that the general public cannot see. so i'm there as a voice for the

homeless and immunocompromised, and the native american communities, the nursing homes, and just the populations that are just being devastated by this virus right now. and i know those people would be urging the general public to continue to stay home for them. >> 50,000 people have died. we know there are going to be more. we know it's a lagging indicator. we know, all too often, men and women like yourself are the difference between what happens. and what do you want the people to know who are protesting? who say, hey, this is my freedom and you are maesiessing with my freedom and it's been too long, and you're killing my business and you're killing my job. and i should make these decisions for myself. >> you know, i would just love to be able to take them into the hospital with me, and to, you know, put them in a pair of scrubs and to get them to see just the suffering that's going on in the hospital with these covid patients that are isolated from their families, and that are dying alone. you know -- you know, i would

never wish this on anyone, but if they could just see what it's like for someone to have to pass away via face time with their family because they're not allowed in the hospital building, it's just the most devastating thing you've ever seen. and you know, these people are coming out of medically-induced comas after they're recovering from covid. and learning that multiple family members of theirs have died since they've been in this medically-induced coma. i would just love for these people to be able to see the perspective of my patients, and i'd hope it would change their minds. >> and, you know, to be very clear, those facetime conversations are, often, motivated by people like you and your co-workers, who come up with the ideas themselves and facilitate it themselves. this isn't about procedures. we've never dealt with this before. you know, we don't have procedures in place for how to deal with these end-of-life situations, so god bless you guys for thinking with such a compassionate heart. and let me ask you, as somebody who has to do so much of this, what is the hardest part for you, emotionally, in what you're seeing and dealing with now?

>> i think there's two parts of it. i think, emotionally, for me, i'm really struggling because i volunteered to work every day on this covid-specific unit, with my co-workers that are alongside me. and so i haven't seen my own family in, you know, over a month. i haven't been able to hug anybody or have any human interaction, other than my shifts at work. and so, for me, that has been just draining, especially to see these groups of people that are protesting to kind of reverse the work that we're doing. and then, in the other sense, i am emotionally struggling, you know, seeing these people that are coming through my doors, and landing in my icu. you know, i've never been scared a day in my life as a nurse until we admitted sort of our patient zero or our first patient on this covid-specific unit. and i had to run a code blue, and do cpr on a patient who is covid positive, who is my age. and it was the scariest thing i've ever had to do in my life.

>> such a combination of things. the unknown, that it was actually killing them. and that they looked like you? >> yes, all of those things. and i think just that this -- we had no idea what we were up against. you know, i think, initially, we thought this was going to be specific to the elderly or young kids or something like that. but to see somebody come through the doors, who looked like me, that was absolutely terrifying. >>. >> last question, and i know i'm not going to get an answer i like to this one but it doesn't matter. i'll figure it out anyway. what can we do for you guys at your hospital in phoenix? what can we send to you? what would you guys like to help your spirits, to help you keep doing the job? >> gosh, honestly, just to stay home. and to follow -- >> i knew you were going to say that. i'm cutting you off, lauren leander. i knew that you were going to say to stay home. you guys always say that. but what do you need? what do you like? can we send you anything that'll

make it easier for you to help the rest of us? >> gosh. we've had such an outpouring of support. you know, we actually have a donor list right now for people that are bringing in lunch for us every day. so we are very well fed and we appreciate that so much. i mean, if anybody wanted to, you know, make videos or reach out to us on social media or send us direct videos to thank us or just wish us well, i think that would be more than enough. >> done. i hope you understand how profound the impact is that you're having on your community and beyond. crises demand heroes, and you are the best of us, and you are taking care of the rest of us. and we see it and we feel it, and we appreciate it. and i saw what was happening out there. and i saw how your eyes were blinking quickly because it's not easy to have people say hot and angry things to you when all you're trying to do is make them see what compassion and action is like. thank you for taking a stand. and thank you for doing your job

and, please, please, send our regards and, please, stay healthy. >> will do. you, as well. thank you. >> all right. lauren leander, on her day off, 12-hour shifts, with her co-workers, standing in silence. why? because they care. that is us, at our best. so, while we're honoring those on the front lines, let's keep this going with our nightly love in new york city. take a little taste. listen. why do i love it so much? because i love the spirit of the collective. i love us coming together. i love the interconnectedness. i love the grace in it. and i love the reminder that we're not all ugly politics. we're not all ugly division. people care about one another here. together, as ever, as one. all right? let's get a little sing-along

going, next. because they're here working day in, day out at&t is here providing support with advanced services for first responders and connecting temporary hospitals, mobile testing sites and emergency management centers because until their job is done it is essential we all have their backs it's what we've always done. it's what we'll always do.

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all right. tonight's americans the healthcare pros who are teaming up to keep their colleagues reaching for new heights. >> that's how we do in queens, new york. 718 strong. new york hospital they shared this video of dawn jones and kim.

with us. why? you see them in the yellow gowns. they're going around the hospital on the ain't no mountain high enough tour. i wonder if they're getting jackets made. they are going around unit by unit. to spread joy. sometimes the most powerful medicine as the medical warriors keep up the good fight for you and me. and they'll need all the boosting they can get. more than 36,000 people have been hospitalized for covid-19 around new york city. and we all know it ain't nowhere near over. now, how do we deal with this? >> we stay home and fight the problem with science. antibody testing. one of the most important tools that we have to determine if the spread has slowed. right? if you have been exposed, you should have antibodies. if you have beaten the virus. and then makes it better.

how much better? we don't know. the testing has revealed eye opening numbers in new york state. what we can and should not take away from it. next. hey, can i... hold on one second... sure. okay... okay! safe drivers save 40%!!! guys! guys! check it out. safe drivers save 40%!!! safe drivers save 40%! safe drivers save 40%!!! that's safe drivers save 40%.

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all right. welcome back to "prime time." i'm chris cuomo. hard to believe tonight, guess what number we're nearing in lives lost? stolen by the virus. 50,000. put it in context. two months ago we were at zero. and now i don't know if that's the right starting point anymore. i suspect it is not. we know of at least two cases in california of death that happened weeks earlier. and i think the more we learn about where the virus was and the more blood sampled from people in hospitals before then, we'll learn it's been around.

let's be honest again, we don't know what numbers were really talking about. why? there's not enough testing. they don't test people in places that are a symptomatic. even though the transmission is real thing. and could be most contagious before you get symptoms. we have progress. a new model from northeast university. what does it show. this virus was silently infecting tens of thousands of people in new york and other major cities way earlier than previously thought. it is backed up by an antibody study here in new york. i told you we would learn it's been here longer than we thought. here's nick watt with the story. >> the number of people infected by the rampant virus in new york state, the global hot spot. might be ten times higher than we thought.