in that setting you have to own stocks at cheap prices. [closing bell rings] deirdre: thank you both. andrew, craig, thank you for the time. markets had been in rally mode. we're ending mixed on the session. melissa: keeping green on the board. the dow surging even higher as the two trillion dollar stimulus deal is reached in washington. i'm melissa francis. connell: i'm connell mcshane. good to be with you here on "after the bell." we faded at the end. these are the first back-to-back gains for the dow since early february. certainly off the session highs. deirdre was touching on it end of the last show. this threat out from bernie sanders to possibly hold up the coronavirus relief package. fox business team coverage on that and more with blake burman standing by at the white house. hillary vaughn covering things on capitol hill. lauren simonetti and is in

new york newsroom. with news breaking, hillary. we start with you. reporter: connell things are quickly moving on the hill. we started this morning essentially a victory lap in the senate, announcing republicans and democrats on the senate side reached a deal. since then the deal has come off. we heard from four republican senators say they cannot support the bill as written because there is a provision in it, either a drafting error or something put there on purpose would essentially make workers, make more money out of work rather than in work based on, additional money they would receive from taxpayers as part of this plan. >> this bill pays you more not to work than if you were working. very few people are going to turn down a 24-hour dollar deal not to work.

to work for 15. reporter: four republican senators, senator lindsey graham, tim scott, rick scott, ben sasse are coming out speaking against that part of the bill. senator bernie sanders calling those four senators out by name, if they continue to have this part of the bill removed, he will be forced to vote against it, tweeting this, unless republican senators drop objections to the coronavirus legislation i am prepared to put a hold on this bill until stronger conditions are imposed on the 500 billion-dollar corporate welfare fund. how much money will benefit the airline industry. $25 billion go to passenger air carriers, four billion for cargo air carriers and7 billion for those critical to maintaining national security. we're getting more information on the benefits mid-sized businesses have. these are loans that will have to be repaid but 2% interest rate for six months they don't have to pay anything, they get this money if they retain

90 percent of their workforce at full pay and full benefits and if they agree not to offshore or outsource any labor. for small businesses they're getting access to loans to pay for things like mortgage, utilities, rent and payroll. those loans are forgivable paid 100% by the government as long as it is going to these items. we're also getting a little bit of guidance of where the house is at with this legislation. we're hearing right now from house minority leader kevin mccarthy who is saying he against voting for whatever the senate is against them by unanimous voice. he wants voice vote. those who oppose it can have the voice heard. he wants debate on the bill. we learned from house majority leader steny hoyer who said he doesn't have a deadline or time frame when the house will pass whatever the senate gives them. here on the senate side we're kind of in limbo. we're waiting to see when they will actually vote on the bill. this morning they said they had

strong agreement behind. connell? connell: we thought we were there. hillary, thank you. next stop is the white house. blake burman standing by there. as hillary said you have objections on republican side developing this afternoon. now bernie sanders getting into the mix. what is read from the administration. reporter: they were going through the draft of the text, going through everything as you heard from hillary's report there, it is not actually finalized. there is a lot of wiggle room how this might shape out. one senior administration official described this as financial assistance package, not necessarily as stimulus. we heard that a little while ago from larry kudlow from last 10, 15 minutes ago. this is not necessarily shovel-ready jobs like what we saw the last time around or this was presented the last time around during the 2018-2009 financial crisis. we should note, connell, we have

not yet heard from the president today as it relates to the response to the deal that was cut. there isn't any reason to believe he doesn't stand behind it. take a listen here to larry kudlow just a little while ago talking up this deal. >> this is a wide pretty package. we're trying to do the best we can to cushion the economic consequences of the virus. that is really what we're trying to do. >> what is the chance -- reporter: this afternoon president trump took a phone call with 140 of the biggest non-profits across the country. that includes groups like the red cross, feeding america, samaritan's purse, catholic charities, just a handful. the president encouraged them to utilize small business administration loans should they need them. 4:05 here on the east coast. we expect to see the president potentially next hour or so during a briefing back at the white house later this afternoon. connell? melissa: we will stay tuned for

that. thanks, blake. now on to lauren simonetti on the market reaction. lauren: despite the stimulus snag in the final moments of trading, melissa, we have the first back-to-back gain for the dow since the coronavirus began. up two days for 17%. towards the end of the day that dwindled to 2%. a lot of traders are i saying is this a near term bottom? i think we know the answer we're not out of the woods just yet. we'll get a clear indication how truly bad the economy is tomorrow morning an hour before the market opens we get jobless claims. the expectation for this number to hit a record high, anywhere from 860,000 people to four million people putting in claims for unemployment as they deal with layoffs because of the coronavirus. that number will move the market tomorrow. it will certainly get the algorithms very active.

the dowing strong performance today up over 2%. a lot of strength came from boeing. three days now of double-digit gains, 24% today. hey, the 737 max it has been grounded for a year now. they hope to get that certified to fly again maybe in may or the middle of this year. nike also yet 9.25% today. as i wrap it up, i want to talk about target, their march sales as we're buying toilet paper, groceries, cleaning supplies are up 20% but it is costing them a lot of money to make sure their stores are stocked, the employees are taken care of. that is weighing on target. seeing companies from kroger about to walmart put up plexiglass screens so they can protect the workers from their customers. you're looking at one of them. that goes to the psychological impact of what the coronavirus has done to us as americans. while health care workers are on the front lines, so too are people working at pharmacies and

food store. connell, back to you. connell: really good point, lauren. thank you for that. we have analysis of today's news of dan clifton. dan, talk about what we just heard out of washington on the stimulus or relief pack than that's being debated down there. the bernie sanders objection is the newest information. this is reaction what we heard from the republican senators earlier. they're talking about incentives, basically say if you extend people's unemployment insurance, give them essentially more money than they would make if you kept them on the payroll, the wrong type of incentive, that people are going to be fired, and that it will have dramatic impact on unemployment in the country. what is the read how all of this is going. >> let me start from the beginning, basically a two-week period a divided congress has come together to produce a 1.8 trillion fiscal policy package, probably the largest fiscal policy package we'll see in our lifetime. they're doing that in response

to a health care crisis that is the result of demand collapsing. this is in the response to bridge income declines for households and small businesses and companies as we deal with the temporary problem from the coronavirus. because of that context, there are going to be bad incentives in this bill such as when somebody loses their job, we want to make sure that their income doesn't gap. so the incentives are they will get a higher payment and maybe people are going to quit their job and collect unemployment insurance but it is only for 26 to 39 weeks you would have that, because they are temporary problems. what i would argue here, is there is a real push to start to gap that rise in unemployment that warren just talked about. we may see as many as three or four million people that actually file for unemployment claims last week. we have don't really have the luxury of letting perfect be the enemy of the good and this is normal for something this large

to start seeing members of congress on both sides say they're not very happy about it. it is not a question of if this is going to pass. it is a question of when and how and so i think we're moving in the inevitability, we have gotten easy gains here. it will now be a little more volatile as we go you there the voting process and you're probably going to see some step backs but ultimately i think they're going to get there. connell: the other thing, dan, i know this is moving fast by the standards of the united states congress. >> yes. connell: but not fast enough for some in the small, medium-sized business world who have to make decisions on their payroll already and want to see a conclusion to all of this. >> yeah. connell: we had a debate in this country last couple days when we should quote, unquote, reopen our economy, what the timing of that is. do you have any sense how much time this type of a stimulus buys us? that could play into the health care debate too if the economy can withstand things for a certain amount of time? any sense of that?

>> let me make two points here. people are losing their jobs every day. more people are getting hit with the coronavirus and small businesses are shutting down their doors and we're basically playing these typical washington games. so the sooner the better in getting this passed. i would hope that congress would realize that. this bill is probably two or three weeks late already. we don't have time for an extra couple of days. second, on your question about whether this stimulus is going to work and whether this is going to help bridge this, i actually think it is. it is not a perfect stimulus package. it is actually, it is just volume, sheer volume of dumping $500 billion to american households, going to small business, saying we'll pay for your payroll, we'll pay for your mortgage and utilities until we get through this on june 30th, and being able to make sure that companies have the liquidity that they avoid layoffs i think is a good compromise to get us through. that needs to be followed up with a very strong health care

response as we deal with the coronavirus, not only will we be seeing increasing unemployment in the next couple weeks, we'll see more and more cases of people with the coronavirus. so i would say just buckle up. i think we have gapped this. my biggest concern, can we get money out fast enough while we're going through that? the longer congress delays, the harder it will make for us. connell: right, good point all around. dan, always good to have you on. dan clifton from strategas. melissa. melissa: cheryl casone is in the newsroom for a break down how the stimulus package will help the airlines. cheryl? cheryl: melissa, i they wanted 50 billion, remember cargo companies wanted more than what they got. we have 25 billion directed to airlines. only four billion to air cargo. they cut their requests basically in half. if all of their airlines park 60% of their planes, talking

120,000 jobs. even though stocks were higher they were doing better earlier in the session like the broader markets. the airlines around the world, guys, 72 of the airlines have 100% cut capacity. that means they're not flying. compass, pacific coastal, sun wing in north america. focus on big guys. first united. 90% of their international -- excuse me, 5% are flying. 90% are cut. 42% of domestic. american, down 50%, jetblue, capacity on 55%. southwest, a little bit of a better story, guys. capacity down about 25%. alaska down 15%. here is the thing. you know i used to work in the airline industry, was much, much younger could get around easier. talk about the airlines, job situation. not just those in the industry. i talked to many of them. they're at home. they're worried about getting

furloughed. a lot of income crews make in particular they make it because they fly. that is bigger per diem rates they get day-to-day. all the income has been taken away. believe me airlines can cut jobs. they may do that. other point, ancillary businesses that support the airline business. there is problem there. think about the catering companies. the man that brings up the big jet fuel tank to fill up the plane, on and on, cleaning crews. those are separate companies. those are job losses. we'll get initial jobless claims tomorrow, connell, melissa. this could be a piece of a big ugly pie for the airline industry. connell? melissa: yeah, cheryl. thank you for that. those estimates for tomorrow are crazy. we'll see what that number is. connell: especially if it gets up to three and four million. speaking of numbers, 454,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide. 61,000 of them here in the united states. so, as we look at this, a dozen

states now, a dozen, have at least 1000 confirmed cases. massachusetts, pennsylvania, texas, all joining that particular list today but it is new york that makes more than half of the cases in the u.s. more than half of the 60 plus thousand. the latest on the pandemic coming up as we move through the hour. melissa: plus, under pressure but still giving back, how some businesses are offering a boost to workers on the front lines. stick around. ♪ at t. rowe price we've helped our investors stay confident for over 80 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. to be most successful, connectivity is vital. verizon, really for us, has been a partner for years. allows us to stay connected to our 80 plus locations across the country. we use verizon throughout our entire day. it's an integral part of how our practice runs.

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[ applause and band playing ] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ melissa: businesses are offering extra incentives to essential workers amid the pandemic. here jonathan hoenig from capitalist pig hedge fund. he is also a fox news contributor. jonathan, this is so interesting to me. we look at a lot of businesses like restaurants and et cetera, that people are out of work. then there are other businesses like amazon, fedex, the grocery stores. all the things where, you can't even get what you want, you can't get deliveries that you want, because there is such high demand. how are those companies keeping workers on the job? >> they're incentivizing. profit motive.

important for our viewers are keeping safe, as you are. not a question we're healthy or we have a good economy, they're not mutually exclusive, that is symbiotic. we can't be healthy without wealth or economy roaring along. it is not stimulus, not government spending, exactly what you're describing, creative companies, the profit motive. talking companies big and small coming up with all sorts of ways to safely incentivize workers in certain capacity being creative, to come back to work, to begin to move this economy forward. you mentioned a few, melissa. cvs is another one, hiring 50,000 workers. mondelez making items essential for living. >> very essential. >> this is happening, the economy is moving forward. not because of government. it is becauseall these companies getting economy going again. melissa: i mean you want to make sure what they're doing with their workers is safe though.

we talked about, as soon as this started, amazon was looking to hire people, being forced to pay up or wanting to pay up. you give them the benefit of the doubt. we were looking at grocery store clerks as well, offering them extra incentives at different stores, stay on the job, work extra hours. but they have to also put things in place to make sure that they're keeping those workers safe, and they're not incenting people who are sick to come back to work because they need the money? >> absolutely. melissa companies big and small are doing exactly that. they're taking extra precautions. they're vetting, making sure that those who are most vulnerable are staying isolated, particularly now. but just don't underestimate the creativity of these companies. what is freaking out, scaring the market is this top-down approach. look for example, at all the restaurant, many restaurants are selling what they're calling dining bonds.

pay $75 now. you will get $100 worth of food when the pandemic ends. companies big and small are getting creative, staying safe, that is what the economy needs moving forward. not a top down directive, billions of dollars out the door, but people be free, take risks in accordance with their own situations. that is what will really get the economy back on track and confidences back once again. melissa: yeah. i mean we were joking beforehand. i think everybody has discovered zoom, the conference company where you can get online, do meetings with people, if you didn't have zoom before, somebody invited you. my 4-year-old had a playdate yesterday on zoom with their entire class. they hadn't seen each other. it was ridiculous. everybody held the toy up to the camera, said each other es names. when they staff up to keep things moving when this is all over, i wonder businesses that will surge, have a decrease once things go back to normal?

will they too many workers? >> exactly why we can't have central planning now during a crisis, melissa. one ever the advantages of american workforce versus europe it is so fluid and so dynamic. thank fully the government didn't keep a lot of web programmers employed after the 2000 tech wreck. many people found new jobs and new skills. we might see the same transformation with the current economy. we don't know. more than anything, any type of spending stimulus, bailout, we need to be kept free to mack our own individual choices businesses big and small, whether target getting a pay raise we talked about, smuckers has 1500-dollar bonus for new employees, companies move the economy forward if they're free to do so. melissa: jonathan, thank you. great stuff. we appreciate it. connell? connell: we always talk, melissa about staying calm. at the same time preparing for

the worst, and we're really seeing it in the health care sector with workers and especially here in new york. we'll check in to see how some are faring in a city that has become the epicenter of the outbreak here in the u.s. that is next. plus struggling to stay afloat. one expert is calling for immediate action for restaurants across the country. et. at liberty butchumal- cut. liberty biberty- cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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melissa: apple losing gains, "fox business alert." apple losing gains into the close following a new report that the company is considering delaying the launch of its 5g iphone by months. adding it will make a final decision around may at the latest. again, apple really losing ground on that call. connell? connell: see it at the end of that chart. in new york we've been talking about this for some time. the hospitals have become the

story. listening to governor cuomo's briefings, that you know that, there is some concern out there that some of the hospitals in the city of new york may end up being overwhelmed by the coronavirus. let's get out to aishah hasnie who is in midtown manhattan with the latest how doctors and nurses are handling the situation. what are you seeing out there? reporter: connell this is a pretty tough situation for anyone in the health care industry, including in my own family, my big brother, an e.r. doctor, on the front line treating covid-19 patients right now. unfortunately he is having serious talks with his wife, talking about their will, life insurance and he is not alone in this. so many families are preparing for the worst. i want to show you a tweet sent out the other day, look at this, a picture of medical residents in boston holding up the proxies they just signed designating who will make decisions for them in case they're too sick to make

those decisions. sam tweeted this picture out. he told me how he felt as several staff members at mass general hospital in boston are now infected. >> look at the numbers. we know that people will die. we know we have colleagues who will get very i'll just by the numbers. we already know we're not okay. i am feeling a mix of terror and duty. reporter: new jersey neurosurgeon dr. paul sapphire planning on sleeping on a air mattress, so he doesn't put his immunocompromised wife at risk. other doctors are sleeping in garages or temporarily renting apartments. governor cuomo battling people not following guidelines and praising other health care workers. >> they're doing god's work here. can you imagine nurses who leave

their homes in the morning, who kiss their children good-bye, go to a hospital, put on gowns, deal with people who have the coronavirus. they're thinking all day long, oh, my god, i hope i don't get this. reporter: much like we saw in italy, americans showing their appreciation too. folks are going to their windows and doors cheering for health care workers. it is a social media movement of solidarity at 8:00. basically asking everybody across the country to make some noise at 8:00 p.m. every night for our heroes, our health care workers. connell? connell: thank you. melissa, it is really amazing, the other thing we heard from governor cuomo today, 40,000 people signed up, volunteered to be a part of the surge health care worker force, retired doctors and nurses and the like, coming back. they want to help out even with all those risks that she is talking about. amazing stuff.

melissa? melissa: they are really heroes. cutting costs for patients meantime aetna is waving co-pays and deductibles for hospitalized patients treated for coronavirus. the new cost sharing waiver for customers covered by aetna's commercial insurance plans and last through june 1st. connell: all right. in dire need of some relief. a growing number of industries sounding the alarm and the cases of coronavirus have continued to mount and certainly it has been spreading across the country. we'll break down some numbers for you, and what it could mean for you, depending where you are coming up next. melissa: plus, we are awaiting the task force briefing on the pandemic a few moments from now. we'll bring you any breaking headlines from the president this hour. connell: and lending a hand to those on the front lines. uber and hertz both announcing they will provide free or discounted rides to health care

workers in certain regions of the country. the ride-sharing company said it will provide 20,000 free meals for those who are responding to the outbreak. when i lost my sig, my biggest fear was losing my independence. mmm... good. so i've spent my life developing technology to help the visually impaired. we are so good. we built a guide that uses ibm watson... to help the blind. it is already working in cities like tokyo. my dream is to help millions more people like me.

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connell: "fox business alert."

just reminder we're awaiting that briefing at the top of the hour at the white house from the coronavirus task force. look forward to these on a daily base is to get an update where things stand and what the plans are. that is at top of the hour live from the white house. melissa. melissa: putting american businesses to the test. the u.s. hotel industry is taking a big hit from the coronavirus pandemic. here now is john bussey, "wall street journal" associate editor. so, john, you know, this is a tough one because, you know, it is sort of the natural destruction when, you have too many hotels out there, they're not all getting full. you know, you don't want to keep people in business, kind of going out of business as it was. at the same time, obviously people are not being allowed to travel. i myself, lots of us have plans changed or canceled because you can't move around with the virus. how do they sort through who deserves help and who doesn't in

this industry? >> it will be tricky, melissa, but i think you will see attention given to that in the rescue package. as you point out, this is an industry, almost a canary in the coal mine, first to get hit. something like this happens, there is a shutdown, there is a travel shutdown, there is a social distancing, stay in place guidance. what happens? no vacations, no business travel, no conferences at these hotels. so institutions like big companies, like marriott, craig and esther, two of our reporters have a piece on line right now. this is largest hotel company. it has 1.4 million rooms around the world. it is getting hammered and it is going to lay off people right away. it obviously will be one of the focuses of the rescue package.

melissa: yeah. i mean it is the same thing, so you see the name marriott, you immediately think to yourself, i don't want to pick on them, any hotel company, you feel like times you overpaid for a room, or you feel like they charged you for something, they have gouged you, but you have to remember there are a lot of people that work at the hotel. it is not just a faceless company that is a hotel. they employ millions and millions of people, right? >> yeah. so, and so look what happening? arnie sorenson sent a note to his staff and he said this, concussion that the company is going through is worse than 9/11 and the financial crisis combined. so 4,000 people employed at the corporate headquarters in bethesda, maryland, 2/3 are getting furloughed or laid off. 2/3 of overseas corporate managers. melissa: already? >> tens of thousands of hotel

clerks and housekeepers, you know, 7300 properties around the world. so this is a major employer. the other thing, melissa, think about this. when we come out of this, eventually we will, but it will take some time, the consumer is going to likely, many cases have been laid off, and unemployment is going to rise. we'll see that the first week of april, the damage that was done to employment this month already, consumer will not be out there thinking, hey. connell: i will spend first buck i'm back earning on vacation. business will be hunkered down. they will preserve the travel budget. maybe some conferences will go permanently online and virtual, because that is what they're doing now. the hotel business will not pop lack very quickly. it will be a long slog for them. melissa: yeah. i mean like you said, it might never be the same. sometimes the way things come

back after this may look different. maybe, in some ways for the better, but it is interesting. john, thank you for coming on. we appreciate it. connell? connell: all right, melissa. another industry under pressure, u.s. farmers, who have been struggling to stay afloat as the virus outbreak has been driving down prices, also threatening labor shortages for some farms. here is zippy duvall, the american farm bureau federation president. one of the things we talk about in other industries as this is beginning there might have been on sort of a cushion in place. the economy was in relatively strong position. i'm not sure if that is the case for farmers. how are things now? >> things are very difficult, just like you said, farm prices have went down, and we were really dependent on the results of the trade with china coming on. that has been slow coming on because of the virus. so things are very difficult

here. you mentioned labor, we're very concerned about the labor we're going to get here because about 250,000 h2a workers work in the fields, harvest fall crops in the spring and plant spring crops for summer. we're heavily dependent on that. secretary perdue is outstanding person to work with to work with the department of labor to fix those problems and hopefully we'll get the workers. connell: how do you do that? because that is an issue. there are restrictions put in place on the border, particularly the southern border with mexico. it becomes more difficult to get workers to come to the american farms that they count on. what type of changes have you been pushing for, what has the secretary told you on that front? >> sure an h2a worker been here in the past, doesn't require face-to-face interview, they will allow them to come back. they are declared essential workers.

so the administration understands how important it is to get them here. we're hoping that will work. h2a program, 92% of the h2a program workers come from mexico. we're still having some difficulties in other countries, out africa -- south africa, jamaica, having different you'll working with countries there. we're working with the administration and secretary perdue to get those issues ironed out. connell: hang in there, zippy, everybody you represent, zippy duval. we thank you for your time today. melissa. >> thank you. melissa: automakers shifting gears. how the industry is stepping up to help combat the spread of the virus. plus staying afloat amid the pandemic. we'll talk to one ceo about his efforts to keep u.s. restaurants open for business.

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connell: so we've seen a lot of automakers really start to step up and they have been using resources they have available to them, their factories and what not, to switch over to start making medical supplies. let's go to grady trimble who

has been tracking this. he joins us from warrenville, illinois with the latest. grady? reporter: connell, they can't make cars right now but as you said they have all these brilliant employees and engineers working for them as well as workers on the assembly lines. ford at one of its plants in michigan are making face shields that you see health care workers wearing to test people who might have the coronavirus. ford says they can make up to 100,000 face shields within a week. they're making air purifyings respirators. interestingly they're introducing vents from an f-150 to do that. fca says they can make up to a million face masks every month. these are critically important to protecting health care workers and first-responders right now, like ones we met at the drive-through testing facility outside of chicago.

these are also supplies that hospitals across the country desperately need right now. >> for sure most immediate needs for us are ppe masks that are worn when you're actually taking care of a patient with coronavirus. also regular masks, surgical masks, gloves and gowns. reporter: pretty much everything? >> pretty much everything that a health care worker wears to protect themselves. reporter: something hospitals also need urgently right now is ventilators. we've been talking a lot about that. here is what the automakers are doing to help out. ford has teamed up with general electric to ramp up production of ventilators and general motors has teamed up with a company called venn tech to do the same. they haven't said when those will be ready or how many they will be able to produce but they are working on that right now. tesla says if there is a shortage they will produce ventilators. immediately what they have done, elon musk purchased 1200 ventilators in china and helped

out in the hot spot of california. a lot of people are comparing this to world war ii when ought automakers like ford and general motors helped out with making planes and tanks this time out this is invisible enemy we're fighting and weapon we use against them are the supplies they're making. connell? connell: especially the ventilators. great story. grady trimble. melissa. melissa: saving america's restaurants hit by the pandemic. here is ed egert reward network ceo. one of the nation's top lenders and providers to independent restaurants. thank you for joining us. as this has stretched out and you have so many restaurants waiting for funding, waiting for the government to get its act together to pass this bill, how desperate is the situation for restaurants right now? >> melissa, obviously it is a very difficult situation for everybody involved. we're concerned about the health and safety of americans across the country and making sure that all of the work being done by

the trump administration as well as governors across the states to protect people, that is important. but the business implications of this are significant. if you think about the restaurant industry, it employs one in 10 americans. so about 15 million people work in restaurants. it is a 900 billion-dollar industry on its own. that is excluding all ancillary businesses that support restaurants. and most of us at one point in our career, 60% of us worked in restaurants at one point in time or another. it is a large industry. it is under tremendous stress, especially the small independents. melissa: so i know that you do a lot of lending to keep people in business along the way. how does this bill impact you? because i imagine that you sort of jump in the short term to help keep people in business, but when the government comes in to back the loan at a much cheaper rate, so how does it affect you? >> i think there are two things to think about there. one is, the actual capital that

we bring, tends to be working capital loans associated with our core marketing services business. we market for restaurants. we help them market themselves to consumers in their areas. the government program is going to be useful for what i would call big capital, so long-term capital for the restaurants to help them come back. the challenge we have in the program it will take too long for those restaurants to receive the capital, and many of them, thousands of them every day are going to close their doors, and they may not reopen because they don't have capital, because these are very thinly-capitalized businesses typically. melissa: right and there are a lot of businesses in the same boat. i mean, whether it is an auto shop, anything you see around your community, like you said would be thinly capitalized. i know in the short term there is a danger of, you know for lack of a better word, loan sharks that want to come in to make loans based on accounts

reefable and the like. that is another danger, right? >> it is another danger but these little businesses are all so thinly capitalized the question becomes, how do you get them capital to get them through the hump and through the short-term period so they can survive for the long term? you're right, it is true aconsiders many small and medium businesses. if you think about it, 2/3 of restaurants are single unit operators. these are actually mom-and-pop businesses that are the cornerstones of communities all across the country and supporting them becomes important. melissa: are you out there doing short-term lending? >> we right now are not, we are doing what we've done to, we give away marketing services product for the month of april. we're giving them all of the access we provide to about 20 million consumers and we give that, we give that to restaurants because we look at it, that is what we can do to help the industry survive

because from our perspective we're been in this industry 35 years supporting restaurants. we understand how important we are as a lifeline to them, as a partner to them and we are there for them in the long run. we'll continue to support them. melissa: yeah. ed, thank you. that makes sense because you want people to know, hey, we're here. order for delivery, market something big right now. connell? >> thank you, melissa. >> in a few moments we're take you live to the white house. we're standing by for the beginning of the coronavirus task force live from the brady briefing room when it starts. new numbers on the pandemic. we'll be right back. ♪

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connell: live to white house in minutes for a task force briefing, cheryl is live in newsroom with new numbers. reporter: troubling numbers, total coronavirus cases

worldwide have surpassed 450,000. deaths 20,000. in u.s. confirmed boost 60 thousand, 12 states have more than a thousand cases. deaths just within above 800 in u.s. -- went above 800 in united states, new york numbers. 31 thousand cases, now half of the cases in united states governor said in about 21 days, it could be an apex that moment where the cases kind of peak. that means that the hospitals in new york area are bracing for what could be a worse case. back to you. connell: yep. that is more of the concern. melissa: thank you, cheryl. connell: the hospitals in new york. we may hear more about that in a moment. briefing, to begin there at the white house, moments from now. the reporters are spread out.

john roberts from fox news in the room. we'lwe'll see you tomorrow. melissa: i'm interested to hear what has to be said. and interesting the numbers of new york, street are empty. david: i am david asman, sitting in for lou dobbs, who remains on self quarantine, we'll talk with him in a moment, we're waiting a press briefing from president trump and his coronavirus task force. we will cover that live. cases of virus in u.s. rising to over 62,000. at least 869 deaths, tonight briefing, we expect president will take up a $2 trillion agreement to provide relief for american workers, families and businesses. there is still no final tex