>> we're going to close down the city playgrounds and leave the open spaces available.

so use the open space in a park. walk around, get some sun, great. no density, no basketball games, no close contact, no violation of social distancing period. that's the rule. >> governor cuomo and others have warned that anyone can get the virus including young people. there is confirmation of that at the state of connecticut. an examination of the remains of a 7 week old infant showed the child had the coronavirus. authorities say the cause of death is unknown. sandra. >> sandra: so many difficult stories to hearing coming out of this. >> ed: thank you, sandra. president trump and his administration calling for new blood tests to determine who may have immunity to covid-19.

dr. anthony fauci saying it would be an important step to keep all americans safe. >> antibody testing right now is not the first thing on our priority. it is something we need to do is testing to see if someone is infected. it is very important ultimately to be able to get a feel for what the pen trance of the infection was in society for a number of reasons. you get a better feel of what the impact has been but also you get a better feel of what the herd immunity would be. >> ed: john roberts is live on the north lawn again. >> to put a little more english what he is saying there. these antibody tests are important because they do not tell you who currently is sick with coronavirus. they tell you people who previously had it. you get an idea how many people were infected, where those people were. where the virus has been circulating. how long it has been circulating and ultimately how

many people have previously been infected and may carry forward immunity to the coronavirus so that in the future for the next outbreak you might not have to worry so much about those people. at the same time some important therapies are being investigatesed to treat people who currently have coronavirus virus. taking plasma from people previously affected in one way. you may have seen dr. granville yesterday talking about a process he has developed and given to the u.s. army medical research institute on infectious disease that binds up the receptors of the coronavirus so it cannot infect cells. i asked dr. fauci about that yesterday. >> people watching television today heard from a researcher named dr. granville who has come up with a potential antibody therapy he has given -- do you know anything about this? >> if you have a protective antibody passive transfer of that could provide not only

protection but also treatment. i wouldn't be surprised if he and a number of other people are pursuing this. it's the right thing to do. >> the president is considering more steps to limit person to person contact saying he is looking at restricting air travel from hot spots like new york, detroit and new orleans. he says it is a delicate calculation measuring the cost of shutting down an airline against the health implications of keeping flights running. listen here. >> president trump: i am looking at hot spots. i am looking where flights are going into hot spots. some of those flights i didn't like from the beginning but closing up every single flight on every single airline, that's a very, very, very rough decision. but we are thinking about hot spots where you go from spot to spot both hot. and we'll let you know fairly soon. >> on the political front the president yesterday saying he is open to an invitation from

joe biden to have a phone call and discuss coronavirus strategy. >> president trump: i would like to speak to him. i don't know him very well, frankly, i think he is probably a nice call. if he would like to call i'd absolutely take his call. >> what about people who don't have health insurance? the president was considering last month reopening the exchanges on healthcare.gov. they have decided to not do that but there are a lot of people who currently do not have insurance or they are losing it because they're losing their jobs. they can't afford cobra coverage. that leaves a lot of people uncovered. the president says he is thinking about doing something about it but it appears they aren't clear here at the white house what they could do about it just yet. >> ed: yet another devastating impact of workers around the country. thank you. >> sandra: thank you, ed. dr. fauci giving an update on the development of a vaccine saying that testing is underway

and any vaccine is still about 12 to 18 months away. >> the ultimate game changer in this will be a vaccine the same way a vaccine for other diseases that were scourges in the past that now we don't worry about. the vaccine is, as i said, on target. we're still in phase one. >> sandra: joining us now is dr. bob bollinger, the head of infectious disease at johns hopkins and joins us now. thank you for your time this morning. can you give us an update where we stand with the first human trial of that vaccine, dr. fauci says we're on track, this is the game changer. how close are we? >> just to clarify i'm head of center for global health education, not the head of infectious disease at hopkins. i think dr. fauci is correct, 12 to 18 months from deploying and effective vaccine.

>> sandra: 12 to 18 months is what we would eventually see there. a lot of breaking news involves the coronavirus antibody test. we did hear from the head of the fda saying it would be crucial in helping protect our nurses and doctors who are on the front line. here is the fda commissioner last night. >> the serology test is an indication of having previously had the infection and now recovering because you've developed antibodies. and so it tells us a lot. i think dr. birx's point about our front line first responders and healthcare workers getting that information and knowing that they have the immunity is actually very important. >> sandra: as we have been told time and time again it would be crucial in slowing the spread of this disease, doctor. >> that's correct. so if the antibodies that are being detected are as dr. fauci

said able to neutralize the virus it would be very helpful to know. and would be very reassuring to health workers who know they have the antibodies and they may have some protection. more inclined to get back to work, more comfortable getting back to work into those situations where they might be exposed again. >> sandra: doctor, tell us why it would be so crucial to identify if a person like a healthcare worker or doctor or nurse has been exposed to the virus or had it and recovered from it, maybe didn't know that, because that would indicate that they can't become reinfected? where do we stand on knowing whether or not you can become reinfected with the virus? >> we don't know that for sure yet. we are going to certainly learn a lot about whether that's true, i would think, in the next few months as we see about the efficacy of some of these new antibody treatments.

for example, convalescent serum or antibodies show they can protect people from getting infected or treat people with the infection that would be reassuring to those of us looking at the antibody test as an indicator of that kind of protection. >> sandra: dr. bollinger, if you could talk to us about the telemedicine side of this and you are partnering up with another company, mocha. you sit on the board and have an interest in it. but this would be crucial in helping those medical workers and front line workers identify their symptoms when they come into work, how they are feeling, taking their temperature, documenting that in order to keep people as long as they are healthy working on the front lines through this. tell us a little bit about it. >> well, it was a mobile health

technology was developed at hopkins and licensed to a company. we've worked for many years trying to develop these mobile health applications to support health workers in a variety of settings. dating back to 2015 this technology was used to help monitor health workers who might be exposed to the ebola virus. we worked with the biocontainment unit at hopkins to develop that app. more recently leveraged that to monitor the health of workers at hopkins. health workers on the front lines need to be supported and monitored for symptoms when they're at risk for covid infection to protect themselves, families and patients. so when we can help them self-monitor and report their symptoms we can rapidly give them access to information and guidance about how to protect themselves, how to access testing and treatment if needed, and help them feel supported and get back to work more quickly.

>> sandra: amazing to see how much invention is happening and technology that is emerging right in the middle of this pandemic. dr. bollinger, you're involved in so much of that. thank you for being here. >> ed: emergency medical technicians clearly on front lines of this pandemic and the outbreak is putting them under incredible strain. resources stretched to the limit. steven reid is an emt in westchester county and a first responder on 9/11. mr. reid, good morning. >> i need to wireless one. >> ed: can you hear me, mr. reid? it's ed henry. >> yes. >> ed: thank you for all you're doing for so many people. governor cuomo has said it's almost like a new normal comparing it to 9/11. you were a first responder on

9/11. how do you contrast what you are seeing now to what you saw after the terror attacks? >> there is a lot of similarities and a lot of differences. a lot of people were affected by september 11th but new york, pennsylvania, this is affecting the entire world. everyone is getting hit hard, in new york and all over america, florida, california, italy. we're all paying this time. >> ed: i talked to a restaurant owner yesterday who said on 9/11 he felt as tragic and awful as it was, it was somewhat contained. we had an idea of what played out and that in this case there seems like it keeps on going and going. does that resonate with you? >> this will be going for a long time and brings up other issues with mental health. this is a marathon, not a sprint. we will have to pace ourselves and be in it for the long haul.

>> ed: the north "new york post" has an paramedic in quens saying it's like battlefield triage. we bring patients to the hospital to die. we know what we signed up for though we didn't expect this. it is very straining. we're all exhausted. how do you react to that and what are you seeing? >> 100% i couldn't agree more. they're not dying in the field. the people are dying in the hospitals. the numbers are staggering and continue to be staggering. protocols are changing on a daily basis. we're not performing cpr in most cases in the field with cardiac arrest. combat triage at this point. >> ed: what's the most difficult thing you've seen? >> the most difficult thing is dropping my patients off at the ambulance base. we drop them off, give the report to the nurse and that's the end of it and that's the

way it is with the family also. they've been given 20 minutes to say goodbye. people get intubated in the hospital, they go to the icu and it is pretty much the end. >> ed: you mentioned something else a moment ago i want to dig deeper on about patients with cardiac arrest. there was a memo obtained by the "new york post" where allegedly emergency workers like yourself have been told not to bring people with cardiac arrest to hospitals. no adult non-traumatic or blunt traumatic cardiac arrest is to be transported to a hospital with mechanical compression in progress with return of spontaneous circulation or an order unless there is imminent physical danger on the scene. the body is in public view, the body can be left in the custody of the nypd. it sounds chilling. >> sad but that's where we're

at right now. that's why we're asking everyone to stay home and do our work. there are plenty of things that -- >> ed: this is what people have feared. the idea you'll be out in the field having to say someone is having a heart attack, i can't resuscitate them because we have to deal with so many coronavirus patients and that you are making those life and death decisions like that. is that what's happening? >> that's correct. disaster management and disaster medicine sometimes you have to black tag people that you could have saved. >> triaging people like an mci. multi-casualty incident. i know i could save that guy but i need to get to the other 20 people. the same disaster, the same type triage. >> ed: wow, truly remarkable to hear you describing exactly what you've seen. we appreciate you talking to us

today. most importantly we thank you for your service and the service of all these emt officials not just in new york but around the country trying to save so many people. we appreciate you coming in. >> do you have a minute for one other thing? operation work 57 is a veteran-run organization support group. they have a crisis hotline. a lot of need for it. cop line, a lot of resources out there. >> ed: say it one more time? >> operation work 57 they run a hotline. hotline is another one. people will need help. i suffered from ptsd after september 11th and took me a long time to get back to where i am now. i know that now and i know i need to face these things. we're doing -- >> ed: we certainly appreciate all you are doing. we'll get the hotline, try to get it on the website and trying to help so many people.

thank you. >> sandra: field hospital is set up in new york central park as you've seen for days now. it is now taking coronavirus patients as the state sees rising numbers of infections. we'll speak to the medical director at the helm of that effort to save lives there. plus the white house projecting the u.s. could turn a corner perhaps by memorial day. what will it take to make that happen? the person who runs the center for medicaid and medicare services will join us at the top of the next hour. a long ordeal may be coming to an end for passengers on board two cruise ships stuck at sea off the coast of florida. we will have a live report on that coming up. >> clearly we're going to be willing to accept any floridians who are on board. my understanding is that most of the passengers are foreign nationals. i think that they are working

on ways to deal with that.

>> my concern is simply that we have worked so hard to make sure we have adequate hospital space in the event of a covid-19 surge that we wouldn't

want those valuable beds to be taken because of the cruise ship. >> sandra: governor ron desantis has been reluctant to allow passengers of the zaandam and rotterdam cruise ships to disembark in south florida. now he says he is open to a safe plan. over the past two weeks nearly 200 passengers got sick, many have improved but four people have died. phil keating has more from port everglades in florida on that. >> the two cruise ships have finally made it off the east coast of florida. the zaandam and rotterdam still in international waters and hopeful that by tonight, maybe by as early as this afternoon, healthy passengers will finally be able to disembark and end what has been a cruise from hell. 2500 people are on the two ships. half passengers and half crew including four children that

are under 12. broward commissioners and unified command works through the night working the details on a plan that keeps floridians protected from the virus and gets all these people back home. one commissioner says it is very close to being a done deal. jim and colleen wing are on board and they live near orlando and should have been home nearly two weeks ago from what was supposed to be a glorious journey around the tip of south america. their son says it has been stressful and desperate for the entire family. >> this is a humanitarian crisis. we have people that have passed away and people very, very sick. much more sick than my stepfather who are stuck. >> according to the cruise line 1200 healthy passengers are on the ships. 45 have a mild illness. 10 need critical care. nine have tested positive for covid-19 and four have died.

the journey has been everything you don't want. two weeks spent in isolation in their cabins unable to leave. the last time they left the ship was march 14. 11 countries in south and central america refused to help fearing the pandemic. under the plan that is being discussed and could be agreed upon this morning, all of the healthy passengers would get off the ships first wearing masks, straight into sanitized and disinfected shut also and directly to the airport to get on planes and fly back home. the 10 critical patients will be accepted by broward health and taken to the hospital. the 45 others with mild illnesses won't be able to leave the ships until they get better first and meet cdc health standards. sandra. >> sandra: important update on south florida. phil keating. thank you for that. >> ed: a doctor pulled over for speeding but instead of handing her a ticket, a state trooper shows her the true spirit of

america together. we have that coming up. plus amid records set in unemployment records president trump looking to america's futures and the prospects for an economic rebound. maria bartiromo will join us for the opening bell. >> president trump: together we are going to win this war. the sooner we do the sooner we can begin to rebuild and we're ready to rebound and return to normal lives.

>> sandra: the markets just opened for trading over a minute ago on wall street and you are looking at a dow off 33 points after some pretty bad news on the economy. the unemployment numbers are out. we'll get the government jobs report tomorrow on friday. this one showing more than 6 million americans filed for jobless claims last week alone. so the dow down 49 points out of the gate this morning. now joining us fox business network maria bartiromo. you look at this number and this is nearly double what the estimate was for those filing for those jobless claims. and the market doesn't seem to be having too bad of a reaction to it this morning as if this was just expected. >> well you know what? i think investors are expecting the news to get grimer frankly. you know, you are looking at 6.6 million unemployment benefits this week. look at the last two weeks. you total the two weeks.

we had 3.2 million last week. you are talking about 10 million people filing for benefits just in the last two weeks. that is an indication of increasing furloughs, increasing layoffs and people needing help. that's why the president wanted that relief package signed into law as fast as possible and people believe we'll get a fourth package. people are hurting as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the idea that businesses were told to shut down and close operations and stay at home until further notice. this is the numbers that we're seeing on wall street. you aren't seeing major reaction because we are expecting it to continue. we're in it now. the president said the next two weeks will be horrific. it will be that way in the economy as well. >> sandra: meanwhile, maria, i know you talk to people all morning during your show for three hours looking into the future as well. i know that you have drawn the conclusion that you believe that we are going to see a big

rebound when the economy reopens, fourth quarter you are projecting a big economic boom. so is the president and here he is in his own words. >> president trump: i do think once we get rid of the virus we'll have a boom economy. i think it will go up rather quickly. maybe very quickly and maybe slowly. but it is going to go up and it will all come back. i think it is actually going to come back stronger than what it was because of the stimulus. >> sandra: while it's hard to see that or attempt to feel that in this moment when things are so bad, maria, you are predicting a big economic rebound. >> yeah. i think you have to write off the next couple of months. it is hard to write something off when you have lost your job and hard to say things will get better at the end of the year when you were just furloughed. it is a tough time right now, no doubt about it. i don't want to ignore that because these are real people, 10 million people who have

filed for unemployment benefits in the last two weeks. there is reason to believe this is all just temporary. the fact that all these businesses have closed is an effort to get ahead of this virus. an effort to make sure we're social distancing and we're away from people so the spread does not get worse and stop the spread of the coronavirus. i think that at some point, i don't know if it's during the summer or after the summer, the president will make a determination that it's safe to go back in the water and make a determination that businesses should start opening up again. i don't think we'll have the behavior after this is over. i think people will still be leery standing too close to people and getting germs and getting coughed on. i think we'll behave differently. when businesses start to open again except the sharp snap back fourth quarter and 2021. we have to get ahead of the virus first, sandra. >> sandra: you go back to the governor of new york's word,

andrew cuomo talking about the potential for the new normal that we may all eventually see, maria. it opened down but the dow turned around when we were talking and up 73 points in the first few minutes of trading. we'll take it. maria, thank you. >> thank you, sandra. >> ed: as most of the world deals with this pandemic ordinary americans are stepping up every single day to help our heroes in the healthcare industry. senior correspondent mike tobin has today's round-up of america together. good morning. >> in a time when people are hoarding toilet paper it is easy to conclude civility is fragile and gives way to savage re but the people of doing what's right are out there. you need to look for them. as the coronavirus flared this doctor was pulled over for speeding. >> you are going way too fast. >> i had left work and lost in

thought and to be honest not paying attention when i should have been. >> when the state trooper asked her about her out of state driver's license she explained she is a doctor in minnesota helping with the medical crisis. >> we had been issued a number of masks. i felt more than i probably needed. >> he gave her a warning and a handful of masks. >> it was unexpected to say the least but also the depth of the gesture, i burst out into tears. >> in san antonio, texas the tailors at alterations to go started sewing masks. the community stepped up with donations of cash and fabric. >> as long as donations keep coming and as long as i can pay my people to be here, we will keep on going. from what i'm hearing on the news, this is helping people survive. >> in suburban detroit sam

heard healthcare workers were running short of personal protective equipment. within 24 hours he generated enough money to drop 24,500 latex gloves at royal oak beaumont hospital. >> there are still some good people out there. >> sam's donations have largely dried up. alterations to go have produced thousands of masks. combat doctors tell them in a pinch. the doctor is hard at work dealing with the cardiac complications that come from respiratory problems. >> ed: we appreciate that. for more stories of people going the extra mile like that along with information how you can help as well go to foxnews.com/america together. >> sandra: good stuff there. the coronavirus taking a heavy toll on the music world. family of ellis marsalis,

junior died from pneumonia brought on by the virus. his son said he died the way he lived, embracing reality. he was 85 years old. award winning songwriter adam sles, inc.er has died as well. known as a member of the band fountains of wainwrighting the title track for the 1997 tom hanks movie "that thing you do." he was just 52 years old. >> ed: so many stories. new york city mayor bill deblasio asking for more equipment in the fight against the coronavirus. >> we need to build out an additional number of 65,000 hospital beds in the city of new york by the end of april. we already have a tremendous

start. >> ed: you've heard about a new field hospital in central park that is helping, opening its doors to its first covid-19 patient. we'll hear from the hospital's medical director. that's next. plus a new report claiming thousands of ventilators in a national stockpile may not work. some experts warn some healthcare workers may not know how to use them. we'll dig deep on that coming up.

for many of our members, being prepared... won't be a new thing. and it won't be their first experience with social distancing. overcoming challenges is what defines the military community. usaa has been standing with them, for nearly a hundred years. and we'll be here to serve for a hundred more.

but i never had the time and then i tried babbel. - [announcer] babbel, the number one selling language learning app in the world. - you're learning phrases that you can use right away in real life conversations. after just four weeks i was feeling confident enough to have simple conversations in french. (speaking in french language) now i'm speaking french. - babbel, the quick way to get conversational in a new language. try babbel free today, go to babbel.com or download the app. >> we are all working together, federal government, state

government, city government, nonprofit organizations, charities, everyone is working together. when we think about our hospitals, we are thinking about all hospitals together, public, voluntary, independent. all of them. everyone is wearing the same uniform. >> ed: bill deblasio calling for a united front. as a field hospital in central park admits its first covid-19 patient. dr. elliott tenpenny joins us live now. you have a mask on. you are covered and making sure you stay healthy. that's important as well. welcome to the program. >> thank you having me. >> ed: tell us the first covid-19 patient, just in general, how that person is doing. >> doing very well right now. this disease is a rough disease. causes severe shortness of breath. he came in yesterday, started

to be treated with oxygen and doing quite well. >> ed: how many ventilators do you have, then? what's the extent of the operation, how many covid-19 patients do you think you could take over the next few weeks? >> this field hospital behind me takes all covid-19 patients. it has 68 beds within it. 10 of those are i.c.u. beds. they have ventilators to take care of some of the sickest patients in new york. >> we've been hearing how difficult it is for this city in particular, but other cities like new orleans, parts of florida, that are being hit pretty hard. always want to remember what is happening but new york has been the epicenter, we want to remember what's happening around the country and what others may expect. how does this compare with what you are seeing in new york city to what your organization may have been doing elsewhere around the world in places like italy? >> honestly, samaritan purses exist to come along to bring the hope and healing of jesus

christ to the people and greatest need around the world. first that was italy. we have a field hospital there. the second you see behind me. now the epicenter especially here in the united states is in new york city. so we're here to come alongside mt. sinai hospital our partners to help take care of the people of new york. >> ed: what are you seeing in comparison then? so many people have watched what played out in italy and is still playing out frankly this very day. is it worse here in new york? about the same? how do you compare it? >> italy has actually been a few weeks ahead of the united states and new york city. they've been suffering with this, with high death rates for many weeks. we've been able to minister to the people there for the last few weeks. now new york is getting worse but we're here to come alongside them and help them in jesus' name. >> how does it compare with the great work that samaritan's purse under the taout ledge of the reverend franklin graham, of course, have done responding

to earthquakes in haiti or other problems around the world? i know they are different situations but compare this in the grand, bigger context of what you've seen around the world, sir. >> absolutely. i've deployed with hospitals like this, earthquakes, hurricanes, bahamas recently. war zones in iraq. taking care of people all over the world. the need here honestly is just as great as we've seen it elsewhere in the world. just that this one comes from an outbreak. but we remain steadfast to come alongside the people wherever they are in the ditch of life and help them and care for them as possible. >> ed: given the fact you compare it to every -- many big, big crises you've seen around the world, what is your message to the american people this morning about how hopeful you may be? we had an emt on at the beginning of the program saying that he is having to black tag

people, mark them for death even though they could have been rescued because they have so many cases and somebody going into cardiac arrest they can't bring them to the hospital. they have too many covid-19 patients to take care of. people hear these stories. how do you remain hopeful in this crisis? what light at the end of the tunnel do you see, doctor? >> there will be challenges. there already has been challenges. new york just like the rest of the world is in a battle. a battle against this disease. but there is hope. we are here to show that hope. there is hope both medically and hope spiritually. we come alongside to share that hope in jesus christ and to share the hope with new york city and the people. that together with what each person can do, we can get through this. >> ed: which heard that message from the president as well in terms of listening to what the cdc and other medical officials have said. everybody has a role in this.

dr. elliott tenpenny, you have a remarkable role and we salute what you are doing and appreciate it very much. >> thank you for having us. >> ed: sandra. >> sandra: thank you to them. hard hit louisiana meanwhile is responding to the pandemic. how some medical students from tulane are helping out. years. and we're here for you - especially now, doing everything possible to keep you connected. through the resilience of our network and people... we can keep learning, keep sharing, keep watching, and most of all, keep together. it's the job we've always done... it is the job we will always do. did yocould be signs that syour digestive systemwn isn't working at its best? taking metamucil every day can help. metamucil supports your daily digestive health using a special plant-based fiber called psyllium.

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among the answers must be this promise from psalm forty six and verse one, he is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. turn to him today.

>> sandra: meanwhile some more sobering numbers from around the world. nearly a million people have now been infected by the coronavirus. almost 50,000 have died from it as countries are doing what they can to fight the pandemic. benjamin hall is live from our london bureau with the latest from there. >> good morning, yes, sobering

numbers indeed. not least here in the u.k. which has seen the fastest rise in deaths across europe. 30% increase. yesterday alone taking the total number of deaths in the u.k. to 2900. boris johnson has been heavily criticized for his low respond and lack of testing. the only two drive-thru testing sites opened in the u.k. sit practically empty because of major confusion who has been invited to be tested. across europe one of the greatest needs is still for icu beds for critical cases and in france as with other countries, the military is now having to ship patients on helicopters, high speed trains and jets to distribute cases around the country. the death toll in france stands at 4032. middle east iran's death toll is the highest. official figure is almost 3,000. but opposition group mek says the real total is around 15,000

and now they say there are riots and anti-government protests growing around the country and say a number of top commanders, mullahs and politicians have caught the virus. doesn't bode well for the regime. good news doctors in spain where the death toll is over 10,000 applauded after 93-year-old man recovered from covid-19 following five days in isolation. in europe more than 95% of people who died are over the age of 60. >> sandra: thank you. >> ed: the white house predicting if americans follow the guidelines the u.s. could turn the corner on all this. seema verma from the task force is coming up. i just could not hear. i was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair, but nobody even sees them. (avo) our nearly invisible hearing aids are just one reason we've been the brand leader for over 70 years. (deborah) when i finally could hear for the first time,

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>> ed: fox news alert. the coronavirus pandemic hitting another grim milestone amid new warnings the worst could be yet to come. welcome to a new hour of "america's newsroom," i'm ed henry. >> sandra: i'm sandra smith. 1,000 people in the u.s. have now died from the virus in a single day. pushing the total to now more than 5,000 deaths with the caseload now above 200,000. new york remains the hottest spot of this outbreak still. hospitals in the city under siege and pushed to the brink scrambling for extra beds and lifesaving equipment. president trump now on whether people should be wearing masks when they're in such short supply. >> president trump: if people

wanted to do it we don't want to do anything that will take masks -- you talk about a tremendous amount of masks when you do that. we don't want to take them away from our medical professionals. i don't se >> sandra: jonathan serrie is live outside the cdc in atlanta for us. good morning. >> good morning. if you are wearing a mask outside of the medical setting federal health officials don't believe it will protect you from getting the virus but it may reduce your chances of spreading the virus inadvertently to others by catching droplets in coughs and sneezes and speech. if you are going to choose to wear the mask, it should be non-medical grade or homemade. you don't want to deplete the supply of n-95 masks needed by doctors and nurses on the front lines especially in places like new york which remains the epicenter of the outbreak. in los angeles the mayor is

recommending everyday residents wear face kof, when they have to venture out of their homes. he says this advice comes in response to growing evidence that many contagious people don't realize they are infected with the coronavirus because they have no symptoms. >> research shows even a bandana tucked in can have an effect of slowing down droplet spread. these face coverings are only effective will safe distancing. >> in georgia new research from the cdc is what convinced him to issue a statewide stay at home order drafting it later today. it would go into effect on friday. >> the cdc announced individuals can be infected and begin to spread coronavirus earlier than previously thought. even if they have no symptoms. from a public health standpoint, this is a revelation and a game changer.

>> pennsylvania and florida have also announced stay at home orders. they are among 39 states that have either issued or are about to issue stay at home orders and advisories. sandra, this affects roughly 89% of the entire u.s. population. back to you. >> sandra: jonathan serrie in atlanta for us, thank you. >> we believe we're in a much better place by june 1 if every american will put these guidelines into practice. we really do believe that by memorial day weekend or by early summer we can be through the hardest part of this. >> the vice president showing some optimism there that america will see improvement in the coronavirus crisis by the summer despite white house projections earlier this week the country could see between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths from the pandemic.

let's bring in seema verma from medicare and medicaid services, senior member of the white house coronavirus task force. thank you for coming in. >> good morning. >> ed: we hear about all the grim milestones and want to balance it out and hear what you are optimistic about. dr. cuomo will talk about the crisis, the city and the stating is going through. the governor is also always quick to add a lot of people getting coronavirus are getting better. what are you optimistic about this morning? >> well, i'm optimistic about watching americans and everyday life trying to adhere to 30 days to slow the spread. that's what's going to make the difference here. we want to reduce the number of people that get sick. we want to reduce the strain on the healthcare system. and watching americans really try to adhere and to do their parts. neighbors helping neighbor. that's what will make the difference here. >> ed: when we heard vice

president in the clip we want to be in a better place by jun 1 or memorial day after the president threw out easter as a potential reopening of the country. that had to be pushed back because of the health models you put together. how can americans be optimistic when they hear the goalposts moving so often? >> this is a changing situation. the decisions that we're making are all data driven and why we put that information out there so the american people can see exactly the type of information that the president is using to make those decisions. but we are hopeful that if everybody can adhere to 30 days to slow the spread, adhere to those guidelines, that we could be through this and hopefully by june we're in a different place. >> ed: the vice president said something else about the models yesterday. i want your reaction. >> we think italy may be the

most comparable area to the united states at this point for a variety of reasons. and so we built that modeling. >> ed: the images that americans have seen of italy are frankly horrifying how it has played out there and still playing out. so i want to get the full context here and be fair to you. what is the vice president referring to when he says the best model we have for america is what is happening in italy? >> i think that if you look at these other countries, if you look at china and south korea, they had very different approaches. we're a free country and given recommendations to the american people and hoping they are going to adhere to those. in terms of what happened in italy, the strain on the healthcare system, those are the things and lessons we're trying to learn from. we're trying to prepare our healthcare system. some of the recent regulations that we pulled back from just earlier this week are going to have a really big impact on our healthcare system. it is giving them that

flexibility at the local level and empowering the local communities to figure out what capacity that they have in their existing healthcare system and to prepare for that potential strain on the healthcare system. >> ed: when you talk about the strain on the healthcare system, we spoke to an emt here in the new york city area earlier in the program, steven reid. here is what he said about what he is seeing on the ground. listen. >> it's disaster management and disaster medicine. sometimes you have to black tag people that you could save but it's all about doing the greater good. >> ed: you said black tag people you could have saved? >> triaging people. >> ed: yeah. >> kind of like a multi-casualty incident. i know i could save that guy but i need to get to the other 20 people. the same disaster. >> ed: he said that somebody may be in cardiac arrest and they are being instructed, the emts, you can't save that person. we have too many coronavirus patients that you could potentially save over here.

doesn't that sound like the awful life and death decisions that have been made frankly in italy when you talk about that model where these horrifying stories we heard where somebody was older and sicker and they said we can't take care of that person? >> yeah. that is a horrifying situation and that's why what we're doing at the federal level is trying to create a system that is prepared for a crisis. a lot of the rules and regulations that we normally have in place aren't going to work in a time of crisis and strain. that's why we've been pulling back trying to empower local communities. basically telling hospitals you don't have to provide services just in your four doors. there is ambu la tory surgery centers. those could be used as sites of service and we're giving more power to the hospitals to help their healthcare work force in terms of paying for meals and childcare to help the front line heroes. >> ed: this emt is seeing a lot

of people die. some hopeful signs, dr. oz has been talking about the use of hydroxychloroquine. you've talked about it. the president has. dr. oz says he reached out to you and said since you oversee medicare and medicaid if you go through the records on who is using drugs for lupus like hydroxychloroquine. you could ask them you've been using this drug safely. do you have coronavirus or not. it could be a game changer. have you followed up on that? >> we absolutely have and working hand in hand with the fda. medicare is a rich source of data. we can go back and look at what patients were taking what types of drugs and whether they did develop the coronavirus. and so we are in conversations with the fda how we can leverage medicare's data to help inform some of these decisions and the fda's review of the safety and efficacy of these drugs. >> ed: seema verma, you have a big task ahead of you.

tough days ahead. we appreciate you coming in today. sandra. >> sandra: meanwhile cities in the midwest starting to emerge as coronavirus hot spots including the city of chicago where the army corps of engineers is converting mccormick place convention center into a field hospital now. matt finn is live in chicago with more on that. matt. >> this is chicago's mccormick place, the largest convention center in north america and right now inside is being converted into a medical facility with 3,000 beds to treat covid-19 patients. the makeshift hospital has three different facilities the treat people based on varying conditions. the army corps of engineers has taken on the task of transforming the wide open convention center into the best covid standard possible. controlling the air pressure in a large facility and providing hundreds of self-contained units.

we spoke one-on-one with the lieutenant general as a team of engineers toward the progress here. he said 600 sites in 50 states have now been identified as possibly being converted to emergency facilities to specifically provide more bed space. >> i think everything is going very smooth right nou. it is an uphill battle without a dou. you have to be extremely aggressive. this is all about not finding the perfect solution. the entire united states. not finding the perfect solution but the mission essential things so we can do it. >> in detroit a very similar medical facility being constructed inside the convention center down town right next to gm headquarters. michigan is the fourth worst state in the united states just behind california with at least 9300 cases and 335 deaths. illinois here now has 7,000 cases and 141 deaths.

here in chicago as with many other cities, including new york, the medical examiner's office is using a refrigerated truck to store the bodies of covid-19 patients. it is looking for even more storage space. sandra. >> sandra: matt finn on the ground in chicago for us. thank you, matt. >> ed: fox news alert. stocks reacting to the latest weekly jobless claims showing more than 6.6 million americans applied for unemployment benefits just last week. a closer look at your money, the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. that's coming up. plus a look at how contractors and the self-employed who lost their job are getting much-needed help. help of a different kind in the coronavirus hot spot of louisiana. how medical students are making a big difference on the front lines. >> this is going to get much worse before it gets better and nobody should think that we're out of the woods. we can't even see the light at the end of the tunnel yet.

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>> sandra: the new england patriots are bringing protective equipment to healthcare workers on the front lines. bob craft sending a patriot's

plan to send n95 masks from china to boston. this comes after the massachusetts governor announced a shortage of those. 300,000 of the masks are expected to be sent to new york. so stepping in in a time of need. >> ed: that's terrific. coronavirus taking a massive toll on the self-employed and independent contractors. the 2 trillion dollar stimulus package makes unemployment available to them for the first time. >> they're people with deal with in daily lives. hard working folks like a maryland air dresser unable to work not due to work. >> my last client walked out the door and i had a feeling was going to be my last day, i did cry. but as of now, i'm staying busy around the house, there is plenty to do here so it hasn't

quite sunk in yet. the financial fear hasn't quite sunk in just yet. >> adding to the stress her husband is also an independent contractor, piano tuner unable to work. >> just trying to keep an industrious mentality of focusing on what i can do. focusing on the opportunity i have to get some things done around the house rather than spiraling into, you know, what's been taken from us. >> at the end of last week there was a $2 trillion relief package. a big part is helping folks losing their income due to the shutdown and economic downturn. ohio republican senator rob portman noting for the first time the bill expands unemployment insurance benefit eligibility to cover most

self-employed individuals, government workers and nonprofit employees. many independent contractors just want to get back to work but there is some relief knowing help is on the way. >> we're trying to be self-sufficient but this -- it's a very unusual circumstance and it does give us a little peace of mind knowing that we've got a little bit of a safety net. >> part of the stress is not knowing when they and million else of other independent contractors will be able to return to their jobs. >> ed: tough times indeed. thank you, mike emanuel. >> there is no reason to think that louisiana won't look like italy. and i know that's the hard, bitter pill to swallow because that picture is rather gruesome, is not what we're accustomed to.

>> sandra: louisiana governor john bel edwards on the dire situation. the number of covid-19 cases now more than 6,000 in the state of louisiana. now a group of tulane medical students have decided to pitch in by collecting donations of some of the most desperately-needed protective gear for the hospitals there. joining us now is alex woodbridge, a student at the tulane school of medicine leading that initiative. good morning and thank you for being here. of course thank you for what you are doing. how are you stepping in and helping out with the situation there? >> thank you for having me today. so a lot of us tulane medical students were pulled off clinical rotations and wanted to do something to help the front line providers. last week on monday we started collecting ppes specifically n95 masks, masks, surgical

gloves and gowns among other items and distributing since last tuesday to our front line hospitals. >> sandra: what are you seeing are some of the most badly-needed items? >> i would say the masks are the most needed. n-95 specifically. surgical masks, covered gowns and gloves of all sizes, but any ppe or personal protective equipment is badly needed on the front lines. >> sandra: we're looking at a picture of some of the students involved. you are stepping in and also working with the cajun army which we've become familiar with after natural disasters. they step in and try to help and rescue people. what has been the collaboration like with the hospitals, tulane university, and then the suppliers and getting people to facilitate the delivery of that very important equipment? >> i think something -- i'm not

originally from new orleans. but how quickly the community can come together. a great community outreach and community support for this endeavor. the cajun army, chinese new orleans association has been helping a lot among other community organizations. so i think the big thing is once we got the word out, a lot of people stepped up and reached out. and our group specifically galvanized over 100 students with the first weekend calling businesses and local industry. and it just snowballed from there. we're really fortunate we have the support of our dean's office, tulane administration and hospital administration. my group has been working a lot specifically with the hospitals, like you said. tulane medical center but also lcmc which includes the university medical center down the street from our school. >> sandra: having gone to college in louisiana myself, i know how those communities can

rally back after going through so much. there are some grim projections of what lies ahead for the state of louisiana. you are stepping in to help. how has your help been received as a medical student there at tulane and so many of your other fellow students are stepping in as well? >> i think it's been well received by the community. like i said, so i'm a third year medical student and we're typically in the hospital. since we're not in the hospital at this time, the students really just wanted to help. in addition like our ppe drive allows for students not in clinical years, first and second years to participate and we received a lot of messages from providers that we know, residents that we work with and nurses we work with that it's really helping. i think the idea is that this effort is really just meant to bridge the gap until we're able to receive supplies being ordered as manufacturing ramps up and we get state and federal

aid. >> sandra: as americans it is so important we see how all of us can come together and pitch in and help in any way we can. i'm sure you didn't see your years as a medical student looking like this. you never could have predicted this. thank you for what you're doing. it is a big help for all the folks on the front lines down in louisiana. thank you. >> thank you so much. we're just happy we can do something to help a little bit. >> sandra: it's wonderful, thanks, alex. >> ed: meantime new reports thousands of ventilators reserved in the national stockpile are not actually operational as hospitals continue to be slammed by a shortage of medical supplies. we'll get into that. more hospitals across america may not have the capacity or resources to deal with the surge in coronavirus patients. a live report on the potentially devastating impact in rural america next. >> in those small rural counties that have the lowest number of hospital beds but

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>> president trump: we have to have the flexibility of moving the ventilators to where the virus is going. so right now we have a nice pile of ventilators. we have a lot more coming in. >> ed: that was president trump touting the u.s. national stockpile which he says includes thousands of ventilators. some don't work. doctors report a critical need amid a nationwide shortage. let's bring in the ceo of the american association for respiratory care. how concerned are you about the latest report the national stockpile has ventilators that some of them are not working? >> well, we are monitoring that right now. i talked to some therapists about this. primarily what is happening

some ventilators are coming in without stand. you can't necessarily put it on floor. it is important to have a stand. or in the bed. you need to have it on a stand. the other is that some batteries are dead so they have to be charged up. but that's pretty much the only thing i've heard. i don't know to what degree it's happening now. >> ed: let's break that down. how easy would it be to remedy that. a hospital gets 100 of these and there is a battery problem. can they fix it relatively easily in terms of getting stands, could this be fixed? >> sure. i talked to a colleague of mine at new york presbyterian brooklyn methodist today and what they've done. they've been able to get stands in and had them overnighted to the hospital. as for the dead battery, i imagine they can just be charged up and then they should be good to go. if not you would have to

somehow get batteries to back them up. for me the -- >> ed: that's why it's important to have you on. the initial headline suggests it's a real problem. there can be some problems but you are suggesting given your insight and long-time knowledge that these can be fixed and can be remedied. >> i think so. and i don't know to the degree of which this is happening. like i said we're monitoring that. i can tell you that we as an association have been training up respiratory therapists for several years to use the ventilators for something like this. and we continue to train them. we have online programs and videos that we put together to train them on the three ventilators used for this. >> ed: got it. what about personnel? what are you hearing? we've also heard the ventilators are sophisticated. you can't just plug them in and leave the patient with the ventilator. you have to have a medical

person, whether a doctor, nurse, another technician taking care of them. and that's been a problem, a challenge at least mangeing sure there is enough personnel. how is that working out? >> the other technician is a respiratory therapist. it is them that manage the ventilator. we are the ones that monitor and make changes on the vents as appropriate. the team of three that are making this happen. as for the therapists, 155,000 practicing therapist efs in the country. 80% are in acute care hospitals. when you take care of patients in a ventilator you have multiple ventilators you are managing. it isn't just one. we are seeing a bit of a burden right now. we're looking at options right now. we are trying to bring back retirees and bring in students

about to graduate and in discussions with physician groups to see if maybe some of their students who are about to graduate might be able to come in and team up with the respiratory therapist as well. >> ed: i know you aren't a doctor and i'm not asking for your medical opinion. but what is the word in the industry, since you have this knowledge, about what we hear whether or not two or three people can be on one ventilator. what does the industry say? >> we think it's a last ditch effort. there are a lot of things that are very concerning about it. i wish i had more than 30 seconds to explain it to you. we don't have time. it can be done but it is very little in the literature about it. >> ed: absolutely. we'll dive deeper on that on another occasion. great information. tom kallstrom, we appreciate your time today. >> sandra: all right. thank you, ed. we want to bring in florida

governor ron desantis joining us in an update on the situation with those two cruise ships set to dock in south florida. governor, thank you for being here. what is your announcement now and what is going to happen with those passengers with so many of them having fallen hill. >> i think we have a plan, the county, broward county where the port is working with the stakeholders and the cruise lines and coast guard to be able to bring both of those ships in but do it in a way that will be safe for the people of florida. there are a number of floridians on the zaandam. we want to welcome them and have them be safe. there is confusion about some of this. there is probably another 2,000 ships out there. some of them want to come to florida. none of them have american citizens. they're all foreigns and we've been concerned about it as with the coast guard.

the zaandam, we have a plan to get our folks home. some of these other ships out there will be a big, big problem because it has no connection to florida or to the american people. >> sandra: as you know, governor, the holland america ceo is pleading for help on bringing these ships in and getting some of those passengers who need critical help immediately. he said it is humanitarian situation and calling for compassion and reason. what are you going to do with some of those critically ill passengers on board those ships? >> we worked with the local hospitals and i know we have one hospital that's able to take some of the critically ill. they have the capacity to do that. i think it can be done. the numbers won't necessarily overwhelm. one of the main issues with this pandemic is people are going to get infected. it's a respiratory disease, it spreads. we want the spread to happen

slower so the system doesn't get overwhelmed. we worked very hard in florida. i think we have more availability of beds than we've had in quite some time. that's been a lot of diligence. hospitals are working hard. we've done executive orders to do that. we've prepared for this surge and we want to make sure that the beds are available for the floridians who need it. on the zaandam, those folks will get into a hospital in south florida as soon as this agreement is reached. it is the humanitarian thing to do. >> sandra: this is a pair of cruise ships we're talking about that will be coming in to dock a short time from now carrying more than 200 guests and crew with flu-like symptoms. only eight from tested positive according to the latest reports in front of me. many of those other passengers could be walking around with the coronavirus. are you going to allow those passengers to get off the ships

and will they be tested? >> the agreement is that hopefully announced today all this is going to be controlled. for example, the foreign nationals. they will be bused to the airport but they are not going to go inside the airport. they go directly to a plane. fly to canada and other countries. it will all be done in ways that are not going to expose the people of florida to any of the illnesses that may be on there. there has been a lot of things being discussed to do that. obviously you have to be safe when you are doing this stuff. i think they found a way to thread that needle and if they did and that ends up the deal gets finalized everyone will be fine. we would be very concerned with a ship where this illness is circulating to just basically release people into the general public. that would be totally contrary to everything else we're trying to do for public health not

only in florida but throughout the country right now. >> sandra: i'm not sure what you said putting them on a plane after they get off the ship and going to canada. there are 808 guests on the rotterdam. 583 crew and 311 -- >> i was telling you what the cruise ships are proposing to do to be able to get folks safely home. obviously there is no easy solution to this. you can just leave them on the ship forever. that is not something they want to do. you can't just release them into the general public if they've been exposed. they are trying to figure out a way they can be safely transported to their country of origin without having interactions or contacts with the general public either in florida or anywhere else. so i think the details of that -- >> sandra: in the case of the rotterdam, 311 of them are

american citizens, 52 of them are floridians. >> yes. we're working on a plan. i've authorized the national guard to support logistics operations as necessary to be able to help repatriate the florida citizens. it has to be done carefully with safety in mind but that's the best way to go about it. obviously as governor i have an interest in getting floridians back to florida safely and have an interest in making sure that if a floridian has been exposed to this virus they aren't in a position to expose others. all those things are being worked on. it will be done carefully and i think that is really the appropriate way to do it. at the end of the day these cruise ships are problems when you talk about a respiratory contagious virus. i know they stopped sailing. you still have some of the ones that had taken off in march and

that's just the situation we find ourselves in. if i could snap my fingers and no one would be on a cruise ship now and all at home i would do that in a second. that's not the situation we find

>> policies going forward. a lot of stuff two weeks ago a lot of people were making decisions without having any real facts. we're starting to get more facts in and understand a little more about the virus. we tried to react accordingly. our testing we have more negative results than almost any state. i think new york may have more. we'll continue to test, test, test. that's how you know how to combat it. >> sandra: okay. we would love to check back with you and get another update as cruise ships as they come in. governor, appreciate you coming on the program today. your population, so many of

them over the age of 65. it's going to be a huge challenge going forward. appreciate it, governor, thank you. >> thanks. >> ed: losing your job is hard enough but applying for unemployment benefits can be like adding insult to injury. up next we'll show you how to navigate what can be a tough process.

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>> sandra: fox news alert. from wall street at this hour we are seeing the dow now on the rise up 330 points. investors shrugging off for now news of the 6.6 million people that filed for unemployment claims last week alone. so there you have it, 21,285 on the dow. cheryl casone anchor of fbn joins us now. what the leading to the latest spike in stock prices? >> it's president trump actually. the tweet he just put out talking about the saudis and russians. said he has had conversations.

he said he had new conversations with saudi arabia and russian president vladimir putin to try to get them to pull back on production. they've been flooding the market especially the saudis with oil and the oil price war is one of the first reasons that you saw markets come under pressure even before the coronavirus really became a market worry for concerns. he said basically he is asking them to cut back 10 million barrels per day and maybe substantially more. that's been hurting the energy companies, the oil companies in this country because they've got a glut of oil on their balance sheet. talk about opening up the fpr for u.s. crude to go in. a piece of it. the 6.6 million a horrible number. 10 million initial claims over two weeks, sandra. it will probably be another rough number next week when we get into claims next thursday. >> sandra: to be clear, the tweet from the president just spoke to my friend, the crown prince of saudi arabia who spoke with president putin of

russia, he writes. i hope they will be cutting back 10 million barrels. to your point about the oil prices, oil is spiking more than 30% leading to the rally we see on the big board. final thought? >> i do want to say another story we're following right now. it is the rush to get the unemployment claims for those that are a little confused. those are gig workers, uber and lyft drivers. if you have problems on the state unemployment website be patient. we know there are problems out there. try to be patient. we'll get the claims filed as soon as we can, the u.s. government is. tough for everybody all around right now, sandra. >> sandra: the dow up 300 points for now. we're watching it. thank you. >> you bet. >> ed: the pandemic has yet to affect many rural areas across the country. there is concern that when it does there could be big problems. that's next. ith va loans.

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>> ed: rural hospitals may not have the resources to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. if the virus hits small towns it could be deadly and economically devastating to hospitals there. alicia acuna is live in denver. >> before covid-19 landed in the united states rural hospitals were suffering. it dealt a devastating blow. i want to show you the hospital in hugo, colorado. 70% of their revenues came from non-essential procedures. lincoln community like so many rural hospitals across america does not have ventilators and not equipped to handle

coronavirus patients. one idea taking hold in colorado and elsewhere rural hospitals offering to relieve pressure off major metro healthcare facilities serving non-coronavirus related places like places like denver and places with covid-19 from small towns can be transferred to larger hospitals. the national rural health officials says these facilities face limited resources, geographic isolation and low population density, poverty and chronic disease rates. in colorado alone half of the rural hospitals have been operating in the red. that's just a reflection of what we're seeing around the country. >> ed: thank you. we'll be right back. had to pay for the device. when i go back, everything is covered. there's so much you're missing by not having hearing aids. (vo) we'll find you a hearing aid that fits your lifestyle and your budget at one of our 1,500 locations.

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>> ed: fox news alert as we hit a grim milestone in america. the number of coronavirus cases exploding now and around the world. i'm ed henry. good morning. >> sandra: good morning, ed. i'm sandra smith. the number in the u.s. tops 215,000 and yesterday for the first time we had more than 1,000 deaths in a 24-hour period. new york is still the hardest hit area with governor cuomo saying the state may not hit its peak until the end of this month. >> this virus has been ahead of us from day one. you don't win a war that way. the next battle is the apex.

that's where the enemy either overwhelms our healthcare system or we are able to handle the onslaught. >> we're hopeful if everybody can adhere to 30 days to slow the spread and adhere to the guidelines that we could be through this and hopefully by june we're in a different place. >> president trump: difficult days are ahead for our nation. even in the most challenging of times americans do not despair or give in to fear. we pull together, we persevere and we overcome. >> sandra: live fox team coverage for you with dr. nicole saphier on the medical angle. benjamin hall is overseas and david lee miller in hard-hit new york city with more. >> hi, sandra. here at the mt. sinai hospital on new york's east side, they are struggling like all hospitals in the city to cope with the increasing number of

coronavirus patients. but here we are seeing something that we have not witnessed before. this facility is building what are called negative pressure rooms to contain the virus. vents are installed to create lower air pressure in patient rooms and corridors which reduces airflow and the spread of the virus. the airborne infection isolation rooms are being installed system-wide. new york city ambulance crews are told not to bring people suffering cardiac atroes a hospital if the patient's heart can't be restarted on the scene. it was issued to reduce stress on hospitals already overwhelmed. an emergency medicine doctor in the city describes the scene here as a dire situation. >> hospitals are running out of medication. some hospitals don't have protective gear for staff. or family members of patients that come to the hospital. >> also hard hit by the virus is new jersey. the northern part of the state

home to many commuters. governor murphy toured a field hospital at the middlelands exposition center. seven hospitals in new jersey are diverting patients to other medical facility. they have more coronavirus cases except for new york. at 7:00 p.m. every night here in new york city there is an eruption showing support for healthcare workers and they bang on pots and hoot and holler and let the folks trying to keep us safe know how much their efforts are appreciated. those accolades very well deserved especially considering that new york mayor bill deblasio says there is going to be a surge of coronavirus patients likely to take place starting on sunday. sandra. >> sandra: david lee miller in new york city for us. thank you. >> ed: thanks, stay at home

orders expanding around america. 39 states and the washington, d.c. as well issueing a advisories and direct towers covering 288 million people. 90% of the american population. joining us now dr. nicole saphier. good to see you. we had seema verma on the program earlier from the president's task force. she was optimistic about social distancing and that it is working and that there is light at the end of the tunnel coming early summer. do you share that optimism? >> i absolutely do. the thing that i try to continue to tell people right now is everyone is hunkered down in their own homes and doing everything we're being told to do. we keep seeing the increasing numbers. everybody has to remember that this virus has a long latent period meaning the incubation period between when they're

exposed and develop symptoms are longer than the flu or other things. the people in icu and people dying now were exposed to the virus one to three or four weeks ago. we won't know how well our efforts are doing for another few weeks. so i just hope that people are not getting caught up in these numbers and they know that we are doing the right thing right now. >> ed: interesting because dr. fauci yesterday was talking about improved testing and how critical you talked about this from the beginning testing to know exactly who has it, who doesn't. here is what he said and i'll give you a chance to react. >> the one thing we hopefully would have in place, and i believe we will have in place, is a much more robust system to be able to identify someone who is infected, isolate them and do contact tracing. if you have a really good program of containment that prevents you from ever having

to get into mitigation, we're in mitigation right now. >> ed: talk about that balance there. testing, mitigation and social distancing we've talked about. >> right. so we've already said and acknowledged we have been delayed when it comes to testing. it didn't happen right away for multiple reasons. we have amped up the testing but already have community spread. so we weren't able to stop it before we had community spread. now that we do have community spread we need to make sure we're testing those positives and accurately talking to the people or alerting the people they've been in contact with. with h.i.v. if someone is diagnosed h.i.v. positive they have to tell the people they've been with to alert them. that is the way of mitigating that spread. the same is true with the coronavirus. if we can focus on the people that are infected and the people they've been in recent contact with we might be able to get to back to business as usual faster. it will only come with testing

and now we talk about testing for antibodies. meaning exposure. people who exposed and asymptomatic carriers and they recovered. if we can identify those people they can get them back on the front line or people back to business. small businesses open if we know people are immune to the virus. >> ed: on that issue of testing the "wall street journal" crossed a story saying they've looked at data suggesting nearly one in three patients infected with coronavirus are getting negative test results. some false negatives. doesn't that complicate it a lot more? >> let me tell you, ed, of course it does. this is the whole reason why we ended up rejecting the initial chinese test back in january because they report evidence about a 48% false negative rate meaning you got a negative test result but you actual have the infection. false negatives are not in common when it comes to these things and why our initial testing was faulty.

they had similar problems. i haven't seen reports showing the various testing and their reporting sensitivity and specificities but false negatives are true. that's why a lot of people are doing presumptive positives because if it sounds like a duck, walks like a duck, treat it like a duck. even with a negative result i still implore people to self-quarantine for 14 days, just assume you have it until you have an antibody test saying you have immunity it to. >> ed: the vice president yesterday made a comparison between the u.s. and italy in terms of the modeling. let's play that and i'll give you a chance to react. >> they call it modeling models they look at what has happened around the world. we think italy may be the most comparable area to the united states at this point. >> ed: it is obviously hard to make a direct comparison. our population is much different than italy's. when people hear we compare most closely to italy after the

horrific images we've seen out of italy help us make sense of what he is saying there. >> i knew this was going to cause some controversy but i understand what he is saying. let me explain this. he is saying we're comparable to italy in the sense we didn't have aggressive testing in the beginning. we started implementing social distancing measures the try to mitigate the spread. we're catching up with testing. here is where we are not similar to italy. italy has over a 10% fast alt rate. 10% of their patients are dying. in the united states we're still under 2%. that largely has to do with our healthcare system and our highly trained specialist doctors, nurses respiratory technicians. in my opinion we have a much stronger position than italy in that sense. what he was meaning that we just didn't do the aggressive testing in the beginning. >> ed: very important distinction and that's why we have you among many other reasons. thank you. >> thanks, ed.

>> sandra: all right. there is little relief from the spread of covid-19 around the world as the number of cases continues to climb worldwide to now nearly a million. the virus already killing almost 50,000 people around the globe. benjamin hall is live from the london bureau with more on all that. benjamin. >> good morning, sandra. we're getting sobering numbers from across the globe now. particularly today here in the u.k. where we saw the fastest rise in the number of deaths across europe. 30% increase here in the u.k. total number of dead to 2900. british prime minister boris johnson has been heavily criticized for a slow response and lack of testing around the country. the only two drive-thru testing sites opened in the u.k. are practically empty because of major confusion of who has been invited to get the test. across europe one of the greatest needs with so many other countries is still for icu beds for critical cases.

in france the military is now having to ship patients on helicopters, high speed trains and jets to try to distribute cases around the country. death toll in france is now at 4032. in the middle east iran's death toll is the highest. official figure is almost 3,000. opposition group the mek says the real total is over 15,000. now there are riots and anti-government protests growing across the country and say a number of top commanders and politicians have caught the virus. in india where all 1.3 billion people are in lockdown police have filed a criminal case against clear i cans of an islamic sect for holding a religious event. 1500 people were exposed to the coronavirus at the mosque. 441 admitted to hospital. the clerics face up to six months in jail. now nearly three billion people across the globe are under some kind of lockdown. that's almost 40% of the world's population. sandra.

>> sandra: benjamin hall with an update from london. thank you. >> ed: they may not be stranded at sea much longer. what the florida governor is telling us on "america's newsroom" about two cruise ships looking to dock there after a deadly outbreak of coronavirus on board. plus we'll talk live with two passengers and a new kind of ventilator. how it could ease the shortage. we'll talk live to the mom and pop company producing them plus the coronavirus outbreak on the uss roosevelt and what the navy is planning to do for the thousands of sailors who are still on the aircraft carrier. >> the situation is very dynamic and we're supporting our subordinate commanders to protect our sailors and marines so they can protect the homeland and maintain readiness to the best of our ability.

>> ed: the u.s. navy is planning to move 3,000 sails aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier to slow the spread among the crew. fewer than 100 of the 5,000 sailors assigned to the uss roosevelt have tested positive for the virus, the warship is now docked in guam where 1,000 sailors have already been removed. the others expected to be quarantined in hotel rooms by friday.

>> sandra: a small texas shop is now making helmet ventilators and has been flooded with orders. hospitals across the u.s. and around the world are calling in thousands of orders a day now. researchers say the device could help clear the backlog for traditional ventilators needed for the most critically ill patients from this virus. chris is the owner of c long medical systems. good morning and thanks for being here. >> good morning. it is my privilege. >> sandra: tell us about your shop. before the pandemic hit you were getting orders for a dozen or so of these a week. what are you hearing and seeing now? >> exactly, we're inundated with phone calls from all over

the world. india to just anywhere you can think of plus the majority of the hospitals in the u.s. and we can easily get orders for 500 to 1,000 and some individual orders 20,000. >> sandra: describe to us exactly what this helmet ventilator is and how it can help with the current pandemic? >> okay. i just happen to have one here. >> sandra: great. >> it is similar to a type of space helmet-type device. it has connections here for the same type of connections exactly as the ventilator so it is compatible with any hospital devices that they already have. and then the pressure -- once the neck seal is put on the patient. this comes off and put around the patient's neck and seals it

off at the bottom like this and then this is used to pressurize to the point where it forces the oxygen and air into the patient's lungs as if it was being applied with intubation. >> sandra: where currently are these being used, chris? >> just so many different hospitals. university of chicago, penn in pennsylvania, we have quite a few v.a. hospitals. just i can't even remember all of them. a lot. >> sandra: it's a wonderful thing and obviously if this is something that can help those that are most critically ill from this that's a big win for everyone. making enough of them will be a challenge based on the fact that you weren't used to this demand. are you hiring more people to accommodate the growing number of orders?of those?

>> it's a very multi-step process. some of it is done here behind you in the radio frequently welding machine. we have four more being delivered today. those are the ones purchased by virgin galactic. once they're set up, we'll be able to produce 5,000 a week.

so we have very well plans to get us to 50,000 a week within four to six weeks max. we want to do it much faster so we're looking for someone who could be a benefactor that we can scale up quickly. we don't have the funds. we haven't been addressed by any of the state and federal officials to give us some of the assistance so we could scale up faster and bigger and we know that's what's needed. >> sandra: chris, that is an amazing message and we're glad we can get that message out there. if you are able to make more and these are helping with the current environment, that could be a great thing. we heard your story here and we appreciate what you are doing, chris, thank you. to all those helping you out, by the way. >> thank you for getting the word out. every little bit helps. >> sandra: you bet. thank you. we'll check back in with you, thanks, chris. >> ed: every little bit help.

that's great. trump administration allowing hospitals to split ventilators between two patients with covid-19. how does it work and is it safe? we'll ask an intensive care physician next. plus the white house facing criticism for its response to the pandemic. guess what? adam schiff among other democrats may be trying to investigate the president again. your spouse's va streamline refi benefit lets you easily refinance when mortgage rates drop. and they just dropped to the lowest in newday's history. refinance now. there's no income verification, no appraisal, and no out of pocket costs. one call can save you $2,000 a year. refi now. g:zpz61-]ññ ior anything i want to buy isk going to be on rakuten. rakuten is easy to use, free to sign up and it's in over 3,000 stores.

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>> sandra: fox news alert. the white house coronavirus

response facing new scrutiny as president trump resists calling for a nationwide stay at home order. but the president appearing to be open to having a conversation about the crisis with joe biden. chief white house correspondent john roberts is live on that for the north lawn for us this morning. >> good morning. let's start with what you began with. a lot of alarm the united states unless something happens could begin to look like the disaster that italy has become. the vice president looking toward that direction yesterday when he said we think italy may be the most comparable area to the united states at this point. italy is what the united states was trying to avoid. at one point -- actually right now italy has a case fatality rate of 11%. we're still well below that. known case fatality rate is 2.3%. the louisiana governor said there is no reason to believe louisiana won't look like italy.

new criticism from democrats today. a military person should be put in charge of production and distribution of medical supplies by chuck schumer and just sent a letter to the president to that effect. >> we need him to put in charge a czar of the whole production and distribution of these materials under the dpa. that should be a military man. the military knows how to get lots of materials and lots of different places quickly. mr. navarro, who was in charge, i was very disappointed. he is a good man, a professor and knows a lot about china. he knows nothing about this. >> the president responding to schumer on twitter that we have a military man in charge of distributing goods. new york has gotten far more than any other state include hospitals and hospital ship. no matter what always complaining. it wouldn't matter if he got 10 times not was needed it wouldn't be good enough.

new york got off to a late start. you should have pushed harder. stop complaining and find out where all the supplies are going. cuomo working hard. the president there referring to his assistant hhs secretary, an admiral in the public health service commission corps and taking a lead role that items are getting where they need to be. 10 million people filing for unemployment insurance in the past two weeks a big issue, people who are losing health insurance or already don't have it. the president deciding not to open obamacare insurance exchanges. some insurance companies have said they'll cover the cost of co-pays for people who have insurance leaving millions without healthcare coverage. i asked the president if he is willing or working to address that. listen here. >> insurance, people who aren't insured by the companies covering the cost of the co-pay, where can people go now

to get health insurance if they get sick ?ao >> president trump: it's something we're going to look at. it doesn't seem fair. if you have it you have a big advantage. certain income level you do. >> in terms of containment and mitigation the president also saying yesterday he is considering halting flights from hot spots like new york, detroit and new orleans for a time. he says it's a difficult calculus. you have to way the survival of the airlines against the potential health impacts of people leaving those areas. the president also saying that he would be willing to take joe biden up on his offer of a phone call between the two to discuss coronavirus strategy. biden's campaign saying we'll start arranging that call. haven't heard anything on that front yet. we'll see if it happens. >> sandra: we shall await that if it does happen. john roberts at the white house for us, thanks, john. >> ed: the trump administration giving the green light to hospitals splitting ventilators only under certain conditions

writing such a strategy should only be considered as an absolute last resort. judging against the alternatives, a long term handbaging or death. they must be made on an individual level. joining us to help explain and what through this dr. douglas white. thank you for coming in, doctor. how do you read that guidance from the administration? >> i think it is very guarded. and they are right to explain it in that way because there is quite a lot of uncertainty about the safety of ventilating two patients with one ventilator. essentially there is a real risk that it will hurt more people than it harms if it comes to that. >> ed: is part of of it you have to create a certain level of an amount of air pushed in to rest prait them and if you have two people they might not be on the same level and finding that level so they can

both get better is difficult, among other things. >> exactly. respirator is a box, sophisticated box that blows air out from one tube to one patient. the proposal it blows through one tube and splits into two others. you can't regulate what goes from one to the other. whatever you set the ventilator for is what both patients get and now how we typically ventilate patients who are very sick in intensive care units. >> ed: a guest last hour said you have to have specific people to know how to work the sophisticated machines. we've been hearing about shortages of personnel. governor cuomo and others saying they're trying to get retired medical personnel to step up. are there enough people to operate the ventilators? >> that's a great point. the way to ventilate patients really is very sophisticated

and requires advanced medical training. more so if you try to split ventilators. the more patients being treated in intensive care units the more critical care doctors you need. at some point there does get to be a shortage of doctors rather than ventilators. >> ed: what about the issue of dealing with so many people sick at once and trying to figure out who might be sicker than the next? we spoke to an emt person earlier today who was saying out in the field they're being instructed if somebody goes into cardiac arrest and you aren't going to save them you have to move on. there is a "wall street journal" headline what is happening at a big hospital in new york. nyu telling er doctors think more critically who gets ventilators. emergency room staff who withhold futile intubation threatens to discipline doctors who talk to the press about this. it scares a lot of people. the idea of rationing care.

somebody who is healthier will get the ventilator and someone less healthy might not. you have studied this and gone through this issue about how you do this fairly. what is your thought on how it is playing out right now and how we deal with this? >> i would say that the only thing worse than having an approach to allocating ventilators is not having an approach because that will lead to many more lives being lost. and so when there is a public health emergency like what we are faced with the ethical goal is to save as many lives as possible and typically that means that not everyone can get the treatment they normally would under usual circumstances. we have developed a framework that prioritizes patients most likely to survive with intensive treatment and the years beyond. this is in contrast to how we normally do things, first come, first serve. whoever gets to the icu first gets a ventilator. if we're really trying to save patients the focus will need to

be on finding those who are most likely to benefit, treating them first and going as far down the list of patients as possible to save as many as possible. >> ed: how does it happen in the real world in a crisis like this now? i know it's an evolving situation. there is not a one side fits all. emails from viewers say i watch these news reports and i'm older with an underlying condition. people write and say i'm afraid if i go into an icu and i'm 58 or 68 and there is somebody 45 or 35 i'm going to die. >> right. i think what's really important is the approach that we're advocating keeps as eligible for intensive care all patients normally eligible. age and disabilities things like that are not exclusion criteria in contrast to some of the existing guidance on the topic. we estimate a person's likelihood of surviving. not age. it is the physiological measurements. that's what prioritizes

patients. >> ed: we appreciate you walking us through all of that in a very considerate way and trying to figure it out. fox news alert. >> sandra: update on the joint -- >> a lot of people. remember new york you're talking on a base of 19 million so number of positive cases up to 8669. 92,000 total in the state predominantly in new york city but you see westchester and nassau, which by percentage is a troubling number. remember new york city is so much larger than westchester and nassau or -- suffolk county

1,141 new cases. that's troubling news. number of counties you see the entire state -- every county in the state now has reported a coronavirus case. we said it was going to march across the state. i've also made the point to my colleagues on every phone call with the other governors and officials and i say it will march across the country. it is false comfort to say we are a rural community. we don't have the density of new york city. that is a false comfort. you have counties in new york state where you have more cows than people. new york state, don't think of just new york city.

upstate new york is a rural community and you see that it's not just urban areas, it is suburban areas, that's westchester, nassau, suffolk. and we have rural communities that are comparable to rural communities all across this country. in many ways new york state is a microcosm of the united states. and that's why i believe it is going to be illustrative for the rest of this nation as to what is going to happen. current hospitalizations as i said 92,000 tested positive. 13,000 currently hospitalized. 3,000 icu patients is up 300. 7400 patients discharged is up 1292. that's good news. number of people going to the

hospital is going up. number of people coming out of the hospital coming up. number of deaths up to 2373 up from 1941. looking for a trend line, the trend line is still basically up, total new hospitalizations, trend line of icu admissions is still up. certainly a couple of small deviations but the line is up. number of intubations is up but if you want to take an optimistic view you could start to see a plateauing in the number of intubations. the statisticians tell me that's an optimistic view. number of daily discharged is going way up. that's people going in and

people going out. challenges still at the apex. that's what this has been all about for every system in this country now. everyone is basically waging the same battle. different time frames, different numbers, different percentages. but other he the same battle. when you hit the apex, which is the highest rate of infection, highest number of people coming to the hospital system, can you handle that number? can you handle the height of the impact on the hospital system, which is at the apex of the curve? we call that the battle of the mountaintop. at least i call it the battle of the mountaintop. the questions people keep asking which are the right questions, well, when is the apex? it depends on what model you use, what model you follow. we follow all the models.

it is anywhere from 7 to 21 to 30 days depending on what model you look at. how can you have that variable 7 to 30 days? it depends on how that model rates how effective social distancing is, right? the variable is the models that think social distancing is going to be more effective at slowing the rate have a longer time frame for the apex. those models that discount the social distancing, they have a shorter time frame for the apex. it makes it difficult to plan, frankly, because 7 to 30 days is a long window. and we are literally planning on a day-to-day basis deploying assets on a day-to-day basis. we believe it is closer to the

shorter end of the range with our in-house people looking at the professional modeling that is being done. how many beds will you need at the apex? between 70,000 and 110,000. again, that's a broad range. again, that's one of the frustrations trying to plan for this. right now we have 53,000 statewide. we have only 36,000 down state. remember that. this is primarily a down state issue. so by any estimate we don't have the number of beds but again we've taken extraordinary measures. every hospital by mandate has to add a 50% increase. and they have all done that. we're setting up extra facilities. which we've been talking about. we've been shifting patients from down state hospitals to

upstate hospitals and that's continuing. when does this end? you have projection models that have us hitting the apex, coming down from the apex, models vary at how quickly you come down from the apex but they all basically say you come down from the apex quickly. and then some models have it flattening out but flattening out for a period of time. models have it flattening out and continuing through the summer. how many lives lost? only one model that we look at that has the number of projected deaths which is the ihme model funlded by the gates foundation. we thank the gates foundation for the national service they've done. that is the model that suggests approximately 93,000 deaths across the country. that is the model that i

believe dr. fauci was referring to when he said about 100,000 deaths by that new york would be about 16,000 deaths. by that model. when we're doing this planning and we're doing our deployment, the theory is the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, right? so that's true for the hospital system. we have about, give or take, 180 hospitals that we are focusing on here in this state. the hospitals that will have the greatest issue will be those hospitals that are usually the most stressed in normal circumstances, right? so if the hospitals before this were under stress, you then add this crisis on top of that,

those are the hospitals that one would expect to see struggling first. that's also true for the entire hospital system. we talk about beds, we talk about staff, we talk about supplies. the truth is you need all three of those things to provide any care. a bed without a staff doesn't do anything. a bed and staff without supplies doesn't do anything. so you need all three of those components to work to have a situation where someone can get care. in terms of beds, those are the easiest to find and we're constructing additional facilities? >> we're going to start at the brooklyn terminal in new york city. 750 beds. we are taking an office of

mental health facility in staten island and converting it to a covid only hospital. so on beds we're in relatively good shape because a bed is a bed, right? a bed is a question of a structure. push comes to shove we can acquire dorms, we can acquire hotels, we can acquire physical structures with beds in them. of those three components, bed, staff, supplies, i personally am least worried about bed capacity. we have 2500 beds at javits and 1,000 beds on the naval ship comfort. beds we can find. not easy but we can find them. the harder components are the staff and the supplies, which is what we've been talking about. on the staff, we're continuing to shift staff from the upstate

hospitals that are less impacted to down state hospitals. we've requested out of state healthcare workers. god bless america, 21,000 people have volunteered from out of state to come into new york state. i thank them. i thank their patriotism. i thank their dedication and passion to their mission of public health. these are beautiful, generous people. and new yorkers will return the favor. new yorkers will return the favor. this is going to affect every place in this country. we are in some ways the first major encounter. we're learning. we'll get the experience and we'll return the favor. when your community needs help, new yorkers will be there. and you have my personal word

on that. and it is also the new york tradition when there has been a hurricane or there has been a flood or hurricane katrina, new yorkers are the first ones in their cars to go anywhere in this nation that needs help. and i will be the first one in my car to go wherever this nation needs help. as soon as we get past this. i will never forget how people across this country came to the aid of new yorkers when they needed it. and i deeply appreciate it. we have 85,000 volunteers now in total, which are being deployed to the hospitals so they can find staff that works for them. supplies are an ongoing challenge. the ppe is an ongoing challenge, the gowns, the gloves, and the ventilators. first of all, for the first time ever a hospital by

hospital survey that will be done on a nightly basis of exactly what they have. as i said, we're coordinating the healthcare system in a way it's never been coordinated before. rather than having all these regional systems and public systems and private systems, etc., we have a central stockpile. we are asking all the hospitals to contribute what they have to that central stockpile and then we will disperse on a need basis. some hospitals have more supplies than they are using. we are saying don't horde supplies, let's put all the supplies in a central stockpile and we'll draw down from the central stockpile and we'll monitor this on a daily basis. on -- i'm also asking on supplies. i don't have a new york defense

production act, right? governor can't say to a company we need you to manufacture this. but i ask businesses just to think about the situation we're in and a possible opportunity. it is the cruelest irony that this nation is now dependent on china for production of many of these products. many of these products in the normal marketplace were being produced in china. and now you have everyone shopping china for ppe gowns, ventilators. the gowns, the gloves, are not complicated components to manufacture. the gowns are tyvek or paper material. if you are a manufacturer who

can convert to make these products and make them quickly, they are not complicated products. the fda lists the specifications for these products on their website. if you have the capacity to make these products, we will purchase them and we will pay a premium and we will pay to convert or transition your manufacturing facility to a facility that can do this. but we need it like now. we're not talking about two months, three months, four months. we need these materials now. that's the stress. i understand that. but if you are in the garment manufacturing business, if you have machinery that can cut a pattern. a coverall, you aren't making a

fashion-forward fitted garment, right? these are relatively straight forward components. so if you can do it, it's a business opportunity, it is a state need, it is a national need. please contact us. we'll work with you. we'll work with you quickly. there will be no bureaucracy and no red tape and we're not asking for a favor from these businesses, we'll finance what you need in terms of transitioning and we'll buy the product and i will pay a premium because we need it. and this is the number for the empire state development corporation which is handling this task. in terms of ventilators, we released 400 ventilators to -- last night to the new york city health and hospital corporation. we released 200 to long island

and westchester. as i said, you see those growing numbers in nassau and suffolk and that is starting to stress that healthcare system. so we released those ventilators last night. at the current burn rate, we have about six days of ventilators in our stockpile meaning if the rate of usage -- the rate of people coming into hospitals who need ventilators, if that rate continues, in our stockpile we have about six days. now, if the apex happens within that time frame, if the apex increases, if the apex is longer, we have an issue with ventilators. these numbers, by the way, are also going to be compiled every night. there is a difference of

opinion how many will you need? we'll need what we need. i have no desire to acquire more ventilators than we need. the way we basically are acquiring ventilators is the state is buying them. they are very expensive and the state is broke so i have no desire to buy more ventilators than we need. but we need what we need. if a person comes in and needs a ventilator and you don't have a ventilator, the person dies. that's the blunt equation here. and right now we have a burn rate that would suggest we have about six days in the stockpile. but we are taking all sorts of extraordinary measures. i've spoken to health people across the nation. dr. zucker has done all sorts of research and we have extraordinary measures in place that can make a difference if we run into a real ventilator

shortage. first we know where all the ventilators are in the state of new york by hospital. if we have a problem in any hospital we are going to take the ventilators that are not needed from the upstate hospitals and transport them to down state new york or the hospitals that do need them which again more and more are going to be on long island. and then we'll return them or we'll figure out the finances of it and make those hospitals whole. we're also increasing the number of ventilators by ending all elective surgeries. if you don't need an elective surgery a hospital cannot perform it if it's not critical. that's freeing up ventilators. we're also using anesthesia machine ventilators without the ans esthesia and splitting

ventilators. we put out a protocol. one ventilator, two sets of tubes can do two patients. it is not easy or ideal but better than nothing. we're also converting bipap machines. they don't have the same force as a ventilator but on an emergency basis some research has been done that says they could be suitable. we are also still in the business of looking for ventilators to buy ventilators. to late to ask a company to make them in any way that would work for our time frame. you look at our time frame 7 to 30 days. no one will be able to make a ventilator for you in that period of time. nationwide parts of the country that have a later curve, yes, if you give a company two or

three months they can ramp up production but not on our curve. so we have to find ventilators that we can buy and we're still doing that. again the main place is china. we are converting the bipap machines. this has not been done before but north well, one of our premier healthcare systems has developed the protocol and teaching the other hospitals how to do it. we just bought 3,000 bipap machines. and 750 came in yesterday. so yes, the burn rate of ventilators is troubling and six days of ventilators in the stockpile is troubling. but we have all these extraordinary measures that i believe, if push comes to shove, will put us in fairly good shape. i don't want to say yet i'm

confident. and it depends on how many we need. but i can say with confidence we have researched every possibility, every idea, every measure you can possibly take to find ventilators. this state has done. that i can promise you. we are also going to open the healthcare exchange enrollment period through may 15th. we have about 96% of the people in the state are covered with health insurance. if you are not covered, we're extending the enrollment period to may 15th. please get covered. you can go to the new york state of health website and sign up. my brother, my little brother, i only have one brother,

christopher, tested positive for coronavirus. a lot of people are concerned about him. obviously people in my family but even beyond that. new yorkers are very compassionate and many people ask me about chris and how he is doing. not just for himself, but we keep talking about this coronavirus, coronavirus, coronavirus. i'm afraid of it and anxious about it. what does it actually mean? okay, your brother has it. how is he doing? so a lot of people asked me that question. and i talk to him quite frequently. he is doing okay. i checked in with him this morning and asked him how he was feeling. and he was up and spry and much his normal self. i invited him to join us for a couple of minutes if he was up

to it this morning. and i think he said that he was in a position to join us and i asked him to join us by video if he is available. there he is! with his hat, say hello. i saw it, i saw it. >> let's get after it. >> let's get after it. i love that saying. you are looking for it and fine. many people are asking about you. i tell you the truth, everyone i talk to is asking about you and how you are doing and how you are handling it. and how you feel. cara is here, by the way. she's working on supplies. so she says hello. how are you feeling?