breaking news in america this morning, apocalyptic, that's the word being used to describe conditions inside this new york city hospital where 13 people have died from the coronavirus in one day. this morning, an er doctor describes what she's seen. one top doctor calling the war against this virus the humanitarian mission of our lifetimes. >> i felt like i was chasing the devil. this morning the growing concern in the south with a spike in cases from louisiana to rural georgia. a celebrity chef who had a fever just a few days ago is now among the patients who lost their lives. this morning we hear from more survivors including one in her 40s, the symptoms she first experienced. and breaking overnight, new action in congress. what we're learning about the direct payments being sent to

most americans and how you can get your money faster. >> all the overnight developments right now on "america this morning." good thursday morning, everyone. america is at war with the coronavirus, and this morning there's a grim new milestone. >> more than 1,000 people have now died in the u.s. 200 have died in the last 24 hours. there is some good news. the rate of people entering the hospital in new york appears to be slowing down slightly. >> but this morning some shocking new details about the nightmare that doctors and nurses are living through. we're getting our first look inside one hospital where 13 people died in one day. >> the economic toll of the crisis will become clearer today when the government releases new unemployment figures. we're expecting to learn that more than 3 million filed for unemployment benefits last week, an all-time high. >> on capitol hill the senate

finally approved a $2 trillion stimulus plan which includes direct payments to most americans. we're learning more about the time line for those payments.gi our coverage from washington. >> reporter: overnight, the senate unanimously passing that $2 trillion stimulus bill meant to help the economy recover from the covid-19 outbreak. >> on this vote the ayes are 96, the nays are 0. the 60-vote threshold having been achieved, the bill is passed. >> reporter: as part of that bill the government will send people earning $75,000 or less a $1,200 check plus 500 per child. those earning up to $99,000 a year will get a smaller check. checks will go out on april 6th. it could take four or five weeks to reach those who will get it by mail. those that get direct deposit could get it sooner. there's also money in the bill to help states and hospitals.

as president trump says he'd like to re-open the country by easter, the top doctor on his coronavirus task force with this warning on cnn. >> and you've got to understand that you don't make the time line. the virus makes the time line. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci also warning the virus could come back in seasonal cycles as it now spreads to countries in the southern hemisphere going into their winter season. >> if, in fact, they have a substantial outbreak, it will be inevitable that we need to be prepared that we'll get a cycle around the second time. >> reporter: but there is one sliver of hope. extreme social distancing measures may be working. the rate of hospitalization slowing slightly in new york city. >> this is a very good sign and a positive sign. again, i'm not 100% sure it holds. >> reporter: today new guidance will be released by the center for disease control warning that parks which have seen a surge of visitors during this outbreak could become breeding grounds for the virus.

kenneth and mona. >> ines, thank you. now to the first responders on the front lines. one doctor in new york is calling her emergency room apocalyptic after 13 people died at the same hospital in one day. this morning, a rare look inside a new york city hospital at doctors and nurses fighting to save lives. >> all that you see, they all have covid. >> reporter: elmhurst hospital in queens is now overrun with coronavirus patients. 13 people died from the virus at the hospital in just 24 hours. >> today is kind of getting worse and worse. we had to get a refrigerated truck to store the bodies of patients who are dying. >> reporter: dr. colleen smith is giving "the new york times" access to the hospital's emergency department where doctors called the scene apocalyptic. >> the anxiety of this situation is really overwhelming. >> reporter: dr. smith says patients are coming in for other ailments, only to discover they

too are infected with the virus. >> so if someone in a car accident gets brought in and we get a ct scan of them and their lungs look like they have coronavirus. we are seeing a lot of patients who probably had covid, but we didn't realize. >> reporter: across the country in washington state we are hearing from the first nurses to be on the front lines. >> it was like a tidal wave. >> reporter: these four women work at kirkland life care center outside seattle where an outbreak started back in february. 35 residents at the facility died from the virus. >> i was talking to my regional nurse to check on her and see how she's doing, and i told her, i said, i felt like i was chasing the devil, and she said she had chills because she said she was just getting ready to say the same thing. >> reporter: first responders from coast to coast are now experiencing the same nightmare, fighting a virus they know little about while trying to keep themselves and their families safe. this doctor in california is now

sleeping in a tent in his garage to avoid contact with his family. >> allow first responders to assist those most in need. >> reporter: in new york first responders released this video asking people to only call 911 in a real emergency after 236 members of the nypd tested positive, and more than 3,000 members of the force are sick. that's triple the normal sick rate. as for dr. smith, she shares this warning. >> i don't really care if i get in trouble for speaking to the media. i want people to know that this is bad. people are dying. we don't have the tools that we need in the emergency department and in the hospital to take care of them. >> dr. smith says her er usually sees 200 people a day. that number has doubled to 400. new york city's mayor is warning april will be worse than march and he says may could be even worse. and more areas of the south are being hit by the virus. alabama has confirmed its first

death. one official says a tsunami of patients will likely flood alabama hospitals very soon, and in rural georgia, one hospital system reports 12 deaths. their intensive care units are full. and in louisiana, one month after mardi gras the state is rushing more ambulances to new orleans to respond to the crush of 911 calls. the number of deaths in that city rose by 42% just in the last day. >> it seems to have what the doctors are calling a lot of seeding. i keep thinking of these as embers. these are little hot embers that have been planted around new orleans for some time, and, of course, it takes a little while for them to catch fire, but we're starting to see evidence in new orleans of those little embers turning into higher, more troublesome reporting. that's going to turn into that kind of exponential curve that we see, and that will be problematic because they don't have the resources of new york. >> and at least 65 people have now died from the virus in louisiana.

the pentagon is reporting its first case of the coronavirus. a marine who tested positive is now in isolation. the pentagon has now halted the movement of u.s. troops for 60 days as a precaution. much more coronavirus coverage ahead, but right now let's take a look at your weather for this thursday morning. we are expecting two trouble spots today. showers from the plains to the great lakes and the west will see plenty of storm activity with showers from seattle to san francisco and snow in the rockies. checking today's high temperatures, only 48 in boston. mostly 50s here in new york and chicago. southern california will see highs in the 60s today, and it's expected to be a scorcher in dallas where the mercury could hit 90 degrees. it's going to be a hot one in texas. dry and warm across the south. coming up, police making people do push-ups if they

violate social distancing orders. we'll show you. also ahead, forget basketball or baseball. the new sport people are watching online these days. but first a developing story. more than 90 people are likely infected with the coronavirus at one nursing home. what we're learning about the virus and the symptoms.

we are back with an unusual punishment for people who ignore the stay at home order. police in india are punishing people by making them do push-ups and squats. yep, the country's 1.3 billion people are under a three-week lockdown. new york city is taking down dozens of basketball hoops.

the mayor ordered them to come gown in the name of social distancing. he wants to discourage groups of people getting together in parks. we turn now to the patients who have struggled to fight the coronavirus, many previously healthy. abc's karina mitchell has more of their stories. good morning, karina. >> reporter: mona, good morning. while the number of covid cases continues to rise, there is still a false sense of security among some that the disease can't impact them. that misconception is leading many to the emergency room. chicago resident michael bane knows firsthand the virus shouldn't be underestimated. >> it felt like you're getting beat up all the time and then the coughing becomes violent and exes per rates the pain that you feel in your body. >> reporter: the 42-year-old thought he was immune because he wasn't considered high risk. by the time he got to the er, he didn't think he would make it. all across the country the chilling accounts are eerily similar in how quickly the disease can strike and how varied the symptoms are. one woman in her 40s active until the virus colonized her lungs.

>> i was at the gym working out and then fever and nausea kicked in. >> one thing that i did notice that changed, i completely lost my sense of smell. >> so patients are coming in commonly with many different complaints but most often fever, cough and shortness of breath. i think the thing that's really interesting is that patients are also coming in with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which isn't really something that we would expect with these respiratory illnesses. >> reporter: in new jersey an alarming new cluster of victims, 94 nursing home residents evacuated after several patients and staff tested positive for the disease. now an urgent warning from the son of the first man in milwaukee to die from complications of the virus. >> i seen the jokes, the memes, you know, everything, but when it hits home, it has to stop and we got to think. >> looking back bane said he wished the federal government had taken the virus more seriously earlier on. >> had that been called a couple of weeks sooner, i probably

would have been home already. i would have never been out and about catching this and i wouldn't have been at work for seven days asymptomatic exposing hundreds of people to it. >> reporter: and overnight we learned of another victim, floyd cardoz, a world renown chef who elevated indian cuisine died from complications of coronavirus. he was 59 years old. he died just days after posting a message online that he went to the hospital as a, quote, precautionary measure. kenneth, mona. >> so tragic. karina, thank you. well, coming up, the outpouring of generosity across the country for doctors and nurses. but first a reality check on testing for the coronavirus. just how long some people are being forced to wait for results. it's tough to quit smoking cold turkey. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting.

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hero, a compassionate colleague, friend and selfless caregiver. >> some potentially life-saving medications being used to treat the virus may also cause serious heart problems. they include drugs originally treating malaria and hiv, a study by the mayo clinic found those drugs could cause sudden cardiac death. doctors are being advised to determine if their patients are at risk. as we mentioned, hospitals in new york are starting to get overrun with patients. earlier i spoke with dr. imran ali about what he's seeing. i also asked about president trump's claim that the u.s. has done more testing than any other country. dr. ali, thank you for joining us. what's happening right now inside the hospitals in the new york area? what have you seen? what are you learning? >> kenneth, in one of the most populated areas of new york city, namely queens, the elmhurst area of queens at a hospital i'm very familiar with, we're seeing icus filling up today especially with younger people expectedly.

we're seeing people in their 40s. although we are seeing some elderly patients, we're seeing a lot more people who are actually younger. >> on testing the president said we're outperforming south korea which has been a model. he's right on the amount, but the president's comments appear to be misleading since the u.s. population is more than six times the size of south korea's. >> right, exactly, kenneth. the population of korea is 51.5 million versus the united states. we're at 312 million. and, yes, the koreans did a very good job at testing, but -- and we are definitely improving with 300,000 tests since march 16th. we have to really look at the greater picture, and the percentage really matters here. we still don't have the prevalence of how this virus is circulating in our communities here in the united states. >> and some extraordinary reports coming out of washington state, which is now considering a blanket dnr order, do not resuscitate, on the sickest covid-19 patients. your thoughts?

>> well, this is very common with contagious diseases. this happened also with ebola. when we run a code, as we call it, where a patient's going into cardiac arrest and we're performing cpr, people rush into the room rapidly, and it is a scene that sometimes is chaotic and there's not enough time to put protective clothing on. so there's a high chance of getting infected, especially for health care workers, and by the time we do get our protective gear on, it's often too late anyway, so some people are suggesting that we make patients who are infectious dnr. now, i want to make sure that people understand, dnr does not mean do not treat. they would get full treatment. it would just mean if their heart were to stop for any reason such as a cardiac arrest, we would not perform this cpr or the invasive procedures to bring them back. we're also seeing some instances of cardiac arrest which are so severe that we can't bring them

back anyway, so that's why a lot of health care workers are thinking about possibly initiating a dnr because we can protect the health care workers because during a resuscitation attempt, it can be very messy and it can be a very good chance for health care workers to get infected especially because there's not enough time simply to put on the protective gear while the patient is acutely decompensating. >> our thanks to dr. ali there. hospitals being pushed to the breaking point and still so much to learn about this virus. and coming up, the heartwarming generosity on display across the country for doctors and nurses. plus, the new sport gaining some popularity online. we'll be right back. ic®! ♪ (announcer) once-weekly ozempic® is helping many people with type 2 diabetes like james lower their blood sugar. a majority of adults who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. here's your a1c. oh! my a1c is under 7! (announcer) and you may lose weight.

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their lives at risk for us, so let them feel good in any way. at least put food on their tables. >> that's the owner of a pizza shop in los angeles giving out free pizza to hospital workers and police officers as the shop struggles to stay open. it's just another way that people are supporting our first responders. >> they sure are. and the four seasons hotel in new york is now offering free rooms to doctors and nurses. it saves them from a long commute home after their 18-hour shifts, and they can do it in luxury and style. >> uh-huh, and first responders and hospital workers across the country are also getting the star treatment from starbucks. free coffee through may 3rd. they deserve it. and here's another example of generosity. a police department is now doubling as a delivery service. >> officers in rush township, pennsylvania, are bringing food and medicine to older residents who can't leave their homes. the chief says the service will continue as long as it's needed.

in rosemount, minnesota, two teachers surprised their students at home by leaving colorful chalk messages in their driveways. to grace and hannah, they said, grace, we miss your kindness and humor and, hannah, we miss your empathy and your smile. one man in connecticut found a creative way to spend time with his grandmother in a senior living facility. of course, social distancing, they played tic-tac-toe and hangman by drawing on the window. i forgot about that. >> love that, love that. >> and today was supposed to be opening day in major league baseball. >> but instead sports fans now have marlbula racing events streaming on youtube. competitions like the marbula fan rally are really rolling. one race got 700,000 likes on twitter. >> i already bought some sports gear and i dare you to look away. and some people in wisconsin are keeping social distance but sharing beers all thanks to remote controlled cars. the neighbors are sending beers to one another across the street.

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making news right now at 4:27, unnerving news about coronavirus from a bay area hospital. it has so many patients that it's being forced to boost staffing. crews are sanitizing a terminal at oakland international airport after a gate agent tests positive for coronavirus. some airport workers say concerned. >> passing a $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. next stop is the house where some lawmakers are not too happy with it. good morning, everyone. it is thursday march 26th. first, checking in with mike for a look at the day ahead. good morning, mike. >> thanks for joining us this morning. let me get you out the door if you're leaving or staying inside. cold in the north bay. the blue is a frost advisory

until 9:00. everything you have protected, keep it protected until 9:00. even colder temperatures here and north parts of mendocino counties. you can see temperatures from 30 in clear lake and almost freezing in santa rosa and novato and 36 in danville and 41 in san jose and oakland 45. still watching some showers right alock the peninsula coast sliding to the southeast and we've got a chance of some pop-up showers and even a thunderstorm in the same area and into the south bay this afternoon. they're so scattered. we may put a storm impact scale on it, but i doubt it. back to you. >> thanks, mike. nearly half the patients at the kaiser hospital in san jose have tested positive or suspected of being infected with it. julian glover is live at the hospital with what officials are saying. julian. >> yeah, good morning, kumasi.

certainly a shocking headline to hear. thankfully this morning a senior vice president with the president announces the number of confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus being treated here at the hospital is lower than those numbers reported last week but still kaiser is preparing for a potential surge of patients. here's what we're talking about. video from sky 7 shows these tents being set up outside of the e.r. to screen patients as they arrive at the hospital. another executive with the hospital, an infectious disease expert reporting that the hospital is. raing up staffing and revamp the 242 bed kaiser facility to be ready to handle that surge. >> essentially, we have built one entire icu just with covid agent which means we had to repurpose another unit to take care of the regular icu patients, as well. >> in a statement the hospital said given that it is located in

a cd hot spot and we count so many south bay residents as our members it would be not be surprising that we care for a significant number of our patients and that being said by irene chavez. now, the hospital does not provide daily numbers but their workload is significant. doctors telling a medical journal just lack week, last thursday that they are worried or concerned about the potential to run out of those all-important ventilators. live in san jose this morning, i'm julian glover, abc 7 news. san francisco laguna honda hospital is under lockdown after three employees there tested positive for coronavirus. most of the 750 residents are over 65 and have serious health conditions. at oakland international airport a gate agent has tested positive for coronavirus. the airport says he last worked on march 22nd in terminal