right now on "america this morning," data breach. >> and i was shocked and frustrated. >> new woes for the small business bailout program after thousands of business owners see their personal information leaked. the effort to keep struggling stores afloat as congress approves another massive relief bill and the new questions emerging that some states begin to lift restrictions. a new push to double testing for the coronavirus. the agreement reached, plus, how police are now flying drones over public places to see if you have a fever or a cough. the growing risk at home. poison control centers seeing a surge in calls for accidental poisonings. the most common mistakes people are making with household cleaners. plus, new concerns overnight about the future of an american retail icon. new images of a bizarre

crash into a house. how this happened. gronkowski to the end zone. >> and gronk is back. new details on why he's coming out of retirement. a super bowl dream team now back together. good wednesday morning, everyone. that number just keeps rising, 45,000 people in the u.s. have now died from the coronavirus. >> the fda has approved the first at home test for the virus, although it is a long way from being widely available to the public. nursing homes remain a concern. the latest tragedy comes from connecticut where 35 people have died at one facility. and the director of the cdc says a second wave of the virus in the fall could be even worse. >> many health care workers say they still don't have the personal protective equipment they need. these nurses protested outside the white house demanding more supplies while reading the names of nurses who have died. congress is taking new tbo

businesses to re-open, serious new questions are being raised. abc's megan tevrizian begins our coverage. >> reporter: new problems this morning for the government's small business bailout program. >> if you're a little guy, you know, chances are you're going to the back of the line. >> reporter: congress approving another $484 billion for loans after the first round of funding ran out. but new reports claim at least 75 publicly traded companies, some worth more than $100 million, cashed in on the first payout. >> the intent of this was for business that needed the money. >> reporter: while treasury secretary steve mnuchin insists those big businesses will pay that money back. trump called out one institution in particular. >> i'm not going to mention any other names, but when i saw harvard, they have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world, i guess, and they're going to pay back that money. >> reporter: but harvard is now denying the accusation, insisting the funding it got did

not come through the paycheck protection program. this as new concerns surface over the application process for the program. >> i was shocked and frustrated. like, you know, i need to catch a break. >> reporter: officials now revealing a possible glitch caused the personal information of thousands of applicants to be leaked compromising their social security numbers and credit data. >> i jumped through all of these hoops and then to have to now worry about whether all my financial information, both personally and professionally, have been compromised is really upsetting. >> reporter: it comes amid a fierce debate over when it's safe for those struggling businesses to re-open. >> we have to work. we have to still maintain bills and that's just the reality of it. >> reporter: one of president trump's closest allies even voicing his concern. senator lindsey graham tweeting, i worry that our friends and neighbors in georgia are going too fast too soon. white house task force h birxns

before lifting restrictions. >> if there is a way that people can social distance and do those things, then they can do those things. i don't know how, but people are very creative. >> reporter: but some state leaders argue that maintaining social distance should not be the top priority. >> there are more important things than living, and that's saving this country for my children and my grandchildren and saving this country for all of us. >> reporter: georgia and tennessee could see stores open their doors as early as friday to the dismay of some local leaders. >> i pray that the number of georgians who are infected and die will not increase significantly in the coming weeks as a result of the lifting of these restrictions. >> reporter: and south carolina is working to ease restrictions despite the state failing to record two weeks of reduced cases. and in georgia there are new guidelines for salons and barber shops to re-open. state officials say salons should consider administering temperature checks on their

employees and clients, maintain social distancing and wear masks at all times. kenneth, mona. >> all right, megan, thank you. and we're learning more about president trump's upcoming ban on immigration to the u.s. he says the ban is all about protecting americans who need a job. his executive order will suspend issuing green cards for 60 days but it will not affect people in the country on a temporary basis such as people in guest worker programs. the order is expected to be challenged in court. now to the question surrounding our ability to test and trace the coronavirus. days after trading shots at each other, new york governor andrew cuomo called his meeting with president trump yesterday productive and says testing will soon double in his state. it comes as a police department in neighboring connecticut starts using drones to monitor people's health. abc's alex presha joins us with more. alex, good morning. >> reporter: kenneth, good morning. the fda has just approved the first at home test for the coronavirus on the same day president trump made a

controversial claim saying that widespread testing is not necessary to re-open the country. this morning, president trump facing more questions about a promise his administration made six weeks ago about the pace of coronavirus testing. >> as you know now, six weeks later we still aren't at 4 million tests. >> i don't know what statement -- >> what went wrong with the testing? >> reporter: back on march 10th vice president pence said more than 4 million tests would be distributed by the end of that week. but as of today, the country has conducted just over 4 million tests total. >> 4 million tests and we're -- >> you know what, you ready again? we've tested more than every country in the world, even put together, so that's all i can say. as far as mike, he'll answer your question. he'll be back tomorrow. >> reporter: experts say testing needs to double or triple before the country can safely re-open. and some governors report major problems with the testing supply chain including new york governor andrew cuomo who met with the president tuesday days after describing him as king

trump. >> you know, not everybody wants to do such significant testing. testing is good in some cases, and in some cases it's not.no calls the meeting productive saying the president pledged to help new york ramp up testing. >> we now do on average of about 20,000 tests per day. our goal, which is very aggressive and ambitious, but set it high and then try, our goal is to double the 20,000 to get to 40,000 tests per day. >> reporter: massachusetts' governor says testing also needs to dramatically increase in his state where the death toll is approaching 2,000 with more than 41,000 confirmed cases, the third highest in the country. the crisis taking a toll on first responders in boston. >> it's been a long day. we're exhausted. there's no sugar coating this stuff. we're drained. >> i can't compare this to anything. >> everyone is at a higher stress level right now. >> reporter: illinois' governor now says it could be mid-may

before cases peak in his state. chicago's mayor says the stay-at-home order could extend into june. as some states try to safely open society, one police usingeechnoly unching drones th monitor people's temperatures from 190 feet away. the drones can also detect sneezing, coughing and even people's heartrates. >> there shouldn't be a police chief or anybody who is sitting in my seat right now with everything that is going on not looking for a way to do things differently. >> reporter: as for privacy concerns, the company behind that so-called pandemic drone says the technology doesn't identify people, just gathers health data. kenneth. >> all right, alex presha, thank you so much. new details about the future of macy's this morning, which is among several retailers struggling during this pandemic. the company is reportedly looking to take on as much as $5 billion in debt as it hopes to avoid bankruptcy. one analyst says very few department stores are likely to survive. an earthquake has jolted

southern california overnight. it was only a 3.8 magnitude quake centered in los angeles around the windsor hill neighborhood. it lasted about ten seconds. no reports of any major damage. time now for a look at your wednesday morning weather. a quick round of strong storms hit parts of new jersey knocking down trees and power poles. at least one possible tornado touched down in the state tuesday. looking at the radar right now, severe storms will be moving into the southern plains and gulf coast today bringing damaging winds, hail and possible tornadoes. the biggest tornado threat will be in parts of texas and louisiana. looking at today's high temperatures, 70s and 80s across the south, 60s from washington, d.c. to salt lake city, 86 in l.a. coming up, a mother and her newborn separated for 25 days because of the coronavirus are finally reunited. get the kleenex. you'll see it next.

also ahead, poison control centers are seeing a huge jump in accidental poisonings, the most common mistakes people are making with household cleaners. and later, why gronk, yeah, the one and only gronk is coming back to football. we'll hear from his agent.

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er. are up and running. please visit feedingamerica.org... to locate a food bank in your community. -together... -together... -together... -let's feed the love. ♪ back now with a crash that looked like a hollywood movie scene. a stolen car flew into the side of a home near l.a. no one in the house was hurt. police are looking for two people who ran from the scene. nearly 800 cases of coronavirus have now been linked to a pork plant in south dakota. the smithfield food plant is believed to be the biggest virus hot spot in the country. we spoke to a worker who says he and others weren't aware of the outbreak until 80 people at the plant were infected. he says they heard nothing from his supervisors.

>> because we were calling in to the office and they would say there's only one case, but from that one case people started talking that we had more cases then the next we saw was on the news that we had so many cases. >> at least two people from the plant have died. south dakota remains one of the few states without a stay-at-home order. a car racing event is being held this weekend about 80 miles from the smithfield plant. 700 people could attend. the governor is asking fans to stay home. the u.n. is warning the coronavirus could cause a famine of biblical proportions. an additional 130 million people could be on the brink of starvation by the end of the year. meanwhile, here at home we've been showing you the long lines outside food banks. some people in dayton, ohio, yesterday waited three hours only to be turned away. poison control centers are seeing a spike in calls since the pandemic began. the state of washington has seen a 23% jump in the number of people accidentally poisoned.

many are using bleach or hand sanitizer to clean their supermarket produce. people are also using bleach to clean their face masks when doctors say all you need is soap and water. a new york mother who just recovered from the coronavirus finally got to see her baby girl face-to-face. she met little isabella for the first time, get this, 25 days after giving birth. >> can i touch? >> yes, she's yours. go for it. >> iris nolasco had been so sick that doctors had to perform an emergency c-section and whisk away her baby. when she finally laid eyes on her daughter, she was overwhelmed. >> it was a mix of emotions. i was excited to get there and kind of confused when i saw her. i didn't even know if i was allowed to touch her. it was -- i don't know how i didn't faint. it was amazing just to hold her and she was so tiny but she's beautiful. >> mom was 30 weeks pregnant

when she got sick. she says at one point her fiance started saying his good-byes. >> beautiful image there. coming up, the doctor who's in quae in his kids' tree house. also ahead, the european country that said no to the coronavirus lockdown. was it the right decision? day. people are surprising themselves the moment they realize they can du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. don't use if allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor right away about signs of inflamed blood vessels, such as rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection

and before stopping any asthma medicines, including oral steroids. du more wi lasthma. lk to your doctor about dupi du mthere will be parties and family gatherings. there will be parades and sporting events and concerts. to help our communities when they come back together, respond to the 2020 census now. spend a few minutes online today to impact the next 10 years of healthcare, infrastructure and education. go to 2020census.gov and respond today to make america's tomorrow brighter. it's time to shape our future. galya is obsessed with oscar. her first word was "doggie" as soon as she saw him. doggie. just like that. can you give oscar a kiss? oh, good job. oscar's family so i feed him blue.

let's be honest. quitting smoking is hard. like, quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so try making it smaller, and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette. back now with a differ back now with a different kind of quarantine. an er doctor in texas has been living in his son's tree house for three weeks to self-isolate. he didn't want to risk exposing the family to coronavirus. he says he has wi-fi and what's described as a makeshift bathroom. much of the u.s. and europe are on lockdown because of the virus but not sweden. it's allowing many businesses including bars and restaurants to stay open even with more than 15,000 cases of the virus. one american living there says people are still making an effort to wash their hands and keep some social distance, and it appears to be working. but he points out sweden is not the u.s. >> people are out walking around.

the restaurants are open. the library is open. public transportation. i think for this country, they're handling it just fine and they're doing it perfectly. i'm not sure the same strategy could work in the u.s. because of the size of the country. i'm not sure if the health care capacity is the same in the u.s. but for sweden i think it's working. it's working fine. >> supporters of sweden's approach claim more young people are getting exposed to the virus and may develop immunity but say it's far too early to determine if the strategy is a success. the head of the cdc is warning that a second wave of the coronavirus later this year could be even worse because it would coincide with flu season. earlier i spoke with dr. david eisenman from ucla's center for public health and disasters. i asked him what he thinks. >> the flu plus covid-19 at the same time, that's a one-two punch, so we were lucky this year the covid-19 arrived in

march, which was the end of our flu season, but, you know, flu seasons are really busy times in hospitals. emergency rooms are typically stacked up with patients, beds against the walls, hospitals are filled. doctors' offices are filled. nursing homes have lots of cases and now imagine having a second respiratory virus and looks just like the flu coming around at the same time. it's going to make it incredibly important that we have tests for everybody. everybody is going to need both a flu test and a covid-19 test. so what this comes down to once again is the issue of massive scaling up of our testing. >> and a new preliminary study is warning that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, that drug has been touted by many people including the president. it has shown no benefit in helping coronavirus patients and more deaths among coronavirus patients given the drug. what can you say about this once

promising treatment? are we scaling back now? >> it's a flawed study. it's a retrospective review of records, so it's a kind of study that in normal times we would ignore, the media would not pick up. it's not a good enough study to really tell us anything, but now, of course, we're all hungry for something that's going to work. this doesn't seem to be showing that. we still need the randomized control trials that are the way we decide if drugs work, and those trials are ongoing. but in the meantime, the nih expert panel has recommended that doctors do not use the combination drug unless it's part of a clinical trial. >> researchers also found the anti-malaria drug did not reduce the need for a ventilator. coming up, the return of gronk. the story behind rob gronkowski's reunion with tom brady. audrey's on it. eating right... ... and staying active? on it! audrey thinks she's doing all she can to manage her type 2 diabetes and heart disease,

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♪ reunited and it feels so good ♪ ah, reunited, and it doesn't feel so good for patriots fans. tom brady and rob gronkowski are getting back together again. >> they'll take the field for the tampa bay buccaneers. >> in miami, land of retirement. >> reporter: this morning one football superstar is ditching the beach and making his return to the gridiron. >> and gronkowski to the end zone.. >> reporter: after one year away from the game, former new england patriot rob gronkowski is coming back to play for the tampa bay buccaneers once again joining forces with his former teammate, newly traded quarterback tom brady. >> this is a case of rob gronkowski wanting to play with his quarterback. >> reporter: gronk known for his hard partying antics with teammates. >> who's getting wild tonight? >> reporter: called it quits in 2018.

>> i could barely walk. i slept for five minutes that night. i was in tears in my bed after a super bowl victory. >> reporter: saying at the time his body just couldn't take the wear and tear. >> i needed to recover. i was not in a good place. football was bringing me down, and i didn't like it, and i was losing that joy in life, like the joy. >> reporter: but gronk now says he's ready to play crediting his recovery to the marijuana extract cbd oil along with a new training method he adopted thanks to his old pal brady. >> he uses body movements and natural body weight. should hav years. >> gronkowski still on his feet, 10, 5, touchdown. >> gronk is a fun guy. the new england patriots fans can't be too happy. you lost brady and gronk. >> i can see the headlines now taking his talents to south florida. >> yeah, he sure is. >> i didn't want to say south beach. >> i'm sure he'll have a good time as well. we'll check the top headlines next. next.

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we turn to the most certain thing there is. science. science can overcome diseases. create cures. and yes, beat pandemics. it has before. it will again. because when it's faced with a new opponent, it doesn't back down - it revs up. asking questions 'til it finds what it's looking for. that's the power of science. so we're taking our science and unleashing it. our research, experts and resources. all in an effort to advance potential therapies and vaccines. other companies and academic institutions are doing the same. the entire global scientific community is working together to beat this thing. and we're using science to help make it happen. because when science wins, we all win.

making news right now at 4:27. we could finally get an idea today when california can start reopening. governor newsom promises details where we stand on the fight against coronavirus. and a sobering new development in the tracking of the introduction of covid-19 into the united states. the first confirmed death in the country was actually here in the bay area and it was in early february. happening right now, bay area counties are tracking down on face coverings and b.a.r.t. is warning us, if you are not wearing one, you might be asked to leave. good morning, everyone. it is wednesday april 22nd and my friend, mike nicco, guess what today also is? >> earth day. >> earth day. happy earth day. >> thank you. happy earthdy to you.

one of the positive aspects of dealing with this. the pollution on the planet is considerably lower. up to 30% in some areas. you know what else we got going this morning? a meteor shower. so now until the sun comes up, good time to get outside. just take a jacket because temperatures are still pretty chilly in. you can see it's pretty clear outside. a few clouds in the east bay hills and also the peninsula coast and we still have a little bit of a breeze along the coast also and that will pick up as we head into the afternoon hours. look what else picks up this afternoon. looks like the marine layer clouds more prevalent along the coast and the rest of us sunny conditions with a passing high cloud or two. but look at these temperatures from 65 in half moon bay and mid 70s around the bay and upper 70s to our first 80s in the string of many to come. kumasi, we'll talk more about that in the accuweather

seven-day forecast. we expect to get more information from governor newsom about opening the state's economy and easing our shelter-in-place rules. julian? >> hey, good morning, kumasi. we're not exactly sure if the governor will give an exact date of when the shelter-in-place guidelines will be relaxed later today, but the ability to test a large portion of california's population is a big factor in all of this. while experts debate how much of california's population should be tested daily, the reality is the testing must be ramped up quickly to create the demand. the testing task force two weeks ago. white house guidelines suggest states can begin a gradual reopening if there is a decrease in covid-19 cases over 14 days. cases in the greater bay area back to march 1st.

while we are flattening the curve, cases are going up, even if moderately. >> practicing social distancing has worked to keep those numbers relatively modest in terms of growth. but if we pull back too quickly, those numbers will go through the roof. >> facing intense public pressure, states like south carolina are easing shelter-at-home orders and department and retail stores reopening tuesday with 20% capacity. also hearing the pub lb beaches opened there, too. given some power to local governments to ease those restrictions as long as they don't intervene with the state guidance that is still on the books currently. obviously, a really delicate balance of getting californians back to work and restoring normalcy with, of course, balancing and protecting public health and safety. reporting from home, julian glover,