everybody abiding by the shelter in place. we do have cars out there. mind your speed. the toll plaza, no metering lights, just some damp roadways on the peninsula. use caution as the rain comes through later as well. back to you. thanks, mike and kari. we are entering our seventh hour of the shelter in place. looks like everyone is doing a good job. >> each and every one of us has a critical role to play. >> the white house announces new guidelines to crack down on the spread of the coronavirus, including limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people. overnight major cities going beyond that. businesses now shutdown in new york. a shelter in place order in san francisco. >> these measures will be disruptive to day-to-day life, but there is no need to panic. >> and this morning, the new

pleas to millennials nationwide on why they could hold the key to stopping the virus. breaking overnight, postponed, officials in ohio call off today's primary just hours before the polls were set to open, but voting is still on in florida, arizona, and illinois. >> ebel it's safe and we think the election will be just fine. >> officials in those states under fire for moving forward in spite of the outbreak. released, tom hanks and rita wilson released from the hospital, but still in quarantine. >> i got results back for coronavirus, and it came back positive. all that plus spreading the love. from impromptu concerts to a unique way of celebrating a special anniversary. >> just a sweetness to the two of them and what they share. >> we'll share how people are coming together to get through

these strange times, today, tuesday, march 17, 2020. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," the coronavirus pandemic. with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb. from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hi, everybody. welcome to "today." we're so happy that you're joining us on this tuesday morning. we're with you, we're with each other, we may be further apart than normal -- >> i know. this is the new normal. this is your dance space, my dance space and we're justing as frankly everyone in the country is adjusting. let's start with the latest. the government's task force's new sweeping guidelines for the next 15 days to try to prevent and slow down the spread of the virus. but they acknowledge this pandemic may well stretch into july or august.

>> meantime, the president warned that a recession was possible after another historic rout on wall street. the nasdaq's biggest one day plunge ever. officials in ohio have pulled the plug on today's primary over fears of exposing voters and poll workers to the virus. as we start our coverage, an update on the number of cases in the use, it stands at more than 4,400 with 88 deaths. we start with tom costello. >> reporter: the dramatic spike we saw in the number of cases is because the u.s. is now ramping up testing by an nbc news count, 33 tests so far nationwide. that is a drop in the bucket compared to south korea, which is doing 15,000 each day. meanwhile, cities and states closing restaurants and bars and

gyms and theatres, retailers closing down. the president said there's no plan right now for any sort of national quarant expects this could extend well into late summer. president trump now offering a sobering new assessment of the coronavirus crisis as cases rise from coast-to-coast. >> this is a bad one. this is a very bad one. this is bad in the sense that it's so contagious. >> reporter: the administration providing a sharp change in tone from a day earlier. >> it's credible, but it's something we have tremendous control over. >> reporter: now new white house guidelines urge all americans to avoid social gatherings of ten people or more. >> if everybody in america does what we ask for in the next 15 days we'll see a difference and we won't have to worry about ventilators or icu beds. >> reporter: overnight ohio's

governor defied a judge's order, canceling the state's primary election by getting the state's health director to declare an emergency, ordering the polls closed over the fear of the coronavirus. >> it does preserve people's constitutional rights and it does not require them to choose between their health and exercising their constitutional right. >> reporter: it comes as three other states are set to vote today in the first primary since the start of the outbreak, arizona, florida, and illinois moving forward with their primaries, despite calls for social distancing. nationwide, health officials are struggling to stop the spread of the virus. the san francisco bay area under lockdown with residents told to stay home except essential needs. in the capitol, the supreme court shutdown for the first time in a century when it closed for the 1918 pandemic.

canada plans to shutdown international travel, except u.s. citizens. >> anyone with symptoms will not be able to come to canada. >> reporter: it comes as the airline industry seeks a $50 billion government bailout. amtrak said it's making cuts to its rail service due to decreased demand. amazon says with the spike in online orders it will hire 100,000 workers to help with demand and increase wages for workers by $2 an hour. in seattle doctors gave a first dosage of a potential vaccine to trial patients. for now the white house says everyone, especially young and healthy people, should do their parts to protect the older friends and loved ones considered at risk. >> i want to speak particularly to our largest generation now, our millennials. they are the core group that will stop this virus.

>> reporter: i misspoke on the beginning, 33,000 tests have been cared out nationwide, compared to 15,000 per day in south korea. the economic toll is mounting, congress considering an economic lifeline to families and businesses. credit card companies are helping people figure out a payment plan, deferring sometimes interest in some places. we have utility companies promising not to turn off the power, water or cable tv or telephone service as we're ornl a week into a massive disruption. now to the steps major cities have taken to control the virus. how people are coping with those changes and the order to stay home. gabe gutierrez joins us from the heart of new york city, times square. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you.

this is the heart of manhattan, many bars and restaurants closed on st. patrick's day, the new restrictions went into effect overnight as the entire country faces a few reality. overnight the unprecedented changes took part in two of the largest populated areas, much of new york and san francisco shutdown. >> there's nothing at this point that i can do. >> reporter: across manhattan, a stunning sight. normally packed bars and restaurants no longer allowing customers to dine in. >> i don't know what's going to happen. i don't know financially how i'm going to pay my bills. >> reporter: only takeout and delivery orders across the tri-state area. >> it's like a nightmare that doesn't end. >> reporter: some businesses choosing to close. have you seen anything like this? >> the only thing close was sandy. it was hard to come back from.

most people live paycheck-to-paycheck. >> reporter: across the region schools are shutdown. >> real decision makers have to factor in everything. everything. because the ramifications on people's lives are that great. >> reporter: new york city is starting online classes next week and planning to distribute 300,000 devices to students in need. casinos, movie theatres and gyms are also shuttered. >> i need this place. it's my sanity, i love it here. >> reporter: the sharp increase in coronavirus cases leading to a more drastic order in the san francisco bay area. 7 million people are being told to shelter in place for three weeks. >> these measures will be disruptive to-to-d disruptive to day-to-day life but there's no need to panic. >> reporter: like new york, essential businesses like grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations will stay open. lindsey supports the restrictions, she's eight months

pregnant, working from home with her husband and toddler. >> i'm due in nine weeks, so just a little bit worried about hospital capacity at that point. >> reporter: businesses, the communities they serve coming face-to-face with a in new reality from coast-to-coast. for those businesses that are staying open, new york governor andrew cuomo says they should operate with at least half of their employees working from home. >> new jersey's governor put tough restrictions in p place in his state yesterday and suggested a curfew for nonessential travel.l. he joins us this mor good to see you. >> good morning. >> we see what happened in new york city and san francisco where the mayor ordered people to s in place.amic action, a lockdown of sorts, something you could see happening in your state? >> we frankly have a version of that already

it isn't a curfew, it is a strong recommendation that between each night, the hour of 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. the next day, cut out all nonessential travel in the state of new jersey only essential businesses allowed to be open so casinos are shut, movie theatres, restaurants, bars, our schools today are all shut we called up the national guard. we lowered the amount of people that we're allowing to gather. we're trying to do everything we can to break the back and flatten that curve so we can take pressure off the health care system and god willing save lives. >> you were on the call yesterday with a number of governors from around the country and president trump. what did he tell you governor nors about the availability of respirators and ventilators and whether the federal government could be relied upon in case states were not on able to meet their individual needs.

>> we had an ask in with the federal government, our number one objectives are personal protective equipment for our health care, first responders, boots on the ground. good news from the call yesterday, fema will help us stand up some drive through testing, which we desperately need and ultimately we're going to need a lot of money to put our economy back on its feed the white house has generally been accepting of the ask. we've gotten a fraction of our personal protective equipment. they said we'll do our best but y'all are going to have to source some of this yourself the problem is this is not lying around, everybody wants it fema comes in with their own equipment, which is an important step, an important point to make but we will continue to make those asks of the federal government >> governor cuomo of new york said he believes the army corp. of engineers should come in and

construct makeshift hospitals now in anticipation of the need soon is that what you think, there should be hospitals constructed from the ground up >> potentially we did a lot of our actions by the way, yesterday as we have over time in concert with new york and connecticut and i might add now pennsylvania it's part of the reason we've called up the national guard because the national guard can play a multitude of roles, including engineering and helping us construct i think we'll first look at wings of hospitals that have been closed to reopen. and then full hospitals, we don't have many of them, but we have some of them that are closed that can be reopened and maybe dormitory settings that can be converted to a quarantine set up is the army corp. a potential down the road, absolutely. we'll take it in phases. >> this issue of testing has really doigged the response. do you feel at this moment that the red tape has been lifted many that you're able to test at

the capacity you need to >> i think what we've said to our people is -- by the way, this is no time to panic it's also no time for business as usual and that's a mantra that we've been trying to preach. each day the testing reality is better we have a stronger regime by the end of this week i'm not sure all the red tape has been lifted because you have to do this right both the intake on the front end and the testing on the back end. but we're getting to a much broader, higher scale reality sooner than later in new jersey. >> new jersey's governor phil murphy thank you for your time on this busy day we tern to dr. john torres and stephanie rhule. the testing question we have to ask it every day if you're not testing and analyzing results you're not containing the spread of this virus. >> testing is the lynch pin to getting this under control and the director of the world

health organization even said test, test and test some more. i talked to friends of mine across the country that are er doctors as well. they're telling me yesterday it's gotten better than a week ago, but there's still room for improvement. there still seems to be a delay of getting the results getting them on time would be better. >> you see new jersey, new york, san francisco taking these drastic measures and in some cases locking down the cities. you're a medical professional. if you're giving advice to cities across the country, would you say let's lock it down >> you have to look at the spectrum of what's going on. to lock down the country is a drastic move if you have outbreaks in your area, then start the measures. like the governor said, phases start doing things in phases -- >> people aren't listening to these warnings that's the trouble. >> that is the trouble that's what dr. fauci said yesterday we're going to do it in phases.

if america responds we don't have to go much further, if they don't it's all on the table. >> it's on us to do what we should do or else it'll be mandatory. stephanie, another blood bath on wall street. there's talk about different things that could be done to help people who starting today or next week aren't getting a paycheck and still have bills and rent to pay. >> here's one positive, the president we saw yesterday in the press conference was the most somber we have seen what we have said across the board is we need federal, state, government leaders, as well as business leaders to get on the same page. you said people aren't listening. they start to listen when you see the president -- it wasn't just that, then the media changes. so from a what is this going to do for our economy -- it's bad news as soon as we shutdown and you don't have groups of more than ten people and bars and

restaurants are closed, that's bad in the short term. but in the long term to solve this we have to have the lockdown, now you are seeing the government get closer. so the monetary policy was addressed by the fed on sunday now the congress has passed their bill, they're now moving it to the senate to help people, to expand unemployment, to expand paid family leave -- >> it's not through congress yet. >> people need dough now romney was talking about let's send $1,000 to each family out is there because you need something and you don't need to wait >> this is really important. because you can say i'm going to apply for unemployment benefits, i'm going to get a loan. that takes time. if you don't get to go to work today and you're not a salaried employee, you may not make the best health decisions for your family you may say i'm going to take this shift because i need to get paid but if you're getting that $1,000 and you know you have a cushion, you may say it is time

for me to quarantine as soon as we're making responsible health decisions the sooner the economy will come out the other side. >> three fifths of the u.s. workforce are hourly employees. >> imagine if they had extra cushion, they could make the best choices the next hour, at 8:00 we're going to devote the entire hour to answering your questions whether it's about the virus, economics or consumer. we'll address them coming up next hour. there are people all around the world and they are stepping up and they are helping out and they are doing something for people in need we want to share some of their stories. including a couple of kids in columbus, ohio their schools closed because of the coronavirus outbreak, so they are making the most of their time check it out ♪ >> just a brother and sister and

a cello concert for the neighborhood their neighbor is self-isolating you can see the neighbor there they brought their instruments over, set up on her porch and performed for their tiny audience that's like a perfect moment there. >> music is a healer i think we're seeing so many examples of just good people doing good things and loving their neighbors. and that is the order of the day. >> yes >> craig and al are out once again. we're just being super, super cautious there was a 9:00 hour employee, someone on the third hour of today tested positive for the virus. craig and al had some contact so we're keeping them home. they feel good, though al feels so good he wants to do the weather from home. good morning, al, did you get to sleep in for once? >> i didn't have to commute in, so i did sleep in. i'm in the kitchen, want to make sure there are no nbc news crews

here, this is my ipad, we have a crew, somebody, katherine in our weather center, don is in his home so we jerry rigged this system and i have my graphics and everything i need. we're starting off with severe weather starting this afternoon for a good portion of texas. we'll be watching that storm, damaging winds, tornado threat low, that's the good news as we move into the overnight hours we have an enhanced risk, tornados possible for central texas, damaging winds and hail and as we move into thursday, looking at severe weather again from texas to missouri and arkansas for up to 6 million people this system will be pushing to the east with pacific and gulf coast moisture flowing in. flood watch is up for the dallas metro area through the evening tomorrow the boundary lifts to the north rain from pittsburgh to oklahoma city and thursday, snow likely from

denver to de-lute. snowfall amounts anywhere from one to three, maybe up to six inches of snow back to the west. but locally 5 inches of rain from texas into central hiohio d moving into the northeast. it's going to be a real mess we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. alized his greatest adve is just beginning. (vo) welcome to the most adventurous outback ever. the all-new subaru outback. go where love takes you. good tuesday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we've seen some rain near the coast this morning, but we will have a few hours of some dry weather to clear out. it's also very chilly out there. by this afternoon we'll start to

see some spotty rain popping up here and there and some may contain some very heavy downpours along with small hail, also seeing the chance by this evening. and still going to be raining still off and on into the day tomorrow. thursday is dry. and our temperatures warm up in time for the start of the weekend. >> got to make breakfast for my boy. this way i don't have to put it in the warming drawer. back to you. >> hi, al. >> thank you, al. >> savannah wanted to ask a question, so we have to ask. >> knowing you, are you wearing pants right now? >> oh, look at the time. >> the crew loves it okay we needed a laugh. >> yes, i'm wearing pants, for god's sake, but they are stretchy pants. >> okay. but elastic waistband. >> we figured they were sweats >> we would do the same. >> yes. >> all right, al. >> thank you

still ahead this morning, we're going to hear from families dealing with coronavirus what is it like to have a spouse quarantined in the next room and how does it feel to be the person who brought the virus into the home. what these patients have to say, their experiences may surprise you. >> then the run on grocery stores how people are adjusting to meet the increased demand how the grocery stores are reacting plus the touching move by some stores to protect the most vulnerable shoppers. we're talking about older americans, but first this is "today" on nbc can we go get some ice cream? alright, we gotta stop here first. ♪ ♪ from smarter atms, to after hours video tellers ♪ ♪ comcast business is connecting thousands of banks to technology that turns everyday transactions into extraordinary experiences. hi there. how are you? do you have any lollipops in there? (laughing) no, sorry. we're helping all kinds of businesses go beyond customer expectations. how can we help you?

just ahead with you today, a full hour dedicated to your questions. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ in our new cold brew iced tea. we say no to rushing and brew it longer at a colder temperature for our smoothest taste yet. try it today or tomorrow. no rush.

pure leaf. no is beautiful. pure leaf. ♪you got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive♪ ♪e-lim-i-nate the negative ♪e-lim-i-nate the negative slow it down a little ♪and latch on to the affirmative♪ ♪and latch on to the affirmative♪ it's okay ♪but don't mess with mister inbetween♪ good morning. it's 7:26. i'm marcus washington. a shelter in place advisory is now in effect for much of the bay area. this happened at midnight and covers alameda, contra costa, marin, san francisco, san mateo and santa clara counties. mostly everyone is being told to stay home unless you work for an essential business and you're only supposed to head out for essential activities like buying food, seeing a doctor or caring for a family member. there are questions how aggressive law enforce pt plans to be in enforcing the order. a look at the forecast for today and it's a rainy start.

>> especially near the coast but now we're getting a chance to dry out and the rest of the morning is looking pretty dry. we'll start to see more scattered showers popping up especially for parts of the peninsula for the south bay and east bay as well as the north bay so we'll be watching it very hit or miss. it could produce thunderstorms along with some heavy rain and small hail. we'll have a chance of showers especially tomorrow morning for the first day of spring. our skies will clear out. lows into the 60s. >> very easy, a very light commute. folks are sheltering in place. nonessential jobs no longer an issue. recovering quickly in the last 20 minutes, no problems to the bay bridge toll plaza. we have not had any backups. great to see everybody is doing

their part to help flatten the curve sheltering in place. we'll have another local news update coming up in 30 minutes.

good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today." it's 7:30, tuesday morning, 17th of march, 2020. normally we would be showing you some early revelry, st. patrick's day, people at the pubs. it's a different time this year. >> for the first time in 200 plus years, they canceled the parade here in new york city. they're canceling all things around the country. it's so funny, until you just said it, it was like, today is st. patrick's day? it's a totally different world. >> it is. but you with wear a little green at home. >> we have some crew guys.

>> i forgot to wear some green. my irish grandmother would not be happy about that. it's 7:30 and we're so glad you're with us. here is the latest on the coronavirus. the president issued guidelines that called for americans to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people and limit discretionary travel and dining out. >> the college board canceling second s.a.t. makeup exams. those are canceled. students who signed up for those two dates will receive refunds. >> more postponements in the world of sports to tell you about. the running of the kentucky derby has been rescheduled for september 5th. the race is normally run in may. major league baseball announcing opening day will be pushed back until at least mid may. all right. so thousands of americans have tested positive. what has it been like for those patients and their families. in a moment we're going to talk to a nurse who contracted the virus and is now in self-quarantine. first nbc's joe fryer has the story. good morning, joe. >> reporter: good morning. health experts say there's so much we don't know about the

virus. some people get very sick, others have few, if any, symptoms at all. we spoke remotely to those to who tested positive, as well as loved ones of those who are sick to see how they are coping. >> we read. we watched tv. >> reporter: inside this tiny apartment, she's in isolation with her toddler luke while she cares for her husband josh who tested positive for covid-19 a week ago. >> he was sweating, his throat was hurting. we know that he had coronavirus. it was horrifying to me but his symptoms didn't look horrifying. josh was quarantined in the bedroom while luke and i were out in the living room. we tried not to touch him. i like spoke to him from outside the room. just not being able to go outside, not really interacting with other people, that's been the part that's been extremely hard for all of us.

luke and i have not been tested. it's not how i would like it, because how will you really know if you have it or not. >> i started feeling some flu-like symptoms last wednesday. >> reporter: you may recognize daniel goldman from the impeachment hearings. he was the democratic counsel for the house intelligence committee. now the new yorker is in home isolation, diagnosed with the coronavirus. but to get tested, he had to drive to a hospital out of state. >> because there were so few test kits out there, i was really unable to find a test within new york state because i didn't fit the criteria. my wife almost certainly has it. she has the same symptoms. >> reporter: now awaiting test results for his wife and three kids, his family has hunkered down for a two-week quarantine at home. >> it's important for everybody out there to understand, this is not a plague, it's not an afflicti affliction. for the vast majority of people who get it and are not vulnerable, elderly or immunocompromised it feels like

the flu. i had a fever, i had a headache. it was not fun for three days. but i got past it. i've been sicker before. >> reporter: both family members say they're following doctor's orders and isolating at home, but they also say the wish testing for covid-19 was more widespread and easier to get for patients and their family members. back to you guys. >> all right, joe, back to you. >> dr. torres is back with us and we're joined on face time by a colorado nurse recovering from a serious case of the coronavirus covid-19. lisa, first things first. you look good. how are you feeling this morning? >> i'm actually feeling really great this morning. i started making a turn for the better on march 14th. i've gotten more energy back. the only thing that i'm having right now is just a little fatigue and some shortness of breath still. >> this all started back in february. you went on a trip to hawaii. you felt like a lot of people feel, a little yucky. you said you were feeling pains

in your neck and thought it was maybe how you were carrying your backpack. when did you realize this was something serious? >> i realized it was something serious -- my husband and i both started having fevers on march 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. i didn't start feeling bad until probably the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. on the 8th is when i asked him to take me to the emergency room because i felt like i was about to collapse every time i took a breath. it was shortness of breath. then my lower lobes, down by my ribs started hurting really bad. >> you >> you're a nurse. was it easy to get the coronavirus test as of a couple weeks ago? >> well, i'm an advanced practice nurse, i have a little clinic in town i went in -- i didn't -- i didn't expects that i had the coronavirus at all i thought maybe it was a case of the flu. but i did -- i did check for the flu before that. i went to our clinic and got a flu test for my husband and i,

and that was negative. so i kind of suspected maybe i might have it but i wasn't 100% sure you know, it was really scary for me at the time, so we went in and got the full workup >> as mentioned, you are a health care professional yourself we have one here, too, dr. torres, also from colorado, i believe. i know, lisa, you had some questions you wanted to ask dr. john fire away. >> i do. on march 22nd, they said i could go back out in the public and i'm really scared. i'm scared to go back in the public i'm scared about getting -- you know, reinfecting anybody, getting reinfected myself. how long will i be a carrier >> that's very understandable, especially with your patients. if you have a vulnerable population, you want to make sure you're not causing any issues with them there's two criteria one of them is that you test negative two times 24 hours awe part if you do that you can get released from isolation.

the other is symptom-based if your symptoms have gone away but you had symptoms seven days ago, when it started so you've gone at least seven days with symptoms, they've gone away and you either have symptom-free -- i'm sorry, your fever has gone away three days without any kind of issues or your symptoms have completely resolved. >> i'm sorry i didn't follow that i don't get it if you don't have symptoms for seven days and you have a fever for three? >> as long as you started getting symptoms seven days ago and your symptoms have gone away and you're fever-free three days then you can go ahead and go but that fever free means not taking any medicine before the tests. >> getting two tests in 24 hours is highly unlikely since people are having trouble getting one test >> that's why they did the symptom part of it but it's confusing, like i just confused everybody. it's confusing. >> just stay home, lisa. >> do you have any more questions? >> i am scared about that, because i did get that

information, 14 days quarantine, two negative covid tests, 24 hours apart. later they called and said 10 days isolation and i don't need any testing. i don't know what to feel. i don't want to infect anybody and i don't know how long i'll be a carrier i've closed my clinic down until april 1st -- you know, the middle of april right now because i'm just really scared >> you're taking the right measures to make sure your patients are safe. that's probably the most important thing you can do at this point if you've tested twice over that 24 hour period, if you did that, you're not going to be a carrier of the disease and you're not going to pass it on to anybody else. it's prudent to give that extra period of time that extra badding, becaus it's a vulnerable population. >> thank you for talking to us about this we wish you the best, okay, hon. >> thank you. >> we hope you're feeling better. >> dr. john, thank you dr. john, you're not going anywhere, my friend. we'll see you in a few minutes a lot of people are talking

about this, the race to restock empty grocery store shelveshelv. americans are stocking up. we'll tell you what chains are doing to ease the burden on older shoppers kerry sanders has the details on this this right after that. from right here on the ground. we don't just see united states we see united towns. we're grateful for what you bring, and all the sparks you've shown, in the thousands of towns that we get to call home. ♪ ♪ ♪ wherever we want to go, autosave your way there with chase. chase. make more of what's yours. where does your almondmilk almond breeze starts here with our almond trees in our blue diamond orchard in california.

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bare shelves at stores, and a lot of people are asking what are retailers and manufacturers doing to meet the demand do they have enough? kerry sanders has the latest on that kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is how much of america looks. i'm inside the landes home this is a family of five they have a well stocked refrigerator it's taken them over three days, six runs to grocery stores, come in here and look at the pantry, to get what they need. this is what the government says for two weeks. this is not hoarding it explains why there's still a continued run at the grocery stores this morning major grocery stores working overtime, ramping up staffing to get food and supplies from the warehouse to supermarket shelves. >> we're still going to be able to feed people because we have these 1,300 trucks a day, plus more, coming

>> i would just ask that we err on the side of preparednes versus panic. >> reporter: a shortage of toilet paper, hand sanitizers, and soap, expanding in some stores now freezer sections and fresh meats also cleaned out >> we definitely had to go to more than one store to get everything we needed today. >> the challenge hoarding, with many shoppers afraid supplies will run out. >> hoarding is hurting our communities, so please don't do that. >> this is not a time to panic we are not closing grocery stores. >> the grocery stores are not shutting down. no need to rush into the stores as if all of the food will be gone. >> absolutely no eggs. >> reporter: the fear, prompted by images of empty store shell efs across america >> what's the hardest thing to find right now >> reporter: makers of toilet paper, like georgia pacific, say they're rolling it out as quickly as possible. inside some stores, new precautions, like plastic shields around cashiers at texas chain heb. a major concern, vulnerable seniors.

northeast chain stop and shop opening at 6:00 a.m. exclusively for customers over age 60. this los angeles grocery store also offering special hours for seniors. >> we have a package for you. >> reporter: and in chicago, a nonprofit putting together and delivering care packages to seniors in need. >> it's something that's going to affect everybody. we just have to do a better job recognizing the humanness, or the americanness in each of us if we're going to rise out of this, we've got to do it together. >> reporter: so this morning we now have scientific analysis of how much of this you need in your house for two weeks a family of four, according to the iri panel, has calculated if you're at home and a little extra snacking, the magic number is 17. 17 rolls of double ply tp. >> for how long? for two weeks? >> two weeks. >> reporter: that's for two weeks. that's for two weeks, family of four, 17. >> okay.

all right. meantime, kerry, the epa released this list of disinfectants. people are wondering, is my disinfe disinfe disinfe disinfectant doing the job some are qualified against the coronavirus. what do you know >> there has been such a concern nobody can get the specific items they need, they have been gone from the grocery stores epa did a list they did some testing. others they just added onto the list what we've done, there's more than 200 of them, we put that list on our website, nbcnews.com/coronavirus. i want to point out as people are wondering, i've just come into somebody's house. we're all practicing social distancing we're keeping -- in fact, the cameraman, he is going to pull back and show a wide shot. even he and i are 6' apart the whole idea, we not only convey information, but while in the field we're practicing what we're preaching. >> absolutely. glad to see that, kerry. thank you so much. it's time to say hello to al don't you love those words

hello, al roker. >> good morning, sunshine. >> how are you doing, honey? >> hi, guys. i'm so excited about this 60 i can't wait this is really exciting. the other thing i'm excited about, warm temperatures it is really warming up. above average temperatures through the gulf temperatures anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees above average from texas into florida for tomorrow it spreads all the way from oklahoma into the mid-atlantic states and northeast. then we've got a cooldown coming you'll see those temperatures dropping almost 30 degrees fro chicago, minneapolis, pittsburgh, cincinnati and down good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we still have some rain very close by the bay area but most of us are heading to work with some dry conditions on the roads. a few more hours of a break from the rain and we'll start to see scattered showers popping up this afternoon and some of the showers that pop up may drop heavy rain and hail. watching out for that

possibility as our showers stay in the low 60s over the next few days. >> and that is your latest weather. from the roker kitchen, guys. >> al, thank you just ahead, the lessons america can learn from europe's experience with the coronavirus. keir simmons has that story live from london's square, but first these messages [ music begins to build ] [ drums beat faster ] introducing an unlimited coffee subscription for $8.99 a month. at panera, your cup is always full.

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good morning. right now it's 7:56 and we're still seeing some rain close by but not affecting us currently. we did have some rain along the coast earlier this morning, and we'll take a break but then start to see more activity developing on the radar with these pop-up showers, possibly some thunderstorms between 2:00 and 6:00, and then we'll start to see it calming down before another wave of some light rain comes in during the overnight and into the day tomorrow. so we do still have some rain chances in the forecast, and there will be some breaks in between off and on, and our temperatures stay on the cool side, only reaching the low 60s for today as well as tomorrow. the first day of spring is on thursday, looking really nice, as we get more seasonable weather and that continues into the end of the week with another storm moving in on sunday.

let's check in with mike for an update on the commute. shelter in place for nonessential jobs means the people out there are able to get to do what they need really quickly. the speed limits are being abided by pretty much all over the place looking at the bay bridge toll plaza. it's still clear and you can see the reflection of the lens on our glass there. a smooth drive we've never had with metering lights on. low cloud and haze in the north bay. a note for folks towards the golden gate bridge. the bridge itself not a problem. the san mateo bridge still very clear. we almost never see that like on a normal tuesday at 7:57 as folks travel. back to you. happening now for you millions of people around the bay area are waking up to a shelter in place which will last for the next three weeks. that order covers anyone considered a nonessential worker living in alameda, contra costa, marin, san francisco, san mateo and santa clara counties. you can go to our twitter feed for the latest on the order and how law enforcement is

responding and what's still open during the shelter in place order on our home page, we listed all the locations considered essential so you can plan out the next few weeks. i'm marcus washington. we'll have another update in half an hour.

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it's 8:00 on "today. coming up, closing time. cities across the country virtually shutting down as officials enforce strict new rules. some business owners already feeling the heat >> i don't know, financially, how i'm going to pay my bills. >> as the white house offers up new guidelines for all americans. we're live with the three things to watch plus, with you today for the next hour we'll be answering your questions fro facebook and instagram about the coronavirus, from health, your money, to keeping it all together our team of experts is on call with everything you need to

know. and out of the hospital. we've got the latest update on tom hanks and his wife rita wilson after the couple tested positive for the coronavirus. plus how another big star is confronting the disease with a positive message. >> now is a time for solidarity, now is a time for thinking about each other. today, tuesday, march 17th, 2020 welcome back to "today" on this tuesday morning we're just going to tell you, we're so happy you're with us today. we're going to be with you every day. just a reminder, we're here virtually holding your hands as we go through -- get through this sort of new normal of what's going on. >> yeah. we're like really honored by your presence and you being here with us. we know you're inside. we're hoping to keep you company and give you good information. also, you can't celebrate things like birthdays, anniversaries, we're used to our crowd being here it's like a piece of our heart is missing when we don't have

folks out there. so how about this, we want to help send us your pictures, videos, give us a video about them and we'll do an on-air shoutout. use the #withyoutoday. because we really want to be with you during this time -- a hard time in our country >> we certainly do coming up tomorrow we're going to have a live interview with nba star kevin love. he's one of the first players to step up and he donated to the arena staff. those are the folks who sell hot dogs and cokes and all that kind of stuff they are obviously impacted by the league shutdown. kevin is vocal on the importance of mental health we're going to talk to him about how he's coping and also, i'm sure he can share some great advice for all of us >> everybody will be excited to hear from him. he's going to call in, i believe. let's get right to your news at 8:00 the white house has released strongest guidelines to slow the spread in the u.s. some local governments are taking it even further. nbc's tom costello is joining us with the three things he's watching today on this crisis. tom, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah i think the severity of this

pandemic and this national emergency really was driven home in the last 24 hours or so the white house announcing new guidelines they are quite important for everybody to listen to, urging americans to avoid gathering in groups of 10 people or more for the next 15 days what they are trying to do is they're trying to flatten the curve. you've heard the expression, trying to right now limit the expansion or growth of this virus and the spread of the virus as fast as they can, and therefore keep a cascade of people from hitting ers and icus all at once. it's critically important, says the white house, that we all try to hunker down at least for the next 15 days major cities taking drastic measures san francisco ordering 7 million people right now, shelter-in-place, stay home. a growing number of cities nationwide are urging to do the same they are closing gyms and bars,

theaters d.c., new york, out to the west coast, denver, chicago, just about everywhere in the country the same thing happening this is so important they are urging millennials to please listen to this. because, while you, a young person, may not get sick, you will very likely be exposed to the virus and you can carry the virus and expose somebody else who is just walking along on the street, who may be in the grocery store, who may be a beloved family member or friend, and they could be very vulnerable it could be life threatening for them millennials are encouraged, please listen and play your civic role here, duty. a trial under way in seattle a very fast rollout of this test or vaccine, i should say, that was developed by nih 45 people, healthy young people, in seattle now are a part of this clinical vaccine trial, but a widespread rollout, if it is successful, wouldn't happen for 12 to 18 months.

ladies, i'll tell you, this is really one of dozens of programs worldwide involving medical centers and universities worldwide trying to come up with a vaccine and also, by the way, antiviral treatments as quickly as possible. back to you. >> we have so much respect for our medical professionals and scientists and how hard they are working right now, tom thank you very much. europeans have seen some of the worst consequences of the pandemic so far and their leaders are struggling to kind of wage a united war against this common industry "today" senior international correspondent kier simmons jones us from london with the very latest. hey, keir, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is the world famous trafalgar square, and look how the world has changed. this is stunning to me this place feels like a sunday that street behind me underneath big ben, that's right next to the prime minister's residence in downing street. look how quiet that is now, yesterday we spoke about how the british government is trying to delay its response that's all changed in the past 24 hours after the british prime minister was given a report warning of a catastrophic

epidemic now, a senior world health organization official telling nbc news what's happening in europe could happen in america in europe's historic cities and streets, events not seen this century. lines outside french food stores, checks at the german border the french president warning we're at war even the british now in retreat after uk scientists warn 250,000 people could die britain's prime minister urging people to stay home. >> to save life, minimize suffering, and to give our nhs the chance to cope. >> students from salt lake city, are stranded in london >> i think i'm so stressed i've just become numb if we get stuck in london for a while, we'll figure that out, too. >> g7 leaders meeting by video conference

and this morning, a senior official from the world health organization himself self-isolating >> i'm over 70 i'm the kind of person who really ought to avoid getting this infection. >> how quickly is the coronavirus spreading through europe >> i think it's doubling in scale every three days. >> this map from johns hopkins university shows how in a matter of months covid-19 has spread around the globe world health officials telling america. >> get ready now for the new reality that's coming. >> italy hit hardest doctors forced to choose who to save one city proposing not to treat people over the age of 80. but this morning, a glimmer of hope >> i've just seen some early data that suggests that the rate of the outbreak in northern

italy is starting to slow down >> reporter: europe throwing all its resources at stopping the virus. in spain, the army disinfecting train stations, an epic struggle against an invisible enemy but a war that can be won. one of the reasons that the uk has tried not to move too fast is because of that fear from scientists that when life starts up again, the virus restarts let me just show you across here, 18th century church is still open you can see there are still buskors here in the streets. the british national gallery is open but only a matter of time before the uk closes down like many of those other european countries have one advantage for the u.s., guys, is what happened in asia and what happened in europe is providing lessons for officials there. so that's a positive. >> all right, keir, from trafalgar square thank you. we do have a programming note. nbc will have a live primetime special on the coronavirus pandemic, it's going to be anchored by lester holt.

this thursday night at 10:00 eastern on nbc and on msnbc. all right. we have the news covered and we're going to go overboard or on boost because we feel like people need them >> we need a booster we need a double booster i have one today people are finding all kinds of ways to lift people up during challenging times. some are being generous with their money, others with time and spirit in ohio, bars and restaurants ordered to shutdown sunday night. one customer did something really cool, left something extra with their final tab they left a $2,500 tip, with a note that said, please split this money evenly among the staff. the bill, by the way, was $29.75 >> chills from that beautiful, beautiful thing. all right. how about this this one will melt your heart. i love this lady a woman named charo, she's under

house quarantine in spain. she had her 80th birthday. look what she saw, a surprise birthday cake and serenade ♪ >> other neighbors opened their windows and sang and applause. by the way, can we say happy birthday to charo. >> let's add to it. >> beautiful >> look for some way you can show kindness. it matters so much, especially right now. just ahead we are going to take the rest of this hour, and we're going to devote it to your questions. anything you want to ask about the coronavirus, our experts from all walks of life are here. we can talk about the medical side of this, what aggravates the symptoms safety could you go to a salon appointment? consumer things, what works to clean and what is going to happen with this economy our experts are here your questions next, but first these messages

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we face this uncertainty of what's to come we know you have a lot of questions. we do, too they have been pouring in on facebook and instagram keep it coming we gathered our team of experts from consumer, health, financial fields we'll pick their brains over the last hour. let's start with the man we've all been counting on, dr. torres a question from lauren, how long does it take to show symptoms if you come in contact with the virus. >> what they found out is people who start getting symptoms, half of them will get them within five days, almost everybody gets them within 12 days. that's why they have the 14-day incubation period as a buffer. >> what is the telltale sign it could be coronavirus >> the two biggest are fever and developing shortness of breath if you develop shortness of breath, that's definitely time to seek medical health. >> this question comes from hoda across the studio. she read taking widely used over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen may worsen the coronavirus.

i read that article, too and that's the stuff you take to keep the fever down. >> from hoda, i thought it would be a toilet paper question. >> we all did. >> very theoretical. a french minister put out that ibuprofen may make it worse, but nothing has been proven about that a lot of experts are say it doesn't matter but if you're concerned take acetaminophen. >> but we don't know if that's the case jared wondering, if you test negative do you recommend stays self-isolated. >> if you're quarantined because you're exposed, you want to stay quarantined for the full 14 days if you test negative day six or seven, exactly what we talk about, it could be day 12 or 14 before you get it. if you're isolated, you definitely need to stay isolated until you get two negative test within 24 hours. >> linda says she's basically had a dry cuff for days, but no other symptoms could that be the coronavirus with only that symptom >> coronavirus can have one symptom, no symptoms, multiple symptoms

a dry cough could be part of coronavirus. the main things are cough, runny nose, fever and shortness of breath. >> we've got somebody on a live shot sarah wilson of richmond, virginia hi, sarah, what's your question for dr. john >> yes how will we know that things are getting better or the virus is starting to slow down? what are experts looking for in signs of improvement >> sarah, that's fantastic question you hear about them flattening the curve and the way they come through towards the end of the summer that's what we're looking at we know this curve is going up meaning more cases, we're on the incline right now. when it starts to come down and sustained coming down, looks like we're getting out of the woods but we still need to make the effort. >> we don't know that until we're testing in a routine manner >> exactly testing is a lynch pin to all of this >> dr. john, thank you, sarah. keep them coming consumer questions. >> vicky is with us. all right. this one is -- a lot of women are thinking about this one. the first question from kim, she has a nail appointment this week, is it okay for her to go

>> okay, kim, the answer right now is we are limiting all nonessential trips out of our house. we're being asked to stay at home by health officials so we can flatten the curve and limit the spread of the infection. the question you need to ask yourself, do i have to have this done, does it need to be now yes. a nail salon you're going to be in close contact with someone else you're putting them at risk, they are putting you at risk the official answer from health officials would be, this is not a good time. >> this is a no. on the topic, robert is a hair stylist. he wants to know, and i have a friend who is also in this boat right here, should he cancel all of his appointments. keep in mind, these guys are trying to pay their bills and they need income. >> this is their livelihood, they don't have paid leave they are in the same boat with so many other workers who if they stay home, they're not getting a paycheck i wish i had a crystal ball to tell you how long it's going to be before it's over.

but the short answer is, if we hunker down now, the less and shorter the impact will be i will say to robert, probably a lot of appointments are canceling on you in addition if you can, take this time and be healthy so when you get back in the game you're able to do your job. >> i do think it's important to make our own choices sometimes in different communities the message is confusing. some communities are cracking down some are saying, oh, it's okay we're going to keep this open and that open and you really kind of have to go with your inner compass. >> we're hearing some governors say we need some federal rules here so that everyone doesn't state shop and do their own thing. >> we have a question from fran. let's roll the tape. >> hi, my name is fran, i'm from jacksonville, florida. my husband and i like to go camping in our travel trailer. we're wondering if that's a safe option for us. >> a lot of people love to do that they do tell you to be outside. >> so important for mental health to be outside, to be with nature the thing is, fran, the president is asking all

americans to limit, basically to stop discross-examinatietionary. so you've got to ask yourself these questions from the cdc do you have any underlying health conditions. are you going somewhere where there's a coronavirus outbreak or potential for coronavirus outbreak that could be where you're heading. do you have a plan for what happens if you get sick. these are the questions you need to ask when you get back, are you going to be in contact with people who may be vulnerable? it's not just about you and not just about going about with your normal activities. this is not a normal time and we're going to have to cut back on things we like to do. >> on another note, people want to go out and get fresh air. i took the kids out, i had them in the stroller and we were walking, there was nobody around but fresh air is important >> it is. >> uv rays are important. >> getting some of that vitamin d, absolutely. at times not busy, going somewhere, maybe don't have them on the playground touching equipment but on the grass. >> a lot of people at home, shut in they have pets one of the big concerns is, can my pet get it? what's the answer there? >> cdc said they have not identified a single animal, cat, dog, animal in the united states with the coronavirus

they do not believe there's a risk of pets spreading or contracting coronavirus. that said they haven't done tests. this is another question i get, how long does it live on pet fur if someone pets my dog, do i have to bathe the dog right away there's no test or study that has been done. the idea is you shouldn't be close enough to have someone petting your animal if you do take the dog for a walk. stay in your own space. >> vicky, we're happy you're here just ahead, we'll get questions about navigating your family life, including tips on home schooling your kids. but first, why don't we check in with mr. roker. there's deborah in the background hi, al. >> hi, guys. i don't know that deborah wanted to be seen in the background but she's making breakfast let's show you what we've got going on as far as your weather is concerned we are looking at a little snow developing in northern new england. that's going to be an interesting thing. a little snow hanging around also looking at sunshine through the plains lingering snow making its way

through the west coast and look for severe storms developing into the coast and also down through texas and the ohio river valley >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. some rain near the coast earlier this morning, and since then, things have quieted down. but we will still have pop-up showers this afternoon around 2:00 to 6:00. we'll start to see some rain developing and some of it could produce heavy downpours, along with small hail, slight chance of thunderstorms. we'll also have a chance of rain in the forecast tomorrow. we'll clear out and also warm up slightly for the first day of spring and more warm and sunny weather is in the forecast to the start of the weekend. weather. there goes nick. >> hi, nick. hi, deborah. >> we love ya. >> everybody says hi >> hi. >> hi. coming up, guys, we do have -- we have a lot of questions and we have people who

will answer them plus, some good news for tom hanks and rita wilson as they recover from the coronavirus but first, your local news a very good morning. it's 8:26. the shelter in place variesry y advisory in effect for much of the bay area is in effect. it covers san marin, san francisco, and santa clara counties. everyone is being told to stay home unless you work for an essential business. and you're only supposed to head out for essential activities such as buying food, seeing a doctor or caring for a family member. right now there is still some questions about how aggressive law enforcement agencies plan to be in enforcing the order, but

judging by the roadways this morning it looks like people are trying to comply. let's check in with mike. >> let's not test our law enforcement. they've got a lot to do. richmond side where they had a traffic break scheduled coming westbound across toward san rafael. you see how light the traffic is. near richmond park where they have to move some equipment out of the roadway. no backup and no slowing. no metering lights at the bay bridge toll plaza. contra costa county. scattered, smaller incidents. i've left them all on because there's no slowing there. a disabled vehicle on the san mateo bridge has resulted in no problem here. laura, back to you. >> we'll be back with another local news update in about a half hour. join us for "midday" as well.

we're back it's 8:30. it's tuesday morning, 17th of march, 2020. happy st. patrick's day. >> yes, it is. >> wear a little green as you chill at home. just ahead we have a lot more as we continue this hour totally devoted to your q&a about the coronavirus. >> i like this idea. so many people have questions.

dr. torres will be here and a mental health expert will talk about how we handle this time of stress as kids work from home and kids are being schooled at home >> why are people stressed look at the economy. stephanie ruhle tackling consumer questions including a big one a lot of folks have about tax season which is upon us in a few weeks. >> we'll lighten things up pop start. wait until you see what chris martin did live on instagram it will make you smile whether you're coldplay fan or not it's pretty awesome in this new age of social distancing >> let's get a first check of the weather with mr. roker who is at home right now hi, al, good morning. >> hey, guys, good morning good to see you guys wish i was there with you but will be before too long. let's look at what's going on as far as our weather today is concerned. we are looking at snow developing in parts of the northeast. winter not quite done. severe storms stretching from texas into oklahoma. lingering snow back through the cascades and the sierra. for tomorrow, much milder in the mid plains severe storms continue from

texas and then start to make their way into the mid mississippi and ohio river valleys with heavy rain and a lot of warmth coming in from the gulf coast temperatures anywhere from 10 to >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we're still tracking some rain close by with the storm system just off the coast. this will bring in a new round of rain going into this afternoon and into the evening. so we still have a few hours of a break. we can start to see those showers popping up for the afternoon, and some of them may contain some really heavy rain along with some small hail and even a chance of some thunderstorms. we'll still see some spotty showers here and there for tomorrow. and then temperatures reaching to the low to mid-60s as we clear out for the rest of the workweek. and that is your latest weather. we'll be back at the top of the third hour craig melvin will be joining so we'll see how he's doing as he teaches school for his kids.

>> oh, my gosh one of those crazy conference calls, where you're like, is this on? all right, al. thank you so much. just ahead stephanie ruhle helps us tackle the biggest financial questions tied to this coronavirus outbreak, including where to turn for help if you're self-employed, and so many of you are. we will answer those questions but first this is "today" on

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(vo)electric, it doesn't i knhave enough range.nking. it can't handle the elements. and, there is nowhere to charge up. well, think again. ♪ we're back with steph for more of our with you today hour. >> we are answering your questions as more cities issue curfews and business closures, money is on everybody's mind, the economy everyone is worried about it the first question we can get through face time. this is pete, a loca restaurant owner in chicago. gosh, pete, we know these are hard times what's your question >> yeah, thanks for having me. just curious, we're really worried about our employees here i was wondering if we're going to see any leadership from

insurance companies on the issue to mitigate our losses so we can support our employees? >> pete, i want to say we are 100% with you. we've talked in the last few days how it's important in terms of health to close down restaurants and bars, but it's really important to think about your livelihood and all of your employees. what private insurance companies are doing, we don't yet know as far as the government, today at 9:00 the president is actually meeting with restaurant executives we know that the small business association, and i urge you to go there, sba.gov is working overtime to process emergency loans. you said you're in chicago, did you say? >> that's right. >> go to the state of illinois i want you to be - when you look up your state, make sure you're not looking up dot-com websites, always dot-go v look at development websites, that's where we're seeing more and more emergency funding. i just want you to know, this is being considered, your employees are being considered i know there's not resolutions right now. even companies, possibly credit

card company, utility company, broadband and internet providers are putting a hold on a lot of people and company's bills to get you through this time. >> thanks. >> pete, we're with you. >> thank you. >> thanks for caring about your employees. >> yeah. >> all right thank you, pete. >> sending our love. >> thanks. we've got a question for you, miss rhule. this comes from tess she's currently under contract to sell her home and buy a new one. should she be concerned about mortgage rate increases, et cetera >> her mortgage rates are not going to go up remember, two days ago we saw the fed slash rates that shouldn't be a worry something to consider if she's moving in the next month she's going to have movers in her house. she may have furniture delivery people in her house. make sure she's very transparent with every company, everyone going in and out of her home, because it's not just financial, it's physical. remember, all of these people in her life but as far as mortgage rates going up, that's not something to consider.

>> or transactions. >> how o . >> should you pause? >> this isn't something you necessarily need to pause. the government has told you all the things that need to pause, as far as being around a whole lot of people, being with anyone over 10 -- 10 people, not age of 10 as far as financial transaction, that's okay. the system is absolutely still working. >> okay, lynn has a question about production facility. are they ramping up production to get shelves stocked i assume she means grocery stores and stuff like that >> the answer to that is yes we were talking yesterday, louis vuitton, a luxury brand, taking their perfume manufacturing operations and making hand sanitizer. >> which is great, but that's in france >> that's also just a one-off. we're seeing stores, walmart extending their hours, you talked about it earlier. some grocery stores giving specific hours for senior citizens i promise you, local and national chains are doing everything they can to work on their supply chain amazon yesterday announced it is hiring another 100,000 workers,

increasing pay by $2 to help get all this product out >> judy has a question she has taxes on her mind. she had a tax appointment, they cancelled it she wants to know if the april 15th deadline will be stretched. >> the president has already said we're going to extend the deadline but we don't no de -- deadline, but we don't know details to be preempt you might file an extension. for some people might want to get that rebate. for those who can get it done, get it done sooner rather than later if it's that money you're in need of. >> phil, self-employed, wants to know how recent financial announcements help him out. >> this is a huge issue. phil, we are with you. we've got more self-employed people, gig economy people than ever unfortunately we don't have the regulation to match it we didn't catch up with it but it's being focused on right now. if you work for some of the gig economy companies, insta-carwe'g

you live coverage of today's white house briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. here is the president. >> to the fda. so the states are very much involved. they have been involved from the beginning but we're stepping it up as much as we can and the testing procedures are going well. and within a short period of time, the private labs will kick in. this has never been done before, and it's going to be something very -- i think it's going to be incredible if it's done properly. these are great companies. these are among the greatest companies in the world, actually. so the states are going to be dealing through themselves, local government, local physicians, local everybody. they are also dealing with us. we have a tremendous testing capacity. today we're also announcing dramatic expansion of medicare telehealth. medicare can visit any doctor by phone or video conference at no additional cost, including with

commonly used services like facetime and skype, an historic breakthrough. this has not been done before either. in addition, states have authority for telehealth service for their medical patients. by doing this, the patient is not seeing the doctor, per se, but they are seeing the doctor, so there's no getting close. during this time, we will not enforce applicable hipaa penalties so that doctors can greatly expand care for their patients using telehealth. so the penalties won't be enforced. we encourage everyone to maximize the use of telehealth to limit exposure to the virus. it's been a very successful method of communication but never used on a scale like we're going to use at telehealth. you'll be able to also better maintain hospital capacity by doing this. earlier this morning, i spoke with executives from america's

fast-food industry, wendy's, mcdonald's, all of the big ones, burger king, and they were great. talking about the guidance you heard, to avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, or public food courts. we discussed the important role that the drive-through pickup and delivery service can play in the weeks ahead. so that's happening. they have been fantastic. they have been absolutely fantastic, and they have been doing it already. they are keeping it open and smaller staffs, very capable people and very capable companies and they are doing it, pickups. our guidance yesterday urges americans to take action for 15 days to help stem the outbreak. so it's a 15-day period, now would say it's a 14-day period. 15 days from yesterday. we're asking everyone to work at home, if possible, postpone unnecessary travel, and limit

social gatherings to no more than 10 people by making shared sacrifices and temporary changes, we can protect the health of our people, and we can protect our economy, because i think our economy will come back very rapidly. so 15 days from yesterday. we'll see what happens after that. if we do this right, our country and the world, frankly, but our country can be rolling again pretty quickly. pretty quickly. we have to fight that invisible enemy, unknown, but we're getting to know it a lot better. today the senate is taking up coronavirus legislation that includes free testing for those who need it as well as paid sick leave and family medical leave for workers affected by the virus. we're also committed to getting small businesses the support they need. in fact, one of the things we talked about with the fast-food operations, we spoke to the chairman and ceos of all of the companies, but one of the things

we discussed is exactly that, getting small businesses support and flexibility that they need for themselves and for their workers, and that's being worked on right now. at my direction, secretary mnuchin is meeting today with senators on additional stimulus packages. i can tell you he's meeting with them late until the night last night and for a big part of the day yesterday. tremendous things are happening. there's great spirit, tremendous spirit. i can say that for republicans and democrats. i can say that with respect to governor cuomo, we had a great talk this morning. we're both doing a great job and coordinating it. we agree, different states need different things. we agree on that 100%. but we had a very good talk, and i think we're right down the same track. it's going to be very successful. new york has a pretty big problem, i guess would be the number one hot spot. that's no fault of anybody's.

that's just the way it is. we're working very closely together. we're also getting fema very much involved. they have been involved but now we're getting them to a different level, and we'll have everything ready. we're dealing with the army corps of engineers should that be necessary. we have them working in some cases on stand by and other cases. but my conversation with andrew cuomo was very, very productive one and a very good one, and i appreciate that. we're giving relief to affected industries and small businesses, and we're ensuring that we emerge from this challenge with the prosperous and growing economy, because that's what's going to happen. it's going to pop. one day we'll be standing possibly up here, and we'll see, well, we won. we're going to say that. sure as you're sitting there, we're going to say that. we're going to win. i think we're going to win faster than people think, i hope. later today i'll meet with leaders from the tourism industry as well as industrial

supply retailers and wholesalers to discuss their critical roles. as you know, i met with the department store people, all of the retailers, big ones, including walmart and others. it was great meeting. they are stocking up their stores like they have never stocked them before. we're trying to get people to buy less, if that's possible. buy less. don't take everything. just buy what you need for a while. they are going to stay open all hours of the day. they have really been fantastic. we're taking aggressive action now as one nation and one family, so that america can rebound stronger. frankly, stronger than ever before. we recognize that while many american workers can work from home, many others cannot. many of our health care providers, first responders and men and women in the food service and manufacturing are showing that -- they are showing up and standing up to provide us with the goods and services we need. so we want people to stay home where they can. but in many cases when you talk

about food service and manufacturing certain items in particular, they are -- they are going in, and they are practicing all of the safety rules and regulations we talk about. so with that i'd like to just introduce our great vice president, mike pence. he'll say a few words, and then i'll make some other introductions. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. president. good morning. it should be very clear to the american people that president trump has initiated not only a whole of government approach but a whole of america approach. and the president's interaction even today and through the course of this day with leaders in industry around the country reflects that we're not only bringing the full weight of the federal government to bear, but the full weight of the american economy. i know i speak on behalf of the president when i say how inspired we are at the way the american people have stepped up and the way that american businesses, large and small, have stepped up. it's truly been inspiring. our task force met this morning.

we continue to focus on president trump's priorities of testing, prevention, and supplies. in that category, i'm pleased to report that while testing is available in all 50 states, as the president just indicated, through the swift action of the fda, at the encouragement of governors around the country, now state health authorities can authorize labs in their state and expand existing testing capabilities. but also in connection with the fda's action, which we'll hear more about in a moment, we now have tipped to expand public and private partnership that the president forged with vast commercial laboratories around the country, increasing access to the high volume, high through put coronavirus testing that is greatly expanding access even as we speak. also our task force received a report this morning on the progress that the u.s. public health service and fema are

making working closely with state governments and also partners in the private sector like cvs, target, walgreens, walmart, to expand testing sites around the country and we'll have a full report later this week as those come online. it's important the american people understand the testing is happening all over the country. but all of our health experts wanted me to tell the american people, you don't need the results of testing to know what you should do. president trump's 15-day coronavirus guidelines are advice for every american in every community. they are the result of the best guidance of cdc and you're heal -- our health experts. as the president said, we continue to encourage every american over the next 15 days to put into practice the principles in the president's coronavirus guidelines. by every american practicing these principles, we believe that we can slow the spread of

the coronavirus. in fact, our experts have told our task force that if every american acts on the president's coronavirus guidelines, we could see a substantial reduction in the spread of the coronavirus. but as the president said, it will take all of us to do it. so if you feel sick, stay home. if someone in your house tests positive, keep the entire household home, especially if you're a person with an underlying health condition, we urge you to stay home and practice social distancing from people. no social gatherings of more than 10 people. use drive-through as the president discussed with leaders today. and every american especially practicing common sense and good hygiene. the american people as a whole, the risk of serious illness remains low, but we're asking every american to partner with us in this effort to slow the spread of the virus and especially to be mindful of seniors or others with serious

underlying health conditions for whom the threat of the coronavirus can be very significant and very real. as i said, the president has continued to push our task force to bring a whole of government, a whole of america approach, and we continue to be inspired the way our nation's governors, nation's businesses are responding. we spoke just yesterday with the leaders of every broadcast network in america that will soon be unveiling a public service campaign using cdc guidelines, and specifically as we work on the issue of supplies. meetings yesterday with the department of defense officials about excess supplies, the president and i will be meeting today to speak about the supply chain for hospitals. we would make one specific request, and that is we would urge construction companies to donate their inventory of n95 masks to your local hospital and forego additional orders of those industrial masks, because

of what the president asked to be included in legislation moving through the congress today, those industrial masks that they use on construction sites are perfectly acceptable for health care workers to be protected from a respiratory disease. we're asking construction companies, that our president knows very well from his background, asking them to donate their n95 masks to local hospitals and also forego making additional orders. at the president's direction, we will continue to do whatever it takes. we'll continue to marshall the best of the american people, the best of all the people behind me, the people behind them, our state and local officials and we will get through this and we will get through this together. thank you. >> thank you. >> i want to change chad wolf and homeland security, the job they did at the airports was really incredible. they screened thousands and thousands of people. o'hare got backed up a little

bit, but they got them out. but everybody was screened and screened very carefully. they didn't want to rush it. i think it was 13 airports, and it was an incredible thing. then they had a big surge also from the uk and ireland and that went very smoothly, but that did a fantastic job. they worked long hours and they did a fantastic job. i'd like to introduce steve mnuchin, then i'm going to ask steve to leave, because he's going to the hill. he's been working very hard with the senate and actually with the house on a very big, bold package. it's going to be big and it's going to be bold. the level, again, of enthusiasm to get something done, i don't think i've ever seen anything quite like it. so steve mnuchin, please. >> thank you, mr. president. i'd like to announce some very significant actions that the president has approved today. the first i would say is earlier today i sent a letter to fed chairman powell approving his

request to use 13-3. what that will do is the fed will be setting up a special purpose vehicle, which the treasury will invest $10 billion in from one of our funds. that will enable the fed to guarantee the purchase of a1 p1 commercial going forward. that is a $1 trillion market and is critical to american workers, it's critical to american business, and it's critical to american savers who have a lot of that money in money market funds. so we heard loud and clear there were liquidity issues. this is very significant and we'll create -- i don't think we'll need to use it all, but we'll have the ability to have the fed purchase up to $1 trillion of commercial paper as needed. that has already created significant stability in the market today. the second thing i will say is you know we previously talked

about differing irs payments. the president earlier this morning authorized me to announce this program. i have previously announced we would defer $200 billion. the president suggest we increase that to $300 billion, which we will be doing. now, let me just be clear on the specifics. we encourage those americans who can file their taxes to continue to file their taxes on april 15th, because for many americans you will get tax refunds. we don't want you to lose out on those tax refunds, we want you to make sure you get them. many people do this electronically, which is easy for them and easy for the irs. if you owe a payment to the irs, you can defer up to a million dollars as an individual. and the reason why we're doing a million dollars is it covers lots of pass-throughs and small businesses and $10 million to corporations interest-free and penalty-free for 90 days. all you have to do is file your taxes. you'll automatically not get

charged interest and penalties. of course, any american has the right to extend their taxes. we're not taking that right but the president has asked us to go up to $300 billion. that's also an enormous amount of liquidity in the system. the third thing is the president and i worked on a very significant economic stimulus plan. thank you for being available last night and throughout this morning, and i will be presenting that to republicans in the senate this morning. also discussing that with the house. we look forward to having bipartisan support. we're now working with the senate, to pass this legislation very quickly. these will be payments to small businesses. we've talked about loan guarantees to critical industries such as airlines and hotels. we've also talked about a stimulus package to the american worker. you can think of this as something like business interruption payments for the american workers.

thank you. >> do you have any questions for the secretary of the treasury? >> when you say a stimulus package for american workers, do you mean direct workers or a payroll tax holiday. >> although the president likes the idea of a payroll tax holiday, i will tell you what we've heard from many people and the president said we could consider this, the payroll tax holiday would get people money over the next six to eight months, we're looking at sending checks to americans immediately. what we've heard from hardworking americans, many companies have now shut down, whether bars or restaurants, americans need cash now and the president wants to get cash now. and i mean now in the next two weeks. >> how much? >> i will be previewing that with the republicans. there are some numbers out there. they may be a little bit bigger in the process. >> what help are you going to give to airlines? >> i've had discussions with all the airline ceos this week. the airline ceos have had

conversations with the senate and the house. as the president said, i was up with a subset of the republican senators last night. i've discussed this with them. i think as you know, this is worse than 9/11. for the airline industry, they are almost ground to a halt. the president wants to make sure. although we don't want people to travel unless it's critical, we want to remain for critical travel the right to have domestic travel. i'm not going to comment on the specifics. i will tell you we're very focused. there's a lot of workers that are strategically important to us and we'll be working with congress. >> the airline industry will be in good shape. go ahead, please. >> there's been talk about $1,000 checks to every american, increasing support among republicans and some democrats for that. would you support that going to everyone, or would you support some sort of income restriction on who gets a check? >> i think it's clear. we don't need to send people who make a million dollars a year

checks. we like -- that's one of the ideas we like. we're going to preview that today, and then we'll be talking about details afterwards. >> i think we're going to do something that gets money to them as quickly as possible. that may not be an accurate way of doing it. obviously some people shouldn't be getting checks for $1,000. we'll have a pretty good idea by the end of the day what we'll be doing. >> mr. secretary -- >> how would the mechanics of this work? we've been talking about a payroll tax holiday, some $500 million was floated. how would this idea of sending people a check work? would that be an advance? >> again, we want to make sure americans get money in their pockets quickly. we want to make sure small business owners have access to funds. we want to make sure that hotels, airlines, we have an entire package. we'll be laying out those details later today. >> i have to say this, there are four different ways you can do it. you can hear me well enough, i

imagine. people at home. those are very important people, come to think of it. look, we have four or five days to do it, four ways in particular. i think there's a fifth possibility. there's some very good ways of getting the money out and getting it out money out and getting it out quick. payroll taxes went away but it does come other a period of many months and we want to do something much faster than that. so i think we have ways of getting money out pretty quick and very accurately. >> can you talk about the timeline how quick you think -- >> the president has instructed me, we have to do this now. >> by the end of the week? >> we are goi to work with the senate who is in session right now actively. we'll continue to have conversations with the house. i've already speaken to speaker sploes once today. this ispelosi once today. this is no fault to american