>> i think 2 billion n95 respirators we would use, at least half or more comes from china. >> reporter: 2 million or 2 billion? >> 2 billion. >> reporter: and is that each year? >> yes. >> reporter: as coronavirus cases rose in china earlier this year, yardoff says ppe production took a hit even as demand for it spiked. large supply distributors told u.s. hospitals it could be months before their orders were met. >> the links in the supply chain have been broken. federal stockpile almost depleted. state-level stockpiles hold limited supplies, and distributors not being able to deliver n95s in any significant quantity for three to six weeks. >> reporter: states and the federal government stepped in to help find and buy ppe, but that's led to bidding wars. >> it's like being on e-bay with 50 other states. >> states are competing against states right now. that's no secret. >> we're all competing against

each other. states one against another, federal government competing against states. >> reporter: president trump has insisted he is sending states what they need. >> since last sunday, cargo planes have delivered almost -- listen to this -- 300 million gloves. almost 8 million masks. and 3 million gowns. >> reporter: a department of home land security official told cbs news the strategic national stockpile of protective gear is almost depleted. last week, president trump invoked the defense production act, ordering private companies to help manufacture ventilators and n95 face masks. but it could still be weeks before hospitals get the ppe. and donations aren't always enough. >> the nation isn't ready to provide medical care in large catastrophes or big epidemics of contagious disease. >> reporter: experts have said for years if a global pandemic were to hit, the u.s. may not have enough ppe. >> public health is about over planning. >> reporter: beth cameron ran

the white house pandemic response office under the obama and trump administrations. it was dissolved by the white house in 2018 and she believes that move left the country less prepared. >> i'm really worried about the competition between states. it's the thing that keeps me up at night right now. i think when the absence of a unified federal plan, states don't have any choice but to be prepared for their constituents. >> reporter: in your opinion, what entity is best prepared to do that unified plan? >> i'd like to see a logistic czar at this point to be honest with you in my opinion. i think that logistic czar could come from the military or it could be a former military commander. we are going to need a plan for moving and sharing medical equipment across the united states. and i hope that we don't need to use that plan, but i think if we have that plan, we're not going to regret it. >> reporter: for those on the front lines, it's a matter of life or death. >> if we did have enough ppe, we wouldn't be forced to use the n95s over and over again. >> we can't do our jobs

effectively if we aren't safe. if we're not safe, you aren't safe. if you don't have health care workers, you cannot save lives. >> you've heard that they had to reuse the n95 mask because they're such precious commodities. that's led medical centers to oweighs to repurpose them, of sanitizing them. like so many other things in this outbreak, we're trying to figure it out on the fly as we go. >> that was jon lapook reporting from home. medical workers aren't the only ones on the front lines of this pandemic. everyone from u.p.s. drivers to grocery store workers are at risk, and many are now infected. at least five workers at super market or big box stores have died from covid-19. that includes two at the same chicago area walmart. walmart says that it is, quote, heart broken about the deaths, but the family of one deceased worker is filing a wrongful death lawsuit. adriana diaz spoke to the sister of his coworker who also died. >> everybody at walmart loved

him. and he loved them. >> reporter: when angela called to check on her brother phillip thomas at the hospital, a nurse came to the phone instead. >> she said, well, we did everything we could. i said, wait a minute, are you telling me my brother passed away? >> reporter: 48-year-old thomas who worked for walmart for nine years, died two days after calling an ambulance for himself after struggling to stand up. do you know if your brother was wearing a mask and gloves at work? >> i don't think they were wearing -- none of them were wearing masks and gloves. >> reporter: for employees trying to keep up with customer demands, there's no break. >> what do we want? >> ppe. >> when do we want them? >> now. >> reporter: tuesday they demanded masks, gloves, paid sick leave and hazard pay. some have installed plex i glass including walmart. they are limiting customers in stores providing eloyeesho want them and taking their temperatures upon arrival. >> these measures should have

been taken from day one. >> reporter: that wi's not stopg tony from suing on behalf of rondo evans who worked at the same store as thomas and died from the virus the same week. the wrongful death says the store failed to inform employees others had symptoms of the virus. >> i am concerned because i'm a walmart consumer. i love walmart. so to think that i have to risk my life when i walk through the door, it's scary. >> reporter: walmart responded to the wrongful death suits saying it's taking the issue seriously and will respond in court once it receives a complaint. it is not known if the employees contracted the virus while working here at this store. but, of course, any essential employees faced increased exposure just by leaving their homes and being around others. >> that was adriana diaz reporting from evergreen park outse chi. >> you are watching the "cbs overnight news." to be honest a little dust it never bothered me.

until i found out what it actually was. dust mite matter! eeeeeww! dead skin cells! gross! so now, i grab my swiffer sweeper and heavy-duty dusters. duster extends to three feet to get all that gross stuff gotcha! and for that nasty dust on my floors, my sweeper's on it. the textured cloths grab and hold dirt and hair no matter where dust bunnies hide. no more heebie jeebies. phew. glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering.

♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion,♪ ♪upset stomach, diarrhea. try pepto liquicaps for fast relief and ultra-coating. ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea.♪ get powerful relief with pepto bismol liquicaps.

still fresh... ♪ unstopables in-wash scent booster ♪ downy unstopables with millions of americans stuck at home, an old favorite has become such a popular pass time that it's difficult to get your hands on one. i'm talking about jigsaw puzzles

and this isn't the first time that puzzles have been in short supply. will rocca with this overnight news history lesson. >> reporter: last year when i purchased this 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of 1933 diego vera mural, i didn't expect to get to it till i was, i don't know, 80. well, things have changed. i'm not the only one. all across the country, people are pulling out their puzzles to pass the time. in fact, the very first jigsaw puzzle is said to have been made by a london map maker in the 1760s. >> his name was john spillsbury. >> reporter: ann williams is a jigsaw puzzle historian. >> he pasted a map onto a thin piece of wood, and he used a scroll saw to cut it up. england would be one piece. germany would be another piece. he marketed these to the very

affluent and influential people. as a tool to teach their children geography. >> reporter: ann, i've got to say a jigsaw puzzle is a great way to learn geography. >> oh, absolutely. i think just about everybody spent some time in their childhood putting a map of the united states together. >> reporter: soon puzzles expanded their reach beyond learning. >> so nursery rhyme, fairytale subjects, ships and trains. >> reporter: early in the 20th century, gaming company parker brothers came up with the idea of inter locking pieces. each one cut by hand, mostly, says williams, by women. >> parker brothers claimed that it hired women because they how to sew. a treddle looked like a sewing machine. they didn't mention they could pay women less. >> reporter: it was during the depression jigsaw puzzles exploded a. he it used to be

cross word puzzles and back g gammon. now it's puzzles. >> they were absorbing 10 million puzzles every week. >> reporter: puzzles were entertainment and employment. >> there were so many people out of work, you could buy a scroll saw, a jigsaw for $20. they set up the saw in their kitchen or their basement, started making jigsaw puzzles and selling them to their neighbors. or renting them out through the local drugstore. >> reporter: rose and mark stephens of peace time puzzles of north wood, new hampshire, have been making and selling puzzles for 25 years. >> we go through spells. sometimes it's butterflies. >> foret enough puzzles of frogs. >> reporter: really? >> lighthouses, people collect lighthouses. that was a big thing for a couple of years. >> reporter: what are some of the recent crazes? >> dogs. >> birds.

winter -- >> owls. >> reporter: but the bulk of their business comes from personalized puzzles. >> you upload the picture of your dog to the website. rose gets it, blows it up and prints it out on the large format printers and i mount it on cardboard and die cut it, package it and ship it. >> reporter: they've been privy to moments poignant and puzzling. >> we had a wedding picture. they wanted a person taken out of the picture. i thought that was cute. i didn't ask the story. i wanted to make up my own story on that one. >> reporter: and did you do it? >> we can be pretty creative. >> reporter: i'm not being cute here. it sounds like you guys are in an essential business. >> it is for us. >> yes, you ask a person who runs out of puzzles, they'll tell you. >> they get concerned. they only have three puzzles yet. >> we get that all the time. they come in, they look di.at's the matter? i'm almost out of puzzles.

>> reporter: as for me i'm not almost out of puzzles. i have a long way t o g

when i get to heaven, i'm going to shake god's hand. i'm going to thank him for more blessings than one man can stand. >> that's singer song writer john prine. he died tuesday from complications of the coronavirus. he was 73 years old and a legend in the music industry. rolling stone called prine thew. anthony mason takes a look back at his life and career. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: john prine was a gifted story teller, whose songs were hailed by peers like bob dylan as midwestern mind trips to the enth degree. ♪ i get my mail in tennessee, my

wife, my kids and me ♪ >> reporter: his tune's have been sung by bette midler. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: johnny cash. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: and bonnie raitt. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: last year raitt sang that classic song with him at the americana annual honors. ♪ to believe in this ribbon is just a hard way to go ♪ >> reporter: prine grew up outside of chicago. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: after a stint in the army, he became amas he del letters. he was just 23 when a glowing review from film critic roger ebert launched his career in 1970. >> from that day on, i didn't have an empty seat. >> reporter: prine survived cancer twice. when i interviewed the singer song writer in 2018 for cbs

sunday morning, heed just released his first album of new songs in 13 years. are you enjing this resurgence? >> it took some of them 45 years to get the joke. some people are getting it now. i'm still around to reap the benefits. ♪ sometimes my old heart is like a washing machine ♪ >> reporter: he celebrated the release with a sold-out show at radio city music hall. >> god is my witness, i'm getting back into show business. >> reporter: we may have lost john prine to coronavirus, but this is the way i prer to remember him leaving us. dancing a jig to one of his own songs "like marie" in 2018. >> prine is survived by his wife fiona and their three children. that is the overnight news for this thursday. for some of you the news continues. for others check back later for "cbs this morning" or follow us

online any time at cbsnews.com. reportin from the cbs news studios in washington, d.c., i'm je captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: breaking news tonight: deadliest day on record. the death toll is staggering, more than 2,000 killed in one day. confirmed cases in new york state alone eclipse every country on earth. tonight, the small ray of hope: a new model shows u.s. deaths may be far less than previously projected. but there's this warning: >> it's not a time to get complacent. it's not a time to do anything different than we have been doing. >> o'donnell: the government considering new guidelines to get workers in critical n sitions back on the job, but who qualifies and when? dropping out: bernie sanders ends his presidential campaign, so why is the one-time frontrunner keeping his name on the ballot, and will he help democrats unite around joe biden?fe