rike00 prers. it is a toxic breeding ground throughout all of the city's prisons and jails, the number of inmates and staff testing positive has now topped 1,000. keep in mind that rikers, by far, is a jail, not a prison. >> what i know from being incarcerated is that people in american prisons and jails have very little prospects at avoiding infection. >> reporter: piper kerman spent more than a year behind bars. her memoir was adapted into the hit series "orange is the new black." >> our experiences are essential to understanding the reform that's needed. >> reporter: she is a passionate advocate of early release. >> jail facilities typically hold people who have been arrested and have been charged with a crime, but are presumed

innocent, but the majority of people are eligible for bail and can return to the community, but they are too poor to pay their bail. so nobody shoul sit in jail just because they're poor, and especially when there is a pandemic going on. >> it's looking grim. it's only a matter of time before we all get it. >> reporter: there is an added touch of desperation to calls coming out of jails and prisons. >> we're just in here. look. >> reporter: around the country these days. >> guys is coughing. there's no way to escape it. if this is the last time you see me, bro, know that i love you. not to sound like that, but it's real. >> reporter: confinement and social distancing are mostly incompatible. >> outside of a cell, you have to basically figure out how are you going to adjust because a few feet down from you is another person. >> reporter: erlan woods is out of prison now, but a couple

years back he was my guide to prison life at san quinten outside san francisco. you don't have a hell of a lot of room in here. >> it's like one person can only move at a time. if i'm -- we had to turn sideways. when i say that small space, as you know you was in there, it's about the size of an average person's bathroom. that's what that confinement is. >> reporter: a dna n kahn is happy to describe himself these days as an ex-con. >> we were in san quinten together. the floor we lived on, we shared with 100 people. and that floor was 3 feet wide. so it is physically impossible to do 6 foot distancing in a 3-foot wide tier. >> reporter: so what happens when inmates get sick? >> when viruses hit, the culture of prisons at least in my experience has been punitive. meaning when someone gets sick, they get punished by being sent to solitary confinement.

>> reporter: that, at least, was the case at san quinten when erlan woods was an inmate there, he hosted and still hosts a podcast called ear hustle. he did an episode on solitary. >> it's the hole, the box, the dungeon. >> i saw my future. how do i spend the next 30 till i die in this cell? because i wasn't prepared for it. >> once you get sent to solitary confinement, the rules and regulations that apply in there whether you're there for disciplinary reasons or whether you're there for quarantine purposes, those rules and regulations apply to you no matter what you're there for. >> reporter: one controversial option, the early release of elderly inmates and those convicted of non-violent crimes. >> anybody doesn't have to be in prison, is not being sent to prison, anybody who is nonviolent or ready to be released is out. >> reporter: in florida last week -- >> 164 inmates were released to stop the spread of coronavirus.

>> reporter: the troubling exception that will only solidify existing resistance to early release. >> the day after this announcement, deputies say joseph williams killed a man in tampa. >> i am issuing an executive order to stopda felons from pri and jails in texas. >> reporter: we may in ordinary times have the luxury of ignoring what happens behind prison walls. but, says piper kerman, not now. >> prisons and jails do not have icus. they don't have intensive care units. they don't have any of the medical facilities to deal with very sick people. so every single day on a normal day, on a good day, thousands of prisoners are brought out of prison to local hospitals. >> reporter: overall, remember, the number of inmates and staff

testing positive in new york city's prisons and jails is now over 1,000. one might reasonably assume that the majority of that number are inmates. they're not. of those testing positive for covid-19, department of corrections staff outnumber inmates almost exactly two to one. >> it's impossible that staff will not become infected and that their own families and their own communities are not going to experience the spread of coronavirus outside of prisons and jails because an outbreak behind bars is going to spread to the outside community. >> reporter: and a footnote. the florida department of corrections announced that it is lowering the minimum age to be a corrections officer. and just last week announced

$1,000 bonuses for new recruits.

still fresh... ♪ unstopables in-wash scent booster ♪ downy unstopables for years now critics have s drive-thru culture as a symbol of excess and even laziness.

well, now the drive-thru is taking a leading role in the fight against the coronavirus. tracy smith has the story. >> reporter: all over the country, parking lots have become doctors' offices and every car is a little waiting room. >> oh, no. >> reporter: and the keyword is "waiting." here in california, drivers spend as much as six hours in line to get to the big tent where they crack open the window just enough for a nasal swab or a needle stick. and then drive off to wait some more for the results. >> so people queue up hours before we open. >> reporter: dr. matthew ebanante says the process is sl. so the drive-thru is the only answer. >> in my opinion it is. it is. hospitals are overwhelmed. urgent cares are overwhelmed. doctor's offices are overwhelmed. they're trying to develop home kits but it's just not fast enough. a drive-thru, fast food-style set up is the way we probably have to go.

>> reporter: seems now the drive-thru, that symbol of american excess and maybe even laziness, is finally getting a little respect. these days when you have to wear au testiity to go out inpu seems to make a lot of sense. and that's especially true in this country where you can drive through to get just about anything. >> today americans want it all. they want it now, and they don't want to get out of their cars to get it. >> reporter: a few years back our dear friend bill geist found drive-thru weddings. drive-th drive-thru funerals, and more. so much more. >> here's one a lot of people can't even believe. >> can i help you? >> bourbon and water and a martin i straight up with a twist. >> reporter: it seems that there's no business that can't be done out of a drive-up window. >> martin i straight up. thanks very much. >> have a good day. >> seeing drive-thru confessions for churches, drive-thru animal

adoption centers. everyone is kind of adopting this model to make this businessness go. >> reporter: adam chandler is the author of dhru dres. >> it doesn't exist as a culture. drive-thrus and fast food, the way ite else in theworld. >> reporter: driveu it existsute >> reporter: and that flavor sells. according to a recent study, fast food restaurants take in about 70% of their income through that little window. and now the pandemic has made it the only game in town. >> drive-thrus are how hospital workers and truckers and families are getting fed right now, and so it's actually how the country is continuing to move. and that's important to note, too. >> hi there. >> reporter: but whether you're selling burgers or booze or band aids, working a drive-thru is a

tough business, especially when the cars won't stop coming. dr. abanante. what has this been like for you? >> this has been really hard for me. my family's moved out and i have four kids. they moved to my in-laws. and i get to see them tomorrow, which is really exciting. >> reporter: i mean, you are on the front line so you felt like you had to isolate yourself, essentially. >> i felt like that was best. and my wife also. she was very worried about the disease. my family motivates me, and when i think about the world being locked up and me away from my family, it's isolating. you feel alone. >> reporter: but for now it seems the best way forward may be to stay isolated. and just drive through. is this in some cases a matter of life and death? >> in some ways, yes.

if we prevent one case, we prevent three from that person and three from that person. it's exponential. i do feel like we're able to make a huge difference and save lives. >>

despite stay-at-home orders, some businesses are managing to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic. jamie yuccas is taking a tally. >> the problem i've been working on most is this sweater. >> reporter: with more time on their hands, americans are hand crafting sweaters and scarves more than ever. leading to a big demand for yarn. >> in the last month, we have been able to ship over 2,000 orders, including orders to stock. going from an average of 20, 25 to an average of 90, 100 orders. >> reporter: that's quite a bit of an increase. >> for a small businesslike ours, it is a significant increase. >> reporter: luigi and jared are

the owners of oregon-based company brooklyn tweed. why do people love knitting now? >> it's a medicating act of self-care. it really does calm the mind. >> reporter: that might be why board games and puzzles are in high demand. >> we have people getting orders off the shelf to ship out. >> reporter: sales at the puzzle warehouse, the nation's largest pz distributor, have jumped 2000% and liquor stores are seeing an a 30% increase in wine and spirits. >> people always need spirits to keep theirts up handle while their spirits are down. >> in the kitchen, isolation edition. >> reporter: cooking is becoming a national pass time with people sharing some of their favorite dishes and recipes on social media. >> food is increasing m c.e.o. says brands like cheerios and pillsbury baking supplies is seeing customers turn to

products they can make at home. how are you keeping up with demand? >> the real bottleneck is making sure the stores can keep the shelves stocked. so that's why you see a lot of our retail grocery friends are closing their stores a littl bit early to make sure they can restock the shelves. >> reporter: there are even new job opportunities at the company. >> we're in the process of hiring more people, especially our manufacturing plants. >> reporter: are you concerned about hiring a number of people for the demand now and then having to lay people off? >> no, i don't think so. demand is pretty good. we think it will be in our business at home, and i think for at-home consumption business will be good for a while. >> reporter: as for theheir t o. >> one person can do it. it's just with the volume we have now it's a little daunting. we're just taking shifts and us as owners of the company are coming in to do work as well to keep things moving.

>> reporter: you can call it a d.i.y. on how businesses can cope while also providing comfort to customers in quarantine. jaime ccas, los angeles. >> and that's the overnight news for this tuesda ♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: breaking news tonight, showdown. protesters demand an end to stay-at-home orders as governors warn that the crowds could lead to a spike in infections and they plead for help from the white house. >> this action isn't about our individual right to gather. it's about our parents' right to live. >> o'donnell: tonight why facebook may take down some posts promoting those protests. plus beaches open in florida, parks open in texas, and georgia says gyms and hair salons are next. could it lead to a second wave of infection? financial fallout. oil prices crash to historic lows.

disney will stop paying more mpan 100,000 employees, nearly half of itrk