>> you can't hire enough staff. everybody needs staff. not just us. >> we have limited ppe, no ventilators. >> our e.r. is still slammed with patients coming in needing

oxygen therapy, breathing treatments. >> some patients are there who start to look better and then all of a sudden they go into cardiac arrest and die. >> it is only a matter of time before it hits your community. it is not a matter of if, it is only a matter of when. >> once again we start the show with voices from the frontline to the fight. you saw that across the country. the daily difficulty facing doctors, nurses, first responders and patients that are suffering and the loved ones of all of those. i am chuck todd continuing msnbc's breaking news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. we are standing by as the federal government continues to struggle to account for what can be described as a series of mistakes, failures in planning, execution and messaging. that led us here to a quarter million confirmed cases more

than double any country in the world and thnousands of death. it has led us to this curve of daily new cases which shows no signs of bending here in the united states. it is a stark contrast, sadly, to other countries that are starting to bend their curves. there was no sugar coating it at last night's briefing. the current strategy to slow the virus spread right now is not working. >> i know you have seen the slope in the united states. versus the slope in italy. we have to change that slope. we have to change the curve that we are on. we see country after country having done that. this is really a call to action. we see spain. we see italy. we see france. we see germany. we see others beginning to bend their curves. we can bend ours. it means that everybody has to

take the same responsibility as americans. >> there is also no sugar coating this fact. there is evidence that virtually every part of the federal response has been inadequate. president trump seems unwilling to embrace the warning from his top two experts, one begging the country to take it more seriously. president trump was standing next to him and could have hammered home the point but did not. dr. fauci said he believes the president should embrace a national stay at home order, but that is something the president hesitated to embrace fully. in addition to the messaging missteps or the well chronicled testing issues that there are no signs we will get to the capacity that we need any time soon and no opening up the economy without it. states are fighting each other for basic supplies. the government continues to resist taking over supply chains. you heard that. the current patchwork of strategies to combat the threat left much of the public confused

about the risk they face and the measures they should take to protect themselves. case in point, the administration officials said they are expected to urge more americans to urge cloth masks, raising questions about who is putting themselves at risk right now that shouldn't be. there is no better signal between the expectations of our federal government vs. the reality with the hospital ship that president trump said would play a critical role in helping new york city. but four days after docking the ship admitted just 20 patients with protocols and bureaucratic hurdles as the situation deteriorates at the epicenter of the crisis in new york city. now joining me with the latest from the white house as we wait for the coronavirus task force and also from new york city ron allen. ron, let me start with you and

the situation that we are in with new york right now. frankly the confusion. this is one of the big helps for the health care community was supposed to be the uss comfort here. and it can't really be used. it seems like folks are frustrated at how few patients they are allowed to send there. >> they were not going to accept covid-19 patients and they just accepted 20 patients. it began with a call for everyone to wear masks or face coverings because of the fear that people that are a symptomatic spreading the virus. we heard from doctors, medical professionals here in the city that are demanding and that are. >> reggie: -- that they don't have adequate protective equipment to handle their patients or protect themselves of course.

some described it as a suicide mission going to work every day, that they would be the ones in the body bags. really brutal language to underscore the situation here. the governor said he will compel any private company that has ventilators, masks, anything to turn it over and to give to the hospitals that need it now. and we heard the mayor just say that he has been on with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staffs demanding and requesting again and again and again that the military play a major role here, come here in the thousands and also called for a draft essentially of medical professionals across the country to come here to help. and the fear of course is that next week is the beginning of the real up tick in cases, the numbers are already going up and up and the fear is that next week it will begin to get worse and worse over the next two weeks, chuck. yes, there is a huge disconnect between washington and what is

being said there and what is happening here on the ground. it is light years apart in terms of what the feeling is about this with washington and here on the ground in the real world. chuck. well, that is why i wanted to start with you ron allen. shannon, you heard ron's report. let's start with the biggest disconnect right now, fauci and burks, they can't make it any clearer what they believe has to be done to flatten this curve. i am still struck by dr. burks begging the country, saying guys, we are losing. we are not winning this war. we are losing. the president stood there. he did not reinforce it. there seems to be a disconnect between burks and fauci and the president. what is it? >> that has been the story all along and it feels like the disconnect is getting smaller, but we saw yesterday that the president did not reiterate that message, but he came on after

and talked about how well some states are doing because they have a low number of cases. they might not have a low number of cases because they are doing so great, but it hasn't gotten there or the testing is not there. downplaying the risk in a slightly more subtle way than two weeks ago, but not getting the message across to the public. one series of contradictions after another. the point that ron makes about the disconnect between what is happening on the ground in washington. we asked body that every day in the briefings. yesterday they brought out jared kushner and the head of the lo je gistics, on supply chain, on masks and what will happen to the uninsured. we have not gotten any clarity from where we started the week. >> when you say look, you know two weeks ago peter gainer at fema, he is in charge.

now then you saw yesterday jared kushner. then you had the rear admiral. and then you have some governors that directly call the president. he tells jared kushner to move stuff around. it is clear that there is not a point person. do they acknowledge they don't have this? >> well, like so much of the white house at the end of the day there will only be one point person, and that's the president. he pointed out that example that kushner gave the other way. how did supplies get to a new york city hospital, i call to the president from a friend in new york city that said we are running low and the president told kushner to get the supplies delivered. it is always difficult in the administration for there to be any other person than the president. it was supposed to be the vice president but the president took over. i think that is part of the problem, too. you have, you know, the

president being bigfooting those below him although all of the efforts they had to get a point person to oversee this crisis. >> well, both the issue of logistics and warnings to the country seem to have the same thing in common. shannon and ron, thank you for reporting out in public right now. it is obviously something that is risky for everybody. thank you. now is a former fema administrator. craig, i wanted to bring you on. the last time that you and i talked is the day i believe the task force announced that look, it is all gone through. all of the operation is going through fema. the governors were pleased. cuomo and murphy up there at the time saying great. we want to have one point person. that seems to have gone out the window. just from your perspective as

you are watching this, what is missing in your mind? >> nobody has got a big number yet. just in time delivery and supply chain, managing this like you would day to day will not work. you have to come up with what's the big number. how many masks do we need as a nation. not how many you are asking for or how many you need today. as we are watching and new orleans and other places are blowing up. what is the big number. are you prepared to take the steps not to keep the supply chain up and running, but brute force which is what the defense production act gives you. it is a build stick to build the capacity by whatever means are necessary. just in time. requests. this needs to be a push. we need to have more masks. until we get to that point, we are losing. >> you know, craig, it was interesting what you just said. they made it clear yesterday

that the rear admiral said that no, i am not going to disrupt the supply chain. it is exactly what the defense production act is designed for. you can argue that this is the type of emergency that it was designed for. it sounds like you believe that yes, disrupt the supply chain. >> we don't have too much stuff, we fail. you cannot go by the current demand. it is climbing faster than people realization and the consumption rate is low because we are reusing or shorting critical workers the masks they need. so you need to come up with a big number, the maximum maximum. how much burn rate do you need. when it gets to every state. watch the rate and how are you going to get there. >> what is it -- let me ask you

this. the way that fema is designed, i don't think that anybody expects one entity to have all of the material necessary for 50 states. i think a lost people understand and grant you that. but is this something that the infrastructure of fema should be handling, or is this such a big contract go and get a general and set up essentially your own structure there. this is bigger than anything than we have ever done before? >> you know, we will be starting over from zero. they will stop what they are doing. somebody else comes in and we keep losing time. we are not looking for a perfect system. i would like an ugly system that is getting stuff out the door. every time we do something else, we lose time and effort. we need to pick something and stick to it and distribute to the states and the governors distribute to the local level.

>> the other issue is messaging. you are someone that has been on the clear messaging is always better than muddled messaging. this issue of what are we supposed to do. we are a federalist system. we have 50 states. i think that we accept that. but there does seem to be a missing leadership part here that sort of leans in here the way that the scientists are attempting to get us to lean in. >> yeah. it's the cdc. i don't know where they are at right now. the cdc was the guidance we would depend on in any pandemic. it is what the state health officers would be using to brief their governors, the one voice that we would expect in a pandemic to have the federal guidance so states can apply it to their situation. the cdc has been absent. we have a lot of people with a key role but they are offering

opinions. they are offering bias. we have already seen where some governors have backtracked and went with the stay at home orders but too late. you already have widespread coronavirus. it is too late. you needed to do this early. but for whatever reason we don't seem to have that voice of science that speaks to the system. where is the cdc? that was their role and what we count on them for to provide that kind of guidance. >> yeah. one final question, governor cuomo decided he will try to take matters into his own hands and essentially he will confiscate equipment if he needs to and get it in the right places. what would your advice be to an individual governor if you feel the system is not responding in time for you? >> what i said early on is that

fema should have funded 100% protective measures, every governor should be maximizing their capabilities. there would not be enough resources in the response and they need to free up resources for states that are getting hit harder right now and then as this starts to move through other states. we did not do that. we are behind. again, the cdc is putting out a lot of good information but they are not visible. they are not at the press conference. we are missing the cdc's voice. again, governors need to maximize their capabilities. the federal government, i don't think there is any issue about paying these bills. and we also don't want this to happen, those that can get stuff get it at the expense of the smaller states or people that can get it and people are dying because we don't have enough distribution. >> i think that is certainly the nightmare scenario. craig, thank you for sharing

your expertise. in some ways you simplified it to the point where people are now scratching their head. the structure is in place. just make it work. anyway, mr. fugate, i hope you are staying safe and healthy. right now we are awaiting the start of the coronavirus task force briefings and once it begins we will bring it to you live and may hear of new cdc guidance. it will be curious to hear if the cdc will be represented. new cdc guidance about whether or not we should be wearing face coverings when we leave the house. what changed about what we know about the virus to possibly change the advice. possibly change the advice. good morning, blair. [ chuckles ] whoo. i'm gonna grow big and strong. yes, you are. i'm gonna get this place all clean. i'll give you a hand. and i'm gonna put lisa on crutches! wait, what? said she's gonna need crutches. she fell pretty hard. you might want to clean that up, girl. excuse us.

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welcome back. after weeks of urging the public not to wear masks unless medically necessary, the government is expected to reverse the guidance by recommending that americans that live in areas highly affected by the coronavirus do wear masks when they go out.

we saw new york city and ron allen abiding by that guidance. vice president pence previewed that change telling americans to expect the updated guidance in the upcoming days and that would not mean taking supplies away from health care workers that need it the most but making the most of re-usable cloth masks, essentially doing it yourself. a professor at the harvard school of public health and dr. patel, a fellow at the brookings institution. doctor, let me start with you. this ask order. there has been debate in the medical community. dr. burks struck me yesterday as somebody arguing against this. she clearly fears that somebody wearing a mask thinks they have a shield on and can do whatever they want. >> yeah. this debate should be over. everybody needs to be wearing a mask. i am glad by you saying not a

professional mask. these need to be reserved for the health care workers. there is a shortage happening. the benefit to wearing these masks, if i am sick it acts as a barrier and prevents me from spreading droplets on to surfaces or people around me and they can be effective as filters. if i come across you and you are sick, it offers some level of protection. third, it acts as a reminder not to touch our nose or mouth and sends a strong social cue that something big is happening here and we all have to be involved in this taking every effort that we can. the idea that a mask would replace other control measures is not true. a mask is just one more line of defense. it does not mean we will not wash our hands or not practice social distancing, it is just one more layer of defense we

should be taking. >> dr. patel, i feel like the task force is ringing their hands too much on this. why can't they say if you go to the grocery store wear a mask. if you walk the dog around the block you don't have to wear a mask. seems like we could be more straightforward. >> yeah. absolutely chuck. the hand ringing comes from a very rigorous internal debate about whether or not a recommendation will actually translate to anything that could meaningful lly affect it. i think as long as we don't take away from health care workers that putting on a cloth mask you make out of your home could be helpful on top of the other measures. chuck, let's be frank. we have an acknowledgment from dr. fauci that we should have a national stay at home order and we don't. the fear, first of all, the fear is that the messaging out of the white house has never been

crystal clear. it feels like there is mixed messaging. on top of that the people delivering the messages contradict each other. the surgeon general, dr. burks, i think the bottom line the american people deserve to have one uniform standard across the united states. stay at home. and if you must go outside, wear a mask. don't take it away from people that need it. >> this does not seem -- you just did it clearly. this does not seem to be difficult. you are both on the same page here. i would like to move the discussion to what we don't know about the virus. and i think that was another stomach punch yesterday when dr. fauci talked about it himself saying that we don't know. we can't yet explain why it is. and dr. patel, i want to start with you why it is a seemingly healthy person has little problems and another seemingly healthy person ends up in icu and that we are still struggling

to understand how much does it spread in the air? how long do the droplets stay in the air. seems like we have a lot more unknowns about the virus than knowns. >> yes, chuck. i will put it more point blank. we now have the data set from singapore that the cdc mentioned that people are walking around and could be asimom attic carriers and another reason for a face shield of some kind or face bandana, et cetera. when people come in, they crash and crash pretty hard. i have seen it. people look all of a sudden totally fine and any into a state of respiratory decompensation pretty quickly. looking at ct scans and ultra sounds of the lungs you see something that looks like the actual lung tissue has been flooded with fluid or something just very, very concerning.

yeah. >> dr. patel, don't mean to cut you off. >> we don't know as much as we should. >> i don't mean to cut you off. dr. allen. the task force briefing is beginning. as we have been saying every day before the conferences start we will do our best to explain anything that seems unusual about the briefing in the middle if necessary, but we will do our best to bring you as much of the scientific information you need. we know the briefing has begun. we will get there now. the president introduced the house republican minority leader here. so let's dip in for a second. >> you don't have income coming in right now. you get a loan for your rent, paying employees and utilities. that is part of the cares act. i think you will find a lot of

the small business will hire people back and get the economy moving again as we get through the virus. >> thank you. thank you. okay. thank you very much everybody. i want to start by saying our hearts go out to the people of new york as they bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic in america that seems to be the hot spot right now. you have others that you know that are very bad. very bad. louisiana is getting hit very hard. parts of michigan are getting hit very, very hard. new jersey is surprisingly much greater than anybody would have thought. they are doing a really good job. the governor is doing a really good job out there. new york's first responders, emts, doctors, nurses are showing incredible courage under

pressure. they are the best in the world. we will take every action. we will spare no resource, medical, financial, scientific, we will not spare anything. we will get it back into shape, the empire state. the governor is doing an excellent job. they are all working very hard together. at the request of the governor, we have 2,500 beds and we are going to allow that to be a system where this horrible disease can be looked after. the patients can be looked after. that was going to be for regular medical problems such as accidents. it is very interesting. the governors tell me we don't have too many accidents. we are going to put that facility in to play. that is a big facility. the ship will be staying the way it is, but we are putting that facility in to play to help them.

and today also the cdc is announcing additional steps that americans can take to defend against the transmission of the virus. from recent studies we know that the transmission from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood. you don't seem to have symptoms. it still gets transferred in light of the studies. the cdc is advising the use of non-medical cloth covering as an additional voluntary. it is voluntary. you don't have to do it. they suggest it for a period of time. this is voluntary. i don't think i am going to be doing it. but you have a lot of ways that you can look at it as follows. the cdc is recommending that americans wear a basic cloth or a fabric mask that can be purchased online or made at home. probably material you would have at home.

they can be easily washed or reused. i want to emphasize the cdc is not recommending the use of medical or surgical grade masks. we want that to be used for our great medical people that are working so hard and doing some job. medical protective gear must be reserved for the frontline health care workers that are performing those vital services. the new mask guidelines also do not replace cdc's guidance on social distancing, including staying in your home when possible, standing at least six feet apart for a period of time. again, we are going to all come back together here. we are going to all come back together. practicing hand hygiene which we should do anyway. a lot of things i think are going to spill over. shaking hands, maybe we will stay with our country for a long time beyond this. one of our great doctors was telling me that as you know we

have flus every year. and the number of people killed by the flu is very substantial. if they didn't shake hands the number would be substantially lower. maybe it will stay. maybe some of the things long-term will be good. but those guidelines are the best. the safest way to avoid the infection. so with the masks, it is going to be really a voluntary thing. you can do it. you don't have to do it. i am choosing not to do it. some want to do it. it may be good. probably will. it is only a recommendation. it is voluntary. we are also taking action to ensure the cost of any treatment of the coronavirus, the bluecross blueshield system announced it will not require any copays which is really

something. that is a tremendous savings from patients of the virus, treatment for the next 60 days. great companies all doing the same thing. copays, that is a big statement. we appreciate it. today i came and so proudly announced hospitals and health care providers treating uninsured coronavirus patients will be reimbursed by the federal government using funds from the economic relief package congress passed last month. that was the question from the day or other day. this should alleviate any concern uninsured americans have about seeking coronavirus treatment. i think that answers the question pretty well and very much in the favor of the great people. i am also signing a directive

invoking the defense production act to prohibit export of scarce health and medical supplies by unscrupulous actors and these security and secretaries. the secretary of homeland security will work with fema to prevent the export of n95, respirators and other protective equipment. we need the items immediately for domestic use and we have to have them. but we have done really well with the purchase of items. you will be hearing about that shortly. we have already leveraged the dpa to stop the hoarding and the price gouging of crucial supplies. under that authority this week the department of health and human services working with the department of justice took custody of nearly 200,000 n95 respirators, 130,000 surgical masks, 600,000 gloves as well as

bottles. many, many, many bottles and disinfectant sprays that were being hoarded. all of this material is now being given to health care workers. most of it has already been given out. we gave a lot to new york and new jersey and other places. in addition to ensuring that health care workers in new york have the protective equipment that they need, the federal government in the name of the department of defense is providing about 8.1 million n95 respirators. the department of defense. we have already given 200,000 of them to new york city. mayor de blasio needed them very badly. got them to mayor de blasio in new york city. they were very grateful. 8.1 million. we will be increasing that number from 8.1 million to more. that is a lot of n95 respirators. today my team spoke with the ceo

of oshner health and lcmc, the two largest health systems in new orleans and they said that they feel they currently have enough ventilators. i think a lot of people will have enough ventilators. they appreciate what we did. all of the things that we have been doing with them and working with them. the ceo of oshner, warner thomas who has been fantastic i have to say, indicated the need for 230,000 surgical gowns and i instructed fema to deliver them tomorrow so they will have the 230,000. that is louisiana, new orleans. 230,000 surgical gowns. they will have them by tomorrow. we are expanding the role of the armed forces in our response effort because no one is better prepared to win a war than the united states military. and we are in a war. invisible enemy, remember.

over 9,000 retired army medical personnel answered their nation's call and are supporting field hospitals and medical facilities across the country like what i just told you that governor cuomo requested that we do something. we take it over. and we are going to have that manned by the military. it is very tough to get people. more people in the new york area. so we are going to have it manned by the military. national guard members have been activated to help states build new treatment centers that assist in the seamless distribution of medical supplies that includes national guard. the national guard is assisting very strongly. the states in many cases were unable to have the delivery capability from warehouses and other places that we put the supplies. so i have given approval to use the various national guards in

the different states. and they are doing a fantastic job of not only protecting people but delivering material. the army corps of engineers has assessed more than 100 facilities in all 50 states and is rapidly building temporary hospitals and alternative care sites in many states, new york, new jersey, michigan, pennsylvania, arizona, california, colorado, florida, illinois, new mexico, oregon, washington, wisconsin, ohio, they are doing a lot of work in just those states plus additionals that are going to be announced probably tomorrow. they are doing some job. the army corps of engineers. what a job they are doing. fema, what a job they are doing. as we deploy the power of our military, we are deploying the skill of our scientists and researchers and continue to

study the effects of hydroxchloroquine and other therapies in the prevention of the virus and we will keep the american people fully informed on our findings on hydroxchloroquine. i don't know. it is looking like it is having some good results. that would be a phenomenal thing. but we have it right now in april now it is increased to 1,500 people. i spoke with dr. zucker in new york, terrific guy. i spoke to governor cuomo last evening and this morning about that. it has been there for about three and a half days and in many other places it is being tested too. we have a tremendous supply of it. we ordered it in the case that it works. it could have pretty big impacts. we will see what happens. my administration is also work to get relief to american workers and businesses in day 1

of the paycheck protection program as kevin said more than 3.5 billion dollars in guaranteed loans have been processed to keep small businesses workers employed during this unprecedented time. bank of america has been incredible of the big banks, bank of america really stepped forward and has done a great job and then have you the community banks, the smaller banks. we are already at $3.5 billion going out to incredible people. the sba and the treasury are working around the clock and the banking partners are really incredible. they are ensuring the money gets to small businesses as quickly as possible and the small business in turn takes care of employees they would have had to let go and now they will keep them. and that's good. they are going to open for business. they will have their employees. we will try to get back to where

we were. eventually we are go to supercede where we were. the energy industry has been hard hit. i met with greg garland of phillips 66. harold ham of continental resources. vicky halob of oxidental petroleum. kelsey warren. mike worth of chevron and darren woods of exxon mobile. i informed them we will be making space available in the strategic petroleum reserve to let america produce surplus oil that can be sold at a later time. there is a tremendous abundance of oil because of the virus. the virus stopped demand of everything including oil.

these are great countries employing hundreds of thousands of people. they kept america going for a long time. no big price hikes or anything. now they got hit. but with all of the jobs and all of the good they do we are going to make sure that they stay in good shape. america is engaged in a historic battle to safeguard the lives of our citizens and future society. the greatest discipline is to determine every citizen to stay at home and to stay healthy for a long time. and we want them to stay healthy for a long time. stay at home. this is ending. this will end. you will see bad things and you are going to see really good things. it is not going to be too long. we will heal our citizens. we will care for our neighbors. we will unleash the full might of the united states of america to vanquish the virus and with

that i would like to ask mike pence to come up, the vice president will say a few words and we will have a couple of other quick talks on a couple of subjects and we will take questions and it is a beautiful friday in washington d.c. our country is a great place. we are getting better. we are getting better very quickly. this was artificially induced. they said close it down. you have to close it down. we are healing. we are going to get it better fast. mike, if you can come up to say a few words please. >> thank you mr. president. the president outlined a number of the decisions that he made today on the unanimous recommendation of the coronavirus task force. in addition good news. some of the areas across america we see evidence that the

mitigation efforts the american people are putting in to practice on the president's coronavirus guidelines are having a positive effect. today in california and washington state where the coronavirus first emerged in our country, the cases remain at a steady but a low rate. we know as governor newsom said yesterday they are not out of the woods yet. we want to commend the people in those states and across the country that are putting in to practice the social distancing and all of the measures that the state and local leaders are advising and that the president has been advising in the coronavirus guidelines for america. we are also continuing to track significant outbreaks in new york state, detroit, new orleans, chicago, boston. as the president indicated we are prioritizing resources to support health care workers and

those that are dealing with the coronavirus in those communities. on the subject of testing now more than 1.4 million tests have been performed around the country. as you are all aware 260,000 americans have tested positive for the coronavirus. avid instruments which can now perform a 15-minute test across the country have literally 18,000 of their machines across the nation today. fema is acquiring over 1,200 more machines to distribute to every public health state lab in america and also to the indian health care service. big news is that had the fda, in near record time approved an antibody test and we are continuing on the white house coronavirus task force to examine ways that we can scale up these rapid tests and these

innovative new tests. not just in this moment but to lay the foundation for testing across the nation in the months ahead. as the president mentioned he met with the energy executives today and continues to engage with leaders of businesses all across the nation. we held a teleconference with commercial retailers and on the president's behalf we thanked them for the way that people that operate malls and shopping centers around the country have embraced and enacted the coronavirus guidelines for america. it has had an enormous impact on their businesses and industries, but i heard from them their patriotic commitment to put the health of their associates and customers first. it was deeply inspiring. on the subject of supplies, the president detailed our work in that space and it continues to this day. part of our air bridge.

we had a flight arrive from china to columbus, ohio. we continue to work each and every day watching data about cases to ensure that in particular, not just personal protective equipment is available for the health care workers that are on the frontlines and also that ventilators are available as this epidemic makes its way through regions and communities we are literally working hour-by-hour and day by day to make sure that patients, families and health care providers have the equipment and the support they need. as the president mentioned, we have seen over a billion and a half in loans go out through the paycheck protection program today. we have available for questions the head of the cdc today to speak about the new guidance on cloth face coverings. secretary azar in a few moments

will explain just how the president's decision to make sure that no american will ever have to worry about paying for testing or for coronavirus treatment. i am pleased to report that at the president's direction medicare and medicaid already spla expanded to coronavirus testing and treatment early on and major insurance companies around the country are not just waiving copays on testing but for at least 60 days on any coronavirus treatment. now as the secretary will enumerate and i will make sure that any american, even those with no insurance will be able to receive treatment in a hospital and never have to worry about the bill. i will just give a general reminder to any american. if there is evidence that you are putting into practice the coronavirus guidelines for america. every american has a role to play and i want to thank you on behalf of the president and all

of the american people for the way that you are stepping forward and you are engaging in the social distancing and you are doing the things that will slow the spread. we encourage you to do it. we encourage you to keep on keeping on and we will get through this america. we will get through the coronavirus to that day of renewed health and renewed prosperity that the president always describes. but we will get through there sooner. we will get through there when we work together. >> thank you mr. vice president and mr. president. thank you for your words of discipline and determination. i guess that really describe what is we are asking every american to really be disciplined about these guidelines and to really be determined to stay in the space of execution. you know we are just in week 3 of this full guidance measure. we really do appreciate the work of the citizens of california

and washington state because we do see that their curve is different. their curve is different from new york, new jersey, connecticut. we really believe that the work that every citizen is doing in those states is making a difference, and it will make a difference for the frontline health care providers. we are also deeply grateful that despite the way that the curve looks today they continue to get ready for a different potential so that they can ensure that patients if they do get sick have options and availability. to all of the frontline health care workers in what we have referred to as hot spot areas where the number of cases are quite significant. new orleans. the new york city metro area including new jersey and connecticut. the incredible work that the frontline health care workers are providing.

we are really working now at a much more granular level talking to hospitals to make sure they have the supplies they need in coordination with state and local governments, and yesterda think it was quite clear also and reiterated by governor cuomo today that we have to support one another as each of these different metro areas and other areas move through their peak of new infections. when we talked about it at the beginning of this week, we talked about this week and next week being incredibly difficult, and we want to recognize the number of americans who have lost their lives to this virus and recognize the sacrifice that health care providers are making, both in their care, but i think where i'm very uplifted by hearing their messages to families and their compassion for others to provide that kind of support to the individuals in the hospital. we continue to watch in addition

the chicago area, the detroit area and have some developing concerns around colorado, the district of columbia and pennsylvania. so as you can see, each of these will follow their own curves. we'll be getting more and more of those case over time, information in a very granular way to each and every one of you so that we can follow these especial curves as each of the counties and states move through these in solidarity, and really ensuring that we can move supplies creatively around the country to meet the needs of both the frontline health care providers, but also every american who needs our support right now. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> well, thank you, mr. president, for your continued leadership as we battle the coronavirus. first, i want to thank all of the members of the hhs team and

the frontline health care workers across america, including those service workers who serve in our hospitals and our health care facilities, those who clean, those who deliver, those who stock the shelves, all those who are going into battle every day against the virus. your country has asked you to serve as never before, and you have responded heroically. i'm going to provide a brief update on the administration's plans to cover the testing and treatment for the uninsured. getting the uninsured access to the care they need is a top priority for president trump. we are already rolling out the $1 billion in funding from the families first coronavirus response act to cover providers' expenses for testing and diagnosing the uninsured. the k.a.r.e.s. act signed by the president includes another $100 billion for health care providers. under the president's direction, we will use a portion of that

funding to cover providers' costs of providing covid-19 care for the uninsured, sending the money to providers through the same mechanism used for testing. as a condition of receiving funds under this program, providers will be forbidden from balancing the costs from the uninsured. we will soon have more specifics on how the rest of the $100 billion will go to providers. we're working to ensure that this funding is distributed in a way that is fast, fair, simple, and transparent. i'd also like to remind people that if you've lost employer coverage, you have insurance options that you should look into. you'd be eligible for a special enrollment period on the health care exchanges. and depending on your state, you may be eligible for medicaid. just as president trump is working to ensure that covid-19

treatment is paid for, he is working to support new treatment options for patients. thanks to the president's leadership, many providers are trying different experimental therapies, and we need as much data as we can collect as quickly as possible on how these treatments are working. today, oracle has developed and is donating to the government and the american people a web portal and platform to gather crowd-sourced realtime information from providers about how patients respond to potential therapeutics. while that doesn't replace the important work of clinical trials, it gives us data rapidly. if you are a doctor or a health care provider and you would like to help us, you can sign up today to begin reporting on your work. there is a special registration page for providers at covid-19.oracle.com. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. okay. let's go. steve? >> if you could talk a little

bit more about the face max. what do people gain from wearing a mask, and why are you opposed to wearing one yourself? >> i just don't want to wear one myself. it's a recommendation. they recommend it. i'm feeling good. i just don't want to be doing -- somehow sitting in the oval office behind that beautiful resolute desk, the great resolute desk, i think wearing a face mask as i greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, i don't know, somehow i don't see it for myself. i just don't. maybe i'll change my mind. but this will pass. and hopefully it will pass very quickly. now, with that being said, if somebody wants to -- most people can just make something out of a certain material. so it's very well designated. it's very simple to do. i won't be doing it personally. it's a recommendation. okay? >> and would you like to say

something about that? >> sure. >> surgeon general, please. >> thank you, mr. president, mr. vice president, mr. secretary and cdc director redfield. i especially want to thank the folks at the cdc. it's a great question that you asked. it's a fair question that you asked. i want to unpack the evolution of our guidance on masks, because it has been confusing to the american people. first of all, i want people to understand that the cdc, the world health organization, my office, and most public health and health organizations and professionals originally recommended against the general public wearing masks because based on the best evidence available at the time, it was not deemed that that would have a significant impact on whether or not a healthy person wearing a mask would contract covid-19. we have always recommended that symptomatic people wear a mask because if you're coughing, if you have a fever, if you're

symptomatic, you could transmit disease to other people. what has changed in our recommendation? well, it's important to know that we now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lacked symptoms. they're what we call asymptomatic. and even those who eventually become presymptomatic, meaning that they will develop symptoms in the future, can transmit the virus to others before they show symptoms. this means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity. for example, coughing, speaking, or sneezing. even if those people were not exhibiting symptoms. in light of this new evidence, cdc recommends and the task force recommends wearing cloth face covers in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. these include places like grocery stores and pharmacies. we especially recommend this in areas of significant community-based transmission.

it is critical, and the president mentioned this, the vice president mentioned this, it's critical that maintaining six feet of social distancing remains key to slowing the spread of the virus. but cdc is additionally advising the use of simple cloth covers to slow the spread of the virus and to help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. the cloth face covers recommended are not surgical masks or n95 respirators. those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other first responders as recommended by the current cdc guidance. as the president also mentioned, cloth-faced covers from household items are made at home from materials of low cost can be used as an additional voluntary public health insure. this recommendation compliments and does not replace the president's coronavirus guidelines for america 30 days to slow the spread, which remains the cornerstone of our national effort to slow the

spread of the virus. cdc is always, always looking at the data. twoeld that you from the beginning. dr. birx says it every single press conference. we're looking at the data and evolving recommendations, and new recommendations will come as the evidence dictates. so i want to say if you do choose to wear a face mask, very important, wash your hands first because you don't want the put on a face covering with a dirty hand. do not touch your face while you are wearing the face covering, because, again, you could take materials from the surface, germs from the surface and bring it to you face. if you choose to wear a face covering, please, please leave the n95 mask, the medical supplies for the medical professionals, health care and frontline workers. know this is not a substitute for social distancing. and remember, this is all about me protecting you and you protecting me. this is about us coming together as communities and if people

voluntarily choose to wear a face covering, they're wearing it to protect their neighbors from getting the coronavirus because, again, they could have asymptomatic spread. so mr. president, thank you very much for that. >> thank you. >> appreciate the opportunity to update everybody. >> great job. >> okay. john? >> mr. president, dr. fauci last night said that every state should have stay-at-home orders right now. do you agree with that? should every state have the stay-at-home orders? >> i leave it up to the governors. the governors know what they're doing. i guess we're close to 90% anyway. and states that we're talking about are not in jeopardy. no. i would leave to it the governors. i like that from the standpoint of governing, and i like that from the standpoint of even our constitution. please? >> mr. president, to address the shortage of the blood supply, the food and drug administration -- >> a different voice. a