and a good monday afternoon to you. craig melvin here. thank you for joining us on this memorial day. right now, our country is approaching another grim milestone. there are more than 1.6 million known cases of coronavirus. more than 98,000 americans have died so far. on this memorial day, cases are still surging in spots around the nation. it's happening as president trump remembers those who paid the ultimate price for our

country. he's honored fallen soldiers at arlington national cemetery and the fort mchenry national monument in baltimore and tweeting out a threat this morning. president says he may try to pull the summer's republican national convention out of north carolina if it can't go on as planned because of the state's coronavirus shutdown orders. let us start today's broadcast down south where medical experts are now warning about a second wave of coronavirus cases as states continue to reopen, some are seeing a new surge in cases. we start this 1:00 hour with nbc's allison barber in durham, north carolina. dasha bumgarners in montgomery, alabama. north carolina saw the biggest one-day spike in covid cases over the weekend as this phased reopening continues there. what are health officials saying about the uptick in cases?

>> reporter: hey, craig. yeah, the state's top doctor said that the rise on saturday was concerning and also notable, a spokesperson with the governor's afs told us in part that the increase in cases shows me must move forward slowly and cautiously. over 1, 100 positive covid cases reported on saturday. the state's 24 hoff hour increase. the numbers seem to drop on sunday going just under 500. today it seems like the number of confirmed cases is inching back up. as of 11:00 a.m. this morning the state reporting 742 cases in the last 24 hours. where we are, durham, north carolina, still has a local shelter at home order in place. the mayor of durham says that they didn't have a choice with that. they say that the number of confirmed cases in this county is three times higher per capita than the neighboring county. listen here.

>> we're not really where we want to be yet so we're trying to be more cautious about reopening. we have -- we have our swimming pools and restaurants and our hair salons and so forth closed until june 1st so we're a little bit behind the state because we feel like we need to be. >> reporter: hospitalizations are at a new high for this state today, as well. just under 700. two things have happened here in recent weeks. you have seen north carolina health officials increase the number of tests here. you have also seen the state to reopen, started phase one two and a half weeks ago. craig? >> allison barber, north carolina. let's go to dasha burns is there in alabama. montgomery, specifically. what's the situation there, dasha? >> reporter: craig, the number of cases here in montgomery county has doubled in just the

last two weeks. and that big spike in such a short period of time is putting a lot of strain on hospitals like this one behind me here. jackson hospital does not have any icu beds left right now and the hospitals in other areas not faring much better. some have had to send patients to birmingham 90 miles from here to get the care they need and the doctors i've been speaking to said they have never seen this influx of patients before. they tell me it's unsustainable. i want to introduce you to dr. lisa williams and thought she was through the worst of it and cases going down and now dealing with one of the toughest points of the her career. take a listen to what she told me, craig. >> i'm used to taking care of sick patients, used to seeing death in the icu but the volume of death and not being able to help my patients is just heartbreaking.

i mean, to be honest with you, every day i'm on the brink of tears wanting the know when this is going to end and it's tough. i don't think people realize taking care of people dying that you can't help and we're not talking all nursing home patients that they say who have a lot of comorbidities but young people, people with children, children i'm taking care of that i may not be able to get them better. >> reporter: and, craig, i was in tears listening to her describe all of that and meanwhile the state is continuing the open up. as of friday, even more restrictions have been lifted and entertainment venues like bowling alleys and theaters are opening up. as we have been traveling to different parts of the country, there seems to be more and more evidence that the biggest determining factors in who bears the burden of this disease are race and income and here in alabama, alabama's one of the poorest states in the country

and african-american population makes up 26% of the population here. but they make up 43% of the deaths here, craig. >> dasha burns, there in alabama, dasha, thank you so much for that report. all weekend we have been seeing the images of packed beaches, pools, boardwalks, parks. big crowds turning out for the unofficial start of summer this weekend. and "the washington post" is reporting that there's a new study that estimates some 24 states, nearly half the union, still have an uncontrolled coronavirus spread and now joined by dr. vin gupta, a msnbc medical correspondent. dr. gupta, we have seen so many of these pictures of the crowds over the weekend. many of these people don't appear to be social distancing or wearing masks.

how real is your concern that we're taking the foot off the gas perhaps just a little too quickly? >> i share the concerns of the researchers from the university college london who published the work you referenced. you know, here's the reality. the reality is every passing day in these states that have decided to open up despite not having enough testing, despite not having enough icu beds, i'm an icu doc. ours are packed in seattle. there wasn't a single bed available. there's a discrepancy of what elected officials want to make us believe and what frontloon workers see on the ground. that really powerful interview from the doctor in montgomery brought home that point. we are not out of the woods yet and the 24 state that is decided to open up despite the best evidence putting the people at risk and worries us all and this

study is just one in a series of studies that confirms that point. feels like this is an endless ream of evidence going up against what elected officials want to do which is reemerge despite what we are telling them to do which is to take it slow so we're all really concerned. >> the study that we're talking about, by the way, especially concerning in the south and med west out of london, a university there. what can be done to slow the spread in these state that is we're talking about specifically? >> people don't want to hear it but it just means that if we don't take it slow now it's a lockdown the likes of which we haven't seen since march in those states so it's better to take an incremental approach now and it also means that you have seen the same pictures and we aren't wearing mask, not

practicing social distancing at beaches. we have seen the pictures. basic top infection control is top of mind and really by the way we need elected officials and state governments more broadly in these states to report the data accurately so that we can -- people can be informed with the latest evidence. americans deserve to have credible information and truth. and what you are seeing out of florida and georgia is an effort to manipulate data to hide the truth from americans. that's not right. if i were to give half of a story to a patient of mine and treat them with the wrong information or delude them into thinking they're okay when they're not i would be charged with medical malpractice. that is what's happening here. we need to have faith in them and then infection control at the top of mind and a slow reopening as the mayor of durham just said. >> fda commissioner steven hahn

tweeted a reminder over the weekend saying, quote, i again remind everyone that the coronavirus is not yet ho contained. not every state or city requiring masks, specifically north carolina where we were just in durham we're still seeing the number of cases go up. a lot of municipalities are suggesting,en couraging masks. would requiring masks across the board help? is that feasible? >> craig, i'm going to say this for the benefit of your family. you have young kids, for my family and all americans. we should make masks mandatory in public. just like we ban indoor smoking because you know what? you shouldn't have to breathe somebody else's secondhand smoke. i shouldn't have to breathe exhaled covid-19 in somebody's breath. nobody should.

we should have mandatory masks in public when you can't guarantee social distance. public transportation. workplaces. absolutely where we should be headed. makes no sense why we are not already there and encouraging it. people are flouting the rules, security guard at a retail outlet in michigan died trying to encourage a customer to wear a mask. they shot him. because they didn't like the way in which it was trying to be enforced. we need to not put the onus on security guards at local outlets to enforce this policy or encourage americans to abide by it. it's in all our best interests to wear masks. we just need governors to do their job. >> dr. gupta, always good to have your analysis. always good to get your perspective. thank you so much. president trump is just returned from paying respects to americans who died serving our

country. he participated at a memorial at fort mchenry. before that he laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. let's bring in nbc news white house correspondent hans nichols now. hans, what did we hear from the president as he paid those respects? >> reporter: craig, we heard war-like language from the president but the enemy here is the coronavirus. that's a similar theme that we have heard the president sound really now for two, almost three months. so in some ways today was very traditional. it's a presidential tradition to go to arlington memorial to lay a wreath there and in other ways untraditional. you didn't have people visiting, no individuals going out and paying their respects to loved ones and family members. most of the cemeteries in the country are closed aen then you had the president take a separate trip to fort mchenry and listen to the language used to describe the fight against coronavirus.

>> in recent months our nation and the world have been engaged in a new form of battle against an invisible enemy. once more, the men and women of the united states military answered the call to duty and raced into danger. tens of thousands of service members and national guardsmen are on the front lines of our war against this terrible virus. >> reporter: and just the latest from the president there. you heard him. i didn't hear anything specific about those who died specifically from coronavirus. that number that's approaching 100,000. but we'll go back and listen one more time. craig? >> hans, while i have you, about this new travel ban with brazil that the administration just announced. why this ban for this country alone and why right now? >> reporter: the numbers were spiking up. you know?

the president initially when you remember a ban on europe, the uk wasn't included and then the uk was ultimately included in the travel ban and puts brazil on the same footing as most countries in europe and china and iran. brazil has the highest second highest level of reported case loads and 1,800 travelers come once a week from brazil to the united states. and the u.s. wanted to get out in front of this. i should note that the ban doesn't go into effect until may 28th and the white house talking about this for sometime. it was back in early march that president bals nora was in the states visiting with the president at mar-a-lago and the delegation came down with the virus. they finally decided to act.

craig? >>. >> okay. han hans nichols there. let us go to brazil now where we find our chief global correspondent bill neely on the ground in rio de janeiro. bill, what's behind the huge jump in cases there? do we know? >> reporter: yeah. i mean, it's second highest number of cases in the world and those are just confirmed numbers. doctors have told me consistently over the last few days that the real number could be ten to 15 times more than that. it's averaging about 1,000 deaths every day. all sorts of reasons for it, craig. remember, i was in a slum area of rio de janeiro yesterday and people are densely packed in those favelas, sometimes six or seven to one room. they have go out to eat and work and when they go out for money

for the families they come back and they can infect lots of people around them so it's a really difficult situation. and the travel ban, well look. both sides, both the white house and the brazilian president trying to play this down because quite frankly it is a bit of an embarrassment. these are the two most infected countries in the world, president bolsonaro hasn't commented directly but retweeted the words of his chief adviser that, look, this is all very understandable. it is a common fight against coronavirus. and anyone who says this is some kind of betrayal by president trump of his friend president bolsonaro is just press hysteria. that travel ban was being introduced mr. bolsonaro was out with his supporters at an anti-lockdown protest. he was hugging people. he was getting selfies taken right beside children. he doesn't believe in self

isolating and millions of people here in brazil look to him for the example so millions of people are out here without masks and they're not isolating so brazil, doctors have told me the peak is still perhaps one to two weeks away. and as hans was saying this travel ban comes into effect midnight friday. craig? >> yeah. i've spent sometime there in rio and as you point out, bill, it is difficult for folks who haven't been there to fully appreciate how densely populated that city is. folks live literally on top of each other in that part of brazil which would explain the surge. be safe, my friend. thank you. safe travels to you. back here, on this memorial day, beaches opening nationwide. will americans listen to those warnings from health officials like dr. vin gupta that we just heard from to socially distance,

to way masks? if they don't, why not? also, that question that many families including mine are grappling with, is it safe to send your kids to summer camp? we're going to look at what some camps are doing to deal with the pandemic. into a smaller life? are your asthma treatments just not enough? then see what could open up for you with fasenra. it is not a steroid or inhaler. it is not a rescue medicine or for other eosinophilic conditions. it's an add-on injection for people 12 and up with asthma driven by eosinophils. nearly 7 out of 10 adults with asthma may have elevated eosinophils. fasenra is designed to target and remove eosinophils,

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beach towns, lake towns, they're hurting right now. the business that they depend on doesn't exist because the

pandemic. and they're trying to reopen as safely as possible, many of them. here with that part of the story is nbc's ann thompson on cape cod. nbc's cal perry in lake geneva, wisconsin. i'll start with you, ann. massachusetts allowing beaches to reopen for sunbathing and some gatherings. up until now they allowed walking, running and other outdoor activities. what are you seeing on the ground there? are folks flocking to those beaches? >> reporter: craig, if it was a nicer day they would be here but we're just laughing. we think there's more seagulls here than people because it's about 60 degrees and overcast and miserable but opening the beaches is so important to the businesses here on cape cod because the tourism business brings in more than a billion dollars. and so, visitors from out of

town are absolutely key and today we're tacking to tony and carolyn who run the barnacle restaurant across the street from the beach and they have been open since about mid-may but they can only do takeout, no outdoor seating because massachusetts is only in phase one of the reopening and that's really turned their business upside down. >> let's break it down to during the week and weekend. during the week, our business has increased. we seem to be serving our local customers. the takeout situation has helped us during the week. on the weekend, it's hurt us a bit because we don't have the short-term rentals. people aren't coming to the beach and our beach business has slackened off.

>> reporter: now, they're hoping that that situation will turn around. on june 8th, governor baker's going to take a look at what's gone on in phase within of the reopening and the state of massachusetts might move to phase two and if it does that means that those short-term rentals, hotels, motels, airbnbs can come back and will bring people in and because most of the people to the cape come from a radius of a five-hour drive so it's really crucial. craig in. >> ann thompson, cape cod, thank you. from the ocean to a lake now, lake geneva. recently it's inundated with visitors from illinois. cal perry is there. how worried are local officials about this inundation if you will, cal? >> reporter: yeah, some of them are very worried. a local city councilman resooned

over the beach behind me being open. they limit the amount of people out there, that is volume problem and the streets packed all week. i was there yesterday. there were thousands of people on the street just up where the restaurants are and so many people trying to get into the restaurants that the streets were overcrowded. i asked the owner of oak fire what he did when people things at the peak crazy. take a listen. >> we had to literally close our doors and stop letting people in the building several different times and shut down our wait list and essentially our business to the public because we simply couldn't handle the volume or had space to safely kind of manage the crowd. this is truly the wild west. it wept from kind of a lockdown to just total chaos. so it's unfortunate in my opinion. i would have preferred a more

formalized approach but i think there's a struggle at the federal level for real true guidance and leadership on this. >> reporter: now, the governor of wisconsin a few weeks ago, craig, put some restrictions in place. the supreme court overturned those restrictions. the supreme court of wisconsin. and so there's not been the phased reopen from zero to 100. those in the words of david that owner and then, of course, in illinois face masks are required. here in wisconsin they are recommended. i would say less than half, maybe a quarter of folks here actually wearing a face covering. craig? >> speaking of face coverings, cal, i have seen a lot over the last weeks and yet to see one as fashion forward as the coordination with your shirt did not go unnoticed. cal perry in lake geneva, cal, thank you. >> reporter: very nice. >> ann thompson on cape cod.

business owners are really dependent on people showing up like you heard. but a lot of places closed for weeks. they're reopening with huge changes to the way that they do business to try and keep foxes safe. i'm joined by one of the business owners, tim mccloon. still owns 11 restaurants in new jersey and a few by the beach. thank you for your time. how are you operating your restaurants right now? what are you doing? >> actually i'd like to say i'm really busy. it is not so much. right now we're totally ready to go. that's what we're doing. i'm at the beach front place here in pier village in long branch and i can see the beach from where i'm sitting and it's about a third full. it is not a great day. it's been said by some other people at any rate.

but they're not -- normally i'm sitting in an empty restaurant. we would be ready for 1,200 people today and we'll service maybe one-tenth of that for to-go. it's devastating. >> at that restaurant where you are and your other restaurants, i'm told that you're going to be able to operate at 50% capacity. if you're operating at 50% capacity, are you going to be able to stay open? >> well, we haven't heard that yet. i think that is where it's going to go, that maybe it starts at 25% and then 50% but i would dare say if we operated at 80% capacity we'd probably not be sustainable. i'm one of the ones patient about this and i hate the fact that there are rogues out there who are going for it and pushing

back. i understand and nobody wants this thing to continue but by the same token i like just a steady progression. tell us what it will be and hit the marks but at 50% i would think that almost every restaurant owner in the country would tell you it's not -- >> what do you need to see in your beach locations specifically to survive this slow season that you're likely going to have this summer and into the winter? >> well, a big part of our business is outdoor dining and i think that's the first to be improved and i don't know how the customers are going to feel about being inside. we' we're hoping -- a lot of towns talked about expanding the footprint so there's tables six foot apart we might have the same number of tables with expanded footprint outside and that would be really helpful but once we get to september, october, what's going to happen? this business, you know, we all obviously used the summer time

to pile in as much money as we can. we don't make money annually until half of the way through july and, you know, for all of us it is like all of a sudden it's september and you don't realize where it went. this is like a hurricane every day. we are not in a position right now to do enough business to sustain what we're doing. >> tim, from the federal government right now, what do you need? if you had speaker pelosi on the phone or majority leader mitch mcconnell on the phone, what would you say to them? what would you ask them? >> well, the simplest thing is that the ppp program which everybody heard about and i think understand it now, tied into returning the employees. the restaurant and hospitality industry doesn't match that. we can't open up. what's the point of bringing back the employees? the first thing that needs to happen is expand the rules. we're only about three, four

weeks away from theoretically start returning the money and the first thing to happen is expand it, get rid of it. the better thing is to forgive it outright. don't tie it to -- we have to bring back everybody. i would right now have in this building 40 employees sitting here doing nothing if i brought them all back because there's no customers and that's the primary thing. secondly, i think they need to do a replenishment. it takes us until, what, august, is september? they don't want the restaurant and hotel industry to collapse in the united states because we control not just culturally, you know, if we were going to meet tomorrow and talk about s ton hall, we'd say meet at a cafe and that's disappearing. i wore this on purpose. i couldn't help it. >> i know, i know. since you wore the shirt, since you wore the shirt, i'll remind you what happened the last time

seton hall saw wallford. >> we are not forgiving. i'm the announcer for seton hall basketball in my other life and i was an alerted to this by a big fan and decided to wear the shirt. >> thank you. thank you for your time. amen. amen to that, brother. thank you. i appreciate your perspective. and good luck, okay? good luck. even thousand yore gh you're a guy. >> thank you. once summer comes, parents across this country, present company included, we depend on camp for our kids. things are going to look a lot different this year. we look at the adjustment of camps across the country forced to make and whether they're doing enough to make parents feel safe sending their kids. the republican national committee and other gop groups are suing democratic california

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as we all try to get back to some kind of normal, a big question for a lot of folks right now, what about summer camp? what do we do about summer camp? with more on that part of the story let's bring in nbc news reporter vaughn hilliard live in prescott, arizona. what more can you tell us about how the summer camps look in the midst of a pandemic? >> reporter: exactly, craig. you have got kids and there's more than 10,000 summer camps. from band camps to sports camps to those more traditional camps right here in the pine country kating waiting to see if they go forward. just take a look at how some camps are preparing for the summer.

lisa is getting the 14-year-old emily ready for summer camp. >> water shoes. >> reporter: she's carefully weighing the risks of continuing a treasured tradition in the midst of a pandemic. >> i put my faith in friendly pines that they're going to follow whatever safety guidelines are put in. >> reporter: after months cooped up inside, emily's making the trek to the camp in northern arizona, a place she called home for seven summers but this year with strict safety measures in place, the camp hosting kids for 80 years will look and feel much different. >> but we're going above and beyond. temperature checks. asking questions. part of our reassurance is that we are going to require everybody to be tested before they come to camp. >> reporter: megan may and the staff are following guidelines promoted by the cdc and the american camp association. >> come on in. >> reporter: fewer kids per

cabin, here just seven instead of ten. so what is it going to look like in here? >> for instance, we might have a camper using this bunk but not up top and not head to head. >> reporter: outside, dedicated places to keep clean. >> we knew we would need a lot of hand washing stations and created this out of an old canoe and have them all over camp. >> reporter: plenty of masks and the dining hall is heading outdoors. >> the tables aren't usually out here? >> usually not. we'll eat outside. air moving around and space them out a lot more. >> reporter: it is a snapshot of the nationwide changes the american camp association says are key. >> in this covid summer, and beyond, i'd love for our campers to savor the time with each other learning and sharing and having fun together. if there is a silver lining of covid summer 2020, it's that we

will cherish our relationships more. >> reporter: a chance to help kids enjoy summer at a time when so much else is uncertain. again, craig, a summer up in the air for millions of kids and i was talking to that camp director, megan may saying this is about communities for kids again. camp is often a place where you -- these kids walk away with more independence and resiliency and perhaps no better time but as you saw there the camps take it seriously. how many camps feel wholly like they're able to do that this summer? i think that's on parent's minds here in these weeks ahead. craig? >> yeah. i'm within of those parents. vaughn hillyard, thank you. 80 years. good run. appreciate you. be safe out there. the pandemic's spread taking root in the homeless population specifically.

how one group is working to protect some of our most vulnerable. first, though, president trump threatening to pull the upcoming republican national convention from north carolina and writing that the state's democratic governor is, quote, still in shutdown mode. actually, the president wrote mood and unable to guarantee by august we will be allowed full attendance in the arena. the spokesperson for the governor said they're working with the rnc and relying on data. and science. vice president mike pence was asked about it earlier on fox news and did not rule out moving the convention. >> having a sense now is absolutely essential because of the immense preparations involved and we look forward to working with governor cooper, getting a swift response and if needs be, if needs be moving the national convention to a state

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♪ we talk a lot about the people who are most vulnerable during this crisis, whether it's health of those working on the front lines or our friends and neighbors who have been hit especially hard financially. today i want to talk about the

homeless population and the battle they have to fight. they are naturally vulnerable to this virus because they often, they often have no shelter and few places to turn to for proper health care. there's some new research out suggesting the homeless twice as likely to be hospitalized from the coronavirus and two to three times as likely to die from it as the general population. i want to bring in nan roman, nan is president and ceo of the national alliance to end homelessness. nan, those are some pretty alarming numbers. talk us through the affects that the virus has had on the homeless population, especially, in our country. >> well, thank you so much, craig, for having me and for raising this issue, certainly. we know that people who are homeless are very vulnerable to the coronavirus. if they're living in shelter, which the majority of them are, those tend to be congregate,

sleeping close together, they're not able to socially distance, sharing a congregate space for hygiene and meals and almost 40% of people who are homeless as you say are unsheltered living outdoors, they don't have access to hygiene facilities. their health already is much, much worse even than people's health who are in shelter, almost half of them have serious conditions of heart, lungs and or kidneys. so they' living in terrible conditions. and i think it also has to be noted that minorities are disproportionately taking the brunt of this overrepresented both in the homeless population and in the population of the people with coronavirus as you say. >> i want to also correct myself and n realtime here. i just used a term that i know isn't accurate. having spent sometime working with organizations like yours.

we're talking about people who are experiencing homelessness, not people who are homeless. your organization -- >> thank you. >> what are they doing, what are other organizations doing to keep people experiencing homelessness safe during this crisis? >> well, our organization national alliance to end homelessness is a national advocacy and education organization and more important i think now is what the homeless programs are doing on the ground to try to take care of homeless people, people who experiencing homelessness and this really is the yoman's work and very, very difficult work at the moment. they're having a hard time getting protective equipment as so many other people are. they're very short staffed because their staff sometimes ill, sometimes they have to take off because the kids are home from school. they have lost the volunteer base largely and they're essential to the running of most

shelters and having to thin out the shelters so they can't have as many people in the individual shelters trying to achieve the social distancing and this is requiring them to also have more staff. because they have more -- they have to cover more space. >> nan, really quickly, are there parts of the country where this is especially acute? are there parts of country hit harder than others and do we know why? >> well, it seems that the parts of country that are being hit harder, although we don't have very good data i must say on the relative percentage of people in different communities that are susceptible or that have been affected, but that more -- just like the virus itself it's been the cities with larger homeless populations and more crowding that seems to be more affected so boston, new york, san francisco, los angeles,

particularly affected. >> nan, thank you. thanks for the work that your organization is doing, as well. we appreciate you. >> thank you so much. as as we start the unoffici kickoff to summer, we want to take a moment to thank our medical professionals on the front lines of the pandemic. we'll do that right after a quick break. first though, joe biden, the apparent democratic nominee making the first appearance in public today since mid march. they took time to honor our veterans in his home state of delaware. he and dr. jill biden both wearing masks as they laid that wreath at a site in new castle, delaware. the biden's late son, beau biden, he served in the iraq war and he died five years ago this week from brain cancer.

on this memorial day, all of us give thanks to our fellow american service members that have given the ultimate sacrifice while serving in our nation's military and there have been more than a million men and women since america was born. we're also entering a new phase of this pandemic as summer officially starts. we want to take a moment to thank the people working so hard to keep us safe during this time. here's nbc's kevin tibbles. ♪ >> reporter: memorial day -- a day of remembrance. a day of trumpets. a day of tribute to valor and sacrifice. but this year this memorial day

we use the words of war to salute those on a new front line. >> it was like a war zone coming into the icu. >> reporter: doctors and nurses, first responders, modern day medics in the trenches here at home. >> we're fighting a war and it's microscopic. >> reporter: many of our men and women in uniform now find themselves deployed state side joining forces with first responders battling an enemy you can't even see, one that often preys on the vulnerable. >> most of my colleagues that didn't yet get infected, they're still here on the front lines doing the same thing i am. they fear bringing this home to their family every night. >> reporter: the numbers stagger. american cases approaching two million, close to 100,000 deaths, taking a toll even on a hospital chaplin. >> i played football and before and after that i was a soldier and i thought i was safe coming

into chaplincy, coming into medicine. now i'm learning there are bad will scars with that as well. >> reporter: battle scars that could leave a psychological mark for years to come which is why this new breed of soldier needs you, even as our nation cautiously moves forward. for now, on this memorial day, respect and gratitude for their service. we have so many to thank. kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. yes, we do. thank you for that. that's going to wrap up this hour of msnbc live. chris jansing will take it over after a quick break. thank you for spending your memorial day with us. them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. does it worry me? absolutely. new sensodyne sensitivity & gum gives us the dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend.

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good afternoon. i'm chris jansing. it is 11:00 a.m. out west, 2:00 p.m. in the east. here are the facts as we know them this hour. there are more than 1.6 million confirmed cases of covid-19 in the u.s. this memorial day. more than 98,000 americans have lost their lives. on average, 1100 a day. amid the on going battle over where to reopen and how, president trump is threatening to move the republican convention out of north carolina and rnc officials tell nbc news that if the state's democratic governor cannot provide assurances that a full capacity

in person convention can happen in august, we're taking thousands of people -- thousands of people they want to put inside a building. they will "be forced to consider other options." new york governor andrew cuomo announcing today that his state will be providing death benefits to public employees who die from covid-19. once again called on the federal government to take additional action on pandemic relief. across the country, americans are flocking to newly reopened beaches to celebrate the holiday weekend but not always following guidelines for safe gatherings. massive crowds were spotted in wisconsin's lake geneva with out of towners flooding the open beach. and we have quite the split screen this memorial day. for the first time since joe biden became the parent democratic nominee, he made his first public appearance at the same time we saw the president. a glimpse, however brief, of the two men locked in a battle for

the presidency. wearing the black facemask, he made a trip to veterans memorial park. it follows a rough weekend for biden after he faced criticism for comments on a radio show about black voters and weeks of mocking by the president about his decision to follow cdc guidelines and stay home. let's bring in our nbc news correspondent who covers the biden campaign for us. mike, what do we know about today's unexpected trip? why now? >> well, chris, on the one hand the images that we're seeing of joe biden walking, wearing, of course, a black facemask along with his wife marking the memorial day holiday are so ordinary. we've seen this image every four years in a campaign cycle in the presidential election years. but, of course, it's really unusual in that we hadn't seen the former vice president in public outside of his home for more than two months. the last time was actually just up the street from me here in washington, when he participated in that final democratic primary

debate with bernie sanders. he held another public event days before that outlining his vision for how he would deal with the coronavirus pandemic. but that was in march. the vision of joe biden that most of the country has seen is in short bursts from that very familiar scene from the basement and recently they adjusted another room in his house overlooking a pond in his backyard. and that's all that public has seen of joe biden. and what is so interesting about this is that i think this is potentially indicative of a turning point for the campaign. up until this point, what campaign advisors have been telling me is joe biden is going to abide by all the stay at home restrictions in the state of delaware. that stay at home guidance continues into early june. so this was an unannounced visit as you indicate. a small protective pool that is part of this trip. i think the campaign is eager to potentially start getting the former vice president out in public especially as you see the president eager to do that. traveling the country with the benefit of the full, you know, pageantry of the white house

around him and that all that comes with it. the biden campaign today could be seen as an experiment, the first attempt to see what that would look like going forward. >> in the meantime, what we have been seeing from joe biden, he's been doing a lot of local media from his home studios, his campaign has also been turning out some ads including a pretty strong attack ad over the weekend. tell us about that. >> well, the one issue that the biden campaign insists is the only one that matters, of course, is the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and of the economic fallout. so on a weekend in which the images we were seeing of president trump on the golf course, the biden camp wanted to capitalize. let's look at that new ad they leased this weekend.

>> that, chris, of course, is what the campaign wants this conversation in the campaign to be about. but we've also seen the campaign over the weekend try to still account for his comments with the interview with the breakfast club in which he talked about you ain't black, acknowledging the concern that a lot of black voters have especially about the choice they face in november. >> thank you so much, we appreciate that, mike. president trump queptkept w long standing tradition of presidents going to arlington national cemetery on memorial day and then speaking without a mask, he paid tribute to america's veterans from baltimore's fort mchenry. the city's mayor said his visit sets a bad example during a citywide lockdown. joining me from the white house is nbc's monicaal abou alba.

>> chris, he honored a duel loss of life today, those fallen heroes from our collective wars and then the victims of coronavirus as well with the president there at fort mchenry comparing the pandemic to a war that america is waging and saying that the towering spirit of this nation will be what ultimately leads to, in his words, the ability to vanquish this hi this virus. it was a teleprompter speech from him in baltimore. he did make that visit despite local officials urging him to reconsider given the stay at home orders. he also went to arlington on this memorial day. it came on a weekend where he wasn't engaging in the more serious events. he was golfing for most of the weekend and also tweeting exactly back at that ad you just played that the biden campaign

released juxtaposing those images of him on the links with the rising numbers of coronavirus deaths. the president did seem to expect we would be covering the golf outings with our nbc newscam raz. he even waved at one point wanting to send the signal to americans that he is getting back to the activities that he was doing before the pandemic and he's urging others to do so as well. but his critics have absolutely jumped on that this weekend. and today he continues to try to defend himself with all the time he has spent out on the golf course. chris? >> yeah. just looking at the latest -- one of the latest tweets when he said the fake and totally corrupt news media makes it sound like a mortal sin when he's gone golfing. we know how many times he chris side the president obama on twitter for golfing. thank you. i know you'll keep up with all of that. i want to bring in our senior political analyst jonathan allen. i thought it was very

interesting. somber but a split screen, the president and the former vice president. what do you think? is this the start of something we're going to see more of? do you think that the split screen both of them being out, both of them trying to get at least out in public is the start? >> absolutely, chris. we saw this from the president even before today visiting the ford company. he has been trying to get out of the white house as much as possible. you see him there without a mask representing not only his own personal, i think, feeling that he shouldn't be photographed in a mask but also signalling on a political level to a base that basically agrees with him that the economy should be reopening and that to some degree the dangers have been overstated. on the other side, you see joe biden cooped up in a basement

for two months and had a terrible interview this week and trying to turn the page. you won't see less of joe biden out in public. i think he and his team understand that he needs to at least show himself outside a little bit even if it's not in crowded areas like the president seems to want to be at. >> are you hearing that there is no one in the campaign that thinks there is any disadvantage to the president getting out the way he does? that there's no disadvantage to the criticism that we heard at ford, for example, starting there? that he isn't wearing a mask. he's constantly doing exactly what the cdc guidelines say he shouldn't do including some of the close contact he had on the golf course this weekend? >> it's very reflective of the strategy he's had since he took office which is to try to deepen his connection with his political base. the risk for him is that there are a lot of suburban voters who are afraid of not only

contracting coronavirus themselves but becoming carriers and spreading it to other people that they care about and love. so there's this tremendous division going on where i think suburban communities may be getting even closer to democrats. the they had been moving in that direction already through the mid terms. and what you see with president trump is doubling down on this idea that he's going to be able to win re-election by appealing to the people who already agree with him even more. >> let me ask you, speaking of people that agree with him, the folks, delegates that are going to the convention. if if you're hearing anything about this new demand he's made. he wants it in person, republican convention. is this just a way of tweaking a democratic governor or are they serious about this? >> it's a good demand to make for him. it puts the governor in the position of basically cancelling the republican convention potentially and it gives trump the excuse to not have a real convention or traditional convention if it they have to

scramble to find another location and have difficulty doing that. so in a way it's more of a delay mechanism than anything. and certainly, again, sort of creates this juxtaposition between how democrats are treating the disease and how president trump is. >> jonathan allen, thank you so much for being with us on this memorial day. much appreciated. meantime, there is something else going on with 2020 that is critically important and it's the fight over mail in ballots. the republican party is suing california over a plan to send in mail in ballots to every registered voter ahead of the november election. the fight in california is just one of many playing out now as governors move to extend mail in voting over concerns of coronavirus. the president and rnc fought back, claiming that mail in voting opens the door to voter fraud. but don't forget, we've already seen what can happen when people vote in the age of covid-19.

after wisconsin's primary, several poll workers and voters tested positive for the virus and there is also no evidence that mail in voting is right with fraud. joining me now from los angeles, our nbc news correspondent erin mclaughlin. >> this lawsuit was filed by three republican groups, the republican national committee, national republican congressional committee as well as the california republican party. it was filed against california's secretary of state as well as california governor gavin newsom after this month he issued an order requiring officials to mail ballots to all registered voters ahead of the general election. he said that that was to help avoid crowding at polling stations in light of the coronavirus pandemic. but republicans in this lawsuit

with a scathing response saying it's a "brazen power grab that violates eligible citizens' right to vote." the chairwoman said it would destroy confidence californians have in the security of their vote. but the governor's office responding saying that this is to help californians to avoid having to make a choice between their health and vote. there will be an in person auction in that general election. chris? >> aaron mclaughlin, thank you for that. still to come, how this pandemic has even changed how we honor our nation's heroes at one of the most sacred sites in the country, arlington national cemetery. plus, protests this memorial day in new jersey, demanding the garden state be reopened as a popular vacation spot in the midwest is inundated by out of towners raising the question, is it all too much too soon? it all too much too soon how about no

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on any other given memorial day it's not unusual to see big crowds at popular vacation spots across the country. but in this era of social distancing, it can be a shocking sight indeed. hundreds of people, almost none of them wearing masks, crowded into bars and restaurants and n. wisconsin's lake geneva over the weekend. the state supreme court forced

businesses to resume in the state earlier this month and would be celebrators from nearby states still under lockdown are flocking to lake geneva to enjoy their holiday weekend. joining me from lake geneva, wisconsin, is nbc's cal perry. what you are hearing on the ground? is nobody there worried about getting sick? >> you know, of the people i spoke to who are vacationing here, nobody said anything about worried about getting sick and most of them, as you said, are not wearing masks. keep in mind, in illinois, you have to wear a mask. it's required. here in wisconsin, it's only recommended. you look at the restaurants where people have packed in, again, almost none of them wearing masks. the almost all of them are from illinois. we had a chance to talk to a couple people a few minutes ago. take a listen. >> wisconsin got it right. levelheaded smart people. illinois, not making so many good decisions. you look at death rates. look at illnesses. look scientifically. oh, my gosh, we've been making wrong decisions since march 15th.

and here we are -- by the way, we obeyed all the rule. now we get to come to a regular society and feels great to be in wisconsin. >> you know, the way this played out as you mentioned, the governor having restriction here's in the state and then the supreme court reversing those restrictions as one restaurant owner told me it took things from zero to 100. so people were so eager to get out that they just kind of came out in force. so many of them again from that greater chicago area. compounding the issue if the issue is crowds. the weather has finally cleared. chris, it has been raining for a week here in the midwest. you remember the floods in michigan. for the last 24 hours, clear skies, chris. >> it's kind of hard to tell, but maybe someone has said something to you, cal. in new york city, obviously, things get very busy. i know there are people who just look around and they decide that in one particular spot it's too many people who aren't wearing

masks and they just decide to get out. have you seen any indication that anybody who is going there is uncomfortable? >> me. yesterday i walked through -- i took that video on my cell phone. i was in lockdown for a couple months in london. it was unnerving. people were really crowded around. i spoke to people outside of town who are from the area who said they're unnerved. but they said, you know, we need the business. so it's this really difficult equation of we need the folks from out of town. we need the folks from chicago. we want the restaurants to are full. at the same time, we know it's dangerous. people are really trying to weigh those two things. it's incredibly difficult. >> cal perry, take good care and thank you for being out there. we appreciate it. >> let's bring in a fellow from the brookings institution and msnbc medical contributor. so, doctor, what goes through your mind when you see that video? >> chris, it's incredibly troubling just because we have

now already seen in some areas of the country that were not initially affected are experiencing their own surges and spikes and to talk about how we can, you know, the health hazards of packing in like that, i just don't know where to begin. it's very disturbing. >> what will you be watching over the next couple of weeks, especially given the fact that in a lot of places newly reopened, the weather has been nice. it's a long holiday weekend. and we're seeing what we're seeing which is a lot of people crowded in without masks? >> yeah. so just a couple of, you know, kind of reminders that the effects of this are going to be seen probably in, you know, weeks, because it takes a little bit of time for the virus to replicate and then the reason that so many of us are concerned about that crowding is, chris, you have one person that might be asymptomatic or symptomatic and they can, because they're so close to other people, affect two, three other people. so we would expect over the next

several weeks to see increases in numbers compound this with the fact that some of these health systems and hospitals in these areas are still just working back from being overwhelmed initially. and you might have a recipe for disaster where you have an overwhelmed emergency room or hospital in a certain community where you're already getting surge or a spike. i think that that's what most of us worry about. i sympathize with the churches and small businesses that want to reopen. we could undo a lot of the work that we've been doing the last couple of months as americans. >> look, obviously a lot of this is cabin fever. i wonder how much of it you attribute to mixed messaging? by that i mean -- because i've heard this in my own life. people hear this message, oh, it's much easier for it to be

passed indoors than outdoors. it's much safer to be outside. the they heard the sun can kill the coronavirus. so they hear these things and then they think oh, well then it's okay to go to the beach. it's okay, you know, to go out shopping and walking without a mask because i'm outside. how much do you think is mixed messaging, unclear messaging? >> i do think we have a problem with consistency and clear messaging especially as you pointed out we've got one state that implements some, you know, even one city that implements a mandatory mask policy in public spaces and another that does not. so i think that here are the facts. we know now that there is a certain amount of this virus that can be projected in the air, certainly being outside helps. but it does not eliminate the risk. and the best way to kind of eliminate or just decrease your risk of spreading as well as receiving the virus is to do

several things. it's the masks, the social distancing, and the hand hygiene. doing just one or none of those can put you at an increased risk. we have already done a really good job as a country to try to decline these cases. we just don't want to go backwards. then i often -- i think it's about modelling, chris. i think myself for any of us in health care, we have to also model that this is what we're doing and remember we're doing this not just to save lives but we're doing this to make sure that we are better prepared for that second wave and we don't want that happening sooner. we want time so that we can be prepared for it. >> so in your mind, what is the best case scenario? i mean, nobody wants more cases, obviously. but you do wonder if there could be a wakeup call in a couple of weeks if we start to see more spikes in place that's have opened or very -- you know, i'm thinking, for example, we're going to talk about this a

little later, a hair salon, people decided they were going to work anyway. we saw a spike in cases. we've seen spikes in cases at churches where there are gatherings. is it unfortunately going to take some of the situations, do you think, to get through to some people? >> i think we're already seeing some of the situations happen. still to this day we're seeing some communities and people not getting the message. i think that we're going to see a summer where we see these kind of spikes as you mention and what some of us are calling a slower burn, meaning, dwoent have as many cases as we did but we have consistent numbers of cases through the summer with what we project might be a real kind of increase during the winter. and that is consistent with other seasonal viruses. and i hope, i hope that we have enough time. we're never going get rid of the virus until we have treatments and a vaccine. but even then, chris, we'll still have some element of

people who will get infected just like we do with the flu every year. so the best scenario is that these spikes teach us a lesson and i also think that we're learning that as we go forward with economic recovery, we can do that with health in our -- on our side. health isn't against us. we can actually use some of what we're learning about the virus and how to protect against it so that we can safely reopen the economy, go outside, be able to safely visit businesses and restore the faith that we had through the new normal. >> doctor, it's always great to have you on the program. we thank you for your clear and consistent voice. up next, honoring our heroes this memorial day. how this virus changed a century old tradition at arlington after the break. the break.

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welcome back. memorial day observations look vastly different this year as a result of the pandemic. no traditional parades, no big concerts, no stadiums packed with baseball fans. president trump did participate in the traditional wreath laying at the tomb of the unknown soldier this morning at arlington national cemetery. there were no public speeches or attendees. joining me now from arlington is nbc's reporter. what are some of the other changes you can tell us about at arlington this memorial day?

>> arlington right now remains closed to the public. so family members, people who have loved ones who are buried here at arlington, they can still access the cemetery grounds. the public haven't been allowed here for two months. so the cemetery, this is one of the biggest weekends of the year. thousands of people come to pay tribute to the fallen, those that paid the ultimate sacrifice. but now it's a much quieter scene. you mention the memorial day ceremony. every year for 100 years now it's been held at the memorial am amphitheater. there is a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of unknown soldi soldier followed by a number of speeches, the president, military dignitaries, vice president, all these people attend every year. and there are typically 3,000 to 5,000 members of the public with thousands more outside. this year it was just the dignitaries, the vips were part of the ceremony.

but for the first time since 1920, there were no members of the public. one thing that is interesting about this though, chris, is we spent time here on saturday in the amphitheater. you know, without the members of the public here at arlington semiconductor air cemetery, i provides a different experience for the family members that come to see their loved ones during this memorial day weekend. it's quieter. gives them a lot more time for reflection. i'm curious what the family members think about this whether they actually prefer the fact that they can be here alone spending time with their loved ones, chris. >> let's talk a little bit about the toll that coronavirus has taken on the veteran community, courtney. >> so that we know according to the va, 13,000 people who are part of the va medical system have tested positive for coronavirus. now that is largely veterans. there is a small population that are va civilians, people that work for the va facilities.

more than 1100 of those 13,000 have died. it's important to point out though, chris, not every veteran actually uses va medical facilities. so that number is not going to be representative of all the veterans who tested positive or died from this coronavirus. it's just remarkable to read some of the stories too. you know, you have the individuals, they survive the brutal battles, world war ii, vietnam, iraq and afghanistan only to come home and be taken down by the coronavirus. chris? >> it is extraordinary. we saw many of those names on the front page of "the new york times" yesterday. thank you so much for that, courtney. i want to bring in jeremy butler, the ceo of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. if you will, help us to understand veterans that fought for their country, now fighting coronavirus. what is the reality right now for the veterans community? >> yeah. i think you were touching on it in that last segment. it's a lot more complex than a

lot of things we see. not every veteran uses the va. some only use it for a few specific conditions. the veteran community just like the country and frankly the world at large is suffering in so many ways. not only from the effects of the coronavirus and in many cases our veterans are at greater risk of not only coming down with the coronavirus but really suffering serious effects because of it because of the fact that not only about half of our veterans over age 65, but many also have underlying conditions often related to their wartime and military experience. you had the post 9/11 generation, we have exposure to burn pits and all the toxic materials in those events and you have trouble breathing already. when you compound that with the coronavirus, i think we're really seeing a greater effect on the veteran community, not just from the medical side but

certainly from the physical, from homelessness, increase of job loss, and certainly on mental health toll is being taken as well. >> let me just put up for folks, so they know. these are some of the numbers that your organization has put out to what you just mentioned. a 50% increase in veterans reaching out for mental health and housing needs, 70% increase, those needing financial assistance. 37,000 plus veterans were homeless during 2019. there is already a study that suggests homelessness is going to increase because of the high number of people who are out of work. are the symptoms that are set up to help veterans prepared for this? >> i don't think they've been prepared for this for years, frankly. our organization in iraq and afghanistan, we have a program called the quick reaction force. and the numbers you were just citing are from that program. it's a free program that any

discharge status can call or log in on line and connect with a veteran to get support. over the last few weeks and certainly the virus has expanded throughout the country, we have seen serious increases in numbers of veterans reaching out to support and that is everything from mental health care to homelessness, to job loss, all of these conditions, frankly, are getting worsened by the coronavirus. i think what they're really doing is amplifying a condition that the v and other organizations are fighting to help rectify for years now. and that's the fact that there really is an unmet need within our veteran community. the biggest thing that we're seeing now and continue to see is in themental health care situation. we continue to lose 20 veterans a day to suicide. we're fighting to pass the commander john scott hannon improvement fact that will improve the va and veterans with mental health care and those connected to the va. allow them to get connected to

needed mental health care support. >> as congress considers moving forward federal dollars that need to go to folks who have had particular challenges as a result of what is happening now in our country both emotionally, financially, obviously a lot of money has gone to businesses. what more should the federal government be doing for veterans? what is your message to members of congress as they consider whether or not there nidz to be more legislation to help folks out there who are hurting as a result of the coronavirus? >> yeah. it's a great question. thank you. you know, i think the biggest thing is to remember that for every segment of the population that we're talking about from a civilian side, there are veterans within that group. veterans are in every dem graphic in which you can talk b every aspect of the american culture and society is involved in the military and then over time is going to become part of the veteran community. we have increasing number of women veterans, more women serving in the military and serving on the front lines. so any time we talk about

support nationally because of the coronavirus, what you're really also talking about is support to veterans. i think we need to remember that as we were discussing earlier, a lot of the situations are hitting the veteran community twice as hard. and va is not the end all, be all of support to the veteran community as you talked about a little bit. the va doesn't serve every veteran, not every veteran is eligible for va care. so the solution partially comes from making sure that the va has the care and support that they need to pass on to the veterans but also remembering that there is a lot of the veterans out there that are not part of the va. >> jeremy butler, thank you for being here. thank you for your service. and it's a good opportunity to thank, again, everyone out there who has given of themselves to be a part of this amazing community that protects and defends us every single day and to the families of those who are fallen, they are in our hearts and prayers. so thank you so much. after a quick break, today's

protests in new jersey demanding the governor reopen beach towns to summer business. and the memorial day weekend normally, of course, the big summer kickoff on the jersey shore. how was this year different with the state still closed? erent wih the state still closed challenging it is right now.

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pleasant participating in what they're calling a freedom march. they're demanding that governor phil murphy fully reopen new jersey for business. but just yesterday alone, new jersey announced more than 1,000 new cases of covid-19. with me now from point pleasant, new jersey, is kathy park. kathy, what you are hearing from the protesters on the ground there? >> chris, they are saying that they want to reopen the state. loosening of the restrictions because they believe that the state has flattened the curve and now they want to flatten the fear. they also told me that it's unfair that these big box stores like walmart and target are making money when the small businesses like the one here at point pleasant beach are completely shut because here on the boardwalk, its no the operational right now because the mayor told us that there is an issue with staffing and also with crowding concerns. so the businesses that should be making money at such a critical time, they're not able to do so. the protesters also said they

want to send a message to the governor saying that his executive orders are unconstitutional. so we spoke with one of the demonstrators. here's what he told us. >> what brought you out here today? >> freedom. we have a right to protest our government for change and we have the right to run businesses. when a government tells us we can't do something, you have to look back at the constitution to see if they can really say that. >> how is it okay to wear a virus that collects virus all day and people rub their face. how are we protecting people from a virus that kills 1% of the people it actually infects? >> and, chris, it's important to note that this event really took a political turn. you might notice a couple of trump 2020 flags behind me. we have heard anti-government rhetoric throughout the day. and i think the most striking thing of all is a lack of social distancing. the governor had said that in the state of new jersey,

gatherings need to be under 25. clearly, you have a massive crowd behind and the police chief said they are monitoring the situation. they'll be using their discretion. and they will issue citations if needed. so far, it's been peaceful. >> thank you so much for that. beaches are open in new jersey. this is normally a cause for celebration. but a new dispatch from the "washington post" paints a different be picture of summer in in the age coronavirus. hand sanitizer stations are set up at every entrance on the mile long beach. a freshly painted yellow line divides the boardwalk with white arrows directing patrons to stay in their lanes. hundreds of benches have been rounded up, wrapped in yellow crime tape to discourage stopping and sitting. and every 50 feet signs remind visitors about social distancing. joining me is amy quinn who is the deputy mayor of asbury park,

new jersey. we talked to hirer a couple wee ago. we appreciate you coming back. i wonder now that you look and see what this reopening looks like, i guess the new normal, what are your thoughts about asbury park right now? >> it was a memorial day weekend i think like -- unlike any other in terms of, you know, trying to keep a smaller group of people from coming asbury park, doing all the things you just named. cutting the boardwalk in half with the yellow line. asking foam stay on either side. monitoring our bathrooms, only letting a few people on. i think the biggest way that we hopefully kept the crowds a little bit away was we limited beach badges. we're only doing 500 dailies that you need to buy the day before that you come to the beach. and to put that number in perspective, on a nice day last

year we could do up to 15,000 daily badges in one day. so we're limiting them to 500. we've sold about 900 seasonal badges. but it's a memorial day like no other. and i will also say, you know, first time certainly since i've been in office that we haven't had a memorial day commemoration for our veterans. >> i also want to read something else from "the washington post." it's about as dbury park. i think it applies to everywhere that is reopening around the country. what does safety first look like when the enemy approaches unseen and unheard? for months the answer is wash your hands and avoid each other. that's a tough ask at the beach where the whole point is to be together in a sea of people. to be carefree and forget about all the things you spend the rest of your time worrying about. i guess there is two parts of this. are you worried about the feeling that people love about

asbury park. it's not going to be there but simultaneously worry that people will ignore the restrictions? >> so i think the mayor and "the washington post" made a great point. we're used to hurricanes. we're used to super storms. we're used to snowstorms. this is something we're not used to. so we take a lot of our guidance from the governor. and our number one priority is to keep our residents safe. our number two priority is help our businesses. that's conflicting right now because none of the businesses are open. i believe that people are going to come back to as bury park whn it's safe and the grofovernor ls restrictions. people will come back in droves. then it's on us to make sure that social distancing continues to exist. ke we strongly encourage people to wear masks. mask are not necessarily for you, it's to protect the other people that you're walking by. it is a hip, artsy amazing, you

know, cool place. but we have a number of senior citizens. we have six senior towers in asbury park. we want to protect all of them. >> amy quinn, deputy mayor of asbury park, new jersey. thank you so much. good luck as the season continues. up next, fast track to the front lines. the story of one massachusetts medical student, one of the ones that graduated early, to help save lives at the height of this pandemic. , to help save lives at the hehtig of this pandemic ched to miralax for my constipation. stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate the nerves in your colon. miralax works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally. and it doesn't cause bloating, cramping, gas, or sudden urgency. miralax. look for the pink cap. some companies still have hr stuck between employeesentering data.a. changing data. more and more sensitive, personal data. and it doesn't just drag hr down. it drags the entire business down -- with inefficiency, errors and waste.

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we've got some breaking news for you right now, california state officials just issuing new guidelines for places of worship to reopen. you might remember that the doj had sent a letter to the state last week warning that the existing reopening plans discriminated against churches. under these new guidelines staff members and congregants will need to be screened or they say should be screened for symptoms as well as have their temperatures checked before entering the building. people are strongly recommended to wear facemasks. and as it is in restaurants, the number of people allowed, the allowed capacity will vary based on the size of the building. churches must get the approval of their local health departments in order to reopen. all across the country, nearly 2,000 students graduated this year from medical school months ahead of schedule in order to start their careers as doctors on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. one new doctor gave us a look

through her video blog and more recently an interview at what it's been like from the inside of umass memorial medical center near boston. >> first day as a doctor. >> april 11th, 2020. dr. lauren colwell fast tracked onto the front lines of a pandemic. >> one person from the ward came and who was severely hypoxic and needed urgent intubation. >> reporter: she's dreamed of being a doctor since she was 5, dreamed of a graduation like this. >> graduates of the school of medicine! >> reporter: instead, two months ahead of schedule it happened via webcam. >> none of us could have imagined how unusual this graduation day would become. >> reporter: and within days, she's suiting up for the long battle ahead. >> it's 8:00 p.m., and i've been here for 13 hours. and this has been intense, new

for me. they don't teach you this in medical school, how to deal with this emotion and a pandemic. it's not something you test to see if you're able to handle suffering or have people die. >> reporter: this new test comforting covid patients means staying behind the glass. >> i feel like it's the only thing i can do is to wave at them and to just know that someone's watching over them, that they're not alone in that room. >> reporter: a young woman training to be an eye surgeon never expecting to see so much death. >> i am scared. i'm scared to get infected. i'm scared to infect others. there's moments where i just go into the stairwell and just think, how is this happening. i've learned that i am only human. my role is to give someone the best chance they can be. >> reporter: but then sometimes a patient shows remarkable resilience. >> you're just so thankful that they pulled through and they get

to smile at you. they get to talk to you again, and hopefully we'll see them on the other side where we're not wearing our masks anymore. >> reporter: one day when all those smiles aren't hidden away. our thanks to dr. lauren colwell for sharing her story and our best wishes to her and the thousands of others who are beginning their residencies. in our next hour, a new unprecedented mission to space. the launch expected later this week at a time when frankly all americans could use something to bring us together. your mission: stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and take. it. on... ...with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill... ...can dramatically improve symptoms...

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good afternoon, everyone, i'm chris jansing. it is 3:00 p.m. in the eastern, while noon out west. here are the facts as we know them this hour. the u.s. is on the verge of reaching a grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic. nearly 100,000 americans have now died from the virus, nearly 1.7 million americans have been infected. president trump marked this memorial day with a few events aimed at paying tribute to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. the president took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery. he then went to fort mchenry in baltimore where he gave a speech honoring fallen soldiers. baltimore's mayor had asked him not to make the visit because the city is still under a stay-at-home order saying it just didn't send the right

message. also today, the president threatened to pull the republican national convention out of north carolina if the state could not ensure that all attendees will be able to get to the arena. the state says it's relying on data and science to make decisions about whether they can have such a large gathering. meanmeantime, of course, th coronavirus pandemic has taken a huge toll. tens of millions of people are unemployed, many businesses have closed their doors, and people are spending less, but there are also signs the dormant economy is starting to come become to life. as "the wall street journal" reports today, truckloads are growing again. air travel and hotel bookings are up slightly. mortgage applications are rising, and more people are applying to open new businesses. joining us now to take a closer look at this is cnbc senior business analyst, ron ensana. i'm so glad you could join us. we're all looking for any sign

of good news we could get. frankly i was surprised to see the headline in "the wall street journa journal", the worst of the coronavirus shutdowns may be over. is that how we should be looking at this? >> well, it's certainly possible, chris, if indeed we see a slowdown in the rate of infections if states come along at a reasonable pace where there are reopenings where social distancing is practiced and the proper precautions are taken, certainly relative to where we were with estimates to as much as a 60% contraction annualized in the economy in the second quarter, any green shoots we start to see, whether it's an increase in air travel, whether it's business applications, mortgage applications starting to flow, particularly with interest rates so low, which is going to stimulate some activity in the spring, selling season for houses, anything is better than where we've been. clearly as we start to open states on a staged basis, it's better news than we might have expected at this stage of this process of recovery.

>> yeah, and i also think that exactly as you say, perspective is a good thing. when you're going from nothing, anything is better than where you've been, right? so air travel, hotel bookings are up, but there's still a tiny fraction of where they normally would be this time of the year. open table, which is an app that a lot of people use to make bookings for restaurants say yes. the number of bookings people are making is up, but restaurants weren't open. now the number is going to go up. how much of this is psychological? how much is this people feeling comfortable saying you know what, i am going to get together with a group of friends and go to a restaurant? >> there's some of that. we do all have clinically described cabin fever after she sheltering in place. people are more willing to go outdoors. my concern has always been the

risk of reinfection. should people not take the proper precautions, if they don't distance properly, we would see a reinfection spike and a second wave of lockdowns. as long as that doesn't occur, that would be extraordinarily good news for the economy. we've seen air passenger traffic shri shrink by as much as 97% year-over-year. it's moving above 90 so it's starting to improve. anything that gets business going again. having said that i talked to a restauranteur in my neighborhood, he said we're out. the best we're going to do is takeout. we can't make it with seven people in the restaurant instead of 28. there's still going to be carnage. but we may be at the very bottom of the cycle, and that's what people are beginning to feel and certainly hope for and hope that it will be consistent throughout not just the summer but even through the fall when that second wave of infection is worried about by health

professionals. >> always good to see you, my friend. thank you so much for being with us on this memorial day. all 50 states have started easing restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus, but some that moved too quickly are starting to see an uptick in cases. north carolina is an example. on saturday alone the state reporting more than 1,100 new cases. that's a single day record for that state. nbc's ellison barber joins us from durham. so north carolina now in phase two of its reopening plan. has the spike in cases given officials any pause about moving forward? what are you hearing there? >> reporter: not as far as we know. now, in the past, governor cooper has said that he will keep looking at the data, monitor it, and if he needs to make adjustment to their planned phases that he will do that. a spokesperson with the governor's office told us this morning that saturday's uptick shows why they believe it's important that their approach to moving forward is slow and also cautious. on saturday, the total number of

new reported cases was 1,107. that is the high day over day increase this state has seen. sunday that number dropped to 497. today it is up at 742. the state's health secretary called saturday's uptick notable and concerning, but she didn't give any reason or any indication as to what they think might be behind that dramatic uptick. they did say, though, within the state's health department that epidemiologists are looking at what what happens caused this uptick to see whether or not they could figure out any significant contributing factors. the mayor of durham where we are now, he thinks testing could have had something to do with it. listen here. >> so i think that while there were a thousand cases, there were also 16,000 tests, the largest we've had, and i think that part of the reason is we're just testing more, so we're seeing the amount of cases had that we ha

-- that we have in a more accurate way. we know we have lots of different cases for lots of different reasons. one of the things i think we're all worried about as we reopen is people aren't going to continue to take the social distancing rules and other important practices seriously, and i think that will be threatening to us and threatening to all of us, and we have to make sure we're still continuing to do that. >> reporter: north carolina started phase one of their reopening process on may 8th. phase two started three days ago. the current guidelines, current proposal, if you will, that we have from the governor says that phase two will last at least four to six weeks. chris. >> ellison barber in north carolina for us, thank you for that. let's go to missouri now where more than 100 people were exposed to the coronavirus while getting their haircut. two hairdressers at a great clips in springfield have tested positive. officials there say one of the stylists worked for eight days

while showing symptoms. the other stylist worked for five days while experiencing, quote, very mild symptoms. missouri hair salons were allowed to open on may 4th as part of republican governor mike parson's show me strong recovery plan, and many of them remain open as the state has more than 12,000 cases and nearly 700 fay ta it wi fatalities. i want to read what a spokesperson for the salon said in a statement, quote, both stylists are following medical advice and taking appropriate actions, and the local health department notified individuals who came in close contact with those stylists. the franchise owners have closed the salon to undergo additional sanitizing and deep cleaning consistent with guidance from health officials. i know you have been talking to customers. what are they telling you? >> yeah, the customer i spoke with went to the great clips on

may 17th. about a week later, the local health department told him he had come in contact with someone who had the coronavirus. eric chase, that customer said while he was there all customers were wearing masks, but he did see some stylists who were not. he also said the stylist who cut his hair was not wearing gloves. now, he's been told to quarantine for the next six days. he has to take his temperature twice a day, and he has to check in with the health department daily as well. he says all of this could have been avoided. >> now i'm someone directly affected by covid, and i never thought it would be so close to home. all of this because someone wasn't responsible. they should have stayed home. i also think that the employer had a great responsibility that if one of their employees wasn't feeling well, especially with this pandemic, should have sent their employee home.

>> now, over the last four days, missouri has seen an average of 200 new cases every day. just today alone, the state has reported nearly 180 new cases. now, here in the springfield greene county area, we've seen about 100 cases since all of this started. st. louis and itkansas city are reporting more than half of those cases. >> thank you so much for that update from missouri. another state that's seen a spike in cases is alabama. nbc's dasha burns joins us now from montgomery where the mayor, i understand, dasha, said last week anyone who gets sick might have a hard time finding a bed in an icu in that area. is the situation any better? has it changed or is this still a serious concern in montgomery? >> reporter: it has certainly not gotten better. it is getting worse.

this hospital behind me, jackson hospital, does not have any icu beds available right now. over the last couple of weeks, the number of available beds has ranged from zero to one. that is a pretty precarious position for any hospital to be in, let alone one that's in a county where cases have nearly doubled in just the last two weeks, and that spike in such a short time has really put a lot of strain on hospitals like this, and the doctors i've been talking to tell me they are really struggling and overwhelmed with the amount of patients that they're seeing. now, at the same time, the state of alabama continues to reopen. in fact, on friday, the governor announced more loosening of restrictions, so now entertainment venues like bowl al alle alleys, theaters and arcades, and restaurants bars, and salons have already been opened for a couple of weeks here. when the governor was asked about krconcerns that cases are going up, she said that you

cannot have livelihood -- life without livelihood. now, i talked to a doctor here about his take on that. take a listen to what he told me. >> as a physician, you know, i don't have to think in political terms, so i just think about patients' lives, and my response to that would be if you don't have life, then there's no need for livelihood. i would like to see the curve at least flat or primarily going down before i start seeing thousands of people at the beach, you know, being way too close, not socially distancing, not wearing their mask. >> reporter: and chris, the curve is certainly not flat here in alabama. statewide, they've seen an almost 50% increase in cases in the last two weeks, and it's not just in montgomery. across the state and across the south we're seeing this trend where hospitals are facing challenges. cases are going up, but reopening is happening at a

steady and pretty rapid clip, chris. >> dasha burns in alabama for us, thank you for that. you know, a lot of people took advantage of the memorial day weekend to temporarily escape their homes. you just heard a reference by the doctor to that, but not everyone is being careful about it for sure. check out this video of a packed pool party at the lake of the ozarks in central missouri. dozens of people crowding around a pool, not a lot of masks. not a lot of social distancing. large numbers of people also flocking to beaches, a trend that worries the nation's top public health officials. >> we've made it clear that there's asymptomatic spread, and that means that people are spreading the virus unknowingly, and this is unusual in the case of respiratory diseases in many cases. so you don't know who's infec d infected, and so we really want to be clear all the time that social distancing is absolutely critical, and if you can't social distance and you're outside, you must wear a mask.

>> joining us now to take a closer look, dr. irwin red liner, director of the national center for disaster preparedness at columbia university, also an msnbc public health analyst. it's good to see you, irwin. you look at these pictures at beaches, you take a look at the protests of people who say, you know, it's my right to be out here without a mask. as you're looking across america and also at hospitals who are experiencing now what we who live in new york experienced many weeks ago, which is just every icu bed filled, having to bring in tents to deal with the problem, what goes through your mind? where do you see us right now as a country in terms of fighting this pandemic? >> hi, chris, so yeah, this is -- we're in a very bad place right now. i have thought for a long time that it was too soon to rush to reopen businesses and outdoor

activities and so on. we're missing tools. we're missing the tool of rapid on site testing, which needs to happen. nobody should be going into a beauty parlor or barbershop without knowing that everybody in there working there has been tested today and is negative for the virus. the stories are absolutely chilling and they're going to get worse. they are getting worse, and take, georgia, which is the first state to have reopened on i guess it was april 24th, they had 1,800 new cases over wednesday and thursday last week. there's been all kinds of miscounting of the data. it's a random disaster for the country to have these various states opening without being able to do testing. and the second thing they're not able to do right now is contact tracing. many of the states, virtually all the states do not have enough people to actually follow up on whoever's positive and

make sure those people are tracked down and tested themselves. it was too early, and i think this is going to prove to be a very unfortunate rush to reopen that the entire country seems to be engaged in now, chris. >> you know, i was looking at this new study at the imperial college of london. it had predicted up to 2.2 million americans could die. now they're out with a new model that suggests that we should be concerned in many states about the rate of infection, but wheu regulations in place. when you have a lot of mixed messaging coming out of the white house, out of state governments, going between state governments and localities, what do we do right now? what do you see as the big priority that has to be done to get this under control? >> yeah, so everything changed on the 24th of april when the first states started to reopen, and now virtually all states are in the process of reopening, and

you know, i thought then -- and we put out a report that said you can't actually safely reopen unless you're able to test people every single day, and unless you can do contact tracing. and so i'm -- it's hard to express how disappointed i am that we're in this state now where we're going to be facing significant surge, in cases that did not have to be, and we're going to pay a price for that, and the price is going to be people's lives, and i think we should be reconsidering this right now. if it was up to me, i'd put a halt to this reopening until we get our tools in place. but in the meantime, i think the fact that as we're just looking at some video images right now, we see lots of people walking around in close proximity, no masks on. so not only don't we have the tools, the testing and the contact tracing, but we also don't have people following the basic guidelines for protecting yourselves and others from

getting this really very seriously lethal disease. it's hard to understand what's going through people's minds, but you know, i think one of the things is, of course, we haven't really gotten really clear guidance from the central federal government, and that leaves the states to be doing whatever they're going to be doing. it's a big random mess as far as i'm concerned looking across the country, chris. >> thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. much appreciated. and up next, millions of kids and their parents are waiting in anticipation. will they be able to go to summer camp this year? we'll look at some of the steps some camps are taking to get ready. you're watching msnbc. and now, there's boost mobility... ...with key nutrients to help support... joints, muscles, and bones. try boost mobility, with added collagen.

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among the many new questions we have, millions of parents are now debating whether to send their kids to summer camp. it's an experience that can provide children and teenagers a safe space to get out of the house to develop new skills and just have some fun. but camps are also trying to figure out if the benefits are worth the risks. nbc's vaughn hillyard is in prescott, arizona, home to several summer camps in the state's northern pine country. so vaughn, not a terrible place to be. you visited a camp that's been hosting kids for 80 years. how optimistic are they that they're going to be able to open safely this summer? >> reporter: exactly. that's the big question.

you know, they say, look, our campers and our staff, the health and safety of them is paramount to us. we want to have that safe experience for them, and that's why they take this so seriously, but what are they doing, and i'll let you take a look for yourself. at one camp that we visited this weekend. >> towels, go. >> lisa ackerman's been getting her 14-year-old emily ready for summer camp. >> water shoes. >> reporter: like millions of other parents, she's carefully weighing the risks of continuing a treasured tradition in the midst of a pandemic. >> i put my faith in friendly pines that they're going to follow whatever safety guidelines are being put in. >> reporter: so after months cooped up inside, emily's making the trek to friendly pines camp in northern arizona, a place she's called home for the past seven summers, but this year, with strict safety measures in place, the camp that's been hosting kids for 80 years will look and feel much different. >> but we're going above and

beyond. temperature checks, checking symptoms, asking, you know, questions like that, but part of our reassurance and everything is that we are going to require everybody to be tested before they come to camp. >> reporter: megan may and her staff are following guidelines promoted by the cdc and the american camp association. things like fewer kids per cabin. here, just seven instead of ten. >> so what is it going to look like in here? >> so, for instance, we might have a camper using this bunk here but not up top, a camper here making sure they're not head to head. >> reporter: outside, dedicated places to keep clean. >> we knew we'd need a lot of hand washing stations. we created this out of an old canoe that wasn't any good, and we'll have them all over camp. >> reporter: and now the dining hall is headed outdoors. >> the tables aren't usually out here. >> they're usually not. we'll have kids eat outside. we've got the fresh air, air moving around. we can space them out a lot more. >> reporter: it's a snapshot of the nationwide changes the

american camp association says are key. >> in this covid summer and beyond, i would love for our campers to savor the time that they have with each other when they're learning and sharing and having fun together. if there is a silver lining of covid summer 2020, it's that we will cherish our relationships more. >> reporter: a chance to help kids enjoy summer at a time when so much else is uncertain. chris, this is -- you could call it camp corridor here in arizona's pine country, but from the pacific northwest to pennsylvania to new york, down even into the south, these conversation conversation s are taking place at thousands of camps and among millions of parents. can camps open safely, and can parents send their kids for a good, healthy, safe, enjoyable time? chris. >> vaughn hillyard, thank you. and you nailed the question. i want to bring in the president

of ucsf bennyoff children's hospital and board certified pediatrician dr. michael anderson. that is the key question, right? we heard about that camp, they take steps like temperature checks, covid testing, hand washing stations, eating outside, fewer kids in each cabin, but what should parents know? what should they be asking before they seriously consider sending a kid to summer camp in. >> chris, thanks so much for having me. i think that these are really important questions. as we start to emerge from this, you know, sort of being entrenched and sheltering in place and now trying to ask and answer these important questions, we as pediatricians know how important these kind of activities are to kids. kids need fresh air. they need to get outside. they need to exercise, but i think your reporter nailed some of the really important questions that we want families to be asking. first, what is the state and the local municipality saying about is this okay, is this meeting our state's guidelines?

and then second, you also alluded to the fact that the cdc, the american camp association have developed guidelines, and i think the parent you just showed was spot on. you've got to make sure you're asking is this camp following these guidelines, and i love the canoe. the canoe with, you know, washing your hands, i think is terrific. but we've got to make sure that these social distancing measures and cleaning your hands and making sure that kids aren't packed together is being done. and then finally, we also have to make sure -- and i think the camps alluded to it -- are we screening properly? are we making sure that if kids get sick or if staff get sick, we've got important protocols in place to get those campers out and to make sure that we're keeping the camp as safe as possible. these are really complicated questions that i think parents are going to have to ask and answer in the coming weeks. >> is a big part of it just how much you trust the folks running the camp? i actually spent a summer working as a janitor at a camp,

at a summer camp, and let's just say, you know, kids are kids and they're not always so worried about cleanliness. they're certainly not worried about social distancing. you know, if it's going to be up to the people running the camp to make sure that the kids are using those washing stations, as cute as they are in the canoes, you know, that they're keeping an eye on the kids and how they're feeling, how much of a risk do you consider that to be, honestly, doctor? >> yeah, i think it's trust but verify, if you will. i think that you've got to trust that this camp and maybe you've got a long-term relationship with them as a family and you've trusted them for years, but i also think you have to make sure, are they following these rules and regulations? and i think the other important relationship in asking and answering these questions is that families need to engage with their pediatrician because families have so many questions, not just about camp but about schools, and maybe we'll talk about that next time or about, you know, this multisystem

inflammatory syndrome we're seeing in a very small number of kids. so that relationship between pediatrician and family is so important right now. and lastly, i would say there's really interesting camps across this country for kids with special health care needs. there are diabetes camps. i used to be on a board for a camp with ventilator dependence. those kids with special health care needs, we need to make sure that the pediatrician and the medical personnel running those programs are following to the letter each and every part of these guidelines. >> dr. michael ander ssonanders given us a lot to think about. we would love to have you back to talk about schools and some of the other things that are going on. we appreciate your time today. and coming up, as the nation nears that terrible milestone, 100,000 coronavirus deaths, the president spent his weekend focused on some other things. we'll talk about it back here on msnbc. when i get my teeth cleaned, my hygienist doesn't use

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