ed lavandera, cnn. >>> here is some good news amid the sadness. captured on cellphone video. she was critically ill from covid-19, at 34 weeks pregnant. doctors felt they needed to put

ed lavandera is in one of the virus hotspots, new orleans. outside a covid pop-up hospital. ryan young takes a look at doctors' diaries in chicago. in orange, california, checks in with a recovering patient who donated plasma to a person with the virus. and examines the economic fallout from the virus in l.a. we've also got nick peyton walsh in london. and jeremy diamond following all the developments for us in washington. and that is where we begin. with the white house coronavirus task force. jeremy diamond tells us what the president and his advisers are doing. >> well, as the united states marked a record on saturday for the single most coronavirus deaths reported in a single day, president trump warned of the grim reality to come. and that reality is that things are about to get a lot worse. the president warning that this will be a horrendous time for the country. saying that there is going to be a lot of deaths in the coming weeks. specifically, this next week to come. but the president, even as he said that, in the next breath, we heard him also talking about the ext

let's go to ed lavandera. oklahoma making some moves today, ed. >> reporter: right, the governor there in oklahoma announcing that those personal care places, nail salons, hair salons, barber shops allowed to reopen today, and he's also saying in early may places like movie theaters and restaurants could open up in a limited way as well. also the governor of texas is starting to elude to that as well. he's expected to announce further openings this coming monday in terms of other businesses that might be able to open up here in the state of texas. but today in texas is the day that retail stores will be allowed to reopen. we are on a row of retail stores here in east dallas. we're standing in front of a good records vinyl store, and the owner we've been talking to said even in a good economy, running a place like a vinyl record store isn't the best of businesses, so they've really been hit hard from all of this. what you hear from a lot of these store owners and companies is that they're a little apprehensive a

in new orleans, cnn's ed lavandera is standing by. ed, the city where you are has been hit very hard. >> reporter: it has indeed, wolf. it's kind of a mixed bag of messages that we're seeing here -- pardon the street trolley here in new orleans passing us by. a mixed bag of information coming out of new orleans once again. the number of deaths, another large spike up to 652, and 1,983 people hospitalized. so the deaths have jumped up but the number of people hospitalized has dropped and the number of people on ventilators has dropped as well. so a mixed bag there, because state and health officials have been looking very closely at the number of people on ventilators and the number of people being hospitalized as some of the more indicative measures they're following in the state of louisiana. this state, wolf, as you know, the issue of african-americans dying because of this virus has been a very intense focus with more than 70% of those deaths accounted for by african-americans, wolf. >> ed lavandera in new orleans, thank you. let's

i want to go to ed lavandera. how many cases are we talking about and why is this up taking?ers just coming out of the state of louisiana. more than 2700 new cases being added to the record now. that means more than 9,150 cases of coronavirus in the state. it was so jarring. the governor went on the local radio here and wanted to brace the people of the numbers they'll see and get ahead of an explanation of what they think is going on here. the governor says the private testing that had been done here in the state there has been a log jam of results coming back from those cases and taking some time. the governor believes this giant increase in numbers we are seeing today is part of that log jam beginning to break up and get those results back. he says some of these testings could be results from tests that were done four or five days ago and we are getting a sense of. what it means in the hospital as well that people are waiting around for these results. beds are tied up and they don't know what to do with these patients. testing really becoming an issue but this is a 42% inc

cnn's ed lavandera is in new orleans for us. what is the latest for new orleans. ed?reporter: hi, fredricka. just a short time ago the new numbers coming out here from the health department in state of louisiana. once again, a mixeds bag of information here, but the overall sense here is what state and health officials have been saying the last few days. they believe what these numbers, even though slightly mixed in many ways, is signaling that the curve is beginning to flatten here, but that there is a great deal of concern that any kind of letting up on what people are doing here in this state could be a cause for concern. over the weekend here the number of are cases has now passed the 20,000 mark. there are 840 deaths, but the two factors that state health officials have looked at losly, hospital bed use and ventilator use. those numbers have been going back and forth over the last few days and we continue to see that here as well. this as we -- it's just been over a month since the first case of coronavirus was detected here in the state of louisiana. and in just

ed lavandera is live for us. at the javits center. >> reporter: hi john, the last update of three dozen patients are treated behind here. today was the day they were to begin accepting covid-19 patients. we confirmed through the mayor's office they're already doing so. governor andrew cuomo calling this javits and saying it could be a big shift, it could lead to a dramatic change in a situation here. it is coming at a time where the state desperately need a release valve with so many patients c e loading into hospitals. more than a third of the cases a nationwide. new york city accounts for half of those. that's why you need a place like the javits center. if you talk to hospital add straig minu administrators and doctors, it only make sense to make javits covid-19 center. one emergency doctor i spoke to over the weekend, even people coming in for strokes and when they are admitted, all of those x-rays show of pneumonia and tale tell sign of infection. a couple of things i want to mention is the supplies, making

. >> i'm ed lavandera in new orleans. and here the story is we're getting ready to hear another briefing from the governor of the states as health officials really focusing on the higher than usual death rate because of the coronavirus infection here in the state. and one of the factors and many people are taking a closer look at is just the underlying health issues that many people here in this region have. where you have high levels of obesity, kidney disease as well as diabetes. the united health foundation ranks louisiana as the 49th in overall health here in the united states. and that is one of the contributing factors as to why health and emergency officials here in the new orleans area say that it has been one of the factors and why the death rate here has been slightly higher if not significantly higher than other parts of the country and that is why state officials, government officials up and down the board really urging people to take the warnings of staying at home and distancing yourself from your family and

let's go to cnn's ed lavandera in new orleans for us. what's the latest situation, ed, there? reporter: hey, wolf. here state officials, medical officials in louisiana taking a much closer look at the new information in the modeling that's coming out. one model in particular from the university of washington which had shown that perhaps the state here is beyond the peak in terms of what is needed in ventilators and hospital bed space, but state officials and medical officials remain very cautious and say that much more information is needed. the governor said that perhaps, and the hope is here they're beginning to see the flattening of the curve. but just a little while ago we spoke with the medical doctor of the health department here in new orleans, and she tells us that over -- just a couple of days does not make a trend and she's urging people to continue doing what they're doing, to continue flattening this curve. >> so we have a lot of factors that are working in the right direction but if people don't continue to stay home, then we're going to be right back where we are

let's go to cnn's ed lavandera, joining us from dallas right now. what's the reaction there, ed?> reporter: it depends on who you talk to, wolf. but there is a great deal of trepidation as to exactly how all of this is going to unfold. first let's take a closer look at what this means for texas on friday. according to the governor of texas, greg abbott, retail stores, malls, movie theaters, restaurants, will be allowed to open but only with a 25% capacity. the governor went out of his way to say barbershops, nail salons, gyms, bars, would not be allowed to open. perhaps in the next phase, in mid-may. having said that, a county judge in montgomery county, texas, just north of houston, says he considers these orders too vague and unclear. so he says that nail salons and hair salons and gyms can reopen on friday. and this, when you take a closer look at cities like houston and dallas where city leaders have been saying the number of coronavirus cases continues to go up, that there is a lot of concern about how all of this is going to unfold. and wolf, we're standing here until the p

cnn's ed lavandera just took a tour of the convention center where the hospital will be. ed, when is this facility expected to be up and running? >> reporter: we are told by officials it will be up and running and accepting its first patients on monday this as the state of lawns ouisiana is upda the numbers, nearly 12,500 cases in the state, and the number of hospital beds being used and ventilators being used continues to creep up. however, the senator, u.s. senator from louisiana, bill cassidy, tells cnn this morning that he believes that the numbers and the pressure on the hospitals across this region are starting to tick down, perhaps a sign of something good happening. >> we have an increasing rate of deaths but i am told that emergency room admissions are beginning to decrease. hopefully, that is the kind of the breaking of the wave and although we know that icus will continue to be full for a while, if we have decreased admissions hopefully that means decreased transmission. >> reporter: this is a really delicate situation, because many people here in this state sim

cnn's ed lavandera just took a tour of the convention center where that hospital will be. ed, when is this facility ready to be up and running? >> well, they have spent most of the last week putting this -- the convention center makeshift hospital into position. officials here in new orleans tell us this morning that come monday morning, they'll be ready to start accepting patients inside this facility. they anticipate, they don't really know for sure how many people will show up there on monday, but it probably may be around 100 or so on the first day. we should be clear that people here in the new orleans area should not just walk up and show up at these new -- that this new orleans convention center makeshift hospital. this is not for walk-in patients. this is for patients who have already been tested and confirmed positive. and then they will be transferred to this facility. so one thing they don't want to see is a bunch of people just starting to show up there. this comes on the day we see another giant spike in the number of coronavirus cases here in the state of loui

. >> it is balancing act we're seeing take place across the ed lavandera is in dallas this morning. is there restrictions on how many businesses can open and how? >> reporter: there is. this is what the texas governor described as a phased approach. we're standing in the parking lot of a popular movie theater in northeast dallas. this parking lot has been empty for weeks. it is exactly the kind of business that starting on friday the governor here says can reopen. a quick list of what can be open, the stay at home order in texas is set to run out and expire on april 30th. that means on friday, may 1st, retail stores, malls, restaurants, theaters, can't -- can open but only at 25% capacity. if you look at the trajectory of coronavirus cases here in this state, the stay at home order was put into effect on april 2nd, and that trajectory has gone up. but state officials here say they believe they're beginning to see the flattening of the curve and they feel that because of that, they can begin to open the economy up here a little bit. they say the one thing that they'll be looking most

ed lavandera, cnn, new orleans. >>> the u.s.inistration is allowing people who have recovered from coronavirus to donate their plasma, which may be filled with potent anti-bodies. cnn's paul vercammen has the story of one covid-19 survivor doing that right now, hoping to help others get well. >> reporter: the antibody-rich plasma from recovered covid-19 patients is valuable to hospitals, because they can use it to treat current patients in dire straits. here in orange, they found their marn man, jason garcia, 36 years old, recovered. he had been isolated from his family, inside his house. he couldn't even pick up his 11 month old daughter. he was getting served food underneath the door. but once garcia recovered, they found that they could use him here. he donated his a-positive blood to one person at the hospital who was undergoing some very tough times. they say that patient turned around. then blood went to a second patient. it will go to a third, and garcia is ex-static. >> i felt amazing. it felt good. i'm gr i'm grad th i'

cnn's ed lavandera is in new orleans. the city has been hit particularly hard. i understand you were given a tour of this convention center turned makeshift hospital? >> reporter: we did just a short while ago, medical officials and military officials that have been working to set up this complex inside that convention center gave us an understanding of how it will all unfold. the one thing people need to know just as a matter of how this is going to work, do not just show up here at that convention center and expect to walk in. patients who will be treated there will be transferred from hospitals in the new orleans area. don't show up a the that place thinking you'll be able to walk in and get treatment. this convention center is essentially set up for patients who don't need the most critical care but are, perhaps, on their way to recovery and still need medical treatment. so they have a thousand beds. there are plans if things get very intense here in the coming weeks where they could ramp that up another 2,000, 3,000 beds as well. so we'll see how far down t

. >> ed lavandera joins us now from dallas. ed, as you know, in some places as the restrictions are relaxed, folks don't respond well to that. they're taking it more slowly than state officials. what are you seeing in dallas, what are you seeing in oklahoma? >> reporter: let me give you the big picture of what will be happening this week here in texas. the governor is going to lelt t -- let the stay-at-home order thats s that's set to expire this thursday expire. that means businesses can reopen. that would include retail stores, malls, restaurants, movie theaters. all those businesses can reopen but only at a 25% capacity. now, there's some debate on exactly how all of that is going to be enforced, but that's what we know as of now. what is not included -- it also includes libraries and museums and people can play outdoor sports in groups no larger than four. what is not included is hair salons, barber shops, bars, gyms. the governor here in texas said that could be revisited in mid-may. if you look at the graph here of the cor

this week. >> reporter: i'm ed lavandera in dallas. leaders are having a phased approach to reopening the texas economy. state parks opened on monday and on friday what is described as retail to-go will bin and that is giving retail stores a chance to sell on a drive-thru basis. the governor of texas said there are more important things than living and that is saving this country. he said opening up the economy here is worth the risk of spreading the coronavirus. this in a state with a dismal testing record. less than 1% have been tested here for the coronavirus. >> reporter: i'm amara walker in atlanta. nursing homes are facing a catastrophic situation. they're still struggling to get access to protective gear for health care workers and unable to get testing done quickly enough. now this as long-term care facilities are seeing coronavirus cases and deaths go up. now genesis health care, one of the largest nursing home chains in the country, said its workers are reusing medical gowns when they are able to. and officials said fema is w

reopening that state. >> reporter: i'm ed lavandera in dallas. the texas economy continues. limited medical procedures will be allowed beginning today. and on friday, retail stores across this state will be allowed to reopen for curbside pickup. but there are some clashes brewing. dallas county has extended its stay-at-home order through mid-may. the texas governor is saying he will reopen more of the texas economy and make those announcements next monday. this as leaders in the biggest cities in the state are saying that coronavirus testing is still not where it needs to be. >> reporter: i'm ryan young in chicago. all eyes are on wisconsin right now because of the election that was held there april 7. from what we learn from health officials, 19 people who participated in the election there on april 7 have now come down with covid-19. they're not sure if all cases are related to it. but you may remember, all the people who stood in line, they had to have an in-person vote. they had less poll centers because people were fearful of working at the

ed lavandera, i appreciate it. with me now, dr. john lynch, board member of the infectious diseases society of america, also an associate professor of medicine at the university washington school of medicine. thanks for being with us. you call social distancing a lifesaver. we're now looking at the possibility of multiple states loosening restrictions. the president telling governors and mayors, testing is up to them. what are your concerns right now? >> yeah, so i think it's a great point, anderson, is that the way i sort of frame it is that social distancing, the physical distancing measures have been put in place by, really, our state governors and our local leaders and our public health leaders that have been extremely effective and at least flattening some of these curves, flattening off the number of patients coming into ourplaces, seeing decreased number of people with positive tests. the key thing, as we start rolling back on that, we need to have other tools in place, and obviously, the two biggest parts of that are basica

let's begin with martin savidge and ed lavandera. marty, in atlanta, for reopening day for the state. >> reporter: it started, it is off to a hit or miss depending where you r tare. the shopping center, there are a number of businesses that under the letter of the executive order could be open but they are not open. there is one that tells us they will open, they're not open yet, the hair salon. there is a lot of pushback that has come since the governor outlined his plan. the businesses, a lot of them entail hands on, so you wonder about that, the pandemic. but on top of that, it is just the sheer what kind of message are you really sending? here is the mayor of atlanta, she has been about the most critical of this, this is that she said recently. >> in order for us to get through this pandemic and to get to the other side of this crisis, we have to socially distance. and in a normal world, we would be able to look to our president and to the white house and receive sound guidance and advice. but instead we're now telling -- having

ed lavandera is in new orleans for us and you were given a tour of this makeshift hospital. tell us what you saw and what you learned. >> reporter: hi, wolf, medical officials here in new orleans hope that the pictures and images of all these hospital beds inside that convention center will send a clear message that the worst is yet to come and that the idea of social distancing and keeping away from your friends and family is what's going to make a difference here in the coming days. but inside that hospital, all of this has been set up in the last week. they will begin taking patients, we are told, on monday morning, expect perhaps maybe 100 or so on that first day. but each of the spaces essentially, the squared-off hospital rooms, they have a cot, some have more, better bedding, depending on, you know, if it's an elderly patient, that sort of thing. but they are ready to begin taking these patients soon. these will not be the sickest coronavirus patients here. what they're trying to do is alleviate the pressure on the actual hospitals here in the new orleans area and tur

ed lavandera is in new orleans. >> reporter: the state of louisiana is bracing for what could be theery difficult week. these are the coming days where the governor of this state and medical officials have been warning that the onslaught of coronavirus cases in the state could begin to tax hospitals across the state with a shortage of beds, ventilators, medical equipment that they need. the latest numbers we have is that there are nearly 12,500 cases of coronavirus in the state. just over 400 deaths as well. and the numbers that the state officials and medical officials look at the most is the number of beds willing used and ventilators being used and that continues on an upward trend as well. to prepare for all of this, medical teams here have unveiled and say that the makeshift hospital at the new orleans convention center, it will be up and ready to go by monday morning and accept its first patients. that thousand-bed hospital unit will treat coronavirus patients but not necessarily the ones that need the most acute and most serious attention. these are people who are not quite re

. >> and cnn's ed lavandera takes a closer look at possible reasons why african-americans are at high risk. >> reporter: ronald lewis embodied the soulful spirit of new orleans. he led the big nine social club, which hosts epic second-line parades around his lower ninth ward neighborhood. hurricane katrina took his home, but friends say he came back and became like a godfather of new orleans culture. >> he loved new orleans. he understood the complexity of new orleans. he brought out the best in us, in our ability to come together. >> reporter: on march 18th, lewis was rushed to the hospital. two days later, he died. it wasn't until the day of his funeral that his family says they learned he was infected with the coronavirus. >> that was shocking. we didn't -- you know, he had just gone into the hospital. and i still really haven't wrapped my mind around it all the way. >> reporter: ronald lewis' family says the 68-year-old suffered from diabetes and was recovering from a mild heart attack last year, but they never thought the covid-19 infection would take his life. the mortality stat

ed lavandera on the ground there in dallas. we appreciate that firsthand reporting. nevada is taking a more measured approach, the governor extending his stay-at-home order until mid-may, but tomorrow some restrictions will be relaxed. what is the reaction there? i know people want to reopen, but the governor says, no, we're going to take our time. >> reporter: the people i'm talking to, john, are the people who work here, the workers. i want to widen out the shot and give you a good look at where i am. i am standing on the las vegas strip. i could do cartwheels down here, because it is completely empty. there are no cars. something you would never have imagined even just a month ago. and over here, if you walk with me, no one is here. the entire las vegas strip is shut down. anyone who would be a tourist who would normally fill these sidewalks, they are gone, and what the workers tell me is when they see all this, something like this, the belagio fountains shut off, no music, no commerce, the casinos, hotels shut down. it is eerie. what they hear here is a lack of m

cnn's ed lavandera with more.e orders businesses to open next week, it's his authority that takes precedence, what are people in dallas saying to you about that? >> reporter: we talked to a couple of business owners here in the dallas area and there seems to be a sense of cautiousness and apprehension as to how all of this is going to unfold here in the coming days. but essentially, what you've seen here is a little bit of the continued patchwork of the way the say at home orders have been put in place and executed over the last month and a half. dallas county said it wants to extend the stay at home order, anderson, until mid may. the governor has already proposed opening up retail to go, essentially give retail stores the ability to sell for curbside pick-up and the governor saying this morning that next monday, he will announce that even many more businesses will be allowed to reopen and that if the state order, if he decides to reopen more, that the state order will trump anything else that local communities d

ed lavandera, cnn. >>> here is some good news amid the sadness. captured on cellphone video.ill from covid-19, at 34 weeks pregnant. doctors felt they needed to put her into a medically induced coma and put her on a ventilator. they then performed an emergency cesarean section because her life and her child's life were in jeopardy. she spent 11 days on the ventilator. she was at northwell health in suffolk county, new york. the baby was transferred to a children's hospital while she recovered. doctors did not know if she would survive or not. but today she went home. the entire hospital lined the hallway to give her a very poignant sendoff, congratulating her on her amazing recovery. the hospital says she has named her little boy walter. congratulations to the mother and her baby and their family. we're so happy to report a story like this. and congratulations and thank you to all the health care providers at the hospital. >>> the white house coronavirus task force briefing starts in just a few minutes. our coverage on cnn continues right now.

ed lavandera joins us where the mayor there says the data shows that social distancing is working.ome good news this morning. >> reporter: yeah, you know, the last few days of the statistics coming out of louisiana and coronavirus here continues to show this mixed bag, but everyone here seems to think that they're on the best possible trajectory at this point. and that is that for three days in a row, the number of people on ventilators have dropped, there was a slight dip in hospital bed usage, but that -- that went back up yesterday, the number of cases continues to grow and the number of deaths here in this state continue to unfold as well. so that is a great deal of concern. but, one of the drive through testing sites, there had been three and knocked down to two, about a week ago, but there is now -- today will be the last day of one of the drive through testing sites, state officials here say they're doing that so they can move those resources to other parts of the state. and the city here of new orleans is also trying to put together a plan where they can do mobile testing.

let's go to cnn's ed lavandera joining us from new orleans. early numbers show the virus is hitting black communities across the nation disproportionately hard. >> reporter: yeah, that's what these statistics are starting to reveal. this comes on a day that louisiana has announced its largest increase in the number of deaths reported in a 24-hour period. more than 70 people added to the rolls of people who have died because of coronavirus here in louisiana. ronald lewis embodied the soulful spirit of new orleans. he led the big nine social club which hosted epic parades around the neighborhood. hurricane katrina took his home but friends say he came back as a godfather of new orleans culture. >> he understood the complexity of new orleans. he brought out the best in our ability to come together. >> reporter: on march 18th, lewis was rushed to the hospital. two days later he died. it wasn't until the day of his funeral that his family says they learned he was infected with the coronavirus. >> it was shocking. he had just gone into the hospital.

ed lavandera, cnn, dallas. >> thanks very much, ed, for that report.ott's target date of may 1st less than two weeks away he says, "texas is past the worst of the virus." but the state's data this week shows texas's trend line in cases and deaths is still on the rise. the houston mayor sylvester turner is joining us right now. mayor turner, thank you so much for joining us. do you agree that the worst of the pandemic as far as texas is concerned is behind you? >> well, wolf, we haven't yet reached our peak yet. some say we're getting very, very close. but today, for example, we added another 121 cases confirmed positive to the city's total. we are now right at about 2,700. the good news for the city of houston is that we didn't add any deaths. we're the fourth largest city. we have 31 deaths from covid-19. but we're still in the storm. the very positive signs, i'm encouraged by that. there are fewer admissions to our hospitals. our medical professionals are telling me it does appear we'll be able to handle the case load. but the existing capacity, all

ed lavandera, cnn, dallas. >>> the u.s. state of oklahoma is now in a phased reopening.ere allowed to reopen friday, including hair and nail salons and pet grooming services. on may 1st churches, gyms, theaters, and restaurants can open. clay clark is co-founder and ceo of the elephant in the room salon in tulsa, oklahoma and he joins us now. clay, great to have you with us. you are a supporter of your state reopening. is that right? >> that is correct. >> tell me why. what is the urgency? >> well, initially, when neil ferguson, the director of the abdul latif jameel institute predicted 2.2 million american deaths, that was a very scary number. and then dr. deborah birx then reported that 88,000 predicted deaths were to occur, which is still not a good number but less. or about the same as the number of deaths from the flu in 2017-2018. and although every life matters i don't believe fundamentally in hiding from the virus until every american business is killed from the coronavirus. >> so clay, you're a business owner? is that correct? >> yes. sints a since the age of 16

cnn's ed lavandera is live for us in new orleans. ed, you were given a tour of this convention center turned makeshift hospital today. what did you see? what did you learn? >> reporter: well, it was an interesting sight. this is a makeshift hospital that will begin accepting patients on monday. inside of those kind of elaborate tents, individual spaces for each of the patients. most of the rooms have cots with sheets on them and the nurse's stations within each of those areas. so that they can be attended to properly. who you will see inside of there are patients that don't necessarily need the acute critical care and what medical officials here in the city and throughout the state are trying to do is allow the hospitals, give them the space they need so that most of the beds and the spaces inside the hospitals can be turned into icu units or rooms where ventilators can be used for the most serious of patients. so, in that convention center, you will see coronavirus patients but they will not be as serious but not quite to the point w

our correspondent ed lavandera joins us again in new orleans. what is has happened overnight? this he don't have what they need. >> reporter: you know, poppy and jim, one thing interesting to play off here what drew graf wanz repoen was reporting in that story, we see cases here approaching 6500, that jumped 3,000 cases or so since sunday. one of the things that state officials here were looking at is whether or not this could be in part all of a sudden a sudden appearance of all of these tests that have been backlogged and taking several days to come through or if these are all brand-new cases. that's some of the things that state officials here on the ground are trying to have to comb through to figure out what exactly is going on. but there is no question that there is a great deal of concern about what is coming here in the coming days, and weeks, the governor says the worst is still yet to come. other officials i've spoken with say the peak of all of this could be two to three weeks away. the promise of ventilators at the federal government may send 150 ventilators, they

. >> reporter: i am ed lavandera in dallas. texas governor is lifting the stay-at-home order on thursday. more businesses will be allowed to reopen. that includes retail stores and malls and movie theaters. they can only operate at 25% capacity. what's not included is barbershops and nail salons and gyms and bars. those will have to wait until the next phase which could come around mid may. in big cities across texas, there is a great deal of concern that this will cause coronavirus to flare up again in this state. >>> i am rosa flores in miami. governor desantis did not announce when he'll be reopening. social distancing guidelines will be enforced and law enforcement will be patrolling arresting people and issuing citations if necessary. beaches meanwhile will remain closed. >>> i am stephanie elam at newport beach, california, city california is going to meet today to decide whether they'll close down the beaches or ultimately shutting down the beaches. this has last weekend as everybody was making their way to the beach and

ed lavandera in dallas for us. ed, retailers, employees all over the country taking some of the biggest hits obviously during the pandemic. what are the precautions stores in texas are taking to make sure everybody can be safe? >> reporter: this is working under the premise of retail to go. retail stores can open up but curbside pick-up only. customers can't come inside stores. we're outside of good records record store vinyl shop here. funky little gem in east dallas and this is part of a store front of areas that have been opened up. we have the owner of the store, chris penn, who has been here and he started doing this. you can see how he is greeting his customers who are pulling up here. the gloves, face mask on. chris, do you welcome this opening or are you nervous that it could cause more harm than good? >> well, i'm approaching it with trepidati trepidation, but we're being extremely vigilant and cautious and it's just me. it's one man show, not having any of my employees show up yet, and put it in the backse

. >>> i am ed lavandera in new orleans, one of the issues that health experts are looking at closely here in louisiana is the higher death rate in the new orleans area in particular. one official here in the city says mortality rate has been up 5%. r one of the root causes underneath all of that is the poor health of this region. according to the united health foundation, the state of louisiana ranks 49th in overall health of large number of cases of obesity and kidney problems and diabetes and those sorts of under lining factors which complicate treatments if you are infected with the coronavirus. >> we'll check in with all of our correspondents throughout the day. i will speak with one intensive care nurse of what she's experiencing with coronavirus patients and an expert says she feels guilty and got it wrong that the u.s. would be able to handle this. we'll talk to her ahead. i should get a quote. do it. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ and then what happened? where's our family from? was he my age? so nana and pops eloped? ...and then what happ

. >> i am ed lavandera in new orleans. >> reporter: the state after louisiana, state and health officials here say this will be the week that could put the strain on hospitals and nursing and doctors all across the state. there are a couple of mix news. 447 deaths, that was the largest jump that we have seen in the last week or so. fewer people on ventilatorventi. state officials trying to make sense of these new numbers and trying to figure out where we stand here in louisiana. >> i am ryan young. half of the cases are located in the city. john hopskins university, more than 15,000 people tested positive. what we also learned what hit the city really hard, 180 officers and firefighters. they were not sure about their status. 150 have been able to returned to service and 30 responders have tested positive. >> reporter: i am diane gallagher. the public health commission announcing a voluntary curfew begins tonight and going through may 4th, telling people returning at home. no grocery shopping and exercises, nothing it is deemed as essential activity related to the pandemic. the date could

. >> ed lavandera is in louisiana for us. >> reporter: hey anderson. we are topping more in deaths and we are at 175. one of the glimmer of hopes we have seen is the ventilators use in the state was dropping. there had been a temporary dip of hospital beds being used as well. those two factors have jumped in the last 24 hours. this is all what health officials have been saying they hope the see the beginning of the flattening of the curve. the two main indicators they are focusing on that ventilators and hospital beds have ticked up again today. for the most part they felt as long as people maintain their social distancing that would maintain the flattening of the curve and put the state on the right trajectory. i spent the last hour driving around the city of new orleans and i don't know because it is easter weekend or good friday but there is a great deal of traffic around the city. i saw a priest at a local church doing confession in the parking lot. the priest is sitting about six-feet apart. there are people out and about. the governor alluded thi

ed lavandera is in texas where the governor is taking a different approach. ed? >> reporter: hi, kate. here in texas the state home order ends today. starting tomorrow restaurants like the ones you see behind me can begin opening up andcapacit. so what does that mean in reality? essentially what this is doing is that is making business owners on their own having to make these very tough decisions. restaurant, malls, movie theaters can open up although several movie theater chains say they will not open up, stay closed for a matter of safety. we spoke with one restaurant owner here and as you look at the trend lines of coronavirus cases in the state, state officials believe that they are beginning to see the flattening of the curve. but here in dallas county they had nearly 180 new cases announced today. that's the highest number of reported in the last month and a half. so troubling signs here and that's why there's still a great deal of concern and business owners like the one we spoke to say they are just trying to figure it out and make the best of a horrible

ed lavandera in texas. ed, let me start with you on the ground.nor abbott saying it's time to go. what is the reaction in the state? >> reporter: i think they are heavily divided in terms of what people want to see and many questions as to how all of this is going to play out. there are definitely some circles where you see people say this is needed, it needs to be done. as you heard the governor there talking about restoring livelihoods, that does resonate with some people. but there is a great sense of trepidation, especially when you look at political leaders in the big cities in texas that have been hardest hit. listen here to the mayor of houston and how he reacted to the governor's plan yesterday. >> so the virus has not disappeared. we've done an excellent job at containing it and minimizing its impact. we don't want to undo what we have successfully done over the last 40, 45 days. testing, continuing to be cautious. i, too, want >> reporter: what's really interesting, john, if you listen to the way political leaders here talk here in texas

ed lavandera joins me from new orleans.learned the state just saw more than 2700 cases in the last 24 hours. >> reporter: yeah. massive jump. in fact, such a jarring number that the governor of louisiana was going on local radio here in the new orleans area to brace people and prepare them for the numbers that they were about to see. the governor is about to hold his daily briefing in 15 minutes or so and one of the things and factors playing into this massive jump of 2700 cases, there are now more than 9150 cases here in the state is this backlog of testing. there has been a slow process in getting results of tests done here in the state of louisiana. and the governor is saying that this large jump that we've seen today is in part due to this logjam kind of breaking up and getting results, all rushed into the system at once. but this is indicative of what officials here have been saying is that this infection every where in the state and that they are still trying to get a sense of widespread it is and this massive jump, b

our ed lavandera is in dallas. what's the story there? >> reporter: politicians right now like to stand up there with the microphones of reopening their economy. small business owners left to figure out how to make it happen. here in texas where the stay-at-home order is being lifted tomorrow. restaurants and malls and businesses can begin to reopen, movie theaters up to 25% capacity. how does this play out? we are at a mexican restaurant at trinity grove. you may notice this x on the ground here. this is a patio usually have more tables. the owner julian is here, why are you taking the chance of reopening? >> it is really because we have family ies to support and not jt my family but my employees' families. some are trying to get their citizenship and that's not available to them and it is really to help them provide for their family and keeping food on their table as well as making those rent and mortgage payments so they're not without a home in the midst of a pandemic. >> reporter: you are trying to figure out how to make it work as s

ed lavandera joins me in new orleans. ll us what they think the reason is they're dying more from it there. >> you have economic disparity across the region, particularly the new orleans area as well. that's one of the things, access to health care, and those sort of issues. according to the united health foundation, the state of louisiana ranks 49th in the united states in overall health with extraordinarily high levels of obesity and kidney failure, those types of underlying issues which really complicate treatment if you come down with the coronavirus infection. and we spoke with one emergency official here in louisiana this week who said that the mortality rate here in this area of new orleans is about 5%, much higher than what you're seeing in other parts of the country. so that's one of those troubling aspects of all of this. and it's why health and state officials here are really sounding the alarm of just how much precaution people need to take. because the likelihood of becoming -- being put in a much more serious

ed lavandera is live in new orleans with this. ed, where is the focus there today? >> reporter: hi, kate. well the new numbers from the state health department are out and again -- once again a mixed bag. the number of cases has jumped as well. but the number of deaths has jumped by 70 once again. so those are the highest levels of jumps in death counts that we have seen in the last couple of days. now a little bit of the sliver of the good news. for the first time in all of this pandemic we've seen the number of people required to be hospitalized has dropped. it is only slightly, 13 beds, but it is the first time we've seen that number drop. and for two days in a row now we've seen the number of people on ventilators here in this state drop as well. so a -- a mixed bag. the governor has pushed back the deadline as to when they would run out of ventilators so they seem to be okay on that front and the governor and state health officials here have been saying very cautiously that they hope they're beginning to see the flattening of the curve here in louisiana and in

. >> listen, every business has a judgment call to make here, ed lavandera, thanks so much from dallas. >>> dr. anthony fauci said this morning that he expects the fda really quick to authorize emergency use of the drug remdesivir, saying it helps to lessen the recovery time. >> elizabeth cohen is with us. this is not a cure. what is it proved to be effective for doing? >> reporter: that's right, poppy, it's not a cure, and dr. fauci is very enthusiastic because it did shorten the amount of time it took for people to recover. but to be clear, this is not a blockbuster drug. finally, after months of illnesses, deaths connected to the scourge that is covid-19, we have some good news. doctors have found a medicine that seems to work. it's called remdesivir. >> the data shows that remdesivir has a clearcut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery. >> reporter: remdesivir was a drug developed for ebola but it didn't work very well for that virus. it's never actually been on the market for any illness. in preliminary results of this new study sponsored by the nationa

. >> reporter: i'm ed lavandera in new orleans. projections from the university of washington show that as many as 950 people could die of coronavirus here in this state by august. this comes at a time that state health officials take a much closer look at the death rate because of coronavirus because of african-americans here in the state. black residents account for more than 70% of the overall coronavirus deaths, and this also comes at a time that the number of deaths reported each day over the last few days has continued to go up. >> reporter: i'm omar jimenez in chicago. 60% of the coronavirus deaths here have been black chicagoans and more than 50% of the confirmed coronavirus cases in the city have been black chicagoans. despite just making up 30% of the total population. chicago mayor lori lightfoot said it tells a story of resource inequality and part of why their office and the department of public health put in place an order to enhance the medical data shared to include demographics, so we can more accurately trace the

ed lavandera is in dallas tonight. ed, health officials have warned the risk of end social distancing too soon. some experts of course say the testing is not where it needs to be. but governor abbott thinks this is the right time. what's the rationale he's put out? >> look, the fact of the matter is the governor is under a great deal of political pressure, across the state, to reopen the economy. and you get a sense from hearing a lot of state leaders that they expect some or are prepared for some uptick in the number of coronavirus cases, here in this state. we're standing in the middle of a parking lot of a popular movie theater, here in northeast dallas. completely empty. and the governor says that places like this, movie theaters, restaurants, malls, and other retail stores, will be allowed to reopen on friday. after the stay-at-home order is lifted on thursday. but only at a 25% capacity. the governor also says what is not included in this next phase of opening is hair salons, barbershops, gyms, that sort of thing

. >>> i'm ed lavandera in new orleans.violent weather rolled through louisiana on easter sunday as people here continue to deal with being one of the coronavirus hot spots in the united states. the latest statistic show once again a mixed bag. the number of coronavirus cases and deaths continues to go up. but over the last few days we've seen kind of a mixed bag on the number of people requiring hospital beds and ventilator use. so that is one of the signs that health officials here say suggest that they are beginning to see the flattening of the curve here in louisiana. >>> coming up, new concern about the nation's food supply after one facility closes because of a coronavirus outbreak. we'll talk to a former governor and agricultural secretary about what it means for your ability to get what you need at the grocery store. - my family and i did a fundraiser walk in honor of my dad, who was alzheimer's. i decided to make shirts for the walk with custom ink, and they just came out perfect. - [announcer] check out our huge s

that's just so far, real concerns about this growing as an epicenter of this, ed lavandera is in new orleans. the governor also says there is signs, however, that there are steps to do social distancing, maybe flattening the curve there. how much of a difference is it making? >> reporter: well, they say that they still need a lot more data and this is based on the data coming in over the last couple of days. but one sign is, you know, the governor has been saying for the last week and a half or so, he had been putting dates on when the state expected to run out of hospital beds and ventilators. he's no longer doing that. he's kind of stepping away from that. there is still a need for ventilators, but there is not this kind of finale kind of date they're looking toward or very concerned about. he stopped doing that yesterday. but there is still a great deal of need and concern for ventilators and personal protect equipment for medical staff working inside these hospitals. but they are looking at those numbers and one of the projections say they're beginning to see the beginning of the

ed lavandera joins us in new orleans. they have this capacity now to take in more patients. what is the word on the ground there right now? >> reporter: well, just like everywhere else, this is a week with a great deal of concern here in louisiana. there is a mixed bag of news and i think health officials here in this state are trying to make sense of it all. if you look at the latest numbers, the number of overall cases jumped to over 13,000, slightly less increase than we've seen over the last couple of days before that, that could be in large part to the number of test results being returned, but 477 deaths now, and that was a large jump from over a course of a 24-hour period but there are fewer people using ventilators here in this state, only by ten or so, but that number had been going up, so any downward trend in one day does not a trend make but we will continue to monitor that as well. state officials here continue to warn that the coming days will be the biggest test on the medical community here in this state,

cnn ed lavandera, what are you hearing what is driving this really troubling trend in new orleans? talked a lot about this the last few weeks that people with under line health issues are the most susceptible to be really hit hardest by this coronavirus infection. here in new orleans is a perfect storm of that. this is a city and a region of a country that routinely ranks at the bottom and most of the health categories when you talk about obesity and when you talk about kidney issues and diabetes and all of those under line factors exist here at a much higher rate than my parts of the country. you combine all of that together and then you throw into the fact that the vast majority of the cases that the louisiana hot spot have seen is here in new orleans area alone. that really is a recipe for very dangerous situation and what health experts and state officials, the reason why they continue to hammer home at this point and the city and the region around southeast louisiana really needs to practice social distancing and stay away and protecting them themselves from getting infected b