tonight, new moves to reopen, and still facing many own knowns blaine alexander nbc news, atlanta. >> i'm missi-- tonight, this is what quarantine fatigue looks like as americans are leaving home amid stay at home orders >> we think all of the beaches should be open >> reporter: in san diego, minutes after beaches opened today, a wave of surfers hit the water. and for some, a flood of concern on shore. this t city council in new port considering the weekend closure to beaches. after 40,000 flocked here during a heat wave. >> those images are an example of what had not to see people, what not to do >> this virus doesn't take the weekends off sgloompt the local battle over public beaches where some are closed and ors open in neighboring communities is funneling large crowds in to the same area. making it difficult to social distance. from packed parks in georgia to crowded greenways in hawaii. a new study suggests that more americans are spending less time at home. doctors on the coronavirus task force saying that social distancing will extend through the summer >> out here, it's safer

once again, our team is in place, and we begin with blaine alexander. >> reporter: tonight a glimpse, of life altered, more states start the process of getting back to work it's going to be very exciting in mississippi the stay-at-home order reviced. >> everyone that came in made a purchase today, that has been exciting >> reporter: in texas, the governor announcing he is in the renewing the ta stay-at-home order others can open doors as quickly as possible >> a more strategic approach is required to ensure that we don't reopen only to have to close down again. >> reporter: in oklahoma, for thispet groomer the green light came just in time >> we were going to be broke, broke, broke, the real broke >> your customer is not coming the store, they are dropping their dog. >> yeah, i feel like right now, that makes them feel the safest. >> reporter: in tennessee, bigger cities are staying shut, but 89 of the state's 95 counties are allowing restaurants and retail stores can open at 50% capacity pucketts is starting to come back >> the overall feeling is gratitude, we are grateful to get the

first i want to go to blaine alexander. i know there continues to be an anxiousness, has that gotten any better today. >> they are pushing back on what governor has to say. has it gotten any better? no, she does not believe this is a good move, she doubled down on this today, but it is not just the city of atlanta. it is one of the biggest hot spots there and they asked for help because there are so many deaths he asked if he could have more leniency and the governor said he wants a uniform policy across the state of georgia and he was denied that special requests. what are businesses going to do on friday and what is businesses going to do. but there is no way but others admit they're in a tough position. it is hard on them, hard on their employees, and they say even though they're still concerned, they're going to open their doors with new precautions on friday, chuck. >> blaine alexander in georgia. steve, you and i talked earlier today about the city leaders that would want to open up the city, but big picture it is rea

let's start in atlanta with our nbc correspondent blaine alexander. some of the businesses are reopening. i know there was some hesitation by folks to come out. but what are you seeing there today? >> katy, i'm seeing a little on both sides. plenty of hesitation from some people. plenty of enthusiasm on the other side. this will be one of the places where there is that enthusiasm. we're at jay christopher's restaurant. i'll show you over here. inside, not many customers inside. you have the sign, open for dine in. here is takeout orders. this shows just a little bit of the two worlds that they're still playing n i spoke with the managers. they told me at this restaurant typically this place is packed. there are plenty of routine customers. but they've only seen a trickle, a slow trickle coming in. people are still doing the takeout orders. but i think what is really important to point out from the restaurants that i spoke to, katy, those who decided to open their doors, it's important to note that the takeout orders or the delivery orders are not enou

>> blaine alexander, thank you for that. and with that, and on that point, let's bring in the director of colombia university's national center for disaster preparedness dr. irwin. let's take the case of south dakota, if you watch the white house briefing yesterday and it was not for the faint of heart, you heard this increasing drum beat of reopening pieces, beautiful pieces of the puzzle as the president put it. south dakota is, i think, undoubtedly one of the states he's thinking of. of our president has his own image of the states especially to the west of the mississippi. but i think anything west of about cleveland as being wide open spaces. governor nome is a big time trumper. she resisted a lot of the standards of the more heavily populated states. so what happens if statewide south dakota, wyoming, montana, idaho, so on and so on they get the advisory, go on, head out with precautions but go back to work? >> we'll have pools of the virus that has not been controlled and they will be sources of reinfecting the rest o

. >>> i'm blaine alexander in albany, georgia.bout three hours south of atlanta, this small county has seen the highest number of deaths anywhere in the state. higher even than some area with more than ten times its population. here, there is only one hospital to serve the entire area. so some patients have had to go more than 100 miles away for treatment. today, the mayor told me that it hit suddenly and shocked everyone, and in masmall towns like these, they have fewer resources to fight back. >> that was blaine alexander reporting from georgia. those rural, small towns really affected. while the focus has been on the coronavirus outbreak in the united states, where there are far more cases than any country on earth, this is a worldwide pandemic. >> yes, by definition. testing, if race for an effective treatment have been key in its effort to slow the spread worldwide. we'll start with keer on testing. >> good evening. governments around the world are facing criticism for failing to provide enough tests for coronavirus. many are

. >> with us now is correspondent blai blaine alexand ander.een trying to figure out whether there were lines of people waiting to these services. what have you found? >> reporter: you know, i'll tell you that it is absolutely a mixed bag. starting this morning, we have found businesses that have opened their doors, that have been willing to serve customers for the first time for the first time in six to eight weeks. but in terms of how many are coming in, it is an ebb and flow. i think this is probably a good examp example. this is tony's barber studio. he is closed right now, but he's seen about eight people come inside throughout the day. now, keep in mind this is atlanta on a friday afternoon. typically he tells me they have about 30 to 40 customers in here. but you are seeing waning numbers because he is being selective in the number of people that he is bringing in, but quite frankly not all of his clients coming back and not all of his barbers feel comfortable coming back to work. but as you look inside, you can see that they are removin

blain alexander shows us how some are preparing. >> from buzzing barber shops to sweaty gyms, georgia is at least partially back in business. >> i was really surprised when they said the barber shops were opening, but i was so excited because i look like a caveman. >> gr ryan kemp allowing barber shops, gyms, bowling alleys and more to reopen. >> when i weighed the risk/reward, we decided to go ahead and open and put our plans in place. >> he has been getting calls since monday, but only taking limited customers with new precautions. no waiting inside. the chairs, spread out. and nobody is allowed in without a mask. >> the thing that scares me is i'm just not sure if the new normal will be suitable for what we do. >> sam brock is live in atlanta this morning. sam, businesses are back open, but with everybody wearing mask he, it does not look like business as urnl. >> everybody is wearing masks in terms of the employees at these places, but the rate rons do not have to wear masks. the guidance from governor kemp is ppe, when it is appropriate and available. so you can only imagine in p

everyone and in small towns like these they have even fewer resources to fight back. >> that was blaine alexanderat those small towns are affected our focus has been on the coronavirus outbreak here in the united states where there are more cases than any country on earth. this is a worldwide pandemic. >> yes, by definition, testing the race for an effort to slow its spread worldwide. effective treatment has been key in the effort to slow its spread worldwide. cynthia mcfadden and keir simmons have been looking at that side of the story and we'll start with keir on testing. >> good evening. governments around the world are facing criticism for failing to provide enough tests for coronavirus. many are racing to produce more and the clock is ticking. >> the coronavirus pandemic has stormed across the globe and unrelenting and invisible armies leaving many countries ill-equipped to test for the virus. in hard-hit spain, stacy is a med student from ohio caring for patients with coronavirus. >> how long have you been waiting for tests? >> a week. >> in new york, more than two months after america's fi

blaine alexander joins us from lawrenceville, georgia, a suburb of atlanta. you can open all the doors you want. unlock the doors. will anybody show? >> and, really, that's what business owners are working to find out. within about 24 hours. i have spoken to a number of owners across the state and, really, their reaction to this is completely split. there are some like the gold's gym behind me who are raring to go. they are making provisions and putting safety measures in place to make sure they can welcome their customers and clients back safely. and they are preparing to open their doors. there are others who say there's no way they're going to open tomorrow, and they plan to remain closed for the foreseeable future. as for whether or not people are ready to actually come to these businesses, the hair salon i spoke, to it's very interesting. they said they've had a number of people calling them saying, hey, are you taking appointments? can i come in? they've told every single one of them, no, we're remaining closed. while some others are looking at this as

let's get to blaine alexander in atlanta. how are folks reacting to the order and those remarks from the governor? >> reporter: ali, first a quick note about that sound that you just played from the governor yesterday. i've got to say that i and my producer charlie spent the better part of the day reaching out to the governor's office, reaching out to the state health department trying to get some sort of comment or clarification around exactly what he said yesterday. so here's what the health department official told me, essentially that the new information isn't that this can be transmitted between people who aren't showing symptoms but rather that new data shows that that rate of transmittal is higher than previously thought, that more of those presymptomatic trance missals are happening than they previously thought, pointing to guidance from the cdc. that's what they're saying to clarify the remarks from the governor. the numbers here in georgia are continuing to rise. that's the most important thing to focus on. more tha

kasie hunt is also with us and von hilliard is with us and blaine alexander is in atlanta, georgia wherehe state's government is plans to reopen some businesses with stri restrictions. the governor of georgia wants to reopen tattoo parlors and other places as long as he you can seep socially distancing. how do you keep socially distancing as a hair salon or barber or a nail salon or massage parlor? >> i think those are the questions that a lot of critics are going to have about this. this is something the governor announced the past hour or so. this process is going to begin as quickly as this friday. so let me read you just some of the basics. you went through some of the businesses that reopen. basher shops, massage therapists, gyms can reopen as soon as this friday. then other places like restaurants, movie theaters, others will be allowed to open, reopen a week from today. that is on monday. governor kemp has said in his news conference that he was not open to having what he called kind of the hodge-podge of decisions that he had before he enacted that stay-at-home order. he says he

well, nbc news correspondent blaine alexander is covering the worker safety at food processing plantlant and supply chain concern. not just in south dakota but in mississippi and alabama. >> the latest thing we have learned about this the cdc is sending a team there to the smithfield plant you talked about in south dakota to assess the situation. what was to diaper to cause it to close its doors? that comes on the heels of that ominous warning you talked about from the smithfield ceo that essentially this is a ripple effect he fears is only going to grow larger. so, chuck, you know, it's not just that plant there in south dakota. in colorado, we have seen a plant that jbs plant there had to close its doors until at least april 24th after more than 50 people came down with covid-19. right here in georgia, a tyson foods poultry processing plan south of atlanta had to close over the week temporarily because four employees died of covid-19. that tyson plant is one we have been reporting on better part of a week. tyson says they have made improvements but the union says that they are not

joining me now, nbc's blayne alexander in chatsworth, georgia. blaine, te blayne, tell us what's happening there. >> reporter: andrea, in the past hour, we learned that the death toll here has gone up. the county ema director says that the death toll now stands at seven and a couple dozen more about taken to the hospital. you can see behind me, andrea, at least one of the structures that was in the path of that storm. this apartment building a little bit over here where you can't see a convenience store with the roof blown off. but andrea, the area that really has gotten the brunt of this is a pair of adjacent trailer parks about a mile and a half away. that's where you saw those seven people killed. now, andrea, let me talk to you, of course, about what's remarkable here, not just in these storms, but in the timing of them. about 90 minutes ago, georgia governor brian kemp declared a state of emergency here for the state of georgia, which means that right now in the state of georgia, simultaneously, there is a state of emergency and a public health sta

hoda. >> all right blayne alexander for us in atlanta. blaine>> coming up next, as the united states investigates whether the coronavirus escaped from that wuhan lab, the facilitate's director is breaking his silence this morning. what he's now saying about the pandemic and the questions that still need to be answered. that's right after this. i feel cared about as a member. we're getting a super competitive interest rate on our money. we're able to invest through the same exact platform. i really liked that they didn't have any hidden or extra fees. sofi has brought me peace of mind. truly thank you for helping me prepare for whatever the future has in store. (j.kfarmers is here for you. if you're off the roads for all of us, and if you're on the roads for us, well, we're here for you, too. oyou got this. you can be feminine and fierce. no sweat. introducing new secret with essential oils. the strong sweat protection of secret, now with the indulgence of pure essential oils. secret. all strength. no sweat. there is one thing we can all do toget

torres but first blayne alexander joins us from atlanta. hey, blaineod morning. >>> hoda, good morning to you. factors like income, access to health care and information. this morning there's a growing call for the cdc to track coronavirus cases by race and to release those numbers. as coronavirus across the country, numbers show it is especially devastating to one group, affirms. >> when you look at the proportion of those that get in serious trouble and die, again, it's going to be disproportionate to african-americans. >> why is the black munity has hit with poor health for a long time pre-existing conditions such as obesity, asthma, hypertension. now you compound it by this deadly disease, it's no surprise we're going to be hit harder. >> in chicago, nearly 70% of virus related fatalities are black, even though african-americans make up less than a third of the population. >> those numbers take your breath away. >> in the epicenter, new york city, 59% in the queens and bronx, both areas with high black and hispanic populations. >> we're working ver