>>erica hill spoke with the doctor who launched an instagram initiative to show the publichat's going on inside hospitals and how health care workers are coping. >>inmergency rooms across the country the battle being waged iunlike any these dotors have seen right now kind of like drinking a fire doctor stephanie flores is an emergency room physician in new york city the epicenteof this can then very pretty much everyone will see as >>labor >>we each prohing siren congestion in thee r oves they need more beds. more gear. they need to stay healthy you ne more information i had so many friends and will reach out to me i thought well life >>oh my god are you ok when you've actually gone models are in response after flores and a fellow emergency physician doctor lynn jacking. >>launched air it out kobe did 19 on instagram and encourage others to join in. >>they're getting and also i think that's lpful said everyone know whats going on and it's just your own boss of the prank on a call and then snap shot of what's on across snapshot of life in the e r es tell it all. >a witness the war you'

>>erica hill, new york. >>hundreds of denstrators came together to pressure gornor newsome to reopen the state f business they gathered outside the state capitol building to protest the stay at home orders. many say they're frustrated that they're not lowed toork. the governor says the californiais doing a good job in the fig against coronavirus but that there is still no downward trend. >>progress is being made you are bending the curve you're benning to flatten the curve but it is still nonetheless ring deaths continue to rise hospitalization numbers modestly continue to rise a i see you numbers beginning to flatten but we're not seen that downward trend. we need clarity on that road map to recoverywhich we rold out last week. >>we're expecting to hear w details tomorrow on how governor neom plans to reopen califoia as othis morning, californ has more than 1200 deaths and more an 33,000 covid-19 cases and we're tracking how the numbe the baarea the graph behind me shows you how cases of progress sincmah 16

>>again that was erica hill reporting. well as new cases is being discovered some health experts say up to 80% of children may have had coronavirus but are asymptomatic alex coleman spoke with a pediatrician and has some advice now on how you can protect your kids. >>is that very few kids have it right now just because they haven't been to school i hadn't been exposed to it right now children and covid-19 are the number of cases really rising to at a lower level in the u.s. or a few children really being infected so i think a number of 80% is probably in a really gross over exaggeration doctor john mccullers is pediatrician in she and obama children's hospital in the dean of clinical affairs at the college of medicine at u t health science center in memphis. he disputes that 80% of kids likely have covid-19 now if we were to get the whole school year with kids in session as far as around i believe 80% they will catch that school right now we're just not seeing it here in the mid south and pediatrics east in germantown doct

let's go to our national correspondent erica hill. she's got more on the late-breaking developments. erica, there is broad consensus that any state is still weeks away, possibly, from being able to reopen safely. >> reporter: that's true. but we know a lot of them are moving forward, wolf. just as there's no one size fits all solution for the country, it seems for those states, within states themselves, we're actually seeing some pushback and some different decisions. in colorado, for example, regulations will be lifted on sunday across the state. but a number of counties are extending orders in their regions through may, including the city of denver, which shows there is a long road ahead. an unprecedented experiment now under way in georgia. salons, tatou phaattoo parlors, all have the governor's bless to go reopen. >> it's a health hazard. with everything going on, it's way too early. >> reporter: customers weighing health concerns as owners confront mounting bills. >> i'm going to try it. i just feel like us as a country, we're goi

let's go to our national correspondent erica hill. erica, very dramatic statement from the governor of georgia. >> reporter: it is dramatic, and it also makes you stop for a minute. when you look at the businesses that governor brian kemp has pointed out, and you went through some of these, gyms, fitness centers, body arts studios, barbershops, estheticians, massage therapists, will all be allowed to reopen on friday. he says restaurants can reopen on monday. no bars, nightclubs, or music venues, however. the governor says all these businesses need to continue with their best practices including social distancing. that is incredibly difficult to do when you look at the list of those businesses that will be given a green light on friday. these are some of the most intimate connections you can have with someone, when you go to get your nails done, if you're going to get a massage or a tattoo, think about how close you are to those people. the other thing, wolf, that really stood out to me is the governor said very clearly, no local ordin

erica hill, cnn, new york. >> people are clamoring for antibody tests. some tests have really terrible accuracy. can we count on them? we are going to ask an expert next. >> announcing planning to ramp up testing for coronavirus antibodies. one study is shedding light on how unreliable those tests are. one researcher saying the accuracy of those antibody tests is really terrible. here to discuss two authors of the report. thank you so much for joining. walk us through what you have found out about how effective these tests really are. >> yes. let me start by framing this. i understand that everyone feels the urgency to have a clear-cut answer wanting to know if the tests tells us who is immune and safe from reinfection. these tests became available rapidly in response to a crisis and now we are just going through and testing the tests. the first set of tests is to tell us do these reliably tell us if someone that has been infected has antibodies in the blood and we will have to do further studies to see if they are protected from reinfection. what we saw

erratica hi-- erica hill is in w york city. the governor, there andrew cuomo, said they brought the rate of infection down but still extending the social distancing restrictions for another month. tell us about that. >> reporter: yeah. he's extending -- he put new york on pause through may 15th. it's interesting to note he often talks about working in concert with the tri-state area because especially here in new york city so many people who work in new york city live in connecticut or new jersey. he wants to make sure states are coordinating. we heard from the new jersey governor who said schools will be closing in his state through may 15th and connecticut has their own pause in place until may 20th. schools will be closed. non-essential businesses are closed here in new york and we learned a little bit more about this face covering that's going into effect here in just a couple of days. we know now it applies to everyone over the age of 2. you have to have a mask on and specifically there were references made to transportati

let's go to erica hill. we have breaking news on the opposite coast. california's governor just ordered beaches in orange county to close. >> reporter: he is calling it a temporary pause to be sure everybody behaves themselves. he could have gone further and closed all of the beaches. he did not do that. one official said that it was governor overreach and others said trust the locals. other locals are policing themselves as we see changes across the country. a new normal begins tomorrow. by the end of the week 31 states will be partially open despite none of them receiving the trajectory of downward number of cases before reopening. many are reopening golf courses and restaurants and stores adopting new policies. >> i think our customers will feel comfortable shopping in our store. >> reporter: cdc recommends that schools place desks at least six feet apart and -- >>> we are not going to make anything here. it is just for the staff to keep providing for the families on a day-to-day. >> reporter: in new york the state health department is investigating

our national correspondent, erica hill, is in new york for us. erica, still a very grim situation up there, i understand. >> reporter: you know, it is at this point. we are obviously still dealing with the virus here in new york state. what's also been fascinating to watch throughout the day, wolf, is how the conversation is changing around the country, as so many states react to these guidelines from the president and make clear what they need to even get close to phase i. >> this is mayhem. we need a coordinated approach between the federal government and the states. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo repeating his plea for help with testing supplies and funding. >> the federal government cannot wipe their hands of this. >> reporter: as states react to the president's new guidelines, further evidence there is no one-size-fits-all plan. >> it looks like a number of states in the south, for example, will have smaller epidemics than were expected. places like new york seem to be stuck at the peak for longer than we originally expected. >>

>>> cnn's erica hill has more on the states where businesses are being allowed to open their doors to the public. erica? >> dinner and a movie back on the menu this friday in texas. >> all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls can reopen may 1st. >> occupancy will be limited to 25%. the governor's new executive order supersedes all local measures. the mayor urging caution holding up a copy of the houston chronical with local cases more prevalent in at-risk neighborhoods. >> i know people want to open up, i've got that. many people who live in these communities, these are individuals who are serving the tables and these are the people who are riding the bus and what they are asking for is not necessarily when we are going to open. but mayor tell me what are you going to do to keep us safe? >> denver's mayor choosing to delay reopening as his state moves forward. >> we didn't feel like we were ready and we felt like more needed to be done. this virus is not going away. it will remain with us for a while. it will make sure we're dealing with the infrastructure. >> mississi

erica hill has the details. erica? >> reporter: the curve being flattened in new york, only if people continue what they're doing now, social distancing. in terms of the death toll, he also noted for the second day in a row, this state now logged its highest single day death toll. on tuesday, that number 779. a blunt assessment. >> it's going to be a bad week for deaths. >> reporter: with overloaded hard hit communities bringing in refrigerated trailers and more help. in new york city, hundreds of national guard members and more than 50 active duty mortuary military specialists are now assisting the medical examiner's office. states and cities report a rising death toll, there is some hope. projected deaths nationwide now expected to be close to 60,000 by august, down significantly thanks to social distancing. the message from officials, this is no time to let up. >> we're all looking to finally get out from under this, but it's not that time yet. the progress confirms the strategy's working. >> reporter: washington, d

our national correspondent erica hill joins us right now. erica, states in the west and states in the northeast, they're working on their own plans to reopen their states. but the president is suggesting that would be mutiny. >> reporter: he's suggesting it would be mutiny and two of the most outspoken governors in those regions, governor newsom of california, governor cuomo of new york, making it clear, wolf, not only do they have the authority to do what they feel is right for their states, they will not be bullied by the president. >> i put my hand out in total partnership and cooperation with the president. if he wants a fight, he's not going to get it from me. period. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo pushing for unity as the president falsely claims he alone has the power to reopen the economy. governors on both coasts banding together for a coordinated, science-based response. >> i still have an infection that's growing in most of the state. this is no time to relax. >> reporter: and warning life will not be the same for some

. >> and cnn's erica hill gets to be part of it. erica, good morning to you.ing cookie monster working from home, snacking all day. but this is really good thing to release some of the elements to kids. >> i'm co-hosting this morning with our good friend dr. sanjay gupta and also big bird. and we really wanted to address some of the questions, some of the thoughts, some of the fears that kids and families have. so, we asked kids and parents to send us some of their questions. here are just a few of the ones we got. take a look. >>> when will this be over? >> we want to see our friends. >> why do we have to stay away from people but not our family? >> and when will all of us go back to school? >> when, tonight, go to the park again. >> questions from kids and questions that a lot of grown-ups have, too. it's really going to be, i think, not only an educational hour and a half for kids and families. but i think it's going to be really helpful to you guys. as i said, it's not just for the kids. trust me, i'm getting a lot out of this as well. >> oh, we all are. i

. >>> now i want to get to cnn's erica hill with the latest on states' plans to reopen. >> reporter: florida ready to reopen. >> there is a light at the end of the tunnel. this new phase will start on monday, may 4th, and will, for the time being, exclude miami-dade, broward, and palm beach counties. >> reporter: nearly 30% of the state's residents including hard-hit miami-dade county excluded from the governor's plan giving restaurants and businesses the green light. haircuts in georgia, one of the first signs of that state's reopening while in california any professional trims are still months away. a striking example of just how different the next steps will be. >> we have significantly less cases than we had two weeks ago, than we had three weeks ago. it's time to enter a more sustainable phase. >> more than half the states in the country announcing plans to ease restrictions. despite none appearing to meet white house guidelines for a 14-day decline in positive cases. meantime, new hope for a treatment. >> remdesivir has a clear-cut significant positive effect in diminishing the

more mo more on that, erica hill. how are the governors preparing for what the future may look like? >> reporter: the governors are very much focused on what is affecting their communities, anderson. we just heard from new york governor andrew cuomo. good news in terms of hospitalizations but what we heard from dr. fauci is you have to maintain the status quo in terms of social distancing and to that end, the governor announcing an executive order today, anderson, for face coverings in new york state. if you can't maybe taken social distancing. more masks, more time apart, more testing and more realistic expectations. >> if we had a resurgence, that would be the worst. we have one chance. >> reporter: as president trump pushing for symbolic reopening on may 1st, many are following the lead of gavin newsom confirming this new normal is here to stay. in new orleans, the mayor suggesting major events like jazz fest won't be back until 2021. mississippi, the latest state to close schools for the remainder of the academic

. >> erica hill with a look at the hard hit areas today, with an impact on the u.s. economy. erica? >> reporter: it does often come back to new york because so much of what we're seeing and learning here in new york is being looked at by other cities around the country. you mentioned the governor talking about some bright spots, how hospitalizations are down. he talked about how icu admissions are down, but the death toll for the third day in a row here in new york state, anderson, hit a single day -- not the kind of numbers anyone wants to see. empty streets, shuttered businesses, lives on hold. there are a lot of people like me who are just wondering how long is this going to be? what are you going to do? >> reporter: nearly every corner of the economy and the country impacted. state labor departments overwhelmed. >> isn't the collapse really, in the american job market? never seen this many jobs gone so quickly. >> reporter: the city of philadelphia singled out as a potential new hot spot, expressing optimism that its measures are working. >> by any means, hopeful that the social

our national correspondent erica hill is covering other major developments in the pandemic from new york city. erica, deep new concerns tonight about georgia, other states that are beginning, in the coming days, to try to reopen. >> reporter: yeah, we're hearing from so many state leaders, governors talking about their plans for reopening. as that is happening, we do have this upgraded, revised model which is often cited by the white house that now says a dozen states, among them georgia, should wait until at least early june before relaxing social distancing measures. and what's important to point out, wolf, that even with these revised dates, which would recommend some states wait longer, that also assumes that e each one of those states has aggressive testing and isolation to prevent resurgence of the virus. despite its push to reopen, georgia is nowhere near ready to lift social distancing measures, according to an updated model often cited by the white house. the revised target date, june 19. >> the scientists say you need to wait. the president's guidelines say you need to wait. an

erica hill in new york with more on that and the latest on what states are facing in this crisis. erica? >> reporter: one e.r. doctor i spoke with today said it keeps getting worse every single day. here in new york city, sunday is referred to as crunch time. that's crunch day. they're concerned about running out of supplies before then. in the meantime, those are concerns echoed across the country. nearly 90% of the country ordered to stay home but exemption in some states for religious services is raising concerns among experts and some faith leaders. >> the last thing we'd want to do is put people in danger and to gather our people and maybe create a scenario where people got sick. >> any portion of people is a high risk factor for transmission of this virus. >> reporter: there is new information about transmission. experts telling the white house, currently available research supports the possibility that coronavirus could be spread directly by patient exhalation. in other words, it's not just sneezing or coughing but simply talking or breathing. this as more officials recommen

back to you. >> thanks to erica hill for that report. as we mentioned researchers are expressing hope that the drug remdesivir could be used to treat the coronavirus. cnn's elizabeth cohen takes a look at the studies behind it. >> reporter: finally, good news about the covid-19 pandemic. researchers have found that a drug does seem to work. it's not a cure all. it's not going to take care of the problem. it does fight the virus. it's called remdesivir. let's take a look at what remdesivir is. it's an experimental drug that works for ebola. it didn't work for ebola. it's not on the market for any disease. in this study of remdesivir, more than 1,000 patients in the united states, spain, germany and other countries were assigned to remdesivir or a placebo which doesn't do anything. the placebo patients had 15remd recovery. that's a four-day difference. four fewer days in the hospital means four fewer days where something might go wrong on the ventilator, getting a hospital-acquired infection. the second is that it's an indication that remd

i'm erica hill in for ana cabrera. for the first time in history every single state in the united states is now under a disaster declaration. that is happening simultaneously as the country approaches a grim milestone the coronavirus death toll of nearly 20,000 people. new york state alone has more than 180,000 confirmed cases. that's more than any single country outside the u.s. we should point out, too, there are sti

let's go to our national correspondent erica hill, joining us from new york. erica, grim new numbers coming out, but also a glimmer of hope tonight. >> reporter: that's right, you mentioned that glimmer of hope, dr. anthony fauci talking about that earlier today from the white house. there is a lot of focus on what dr. fauci had to say as we're seeing more states make decisions about what's coming next for their residents. >> a drug can block this virus. >> reporter: an optimistic dr. anthony fauci on new findings about a potential coronavirus treatment. >> remdesivir has a clear-cut significant positive effect in diminishing the time to recover. >> reporter: offering hope as more states enter a new phase. haircuts in georgia, one of the first signs of that state's reopening. while in california, any professional trends are still months away. a striking example of just how different the next steps will be. >> we have significantly less cases than we had two weeks ago, than we had three weeks ago. it's time to enter a more sustainable phase. >> reporter: more th

erica hill, thank you. doctor, we are hearingaccine by january we are hearing this by dr. fauci and others. >> it's ambitious. dr. fauci says it falls within the time frame he has been thinking about. he said a year. that was back end of january. so it's possible. the one thing, jake, to keep in mind is that typically you go through the phases of the vaccine. you prove that it's safe and effective and it works on large populations of people. those are the free phases. then you start manufacturing it. in this case, two things would happen. one is probably during phase 2 trials they would start to expand the size of the population tested. so it would be a larger phase 2 to try and figure out if you can get efficacy snachlts so signals. some sort of signal that this is working. if that's true, if it starts working, they will start manufacturing it. the gamble, maybe you proud ineffective vaccine. if it does work at that point you are months ahead of the game. i think that's what they're sort of counting on. if are you months ahead of the game and it actually works, it would b

cnn's erica hill has our report. >> reporter: an unprecedented experiment now under way in georgia.alons, tattoo parlors and gyms all have the governor's blessing to reopen. the mayor of the state's largest city urging residents to stay home. >> nothing has changed. people are still getting infected. people are still dying. we don't have a cure to this virus. the only thing that's helped us, we have stayed apart from one another. i'm simply asking people to continue to do that. >> reporter: customers weighing health concerns as owners must also confront mounting bills. >> i'm going to try it. i just feel like us as a country, we're going to have much bigger problems financially if we don't. >> reporter: meantime, about an hour south, cars lining up for food at the atlanta motor speedway. neighboring north carolina is not easing up yet. >> we love our friends in georgia. but we're really concerned about how quickly this is happening. and we want to make sure that we keep our numbers as low as possible. >> reporter: oklahoma moving forward with a plan similar to georgia's. the mayor o

here's erica hill with more on all of that. erica. >> reporter: 250 beds at the meadow land in new jersey. 2500 each at chicago's mccormick place exposition center and new york's massive javits center. covid patients began arriving over the weekend. the navy hospital ship "comfort" now accepting covid patients as well. the two facilities acting as relief valves for hospitals as new york's death toll continues to rise though more slowly. >> while none of this is good news, the flattening -- possible flattening of the curve is better than the increases that we have seen. >> reporter: the cdc today warning the country's death toll could be higher because data is lagging by as much as two weeks. new york city council man tweets the city may need to bury victims in parks because morgues in trailers outside hospitals are reaching capacity. that's not happening at the moment though mark levine's staff says it is part of the contingency plan which seemed to catch the governor by surprise. >> i've heard a lot of wild rumors but i have no

latest on what's supposed to be the most deadly week so far for this virus, i want to start with erica hill. erica, you are in front of the hospital at the javits convention center. the makeshift hospital. how many patients are actually there? >> so we are told there are 104 covid-positive patients being treated here. of course, there are 2,500 available beds. governor cuomo said today that hospitalizations for the state are down. and in terms of all these extra beds, remember the javits convention center and the comfort ship, which is in the hudson river just a few blocks from here. those are what the governor is referring to as relief valves. he was saying today the fact there are still so many beds available is a sign of good preparation. >> increase in new cases. >> a blunt assessment from the top. >> it's going to be a bad week for deaths. >> for the second day in a row, new york state announcing a new high for single-day deaths. 779, on tuesday. with morgues overloaded, hard-hit communities are bringing in refrigerated trailers and more help. in new york city, hundreds of national gua

our national correspondent erica hill joins us from new york with the latest. erica, the death toll there continues to climb. but perhaps very significantly, hospitalizations are down. >> reporter: yeah, that's a key point, not just hospitalizations but also those who need to go into the icu. governor cuomo was clear today, he's cautiously optimistic about looking at the numbers but is also stressing the reason we're seeing the decline in hospitalizations, for example, is because the social distancing measures put in place weeks ago are working and it's proof they need to continue. there are now more positive cases in new york state than in any country around the world. and yet, there are signs of hope. hospitalizations and the number of patients in the icu both down across the state. >> for a long time they were over 50% of our cases and 50% of our new cases. that has dramatically changed because of the impact of what the citizens of new york and new jersey and across connecticut and now rhode island are doing to really change the course of this pandemic. >> re

as cnn's erica hill reports for us now, despite the revised model projection deaths across the country are currently rising daily. >> reporter: empty streets, shuttered businesses, lives on hold. science of a long road ahead. >> the flattening of the curve last night happened because of what we did yesterday. if we stop acting the way we're acting, you will see those numbers go up. >> reporter: california's early efforts gaining praise for slowing the spread as one northern county says sports are likely on hold through thanksgiving. in chicago, more than 400 cases are linked to the cook county jail, making it one of the country's largest sources of infection. as the city opens up a 66,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse to ease overcrowding at morgues, positive case aboard three aircraft carriers and the national guard deployed to two new jersey veterans homes with dozens of positive cases and at least 12 deaths. meantime, the city of philadelphia pushing back on potential new hot spots. >> not always by any means, but i am hopeful the social distancing steps we put in place a few w

. >> let's start the hour in new york with cnn's erica hill. you're following how states are taking various approaches to reopening, but first, let me ask you. what's happening where you are because of coronavirus? it's my understanding the subway is partially shutting down. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, brooke. we're actually getting new details from the city on how this will work. starting may 6th, next wednesday, between 1:00 and 5:00 a.m., the subway is going to be shut down for deep cleaning. this has been a point of contention in the city. the subway, the buses are essential in this major metropolitan area for people to get to work. and those are essential workers. not just the people, the people who drive the trains and buses, who rely on public transportation as well to get to work as well as folks who are delivering goods around the city and the tri-state area even. grocery workers that, of course, all the front line health care workers but there have been issues about the sanitary conditions on the subway. there's also been concern

i'm erica hill in for ana cabrera. for the first time in history every single state in the united states is now under a disaster declaration. that is happening simultaneously as the country approaches a grim milestone the coronavirus death toll of nearly 20,000 people. new york state alone has more than 180,000 confirmed cases. that's more than any single country outside the u.s. we should point out, too, there are still questions about the numbers out of china. in the nation's largest school district, new york city, there is now a fight over the fate of 1.1 million students. mayor de blasio this morning announcing city schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year. then hours later governor cuomo said no decision has been made and called the mayor's announcement his opinion. meantime in kentucky state police will be at the ready to record license plate information for church goers or those attending mass gatherings this weekend. the governor warning anyone who is found to have attended a service in person

cnn's erica hill has more on the increasingly dire situation in new york, the current epicenter in the united states, as well as other states ramping up their efforts across the country. >> reporter: on the front lines, the need never seems to end. >> everyone requires oxygen. everyone is borderline critical. >> reporter: in new york, as the numbers grow, so does the warning. >> 16,000 deaths in new york. that means you're going to have tens of thousands of deaths outside of new york. it's a new york problem today. tomorrow it's a kansas problem and a texas problem and a new mexico problem. >> reporter: more than 30 states now have statewide stay-at-home orders. the latest, florida. the country's third most populous state. the governor there reversing course today amid mounting pressure. >> at this point i think even though there's a lot of places in florida that have very low infection rates, it makes sense to make this move now. >> reporter: in louisiana, new orleans officials say they could run out of ventilators this week as new hotspots add to the strain. holyoke, massachusetts no

i'm erica hill in new york in today for ana cabrera. we begin with a staggering new number in the coronavirus crisis. the death toll in this country has now topped 20,000, and every single state is under a disaster declaration simultaneously. new york state alone has more than 181,000 confirmed cases. that is more than any single country outside the u.s. of course, there's a caveat with that. when it comes to china's numbers. but still, that is staggering. the country's largest school district, new york city, there's a fight there for the schools -- the system's 1.1 million students and when they'll be back in the classroom. mayor bill de blasio on saturday morning announcing the city's schools will be closed through september, and then hours later, governor andrew cuomo said, no decision has been made, calling the mayor's announcement his opinion. meantime, in kentucky, state police are at the ready. they plan to record the license plate information on church goers at easter services. the governor warning anyone found sustainattending

erica hill, new york. >>hundreds of demonstrators came together to pressure governor gavin newsome to reopecalifornia for business they gathereoutside the state capitol building to protest. stay at home orders, ma were frustrated that the vernor says the o work in caforniaall those doing a good job in fighting against coronaviruthey're still no downward trend yet in the data. are bending the curve you're beginning to flatt the curve but it is still nonetheless rising deaths continue to rise hospitalition numbers modestly contue to rise and ice younumbers beginning to flatten but we're not seen to see in order to more need clarity on that road map to recory ich we rolled out last week. >>we're expectg tohear new details tomorrowabout how the governor plans to reopen calirnia. we've already heard at will be ening up paks in some spaces down in southern california as of today. is mning, california has more than 1200 deaths and more th 33,000 covid-19 cases. and we're trackg the numbers of cases that we see th

erica hill, thank you very much. joining me, as always, cnn's chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. this new model shows projected deaths down, at about 60,000, as anticipated by august. an earlier peak, revised down. help us make sense of this. >> i think that both things can be true. these are still models that they're looking at. as you know, when you look at these numbers overall, year seeing a sort of lag time, jake. you're seeing these hospitalizations, people are tested, they go to the hospital, that takes some time, and if they sadly die, that's a week after that. so a little bit of a reflection of time in the past. when i really dove into these models and talked to chris murray, the one that's sort of helping author these models, he's taking input now from other countries as well. initially the models were really based on china and saying, hey, if we do what china did, where were our models be, and realizing we couldn't necessarily do what china was doing in terms of stay-at-home orders. what i think is somewhat optimistic is that these other countries that ha

erica hill, thank you so much. >> reporter: not right now. >> i hear you, but still. democratic mayor of savannah, georgia joins us. what was your reaction to the governor's announcement yesterday afternoon? >> i was blindsided, extremely disappointed, very, very confused and really disturbed at the fact that an announcement will be made at this point, at this juncture. we have not checked any of the boxes on the white house's playbook to gradually reopen states, yet we're really reopening our cities. beyond that, the governor has a stay-at-home order that extends to april 30th yet we're opening some businesses on the 24th and others on the 27th. >> savannah is one of the biggest cities in the state of georgia. he didn't talk to you before he made this announcement? >> i haven't spoken with the governor since this began. >> the governor says that this order is statewide and cannot be overturned. are you going to try to fight it or are you going along with it? what is the reaction of savannah? >> obviously, again, we're very disappointed because we were not asked here

first to cnn's erica hill with more on today's developments. and they are very significant. erica, update our viewers on the very latest. >> reporter: yeah, wolf, as you talk about the push for nationwide efforts, we heard some of that from andrew cuomo a short time ago as he announced that in new york there are more than 102,000 cases and he said it's time to start a nationwide effort starting in new york and to roll that planning out across the country as needed. >> am i willing to deploy the national guard and inconvenience people for several hundred lives? you're damn right i am. >> reporter: on the heels of the second highest increase in deaths and hospitalizations in new york, governor andrew cuomo issuing an executive order to move equipment around the state. >> the burn rate is 300 ventilators per day. if you find 300 xexcess ventilators, you've found another way. >> reporter: the mayor at the epicenter is calling for a nationwide enlistment of doctors to meet urgent staffing needs. >> if there's not action by the president and the military literally in a matter of da

our national correspondent erica hill joins us. erica, the state's stay-at-home order will expire on thursday. update our viewers. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, governor greg abbott announced a short time ago he will allow the stay-at-home order to expire on thursday. that means on friday, may 1st, businesses will be allowed to reopen. we're talking retail stores, mall, restaurants, theaters. this is a pretty broad measure to allow all these businesses to reopen at once. one thing that's notable, wolf, is the governor said things like barbershops, hair salons, gyms, he does want to bring those back but likely not before mid-may. seeing what's happening in texas and comparing that to here in new york, where it will be some time before you see those restrictions lifted, is another reminder of just how different the response is it depending on where you are in the country. change is coming. what it looks like depends on where you live. >> we decided we wanted to play our part in helping get things started again. >> reporter: in mont

erica hill joins us now. erica. >> i can tell you one thing that may make the government of this state and other states happier would be stricter social distancing. that has been hammered home, as you just pointed out. and while we are seeing some glimmer of hope here in new york, what was made clear by this governor and several other officials today is that this threat is far from over. 250 beds at the meadowlands in new jersey. 2,500 each at chicago's mccormick place exposition center. the navy hospital ship comfort now accepting covid patients, as well. the two facilities acting as relief valves for the state's hospitals, as new york's death toll continues to rise. though, more slowly. >> while none of this is good news, the flattening, possible flattening, of the curve is better than the increases that we have seen. >> the cdc, today, warning the country's death toll could be higher because data is lagging by as much as two weeks. as a new york city councilman tweets, the city may need to bury victims in p

our erica hill has that report. >> reporter: the headline across america -- hospitals need help. >> moreesting, more beds, more ventilators, more doctors. >> reporter: convention centers in chicago, detroit, new orleans, and los angeles being transformed into overflow facilities as emergency rooms are overwhelmed with the coronavirus. navy hospital ships on both coasts available for non-covid patients, while in central park, a field hospital is starting to treat those who have tested positive. >> we are still in a very difficult situation. we hope, and i believe it will happen, that we may start seeing a turnaround, but we haven't seen it yet. we're just pushing on the mitigation to hope that we do see that turnaround. >> reporter: as beds, staff, and supplies run low, there are new concerns about the impact on care. >> right now it's kind of like drinking out of a fire hydrant. >> reporter: the chair of nyu langone's emergency medicine department telling doctors in an email to "think more critically about who we intubate." 3,500 retired nurses are estimated to have asked to return to wo

>>erica hill, new york. >>hundreds of demonstrators came togher to pressure governor avin newsome to reopen the state of california for business they gather outside the state capitol to protest the stay at home orders that are in place, many of them say they're frustrated that they're not allowed to work the governor ys carnia is doing a good job in the fight against coronavirus but that there is still no downward trend yet in the mbers. >>progress is being made you beginning to flatten the curve but it is stilnonetheless rising deaths continue to rise hoitalization numbers modest continue to rise and i see u numbers beginning to flatten but we're not seen that downward trend. we need to see in order to more clarity on that road map to recovery which we rolled out last week >>we're expecting to hear new details tomorrow on how the governor plans toreopen the entire state we already know that there are few parks and golf courses in southern califoia that are. so lee reopening now. this morning california has

as erica hill reports, governor cuomo said although new york appears to be on the downslope of the virus, they are not out of the woods yet. >> reporter: more masks, more time apart, more testing, and more realistic expectations. >> if we move too quick, we put 50,000 people in yankee stadium, and that's part of why you see a resurgence of the disease, that would be the worst of all worlds. we have one chance. >> reporter: as the president continues to push for a symbolic may 1st reopening, officials around the country are focused on their communities. following the lead of california governor gavin newsom, confirming this new normal is here to stay. in new orleans, the mayor suggesting major events like jazzfest won't be back until 2021. mississippi, the latest state to close schools for the remainder of the academic year as experts predict the virus will return. >> we're going to have another battle with it, up front and aggressively, next winter. this is why it's so important we take the time now to really improve our testing capacity, expand our public health capacity to do early cas

cnn's erica hill reports on the coronavirus fight from the epicenter, new york city. >> reporter: 250at the meadowlands in new jersey. 2,500 in chicago's mccormick place exposition center. and another 2,500 at new york's massive javits center where covid patients began arriving over the weekend. new york governor andrew cuomo asking president trump to convert the navy hospital ship "comfort" to a covid ship as well. >> while none of this is good news, the flattening, possible flattening of the curve is better than the increases that we have seen. >> reporter: the cdc today warning the country's death toll could be higher because data is lagging by as much as two weeks. as a new york city councilman tweets, the city may need to bury victims in parks because morgues and trailers are reaching capacity. >> i've heard a lot of wild rumors but i have not heard anything about the city burying people in parks. >> reporter: around the country, communities adapting and bracing for what the surgeon general cautions will be the hardest and saddest week yet. >> this is going to be our pearl harbor

appear to be working in their new models are projecting fewer deaths than originally thought but as erica hill reports despite some positive news. there are some warnings now that this is not the time for americans to let our guard down. >>empty streets and shuttered businesses lives on hold. >>there a lot of people like me. or just wondering. how long this is going to be. what are you going to do. >>nearly every corner of the economy and the country impacted state labor department's overwhelmed. >>this is a collapse really in the american job market you've never seen this many jobs gone so quickly. >>the city of philadelphia singled out as a potential new hot spot. expressing optimism that its measures are working. >>we're by any means i'm hopeful that the social distancing steps we put in place a few weeks ago show some signs of work. >>as hospitalizations in new york declined governor andrew cuomo stressing. the numbers today are result of past action not a license to let up. >>the flattening of the curve last night happened because of what we did yesterday. if we stop acting the way we're

our national correspondent erica hill has been on the scene there day after day. erica, the police department is really feeling the impact of this coronavirus pemg. pandemic. >> reporter: absolutely. just to put that in numbers for you, which i really think helps to paint that picture, wolf, 20% of the nypd is calling out sick today, accounting for 7,600 uniformed members. these are not all people who have tested positive for coronavirus. that is still 7,600 members of the nypd. we're seeing those numbers, as we also learned today, woman, of a 13th death due to coronavirus at the nypd. on monday, new york logging the state's largest single-day death toll. one overwhelmed funeral home doing its best to meet the need. >> we're no longer embalming them, just because we don't have time to have visitations. we're simply either burying directly or direct cremation. >> reporter: as the virus spreads, a disturbing reality exposed. >> right now slightly more than 70% of all of our deaths are among african-americans who make up about 32% or so of the overall population of ou

erica hill, thank you. in addition to new york bravest, new york's finest have also paid a terrible price for their service. as of today, 25 members of the new york place department have lost their lives to the virus. joining me now, cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. so, sanjay, the president saying the country probably passed the peak. what does that mean for people's everyday lives if that's, in fact, the case? >> yeah. i don't think it means anything now. i think people have paid a lot of attention to this peak and sort of imagined it as a binary sort of before the peak, after the peak. you know, we're going to have to see does this -- these trends that we are talking act, do they hold up? some of them are encouraging, as you know, anderson. but the problem is, right now, we're looking at a snapshot that really reflects the time period about two to three weeks ago. between the time someone's exposed to the time they become s sympt symptomatic. if we are looking at deaths, it really reflec

cnn's erica hill takes a look at how these new projection models show reopening states too early could bring negative outcomes. >> in my mind, it's inevitable that we'll have a return of the virus or maybe it never even went away. when it does, how we handle it will determine our fate. >> reporter: at least a dozen states pushing forward as new models suggest the country could face a major setback if change comes too soon. >> our forecast now is for 74,000 deaths. there's a lot of unknown factors there. but our best estimate is going up. >> reporter: the updated model often cited by the white house also predicting there could be longer peaks ahead if restrictions are eased too soon. >> if we are unsuccessful or prematurely try to open up and we have additional outbreaks that are out of control, it could be much more than that. >> reporter: harvard researchers estimate the u.s. needs to test 5 million people a day by early june to safely begin reopening. the white house testing czar disagrees. >> so we don't believe those estimates are really accurate nor are they reasonable in our soci

i'm erica hill, cnn. >> thanks, erica. saying, the pandemic has been incredibly isolating for people across the globe, especially the elderly. now that many care homes have banned visitors, others, of course, living at home, restricted by stay-at-home orders. we have re-established our connection with maureen in london. maureen, as i was saying a little bit earlier, is 80 years old and currently isolating in her flat in london. maureen, good to see you. and the question i wanted to ask you before you froze is how are pensioners like you managing? >> we're doing very well because we're the sort of -- we have the temperament to sit and poodle around in the house. [ inaudible ] having problems, i think. >> so, you're saying that the young and the rest of us need to maybe learn a few lessons from people like you. enjoy the moment. enjoy the quiet. take life a bit slow. is that what you're saying? >> that's one of the things, yes. but it's unfortunate that we have to learn in these circumstances. >> many people are worried abou

back to you. >> okay, erica hill there. thanks so much for that report, erica, reporting from new york. >>> now, the response in the u.s. to the coronavirus continued, as you saw in erica's piece there, to be piecemeal and confusing for many americans. despite 400,000 infections across the country, wisconsin held a statewide election on tuesday. it was the only u.s. state to not postpone its april vote or to switch to mail-in ballots. people lined up with as many precautions as they could take. here's how the assembly speaker showed people it was safe to vote. >> you can come to a polling place and do it safely. you have the ability to do curbside voting, just like they're doing here, even if it's in a different municipality without drive-up voting. you can request that the person come out. they'll deliver you a ballot. they'll check your i.d. you are incredibly safe to go out. >> but you saw what he was wearing there. that safety message contrasting with the speaker delivering it in full protective gear. so, omar jimenez h