But we want to begin right now with the latest headlines, the number of cases in the u.s. jumped again overnight to at least 100 mm with 1600 deaths. Now the u.s. now has more reported cases than any other country in the world. Nearly 45,000 of those cases are in New York State and some good news for the tens of millions struggling because of coronavirus. Those relief checks from the federal government could be in your hands in just three weeks. President Trump signs a two trillion dollar relief bill on Friday and some states are resorting to more drastic measures to stop the spread in Rhode. Island police are stopping drivers with New York plates, telling them to quarantine themselves and Florida. Governor is telling people coming to the state from coronavirus hotspots. They need to self-quarantine as well. Our team is covering the story across the country and around the globe. This morning we want to begin with NBC’s Erin McLaughlin in Los Angeles this morning across the country. Over a hundred thousand cases, more than 1500 dead and an all-out war against govt 19, we go out there today and we kick coronavirus ass, the state of New York. Now, with the grim distinction of being the epicenter of the crisis in the United States Friday, the death toll surged from 385 to more than 500 among the lives lost on Mount Sinai. Nurse Caius Kelly. He just had this infectious energy. You felt good when he was around Friday night, all across the city, a show of appreciation for those on the front lines, as doctors continue to warn the system overwhelmed. Its like a war zone with we’re in a war with very limited resources and a scramble to build makeshift morgues and field hospitals, New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo, NBC, Lester Holt. I hope this whole facility Lester stays empty and we built it for nothing, but you don’t believe that’s gon na be the case. The numbers don’t say: that’s going to be the case in California. It’s all hands on deck. Every minute is a minute loss. A dire warning from officials Los Angeles is just days away from the kind of crisis engulfing New York this weekend. The USNS mercy is expected to open, providing much-needed support to non kovat 19 patients as impressive as the ship is. It represents only a fraction of the city’s needs. It has 80 ICU beds, la officials estimate they need 3,000 new Orleans to emerging as a hot spot in the pandemic. Nbc’S Blaine Alexander now, with the cases here in Louisiana growing, faster than anywhere else in the world. The reality is that there are just not enough tests to confirm every case in Miami. A mandatory curfew orders to stay off the streets from 10:00 p.m.

To 5:00 a.m. it is growing quickly. I mean every time I go into work. We have at least a few more cafes now, there’s a statewide ban on vacation rentals, in addition to the mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone arriving from Louisiana and New York in Rhode, Island police, stopping cars with New York plates right now we have a pinpointed risk that We need to address and we need to be very serious and that risk is called New York City that were NBC’s, Erin, McLaughlin reporting and also this morning. Hospitals across the country should hopefully be getting more ventilators. After President, Trump under pressure officially invoked a little-used power of the presidency to get a major automaker to pitch in, but that automaker says they were already on it. Now’s Kelly O’Donnell is at the White House with very latest on that Kelly good morning to you good morning Kristin. Despite the president’s reluctance early on, he is now using the federal government’s power to manufacture more ventilators and buy more we’re available over the next three months. A tight timeline, given the number of serious illnesses from coronavirus, continues to rise in hot spots around the country. President Trump moved from talk to action on forced manufacturing of medical equipment, the ventilator’s a big deal after nine days of discussing the defense production Act Friday. The president finally used it when he says negotiations with General Motors to build ventilators hit a roadblock. We didn’t want to play games. If they don’t treat you right. I don’t call in a remarkable turnaround. The president, who had insisted last week. The federal government is not the nation’s shipping clerk. We have to get these people on board. Were not looking to get into a big deal on price now says the US government can order ventilators to supply states and allies. If we do not need them. That would be wonderful. We can help a lot of great people all over the world. We can help them live bristling at demands and complaints from some governors. Mr

Trump made known his expectations, I want them to be appreciative as the virus spreads and deaths climb. The president backed off his push to ease restrictions by Easter Sunday saying he will consult medical experts life. Then it’s your safety and if we need more time, they’re not gon na have a problem waiting. It out. The president was surrounded by Republican leaders as he signed. The largest relief package in US history Democrats were not invited to attend. I want to thank Republicans and Democrats today, president Trump heads to Norfolk Virginia to send off a navy hospital ship. Nbc’S Courtney QB the next time the USNS comfort is scheduled to be important, is in New York City. The thousand beds on this hospital ship will ease some of the burden on New York City’s overwhelmed hospital system. It sends a signal when the president is able to go there and say thank you and president Trump will return to the White House after his visit saying he’ll be very careful not to shake hands while in Norfolk and General Motors is saying that it is working Around the clock tirelessly and had been already agreeing to do this work when the president invoked the defense production act, they hope to have in there Kokomo Indiana production facility, 10,000 ventilators, made each month christen a lot of hospitals eager to see that equipment soon. Kelly O’Donnell. Thank you from the White House meantime. There is some hopeful news, this more in the fight against the corona virus. The FDA has approved a new test that could give patients results in as fast as 10 to 15 minutes. Helping to pinpoint the rapid spread of this outbreak, 50,000 tests a day are expected to be delivered as soon as next week. The agency is also expediting. The use of an experimental new treatment that uses the blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients to treat those who are seriously ill as we’ve been reporting New York City, has become the epicenter of this outbreak. We want to bring in Saira Manoj. He is the senior director for the system-wide special pathogens program for New York, City, Health and Hospitals. Shes been working for years to prepare that city for a health emergency she’s also featured in the Netflix documentary pandemic, where she predicted something like this could be in our future. Where’S me is that it just takes one person to start an outbreak, we’re basically human incubators. We can host a number of different diseases. Its just a matter of time where the next pandemic is going to start. We just don’t know where or how, but we know it will. Syoma da joins us right now, Saira. We appreciate you tal your time on this day. We know that on Monday, we hit the end of that 15-day window at the end of the 15 days to stop the spread that the White House is telling about telling us about right now. Can you give us a progress report? Are we making progress? Is there a sense that we might be out of this window at some point soon, but what’s still very early on in this epidemic here in the state of New York and we’re obviously not alone? Whats going to happen here, it’s gon na happen in major cities throughout the country, just in a matter of days to two weeks, and so a lot of these cities are not far behind New York City, so you’re, seeing what’s happening in New Orleans you’re. Seeing what’s happening in Miami and other areas like Dallas, and so you know, we are obviously the epicenter today tomorrow is gon na, be another city, and we just need to make sure our first and foremost priority is making sure that our frontline staff, how that resources And equipment that they need and it is coming in, but we just need to continue to advocate for it and get more of it, because it’s not a matter of just a one-time injection. This is something that needs to continuously happen. Mmm and following up on the question about the timeline of course, we’ve heard President Trump talks about the fact that he would like to reopen at least parts of the economy by Easter Sunday. He seemed to back off of that a little bit yesterday as our Kelly O’Donnell noted. But can you put this into perspective cyber? What is the risk of reopening things too quickly, hopefully open the economy sooner and basically back on social distancing? What you’re going to see? Its much higher morbidity and much higher mortality so to the corner virus disease and an even more taxed healthcare system. Right now, health care systems are being overwhelmed not just here in the state of New York, but obviously across the nation you’re. Seeing more and more cases pop up and what’s going to happen is that they’re going to continue to become very very overwhelmed so when people need to get seek care, not just report virus disease but for other health alignments that are still existing in today’s world. People are still having babies, people so many car accidents heart attacks. We won’t be able to provide great services for everything else, that’s going to be coming through those doors, so we need to make sure that we are not overwhelming healthcare system’s siren. We know that the team’s emergency responders have been preparing for a pandemic like this for years, but now we witness the scramble to try to get those supplies that they need urgently right now, how were we caught so short when it comes to tests and PPE personal protective Equipment and all the items that those first responders nurses and doctors need right now. Well, you know we rely on it just in time. You know supply chain when it comes to health care services. We don’t keep a surplus of four or five months of personal protective equipment or come in and supplies. You have enough resources that you need for a given time period and it makes sense because, obviously you don’t want to waste resources, if you don’t need it, so it’s suggested time, the economy, a supply chain that we work towards, and so in instances like this happen. It’s hard to predict how aggressive they’re going to be or what their impact is, and so by the time you want to order more supplies, you have what we call even hoarding. Not just you know, shortages recording of or come in and supplies happening around the nation, and this is not something new. We saw this in h1n1. We saw this in Ebola where people are ordering more than they need and so those folks that actually need it. Theres a backlog, so I remember Dodd. We appreciate your expertise in your time this morning to stay safe and healthy. Thank you. Now, as we mentioned earlier, police officers nationwide are putting their lives on the line, as they always do. But this time it’s to make sure people obey government orders to stay home and to keep it at a distance while they’re outside NBC’s Kathy Park is in Studio 1a. With that part of our coverage Kathy good morning to you Kristin good morning, as we continue to stay apart, to help slow, the spread of the virus officers are patrolling the streets to enforce social distancing, it appears a crackdown is working in some places, but the message isn’t Getting through to everyone these days, officers from California to New York are on the front lines, keeping you safe by making sure you’re keeping your distance, but they have been enforcing it, yeah totally out. That means breaking of large gatherings, crammed parks and even monitoring businesses with growing lines. A ramped-up response after crowds were seen, defying federal health guidelines in New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak in the u.s

People are searching for relief from the indoors heading outside for fresh air or some exercise but reminded to play it safe. I think people are pretty good at keeping their Justin from each other. Everybody has the same goal in mind to not spread it right all layers across a country giving police the lead on enforcing the rules. Even if that means patrolling from hundreds of feet in the air that if we see people in groups we’re going to break them up, if we see a place, that’s too crowded, we’ll get people dispersed, they will be issuing warnings and shutting down all repeat offenders here. In New York City to give people some more options to spread out, several blocks have been closed off to traffic, so pedestrians can move freely. But during this outbreak, more officers are getting sick to more than 500 uniformed members of the NYPD tested positive for Cova 19. A sobering reminder of the risks of policing during a pandemic. I appreciate them. I appreciate them a whole lot and if crowding continues to be an issue here in New York City Mayor Bill, DeBlasio has said: parks could be the next to close. A decision on that. Will be made tonight Kristen Peter all right, Kathy Park. Thank you for that report from New York. Normally, at this time of year, the race for 2020 would be at a fever pitch with candidates Criss crossing the country asking for your vote, but in light of the corona virus, the campaigns are looking a lot different these days. Obviously, NBC’s Jeff Bennett has much more on that and what the candidates are trying to do about it. Jeff good morning, hey Peter good morning to you. The corona virus pandemic has temporarily transformed nearly every aspect of American life, including the race for the White House. Virtual campaigning is now the new norm for Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden and with President Trump seizing the national spotlight day by day from the White House. The Democratic candidates have had to find new ways to connect with voters, while the remaining 2020 presidential candidates are used to seeing adoring crowds on the campaign trail, the corona virus pandemic has forced them to find new ways to connect with voters. For president Trump daily briefings are now his daily substitute for campaign. Rallies, we’ve done one hell of a job, and it’s lucky that you have this group here right now for this problem or you wouldn’t even have a country left the president who initially downplayed the virus’s impact boosting his re-election bid by blanketing the airwaves with the leading Democratic candidate left pushing for a higher profile former Vice President Joe Biden, like most Americans, is following the CDC guidance to stay at home, and it threatens to blunt his momentum Biden’s campaign this week installed a television studio in his basement to help step up his public Presence, I’m chomping at the bit, but I am where I am and I hope to be the nominee in the Democratic Party and I hope I’m able to get my message across as we go forward for Biden now holds virtual press briefings appeared on a digital edition Of Jimmy Kimmel, are you able to stay away from people during this time? Well, I’m not I’m not officially quarantined, but I’m trying to follow the rules here even hosted a virtual happy hour. None of us want to be cooped up in our homes. Meantime Biden’s lone competitor, senator Bernie Sanders is signaling he’s pressing forward, despite trailing in the delegate count. This week he held a virtual Town Hall Sanders, perhaps remaining in the presidential race for months to come. Since now more than a dozen states have postponed their primary elections, out of fear that in-person voting right now could spread the virus. Now, even though Joe Biden has opened up a nearly insurmountable delegate, lead over Bernie Sanders Sanders says he’s actively pursuing the Democratic nomination, even says he wants to participate in a potential April debate. If one happens to be scheduled, Joe Biden, though says there have been enough debates. He wants to bring this Democratic primary to a quick close Kristin. Peter no campaign stops to go to Jeff Bennett’s here in DC Jeff. Thank you very much this morning appreciate that, and we know that a lot of this can be overwhelming, but we want to make sure we’re shining a light for you on some of the good news. Everyday moments like this one brave healthcare workers being cheered on for their heroic efforts, take a look motional moment. Their Ashland jewel is a nurse at the Swedish hospital in Seattle and she was brought to tears by the sound of the community cheering for her and her colleagues. Her girlfriend says it’s been a difficult few weeks and those are happy tears to be recognized and also appreciated and Peter. We can’t say it enough: these are the folks on the front line yeah it gives you goosebumps and we all across the country need to do the same and help cheer these people on, because we’re gon na be at this for a while we’re so grateful for Them there is a movement going on right now to help protect health care workers who are treating coronavirus patients with a potential shortage of masks to protect them. Some people are now taking matters into their own hands, and all they need is some cloth, needles and thread. Now, ‘s Kerry Sanders explains yes from Spain to Cuba, to the United States. An army now at work sewing masks for healthcare professionals, Amanda Leonard with her mom Nancy, like the iconic rosie, the riveter from the 1940s to I’m. A big fan of that era – and I remember seeing factories being opened and transformed to make you know – would make cars and then they made airplanes and they made work, and I think, that’s kind of what’s happening in our own garage. One of the nation’s largest fabric stores, cutting squares, making kits for a steady stream of volunteers, ready to use skills. Many say they learn from their grandmothers. Some thread of instructions on what to do the elastics for the put around the ears and some extra fabric to make the masks in their garage and Central Florida, mother and daughter, taking turns swapping seats with stay at home. Now the watchword an opportunity to spend time together and for a daughter to learn a new skill, and this is a mission. It feels wonderful to be able to do something to help. The homemade masks are not designed to replace the n95 masks which are effective instead. They’re supposed to go over those max because health care workers are having to reuse them. They’re in such short supply Kerry Sanders NBC News, Orlando important to point out that those masks, including the one that carries of course, is demonstrated or taken to hospitals, sterilized and then given out to healthcare workers who need them great thing. That’S families are doing right now. Absolutely great to see everyone pitchy, you