>> more states are easing restrictions. >> the standard for normal cannot be zero cases. in oklahoma the standard for normal is freedom. >> you wear your mask not because your governor tells you to. you wear your mask because you want to protect yourself, your loved ones. >> this is "new day with alisyn camerota and john berman." we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world this is "new day," friday, march 12. 6:00 in new york. president biden is targeting july 4th as the day that america can start feeling a sense of independence from the pandemic. in his first prime time address last night the president pledged to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by may 1st. that's just seven weeks away and a month earlier than the last projection. but first president biden is pleading with all americans to buckle down until then to beat the virus. >> putting dates on it is really interesting. >> really interesting to have an actual finish line that you can see and touch. in some ways it makes it harder. >> what are you going to do july 4th? >> you've never seen anything like my fourth of july is going to look like now. >> so the president spent only part of the speech touting the $1.9 trillion relief package. the first round of direct payments could hit bank accounts as soon as this weekend. let's go to the white house. cnn's jeremy diamond is there with, i think, the rollout plan both in dollars and in pr. >> reporter: no doubt, john. and, listen, yesterday as president biden addressed millions of americans speaking directly into the camera, leaning over his podium several times, you saw him using his tried mark empathy as you recall the grief and sacrifices americans have endured over the last year since the coronavirus really began to shut down and fundamentally change this country. what you also saw from the president at a time when more americans than ever, more than three-quarters of americans, believe the worst of the pandemic is behind us, you also saw the president express cautious optimism. in his first prime time address, president biden giving a pandemic weary nation glimmers of hope with two dates on the horizon. one year after coronavirus up-ended life in america, the president injecting cautious optimism and challenging americans to help him defeat the pandemic. >> i will not relent until we beat this virus, but i need you, the american people, i need you. i need every american to do their part. >> reporter: biden's first deadline, expanding vaccine eligibility for all adults. >> i will direct all states, tribes and territories, to make all adults, people 18 and over, eligible to be vaccinated no later than may 1. >> reporter: the president also offering his clearest time line yet for a return to some sense of normalcy. but only if people commit to get vaccinated and continue to wear masks. >> we do this together, by july the 4th, there's a good chance you, your families and friends, will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate independence day. >> reporter: even with those goals biden sending this dose of reality. >> a lot can happen, conditions can change. the scientists have made clear that things may get worse again as new variants of the virus spread. >> reporter: and a somber reminder of the staggering losses during a crisis that's claimed more than 530,000 american lives. >> while it's different for everyone, we all lost something, a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice, a year filled with the loss of life and the loss of living for all of us. finding light in the darkness is a very american thing to do, and that's what we've done. >> reporter: the president also condemning the rise of hate crimes against asian americans. >> states pitted against one another instead of working with each other. vicious hate crimes against asian americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed, and scapegoated. it's wrong. it's un-american. and it must stop. >> reporter: biden's speech coming hours after signing his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. >> historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country. >> reporter: a life line for millions devastated by a pandemic, biden says requires a united america to end. >> from the bottom of my heart i believe there's nothing we can't do when we do it together. >> reporter: and, john, today president biden is expected to hold a signing ceremony to tout this $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill which he signed into law officially yesterday, and now begins the business of selling that piece of legislation, touting it as a key accomplishment for president biden in his first 100 days in office. the president next week heading to several key states including pennsylvania and ending the week in georgia with vice president kamala harris. several other administration officials also fanning out across the country to try to sell this bill. we're also learning this morning the democratic national committee in coordination with the white house is launching a new national ad campaign to once again tout this bill. this is all about setting up the 2022 midterms this is what democrats across the country will be running on. john? >> at least one of those senior administration officials will be on this show a little bit later. we're going to keep it a secret as to just who. stay tuned for that. jeremy diamond, thanks for being with us. despite president biden's plea for americans to continue to buckle down a number of states easing coronavirus restrictions. maryland now lifting all capacity restrictions at restaurants and gyms as of today. cnn's joe johns lives in national harbor, maryland. i thought you would be inside a gym doing flies or something. >> reporter: not yet but perhaps very soon. look, as coronavirus cases and deaths continue to drop in many states local officials are facing decisions about how and when to reopen. here in maryland the governor is taking a cautious approach, but he's still reopening businesses while some other states are moving full speed ahead defying the warnings from the experts. as the coronavirus pandemic enters its second year, more states are easing restrictions. in maryland most of the state's gyms, restaurants and bars, can now operate at full capacity today but mask mandates remain in effect. in oklahoma the governor there announcing he is removing all restrictions on events statewide and removing the requirement to wear masks in state buildings. >> the standard for normal cannot be zero cases. in oklahoma the standard for normal is freedom. >> reporter: while the daily numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths are down significantly from their peaks, dr. anthony fauci says the number of new cases per day in the united states is still too high to ease restrictions. >> you have to keep up the public health measures. that is unacceptably high. that is risky for triggering another surge. i would say, my estimation would be clearly below 10,000 per day. >> reporter: texas has lifted most of its coronavirus restrictions and some cities and counties are refusing to follow state orders to lift mask mandates choosing to side with health experts instead. texas attorney general ken paxton is now suing officials in the state's capital, austin, and surrounding county claiming officials are undermining the state's reopening efforts. texas is one of 16 states that currently have no statewide mask mandate. >> you wear your mask not because your governor tells you to. you wear your mask because you want to protect yourself, protect your loved ones, protect your community members. >> reporter: concerns over loosening coronavirus restrictions come as another vaccine's final data has been released. the nova vaccine has an overall efficacy rate of nearly 90% and was found effective against the uk and south african variants. currently one in ten people are now fully vaccinated in the united states, but health officials warn we have a long way to go to end this pandemic. >> i think we're going to get fooled. i think you'll see as we enter the summer months numbers will go down and people will think, great, we're good, they're going to be less interested in getting a vaccine because they think we've conquered this pandemic. >> reporter: a cdc analysis says 2020 was the deadliest year on record at least since 1900. another historic metric which tells us the toll this pandemic has taken over the last year. john? >> that's an incredible statistic, joe, the deadliest year since 1900. thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate your reporting. so you've heard the markers now. may 1st for everyone to sign up for a vaccine. july 4th to get back to normalish. how realistic? what needs to work to make this happen is next. ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo-hoo! great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. and nutrients to visible is wireless that doesn't play games. it's powered by verizon for as little as $25 a month. but it gets crazier. bring a friend every month and get every month for $5. boom! 12 months of $5 wireless. visible, wireless that gets better with friends. out here, you're a landowner, a gardener, a landscaper and a hunter. that's why you need versatile, durable kubota equipment. apps are used everywhere... except work. why is that? is it because people love filling out forms? 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>> a lot of it is makeses sure that the white house, that president biden, the administration, gives americans hope and a date, something to look towards to but also based on the data they have so far so you see the may 1st trajectory they've laid out is something that administration officials after president biden's speech last night said that was based on the data in terms of dates and when they were coming online. a contrast to what the president did. he was saying in late march of last year he wanted all the pews built up on easter. clearly an unrealistic goal at the time. the biden white house is trying to walk a tightrope, trying to give americans some hope and optimism but be measured and tempered, and you really saw that in president biden's speech last night when he looked directly into the camera and implored americans to do their part saying, i need you, you need to continue to wear your mask, get vaccinated when possible and do your part. it was one measure of optimism but also one measure of realism and just really urging americans to do our part when we're so close to the end at this point. >> they have consistently under promised and overdelivered. if they're saying may 1st and july 4th they probably have data that achievable. i would note, also, he didn't talk about the $1.9 trillion relief bill as much as i thought he was going to, seung min. why? why didn't we hear more about that specifically? >> i think that's part of the split you'll see in administration officials from the president on down. you have a big rose garden ceremony this afternoon with a lot of the key democrats who were involved in crafting the bill, and then you're going to see president biden, vice president kamala harris, hit the road. they're going to pennsylvania, georgia, all these states to really sell the bill. they've tried to learn from the mistakes of what they call mistakes of the promotion, the public relations around president obama's 2009 stimulus package and really focus on telling voters the merits of the bill. and you do see, while he didn't mention it, last night's message was focused on marking the one-year anniversary of when, effectively, this country shut down and kind of charting out a way forward on this pandemic. starting today will be the start of that blitz of promoting that nearly $2 trillion package. >> he talked about the who are political divisions gripping the country and zeroed in on hate crimes against asian-americans. let's listen to a part of that. >> too often we've turned against one another, a mask, the easiest thing to do to save lives, sometimes it divides us. states pitted against one another instead of working with each other. vicious hate crimes against asian-americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed, and scapegoated. it's wrong. it's un-american. and it must stop. >> after that governor larry hogan, republican of maryland, was inspired to tweet this picture of his family. he says our family greatly appreciates the president's comments condemning the awful rise in hate crimes against asian-americans. it is truly un-american, and it must stop. he's married to a first generation korean-american. what did those words mean to you last night? >> right. i think it was a really important moment for president biden to specifically call out the hate crimes of the asian-american community. i think a lot of times members of the community feel we are the overlooked racial minority so i think for a lot of asian-americans who are also suffering under this pandemic, who are going through economic issues and are facing this rise in harassment and hate crimes is really important for the president of the united states to acknowledge that pain, acknowledge that harassment, and really explicitly condemn it. and you do see the importance of a president's words because it does trickle on down. that prompted maryland governor larry hogan, a republican, to make similar comments and thanking the president. i think that's when words really do matter here to set the standard and set the tone for what is right and what is okay and what is not okay. so i think it was really important to hear that from the president last night. seung min kim, thank you for being with us. we talked about the politics of what we heard. let's talk about the science. cnn contributor, an epidemiologist in detroit's former health commissioner. may 1st for everyone to be able to sign up for a vaccine. july 4th for a little bit of normalcy. what needs to happen, right, in terms of vaccine distribution in order for this to work? >> well, we're going to rely on every single dose of the vaccine getting where it needs to go and getting into the arms of people. we've had challenges with deployment. and to think about it may 1st is still five months from when we had the first vaccines. but this is a moment where we're seeing a lot of vaccine come online particularly with the johnson &johnson vaccine which is as if you had two of the other pfizer or moderna vac vaccines. and so we're starting to get into the rhythm of getting these deployed in all sorts of locations. the other part of this $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. i want to put that in perspective. much of that going into vaccine deployment to grease the wheels to get vaccines out to people. i think this is an achievable outcome. we've seen with this administration they do not put out numbers or dates unless they know they can achieve them. they have pretty good data saying with these funds they'll be able to get there and that is good news for all americans. >> that is good news and a lot of optimism. and yet every morning john and i struggle with this tension between the optimism and the, is it time to warn people about what might be ahead? and so we have one more harbinger of what might be ahead and that's looking at italy. and so the prime minister is announcing this morning, i believe, they will do a lockdown in italy around easter because new cases there are again spiking because of the new variants. what do we need to know here? >> you're right, alisyn. that is a huge warning sign and, look, it has never been the case that vaccines alone were going to get us there. we've always needed vaccines in the context of tried and true basic public health blocking and tackling. just because we have vaccines coming onboard. let's remember we still need to do the basic things because we have these variants breathing down our neck. the increase in funding, the increase in new vaccines coming online, it tells us we're taking a slight lead in this case but we don't pull up now. we have to continue to run through the finish line. and the thing i want folks to appreciate about this is that vaccines don't work until you take them. and so let's remember 10% of americans only at this point are fully vaccinated. that leaves us 90% to go. and that means when your number is called, get your vaccine. there are increasing new guidelines that open up opportunities for safe interactions, the kinds of things we've been missing for a year now, but we have to get vaccinated and until then and even after then we've got to be careful. we don't want to end up like italy where there are lockdowns over easter where we missed that july 4th goal that we have. we really want to have a good summer. we want to get out of it safely and let's not forget the 530,000 who have already passed from this disease and millions more who have gotten it. >> always a pleasure to have you on. thanks for being with us this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> so the former president's time in the white house could end up helping new york prosecutors investigating his finances. we have brand-new reporting next. rinsing the dishes before they go in the dishwasher? 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