Patients. I give you all Celebrities Making music online. Since were all talking about staying home. Music has the power to heal. Announcer tonight its all hands on deck. Were going stay in this until we can defeat it. Announcer America Rising fighting the pandemic. Heres david muir. Thank you for joining us for this live America Rising fighting the pandemic. Tonight hear the story of the heroes on the front likes the. Doctors, the nurses, the Health Care Workers, the paramedics, the police, the Grocery Store workers. So Many Americans answering the call as the coronavirus explodes across america, and nowhere is it more evident than here in new york, the epicenter of the u. S. Outbreak. The country has more than 160,000 cases coast to coast and this number just in tonight, more than 3,000 dead. 253 deaths reported in 24 hours. President trump late today warning, challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days. Doctors and scientists on his team saying we could see up to 200,000 americans dying from coronavirus. And dr. Deborah birx adding, thats if we do things perfectly, if we all adhere to the social distancing guidelines. The virus spreading to the midwest, the south, chicago, detroit, new orleans emerging as new hot spots for the virus and marylands governor confirmed cases in his state soaring 400 since last week ordering fines for people who are not social distancing. So lets get to it. The u. S. Navy hospital ship comfort pulled into port here in new york city with 1,000 beds to help overwhelmed hospitals. A Field Hospital built in central park for those with coronavirus. The virus spreading into the heartland amid disturbing images of large groups defying orders to say home. Andrew cuomo joins me on the new numbers just out from new york city, the death toll. The numbers are alarming tonight. We asked, do Health Care Workers have the supplies, the protection they need to fight this . Well ask the governor in a moment as the number of deaths in the u. S. Tops 3,000. Tonight, across the country, the grim images. In new york city, a body loaded into a refrigerated truck outside this brooklyn hospital. Please stay inside. Please pray for these people. New york city bracing for a mounting death toll. More than 1,200 lives lost. 250 last in just the last 12 to 24 hours. Weve lost over 1,000 new yorkers. To me, were beyond staggering already. Weve reached staggering. Just today the Navy Hospital ship comfort pulling into new york harbor. The 1,000bed facility ready to take on noncovid19 patients to relieve the pressure of the citys overwhelmed hospitals. And in the heart of manhattan, a new Field Hospital specifically for coronavirus patients set up in central park. As new york is pushed to the brink, the president s own team warning the u. S. Death toll could soar as high as 100,000 to 200,000 in this country. I think its entirely conceivable that if we do not mitigate to the extent that were trying do, that you could reach that number. Reporter tonight President Trump reversed his hope to open the country by easter extending social distancing guidelines to april 30th. This is what the president said just tonight. Challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days, and this is a very vital 30 days. Were sort of putting it all on the line, this 30 days. Reporter doctors across the country struggling to help families unable to visit their loved ones kept from the icu for fear they would be infected too. We make it a point to call families twice a day, but i cant imagine being that person on the other end having to wait for that phone call, never knowing what sort of news youre going to get. An emotional toll on nurses who are so often with Critical Links between a patient alone in the icu and family. I just came from a patients room. Hes actively dying, positive diagnosis of covid19, and his family cant come, so had to facetime his family, and its just so heartbreaking. Reporter 911 call centers stretched thin, too. In new york, a record 6,000 calls in one day. First responders have been hit hard, too. About 5,000 members of the nypd are out sick. More than 900 officers and 260 firefighters testing positive for coronavirus. Cities including chicago and detroit watching cases spike too. This Convention Center near detroit will be turned into a 900bed hospital. In philadelphia, this arena, temple university, will be transformed into an overflow hospital after cases there topped 1,000. And tonight in los angeles, the Navy Hospital mercy already taking on extra patients to ease pressure on the hospitals. And this virus is hitting doctors and nurses on the front lines too. Dr. Arnold weg believes he contracted the virus through a patients cough. My father is truly in the fight for his life. Reporter the doctor is a 63yearold grandfather of six and marathon runner. Hes now in intensive care for the first time as a patient. Yesterday was my parents 38th wedding anniversary. 24 is the first time they couldnt spend it together. Reporter tonight hospitals across this country are reporting drastic shortages of masks and protective gear. 88 of cities dont have an adequate supply. I have nurses that call me on a daily basis to tell me that theyre scared, to tell me they dont know what to do. We didnt sign up for this. Reporter Mary Mcdonald recording this video saying its not just supplies. Its basic medication. Were out of tylenol. Like were out of tylenol. I dont know what i can do to save people anymore. Reporter tonight california officials warning theyre on the verge of a spike too. The state has at least 5700 cases and in new orleans for the First Time Since hurricane katrina, the Convention Center transformed to deal with an unfolding catastrophe. Overnight, cases in louisiana jumping from 2,700 on friday to more than 4,000 today. Stunning to see the Convention Center prepared for Something Like this all these years later again. Tonight we are hearing from the front lines. Americas medical heroes sharing their stories. The doctors, nurses, Health Care Workers fighting this battle risking their lives to save others. Some separated from their own loved ones and fearful of course they might bring the virus home to their families. Heres abcs matt gutman tonight. I love you. I love you too. Never did i ever think that i was going to be on the front lines fighting a war. I shaved my head as a rally cry, as a personal reminder that this is life and death. Its incredible, the degree of illness. Reporter dr. Ed lathan is one of the thousands of doctors and nurses that are part of the battle against the covid19 pandemic. He says the harrowing images posted on facebook of an overcrowded er in queens have been mirrored at hospitals all over his area. Its been 17 hours since i got here this morning at 7 00. When i arrived there have been no icu beds. Weve had multiple resuscitations, intubations. Patients critically ill. You dont have an opportunity to sit down, eat, drink, barely to go to the bathroom. This virus has affected everybody. Thats why im sleeping in the garage, because i dont want to bring the enemy home with me. We bring them to our icu. We put them on the ventilator. The problem is every single covid patient we get isnt leaving. Every patient is still on the ventilator, still incredibly ill. Thats another bed, another nurse. And the nurses, theyre afraid i dont want to bring it home to my kids. I dont want to bring it home to my family. The most disconcerting thing is were losing staff members. Our nurses are sick. Reporter but despite that risk everyday nurses are still answering the call to deal with the flood of Covid Patients like at this l. A. Hospital. This is beginning the checkin process for patients that will drive in. Nurses are ready, geared up, and ready for whatevers to come. So this is our icu. Im just getting to my car now after a long almost 14hour day. Reporter but the intensity of the long hours take a toll. Eight years ago i took on an oath to care for patients. And theyre dying alone in the hospital room without family and then their families are grieving alone because theyre in isolation. It hurts. Reporter in georgia, nurse carly rice told us about a facetime call she had with a dying patients family who were unable to see their loved one in person. Its so hard to sit there and hold your patients hand while their family members are sitting there telling them they love them and its not goodbye, its see you later. It was an amazing connection. You know, although it was just facetime, nurse carly grabbed grandmas hand and she squeezed grandmas hand. I started to say i love you. I miss you. Nurse carly is amazing. The world needs tons of nurse carlys. Couldnt fix it but you certainly gave the family maybe a little bit of peace. I hope so. I really do. I pray about it a lot but it still wears you down. Families are put in a difficult position right now. Reporter so what keeps you going every day . This sounds like its so utterly depressing. My patients, honestly. Just today, you know, as we were rooting on our patient as he was going to be excue baited, our first covid19 patient to be extubated meaning the breathing tube is taken out and giving him thumbs up and dancing outside the room. Thats what keeps me going. First covid extubation. The best moment is when i get home to see these little monkeys. Hi. You cant touch her, do you remember . How was your day . Good. Okay. But i cant get close to you. Let me go change, okay . Its a difficult time but were rising to the challenge, and were going to stay in this until we can defeat it. We cannot forget our Health Care Workers. When you see those parents go home and they cant even hug their own children until they get that gear off, matt gutman, our thanks to you. You heard from the front lines. The doctor, the nurses. New numbers and asked Governor Andrew Cuomo a short time ago, do the workers here have the protection they need . And when does he see the peak of this here in new york . How many days, how many weeks are we talking about . I spoke with the governor just before we came on tonight. Governor cuomo, thanks for joining us here tonight. I know you said earlier today there was time for politics and no time for partisanship and frankly we agree with you. We dont have time for that as well so i wanted to get right to the numbers out of new york city tonight. The Health DepartmentJust Announced that 914 people died in the city as a result of covid19. Thats up from 790 this morning, an increase of another 124 deaths so im curious, governor, as you continue to fight this here in new york state, the epicenter in the country, what do you still need in this fight right now . David, thank you very much for having me. Look, we still have a way to go, right . Everybody has been watching the curve and trying to flatten the curve. Were still on our way up the mountain in new york. I think its important for the rest of the nation to watch new york because we are really the canary in the coal mine. Were just the first test case of this with this intensity and this density which is a function of who we are and how we live in new york. But youre going to see the number continue to climb. We dont believe weve hit the quote unquote apex. The apex is the point where have to make sure our Health Care System doesnt collapse from the weight of the people who are flooding the Healthcare System right now. And then all the experts say youll be on the other side of the curve and the numbers will start to drop and youll be on the way down. To avoid this collapse, governor, what do you still need . You know, this is now it operates on two levels, david. People still have to be responsible. Stay home, stay home, stay home. If you go out, you subject yourself to danger. You could infect yourself, infect others. So people have to be responsible. And, second this, is a bat that will is being waged in our Health Care System. The soldiers, quote unquote, of this war are the nurses and doctors and Health Care Professionals. And we have a Health System that cant handle this capacity. Youre going to be in this state at roughly double capacity by some projections. So its the staff, its the equipment, its literally the number of beds, and thats what were bracing for. Governor, you talk about the apex, the peak of this. I know youre relying on your own scientists behind the scenes. What do the numbers tell you about when new york city, when new york state, could see this apex . You know, david, thats the hard part. We have experts, but really there are no experts here, so we have four or five modelers, projectors. And theyre the best companies on the globe, literally. And they have data because this has happened since china, and they have south korea and they have italy and they have models. But we have a range of anywhere from about one week for the apex. Some people saying another 21 days. Some people say the apex is about half of what the others say. Thats one of the things thats so bedeviling about this. You have such a wide range of projections because nobody really knows. Governor, if youre dealing with seven days, possibly up to 21 days as you have just mentioned, you have said often what youre seeing in new york other communities will see as this moves across the country. What will you say to communities in detroit tonight, new orleans, chicago, some other communities that are beginning to see their numbers surge as well . What should they be doing right now to try to avoid some of the horror of what weve lived through here in new york . I say to my fellow governors, my colleague governors, i say to any elected official, any community, this is unlike anything youve seen before. This spreads like fire through dry grass with a strong wind behind it. This virus transfers unlike anything weve seen. Now, you see it first in dense communities, because by definition you have new york state, right, 19 million people, very close together. Thats why it moves so fast in new york state, but detroit, cities, new orleans you had past flu pandemics that wiped out cities because they had a parade. Thats the type of virus this is. So it easily and quickly transfers. You will see it move all across the country. Youll see it increasing. And youll see it everywhere. So i said today, look, dont think new york is unique in this regard. New york is just first. And lets watch new york, learn from new york, so we can actually help other communities when this spreads. I asked other communities today for help. We need nurses. We need doctors. Our hospital staff is already really, really stressed. And we havent even hit the apex. So im asking other Health Care Professionals from across the country, come help new york, and by the way, we will reciprocate, and well be there to help you when you need help, and they will need help, david. Its not that new york is an immune system is any different than any other american. There is no american whos immune from this disease. We are the tip of the spear, and i hope people help us. Ill be there to help them. And lets learn the best way to handle this. You know, the last 24 hours out the president out with that new guidance extending social distancing, stay at home through april 30th. Have you talked to President Trump about this . And is that enough in new york city where youre feeling it hardest so far . I speak to the president on a daily basis almost given the situation that were in. I dont think anybody knows. Right . I extend everything for two weeks, david, because nobody knows. At this rate do i think anything changes dramatically in one month . No. So youre prepared, governor, for the possibility that there would be an extension of that beyond april 30th . Oh, yes, certainly. I talk to Health Care Professionals who say, look, im more emotionally exhausted than physically exhausted. And you have these Health Care Workers who are afraid theyre being exposed to the virus. They could be bringing it home to their family. So this is really unlike anything weve seen on a number of dimensions. Governor, you mentioned those front line workers, the Health Care Workers who talked to you about the emotional toll and the fear of possibly bringing this home. Are you confident tonight, governor, that the doctors, nurses, the Health Care Workers on the front lines in new york city, new york state protective gear they need to protect themselves as they fight this fight . David, it is a daybyday challenge. What is happening here is you not only overwhelm our Hospital Capacity, you overwhelmed the nations Hospital Capacity or big parts of the nation at the same time. That then has caused everyone to shop for the same supply and the shelves are bare. And its not just everyone in the united states, by the way. Its everyone around the world is looking for the same gowns, the masks, the ventilators. They all want the same thing. Governor cuomo, i know these are very long days, not only for the folks on the front lines of the crisis, but you as well. We certainly appreciate the time tonight, governor. Thank you. Thanks for having me, david. Much more ahead on this special live edition of 20 20. The warnings from young people infected with the virus. They recorded their own videos tonight documenting their conditions and theyre sending a message to the american people. They hope youll listen to them describe this virus coming up. And diane sawyer reporting tonight inside an experimental procedure using antibodies from those who have already recovered. And we asked tonight, do you have immunity once you have had this once . How many of us have had this and were asymptomatic . Dr. Jen ashton