Before it gets better. As millions wonder about their jobs. Were already living paycheck to paycheck. Their safety. Take nothing for grantd. Their future. This is the moment to keep your family and your friends safe. This is an nbc news special report, the coronavirus pandemic. Hello everyone, im lester holt in new york. In the next hour were going to bring the latest of the coronavirus pandemic infected now close to 1. 5 Million People worldwide, 400,000 in the united states, the death toll reaches 13,000. Tonight the mayor of los angeles ordered starting friday anyone entering an essential business, face covering. Search for a vaccine and the latest on british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson still in intensive care tonight. Front line workers risking their lives to save others, well remember some lives lost to the pandemic and in collaboration with pandemic well answer your questions. And well talk to new york mayor bill de blasio, is this country is put to the test of the past, pearl harbor, 9 11, and the worse still lies ahead. Tonight the nation and the world continue to reel under the onslaught of the pandemic. Michigan and louisiana are especially hardhit. And the number of cases in florida is surging. But the new york, new jersey, metropolitan area remains the epicenter. Toy new york reported its biggest increase in deaths so far but hospitalizations are down. Governor andrew cuomo. To the extend we see a possible plateau is because of what were doing and we have to keep doing it. Tonight the new York Police Department reported nearly 20 of the force is called out sick and more than 2,000 uniform officers have tested positive for the virus. New york cathedral of st. John the divide will host a new Field Hospital adding to the other hospital beds in central park. Nbc craig melvin. Whats striking about what is happening in central park is you have people still enjoying the parks, riding their bikes, living their lives and then a few people away you have people fighting for their lives. In brooklyn and in hardhit areas nationwide Funeral Homes are at the breaking point. Nbc reporter says funeral directives are the last responders who see firsthand this the victims are not just numbers but human beings. Theyre family members are people who loved them. We can never forget. The toll on lives, the toll on jobs it frightening, at least 10 million jobs have been lost in the last few weeks. Cnbc anchor and New York Times columnist andrew ross sorkin. I dont want to sugarcoat things, this could well be a great depressionstyle disaster. I hope it isnt. I think a lot of it is really dependent on how quickly were able to contain this virus and get people back to work. The economy might not be back to normal any time soon. The damage could take months and months to repair and as were all advised to stay home, wisconsin went ahead and held its primary today. Voters crowded polls for inperson voting after the states democratic governor was overruled in his attempt to delay the election. Meanwhile, the faithful are marking holy week in new and resourceful ways. At many churches this past sunday, driveby communion and palms. Stay safe. The receive rend from the church in new york. In the midst of this isolating times we want people to know the church is just open in a different way. Tomorrow night marks the start of passover, where they gather for sader and the youngest asks why is this passover different, it will be very different this year, mand will rely on videoconferencing. Connections in our congregation have got stronger, people are l. Rooeching out together over zoom. And tonight an update on one family weve been following in the crisis. Pandemic p expert an nbc analyst. My goal our Emergency Room Physician had this incredibly ironic situation of admitting our oldest son his older brother david. David was diagnosed with coronavirus, this week thankfully he was released and is selfisolating. Knock on wood, i seem to be coming through this process unscathed. Dr. Michael redletter. This disease is like russian roulet roulette. Its really, we dont know whos going to be impact in a serious way. Being mayor of new york has long been called the second toughest job in america, with the city now at the epicenter of a Global Pandemic, the job has gotten even tougher. The city has been hit with well over 76,000 cases of coronavirus, about one of every five u. S. Cases and a heartbreaking 4,000 plus deaths. I spoke to new york mayor bill de blasio about all this a short time ago. Todays a somber day in new york city because we now are talking about 4,000 people that have passed away, more than we lost on 9 11, just to give you a sense of the sheer tragic scale of this. And its only happened in a matter of weeks. So were reeling but the truth is, im sure im sure weve lost people who we dont even yet know it was because of the coronavirus. People who died at home. Or people who died earlier on before this had been fully understood. So this tells you how serious, how ferocious this disease is, and its another reminder. Dont let up. Dont for a moment think that when you see some progress that its a reason to break from the actual strategies that have been working. In fact, it says we have got to double down on the kind of discipline that new yorkers have shown if we want to get through this. Well have to go farther into the social distancing and shelterinplace to ensure we really beat this back. What are you doing about a second wave. You alluded to the notion that we may see it swing back on us. Are you already premiuming for that moment . Left preparing for that moment. Lester, yeah, in asia we seen instances where there was a resurgence and the best way to avoid that is to stick to the strategy. But we know that we have to be ready for the possibility of resurgence. So right now up until this week it was literally hand to mouth would we have enough ventilators, enough doctors, nurses, where we needed them in time to keep people alive. If we get any respite it is a time to lay in the resources and potentially prepare for another onslaught, not to get over confident, because unfortunately theres evidence that could happen. The best way to stop that is by sticking to the strategy. But this say disease that no one fully understands, literally no one on earth fully understands the nature of this disease and we have to take it serious. Amy from Facebook Says how can we have an accurate picture of the success rate when so few are being tested. Are you operating without the full picture . Of course. Lester, the big story here is we did not as a city, certainly as a nation, have the testing we needed early. That would have given us an entirely different strategic opportunity to beat this back. I pray one day there will be universal testing in this country, that woe about a gamechanger, but theres a if huge amount huge of people infected and dont know it and thankfully they get through it mildly. But this is bigger than we realize, i expect more than half of new yorkers will get infected. The numbers in new york, detroit, chicago, this is disproporti disproporti disproportionately affecting communities of color and specifically black people. Do you have a hand on that. Quantify a number on that here in new york or why that is . Yeah, lester, no question theres a disparity here, its real. Were seeing more and more that this disease is hitting communities that were already suffering from Serious Health disparitie disparities, that go did not have fair health care. In the country were having a Huge National debate to make health care universal. This crisis has put a point on that. Because many communities that didnt have access to health care and couldnt afford health care this disease is hitting them real hard. Particularly older people in lower income communities and communities of color. Were putting out more and more data all the time. But were pretty certain theres a stark disparity to this disease. I look outside and almost everybody i see in my neighborhood is wearing a mask and i wonder to myself, what if that call had come two, three weeks ago, a month ago to wear a cloth mask. Do you ponder that same question . Oh, lester, were all going to be pondering the what ifs here but the focus has to be on saving lives and getting ahead of this. We know for sure in the last few days the Scientific Evidence became clear and it was recognized around the world that there was finally hard evidence that face coverings made a difference, and its really to protect other people. An altruistic act to reduce the community spread. So we will ask ourselves a lot of questions. The biggest question well ask is why wasnt there testing from the beginning, and to any city that hasnt gone through this, heres my message to people of the cities all over america, do not resist when you hear about shelter, social distancing, if you try and put on those ideas its going to lead to a bigger crisis and its going to lead to hospitals that just cant handle the burden. Its actually by embracing the tough measures that you keep your Health Care System alive and you can save lives. We know what works and now got to be devoted it to it. Mr. Mayor, thank you for being with us, a lot of people are counting on you, and i appreciate you taking the time to be with us. Thank you lester. We have another reminder this week this virus has no boundary, Great BritainPrime MinisterBoris Johnson has been stricken and faced criticism to his slow response to the outbreak and now hes fighting for his life in a london hospital. Now the latest from london. Lester, Prime Minister bore us johnson is spending another night in the icu. Officials say hes stable in good spirits as this country is bracing for tough times to come. The United Kingdom is now getting hit hard. The death toll spikes today 786 new covid19 deaths, the highest single day increase. Prime minister Boris Johnson, officials say, is only oxygen on oxygen, but breathing on his own. Not on a ventilator but moved to intensive care in case he needs one. Defense secretary will come forward if needed but not with full authority. I know one thing hell pull through, i know hes a fighter, he will be back at the helm. Leading us through this crisis in short order. Boris johnson a close ally of President Trump was initially skeptical about the outbreak, didnt want to shut down the economy or even practice social distancing himself. Im shaking hands with someone at the hospital the other night, where i think there were few coronavirus patient and i shook hands with everybody youll be pleased to know and i continue to shake hands. But nearly two weeks ago johnson got the virus and put out this video message trying to assure the public. Ive developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus. But he looked unwell. Detail harry was his press secretary when johnson was london mayor. Two things you know about Boris Johnson by character and recognize would be adamant to do what he has to do, make the judgment calls and lead the country by example through this. That was something that was most impossible for him to give up until he was literally sentenced to care. Johnsons fiancee also developed covid19 symptoms along with several members of the government including the health secretary. Anthony costello is a British Public health expert. You seen we were all crammed in. March 11th we knew one of the juniors had become administered two weeks earlier, yet they went ahead with the budget. Did the uk get this wrong like critics say the Trump Administration has been getting this wrong . Yes, i do think they have got it wrong. With familiar echoes to the united states, the united king dont also never managed testing on a wide scale despite repeated promises that more tests were in the pipeline. All of these tests are they going to materialize . What about the testing in prisons. The government think they didnt get it right. The uk was also slow to roll out quarantines and social distancing and britain, even this weekend, still going out to parks, despite warnings and orders. Now experts say the uk could end up being one of the hardest hit countries in europe with models predicting possibly tens of thousands of deaths. Lester. Richard, thank you. For all of the efforts to mitigate the pandemic, staying home, social distancing, hand washing, lasting solution will be safe, effective and readily available vaccine. We know that remedy is perhaps a year away. But scientists around the world have mobilized an banded together in an intense allaround race to find that silver bullet. Now more on the search for solutions. Good evening joining you from london while governments around the world have been p hard to say how long these lockdowns will last, how soon welall get back to wo, to our normal lives, scientists have been working at unprecedented speed in a search for an effective and safe coronavirus vac eecinvacci american braces as millions are worried about their lives, health a jobs, scientist is are corroborating like never before. An unprecedented race to beat a pandemic that has slowed the world down to a standstill. If theres any Silver Lining about this horrible pandemic this was it, scientists willing to put asideheir egos and do things in new ways. From the u. S. To europe, australia to china, the search for a vaccine is under way. At least 45 countries working and in hand with the World Health Organization as part of the solid airity response plan. Handful of candidates moving into phases to test on animals then hume anz. Covid19 attacks the respiratory system and in texas scientists are looking to repurpose an old sars vaccine. The heart break of it taking soong is making certain that vaccine works and is safe. Also building on a previous vaine mol the uk institute is hoping to fast track a potentially vinyl viable candidate. Were using a vaccine type thats been use in thousands of people and will be safe for this viral infection. Nbc news learned the institute is teaming with massachusettsbased manufacturer to dramatically reduce production time once the vaccine is approved. Also getting attention, the vaccine by Pittsburgh School of medicine demonstrating over video link a promising new candidate successfully test in mice. The vaccine agent delivered to a patch in one dose. You are trying to create a vaccine to be distributed to billions as quick as possible. This vaccine is very stable at Room Temperature and be shipped in boxes like band aids and distributed globally. For much less expense. Alongside this, the federal government is investing millions of dollars to scale up production with the private sector. Johnson johnson ceo talking about it last week. We got the production capabilities to ramp up production of this in a relatively short period of time so they can become available. Vaccine is key to stop the Global Pandemic but some experts warn beating the 12 to 18month timeline for a Coronavirus Vaccine is optimistic. The vaccine is going to be the game changer. America may have to get back to worth before scientists find an effective fact seen, that will be months, maybe years of vigilant fence. And until vaccines are available theres an urgent need to ease symptoms and youre those affected by this deadly virus. Experts tell us those kind of treatments could come within months. The world is cheering them on. Thank you. We focus on facts over fear. Our panel of experts will answer your questions throughout the hour about the challenges facing us all as this pandemic spreads. Nbc medical correspondent with us. And viralologyists and nbc scientistic contributor, joseph fair and stephy an and vicky wynn. Good to have you folks. This first question from laurie on facebook who asked how many have been given hyroxychlorinhy truth is we dont know, when we talk about hyroxychlorine we are talking about publishedin includical trials we know of china, france and one in united states. They involve a very small group of people. What we do with 58 trials is we have a little bit larger group of people in rangd randoms ids clinical randomized clinical trials. Has been approved under emergency use authorization so physicians can prescribe is for covid19 under that authority. That being said, whether they get the data back to the fda and the people that need it is what will tell us whether the drug is effective or not. Its getting a lot of attention. Yeah. This is for dr. Torres, john, carmen asked via instagram does the virus run its course in 14 carrier for life . Apparently we lost johns mic, well get that back. Meantime let me switch to vicky. We got a question for you on instagram, meg wants to know, how concerned do we need to be about currency. Do i need to clean bill business spraying them with lysol or wiping them down . Meg, i understand your concern but i dont want you to be overly worried about this. A recent study found that the coronavirus can survive on cardboard for up to 24 hours, it has not been studied how long it can survive on cash. Best thing to do is not touch your eyes, nose or mouth and always wash your hands after handling money, the other is consider using credit card whenever you can, or some smart phones have Payment Systems that you can enter that are contactless. Thank you. Dr. Torres, im told we got your mic back, so back to that question, does the virus run its course in 14 days or is an infected person a carrier for life . Hope this works better. That 14day period theyre talking about is usually the incubation period, the time the virus gets in your body and you start developing symptoms. For most people thats 5 to is it d12 days. If it is mild people recover in two weeks, more severe symptoms could be up to six wks. Once you recover your immunity builds up and youre not a carrier for the disease and you will be immune from it for a limited period of time, up to a year, possibly longer. Again you will not be caier of this, will you have some immunity to it. For most people two people, up to six weeks if you are very, very six. Dean on instagram wants to know how could peoples pe