Prevent asymptomatic spread. Despite those recommendations, the president says hell forgo wearing a mask himself. The shift comes as more people become infected. Johns Hopkins University now has the total number of u. S. Cases at over 278,000 and more than 7,100 deaths. Nearly 96 of the country is under stayathome orders covering 42 states. And were expecting to hear more about this pandemic when the white house hosts its press briefing a few hours from now. We have a team of correspondents standing by to bring you whats happening right now with the nations response to the coronavirus pandemic. Lets start in new york where Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today the donations of muchneeded ventilators from both oregon and china. Cnns athena jones is in new york. Hi, fred. Thats some of the news that came out of the Governors Press conference not too long ago. Weve heard people at the state, local, every level, really, talk about the need for supplies. Not just in new york but everywhere. And so that is some good news. This 140 ventilators oregon is lending to the state of new york and new york will send them back and even said well add on to that number. And 1,000 ventilators expected to land at jfk airport today from china. We also know that new york has about 500 unused ventilators in different parts of the state. Those will be redistributed and thats in part because of this extraordinary executive order that the governor signed yesterday that allows the state to take ventilators but not just ventilators, also personal protective gear, masks, gowns and the like, from institutions that dont really need them right now. Theyre not seeing a huge surge of patients and to redistribute them to places seeing that surge to really help. Especially areas like here in new york city and also long island where they are seeing a surge of patients coming in. Now theres, i should mention im here at the Javits Convention center in manhattan. This is one of the other extraordinary measures being taken to prepare for what were talking about, the apex, the big, huge surge in cases here in the state of new york and the city of new york. This Convention Center houses 2,500 beds and starting on monday, it will begin taking in patients with coronavirus. Patients infected with coronavirus. Listen to what the governor had to say about javits center. Its going to be very staff intensive. Very equip intensive. But the theory there is to, the best we can, relieve the entire Hospital System down state by bringing those Covid Patients to javits. And from the intake to the treatment. And its going to be very difficult to run that large a facility, but if that works, and if that works well, that changes the numbers dramatically. So it will change the numbers dramatically. Well all be closely watching how things go at javits. I should mention that hospital administrators, e. R. Doctors, intensive care nurses are telling us most of the patients at new York Hospitals are Covid Patients. Even those coming in for another ailment, apependicitis, a strok. When they have an xray, they are all seeing signs of a Coronavirus Infection in the lungs. So pretty extraordinary times as new york still sees a growing number of cases day by day. Athena jones, thank you so much in new york. Lets talk now about that sort of aboutface from the white house on wearing face masks. Cnns Kristen Holmes joins me now. So why recommend face masks now after weeks of saying the opposite . Well, thats right, fred. A lot of people were surprised by this guidance particularly because these Health Officials had been asked if everyone should be wearing face masks and were told, the public was told no. And that it could be worse if Healthy People were wearing face masks but, at this briefing yesterday, in aboutface, as you said, fred, but this really comes with the science, right . Were learning more and more about covid19 and its spread. And its coming at a time in which Health Officials are desperate to stop the curve, to flatten the curve here. Were still seeing more and more cases every day and some of that information includes the fact there are nonsymptomatic people who have the virus who we are getting more evidence can actually spread the virus, even if they dont have symptoms. And the other part of that is were learning from a Scientific Panel who wrote a letter to the white house that there is a spread that might not just come from coughing or sneezing but it could just come from talking or breathing. And again, this comes at a point where Health Officials are doing whatever they can to flatten this curve. And i want to mention what you said, fred, which was shortly after President Trump said that this was the new guidelines, these were recommendations, he said he would not be wearing a face mask. But he also went a little further. He said this was just a recommendation. That no one had to do this. That it might work. It probably would work. It could work. But this is just another example of the kind of push pull that weve seen between Health Officials and President Trump and the administration really since the beginning of this outbreak. And i want to note that while President Trump says he might not wear a mask, we have learned that the white house is taking extra precautions when it comes to the president and Vice President. Yesterday we heard that they will actually be giving tests to people who are expected to come into contact or even be in the proximity of the president and Vice President. Its going to be those quick tests, 15 minutes. Because of the new information that people who are asymptomatic may be able to spread covid19. This also comes as companies are warning that some supplies, ventilators, masks, et cetera, just might be delayed. What are you hearing about that . Theres a big problem with the supply chain still. We have been talking to fema. We have been talking to hhs and to the administration. And it still remains unclear who is in actual control of the supply chain . For example, theres a company that both members both Vice President and president have touted as a big company who has offered to help. And i spoke to them late in the last week and they said theyre sitting on a bunch of supplies because they havent been told by the administration where they were supposed to send them yet. And thats not the first time that i have heard that. We know that General Motors has still not received a contract from the white house saying what exactly they need to move forward with ventilators. So theres a lot of questions here as to why it is that the administration is not taking a more active role in getting out these items to the places that need them the most. Or at least very urgent role. Kristen holmes, thank you so much. All right. As new york works to control the spread of the virus, new hot spots are growing across the country. In louisiana, there are now over 12,000 confirmed cases. That number jumping by more than 1,000 in just 24 hours. New orleans, the epicenter of that states outbreak, is opening a new Field Hospital to combat the growing numbers. Cnns ed lavandera just took a tour of the Convention Center where that hospital will be. Ed, when is this facility ready to be up and running . Well, they have spent most of the last week putting this the Convention Center makeshift hospital into position. Officials here in new orleans tell us this morning that come monday morning, theyll be ready to start accepting patients inside this facility. They anticipate, they dont really know for sure how many people will show up there on monday, but it probably may be around 100 or so on the first day. We should be clear that people here in the new orleans area should not just walk up and show up at these new that this new orleans Convention Center makeshift hospital. This is not for walkin patients. This is for patients who have already been tested and confirmed positive. And then they will be transferred to this facility. So one thing they dont want to see is a bunch of people just starting to show up there. This comes on the day we see another giant spike in the number of coronavirus cases here in the state of louisiana. Now close to 12,500 cases. Thats almost 2200 new cases added to that total since yesterday. And now the death toll here in the state of louisiana stands at 409. 39 new deaths announced on that announcement as well. And here, fredricka, what Health Officials are really bracing for is the coming weeks. They continue to urge people to practice social distancing. That, at this point, is the only thing that will save hospitals from being overwhelmed here over the course of the next few weeks, and that is what they are desperately trying to prevent from happening. And they are hoping that all of the beds in this Convention Center which totals 1,000 wont all be needed. But theyre ready for that, they say if it comes to that. Fredricka . Ed lavandera in new orleans, thank you. The food and Drug Administration has officially authorized the first coronavirus antibody test. The blood tests are expected to paint a clearer picture of just how prevalent infections truly are by identifying people who recovered from the virus while showing little to know symptoms. Cnns Paul Vercammen joins me now from california where a recovered patient is doing his part to help those still in the fight. Paul, explain more. Well tell you about the story of jason garcia. First, its going to be the story of the agony and ecstasy. Jason finds out hes covid19 positive. Comes back from a work trip and has to isolate from the rest of his family, including his adorable 11monthold daughter. Yeah, that was rough because, i mean, it was good and bad in the sense that i was able to interact with my family while in isolation. The office doors, they have glass and i can interact with them through the glass. And then it was heartbreaking, too, because my 11monthold would want to play with me. Shed see me in the office and crawl towards the door and my wife would have to come grab her and be like, no, you cant crawl to daddy. So the good news is, jason fully recovers. Hes 36 years old. Hes in great health. He is a perfect plasma donor. His plasma rich in antibodies. Hes a positive. They find a match for him in Orange County and we understand now the first patient to receive jasons plasma is doing much better and using less oxygen than before. And jasons plasma will also go to two more patients. Thats extraordinary. Very hopeful. Lrk all right. We wish everyone the best. Paul vercammen, thanks so much. The cdc is now recommending that all americans wear masks. But will it help stem the rapid spread of coronavirus . Well speak with an expert, next. Want to brain better . Unlike ordinary memory supplements neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. Memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. Try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference. Robinwithout the commission fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. Welcome back. The centers for Disease Control is now recommending americans use cloth face coverings when they leave their homes in help slow the spread of the coronavirus. The new advice comes on the heels of a heated debate inside the white house as not every member of President Trumps Coronavirus Task force agrees with the reversal of previous guidance. Joining me right now to discuss is dr. Saleen gounder, a cnn medical analyst and clinical assistant at nyu and bellevue hospital. Good to see you, doctor. What are your thoughts on all of this. Is there any evidence indicating that nonmedical cloth face coverings can help stop the virus from spreading from asymptomatic people . So whats become more and more clear over the last couple of weeks is that asymptomatics, people without symptoms, as well as people with very mild symptoms are very much helping to spread this virus in our communities. And the other thing that we realize is that you dont necessarily need medical grade masks to prevent somebody from spreading to other people. So if you think about it as a hose that is spraying out. If you put something right over the front of that hose, just like you would over somebody who is coughing or sneezing, you can prevent spread from that infection person to others. Now the challenge is that, until now, we didnt realize that just because you didnt feel sick, didnt mean you couldnt transmit it. And so these recommendations are really geared at you or me Walking Around realizing we could be getting other people sick. Now if people do do this, wear the masks, do you worry this will give them kind of a, you know, a sense of invincibility, that they will ignore the social distancing guidelines because they are wearing a mask . Well, and again, the point of these masks is not to protect yourself. So you still very much, in order to protect yourself, need to do the social distancing. The idea here is that you are protecting other people from unwittingly infected them. And, look, i wouldnt beat yourself up too much for i had somebody ask me. Have i been spreading this in my community . We didnt realize. But now that we do, we, do each of us, have a responsibility to do what we can to prevent ourselves from spreading to others. And where do you get a cloth mask . Because everyone is talking about shortages. Cant find disposable ones but cloth, are we inferring now that people need to make their own . Bandannas . Does that suffice . Right. So again, we do not need medical grade masks to accomplish this. So the surgical mask, the n95 respirators need to be reserved for the hospital setting where youre trying to protect the doctors and nurses from getting infected. Its a very different purpose. You could rip up an old bed sheet or pillowcase for this purpose. Were not having shortages of bandannas and handkerchiefs and that short of thing. Getting your hand on that type of thing should not be an issue. What should americans do with this conflicting information theyve been receiving from the white house . It was only a few weeks ago the white house said, no, not necessary, and now cdc is saying, yes, that would be advisable. Right. And what we were saying a few weeks ago was its not necessary for you to wear a mask to protect yourself. And that remains that very much remains the case is that you do not need to wear a mask to protect yourself. You are wearing the mask to protect other people. Dr. Gounder, thank you. Appreciate it. Food banks across the nation struggling to navigate a perfect storm right now. Struggling to help americans in need as volunteers stay home. Donations dry up. Well discuss the challenges they are all up against and how you can help, next. Our family is from . What about here . Here . Here . Daddy, is that where were from . Well, actually. Were from a lot of places. You see were from here and there and here. Turn questions youve always had into stories you cant wait to share; with ancestry. When youyou spend lessfair, alwaand get way more. 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Transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. Visit xfinity. Com moving today. Breaking news now. The pregnant partner of Boris Johnson says she is on the mend after having coronavirus symptoms for a week. Cnns Bianca Nobilo is in london. What more do we know . Fred, weve been finding out about this over the last hour. She announced on her twitter account she had been experiencing symptoms that are associated with coronavirus for a week and that shed been in bed, but as you mentioned, she said shes feeling stronger and shes on the mend. Obviously, this was worrying for her and for many women across the country because shes pregnant. She announced five weeks ago she was expecting a baby with the Prime Minister, that they would be getting married. We understand her baby is due in the early summer. She said that being pregnant with covid19 is obviously worrying. To other pregnant women she, referred them to a government site. This underscores what the Prime Minister and others were saying, that no one is immune to this. It must have been worrying after the Prime Minister himself was tested positive for coronavirus, not yesterday but the friday before. He is remaining in selfisolation because he still has a temperature and thats the government advice. But when he tested positive, his p