5 a. M. Here on the east coast, and we are following two major stories. It is the beginning of another grim week as coronavirus cases continue to rise. Globally we know there are 2 Million People that have been diagnosed with coronavirus as you can see from the map. More than half a million cases are in the u. S. That means the u. S. Infection rate has now surpassed every other country in the world. As millions of americans cope with the sick or stay home orders, Severe Weather including a barrage of tornadoes have slammed 20 states. Its a double whammy. They are struggling without shelter, a home or at the very least a sleepless night. The sun will rise pretty soon and the new day will give us a bit of information on the damage from the storms. It was pretty rough. Its not over yet. From texas to georgia, which is where we are at cnn, more than half a Million People have lost electricity from the storms. The National Weather service says more than 30 tornadoes were reported in the past 24 hours. Officials say the Severe Weather has killed at least eight people that we know. Authorities are working to find shelter for victims while grappling of course with this Public Health concern over the coronavirus pandemic. One man at a tornado shelter in mississippi that staff told people to practice social distancing while taking refuge from the storm. Theyre trying their hardest. Flash flooding. Hundreds of homes and buildings we know have been damaged. Well have more on that in just a moment. In the meantime, the u. S. Is once again reporting a huge spike in coronavirus cases. Nearly 1500 people died on easter sunday. That raises the death toll to at least 22,000 people nationwide. Thats the highest total anywhere in the world according to Johns Hopkins university. Now despite all of these developments this easter weekend did have some positive moments. In virginia, take a look at this. A local church held a drive through food bank for those in need. As you can see here, volunteers are handing out meals all the while practicing social distancing. The u. S. President donald trump hopes these types of social restrictions could be lifted as soon as possible. Hed like to restart the economy and get people back to work by may 1st. Its not clear how he would do that. Also, of course, some of the nations Top Health Experts believe that target daze date would be very unrealistic. Given what you know, is may 1st a good target when you look at it now . It is a target and obviously were hopeful about that target, but i think its just too early to be able to tell that. We see light at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Fauci, dr. Birx have said that. We see incredible resiliency with social distancindistancing washing, all of those mitigation factors. That gives me great hope. I think its too early to say whether may 1st is that date. It is not going to be a light switch that we say, okay, it is now june, july, whatever, click, the light switch goes back on. Its going to be depending where you are in the country, the nature of the outbreak that you have already experienced and the threat of an outbreak that you may not have experienced. So its going to be looking at the situation in different parts of the country. I think its going to have to be something thats not one size fits all. I think it could probably start at least in some ways maybe next month. Well, the decision to reopen the country isnt even entirely up to mr. Trump. It will rely on the cooperation of governors and mayors who have put in place most of the countrys restrictions. Right now many of those leaders say they are in no hurry to lift it. We want to reopen as soon as possible. The caveat is, we need to be smart in the way we reopen. What does smart mean . It means a coordinated approach, a regional approach, and a safe approach. Nobody wants to pick between a Public Health strategy and an economic strategy. As governor of this state, im not going to pick one over the other. Were going to need more testing, faster testing than we now have when you start to move people back to work, and were going to need federal help. There is no doubt about that. Theres a sequence here that we have to abide by, and that is we need a health carey could have ri, a Health Recovery first, and then the economic recovery. It has to come in that sequencing, and i fear if we open up too early and we have not sufficiently made that Health Recovery and cracked the back of this virus, that we could be pouring gasoline on the fire, even inadvertently. Lets get more from our medical analyst, dr. Matthew. Good to see you, doctor. In many ways the governors and mayors have led the way, not the president , in making tough calls about shutting down businesses and schools. Youve heard the experts saying that, its important that any reopenings are not politically motivated and not rushed. Thats correct, robyn. Whats crucial to what dr. Fauci just mentioned, as ive said before, every state in the u. S. , every county, every city will have a hot spot. We never shut down at once. Its going to be difficult to open the entire country at once as well. It needs to be done in a very graduated and calculated effort. I also want to hear from dr. Fauci again because the u. S. , as you know, is leading the number of global infections. Half a Million People. But it didnt have to be this way. Take a listen. You could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved more lives. No one is going to deny that. Youre right. Obviously if we had right from the very beginning shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different, but there was a lot of push back about shutting things down back then. What do you make of that from a doctors perspective . I do agree, robyn. I think its difficult now to cry over spilled milk, but we were definitely late into the game. There were warnings way back in january and february but, hey, we are where we are as dr. Fauci mentioned and we need to kind of move forward because as a Public Health worker, an infection somewhere is an infection everywhere. We cant look at numbers per se, flatten the curve and going down that curve is going to be key, and there are a lot of parameters to look at. Icu admissions, hospitalizations. So, you know, its going to be really important that we become careful not r and not too excited. There are glimmers of hope, but thats exactly what it is. Theyre just glimmers of hope at this point. Weve also heard a lot, doctor, about shortages of critical equipment, but what about also shortages that we are starting to hear much things like asthma drugs, sedatives, the pharmacy supply chain medications that have been halted or slowed . What does it tell us particularly here in the u. S. About american reliance on medicines from china, india, europe . Two points to make of that very importants, the supply chain depends on historical data. How much drugs or how many drugs or positions are they using or producing. At this point with such a critical shortage in ppes and ventilators, youre right, were not talking about shortages in annie anesthetics and antibiotics that is absolutely necessary. 50 or 60 of these drugs are produced outside of the United States in china and india, and of course countries like india are safeguarding their personal interests. They want to make sure they have enough Pharmaceuticals First before supplying them to the u. S. Lets put aside the political and infrastructure problems. I want to talk about all of these people, half a Million People, more having had coronavirus just in the u. S. 2 million across the world. A lot of people are going to be living with the after effects. Maybe they wouldnt have been intubated and been on a ventilator, they werent that sick, but what are some of the after effects . I know a lot is being written about a loss of taste and smell. This is a novel virus. Theres still so much that we dont know. From the patients that are severely sick, i was talking yesterday on cnn that it could take 3 to 6 weeks for somebody who was probably intubated who was severely sick with covid19. In terms of recovery, you know, theres still a lot that we dont know. For the patients who were intubated, there could be a lot of longlasting effects for patients who recovered very quickly. Its all going to matter with the viral load. As a doctor people will be coming to you not just in the days and weeks. What kind of doctors advice would you be giving to them particularly if theyve recovered on some level from this virus . I tell all my patients, robyn, if theres not any other time, this is the time to get in the best shape of our lives. I know its difficult as we worry so much and were socially distancing ourselves and not really seeing a lot of family members. If you smoke, this is the time to stop smoking. If youre overweight, this is the time to at least start having a plan when the pandemic is over to be in the best shape of our lives. If you are an uncontrolled diabetic, make sure you take your medications. There are a lot of lessons, robyn, we can learn right now. We dont have to wait until the pandemic is over. That big crucial one, sleep. Weve got the time, perhaps rest, rest, rest. This is one way of the world allowing our bodies to do that, even if youre not sick. Thanks so much, doctor. Lovely to see you again. Cheers. Thank you, robyn. More now on the Severe Weather that has ripped through the southeastern u. S. It was quite a night. Pedram javaheri joins me now here in atlanta. We had Tornado Warnings here at cnn center. I think a lot of families were sheltering their kids in the basement and we know theres been a lot of damage across all of the states and the southeast. What more can you tell us . Were seeing the final run here in the east. In georgia were watching the storm here. Notice the conditions. We saw hundreds of homes either damaged or destroyed across portions of louisiana, certainly into the state of mississippi as well. Whats left is 1 million customers without power across the Southern Tier of the u. S. This includes some areas across the north and east. State of georgia, 175,000 customers currently without power across the region. Heres the storm responsible for that. The strongest energy of all of this has shifted off towards the south and east. We have a Tornado Warning at this hour indicating tornado is on the ground or imminent near waynes borrow, georgia, south of augusta. Its about to cross over the savannah river. The parent storm began some 20 hours ago across portions of southern texas and still pushes and maintains its intensitntens. Notice the city of atlanta on into macon. Much of the portions of carolina and greenville and schaar not, north carolina. Other areas of high population could be at risk. As we transition into the morning hours, sunlight, heating, and you see the storms blossom. Upwards of 40 tornado reports to tell you about. Nearly 200 of them related to Straight Line winds as well. The Energy Impacts 40 Million People dealing with the Severe Weather. The area indicated in orange means a huge risk. Raleigh on into richmond, virginia, watch this carefully for another round of strong storms and eventually into monday afternoon, robyn. It was a pretty sleepless night. Pedram, good to see you. Love to your family. Stay safe as well. Thanks. Youre watching cnn. Im robyn curnow. Boris johnson gives thanks. He is grateful to everyone who helped save his life. Plus, controlling the choif narrative. China has a live report with a lot of questions. Thats next. Joint pain, swelling, tenderness. My psoriasis. Cosentyx works on all of this. Cosentyx treats the multiple symptoms of Psoriatic Arthritis to help you look and feel better. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if youve had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Watch me get real relief with cosentyx. If you have moderate to severe psoriasis. Little things, can become your big moment. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not a cream. 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Humira is proven to help stop further joint damage,. And its the 1prescribed biologic for psa. Want more proof . Ask your rheumatologist about humira citratefree. And you may remember us from your very first sandwich,esh, your moveinday feast, your bold canine caper, your dinner in the dark, your mammoth masterpiece, whispering your 3 47am snack, and whatever happened here. Oscar mayer is found in more fridges than anyone else, because its the taste you count on. Make every sandwich count. Balanced nutrition for strength and energy. Whoohoo great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. Welcome back. Im robyn curnow. Its 20 minutes past 5 a. M. I want to take you to the u. K. Where british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson is thanking everyone for helping him recover from the coronavirus. He was released on sunday and hes resting here at his Country Estate in buckingham shire. This comes as the u. S. Reaches a somber milestone with more than 10,000 deaths recorded so far. Some experts are warning that the u. K. Will be the worst hit european country by this summer. Max foster has been following all of this. Max is in london. Good to see you. Boris johnson is at his country retreat. He seems to be extremely grateful, doesnt he . Seemed to be really touch and go. Reporter well, thats it. It could have gone either way for him in that crucial 48 hours in the hospital. That came as a shock to people that he came that close to a critical shape. All along weve been told he was in good spirits. We were told melissa gove wasnt apprised of what was going on. There is a slight sense of was the government telling the whole truth to the public . At the same time they werent trying to worry the public. He is at checkers, as you say. He will be briefed daily but is not currently involved in the government. Currently still in the hands of the foreign secretary dominic raab. Hes still depldeputized. You dont bounce out of the icu and recover that quickly. The prime min is one of many, many people in the u. K. Who has this. Very somber numbers coming on the death rate. Reporter yes, crossing the 10,000 mark which is horrifying for any nation. The u. K. Is one of five countries that have reached that point. Its also said to go a bit higher. Were not yet at the peak. Lots of talk about the lockdown being relaxed at the same way as it is in spain currently but i think thats very unlikely from everything were hearing from our sources in westminster. The scientists are pointing out you cant really relax the lockdown until you can identify the peak. That hasnt been identified yet. So some pressure because of the economy to loosen the lockdown and the pressure on people. Also, the Mental Health pressures on people as well, but i dont think theres any chance of it any time soon. Max foster there in london. Thanks, max, for that. Appreciate it. Officials are lifting some of the restrictions in spain as max was just saying there now. Construction sites, factories will open up after easter while shopping centers, bars, other Entertainment Venues will remain closed. The spanish Prime Minister says this doesnt mean they are entering phase 2. He doesnt want people to be complace complacent. The state of alarm remains. France is reporting more coronavirus deaths. Theyre starting to see a plateau though the numbers remain very, very high. The french president is due to address the nation in the coming hours. There he is there. He put france under a confinement order one month ago. China is reporting 108 new cases of covid19 and says most of the cases were imported from abroad. Meanwhile, beijing is tightening the grip over coronavirus. New government policy mandates all research must be approved by the government before being published. Ivan watson is following the story joining us from