Cases of coronavirus around the world. And at least 36,000 deaths around the world. That number, of course, assumes that the government numbers from places such as china are accurate, which of course is a big if, especially as it pertains to the chinese government. With experts warning that the peak of the virus in the u. S. Is at least two weeks away, cities and states across the United States are preparing for the worst, as cnns erica hill now reports from the current u. S. Epicenter, new york. Reporter help arriving in new york with the Navy Hospital ship comfort. A thousand beds on board to help ease overcrowding in the citys hospitals so they can focus on those with coronavirus. If you are not preparing for the apex and for the high point, you are missing the entire point of the operation. It is a fundamental blunder to only prepare for today. Thats why in some ways we are where we are. Weve been behind this virus from day one. Reporter as other states look to the epicenter for lessons in whats to come, rhode island telling all out of state travelers they must selfquarantine for 14 days. Going door to door in coastal communities, setting up checkpoints to spread the word. If we see vehicles and driveways with no plates on them, well knock on the door. Reporter texas and virginia announcing quarantines for anyone arriving from several states including new york, new jersey, connecticut, and louisiana. Hotspots in chicago and detroit also seeing their needs spike. Michigans governor calling on states to Work Together to gather critical supplies for those on the front lines. I think that the most important thing that we all need to remember is the enemy is covid19, and it is not discriminating against party, it does not discriminate against state. It is ravaging our country. Reporter new yorks governor echoing that sentiment and pleading with Health Care Workers to also join in. If you dont have a Health Care Crisis in your community, please come help us in new york now. We need relief. We need relief for nurses who are working 12hour shifts, one after the other. And we will return the favor. Reporter as communities brace for the virus, the nations top Infectious Disease specialist is warning that this is no time to lose focus. There are a number of areas in the country that have relatively few cases. Those are the ones that are vulnerable and dangerous. Reporter to keep those areas from sparking, more stayathome orders are being added across the country. One of the latest in maryland, on the outskirts of the nations capital. Officials vowing to crack down on anyone defying the otherwise. We have a pastor in baton rouge driving around picking up people to go to church. Youll have to start enforcing it because theyll spread it to other people and were not going to get on top of it until everyone listens to the order. Reporter its time to heed those stayathome orders. Plenty of people out in central park, jake. The reason were in central park today, there is a 68bed Field Hospital thats going to open tomorrow. Whats different about this one in new york is this is specifically for coronavirus patients. As weve seen from some of the other Field Hospitals and even the comfort ship, those are for overflow for noncoronavirus patients. This one behind me in the park specifically for those with the virus. Unbelievable sight. Erica hill, thank you so much. Joining me now is cnn chief medical correspondent dr. Sanjay gupta. Sanjay, dr. Birx said this morning that this projection of possible deaths in the United States, 100,000 to 200,000, that she and dr. Fauci brought to President Trump, she said thats a best case scenario, thats if everybody does everything right. Thats a staggering bit of information. Yeah. I mean, it is, jake. But, you know, if you look at some of the initial other modeling numbers, theres all sorts of numbers that are obviously much higher than that. I dont want to unnecessarily cause people to be alarmed, but thats absolutely true, that is if we actually are all basically abiding by these stay at home recommendations, which, jake, were not, as a country, certainly not, right now. Thats really worrisome. As part her comments, as you know, jake, yesterday, she also said that we started late. She conceded that, i think weve all known that for some time, but we started late in this morning. Thats 100 to 200,000 deaths if we do everything right from here going forward. There will be time to do afteraction reports once were through this crisis. But just briefly to talk about how we got started late, what was the time when greater action could have meant far fewer deaths than what were facing right now . You know, i think theres a couple of points. Certainly i think the initial sort of steps to quarantine, something we hadnt done in this country in 60 years, was important. Those were good initial steps. The issue was did we do enough after that with the time bought, the few weeks in between. During that time im talking sort of midjanuary through february, theres still sort of this, is it really going to be a big deal here, even though Public Health officials sort of knew it was, because they saw what was already happening in china. I think at that point it was important. If you look at germany right now, jake, they have a lot of cases. I think its over 60,000 people who have been infected. But i think fewer than 600 people who died. Still a lot of people who died but at a much lower rate than here in the United States. Part of the reason is they tested early, they started acting early. And you now have a case example of why that made such an impact. Italys fatality rate is closer to 10 or 11 , jake, because they didnt act early. Again, i want to be optimistic, its great that these actions are now being taken, being extended. But we did get a late start and we have some catchup to do here. Thats right. The modeling that dr. Fauci referenced suggests the u. S. Could need more than 200,000 icu hospital beds, more than 30,000 im sorry, 200,000 hospital beds, more than 30,000 icu beds. Will the nation be able to meet those requirements . You know, the Hospital System here in the United States is not really built with surge capacity. This may surprise people but in fact we have fewer hospital beds and icu beds than we did probably a decade or two decades ago. Weve actually gone down because Hospital Systems have wanted to become as efficient as possible. Theyre very expensive systems to run. What i think ive been sort of inspired by, jake, American Ingenuity is something to behold at times like this. This idea now of splitting ventilators, mainly talked about as just a theoretical concept, the idea of trying to adapt other machines like cpap machines, they cant do what ventilators can do but they can help bridge patients who are having difficulty breathing. Its an open question, jake, whether well be able to meet those demands. The manufacturing by Companies Like gm, the issue there is it will probably be a couple or three months before we realize the impact from that manufacturing. Theyve got to source the parts from all over the world, Everyone Wants these parts. The ingenuity ive been hearing about from my colleagues, i know you have as well, is pretty inspiring and there may be some Good Solutions that comes out of that. The president extended social distancing guidelines until at least april 30th, a month from today, and that of course could be extent even sooner. When you look at the projections, when do you think well be able to start on a bit by bit basis to get back to normal . Do you think kids will be able to go to school in the fall, will people be able to go to the beach in the summer . Whats your best guess based on todays facts . When you look at some of these other countries around the world, and keeping in mind we started late around here, youre talking about an eight to ten week sort of cycle. Thats sort of what it looks like. The end of april would be six weeks weve been doing the stay at home. I would add on maybe another two to four weeks after that. I think at that point there may be some start to return to normal activity, perhaps. It wont mean school this year for kids, but probably in the fall. I think that the real question, jake, for a lot of people is the confidence that people are going to have at that point, just almost from a mental standpoint and emotional standpoint, even more so than from a physical standpoint. Will they be nervous to touch an elevator button, to come in contact with people or not. Weve never gone through Something Like this. So thats going to be something we have to deal with as well. Yeah, i mean, there are a lot of Mental Health professionals that will be needed, not just now but for the next few years. This is an internationally traumatic event, especially for children. Sanjay gupta, thank you so much as always, its great to talk to you. Coming up, a medical war zone, thats how one er doctor describes the situation in hospitals. Well take an exclusive look inside that hospital, thats next. Stay with us. I am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. And even though tables are empty at the moment. Now you can be there for them. While the doors may be closed, the kitchens are open for delivery. [ siren ] doug give me your hand i can save you. Lots of money with Liberty Mutual we customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Thwhich, if im not mistaken, papadia. Is latin for better than a sandwich. Heheven has a better pickle. Get a new papadia for six bucks. Better ingredients. Better pizza. Better than a sandwich. Papa johns. From anyone else. So why accept it from your allergy pills . Flonase relieves your worst symptoms which most pills dont. Get allinone allergy relief for 24 hours, with flonase. Welcome back. The icu is at capacity, patient beds line the hallways, and the morgue is overflowing. This scene im describing is not from china. Its not from italy. Its not from spain. Its from the United States. Its from new york city. Cnns Miguel Marquez takes us for you for a harrowing look inside one hospital, a place that one doctor describes as a medical war zone. Reporter every corridor, every corner, every ward. Every inch of Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in brooklyn now inundated with those suffering from covid19. What are you looking at on a daily basis . This is a war zone, a medical war zone. Every day, when i come in, i see on a daily basis pain, despair, suffering and health care disparities. Reporter through sunday afternoon brookdale said it had at least 180 confirmed cases of coronavirus. More than 20 people have died from the disease. Coronavirus is pushing the hospital to the max. We are scared too. Were fighting for your lives and were fighting for our own lives. Were trying to keep our head above water and not drown. Reporter doctors, nurses, even those keeping the floors clean, face a rising tide, uncertain how long it will rise, unsure the coronavirus wont sicken them as they struggle to stay a step ahead. What do you need right now . We need prayer. We need support. We need gowns. We need gloves. We need masks. We need more vents. We need more medical space. We need Psychosocial Support as well. Its not easy coming here when you know what youre getting ready to face. Reporter the deaths here keep coming. While filming, another victim of covid19 was moved to the hospitals temporary morgue, a trailer parked out back. The hospitals regular morgue is filled to capacity. How much room do you have in your morgue . Usually we have 20 plus bodies that we can fit comfortably. Reporter and youve gone over that . Gone over that. And the state has been gracious enough to bring us apparatus to help keep families and keep the bodies in comfortable areas because we didnt want bodies piled on top of each other. Reporter brookdale needs more of everything. Edward said the hospital has 370 beds. They would like to add many more. Two weeks ago, this was the pediatric emergency room. Now its dedicated to victims of covid19. Plastic tarp taped to the ceiling, offering some protection and a bit of privacy. The intensive care unit filled nearly to capacity and sealed so fewer doors and less traffic than usual comes and goes. This window is the only place where Family Members can watched their loved one inside the unit as they chat with them via cellphone. Its sometimes as close as they can get, as covid19 takes another life. As grim as it is right now, dr. Molette expects it will get worse. At fall, it could end at the end of the year. Were begging everyone to help us help them by staying home. Reporter you think were in it for the long hauls, months not weeks . Definitely. Reporter another worrisome thing shes seen coming through the doors, not just the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. I work at two hospitals, here at brooklyn and another hospital in the bronx, and its the same thing. Ive had patients that were in their 30s, and they are now intubated, and theyre really sick. Reporter no underlying conditions . No underlying conditions. So the thing is between life and death as far as this coronavirus, this virus sees no theres no difference, it has nothing to do with age, it has nothing to do with lack of access to health care, nothing to do with socioeconomics, race, ethnicity. This virus is killing a lot of people. Reporter brookdale has one advantage. Hospital officials says it can do Rapid Testing for coronavirus onsite in its own lab. They hope to get to 500 tests a day. Right now we have 52 specimens in here, that were preparing to test at the moment. Reporter the hospital following centers for Disease Control guidelines on who gets coveted tests. Patients admitted for possible coronavirus, Health Care Workers showing symptoms and symptomatic long term patients. Each test a laborious and timeconsuming process. Very easy to make a mistake. Very easy. Just from an extra milliliter of reagent, adding it to the machine, can mess up the entire all the batch, the entire batch, all the 50 specimens, we would have to start all over from the beginning. Reporter er doctors are used to stress. Dr. Molette says shes never experienced anything like this. I dont really sleep that well at night. I worry about my family, about my safety, about my colleagues, about how the shift is going to be the next time i come. I worry if a Family Member is going to be coming to be a patient as well and fall victim to the coronavirus. I worry about a lot of things. Reporter the disease a marathon that Health Care Workers alone cannot win on even finish. Its not only up to the Emergency Department to pull through and make sure the curve is flat. This is a responsibility of everybody in the country to help us pull through. Reporter so stay the f home. Exactly. Stay the f home. Exactly. Exactly. Because its not just us that has to help flatten the curve and take care of everybody. Help us help you. Reporter she says it will take everyone pulling together. The worst days, she fears, are still ahead. So if anyone out there needed any more indication, any more sobering indication of where we are with this virus and where it is headed, that trip to that er should have sold it. The other thing that was really shocking to me, they talk about shortages of gloves and masks and goggles. They looked at the ppe, the protective gear we were wearing, we had the proper gear with the hood and the boots and the gloves and the goggles and the masks, they looked at us like we were christmas arriving, basically. They wanted the gear we had. They said they should have the gear we had. A lot of people i spoke to there at the hospital said they stop off at home depot or shop on ebay for gear that they can use themselves or share with others. Theyre right, they should have that gear, its a National Disgrace that they dont. Miguel, stay with us. Our guest is the chief medical officer at northwell health, new yorks Largest Health care provider. Doctor, medical professionals are describing their hospitals as a war zone, saying theyre scared for their own lives and lives of their loved ones. Are you experiencing the same thing at your hospital right now . I think everybody sees this as potentially overwhelming. But were behaving as professionals, supporting each other as colleagues. It happens to be National Doctors day, were helping our doctors and nurse care practitioners and advanced care professionals deal with this. Theyre also human, they have fears. Its not as bad where you are, though, as the hospital that miguel visited . Or is it . Im not in that hospital, but i know that we have lots of patients. As you know, we have 2,000 patients at our facilities. We have lots of patients in our icus. Weve been preparing for this for some time. We think we have adequate staff. We currently have adequate ppe. It is overwhelming to everybody. Miguel, you saw how serious this is firsthand. What do americans need to learn from what you saw in that hospital other than what dr. Molette said, stay the f home, its the responsibility of every american to help flatten the curve . Reporter i think for me, nothing rattles an er doctor, typically. She was afraid not only look, almost everyone we spoke to has a plan for the way they live, they go to work, they stay six feet away from their family, or they live in different locations from their family, they skype or facetime with their husbands or wives but they cant actually see each other. The thing that hit home for me, and i absorb and consume a lot of news and information about this,