Task force but still dismissing the threat as a democratic hoax. And polling in wisconsin is taking place at a dramatic reduced number of polling stations. The state Supreme Court intervened at the last moment permitting the election to continue today. Well have more on that. And well have a report on london on Prime MinisterBoris Johnsons health after he was placed in intensive care on monday. As far as we know, hes not on a ventilator. Hes turned some powers over to his foreign secretary. The Prime Ministers fiancee, who was pregnant with their first child and lives on downing street, is also ill. We have coverage now beginning with nbcs gabe reuters in new york, the epicenter of the pandemic. What is the latest from new york following up on what Governor Cuomo said from the usns comfort, which to date had about 50 patients but not covid cases yet, is that correct . Yes, andrea. Certainly very sobering news from Governor Cuomo a short time ago. Actually, its a mixed bag in both encouraging and sobering news. You mentioned there the increase in the death toll, 731 deaths in new york, largest increase in one day in new york during this outbreak. To put that in perspective, andrea, that is 731 families that lost loved ones and one death roughly every two minutes during a 24hour period. Certainly very sobering news there. As you mentioned, Governor Cuomo now saying that he projects, and his analysts project, that hospitalizations seem to be at the beginning of a potential plateau. Daily icu admissions are also down. He said that suggests it could be possible that the social distancing and practices being put in place in new york might be flattening that curve. As you mentioned, when it comes to the usns comfort, authorities are still trying to increase the bed space here in new york city as they face a greater number of cases, theyre preparing for a greater number of cases over the next couple days. A crew member for the usns comfort has tested positive for the virus, and Governor Cuomo now saying that 500 beds will be available there for covid19 patients. Thats less than the 1,000 beds previously. The original plan was to have nonCovid Patients there but now each of the covid beds will require more space. St. John the divine, in manhattan, one of the Worlds Largest churches, will be retrofitted to be a Field Hospital here in new york. This city still preparing. Governor cuomo urging new yorkers not to let their guard down, even if the hospitalization rate seems to be plateauing. The sobering statistics, 731 people dyeing within a 24hour span. The singlest deadliest day since that outbreak began here in new york state. Andrea . Gabe, briefly before i let you go, what about the Javits Center, is that still accepting patients or is it still being retrofitted . Its still accepting patients now. And Governor Cuomo addressed that once again, 125 beds in the Javits Center and that is the largest hospital now in the country. Just a Massive Convention center that is acting as a relief valve for many of these hospitals that are so overwhelmed in and around the city. 2,500 beds for Covid Patients at Javits Center and another 500 now as usns comfort. Authorities had been saying in new york they needed tens of thousands of extra beds but now for at least the time being, they say they have the hospital space, but still question staff. But what everybody is waiting for is the data that might be suggesting the beginning of the plateau. At least in hospital admissions, icu numbers, that seems to be leveling off. Thank you, andrea. Thank you, gabe and thank you for all of your reporting which has been extraordinary over these many days and weeks, in fact. Now joining us, nbc White House Correspondent and weekend today cohost Kristen Welker and the Washington Post reporter robert costa, moderator, of course, 6 Washington Week on pbs. This whole novato memo, it looked from my perspective, it might have been a leak for peter notaro to look better after he was widely criticized after his challenge last week to the task force hearing and dr. Fauci and the medical team over the untested hydroxychloroquine. Andrea, youre right. And that was first reported by the new york times, that memo dated january 29th. In it Peter Navarro warns of the potential economic damage and the potential for millions of american lives that could be lost because of the coronavirus crisis. And it really gets to the heart of the question swirling around the administrations response, why werent there enough tests . Why is that still an issue . Why werent there enough supplies . And why are hospitals and governors still saying they dont have enough supplies, despite the fact the administration has revved up its federal response. It is worth noting that according to the times and we havent obtained that memo ourself yet, andrea, but according to the new york times, that memo was essentially sent around to the National Security council and reviewed by a number of top officials here. Although its not clear it was reviewed by the president , on the same day the president convened his first task force on the issue and just as the administration was really talking behind the scenes by enacting that travel ban. Now, publicly speaking, President Trump was still downplaying the virus. In fact, it was just about a month after that memo went out that President Trump accused the democrats of yet another hoax for, he said, their trying to spl politicize the virus. But this memo existed. Now its not clear if the president saw it or how many Senior Administration officials saw it and took it serious, andrea, but its prompting a number of tough questions for the white house. President trump is going to be holding an event a little later on this afternoon, a chance for us to ask him about it, andrea. And to robert costa, bob, you have been reporting on hydroxychloroquine and the outside influences from fox news and others, even laura ingraham, anchor there, bringing in a doctor as we try to understand why the president keeps pumping up and promoting the use of this untested medication. Its a malarial drug, counter malarial and lupus drug thats used for other issues, other medical problems for a long time, but has not been adequately scientifically tested for this use. That is correct. It is not approved yet by the food and drug administration. Some doctors anecdotally in places like new york city have found positive signs by using this drug in an offlabel way, by prescribing giving it to patients who are suffering from covid19. At the same time theres a bit of a tension more than a bit of a tension inside the west wing between expert professionals like dr. Fauci who is hesitant to embrace a drug that has not been proven safe and effective and those like the president who are far more optimistic about hydroxychloroquine and its potential United States for this pandemic. You heard him say over and over again what you have to lose, kristen, on another subject, Stephanie Grisham never held a possess briefing in her tenure as White House Press secretary. Now shes moving back to the first ladys office . Yes, shes going back to the first ladys office for as chief of staff. Her tenure was notable because she didnt hold a press briefing during her tenure. She was the president s third press secretary following Sarah Huckabee sanders. She started inna july 2019. She will be replaced by a Campaign Spokesperson who is out front and center on the campaign. Its worth noting, andrea, she was out downplaying the potential risk of the coronavirus during the january, february timeline. So thats something to focus on. Of course, weve seen President Trump in the Briefing Room daily and there are questions about whether or not thats sustainable. So the question now, are we going to see the resumption of these Daily Press Briefings . We havent gotten an answer to that, andrea. But its a signal for the possibility that could be on the table. Andrea, just to build on what kristen yes. Quick, this is one of the first major moves by mark meadows, the new chief of staff. This is one of the first moves by mark meadows, the new chief of staff, and were starting to see his power structure move inside the white house. Where he formally Left Congress and now coming in as chief of staff as you point out, former head of the caucus in congress. Great to see you and thank you Kristen Welker at the white house. Now nbcs keir simmons joins us from london with the latest on Boris JohnsonsPrime Minister. And he is the equivalent of our secretary of state, and the foreign minister is a press briefing today. Yes, the foreign minister is the man running this country while johnson is in the icu behind me there now. They didnt give us updates that are very different from what we heard through the morning, that Boris Johnson is stable, he is getting oxygen treatment, but that he is able to breathe without mechanical help, if you would like, hes in good spirits. But then andrea there was a moment in this briefing just in the past few minutes where he really gave us an insight into what its like to be inside 10 downing street right now, to be inside the machinery of government. He said about Boris Johnson, hes not just the Prime Minister, hes not just our boss, hes a colleague and our friend. And if theres one thing clearly emotional at this point, he said if theres one thing i know about this Prime Minister, hes a fighter. Hell pull through. I think we saw it on the foreign secretarys face when he gave a statement yesterday. Hes been stung by this. Hes been thrown into a leadership role that is challenging at the best of times. But what he did in this briefing was try to reassure the country and be clear that the government, the cabinet, is doing the things that Boris Johnson would want them to do. So in other words just trying to say Boris Johnson is still a leader, hes still the Prime Minister even while he is receiving such intense medical attention in the hospital behind me here. One other point, the queen sending a message to Boris Johnson and his family, including to Boris Johnsons pregnant fiancee, who is due to give birth in the early summer. One person said in the coming weeks. You can only imagine how she must be feeling right now. Indeed. A lot of drama there, and, of course, concerns for the country and for the Prime Ministers health. Thank you so much, keir simmons. Here in washington, which is potentially a future hotspot, according to a lot of reporting there, more than 1,200 confirmed cases and during sundmondays briefing, the white house pointed to this area as a point of concern moving forward. The mayor joins us now. We appreciate you being here. You have a lot on your plate. What is the latest regarding your efforts to try to control and limit your spread of the virus here, the continuing spread, as the Health Experts predict to be coming to d. C. As the next hot spot . Sure, andrea, we made a presentation to our community on friday that showed what our models tell us, that we can expect a surge in our hospitals in june into july. So we have and are continuing to do everything we can do to flatten the curve in washington, d. C. , but also to make sure that we are ready in our Hospital System to serve residents who are coming for care. So we continue to ask our residents to stay at home, to only go out for essential business, for grocery or for food but to milwaukee sure were doing everything that we can to flatten the curve. And like all models, we hope this one is going to be proved wrong by very aggressive social distancing in our city but we are preparing for many people to come through our hospitals. Mayor bowser, we understand from Vice President pence ventilators are being moved from california to d. C. And maryland. Were you on that call that the president described as a perfect call with the governors yesterday . I was on the call and i participated in a number of calls with the white house and governors. You, of course, andrea know were unique in the american system. Were not a territory. We are the District Of Columbia and the Nations Capital. And i have worked very, very hard to make sure that were recognized not only in our federal funding bills, which we have to correct in the next piece of legislation that comes through the congress, but also in the white house calls. It is clear that the president s approach is to push down to governors. Well, im the mayor governor county executive of washington, d. C. And that is why i have advanced all of our needs on those calls. I had a followup call with Vice President pences staff to make sure the Nations Capital has everything that we need. We, of course, are locally trying to procure everything from ventilators to swabs to hospital beds so we can prepare for the beds that we have to add to our Hospital System. And i know youre trying to remedy the fact that we im a resident were treated in a territory when our taxpayers pay more to the federal government than 22 other states and were given half of much for the budget. I know you have been dealing with budget issues as well. Are you going to have to do something about the d. C. Budget . Are you seeking an emergency power as we understand from some officials, Emergency Powers to cut back on pay increases, to freeze pay is this. Were operating in this city under a Public Health emergency, and we will, i just asked the council to extend that emergency for 45 days. The city actually, andirea, because we went into this pandemic in good fiscal health, triple a bond ratings, reserves which will allow us to weather this, but any manager is going to look at the current budget and next years budget and find ways to make sure were being as efficient as possible. And thats what were doing with the current budget for 2020, and the one that i will submit to the council in just a couple of weeks. Just like every jurisdiction in america, our tax base has been hit. Our restaurants and bars are closed, our hotels arent doing any business, visitors are not coming to our towns. And we have people out of work who arent paying income taxes. So every every jurisdiction is going to suffer and have to adjust budgets. Thats why its so important not only that the districts state status be reinstated in the next bill, but also the federal package includes more funding for local jurisdictions. We know that many of our industries are going to have to be rebooted, including our hospitals, hotels, restaurants and bars. I wanted to also ask you, i know my colleague Morgan Radford has been covering what mayor lightfoot in chicago said a disproportionate infection of africanamericans by this virus. Are you seeing that demographically in our own population here . Well, i think that we have very early data, andrea, and we dont have all of the racial data on people who have been tested. We dont have all of the racial data on positive cases, although we have about half of the race data on positive cases, which puts africanamericans in our city are making up about 28 of the positive cases. But africanamericans in our city are making up about 58 of the deaths that we reported as of yesterday, which were 24. Wow. So i think we know that underlying conditions like hypertension and diabetes and heart disease, this virus is particularly hard on. And we know that africanamericans are living with those underlying conditions every day, probably in a larger proportion than most of our fellow americans. So im very fearful of the impact that this virus is going to have disproportionately on africanamericans in our country. Something to be tracking, of course, as testing expands is. And something for our hospitals to be aware of as well. Mayor bowser, its a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, andrea, for the work youre doing. Thank you. And well talk to doctors up next, doctors from the frontlines who can not wait for the National Supply line to come forward. Theyre turning rain ponchos and garbage bags to try to minimally protect their Health Care Workers. More from the new York City Health system coming up. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports. A lot of places responding to disasters, ecuador, after the earthquake, haiti after Hurricane Matthew a few