First up here on msnbc, in the thick of it. Doctors, nurses, first responders. This hour, Health Care Workers on the front lines give us their take on where this pandemic stands right now. Survival story. A priest who overcame covid19 shares his message of hope this Easter Sunday. Plus, without them, we would have nothing. American heroes, a Grocery Store worker weighs in on how his life has changed since the outbreak began. A very good morning to all of you. Its sunday, april 12th, happy easter, everyone, if youre celebrating. Im alex witt. Before the latest coronavirus numbers, a note about what youre going to see the next hour. Were going to take you around the hardest hit areas to hear the stories of an emergency room doctor in maryland who is seven months pregnant, a Staten Island firefighter who has moved into an rv in his driveway to keep from contaminating his family, a grand rapids priest who survives the virus. A Grocery Store worker from oyster bay, new york, who says he doesnt see himself as a hero, and an emt who works out of teaneck, new jersey, who is coming off a 12hour shift. All compelling stories in their own right. First, well get to the latest headlines as this morning in the u. S. , there are more than half a million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the country. More than 20,000 people have died. The u. S. Reaching a grim new high as the nation with the most confirmed coronavirus deaths in the world, surpassing italy for the first time. The countrys death toll has now more than doubled over just this past week. Meanwhile, President Trump facing both a Public Health and economic crisis, saying he will decide fairly soon on how and when to reopen the country. Certainly, the toughest decision that i have ever made, and i hope that im going to make the right decision. Ill be basing it on a lot of very smart people, a lot of professionals, doctors and business leaders. There are a lot of things that go into a decision like that, and its going to be its going to be based on a lot of facts and a lot of instinct also. Whether we like it or not, there is a certain instinct to it, but we have to get our country back. People want to get back. They want to get back to work. And the irs sent out the first wave of Coronavirus Relief checks. The agency tweeting yesterday it will continue issuing payments, quote, as fast as they can. People who have filed tax returns for 2018 and 2019 and authorized direct deposits will be the first to see that money hit their bank accounts. People who havent filed or receive social security, you probably have to wait a few weeks to get your check. And new today here in new york, drivethrough testing sites are open in minority Communities Just like this one in central brooklyn. Testing is being done by appointment after residents call the states hotline and testing get rolled out in a few more city neighborhoods. The numbers are expected to grow even as new york remains the global hot spot for the pandemic. The city has more than 98,000 cases. More than 27,000 people in hospitals, and has lost as many as 6300 souls. Corey kaufman is joining us from outside Field Hospital at new yorks Javits Convention center in midtown manhattan. We have new yorks governor who is pushing back a bit on any expectations for a speedy reopening of this state or the city. Yeah, he is urging patients. He tweeted out last night, talked about it in his press conference as well, saying the last thing he wants to do, even though it is on everyones mind, even though everyone is clamoring to get the economy rolling again, last thing he wants to do is open things too soon and have a resurgence of cases. He said in his opinion, the last thing as far as the reopening everything goes that he wants to do without Going Forward with it would be testing. So testing is number one for him to start to get the economy reopen, and after that, he had a call for the federal government to repeal the cap on state and local taxes. We need to do more testing and more advanced testing, and we have to do it faster. Thats both a diagnostic testing, the antibody testing. You want to help the places that were impacted. Ill tell you what the federal legislation should do, it should repeal sault. You want to help new york, that was the most heavily impacted, and by the way, you think youre going to reopen the economy without the engine of the new york metropolitan area, youre kidding yourself. Here, youre going to have many people struggling, many businesses struggling. We have Government Programs, yeah, but trying to access a Government Program is like trying to break into a bank sometimes, right . All right. Governor cuomo with the Straight Talk there, alex. You know youre going to get honesty when he gives those updates. He also said one of the reasons hes going to be providing pro bono lawyers and organizing them around the state, providing those for people having trouble is because of how much trouble people have been having trying to file for unemployment, trying to deal with housing issues. He said hes also going to be providing a program for pro bono lawyers to have access to anybody who might be having those issues at this time. All right, more of things from our Straight Talk governor, thank you so much. Well, heres a look at the situation in new jersey this morning. Just over 58,000 cases there. More than 2,000 deaths. More than 7600 people in the hospitals. About 1650 are right now on ventilators. Joining me now, brian, paramedic at Holy Name Medical Center in teaneck. Brian, with a big welcome to you because i know youre coming off a 12hour shift there in bergen county, it is the site of the largest outbreak in the state. Tell me what you have been seeing. Thank you so much for having me, alex. My role as a paramedic right now is that many of us have been brought in to the hospital to help supplement, obviously, the large amount of patients were seeing in the hospital right now. And paramedics are uniquely suited to fit this role. My responsibilities are code blue and Rapid Response coverage for the entire hospital. Paramedics are advanced cardiovascular life support certified so we fill this role well. What it does is allow the Critical Care nurses who normally serve on the teams to free them up to focus on the care of covidpositive patients in the hospital. I have to tell people a little asterisk by you and what youre doing. You were on your way for a board exam to get your medical doctor degree, which is pretty extraordinary how hard you have been working for that. Thats going to be put on hold for a wee bit. Something that has happened, as i understand it, on one of your 12hour shifts, five people passed away. Were these patients that you responded to . Thats got to be heartbreaking. Yeah, i mean, the really heartbreaking part about it is that its day after day. And its every night. Im working five nights a week right now. And as a paramedic, you obviously see a lot of tragedy from time to time, but never at these levels, so consistently. And i gotta be honest, as difficult as my role is as a paramedic, by the time i am responding to these emergencies in the hospital, i may spend an hour or two maximum with the patients, my heart really goes out to the nurses caring for the patients day in and day out. They are the physical presence for these patients, just you know, so compassionate with their bedside manner, spending hours and days and weeks with these patients, and theyre also the point of contact between the hospital and the families. So my hard goes out to them because they are really building strong emotional relationships with these patients. And i think we have all broken down many times up to this point. But were very resilient, and you know, you might need to take a second and take a step back and go cry or think to yourself a little bit, but a couple minutes later, you have to be ready to get back in there. Im so impressed with all of my colleagues and the ability to take that second, kind of collect yourself, and get back to business. Clearly, theres a lot of compassion in you, too, brian. When you show up and see these patients, what do they say to you . Whats their biggest concern . Well, when i arrive to see these patients, they are unfortunately already gravely ill. Many of them are just about to get intubated. So obviously, the greatest concern that we see is severe respiratory distress. And in anybody who is in the situation, you can just see the amount of fear in their eyes. And we do our best, you know, i try to talk to them. I come from a background as somebody who was in a very serious accident a couple years ago. I myself was in a medically induced coma for five weeks. I understand a little bit more than maybe the average Health Care Provider what its like to be on the other end of the intubation tube. I try to take time, just introduce myself. My name is brian, youre in the icu. Youre intubated. You got sick, you have pneumonia. So much of the fear of being on the other end on the patients side is just that unknown. Just, you know, waking up for brief moments in an unfamiliar place with bright lights and alarms and i think so much of what we can do is just kind of ground them a little bit and let them know were here to take care of them, to let them know where they are, and i think by doing so, were taking our first step i have to tell you, listening to you, those patients are lucky to find you at their bedside. Take care of yourself. Happy easter. Overseas, one of the most visible aspects of the virus, Easter Services at the vatican with no crowds. This in a city and a country under lockdown. Lets go to italy where pope francis has been leading the traditional easter mass via live stream. Matt bradley once again there for us on this Easter Sunday with an empty st. Peters square behind you. Were starting to get used to that view. Yeah, so the pope was giving his prayer, which means loosely translated from latin, from rome to the world, and indeed, as you mentioned, hoe was speaking to the entire world, but in front of an empty st. Peters basilica, and it was almost empty. There was a very chilling sight to see pope francis strutting around doing his ceremony without almost anyone there. But he is trying to seek to bless the entire world more than just the 1. 3 billion christians who are celebrating this holiday today. The pope is actually looking with optimism to this crisis, and he mentioned that in his remarks today in this prayer, he said he hopes this will create a contagion of hope. He had also used language previously that he hopes to see a pandemic of prayer. You know, alex, its really interesting. This institution, this is not the first crisis obviously that has faced the Catholic Church. This is a nearly 2,000yearold institution, and theyre kind of hoping that they will see a revival of the faith that comes out of this crisis. You know, there are so many people who are criticizing, using this as a moment to criticize the health cyst mth, the economic system, the political system, the Catholic Church is hoping that people when they turn inward, when they return home, they will use this moment to reevaluate how they treat each other, and how they treat their relationship with god. I spoke with an american priest, an kaacademic here in rome. Theres a kind of somber character, but because were getting close to easter, theres also a sense of joy. Really, a lot of people within this crisis, were experiencing a time of grace despite the hardship. So for instance, my students are especially receptive and theyre especially studious, and all of us professors are finding this during this period. It really seems to be a time of grace despite the suffering. So this pandemic of prayer that the pope has mentioned, this is something that the Catholic Church is really starting to see. One thing that also needs to be mentioned is the charitable arm of this institution. The Catholic Charities spread throughout the entire world, churches, hospitals, schools. The pope recently established an Emergency Fund to try to bolster those outreach efforts because of course, this institution is also prepared for the economic crisis thats going to follow the biological one. Thats one where theyre going to see a massive strain on their soup kitchens, homeless shelters and hospitals, and thats something the Catholic Church is going to be expected to pick up a lot of slack, especially in the developing world as the virus, the pandemic sweeps further and further across the entire world. Here in italy, things are starting to turn the corner. Were starting to hear talk of a stage two of this nationwide lockdown because the lockdown was supposed to be raised tomorrow, on monday. But now, the italian thoernauths have said over the weekend theyre going to extend it for another three weeks. Thats because even though the deaths and numbers of new contractions are starting to plateau. Nobody here wants to turn around and have a secondary wave of infections by letting everyone in the street again. The italian authorities are trying to preserve the progress they have made because this country has been hit so hard, alex. Wiser heads prevailing there on letting the Health Officials lead the way. Thank you so much, matt bradley, there in front of the vatican. Some american heroes to tell you about now. As we have many on this Easter Sunday, carrying spiritual joy in their hearts, we need to focus on the hungry and those in need. Food banks have been overwhelmed by those looking for a helping hand. Craig melvin interviewed the leader of a charity in brooklyn. In terms of need, since the virus started, versus ordinary times. Whats the difference between the two . Well, first of all, as i said, theres people coming who have never come to a food pantry in their lives. Thats a big difference. And for some people to realize that thats their need, you know, its a tough thing. You know. I would say also there is, you can just feel because we ourselves, we have to separate and make sure that we have gloves and masks. Its a very tense time for a lot of people. Did the people who come, what do they tell you as they pick up their food . Well, for the most part, theyre very grateful. You know, they say thank you. Gracias. And i think when theyre looking, they are looking for the information when we give them, we also give them information on some Mental Health services we provide here in the neighborhood. We give them a lot of different resources so that theyre able to be able to deal with this. So i think for the most part, they come away more informed and, you know, i think a lot of them are just struggling right now. And you can all watch much more on our live coronavirus primetime special. Join savannah guthrie, hoda kotb, experts around the world with realtime information tuesday at 10 00 p. M. Eastern and pacific on nbc, msnbc, and nbc news now. A big question for medical workers. When you work with sick people, how do you keep from bringing the virus home to your family . Youre going to hear from a firefighter on Staten Island about the hard choice hes made next. When you shop with wayfair, you spend less and get way more. So you can bring your vision to life and save in more ways than one. For small prices, you can build big dreams, spend less, get way more. Shop everything home at wayfair. Com hold on one second. Sure. Okay. Okay safe drivers save 40 guys guys check it out. Safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 thats safe drivers save 40 . It is, thats safe drivers save 40 . Hes right there. Its him hes here. Hes right here. Hi hi. Hey thats totally him. Its him thats totally the guy. Safe drivers do save 40 . Click or call for a quote today. Safe drivers do save 40 . New crest pro active defense. Youre doing more to keep your body healthy for the future. Shouldnt your toothpaste do the same for your mouth . Now with crest pro active defense, future proof your whole mouth. Its active Defense Technology neutralizes bacteria to shield against potential issues. Crest. 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. Thats where i feel normal. S an hour,t. Having an annuity tells me my retirement is protected. Protected Lifetime Income from an annuity can help your Retirement Plan ride out turbulent times. Learn more at protectedincome. Org. The theater home to you,t to with xfinity movie premiere. Theres a world full of other trolls. How different can they be . Our brandnew service that lets you watch all the latest movie releases from the comfort of home. Trolls world tour available now. I will protect you no matter what, pinky promise. Just say xfinity movie premiere into your voice remote to bring the theater to you. We think all the time not only about our patients that we have inside the walls of our hospital but, you know, we have families. And our kids are home from school. And our neighbors are laid off work. Or our spouses, or our parents. We have had colleagues who have had family members or friends who have been taken away from them by this horrible disease. This hits home for us. First responders among the many essential workers battling the pandemic right on the front lines. For most, that comes at the risk of bringing that virus home to your family. One new york city firefighter is making a sacrifice to keep his loved ones safe. Having moved out of his home and into an rv. And joining me now is sal, and hes a firefighter at Staten Islands engine 160. Sal, with a big welcome to you, you look like youre inside that rv outside your home, which certainly doesnt have all of the comforts of home, but talk to me about what inspired you to move there inst