Some 30,000 cases in queens alone. 10,000 people in queens have been hospitalized. We are right now standing here in front of a popup basically a popup Food Distribution center thats been set up here. I want to give you a view this is a view on the ground. I want to give you a view from the sky. You can really see the size and scope of the line that started to form at 5 30 this morning. Folks have been in line for foot here 5 1 2 hours. Last week they had enough food for 750 families. This week they brought more food, enough for 1,000 families. Were told they will likely run out of food once again. This is one of, if not the hardest hit communities right now dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Well have a little more on exactly what theyre doing here in just a moment, but before we get to all of that, we want to get you caught up on the facts. Right now more than 670,000 known coronavirus cases here in the united states. Thats 30,000 more than this exact hour yesterday. More than 34,000 americans have died. We expect to hear from governor andrew cuomo, governor of new york, roughly 30 minutes from now, providing the Daily Briefing. Meanwhile, in the midwest at this hour, seven states have unveiled a new regional partnership, michigan, ohio, wisconsin, minnesota, illinois, indiana, kentucky, all of them saying theyre going to Work Together to gradually reopen their respective economies. That comes in the wake of a big warnings from Public Health experts this morning, those experts telling nbc news that testing for coronavirus would have to at least double, if not triple from its current rate for even a partial reopening of the countrys economy. Again, just to reassure everyone who is watching and listening on sirius satellite radio, we are taking the necessary precautions here, wearing the masks, wearing the gloves. Were also social distancing, as are the folks waiting in line here as well. There have been Police Officers who have been making sure of that throughout the morning. Once again, we have our doctor on duty with us all hour, dr. Steve corns, president and ceo of new york presbyterian hospitals. But lets start with ron allen. Ron is about three miles east of where i am in queens. Ron is at a nursing facility that has been especially hard hit. Ron, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, craig. This is another tragic story about a nursing home. Here we believe as many as 29 people have died from the beginning of march until the middle of april. A horrific toll. The problem beyond that is that a lot of families with relatives, loved ones here, are very concerned about not getting enough information about whats going on, as are some local officials who say theyve been left in the dark. We have not heard from the ownership of the center, the sapphire rehabilitation center. But let me read you a statement from a consultant to them who responded to the high number of deaths. Again, some residents with loved ones there and local council believe there are as many as 60 deaths. The statement says from the consultant, if its 29 dead, its a tragedy and everyone is a life. During a pandemic like this, it would not be an aberration. As stunning and shocking as these numbers are, we will see more of this at assisted living facilities. Let me introduce you to leona beguera whose sister virginia died here a week ago. Im sorry for you loss. You said you found out when you called trying to have a face time conversation with your sister. Yes, yes. What happened . I called the coordinator and she told me that she could not get to the room. It was closed. I then called the desk, the nurses station and the nurse told me, yes, she passed away at 3 00 or 3 30. Reporter no one called you and gave you an explanation . She asked me the doctor called me. I said nobody called me. I came over with my mask and entered the lobby. They told me i couldnt come in, but the administrator made a phone call, and they brought down a gown for me to go upstairs, and i was able to go upstairs and allowed to go into the room where my sister was laying with the curtain pulled and a sheet over her. And there was a nurse in there. I asked her if i could come in. She said yes. I said would you take the sheet off, and i i saw my sister lying dead there. This sounds horrible. Have they given you any explanation for why no. Well, i asked them if she had the virus, and they told me they dont know. Obviously she was not given a test. But this morning i got the find out from the funeral director that the medical director here signed off that my sister died from cardiac pulmonary disease. Reporter when we were talking earlier, you said she doesnt have any history of that so you really dont know the cause of death. No. You dont know if she had the virus . No. I dont know because they didnt do the test. My sister has dementia. All the records coming in, medical doctors, primary doctors never told me she had cardiac disease. She was here for dementia, been here for a little over a year. During that time you came regular regularly. I have to say i never had any complaints about it. It was clean. It was well kept. She was well taken care of. She was clean. But im at a loss that nobody called me to tell me that my sister is dead. Reporter still a week later. Nobody, except the cna. She called on saturday to give me her condolences. A nurse. Yes. And she told me that a lot of the staff, theyre short. The nurses are out sick and she said she didnt know if she would be able to come in the next day which would be sunday. But, of course, i have not spoken with her since. Thank you so much for sharing all that. Its like stories that weve heard at other places, not the lack of notification, but the fact that these centers assisted living centers, Senior Centers are under so much stress, so much pressure. Staff are calling in sick because they have the illness or have family at home who are ill. Here, craig, we havent gotten answers from the owners of the sapphire center. Were going to, of course, call again and again. We understand there were some state officials here doing something of an inspection and in touch with the center by phone. They did not issue any sort of a penalty or any sort of a reprimand here. Again, the consultant who weve been in touch with for the facility is saying that this is not an aberration, that this is to be expected or what happens sadly during a pandemic of this scale. We are in a part of new york, as you said, that is the center of the epicenter. Were just a few miles away from you. Craig. Its that story, ron allen, that poor woman. That is as unbelievable as it is unacceptable and how it was handled certainly sounds like an aberration. Ron, thank you. Ron is about three miles east of where we are. This is Catholic Charities. They set up this popup tent to pass out food in this neighborhood. Well get to that in just a moment. I want to go to l. A. For just a moment. Lets go to los angeles county, california. Gadi schwartz is standing by. One of the things weve seen here, gadi, weve seen Law Enforcement making sure that people are socially distancing as they wait in line. I know you spent time with a deputy there in l. A. Who has been doing that for the past few weeks there in los angeles, making sure that people are staying six feet from each ot r other. Reporter its interesting. In a lot of these places Law Enforcement is all that you see, its completely abandoned. Were at one of my favorite beaches here. This is manhattan beach. This place would normally be packed with people near the pier surfing. The message is loud and clear here, and it took a couple days for everybody ketaking it seriously. The Police Department started giving outcriations, over 100 of them, each one about 1,000. Around los angeles its been more a matter of Law Enforcement trying to remind everybody that were all in this together, and thats something we saw yesterday when we went out for a ridealong with the los angeles sheriffs office. By ride along, because of social distancing, it was really me just following along in my own car as we drove down these deserted streets. At one point we kept seeing people with bandannas on. I asked Law Enforcement if it was weird for them to see so many people with masks, especially when they pull up their masks right before they go into a store. Take a listen. Prior to this there were a lot of individuals committing crimes, and their m. O. Is using a surgical mask. Now it has made our jobs that much more difficult. Its almost like an instinct. When people are covering their faces, you to be skeptical. Now everybody is doing it. Absolutely. One thing thats very for us in Law Enforcement is to cover our faces and wear a mask. Thats an antithesis of patrol deputies, we dont cover our faces, dont cover our mouths. Its tough. Reporter instead of giving outcriations for not Wearing Masks in public like they could have done yesterday, instead that sergeant and his crew spent most of the day handing out masks which was nice for a lot of people because theyre incredibly hard to come by in los angeles. People seem very appreciative, families stopping by to thank the deputies for their service. The deputies thanking them back for Wearing Masks. Craig, you see this really intense moment between these two different people where they lock eyes, and so much of the communication was happening with their eyes, kind of reassuring each other that they were in this together. Its something kind of indescribable, something ive never seen in my life between people and Law Enforcement in particular, but its something that Law Enforcement hopes will help send the message that its better to stay safe and to keep others safe as well. Craig. Indeed. Gadi schwartz for us there in los angeles county. Gadi, thank you. We are here in queens, just to give you quickly here, the reason were here. I was here last week and was so moved by what Catholic Charities is trying to do here for this particular community that i wanted to come back this week. We were here last week. We saw a line that spanned several blocks. People who were out of work, teetering on the brink before, and all of a sudden coronavirus comes along, and a neighborhood where a full third of folks were living in poverty before the pandemic, now thousands of them dont know where their next meal is coming from. We wanted to come back to show you precisely where those meals are coming from. I also wanted to give you more a look at this particular part of queens, new york. 17 stops from the dazzle of new yorks times square, the number 7 subway pulls into a world away, corona, in the heart of queens, americas melting pot, a place where generations have made their start at the american dream. Today corona is at the epicenter of the virus that shares its name. Its all around. You feel it even when youre walking on the street. You know that your neighbors and the community is struggling right now. Everyone is in fear. Reporter since 1872 our lady of Sorrows Catholic Church has been the refuge here. Helping to run both the school and the church here were the church. The house is a church. The familiar sli is the church. Were starting to realize we dont have to be inside a box. I hope this makes us stronger. Reporter nearly a third lived in poverty here before the pandemic. Now an untold number have lost their jobs to the virus. And what is especially difficult for the students and teachers is not being together. Over the weekend christina cruz, the principal scrambled ipads and hot spots to get the kids online. We cant waste an academic minute. A lot of our kids lack basic skills. Reporter the dedication to the kids so strong that three teachers have kept teaching even while sick with the virus themselves. How many of your students have lost family members to the virus . 35 i think. Mother, father, sibling. Its a lot of grandparents, a lot of grandparents. A lot of them live together in one household. So when one gets it, it gets them hard. Reporter overcrowding and lack of health care has put here especially at risk. In new york city people of color die at twice the rate of whites. For their children, its a hard fact to understand. I dont want to cry, but when you see their faces as we pass by, we miss them. They feel alone. Some of them have said its hard. Its not fair. Reporter so cruz decided it was time to show her students some love. We love you. We miss you. [ horns honking ]. Reporter it was hard to know whose smiles were bigger, the kids or the teachers. What do you think the coronavirus is going to do for your school after all this is over . I think when all this is said and done, well be so much closer and tighter if thats possible. We miss you yes, we will. Richard joining me now with Catholic Charities brooklyn and queens out in front of the mission. Im going to step out of the way. Maam, sorry about that. Richard since the pandemic hit, whats the need been like . Its just been increasing. For the most part, for us, weave seen in our food pantries, just from last week when we met with you before, its doubled, the lines at all of our food pantries have pretty much doubled. And thats because, i think its just when people are out of work, theyre looking for that help. Who are the folks that are coming today . What do we know about them . What we know about them when we did our own kind of analysis of the situation, definitely seeing where the virus was hitting hard, but also knowing that youre in a high density neighborhood where Affordable Housing is a problem. So a lot of families doubled up, one, and you also have a lot of things going on with people being out of work, theyre looking for whatever resources they can. We decided from last week, we gave out in those bags that come down about 5,000 meals. Now were giving about 8,000 this week, and we dont think its going to be enough. Going to run out of food again. Yeah. What i also like about what you guys do here at Catholic Charities, youre not just giving out the food. No. Youre also handing out Important Information as well. Were trying our very best. On many Different Levels for instance, we are definitely pushing for the census because, as we all know, the only way that youre counted by the census, it means more resources are come to your community, better representation in your community. We want them to be cognizant of that. On the other, we provide Catholic Charities of brooklyn and queens, we have about 200 programs, they go from everywhere from Mental Health to taking a look at families, looking at youth, w. I. C. Children. We also do a lot of telehealth. Richard, really quickly. Were out of time. If people are watching and listening and they want to help, what can they do . Is there a website . Yes. You can definitely go to its ccbq. Org. Thats Catholic Charities brooklyn queens. Youll find all the information there. I love your shirt. The world tells us to seek success, power and money. God tells us to seek humility, service and love. Thank you very much. Thank you. Let me turn to our doctor on duty, dr. Steve corwin, president and ceo of new york presbyterian hospital. Dr. Corwin, weave been talking about this since the pandemic started, communities of color being disproportionately affected. How much does that concern you, that particular trend . Its of tremendous concern, and the stories that youve just told are really heartbreaking. We have new york press teen queens which sits in flushing, we saw a huge influx of patients from corona and heelmhurst. Youre talking about communities of color disproportionately affected by this because of the combination of social determinants of health, crowded housing, the need to be even working sick because if they dont work sick, they dont get paid sick leave. So its a tragedy. Its continuing to unfold in our great city. I want to get your take on another aspect of this story, this idea that certain states are going to start reopening, certain governors are gradually going to start reopening their states over the next few days in some cases perhaps. If you were advising these governors on when and how to reopen, dr. Corwin, what would your advice be . Well, this virus knows no state boundaries, as you well know. My first admonition is you dont want to have happen in your state, city, town,hamlet, whats happened in new york. You need to have ubiquitous tests and you have to test a lot of people. Why . There virus is going to be with us until theres a vk seen or effective therapy. Youre looking at 12 to 18 months away. Why do we need to be tested . If you test positive, there has to be Contract Tracing to make sure everybody you contacted is isolated. Otherwise were going to get a significant resurgence of the virus. Thats what everyone is concerned about. There probably will be some resurgence anyway as you open up. What you dont want is going back here in new york city to square one or to a state that feels like its escaped it, seeing a big upsurge. Thats the problem. Dr. Corwin, our doctor on duty for the hour. Doctor, do stand by for me if you can. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez recovering from a presumed case of coronavirus herself. Well check in with her. She represents part of this area. Well talk to the congresswoman and see how shes doing. A reminder, new York Governor Andrew Cuomo set to give his Daily Briefing roughly 11 30. When that happens, well, of course, take you to it live. This is msnbc. Frustrated that clean clothes you want to wear always seem to need an iron . Try bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets. The bounce wrinkle guard shorts have fewer wrinkles and static, and more softness. Its the worlds first mega sheet that does the job of three dryer sheets bounce out wrinkles. 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