So these yellow lines reflect the nonstop flights going out of wuhan, and then the blue circles reflect the final destinations of travelers. The larger the circle, the larger number of travelers going to that location. These were many of the first cities that received cases of covid19 as it spread out of mainland china. Reporter you can do that in a matter of seconds . We can analyze and visualize all this information across the globe in just a few seconds. Reporter the virus wasnt just spreading to east asia. Thousands of travelers were heading to the united states, too. Most of the travel came into california and San Francisco and los angeles. Also into new york city. And we analyzed that way back on december 31st. Our Surveillance System that picked up the outbreak of wuhan automatically talks to the system that is looking at how travelers might go to various airports around wuhan. Reporter so when you see that map, you dont just see flight patterns. If you think of an outbreak a bit like a fire and embers flying off, these are like embers flying off into different locations. Reporter so in this case, that ember landed in dry brush in new york and started a wildfire. Absolutely. Reporter dr. Kahn told us he had spent the better part of a year persuading the airlines to share their flight data for Public Health. Nobody had ever asked that before. But he saw it as information gold. How is it that someone knows 16 b, that seat is available, but 14 a has been taken . There clearly must be some kind of information system. Reporter why is that so important . There are over 4 billion of us that board commercial flights and travel around the world every year, and so that is why understanding population movements becomes so important in anticipating how diseases spread. Reporter the virus spread across asia with a vengeance. Blue dot has licensed access to the anonymized location data from millions of cell phones. And with that data, it identified 12 of the 20 cities that would suffer first. What were looking at here are mobile devices that were in wuhan in the previous 14 days and where are they now across east asia. Places like tokyo have a lot of devices. Seoul and south korea. Reporter so youre following those devices from wuhan to these other cities . Thats correct. I do want to point out these are also anonymized data, but they allow us to understand population movements. That is how we can understand how this virus will spread. Reporter to build their algorithm, dr. Kahn told us he deliberately hired an eclectic mix, engineers, ecologists, gee og ra fers, veterinarians all under one roof. They spent a year teaching the computer to detect 150 deadly pathogens. We can ultimately train the machine to be reading through all the text and picking out components that this is talking about an outbreak of anthrax and this is talking about the heavy metal band anthrax. And as you do this, thousands and thousands and thousands of times, machine starts to get smarter and smarter. Reporter and how many different languages does the computer understand . So, its reading this currently in 65 languages and processing this information every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, so its a lot of data to go through. Reporter within two hours of detecting the outbreak on december 31st, blue dot had sent a warning of the potential threat to its clients. Public Health Officials in 12 countries. Airlines a frontline hospitals will humboldt river in toronto. Weve been able to really make a lot of decisions, i think a little bit earlier, because i kind of feel like we had a bit of an inside scoop here. Reporter one of canadas top Infectious Disease physicians, dr. Michael gardham, told us it was like getting realtime intelligence. What did you do when you got that information from blue dot . Getting that intel allowed me to kind of be the canary in the cole mine to stand up and say we need to stand up and Pay Attention to this and to start thinking about it, start thinking about supplies, start thinking about how busy we might be. Now, at this point, Everybody Knows about covid19, but its not so much now. Now you pretty much bought whatever p. P. E. You can buy. Its very hard to buy that any more. Its what did you do a month and a half ago that was so important . So none of this is any surprise to us whatsoever, and yet you see countries around the world where this has been a surprise. Reporter blue dot had no clients in the u. S. So what dr. Guardhams hospital was making plans in january, President Trump as late as a march was still assuring americans that everything was under control. Were prepared and were doing a great job with it. It will go away. Just stay calm. Reporter california wasnt so sure and braced for the worst. In march, it became the first state in the country to lock down its cities. Mickey mouse suddenly looked lonely. Drivers had only dreamed of such empty freeways. But the lockdown bought time. Despite having its first case of covid19 five weeks before new york, california dodged the hurricane of infection that slammed into new york city. At his daily teleconference in sacramento, governor gavin newsom made no secret where heed gotten his edge. Outbreak science. Its not a gross exaggeration when i say this. The old modelling is literally pen to paper in some cases, and then you put it into some modest little Computer Program and it spits a piece of paper out. This is a whole nother level of sophistication and data collection. And you can see the full 60 minutes report on our website cbsnews. Com. The overnight news will be right back. Did you know that feeling sluggish or weighed down could be signs that your digestive system isnt working at its best . Taking metamucil every day can help. Metamucil supports your daily Digestive Health using a special plantbased fiber called psyllium. Psyllium works by forming a gel in your digestive system to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. Metamucils gelling action also helps to lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. So, start feeling lighter and more energetic. By taking metamucil every day. For bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surs. For 45 days. The calming scent of lavender by downy infusions calm. Laundry isnt done until its done with downy. Around the world, Law Enforcement agencies are turning to drones to monitor public spaces and enforce social distancing rules. Here in the u. S. , 1600 federal, state and local agencies have drones at their disposal, but so do a lot of private drone pilots. Some who have taken it upon themselves to help enforce local guidelines. Errol barnett has that story. Covid19 volunteer drone task force. Reporter onlookers were perplexed when cbs news captured this drone buzzing above a new york city park this month at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. It wasnt the work of new york police, but instead, this frustrated drone enthusiast from queens. I couldnt believe my eyes. Reporter Xavier Arthur was so angry at people not following guidelines to stay home, he offered what he describes as a public service. Its like, okay, im just going to make sure that the message gets out loud and clear. Maybe someone will listen. Reporter arthurs effort may not have been official. But his plan mimics those of some Public Safety organizations nationwide. Were not telling people to get out. Were not enforcing as far as them having to go. Were making the announcement for Public Safety reasons. Reporter sergeant tim aaron covers Police Department in daytona beach, florida, is one of 43 agencies in 22 states to receive a donation from d. J. I. , the drone manufacturer gave away 100 devices as part of its Disaster Relief program. Aaron coffer has also tested, but not deployed, other dronebacked technologies like measuring body temperature. Its equipped with a flare, the infrared camera which can detect hetty temperatures. Reporter that was meant to be deployed in connecticut where the westport Police Department planned to pilot a drone that monitored heat signatures and tracked distances between people. It can even recognize if someone coughed. But it was pulled over residents privacy concerns. And privacy advocates in the u. S. Are warning of the potential for abuse. You can add the ability to do facial recognition or the ability to do license plate reading. Thermal imaging cameras can see through walls. Reporter jeremy scott is senior counsel at the electronic privacy information center. Some people might say, look, these extreme measures are just for use during this pandemic. Why should we worry . Then there should be no issue with stating that and providing certain protections saying this information is only being used in response to the Public Health issue and will not be used for other purposes. Reporter but aaron coffer points out his drones are limited to public spaces. Do you still have the faa and local laws that guide us. It doesnt matter if im using a drone, telescoping antenna. I dont have a right to look in your backyard without a search warrant. And that was Errol Barnett on drone patrol. The faa, by the way, requires every drone to be registered before it takes flight. As for collecting data with your personal drone, there is currently no federal law or even guideline on whats allowed. When a tiger in new york citys bronx zoo tested positive for kind, people took notice. Jamie yuccas has whats being done to keep the animals and their handlers safe. Reporter the Los Angeles Zoo delivered this special bundle a few months ago. Keepers take extra precautions with apes, especially vulnerable to coronavirus. So many of us really dont know whats going to happen next. And thats because this is a brandnew virus for us. Reporter Dominique Keller is chief veterinarian. Were calling this an extremely extraordinary and fluid situation. We discuss whats going on at our location as well as other institutions just to make sure were up on what the best standard of care should be now. Reporter gorillas share ofit humans are susceptiblewi ionnown as valley fever. Hell likely need medication the rest of his life. If a vaccine comes out for covid19, will you vaccinate the animals for that . Absolutely if a vaccine comes out and proves effective, we would certainly vaccinate what we consider the most susceptible animals such as our great apes. Reporter to maintain social distancing and prevent disease transmission, all nonemergency procedures have been postponed. We have to limit our face time with each other. Were doing the best we can toe. Reporter animal care includes mental wellbeing. Keepers everywhere are coming up with innovated ways to keep animals stimulated without human visitors. Zoos and aquariums have become play grounds. Penguins waddle through the Flower Garden at minnesotas park zoo and conservancy. While the gorillas eye keepers doing yoga. When camels are taken out for a walk, other beasts take notice. At the l. A. Zoo, keepersay some animals are acting more social. If you walk by now in a public space, they come over and they vocalize at you. Its almost like theyre like, ooh look, a person. Where did everybody go . Reporter animal isolation can lead to abnormal animal behavior so enrichment activities are vital. How are you . Reporter many zoos are putting behind the scenes footage online. Viewership of animal camsave so. That gave them wild ideas, to ask for donations along with your clicks to help offset lost revenue caused by the pandemic. If thats not possible for some, there is still a hope. That a positive move towards looking at how we interact with the Natural World is one of the ngz that comes out of it. Reporter jamie yuccas, los angeles. And that is the overnight news for this thursday. Reporting from the cbs news st ios in washington, im jeff pegues. Captioning sponsored by cbs odonnell tonight, could it be a medical breakthrough . Americas top Infectious Disease doctor praises a possible treatment for coronavirus as a new hope. Because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus. This is very optimistic. Odonnell will the f. D. A. Fast track its use for hospitalized patients . The news sent the stock market soaring. But there are still big economic worries. The u. S. Economy shrinks as Consumer Spending plummets, and it may only get worse. Across america, food lines stretch, stimulus checks stolen from mailboxes, and why some ske more money by staying on unemployment than going back to work. Massive crowds the mayor of new