Transcripts For CNNW Coronavirus Pandemic Worldwide Coverage 20200408

Fighting, but signs are that our strategy is totally working. The u. S. President makes misleading claims about his record on the coronavirus pandemic as the u. S. Marks the highest singleday death toll. Also, u. S. Unemployment numbers are on the rise. Thousands of americans are risking everything, including look at these images standing in long lines to make ends meet. And a new study shows how pregnant women are being impacted by the virus. So, the United States has now reached a deadly, new milestone. There have been a very high number of deaths from the coronavirus in a single day. On tuesday, nearly 2,000 people died in the u. S. , according to Johns Hopkins university. Overall, the virus has now claimed nearly 13,000 american lives and infected close to 400,000 people. But still, the u. S. President says america could soon turn a corner. I think were reaching a level of where its going to start coming down, where its going to start sloping down. The good thing is that the number of beds needed, i think we were right about that. I was right. My group was right. Theyre not needing nearly as many beds as they thought. Theyre not needing as many ventilators as they thought. In fact, we just saw in fact, i just saw on your show and a couple of other people just reported back to me that everyone is in great shape. Id love to open with a big bang, one beautiful country and just open. So, despite the president s remarks, the u. S. Surgeon general has acknowledged that states still do face shortages of medical supplies, and as the virus surges across the country, mr. Trump is also slamming the w. H. O. , the world health organization, for its response to the pandemic. Hes accused of institution of favoring china and threatened to withhold american funding. Were going to put a hold on money spent to the w. H. O. Were going to put a very powerful hold on it, and were going to see. Well, the president later tried to walk back his comment, saying hes only considering the move. Quick followup on that. So, is the time to freeze funding to the w. H. O. During a pandemic of this magnitude . Maybe not. Im not saying were going to do it, but im going to look at it. You did say you were going to. No, i didnt. I said were going to look at it. Were going to investigate it. Were going to look at it. But we will look at ending funding. Cnns erica hill looks at how the country in the hardest hit states are handling this pretty difficult stretch. Reporter with about 97 of the country now under stayathome orders, new evidence it may be working. The numbers are going to be much, much, much, much lower than would have been predicted by the models. Reporter the cdc saying the death toll could be lower than previous projections of 200,000, thanks to widespread social distancing, which models had initially estimated just 50 of the American Public would follow. The reality today is much higher, though officials caution, this is no time to ease up. On monday, new york logging the states largest singleday death toll. One overwhelmed funeral home doing its best to meet the need. Were no longer embalming them. Why is that . Just because the capacity we dont have time to have visitations. Were simply either burying directly or direct cremation. Reporter Health Care Workers continuing to sound the alarm about personal protective equipment. In maryland, one Nurse Practitioner tried making a face shield out of a page protector and a headband. I put it on and i started crying. And i thought, i cant imagine anybody working wearing Something Like that. Reporter staff also a major concern. Retired nurses and doctors answering the call to help relieve those on the front lines. Ive never seen Emergency Departments or nursing or any of the services, actually, in general, under so much threat. And you know, its a family. So, when family is threatened, you try to step up as much as you can. Reporter on board the comfort, which will now be dedicated to covid patients, the number of beds cut in half to 500 for safety. One crew member has tested positive. Meantime, in florida, this tightly packed line for unemployment forms, a sobering picture of the growing need. Everybody out heres risking their lives to get this application. Weve given out hundreds and hundreds of applications. Reporter in connecticut, unemployment applications are about 20 times higher than anything the states seen during a recession. Wisconsin voters on tuesday trying to keep their distance at the polls, as one of the nations largest grocery Chains Announces new restrictions on capacity amid concerns about how and where the virus is spreading. In miami beach, face coverings now required for all customers and employees at grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants, including those making deliveries. Here in new york city, as we see in communities around the globe, there is a focus on first responders. At the nypd, today we learned of a 13th coronavirusrelated death. There are currently 57 nypd employees in the hospital. Five of them are in critical condition. And on tuesday, some 7,600 uniformed members called out sick. Thats nearly 20 of the nypd, but it is important to note that those sickouts do not mean all of those folks have coronavirus. Back to you. Okay, erica hill there. Thanks so much for that report, erica, reporting from new york. Now, the response in the u. S. To the coronavirus continued, as you saw in ericas piece there, to be piecemeal and confusing for many americans. Despite 400,000 infections across the country, wisconsin held a statewide election on tuesday. It was the only u. S. State to not postpone its april vote or to switch to mailin ballots. People lined up with as many precautions as they could take. Heres how the Assembly Speaker showed people it was safe to vote. You can come to a polling place and do it safely. You have the ability to do curbside voting, just like theyre doing here, even if its in a different municipality without driveup voting. You can request that the person come out. Theyll deliver you a ballot. Theyll check your i. D. You are incredibly safe to go out. But you saw what he was wearing there. That safety message contrasting with the speaker delivering it in full protective gear. So, omar jimenez has now more from milwaukee on the states most strange election. Reporter throughout the day on tuesday, we saw long lines at some of the polling locations. We saw voters and poll workers in masks and gloves and many voters were actually happy to be able to carry out their civic duty. What they werent happy about was that they had to risk their health to do so. Now, the fact that we even had an election here at all came on the tail end of what was a long few days, even weeks, some could argue, of backandforth between legislature, courts, and the Governors Office here in wisconsin. Namely, wisconsin governor tony evers, issued an executive order trying to move the election to june 9th, saying it wasnt safe. The Republicanled Legislature appealed to the state Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court shot that down, so the election continued. And then at the federal level, i mentioned that deadline for absentee ballots moved to april 13th. That came from a federal court order. Then, the u. S. Supreme court stepped in and said, well, for those votes to be counted, they have to be postmarked by election day, which means for thousands of people who requested absentee ballots but hadnt received them yet, they had to choose between going in person to vote or not voting at all to have their voice heard. Now, as this election came through, we mentioned governor tony evers, who was against this from the very beginning, at least holding the election on this day, saying that while he still has health concerns, he is overwhelmed by the bravery, resilience, and heroism of the voters and poll workers he saw out here over the course of tuesday. And again, we now wait until april 13th to see what the results of this primary is in one of the most unique times in global history. Omar jimenez, cnn, milwaukee, wisconsin. Most certainly is. Thank you so much for that. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still in a London Hospital battling his coronavirus infection. As you know, hes been in intensive care since monday. And max foster has been following all of this. Max is live outside the hospital in london for us. Good to see you, my friend hows the Prime Minister doing . Have we had any updates . Reporter were not getting many updates, it has to be said. We talked about that a bit yesterday, didnt we, about messaging . Its being criticized, but the argument being they dont want to give a running commentary, its a private matter to some extent. And also, they dont want to worry the nation, but Boris Johnson is down there behind me in intensive care unit. Over the road we have westminster, of course, where lots of questions are arising about leadership in this vacuum currently. Its being shared with dominic raab, the foreign secretary, but some concern about what that actually means and some clarity, perhaps, needed. But in terms of what weve heard today, julia, Health Minister has spoken saying the Prime Minister is comfortable, in good spirits, in stable condition. He added that mr. Johnson had some oxygen but is not on ventilation. So still, so far, good news. The updates were getting are actually coming from downing street, though, over the river from where i am now. Lets go over there to nina dos santos, who can bring us the latest on what shes hearing this morning. Nina. Reporter thanks so much. Good morning to you, max. Well, what weve seen over the last hour is dominic raab, whos standing in to deputize for the Prime Minister on certain tasks. The foreign secretary arrived. Also, the health secretary, matt hancock, arrived and then left about 45 minutes afterwards. And the chief medical officer of the United Kingdom. This is the daily meeting of government, but it, of course, has been repurposed as a sort of war cabinet to deal with the coronavirus, and that is probably what they were talking about throughout the course of the 45 minutes those three and other important senior advisers were here at downing street. They probably also were getting an update on the Prime Ministers condition. As you said, the latest update is that there hasnt been a change in his condition. He still appears to be stable, comfortable, and in command of things and in good spirits. In fact, in a press conference chaired by dominic raab yesterday afternoon, he said that the Prime Minister would fight this, and he was confident that he would pull through. In the meantime, the latest death toll in the United Kingdom from the coronavirus as per 5 00 p. M. Yesterday evening was over 6,000 people, and the government also said that across england, wales, and the rest of the uk, 55,242 people had been tested positive, but the real question mark is the one over how many people will be having access to those tests. The government has ordered many of these antibody tests, and embarrassingly earlier this week had to admit that some of them werent proven to actually work, so that puts them back to square one. And one of the immediate challenges for raab and his team while the president remains in icu, will be, of course, how to keep people in their homes as we approach a long easter weekend when the weather is getting better, spring is in full flow after a typically british winter, which is often quite bleak. People want to go out and enjoy the outside spaces and the better weather, but theyre being urged to stay indoors because the government scientists are saying that it seems as though the lockdown is working and that the number of cases is showing signs of heading towards a time where it might plateau. When is the government likely to revise this lockdown . Well, we know that theyre going to be having a meeting next week to review it. That doesnt necessarily mean that it will come off. The restrictions may well stay in place for some time. And the british people have been primed to expect that. But the bigger question here in downing street is when is the Prime Minister going to be back . Hes been absent since having been taken to hospital on sunday evening. And even if he has spent some time in intensive care, albeit not on a ventilator as downing street is saying, he may well need quite some time to recover. So, the question mark there is, who will be in charge fully and have the panoply of government under their mantle from here . Max. Nina, thank you. And robyn, interesting looking out over london, the sun is out. That would normally be a positive thing, as you know, having spent time here. It gets busy on weekends, so its worrying the weather for the government. Looking down the streets, very eerie, very empty. You can hear birds chirping. It would be extraordinary for you to come and see, very different from what youre used to. It does look like a beautiful day, and normally you take advantage of it, dont you, if youre in london. So yes, certainly going to be strange. But folks need to stay inside, dont they . Max, good to speak to you. Keep safe. And were going to stay in london, because dr. Richard doward is the medical director the fleet street in london and has written extensively about health risks with travel around the world. Good to see you. Before we get to Boris Johnson, i want your take on what our correspondent max foster and our were just talking about. Beautiful day in london, easter weekend coming up. Are you concerned that folks are going to go out to parks across the country . I think well, certainly, people are being advised to stay in. Personally, i think that the risk of providing the social distancing is maintained. The risk of acquiring infection outdoors is vanishingly small, if you are a long way from other people. The issue is crowding together, so people coming together as groups of friends or having a picnic or sitting down together. Thats much more of an issue than going for, you know, a solitary country walk or finding a way to keep your distance outdoors and still enjoy the sunshine. Okay. Its very hard balancing all of this. And you know, sometimes this all brings out the worst in people when they watch and see what other people are doing and then start, you know, raises aggression and everybody has their own interpretation. But i think as long as you can maintain a good, clear distance from somebody else, being outdoors per se should not pose a risk. Okay. That is certainly different advice coming from, you know, other doctors around yes, thats not the official party line. No, its not. You are slightly bucking the trend here, doctor. Yes. But you know, i think the message that the government wishes to deliver is everybody should stay home. Yeah, yeah. Thats the sort of official doctors orders, stay at home, or at least in your backyard, i think. Lets talk about Boris Johnson. He has been in the ic unit since monday, still deeply worrying, even though the government is not giving a lot of information here. Yes. This infection is often described as an infection in two parts a biphasic infection. So, week one, we saw him coping and being able to carry on with his daily work to an extent, and then possibly even appearing to turn the corner a little bit, but then deteriorating and needing more medical support. And this tends to be what happens in the Smaller Group of people who become more seriously ill. Of course, were all hoping that that will be the end of it and that he will continue to improve from this point with good medical support, and we know hes in at center of high excellence and will be very well supported. What i would say is that even after a mild illness, there is an aftermath of fatigue and perhaps inability to return quickly to normality. And so, even if, as we hope he will become quickly on the road to recovery, it could be a few days before he is fully feeling back to normal and able to resume all the responsibilities and duties. And thats the bestcase scenario, even after hes got out of icu, it still seems like theres a long way to go. And the nation certainly behind him. As you look in terms of your medical expertise and i know that youve done a lot of travel and medicine. If you look globally about which countries have dealt with this very well, is there any specific case study where you think, yeah, they did it . Germany, for example. Do you think lessons are being learned . Well, i mean, its endlessly fascinating to see what has happened in different countries, and its not just about the strategy that each country has followed. Its also about the differences in behavior, in populations, in the health background, in the health infrastructure, you know. Some people have had different vaccination programs in place in different countries, for example, and thats been cited as a difference between the mortality and case numbers in japan versus in italy and the United States. So, theres so many different factors to unscramble, but one can certainly look at countries like taiwan and south korea that have had a much tighter handle on things and have been much, much more well prepared than many other countries. And in fact, it is actually very distressing looking from the outside at a country like the United States, which for so many years i mean, it has the u. S. Has got worldclass Public Health leadership in terms of the cdc, the centers for disease control, and yet, we are seeing the strategy there in i mean, perhaps its unkind to call it chaos, but it is really a surprise to see how Different Things are there than they could have been and how other countries seem to have a much more unified process for tackling things. In the u. S. , youve got the disconnect between federal control on one hand and all of the disparate measures being brought into put in place by individual states, versus other countries that have actually been able to come up with a truly unified response that is very much focused on the science rather than the politics. Yeah, and its certainly even concerning being here in the u. S. Those numbers are just continuing to tick up. 13,000 people dead here. And just on tuesday, nearly 2,000 people dying. So, this certainly is a concern because were in the United States. But dr. Richard dawood, thank you very much for your expertise. Appreciate you joining us here at cnn. Thank you, sir. Thank you. So, you are watching cnn. Im robyn curnow. Still to come as france hits a grim milestone as well, find out what new restrictions parisians are facing to try and slow the spread there. Stay with us for that. Who has time for wrinkles . Neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair®. 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This is still going to be a very difficult week, and next week is going to be difficult. And in the u. S. , africanamericans are dying at a much higher rate from the coronavirus than any other groups. In louisiana, 70 of people have died from the virus are africanamerican. In illinois, 72 of people who have died from coronavirus in chicago are africanamerican, though they make up 30 of the population. And then in michigan, around 40 of people who have died are also africanamericans. The president says his administration will release more data over the next few days to better understand how the virus is impacting africanamericans. Dr. Sanjay gupta, meantime, takes a closer look at the possible reasons this community is at high risk. Reporter in the beginning, covid19 was far away, and it didnt even have a name. It was coming over to our shores from people who had traveled. Reporter but once it got a foothold in the United States, its true self was revealed. Once people got infected, because of diabetes and Heart Disease and the like, that they would get it more severely and be at higher risk of dying. Reporter dr. Camara jones is past president of the American Health association. I was struck, doctor. We are both doctors, and as i was hearing the story, it sounded just all of a sudden tragically familiar. Is this a familiar story . What we see is so familiar because the conditions of our lives havent changed significantly. And so, whats happening is that we are carrying the burden of these limited opportunities in our bodies, such as diabetes, Heart Disease, the hypertension, even in terms of, you know, immune compromised and all of that. Reporter already we are hearing from some officials that blacks have been disproportionately hit by the outbreak. Early data shows that in michigan, where i grew up, 14 of the population is black, though they make up 41 of coronavirus deaths. In illinois, 15 identify as africanamerican, but they make up 42 of deaths. Louisianas population is 32 black, which accounts for about 70 of coronavirus deaths. But heres the problem, according to dr. Jones as inadequate as testing has been for the country, the problem is even worse for africanamericans. Our whole National Testing strategy has started out as a clinical strategy, not a Public Health strategy. That, of course, has disadvantaged the whole nation in terms of knowing whos infected. And i am told also that it has been harder for many people of color to get the test just because of where testing stations have been located. Reporter while blacks are less likely to be tested, less likely to be treated, they are more likely to be on the front line essential workers upon whom we all depend. Were out here as Public Workers doing our job trying to make an honest living to take care of our families. Reporter detroit bus driver Jason Hargrove posted this online on march 21st. It is not as easy for them to shelter in place, and its not as easy because it might have frontfacing jobs like Home Health Aides or bus drivers or postal workers or working at amazon and the like. For you to get on a bus and stand on the bus and cough several times without covering up your mouth, and you know that were in the middle of a pandemic, that lets me know that some folks dont care. Reporter four days later, hargrove, who is 50 years old, became ill. He died last wednesday. Its still unclear how he got covid19. Oh, no. Sanjay gupta there reporting. Such an important story. Thanks, sanjay. Youre watching cnn newsroom. Still to come unemployment claims are skyrocketing in the u. S. Due to covid19. How this overburdened system is now forcing some people to stand in line. This is exactly what sanjay was talking about. Everybody out heres risking their lives to get this application. Im at the end of my rope. 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So, in france, the coronavirus death toll has now reached 10,000 people. The government says more than nearly 1,500 people died on tuesday, the single largest day increase so far. And as you can see, the trend has certainly been climbing over the past few days, to put it mildly. The director of Public Health says the peak is yet to come. Cyril vanier is in normandy, france, with more on all this. Hi, cyril. Reporter hi, robyn. France is in the eye of the storm right now. About a week ago, we saw the highest daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases. Just yesterday, we had the announcement that weve seen the highest daily increase in deaths, and the government wants to ramp up its mitigation of social distancing measures. So, not only is there no talk of ending the confinement, as its called here, but its got to actually get tighter. And that is why youre seeing cities and towns across france tighten their own individual measures, starting with the capital, starting with paris. As of today, between the hours of 10 00 a. M. And 7 00 p. M. , youre no longer to go, allowed to go out and exercise, which is a break from what was allowed before. People could go out jogging, but simply, authorities saw that there were too many people out and about. So, that is no longer possible. In some towns in the north of france, if you sit in the street or if you abandon your mask or your gloves or even if you fail to cover your mouth as you cough, you could be fined. In the south of france, masks have now become mandatory in the city of nice. So, you see that all of france is trying to tighten their measures because the French Health care system has not been under such great stress since the second world war. This is a system that was built to treat 5,000 people in intensive care and is currently having to deal with more than 7,000, robyn. Okay. Thanks for that update, cyril vanier there. Millions of jobless americans are now filing for unemployment as the Pandemic Forces businesses to lay off or furlough workers. And many states governments are struggling to keep up. You know that. Many of you are involved in this. In florida, for example, people are being told to use paper applications as overwhelmed Computer Systems struggle to keep up with the crush of claims. And despite social distancing guidelines, people are Still Standing in line, queueing to pick up these blank forms, as you can see from these images. Some states say unemployment claims right now are running 25 times higher than usual. Christine romans joins us now from new york. Christine, hi. Good to see you. Wow just those images, those long lines tell us so much about unemployment claims. You know, and the unemployment office, ironically, is hiring, because they have got to handle this huge flood of demand, and youre hearing about states that are hiring back retirees. Theyre hiring Tech Companies to help them upgrade their servers and upgrade their software. And in florida, in that case in particular, theyre actually sending out paper applications because the governor of that state has, you know, basically authorized the state to do whatever it takes to get the money into the hands of all those people. In north carolina, the governor there said that theyve had 400,000 jobless claim applications. On a typical week, usually you see about 3,000. So, just imagine. Now, a lot of these people will get retroactive pay once this is all worked out. And theres something called enhanced Unemployment Benefits really important here. That means the federal government is going to pay about 600 extra on top of what the State Government will pay for your jobless benefits, and this will go on for about four months. So, once it all gets worked out, hopefully, hopefully, there will be relief for people. But in the meantime, it has just been really, really difficult, just structurally to get the jobless claims system to be able to handle what is a real crisis in the jobs market. It certainly is. And you talk about retroactive payment, but folks need money now. They need to buy food now or pay their mortgage now. But theres also people running Small Businesses, and theres been a lot of loan glitches, hasnt there . Now, thats another really big, important piece of the main street bailout. A record, historic main street bailout, 350 billion for companies, small companies, small and mediumsized companies. And the sba, the Small Business administration, says theres been some 220,000 loans that have been approved for some 66 billion. So, if you do the math and theres still so many Small Business owners who havent been connected with a loan, that big pot of money, when its finally disbursed, will run out pretty quickly here. So already youve got Congress Talking about more, more money for Small Business owners. But in the meantime, again, technology is a problem here. Youve got so many people who are rushing to try to get this money, lenders who are a little bit unsure of some of the rules and the rules have been changing a little bit. So, i think youve seen some real rocky, rocky few days here for getting that money into the hands of Small Business owners, but i think more money is coming. So its the same story the money is there, the promise is there, robyn. Its just getting it into the hands of people that has been really frustrating. It really is disparate times, indeed. Christine romans in new york, thank you. Nice to see you. You, too. Youre watching cnn newsroom. Still to come, pregnant during a pandemic. A new study is telling us more about how pregnant women experience the coronavirus. What it means for their bodies and their babies. Thats next. My time is thin, but so is my lawn. 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And we are monitoring our system 24 7 to ensure that we have a fast reliable network, keep the customers connected, and making sure people are staying safe. And were still on the road. Solving Critical Issues as they arise. Go to xfinity. Com prepare. Thank you. So, we have a little bit of good news here. A new study is telling us more about how coronavirus affects pregnant women, and what were finding is researchers found that women do not appear to be passing infection on to their babies. Thats good news. They also dont experience a more severe version of the virus than the average person. Theres no differences there. And we also know that 8 of women from the survey got a mild form of the virus. Only 2 of the 43 women in the study experienced what they called a critical disease. Lets go to cultan obstetrician dr. Jill malfield, president of the Royal College of obstetricians and gynecologists, and she joins me now. Thank you, doctor, because i want to talk about this study. What more can yo tell us and how can you unpack it for us . Well, i think whats reassuring about this study is it confirms the information that weve had from around the world that it does look really hopeful that pregnant women are not at increased risk of either catching coronavirus, compared to the general population, if theyre otherwise fit and well. And once they get the virus, inevitably some pregnant women will catch the virus, that actually, they do not seem to be at increased risk of the severe end of the disease. And that was a concern as this man denimic started, because we know with other respiratory viruses, things like flu, pregnant women have been more susceptible and have been more unwell with those sorts of conditions, but it looks like at the moment the evidence were collecting and i would suggest to you that its still early days and we do still have to keep very much collecting all of this evidence to confirm that the information that weve got at the moment on the cases that we know about does suggest exactly as you say, that there is a small proportion of women that are going to have the severe end of the problem and the vast majority of women who catch the virus will have a mild or moderate illness, rather than being severely unwell. And i know that you say this is still early days, but do we know if this data comes from women who were studied in late pregnancy . You know, theres a difference, perhaps, in the first trimester . Is there some sort of clarification on where we are there . We havent got we havent the data you know, the data is very incomplete at the moment, and thats not surprising, given whats going on across the world, basically. So, the data from the american study was of women that were screened as they came into a maternity unit. But we are you know, it is difficult, because each country, each country and each state, i believe from your perspective, are doing things slightly differently, so we wont be screening every pregnant women or every woman thats in early pregnancy because thats just not feasible. So we have to look at what the outcomes of some of the pregnancies are on where weve got the data, trying to interpret that. But it is still early days. And i think i want to be really reassuring about early pregnancy, that the data from china that we have had from them is they havent seen an increased risk in terms of miscarriage or fetal abnormalities, so a problem with the baby, if you get this virus. So, that is reassuring, basically, but we still need it really is, doctor collection of data. I do want to ask you about women who are at 39 weeks, 40 weeks, 41 weeks. Theyre having to go into hospital, maybe needing a cesarean section. What are the protocols that youre advising . Obviously, a lot of people saying dont come in with too many people, but then theres also the anxiety issue around this, going into hospitals that are so overwhelmed. Yeah. So, i think that is a real worry for women that, actually, theres not going to be anybody there to look after them. And i certainly know from our own experience in the uk that were doing absolutely everything thats possible to maintain a really safe and secure maternity service, and thats really important, and i am absolutely certain that will be going on in other parts of the world as well. And in our own country, actually, we have we are still allowing a birth partner to come in to units, because we actually recognize that having support in labor is really crucial for women across the world, and we would want to try and facilitate that as much as possible. But we are stopping other visitors, both for antinatal and postnatal visiting in the majority of cases, because we need to reduce the chances of transmission. So, i think different for labor and birth than it is for antenatal and postnatal visiting and appointments. Yeah, and i know there have been a lot of warnings, grannies and grandparents trying to not go and visit in those early weeks now, which, of course, is difficult, because nannies, doulas, visiting nurses, many of the support systems around new mothers are breaking down. So, certainly challenging days for many women out there. On another note, perhaps on a positive note, are you expecting a baby boom in nine months time . I know that weve already had twins in india called covid and corona. Do you think that the likelihood that youre going to see a bit of a baby boom in nine months . Yes, i suspect that that may be the case, as people are being confined to their homes. Obviously, there is good contraceptive advice out there for those women that do not wish to have a baby at this time, but yes, that is something that weve seen before, and i suspect we are going to see again. But you know, as long as its a planned and wanted baby, thats a really marvelous thing in the world. It is, indeed. And thank you very much, dr. Jo mountfield, to you and all of the staff who are helping women across the world, thanks a lot as well. Have a lovely day. Thank you. So, youre watching cnn newsroom. Still to come, most major sports are shut down due to the coronavirus, but a few top leagues are playing a different kind of comeback. Well have the details after this short break. At papa johns, we want you to know that from our 450degree oven, to box, to you, its our policy that your pizza is never touched once it comes out of the oven. And were taking extra steps, like no contact delivery, to ensure it. You cant always stop for a fingerstick. Betes with the freestyle libre 14 day system, a continuous glucose monitor, you dont have to. With a painless, onesecond scan you can check your glucose with a smart phone or reader so you can stay in the moment. No matter where you are or what youre doing. Ask your doctor for a prescription for the freestyle libre 14 day system. You can do it without fingersticks. Learn more at freestylelibre. Us. There will be parties and family gatherings. There will be parades and sporting events and concerts. To help our communities when they come back together, respond to the 2020 census now. Spend a few minutes online today to impact the next 10 years of healthcare, infrastructure and education. Go to 2020census. Gov and respond today to make americas tomorrow brighter. Its time to shape our future. Make me an angel that flies from montgomery make me a poster of an old rodeo that is john prine performing there just a couple of years ago on austin city limits. He died on tuesday in nashville. His publicist says due to complications from coronavirus. Hes widely regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation and a favorite. You could hear there, of bob dylan, influenced there, and bruce springsteen. John prine was 73 years old. And many sports fans are itching for the games to return after most professional leagues called off events due to the pandemic, for good reason. Well, now one sport is warming up plans to get back out on the field, as tom foreman now reports on the proposal from Major League Baseball. Reporter a computer helping call balls and strikes to keep umpires at a distance. No consultations on the pitching mound. Players not in crowded dugouts, but spread out in the empty stands. And every team, every game in arizona. Thats how it may look if Major League Baseball says play ball next month, according to multiple reports, fulfilling president trumps repeated call for a fast return of pro sports. And the fans want to be back, too, you know. They want to see basketball and baseball and football and hockey. They want to see their sports. Reporter baseballs official stance remains unchanged. Were going to resume playing when its safe for our fans, our players, and the public for us to resume playing. Reporter the plan under discussion would attempt to create a safe zone with teams operating in isolation for months amid rigorous Virus Testing at their hotels, on buses, in stadiums, closed to all fans. Still, its a stark contrast to Health Officials warning against any contact with others. This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe. Reporter other pro sports are nibbling at resuming with similar plans to limit exposure, but only tentatively. Basketball commissioner adam silver. At least for the month of april, we wont be in a position to make any decisions. And i dont think that necessarily means on may 1st we will be. Reporter hockeys stanley cup playoffs should have started this week. Instead, ideas are being floated for returning to the ice maybe this summer in north dakota. Those seem barely more than rumors. The league is saying little. And the biggest game around, football. The nfls draft is this month with teams planning virtual parties to celebrate. In a Conference Call with sports officials days ago, the president said he hopes the league can kick off on time in september, but many state and local officials are questioning all this talk of sports coming back soon. Thats not something i anticipate happening in the next few months. Reporter with billions of dollars and thousands of jobs at stake, of course everybody would like to see sports up and running again. But for now, the teams and the towns that host them seem to be saying they will let Health Officials, not politicians, make that call. Tom foreman, cnn, bethesda, maryland. Well, lets hope so. Thanks to tom for that. And as other sports grapple with the coronavirus, the president of the ultimate fighting championship says hes come up with a way to keep his mixed Martial Arts League going. White says he plans to secure a private island to host upcoming fights secluded from the pandemic. His plan calls for fighters to meet in one place where theyll be tested for coronavirus before private planes would fly them to an undisclosed island. Even the fighters wont know where theyre headed. White says this could allow fans to watch fights online as soon as april 18th. Okay, so, thanks for your company. This has been the show. Lets help our medical workers by staying at home and staying safe. Have a wonderful day. Im robyn curnow. New day is next. Youre watching cnn. Skin sin 17. Too many afterparties. Neutrogena® bright boost with dullnessfighting neoglucosamine. Boosts cell turnover by 10 times for instantly brighter skin. Bright boost neutrogena® for instantly brighter skin. 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Weve always believed in the power of working together. Thats why, when every connection counts. You can count on us. Were projecting that we are reaching plateau in the total number of hospitalizations. The past couple of days, discharging more patients than we are admitting. Thats not to suggest that well continue to see these declines. Its to only reinforce the importance of maintaining physical distancing. We have patients here ranging in age from 31 to the 80s, and were working hard to save them. I and many black americans are at higher risk for covid. This is a really significant manifestation of these longstanding structural inequalities. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the