18. Meanwhile new york now the hardesthit state, pleading for help. Governor andrew cuomo blasting the administrations response, saying the state needs 30,000 ventilators, far more than the government is offering. As the number of american cases grows, the World Health Organization is now warning that the United States could be the next epicenter of the pandemic. But President Trump is increasingly anxious about the economic toll of the unprecedented nationwide shutdown and now talking about having businesses reopen by Easter Sunday. He says he wants churches full, despite warnings from top health officials. Lets begin in los angeles right now. Cnns nick watt is on the scene for us. Nick, more disturbing developments right now. Reporter absolutely, wolf, that first confirmation of a person under the age of 18 dying. Now, we have just heard from the county health department. They say this is not a small child. We do not know the age yet. And they also say they are still investigating to find out how this person contracted the virus and also whether there were any Underlying Health conditions that could be a factor. This fight is now nationwide. But as you mentioned, wolf, the front line for now is up there in the northeast. We knew new york was bad. Turns out its even worse. The rate of increase has gone up. Were not slowing it. And it is accelerating on its own. Reporter doubling about every three days. Peak infection now projected to hit in just 14 to 21 days. The apex is higher than we thought and the apex is sooner than we thought. That is a bad combination of facts. Reporter hes upped his estimates of new yorks needs to as many as 140,000 hospital beds. They dont have enough. They need another 30,000 ventilators at minimum. New york says fema sent 400 ventilators this morning. Later the federal government said they have delivered 2,000. What are we going to do with 400 ventilators when we need 30,000 ventilators . Youre missing the magnitude of the problem. Reporter you is the federal government. Tomorrow there will be another 2,000 ventilators shipped from the national stockpile. We all have to rally around new york. But then understand that there will be other places next. I cant predict which ones. But i believe california, washington, florida i am deeply worried about. Reporter after china, after europe, could we be the next epicenter . We are now seeing a very large acceleration in the numbers of cases from the United States. So it does have that potential. Reporter and this is going to last. Youre looking at probably late may, june, something in that range, could be as late as july. Reporter Morgan Stanley saying gdp could fall 30 april through june. Unemployment could explode to nearly 13 . Just last weeks new jobless claims, they say, could be 3. 4 million. If true, thats nearly five times the record set during the 2009 financial crisis. We have to go back to work. Much sooner than people thought. I understand what the president is saying. This is unsustainable, that we close down the economy. But if you ask the American People to choose between Public Health and the economy, then its no contest. Reporter well, well see. By midweek, just over half of all americans will be under some sort of stayhome directive. And clearly there is some debate as to when and how we reopen for business. Governor andrew cuomo suggested maybe theres some way we can test if people have had the virus, therefore they hopefully have some immunity, maybe they can go back to work. Morgan stanley, by the way, is warning that if we reopen too early, it could backfire and in fact make the human and the Economic Cost even worse, wolf. Nick, thank you, nick watt reporting for us. Lets go to the white house right now, chief White House Correspondent jim acosta is joining us. Jim, the pandemic is worsening by the hour but the president says he wants u. S. Businesses to reopen by easter, he would like to see churches full on Easter Sunday. Reporter thats right, wolf. There will be a Coronavirus Task force press conference this evening. The president said he wants to see packed churches on that sunday. The president s push to return to normal life causes many, including republicans, to say the president is risking american lives. The president , a Fox Town Hall this morning. I would like to see the country opened up and raring to go by easter. I think Easter Sunday, and youll have packed churches all over our country. I think it would be a beautiful time. Reporter the president insisted his plan could work by encouraging americans to go back to their jobs in the weeks to come while still practicing social distancing. We can socially distance ourselves and go to work and youll have to work a little bit harder, you dont have to shake hands anymore with people. Reporter when asked if she backs the president s goals for the virus one of his top medical experts, dr. Deborah birx, would only say she needs to see more data on the Global Pandemic during the nations ongoing 15day social distancing period. Every american needs to continue the president s guidelines for these next six days or seven days. Reporter the president also denied his administration botched the shipment of coronavirus tests around the country, even though some governors say thats exactly what happened. Where did this i dont think cdc screwed up either. Reporter mr. Trump continues to make questionable claims about the coronavirus, suggesting its just as bad as the seniasonal flu and car accidents. Experts say the coronavirus appears to be more deadly than the flu. We lose thousands of people every year to the flu. We never turned the country off. We lose much more than that to automobile accidents. We didnt call up the Automobile Companies and say stop making cars. Reporter its not just democrats who disagree with the president. Well have to stay in. For the president to make light of that as if its like, so what, some people will die but the economy will grow, no. Youll hurt the economy if more people are sick. Reporter republican congressman liz cheney tweeted, there will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of americans of all ages including our doctors and nurses lay dying because we have failed to do whats necessary to stop the virus. But some in the gop like texas Lieutenant Governor dan patrick said some seniors may be willing to die to save the economy. No one reached out to me and said, as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the america that all america loves for your children and grandchildren. And if thats the exchange, im all in. Reporter the president also weighed in on the battle over the stimulus deal on capitol hill, revealing he turned down an agreement overnight. I canceled the deal last night, i said im not going to sign that deal because nancy pelosi came in and put a lot of things into the deal that had nothing to do with workers. Reporter new york Governor Cuomo blasted the administration for failing to ship enough ventilators. Fema said, were sending 400 ventilators. Really . What am i going to do with 400 ventilators when i need 30,000 . Reporter the president fired back after hearing that. He shouldnt be talking about us. Hes supposed to be buying his own ventilators. Reporter the white house is looking at a variety of options for how to reopen the country, perhaps starting with states that have yet to feel the brunt of the coronavirus or encouraging younger americans to go back to work first. But a source close to the Coronavirus Task force said one scenario that hasnt been pondered quite enough is the possibility of needing to shut down the country again if its reopened too quickly. That would complicate things, according to the source. Wolf, it obviously could end up being a big nightmare. It certainly could. Jim acosta, were standing by with you for this White House Briefing. Well have live coverage of that once the Coronavirus Task force comes out, well see if the president comes out once again as well. Meantime lets get some more on all of this. The Connecticut Governor ned lamb on t lamont, thank you for joining us. The president says he wants the country back operating fully by easter with churches full. Hes also doubling down on his concerns about the social distancing measures. I want you to listen to this. This cure is worse than the problem. Again, people many people, in my opinion more people are going to die if we allow this to continue. We have to go back to work. Our people want to go back to work. How do you square that, governor, with the very dire warnings were getting from the medical professionals . Look, i got to tell you, wolf, the number of people infected in connecticut doubled over the last two days. It is escalating, it is growing. And im afraid the white house has been underestimating, downplaying this virus for too long. Maybe its time for the Business Community to stand up on whether they think its realistic to about it back to business as usual by easter or they want us to deal with this Public Health emergency in a serious way so we really can get back on our feet later. The president , as you heard, also reiterating that new york state needs to go ahead and buy its own ventilators. What goes through your mind when you hear the president accuse Governor Cuomo of, quote, complaining that new york isnt getting the help it needs . Look, you saw how our country mobilized leading up to world war ii. What they were able to do with National Production and taking the lead. And thats just what our federal government ought to be doing. Let me just say one thing about nicks analysis where he said new york city is the epicenter of the virus here in the United States. Its the new york city metropolitan area. That includes jersey city, and that includes Fairfield County. So yes, new york city does need ventilators. They do need the ppe. But so does Fairfield County. It doesnt work if you put out the fire in new york but still have it blazing in Fairfield County where our infection rate is through the roof. Whats your biggest need right now, governor . Our biggest need by far, wolf, is getting more of the protective equipment. Ive got nurses who are worried about going into the hospitals. Ive got first responders. Ive got folks working at nursing homes. Ive got to make sure theyre safe so they dont get contaminated so we can get them tested so they have the protective gear they need, so theyre able to take care of everybody else who needs it. Good luck you to, good luck to all the folks in connecticut. I know you guys are in a very tough and potentially very dangerous situation. Thanks so much for joining us. Its escalating. The president shouldnt downplay it. Thanks, wolf. It clearly is, thank you. Joining us on the phone, the Commanding Officer of the u. S. Navy hospital ship mercy which is now en route to los angeles. Captain, thank you for joining us. You departed san diego for l. A. Last night. Where are you now, when do you anticipate that youre accept your first patient in l. A. . We expect to be there by the end of the week. We expect to see our first patient after we arrive. I dont know if you can speak up a little bit, im having a tough time hearing you. Youre on the phone, right . Correct. Just speak up a little bit more, i want to make sure our viewers out there can hear you. You described your ship as a relief valve to allow local hospitals in effect to focus on coronavirus cases while you care for other patients. Youre not going to have coronavirus patients aboard the mercy, are you . That is the intent, wolf. When you say that is the intent, you might wind up having coronavirus cases, is that what im hearing . No, you are correct, were not going to be taking coronavirus cases on the ship. Well try to increase the capacity of the local hospitals. To make room in the local hospitals for coronavirus patients, youll take other patients who are already there and move them, or new patients and move them to the mercy. How will you ensure you dont allow highly contagious coronavirus patients, captain, on board . Were partnering with fema as the lead agency, and state officials in california, were going to refine exactly what the screening process looks like. So will everybody be tested, every patient who comes aboard the mercy will first be tested for coronavirus . I think its safe to say that every patient will be screened. Well follow cdc guidelines with the local hospitals to see who needs to be tested. Captain, have you ever seen or done anything like this in your careers in the u. S. Navy . I have not. I cant tell you how thrilled i am to be a part of this effort to protect the American People. Youre moving towards los angeles, youre in the pacific right now. Thanks to you and the men and women aboard the mercy. Well be in close touch with you. Good luck. Thanks, wolf. To our viewers, stay with us. Once again, were expecting the white house Coronavirus Task force briefing to begin very soon. Well have live coverage as soon as it starts. Youre looking at live pictures from the White House Briefing room. I dont see any of the reporters sitting yet. But theyll be separated, they wont be sit on top of each other as normally they do in the White House Press briefing room. Also just ahead, disturbing complaints from Health Care Workers about worsening conditions and increasing dangers. And awardwinning service, and i see it with zero commissions on online trades. I like what youre seeing. Its beautiful, isnt it . Td ameritrade now offers zero comissions on online trades. On online trades. New fixodent ultra dual power provides you with an unbeatable hold and strong seal against food infiltrations. Fixodent. And forget it. Becwe stay focused ons me all my finwhat we do best. Lace, with netsuite by oracle, you get a full picture of your business, and its everything you need to grow all in one place. Schedule your free product tour right now at netsuite. Com boots. 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Lets go to our Senior Investigative correspondent drew griffin. Drew, what are you learning . Reporter wolf, the lack of proper protective equipment and the lack of testing, these two botched responses as part of the response to this crisis, are colliding in hospitals and Emergency Rooms across the country. Health workers, these heroic health workers, showing up to work, knowing theyre being exposed to the virus, knowing they dont have the protection, and knowing they cant even get tested to find out if they have it. Health care workers from across the country are telling cnn they are increasingly in a dangerous situation. Being asked to work out proper protection, risking infection to themselves or their families. The president of the ems workers in new york says 5 of his members are already out sick. If we lost 200 people in ten days, and our system is already thin stretched, i would assume within a few weeks, maybe three or four weeks, if we continue this pace, the system will simply collapse. Reporter at the heart of the anxiety is a lack of testing and proper protective gear. A doctor at New York Hospital describes a third world country scenario, saying so many doctors and nurses are falling ill, we have no sick call. Our sick call got sick. Judy sheridan gonzalez, longtime er nurse and president of the new york nurses union, says every day the lives of medical personnel are in danger. We know medical professionals have tested positive. In my own hospital, and i dont think its unique, we have a nurse who is on a ventilator right now who contracted the virus. Reporter Holy Name Medical Center in teaneck, new jersey, already has 35 doctors and nurses homesick. Chief medical officer adam jarrett says he fears a staffing crunch. If things dont slow down im concerned about several weeks from now. Reporter with lack of testing, the cdc has posted guidelines for a nontestbased strategy which says infected Health Care Workers can return to work without being tested. If its been at least three days since recovery of symptoms and at least seven days since symptoms first appeared. Every Health Care Worker cnn spoke with pointed to the lack of proper protective equipment and guidelines that go against everything theyve been taught about infection control. Everybody is terrified. We feel an obligation to take care of our patients, everybody does. But we dont want to become sick and we also dont want to become carriers, nor do we want to be so disabled that we cant care for people. Reporter an even bigger concern is if and when Health Care Workers decide its no longer worth the risk. A nurse in ohio told cnn she just quit because her hospital was unable to provide protective equipment and she fears bringing the virus home to her children. Dr. Nisha metta who runs a private Facebook Group for 65,000 physicians, says were not there yet. At some point people are saying i dont want to be a martyr in a battle that is futile. Reporter wolf, what these people are telling us is that theyve been to very tragic situations, haiti, covering floods, tsunamis. But theyve never gone into a crisis anywhere in the World Without the protective gear that keeps them safe. Thats different this time around here in the u. S. They dont have the gear, wolf. Its an awful situation. Grew driven reporting for us, thank you. Lets bring in our medical and political experts to discuss. And dr. Gupta, i want your analysis of what we just heard from drew. How dangerous is the current shortage of personal protective equipment to the Health Care Workers who are out there on the front line right now . This is a very contagious virus. We know its a lot more contagious than the flu. We know in hospitals as much as we talk about social distancing, in other aspects of our lives, its actually very hard to practice social distancing in hospitals, so thats another risk factor. And hospitals are obviously where the sick patients are so that increases the risk as well. Theres already a tremendous risk of people contracting the virus and getting sick as well. I thought this point that drew sort of raised at the end, that look, are there going to be a group of Health Care Workers who are going to say, look, its not worth it, i have either elderly people or Young Children or whoever in my home and im worried about bringing the virus back, ive talked to a lot of people like that already, womlf i have people who come home but theyre living in the garage, they dont interact with their family. They dont know how long thats going to continue. Its really challenging, not only the physical concerns about contracting the virus, but just how you live your life after that if youre not sure youre being protected. Thats an important point. Dr. Jennifer nozzo, jennifer, could hospitals, as they fill up, some of them at capacity, could they become a significant source of infection, those hospitals . Yes, thats deeply worrying. We have to do something to protect these Health Care Workers. I dont understand. We have been for more than a decade amassing personal protective equipment for just this kind of Public Health emergency. The fact that doctors and nurses are putting their lives on the line without the appropriate tools they need to protect themselves, to take care of themselves and their patients and their families, this is unbelievable. This is worrisome because all the measures were taking right now are to preserve the functioning of the Health System. But if doctors and nurses cant be protected and if we lose doctors and nurses because they become ill and cant see patients, then were just going to Lose Health Care resources. So this is quite bad. And in many instances, in other sorts of epidemics and outbreaks, when Health Systems arent prepared to handle an influx of patients and doctors get sick, they become amplifying forces to spread the disease back to their communities and exacerbate the tolls what have is already a very challenging situation. Dana bash is with us also, dana, were just getting word from our white house team, sources close to the Coronavirus Task force are saying that dr. Anthony fauci, the leading expert on Infectious Diseases here in the United States, he is expected to be at the upcoming White House Briefing thats exposed start fairly soon. Thats significant, he wasnt in the fox news town hall with the president earlier today. Others were there. He wasnt at the briefing yesterday or the day before. And there have been clearly very different statements coming from dr. Fauci and the president on some of the most sensitive issues. No question. Look, dr. Fauci missed a briefing last week, so there is a history there. But it didnt happen in a vacuum, that he wasnt there yesterday, or at the town hall today. It happened in the context of, as you mentioned, the president being contradicted by dr. Fauci, and dr. Fauci clearly feeling uncomfortable, although he handled it in a very diplomatic way, uncomfortable with some things that the president has been saying about critical drugs that could be used maybe down the road. The president leaned very far into it in a way that dr. Fauci was not, you know didnt want to go there yet. And look, the fact is you have the House Speaker i talked to earlier, and others, pleading with the president to continue to listen to the doctor. That includes a lot of his republican allies, some of whom i have talked to. So it is important that we see him there just as a show of force and of unity. And dr. Fauci knows more about this than almost anyone. Right. So were grateful to him, grateful that he will be there answering reporters questions. Everybody stick around, a lot more coming up. Once again, well have live coverage of the white house Coronavirus Task force briefing, looking at live pictures coming in, as soon as it begins. 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Sanjay, like you, dr. Fauci is a national treasure, we can rely on him, weve known him for many, many years. I think its significant that presumably hes going to answer reporters questions and tell us the truth. Yeah, wolf, well, thank you for that comment too, but absolutely, wolf, theres a big discussion thats happening right now. And, you know, youve heard the American Public has heard all sorts of Different Things about this 15day pause, starting last monday, and we were told at least there was some sort of an idea that maybe that would end after 15 days. President trump has talked about it lasting until easter, just over three and a half weeks. Dr. Fauci and others have said that this social distancing time, these representations that have been made, are difficult for certain but they are necessary, they have not been equivocal about that at all, dr. Fauci hasnt. Well see how he answers the questions today, because im sure they will come up. If you look at other places around the world, wolf, there are examples where some of these strategies have worked or seem to have worked, china and south korea in particular. How long were the curves over there . Sort of eight to ten weeks, not two or three weeks. So it will be very interesting to see how that part of the discussion goes on, the grappling with wanting to open the country versus the legitimate Public Health concern, wolf. Let me get dr. Nuzzo, i want to play the clip that the president said hes looking at Easter Sunday as the day he hopes the country will be back to normal. Listen to this. Easter is a very special day for me and i see its sort of in that timeline that im thinking about, and wouldnt it be great to have the churches full . The churches are essentially not allowed to have much of a gone agr congregation. Youll have packed churches all over our country. I think it would be a beautiful time. It would be beautiful, but do you think, dr. Nuzzo, its too early to loosen these social distancing restrictions . Yeah, its absolutely too early. The twoweek period was really to see what could happen in two weeks and to assess the situation. Nobody believes two weeks is going to be long enough. Clearly we need to figure out what the next phase is, we cant stay isolated forever. But the problem is, as soon as we go back, unless we have other strategies, the case numbers are going to increase and we still havent gotten to the situation where weve reduced it enough such that we are not worried that our Health System is going to crash. So as much as i and probably every at home right now wants to very much return to normal, by easter is not going to happen. We need to figure out what the next phase is. But thats going to require resources that we dont yet have. We need to have doctors and nurses have personal protective equipment. We need to expand the testing. We need to do a better job at finding cases so we can isolate them. Were not there yet, unfortunately, and we wont be there by easter. Everybody, stick around, were awaiting the start of the white house Coronavirus Task force briefing. Live coverage, coming up. As we await the start of todays briefing by the white house Coronavirus Task force, weve just received some disturbing numbers here in the situation room. So far today, so far today, 129 coronavirus deaths here in the United States, thats the largest number so far, 129 coronavirusrelated deaths so far here in the United States, 670 people have died from the coronavirus. The numbers keep going up and up. The white house says coronavirus testing is expanding across the country, with more than 300,000 tests conducted so far. Health officials playing catchup after test shortages and delays. Many Americans Still arent clear about when and where they should get tested and if they need to be tested at all. Well have a full report on that coming up. I want to go back and show our viewers live pictures coming from the White House Briefing room. There you can see dr. Anthony fauci, hes standing there already. Hes getting ready, hes awaiting, we assume, the president and the Vice President. Also ambassador deborah birx is coming, is there. Here comes the president and the Vice President. He will open up with a statement. Thank you very much. Its been a very busy day. I want to thank the American People for the incredible sacrifices that theyre making on behalf of our nation. And i want to encourage everyone to keep following our guidelines on social distancing, avoiding large gatherings and hand washing and all of the other things that Everybody Knows theyre supposed to be doing. Ultimately the goal is to ease the guidelines and open things up to very large sections of our country as we near the end of our historic battle with the invisible enemy. Its been going for a while, but well win, well win. I said earlier today that i hope we can do this by easter. I think that would be a great thing for our country and were all working very hard to make that a reality. Well be meeting with a lot of people to see if it can be done. Easter is a very special day for many reasons. Me, for a lot of our friends, thats a very special day. And what a great timeline this would be. Easter is our timeline, what a great timeline that would be. My First Priority is always the health and safety of the American People. I want everyone to understand that we are continuing to evaluate the data. Were working with the task force and making decisions based on what is best for the interests of our fantastic country in ord country. In order to defeat the virus, we must be strong. Right now the virus is attacking 149 countries. But everybody looks to us and theyre watching us. And im very proud to be your president , i can tell you that. Theres tremendous hope, as we look forward, and we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Stay focused and stay strong. And my administration and myself will deliver for you as we have in the past. Let me provide you an update on critical preparations and supplies in our war on the virus. Through fema, the federal government is distributing more than 8 million n95 respirators, 14 million surgical masks and many, many millions more under order, and theyll be arriving soon. 2. 4 million face shields. 1. 9 million surgical gowns. 13. 5 million gloves. And more than 4,000 ventilators to the areas of greatest need have already been sent and we have 4,000 being delivered to new york. The federal government is using every resource at its disposable to acquire and distribute critical medical supplies. The core element of this strategy is my executive order authorizing the use of the defense production act which has, as you know, already been activated, actually a long time ago, quite a long time ago. Private companies are heeding our call to produce medical equipment and supplies because they know that we will not hesitate to invoke the dpa in order to get them to do what they have to do. Its called leverage. You dont have to use it from the standpoint of actually its been activated but you dont have to use it but the threat of it being there is great leverage. And companies are doing as we ask and companies are actually even better than that, theyre coming through and theyre calling us, and its been really something to see. This morning, ford, 3m, General Electric health care, are making tremendous numbers. Theyve already started respirators, ventilators, and face shields. Theyre working together. We didnt have to exercise or utilize the dpa in any way. The fact that we have it helps, but we didnt have to. And for the most part we wont have to. Were receiving full cooperation from companies with the understanding that the federal government stands ready to compel cooperation if need be. We havent found that to be the case. Its been really amazing to see these big, strong, powerful, in some cases very small companies, familyowned companies, step up and make a lot of great product for what were going through and what we will continue to be going through for a while. The army corps of engineers and the National Guard are Building Four hospital facilities in new york city, the javits center, which will be operational very soon. Theyve already started. In addition, theyre Building Four separate medical facilities in different parts of the state. Were dealing with Governor Cuomo on that. So youre going to have four hospitals and four medical facilities at the highest level, two really incredible facilities. Temporary but incredible. Were also deploying the u. S. Navy hospital ship, and that will be arriving in new york harbor in the not too distant future. Its finishing its maintenance, doing a very big maintenance. And what we did is condensed it very seriously. And as you know, the other hospital ship, and these are incredible ships, its already on its way to los angeles. So were in frequent contact with state and local officials, and getting a lot of work done. Were likewise building hospitals in los angeles. Were working also with the state of washington. Were working with the governor of the state of new jersey. Were building a medical facility, a hospital facility. And doing a lot of work. I want to thank the people from fema, the great people from fema and also the army corps of engineers. Secretary mnuchin and the members of my administration continue to work closely with congress. Im pleased to report that we are working to pass the biggest and boldest Financial Relief package in american history. Senators will soon, hopefully, vote on a 2 trillion bill that will deliver direct Cash Payments to struggling americans. No fault of their own. Nowhere, nobody can imagine this even happened. Its not their fault. We want to protect and we will all of the things that a person needs protected and a family needs protected. Were working on Job Retention loans for Small Businesses and extended Unemployment Insurance for laid off workers. The legislation will also include billions of dollars for Additional Resources if our heroic, these are doctors, nurses, brave. And hospitals as well as support for Hard Hit Industries as well as the cruise ship industry which employ tremendous amounts of people and serve very important functions beyond that. The loans will be very secure and they will be very profitable and at the same time they will bridge, they call them bridge loans in many cases. They will be bridging these Companies Back into very good health. Im confident that the democrats will do the right thing. I feel very confident theyre getting close to a deal for the people of our country. Today as you probably saw the dow surged over 2,100 points. Thats the all time history of the exchange. This is very encouraging. Part of the reason they are looking at what is close to being passed. I think a very big part is they see we want to get our country open as soon as possible. Thats a very big factor in todays historic gain. The legislation developed in the senate is the first step to restoring confidence and stability to americas economy as we look ahead to the time when we can carefully and responsibility reopen our country for business. We hope that will be very soon. I want to assure americans we have team of Public Health experts. You have gotten to know them as well as i know them. They are great people. They love our country. Also economists and other professionals working to develop a sophisticated plant to reopen the economy. As soon as the time is right, one based on the best science, best modelling research on earth. Great people especially when it comes to our Public Health experts and officials have been helping them out. Im hopeful to have americans working. Again by that easter, that beautiful easter day, but rest assured every decision we make is grounded solely on the health, safety and well being of our citizens. This is a medical crisis. This isnt a financial crisis. Its a thing that nobody seen for many, many decades. Marshaling our economic strength is a key feature of defeating the virus, producing the Material Supplies and equipment we need and doing really fantastic job. We had a Conference Call the other day with the governors. We allowed the press to join us on the call and the spirit between us and the governors has been really great. We should never be relients on a foreign country for the means of our own survival. I think we have learned a lot. This crisis is underscored just how critical it is to have strong borders and a Robust Manufacturing sector. For three years we have embarked on a Great National project to secure immigration system and bring back our manufacturing jobs. We brought back many jobs, record numbers of jobs. This really shows this experience shows how important borders are. Without borders you dont have a nation. The goal must to have american supply, american supplies for american hospitals and American Equipment for our Great American heroes. Energy independence, we have established that. Thats something incredible and independent. Territorial independence enforced by strong sovereign borders. American will never be a is supplicand nation. We will embrace commerce with all but we will be dependent on none. Above all we know the best thing for our economy and the world right now is a very, very powerful victory over the virus. Every day the American People is showing the unity and the resolve that is to define the character of our nation. In new york, citizens are using 3d printers to make hundreds of face shields. They are making them by the hundred. In texas businesses and churches are uniting to collect gloves and thermometers for hospitals. Were seeing enduring strength of our mag nnificent nation. A future that will never be denied. Now what id like to do is perhaps ask a person who razz really established herself as maybe the worlds great expert on what she does. If i could ask debra to come forward and say a few words and then tony and then our Vice President and well take a few questions and well do it quickly and probably see you again tomorrow. Deborah, please. Thank you mr. President. I think those of you who heard the town hall, we are continuing to accelerate testing at a report ra record rate. We now have 370,000 tests that have been done. The majority over 220,000 in the last eight days which those of you have been tracking the south korea numbers put us equivalent to what they did in eight weeks that we did in eight days. This was made possible because of the hhs team working together, bringing together the strength of the fda with the cdc and under the leadership of secretary azar. Were very proud of those numbers but we know we have to do more and we continue to accelerate in testing to ensure those who need the tests are tested first and have access. As we talked about yesterday, were working on the ability for people to take their own sample. That does not mean home testing. That means taking your own sample in the front of your nose with available swabs into normal saline that can be transported to laboratories. That will allow and free up all the drive throughs to be very sparing on ppe. Youll be able to do that with gloves rather than the full ppe outfits. This will allow for more of that ppe to be dead kdicated to our hospitals. Those of you tracking this epidemic slo epidemic closely like i am, you will see theres encouraging results coming out of italy. Were impressed by the decreases that are seen in mortality. The number of people succombing to this illness and the number of new cases. Our new cases will continue to surge because were still working on our backlog. Well be in touch with the laboratories after this press conference to really find out how many are still in backlog and how many were run in the last 24 hours. Until we can get into a 24 hour cycle well is disproportionate number of new cases. I know dr. Fauci will talk about this further. We remain concerned about new york city and the new york metro area. About 56 of all the cases in the United States are coming out of that metro area and 60 of all the new cases are coming out of the metro new york area and 31 of the people succumbing to this disease. Because they are at the 31 mortality compared to the other regions that we can have a huge impact if we unite together. They have to be following the president ial guidelines that were put out eight or nine days ago. This will be critical. To every one who has left new york over the last few days because of the rate of the number of cases you may have been exposed before you left new york. I think like governor desantos put out today, everybody who was in new york should be selfquarantining for the next 14 days to ensure the virus doesnt spread to others no matter where they have gone, whether its florida, North Carolina or out to far reaches of long island. Were starting to see new cases across long island that suggest people have left the city. This will be very critical that those individuals do selfquarantine in their homes over these next 14 days to make sure they dont pass the virus to others based on the time they left new york. Dr