Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Fox Report With Jon Scott 20200405

Guidelines in distancing guidelines. We have Fox Team Coverage on the latest response at home and abroad. We begin with Mark Meredith reporting live from the white house. Mark. Reporter good eave nick, jon. The president s advisor are meeting for the Coronavirus Task force, this was a briefing we expected to happen via conference call, now it is happening in the white house situation room. Weve seen a few of the advisors starting to show up. The president as you mentioned tweeted he may or may not do a News Conference out of this. Well be on standby for that. The president told reporters on saturday he believes americas governors should decide what matters most for their states when it comes to whether or not there should be a lockdown of any sort and this morning the Surgeon General backed up the president s strategy. The governors are protective of their right to be able to decide whats best for their state and were going to do everything we can as scientists and as physicians, as medical professionals to help them understand what we think is the right thing is for them to do. Reporter for nearly two hours on saturday, we heard from senior officials about what this week ahead is going to be like. The president himself encouraging americans to prepare for the worst but also hope for the best. This will be probably the toughest week, between this week and next week, and there will be a lot of deathing death, unfort. The next two weeks are extraordinarily important. This is the moment to not go to the grocery store, not go to the pharmacy, do everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe. Reporter here in washington debate is beginning under what another stimulus package may look like. You may remember Congress Just passed that 2 trillion bill a few weeks ago. Now were hearing from House Speaker nancy pelosi about what the next package may include. She writes cares two must go further in assisting Small Businesses including farmers, extending and strengthening Unemployment Benefits and giving families additional direct payments. The direct payments are in the process of being sent to americans, were told to expect that within two weeks via direct deposit. The president said he is willing to ask congress for more money for Small Businesses if more money is needed. The government launched the program for loans on friday, several businesses signing up. There have been complaints that the rollout of the process was rocky. The Administration Says they are working to make sure the businesses get the money they need. Jon. Jon Mark Meredith at the white house for us. Mark, thank you. Defense Department Official tells fox news the navy captain who was relieved of command of the uss Theodore Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier has tested positive for coronavirus. The 50yearold captain was fired from his position after writing a letter saying the virus had created a dire situation onboard the carrier. It ended up in the hands of a San Francisco Chronicle Reporter who first reported its contents last week. Navy Officials Say some 155 sailors on the Theodore Roosevelt have now tested positive for covid19. The food and Drug Administration taking steps to speed up medical manufacturing in response to covid19 as the fda pushes for new treatment options, testing for coronavirus continues to be constrained due to ongoing shortages of medical supplies like masks and gloves. The total number of cases now topping 325,000 here in the u. S. Steve harrigan is outside cdc headquarters in atlanta with more on all of that. Steve. Reporter jon, the cdc is now carrying out a number of different studies to try to determine the range and the effects of the virus on the u. S. They are taking blood samples across the nation from people in hot spots, from people who have never been diagnosed and people in special groups, like medical health workers, to try to determine the range of this illness, to try and get an accurate death rate and also to try and determine who is at most high risk. In the meantime, the fda said it continues to work night and day to try and speed treatment and testing to the American People. With respect to the issue of red tape, this is always a balance, but what were doing is trying to remove as much unnecessary regulation as possible to speed medical products to the American People. At the same time, the American People depend upon us to actually ensure that medical products are safe and effective. Reporter the mayo clinic said it will come out with an Antibody Test on monday, this will determine who has had the virus and recovered from the virus, those antibodies could be crucial to determine who is safe to go back into the workforce. Also the plasma of those that recovered who have the antibodies, that plasma can be used to treat the most severely ill. Jon, back to you. Jon Steve Harrigan in atlanta, thank you, steve. Governor andrew cuomo says new york experienced its first drop in daily coronavirus deaths but warns there is still a long way to go as new york City Hospitals prepare for a tough week ahead. Aishah hasnie is in new york city. Aishah. Reporter jon, Governor Cuomo says it is too early to tell if that drop in the daily number of deaths is going to turn into a trend. He says there still needs to be a few more days of data before he can announce that officially. In the meantime, new york state as you know expects that apex to hit in the next week, hospitals though in the area already feeling the surge. Lets show you some video now of the Washington Post providing, it shows a frightening look inside a Medical Center in brooklyn. The post reporting 80 of the 600 patients there are covid19 positive and thats a patient in every single bed in the icu and nearly all of the 25 surgical icu beds with the hospital trying somehow to find room to increase capacity because theres a backlog of patients as well. The staff calling the hospital a battlefield. I think everybodys afraid. Life at the end of this, hopefully we all make it, life at the end of this will be very, very different. Were running short on supplies all across the board. Were talking about two or three or four days supplies. Were literally going daytoday with our supplies. Reporter and new york continues to top the list of cases in the nation, 122,000, that is more than 40 of all u. S. Cases, more than germany, france or the u. K. New jersey is at 34,000, and michigan rounding out the top three with more than 14,000. And these three states also topping in the number of deaths in the country. U. S. Northern command is deploying 1,000 u. S. Navy and air force medical providers to new york city. They will arrive in the next three days. 300 of those uniformed men and women will head towards the Javits Center which is a Field Hospital in new york city. Jon. Jon Aishah Hasnie in new york, thanks. We are just learning the british Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to the hospital now. 10 days after he tested positive for the virus. Meantime, Queen Elizabeth giving a rare public address today, praising Britains National Health Service and thanking the many who have volunteered during this time of crisis. Benjamin hall has more from london. Benjamin. Reporter good evening, jon. This news about Boris Johnson just breaking in the last hour or so that he has been admitted into the hospital for precautionary tests according to his doctors. He tested positive for coronavirus about 10 days ago. Since then hes been if isolation been in isolation. Hes been appearing on social media, running cabinet meetings. We dont know if he will stay overnight, we dont know the specifics or how serious it is. It does come two hours after the queen made her own very rare broadcast, calling for National Unity. Im speaking to you at what i know is an increasingly challenging time. A time of disruption in the life of our country. A disruption that has brought grief to some, Financial Difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all. Reporter the 94yearold drew on her own wartime experiences and invoked the spirit of the blitz, saying every hour of hard work brings us closer to more normal times. I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the britains of this generation were as strong as any. The a attributes of selfdiscipline, of quiet good humored resolve and a fellow feeling still characterize this country. Reporter the u. K. Is now totally locked down and is said to be approaching the peak of its pandemic, almost 50,000 are infected, boris among them and around 5,000 dead but that figure is expected to rise by almost 1,000 a day for the next few days. So quite bitter sweet over here. On the one hand we had the queens rallying call for National Unity, on the other hand, Boris Johnson leading the task force against coronavirus being rushed to hospital. We wait to see what condition he is in or if he has to stay overnight. Jon. Jon Benjamin Hall, quite a situation there. Thank you, benjamin. Italy might file finally be coming around the curve as that country continues to see a decline in new coronavirus cases. This as pope francis marked the start of holy week, celebrating palm sunday in an empty saint peters basilica. The rate of the coronavirus outbreak is slowing in spain as well. The country with the second most infections behind the United States. Amy kellogg is live from florence, italy. Amy. Reporter hi, jon. Well, italy still holds the grim record of having the most coronavirus deaths at 15,000. Italy and spain are neck and neck for european infections with spain having about 130,000, italy about 128,000. But the spanish Prime Minister says that he thinks spain is close to passing the peak of infections and italy is quite excited about the fact that admissions to intensive care have gone down significantly and also the curve here is flattening even some people are analyzing possibly going down a little bit. The death toll today was the lowest that its been in several weeks at 525, but restrictive measures are still very much in place here and that means a holy week like none other with pope francis giving palm sunday mass in an all but empty saint peters basilica on an empty saint Peters Square which in this gorgeous springtime weather would normally be packed with pilgrims from all over the world. Police are fining people with frequency all over the country. A recent study here shows that restrictive measures have saved 30,000 lives in italy. Now, this virus as we know does not discriminate. It has killed dozens of priests and nuns. This priest lost a colleague, his father and his mother is in the hospital with covid19. It has been a tragic time for him and many in his community. Yes, its been a heavy toll on priests, Something Like 87 so far. But there have also been examples of her heroism, an exae of a dr. Riar in friar in northern italy who has gone to pray with victims and gone to help them and he says at 84, what have i got to be afraid of. Reporter so italy is of course encouraged by some of the numbers but still very restrictive measures in place and we are already launching a conversation here about how to go forward once it is safe to move on to opening up some businesses and whatnot but that discussion is in the earliest of stages, jon. Jon amy kellogg from florence. Amy, thank you. Irans president today saying that low risk Economic Activities will resume next weekend. This as that nation struggles to try to curve the spread of coronavirus. Tratrey yingst is in jerusalem h more. Reporter with more than 1. 2 million cases of coronavirus around the world, countries are responding in a variety of ways, starting in iran. We are learning that low risk Economic Activity is set to resume as early as next week. The Iranian Health ministry is reporting 3500 deaths, though some experts say the true number is likely much higher. Intercity travel remains prohibited until the middle of the month as officials warn of another wave of coronavirus outbreak there. Iran continues to claim the United States is blocking medical aid from entering the country though theres no evidence to support the statements. Now to china where in the city of wuhan reports indicate more than 10,000 enterprises have started up again. Officials are using temperature checks and other methods to ensure that people who are coming back to work arent sick. In one factory that makes car seats, production has returned to normal levels. A new report in the New York Times indicates that 430,000 people have traveled from china to the United States since this outbreak first began. It is important to note that chinese officials are being criticized in the International Community for lying about the initialouinitial outbreak numben their country. Israel remains on lockdown indefinitely with just under 8,000 active cases. One ultra orthodox town that has a high infection rate has been declared a restricted zone allowing authorities to enforce policies limiting movement. People are only allowed in or out for medical reasons. Israeli police and military continue to patrol major cities to keep people inside. Something we are learning this hour, reports in the local media indicate that there are going to be a number of other cities across israel tomorrow that are going to be locked down and remember the lockdown here looks a little different than in other countries around the world. The military is actually alongside the police force to help implement many of these new restrictions by the israeli government. Jon. Jon trey yingst from jerusalem. Thank you. Researchers at Stanford University conducting what is described as the first large scale coronavirus study in the United States. Those scientists testing the blood of more than 2,000 volunteers, part of an effort to see how many people there had the virus without becoming sick. Talk about some of the latest medical developments, dr. Ken redcross, Board Certified in internal medicine and author of bond, he also works in the hardhit area of new rochelle, new york. Doctor, for people who dont know the new york area, new rochelle was locked down before the statewide lockdown was ordered because there were so many cases of coronavirus in new rochelle. How is your city doing now . Oh, gosh, thank you, jon. Look, this is unbelievable. Here we are a community of only 80,000 people and we were totally on shutdown but weve been able to kind of bring down that curve as you hear a lot about flattening the curve. Really with a concerted effort that you hear dr. Fauci talking about. Were getting there with a sense of community. Its so important that everyone else in the United States kind of follows through to what weve been able to do. Jon well, has new rochelle sort of flattened the curve to coin that old phrase . You know what . Were going to hear a lot about that. And we actually are starting to do that. If you take a moment and listen here now, you can hear a pin drop. Everyone is inside. Everyone is making sure to wear their mask if they have to go outside. You talk about 80,000 people here making a difference for 300 Million People in the United States. So the cases are definitely getting much, much better. Jon a lot of people were surprised when the centers for Disease Control recommended that we now all of us basically start wearing those masks if we are outside. What does that do . How does that help . Its interesting. Because even when we werent quite sure what to do, i was telling all of my patients to do that. We knew that this is a respiratory virus. We knew its really about droplets. But in addition to that, also telling my patients you have to keep your immune system up each day regardless, whether if thats with vitamin c, zinc, vitamin d, whatever it took. We have to work on our immune systems now as well. Jon weve been talking about the Stanford University study, theyll be testing 2,000 volunteers looking for those who have antibodies. I think a lot of people out there think that you get coronavirus, its virtually a death sentence. But thats not the case. There are a lot of people who have recovered. There are people who have had it and didnt even know it, right . No, youre right, jon. So thats why that test you mentioned from stanford, you hear the term game changer all the time but im fairly serious this time. I think it is. The point is, were able to measure antibodies. That matters because we can measure the first time were exposed and with the second set of antibodies to see if weve mounted a response so that is a Public Health win. We can actually maybe see where the virus is headed and maybe even test people ahead of time to say you know what, you already have immunity. Its a big day for us to really hang our hat on and be excited about with so much were worried about at this moment. Jon you say even doctors need to be more careful to avoid the spread of this thing. You know what . Especially. One of the things we as doctors need to think about are our tools. Ive invested in an antimicrobial stethoscope because i think im going patient to patient to patient. This is something as physicians we do because i think it was ordained by the good lord for us to do so we just jump in there but we need to make sure we protect ourselves as well. Jon we do want you to take care of yourselves. Its good to have you on. Thank you for having me. Stay well, everybody. Jon more Team Coverage on the coronavirus crisis, how retired doctors and medical students are stepping up in the face of this pandemic, thats next. Hold my pouch. Trust us. Us kids are ready to take things into our own hands. Dont think so . Hold my pouch. Jon from coast to coast, calls are growing for retired medical workers to return to the front lines as the coronavirus pandemic takes a major toll on hospitals. Dan springer is live in kirkland, washington with more on that. Dan. Reporter yeah, hey, jon. Well over 100,000 Healthcare Professionals who have been retired have come back to work to answer the call, all hands on deck to fight the pandemic. In new york city alone, 85,000 people have volunteered, doctors and nurses, to help. 22,000 of them came in from other states and washington more than 6,000 retired healthcare workers applied to come back even though they know that it is a lot of sacrifice and risk. Hundreds if not thousands of front line workers have been infected but still so many have answered that call to pitch in. Dr. Matthew keefeer retired in january. He had plans to travel. All the travel was shut down and just one week into his retirement the va hospital in seattle asked lim him to unretie and he did. Caroline grant was a nurse for 40 years, the last 22 at a hospital in seattle. Shes 63 years old and has asthma, her 70yearold husband battled Prostate Cancer after being retired for two andahalf months she is back to work, running a covid19 testing program. We work for 22 years, they are your family. I felt like i wanted to come back and help them. I knew that they were going to be facing some very difficult times. It is a risk and we understand that. But if we take precautions as we understand theyre effective and they can be very effective, then thats one of the ways we try and protect ourselves. Reporter meantime, thousands of healthcare workers are getting laid off, much if not most of our Healthcare System is devoted to nonemergency care and that has been largely shut down. Hospitals rely on knee and hip replacements and mris more than urgent care. In minnesota, more than 13,000 practitioners and clinicians filed for unemployment in march. A hospital in washington couldnt make payroll. Some emergency workers are taking a pay cut because the outfits they work for are losing money on the nonemergency side of things. Jon. Jon dan springer, what a chain of events. Thank you, dan. Now the other end of the medical practitioner spectrum, as the number of coronaviruses surge in new york and elsewhere around the country, medical School Students are graduating early and heading to the front lines to try to fight the pandemic. Ashley webster has details. Reporter final year medical students are being given the option to begin their residency essentially on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic and their help is needed. About a dozen schools now across the country are offering that early graduation. It includes new york university, harvard medical school, Columbia Medical School, the ucla school of medicine and university of Arizona College of medicine, among others. Now, because of the covid19, medical students will only be able to take part essentially in virtual graduations and zoom celebrations later this year. For some, it makes sense to get started early. We spoke with maggie, a fourth year student at Columbia Medical School and she said shes ready now to put training into practice at such a critical time. Certainly not how i expected to end medical school but i think while the circumstances are different, i think what well be doing is fundamentally the same. We expected to graduate on a later date and in a more controlled setting but were still being sent out to help take care of patients. That really is why we all went to school in the first place. Reporter different states have different regulations about this. New yorks department of education has given the goahead for early graduation. Massachusetts also providing 90 day provisional licenses for early graduates. Thats the Biggest Issue will be finding enough personal Protection Equipment for the graduates to use. Maggie says she and her classmates are determined. My feeling is that if i can help, i want to and i feel like i have to. And i think that sentiment is shared by many of my classmates and of course theres some degree of feeling like scared, feeling scared what its going to be, feeling scared whether we are ready and whether we will be a help, but ive also been so heartened by what i see from my classmates. Ive seen such determination across the board. Reporter the dean of harvards medical school says the students are ready, willing and able to answer the call. Back to you. Jon ashley webster, ashley, thanks. Unproven but promising, why some u. S. Hospitals are using convalescent plasma therapy to treat keane patients. Well to treat covid19 patients. Well discuss how it works with the former health and Human Services secretary, next. Ill go, even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. So if theres a better treatment than warfarin. I want that too. Eliquis. Eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. Plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Whats next . Reeling in a nice one. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis, the number one cardiologistprescribed blood thinner. Ask your doctor if eliquis is whats next for you. Jon im jon scott and this is an expanded edition of the fox report. Its the bottom of the hour. If youre just joining us, some u. S. Hospitals now practicing an unproven but promising method of treating coronavirus. Doctors are taking plasma from recovered covid19 patients and giving it to patients still suffering with hopes that antibodies in the donated plasma will help jumpstart the patients immune system. Anita vogel explains from los angeles. Reporter hi, jon. This is something that was used to treat other deadly outbreaks like sars, h1n1 and the spanish flu, now doctors are using it in the fight against covid19. The mayo clinic is leading a National Trial to use donated plasma from patients who have already recovered from the illness to treat those who are seriously ill. The donated blood is filled with antibodies. Once injected or infused into patients it could help provide immuneity to those who are struggling. The commissioner of the fda says again this is unproven but he says it does bode a lot of hope for doctors around the country. Now, hospitals from coast to coast are trying out the treatment including here in nearby orange county. At Saint Joseph Hospital, one of the very first patients who recovered from covid19 gave blood last week. A 36yearold Aerospace Engineer said he was happy to take part in the program hoping he could do something to help others. Now, there are some requirements from the red cross. If you want to donate your plasma, you have to be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. Have you to have a prior diagnosis of covid19 and meet some specific laboratory criteria. You must be symptomfree for at least 14 days, prior to donation, with a followup lab test to prove it. Now, there is some good news coming out of Saint Joseph Hospital where a patient did receive that donated plasma. We understand the patient has shown some slight improvement but again, jon, the treatment is experimental but at this point medical experts say they are willing to try anything. Back to you. Jon aan anita vogel from los angeles. Thank you. For more on this lets bring in mike lee visit, former secretary of health and Human Services and former administrator of the epa as well. This plasma donation therapy, governor, secretary levit, it does seem to have some promise. Is this one of the things that the fda is sort of fasttracking to try to get new treatment methods out there . Well, in a way, this is a very important part of history of pandemics. If you go back to the 1918 influenza, the spanish flu, this is one of the things that was used by physicians then in absence of a vaccine. So theres a history here. And you thi this is all about be to create antibodies in the blood. Theres three ways we know of to do that. One is to have the disease and then to overcome it. The second is a vaccine. And when we use a vaccine, we essentially inject a bit of the virus into us to invoke an antibody response. And so using blood is just another way to do it. But all of the disclaimers that youve already suggested are true. Jon there is a race underway for a vaccine as well but its going to take months, isnt it, to get those things approved and essentially ready to use to try to prevent new infections . Yes. I think by any rational estimation, were looking at at least a year and probably more. Thats a very complicated problem to identify it, know that its safe, then be able to manufacture it and have it distributed. So were really playing for the second and third wave of this virus and so anything we can do tto get antibodies in a sick person short of a vaccine. The plasma Immunotherapy Program isnt 100 guaranteed. The best treatment option right now is to stay home for most people, 93 of all americans under a stay at home order right now. Thats a map of the states, the states in red have mandatory stay at home orders. Then there are partial states and the states that have none at all include your state, utah, wyoming, oklahoma, arkansas, nebraska, north dakota, south dakota, iowa and south carolina. New york obviously the hardest hit state thus far and new york is sort of Media Central for this country. Is that why i mean, when you look at the situation from the Vantage Point of utah, does it look like we are somehow overreacting . No. In fact, in utah im home and have been and all of my neighbors and almost everyone in our state is in some form of isolation. I think its actually worth pausing for a moment and realizing what remar remarkables are happening around the United States. Theres this sense of National Unity to fight this Common Threat thats sweeping across our country, to see things like i saw earlier on your program with doctors stepping up and coming out of retirement, going into harms way. This is actually a very inspiring moment and we need to continue to fight forward but lets give ourselves a little credit. This country is responding in a very, very powerful way. Jon yeah, there are three states in particular that are seeing significant spikes in infections right now. Indiana, illinois and connecticut. The numbers are rapidly growing in all three of those states and as President Trump has said, the next two weeks are expected to be very brutal ones when it comes to the number of victims claimed by this virus, mr. Levit. Truthfully, we need to think about this not as a one and done, two or three or four weeks, were going to have this with us for a time. This is a new risk were learning to manage. We will see hot spots in other cities, people are talking about louisiana or chicago or philadelphia or boston. Its very likely that over the course of time, we may beat this back but we will likely have to deal with this again. Were going to learn a lot, were going to get a vaccine, well ultimately get antivirals but this is a new challenge were all going to be dealing with for a while. Jon its an interesting time and as you say, americans are in fact stepping up to the plate and doing everything they can. Mike levit, good to have you on, thank you. Thank you, jon. Jon coming up, how people across the country are keeping their faith alive as churches are shuttered on this first day of holy week. Ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. Whoohoo great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. And nutrients to ok so, magnificent mile for me. I thought i was managing my moderate to severe Crohns Disease. Until i realized something was missing. Me. You ok, sis . My symptoms were keeping me from really being there for my sisters. announcement final boarding for flight 2007 to chicago so i talked to my doctor and learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of Crohns Disease after trying other medications. And the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Jon today is palm sunday, the beginning of holy week on the christian calendar, leading up to easter a week from now. Normally, churches across the globe would be filled. The Global Pandemic is forcing many to celebrate in other ways. Jacqui heinrich live in new york city with a look at that. Jacqui. Reporter this countries is bracing for one of the hardest weeks yet with this virus and its happening as holy week is beginning. Most states are under stay at home orders and churches and other house offs worship are streaming services. Not everyone is complying. In four states, pastors have defied mass gathering bans saying the Health Measures threaten the right of religious freedom to worship and a seem a. In louisiana, a Mega Church Pastor plans three services for today despite already receiving six misdemeanors for violating the ban. In ohio a mega church has been hosting services with up to 1,000 people. Religious gatherings have caused virus clusters all over the world. In sacramento, 71 cases were linked toy advantage hell calls who to evangelic a als. The archdiocese of newark set up a gofundme page for payroll expenses and utilities. Another is cannin asking for contributions to avoid furloughs and layoffs. Saint patricks cathedral in new york city held virtual mass today. The cardinal urged worshipers not to lose faith. We miss you very much. But being with us physically is the parish priests miss having you for sunday mass. We make the best of this and we know jesus is with us and were gathered together in faith and hope. Reporter even President Trump watched sunday Services Online today from riverside harvest church. Jon. Jon Jacqui Heinrich in new york city, jacqui, thank you. Months ago, before the pandemic, your spring plans probably looked a lot different. Washington, d. C. Was preparing for its annual Cherry Blossom festival and sporting events as well. But now the reality of our capitol, our nation and the world appears to be much different as once busy streets remain mostly empty. Rich edson joins us live from the National Mall in washington, d. C. Rich. Reporter good evening, jon. And this is a 70degree sunday in april in washington, d. C. At the National Mall, typically youve got lots of tourists running around here but all the smithsonians are closed and what youve got here is the first weekend in washington, d. C. Under the dc stay at home order. Youve got a lot of people practicing whats allowed here and thats they can leave their house as long as theyre with people who are in their home, part of their home, or theyre riding, biking, jogging and doing so alone or in groups of people who they live with, basically. If you violate the order, up to 90 days in jail, 5,000 fine. Now, a couple of weeks ago it was peak Cherry Blossom season here, things were a little different. Thats when you had tourists crowding the tidal basin off the National Mall. That forced the dc government to close the entire area off and its still closed. Yesterday, people were reportedly violating social distancing at an open fish market on the wharf which is by the dc waterfront. The city closed the fish market but the rest of the area is open to people to get out of their apartments or to get local food from restaurants, takeout, that kind of thing. Cant sit there of course like you cant in much of the rest of the country. Dc has this stay at home order in effect until april 24th. Like many of the issues in many of the stay at home and different government edicts that have gone out on this thing, the guidelines have been pushed back and that could very well be the case here. Jon. Jon rich edson from the National Mall. Rich, thank you. A fox news alert. We know that the president s Coronavirus Task force has been meeting today and President Trump said if there was news to deliver after that meeting, he would deliver it at a News Conference from the brady Briefing Room. It appears that there is going to be news because the president has announced, the white house has announced that there will be a briefing from the white house Coronavirus Task force. That is scheduled for 7 00 p. M. Eastern time, about an hour an 10 minutes from now. Very often these things run a little later than they are scheduled. We will have it for you live when it begins, again, scheduled for about an hour and 10 minutes from now. Straight ahead, why Small Businesses are the key to coming out on top of the coronavirus stock market. Jon in the midst of this pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program going into effect last week allowing businesses of up to 500 employees to apply for loans to keep paying their workers. For more on how it works lets bring in robert wolf, former Economic Advisor to president obama, founder and ceo of 32 advisors, also a Fox News Contributor. Can you give us the summary of how the Program Works or how its supposed to work, robert . Yeah. So, jon, lets just start where its 377 billion and its just not big enough. You have about 47 of the labor force is Small Business. Thats about 60 Million People. That doesnt even include all the parttimers, a lot of those in the service sector. And they all in the Small Business sector have on average about a 27day runway. So call it a month. And were predicting you could have 20 to 30 of these Small Businesses go out of business because of the pandemic. So the key for this, jon, is what im calling wage and credit continuity. We need to make sure that these businesses have a fighting chance to stay open and so when we are into our recovery, they are ready to actually be vibrant again. The best way to do this is for the Protection Program, the payroll Protection Program that you mentioned, to be able to be executed easily and to be greater. And i would say right now both of those dont look so good. Jon the easy part of it, ive already heard complaints from Small Business owners who have gone online to try to apply for some kind of help from the Small Business administration and they say it is so complicated, theyve simply given up. Yeah, thats unfortunate. I mean, the governments trying to do a good thing. But i think that everyone would be a little nervous about them overpromising and underdelivering on expectations. For example, it normally takes somewhere between 30 and 45 days to go through this sba process. So the idea that quote, unquote, theres already checks in the mail, thats just not accurate. There were some 60,000 Small Businesses that were trying to get loans, just with b of a on friday. So we know that this is going to be chunky and not going to be easily for people to go through. So what i would say is lets work on the execution and then in the meantime, jon, lets make it bigger. So when literally we are ready to go, these companies are already these Small Businesses are already up and running. Jon lets hope that they find a way to get those businesses the help they need because they very much are the backbone of america. Robert wolf it really is. There is millions and millions of Small Businesses that have hardworking jon and they need the help. Robert, thank you. Jon a 7yearold boy in virginia finding a way to get protective gear to healthcare workers who desperately need it. My First Mission was to help the hospital and sell masks i didnt sew masks i didnt know how to sew. The Second Mission was to collect shower caps from hotels. Jon it worked out very well. He went to hotels and collected more than 6,000 shower caps, gloves and face masks, his efforts earning a consistent grat la consistent gracious ct obama. Tune in tonight at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on fox news channel, leading fox news personalities and featured guests will be joining the host, pete hegseth in this one hour special. Can you log onto foxnews. Com americatogether to find stories of people going to extra lengths during the pandemic along with information on how to help. Thats tonight. Our special coverage continues with a brandnew hour. And it wont be their First Experience with social distancing. Overcoming challenges is what defines the military community. Usaa has been standing with them, for nearly a hundred years. And well be here to serve for a hundred more. Jon the white house Coronavirus Task force set to hold a briefing at the top of the next hour, as the nation braces for tough weeks ahead. The death toll expected to rise at an alarming rate. Good evening, im jon scott. This is a brandnew hour of the fox report. Federal officials recommending americans wear face coverings now when in public, as the number of confirmed cases in the u. S. Tops 331,000. More than 9,000 americans have already died. Hot spots like new york, michigan, and louisiana now showing a spike in the number of deaths. We have Fox Team Coverage on the latest response here at home and abroad. We begin with Steve Harrigan. He is outside cdc headquarters in atlanta. Whats the latest there, steve . Jon, saturday was the single worst day for the u. S. As far as single day deaths go. 1344 americans died in 24 hours of saturday alone. In the meantime, emerging hot spots, not just new york, but michigan and louisiana as well. These three states we could see peaks of the death rate, anywhere from four to eight days from now. Heres the u. S. Surgeon general on Fox News Sunday this morning. This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most americans lives, quite frankly. This is going to be our pearl harbor moment, our 9 11 moment. The state of michigan has now moved up to third place among states both for the number of cases and the number of deaths. Louisiana too seeing more than 400 deaths on saturday alone. Things have gotten so bad in louisiana, they are asking for help from the federal government for refrigeration. They simply cant deal with the number of dead bodies created by this virus. Finally, the mayor of boston is calling for a voluntary curfew to go into effect immediately, beginning at 9 00 p. M. , running through may 4th. He said if that doesnt work, they could go to a mandatory curfew. Jon, back to you. Jon Steve Harrigan at the cdc headquarters. Thank you, steve. The u. S. Northern command deploying 1,000 air force and navy medical providers to new york city, as experts and Health Officials plan a response to the covid19 outbreak, but they are missing a key piece of information, the number of healthcare workers who tested positive for the disease. We are in new york city with more. Hi there, jon. The number of cases in new york state is about to overtake the number of cases out of italy, the hospitals in the state, though, already struggling. They are getting hit hard. Lets show you some video from the Washington Post. It shows a frightening look inside of a Medical Center in brooklyn. The post reporting that 80 of the 600 patients there are covid19 positive. Thats a patient in every single bed in the icu, and nearly all of the 25 surgical icu beds as well. The hospital trying to increase capacity. The staff is afraid, calling the hospital a battlefield. A lot of people who are not in the extreme age who are getting sick. Now is not the time to be to allow ourselves to become overwhelmed or to allow ourselves to become, you know, emotionally distraught. New york continues to top the list of cases in the nation. New york is at 122,000. Thats more than germany or france or the u. K. New jersey is at 34,000. Michigan 14,225. The governor there on Fox News Sunday today said the lack of a National Strategy is creating a problem for her state and the country. Also lacking as you mentioned a national count of healthcare workers who have tested positive. That data would help experts who are tracking how this virus is going to hit the nations Healthcare System. And this just developing, a tiger at the bronx zoo has now tested positive for covid19. That 4yearold female tiger, three more tigers and three lions all apparently developed a dry cough. The zoo tested that original tiger out of an abundance of caution. The cat apparently infected by someone who was caring for them that was asymptomatic or at least not showing symptoms just yet. Its not known yet how this virus will affect these big cats, but they are all expected to recover. Jon . Jon thank you. Meanwhile President Trump warning americans that this will probably be the toughest week of the outbreak thus far as the nation braces for a surge in the number of dead. Mark meredith has more from the white house. Mark . Good evening, jon. We were not expecting to have a briefing earlier today, but as you mentioned, President Trump and the Coronavirus Task force expected to brief the nation on whats going on here about an hour from now, in the Briefing Room, not too far from where we are. The president is likely to echo some of the same comments that we heard yesterday in which he warned americans that the next couple of days are going to be rough and that people should not let their guard down. This will be probably the toughest week between this week and next week, and there will be a lot of death, unfortunately. The next two weeks are extraordinarily important. This is the moment not going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe. Tonight the white house is still pushing back against calls for a federally ordered lockdown. The Surgeon General says the president believes americas governors know whats best. The governors are intensely protective of their right and rightly so to be able to decide whats best for their states, and with were going to do everything we can as scientists and as physicians, as medical professionals to help them understand what we think is the right thing is for them to do. Today the president approved disaster declarations for a number of states including mississippi, oklahoma, south dakota, delaware. Other states of course already had their disaster declarations approved. On friday, we saw the government begin the Small Business loan program, where businesses can keep their employers employees employed and also apply for assistance. This comes as the march jobs report came out showing that the Unemployment Rate up now to 4. 4 . Many people expecting that number to be much higher. House Speaker Pelosi has already said that they are looking at the next phase of the stimulus package and what it should include, including expanded unemployment protections and possibly additional payments for americans. The personal stimulus checks are still expected to go out in the next two weeks. We do expect to hear from white house in about an hour from now. Jon we will have it live when that News Conference begins. Mark meredith at the white house, mark, thank you. We are just learning that british Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now admitted to the hospital, ten days after he tested positive for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth giving a rare public address today to her nation praising Britains National Health Service and thanking the many who have volunteered during this time of crisis. Benjamin hall has more on that from london. Benjamin . Good evening, jon. Yes, all eyes at the moment on that National Health hospital in Central London where Boris Johnson was about two hours ago taken for precautionary tests according to downing street. He first tested positive for coronavirus about ten days ago. Since then he has been isolated in downing street and very much still running the country. We dont know at this point if he will stay overnight in the hospital. We dont know the specifics. But it does come just two hours after the queen made her own very rare, very compelling broadcast calling for National Unity. Im speaking to what i know is an increasingly challenging time, a time of disruption in our country, a disruption that has brought grief to some, Financial Difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all. Speaking from windsor castle, the 93yearold drew on her own wartime experiences, and she evoked the spirit of the brit, saying every hour of hard work brings us closer to normal times. I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge, and those who come after us will say the britains of this generation were as strong as any, that the attributes of selfdiscipline, of good results and a fellow feeling still characterize this country. The u. K. Is now totally locked down and is said to be approaching the peak of its pandemic, almost 50,000 are infected, among them now Boris Johnson, about 5,000 are dead, and that figure expected to rise by almost a thousand a day for the next few days. So bittersweet here in the u. K. On the one hand you had the queen giving this rallying cry, this call for National Unity work this very rare speech, but on the other, you have Boris Johnson who is heading up the Government Task force going to the hospital for coronavirus. Jon . Jon Benjamin Hall from london, thank you. It looks like italy might finally be rounding the curve, as that country continues to see a decline in the number of new coronavirus cases. This as pope francis marked the beginning of holy week celebrating palm sunday in an empty st. Peters basilica. The rate of the coronavirus outbreak is slowing in spain as well. The country with the second most number of infections behind the United States. Amy kellogg has the latest on the situation from florence, italy. Amy . Jon, the spanish Prime Minister was talking about getting close to passing the peak here in italy the curve has been flattening. Some are even suggesting that now it is on its way down. We had our lowest daily death toll in weeks today, and also yesterday for the first time the number of people in intensive care went down, but there is no loosening up yet. Holy week kicked off in a mere empty st. Peters basilica. Pope francis gave palm sunday mass, sending messages of encouragement and hope, telling them to do their best to make the most of this difficult time and reach out to those in need or lonely even with just a phone call. Dozens of priests have been among the dead and have been challenged in this period as their outreach has been limited by the spread of covid19. St. Peters square empty today, saved largely for police in masks. It would normally be full of pilgrims at this time of year. The faithful around this country missed their mass. A priest gave a Rooftop Service to lift peoples spirits who followed a along from balconies. Madrid has seen the cleanest skies in sometime. In fact smog has cleared for many cities including milan and frankfu frankfurt, also a reduction in nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. According to the European Environmental agency, each year 400,000 people die premature deaths because of air pollution. Jon . Jon amy kellogg, thank you. Iran is getting to open up low risk Economic Activity soon, but that country is still struggling trying to stop the spread of covid19. We are in jerusalem with more. Jon, good evening, with more than 1. 2 million cases of coronavirus around the world, countries are using different techniques to slow the spread. Some striking scenes today here in the holy land as christians marked palm sunday. In the old city of jerusalem, monks took to the streets Wearing Masks to distribute iv cancelled. No gatherings in churches amid regulations looking to prevent the spread of covid19. The country of israel remains on lockdown indefinitely with under 8,000 active cases. One ultraorthodox town that has a high infection rate has been declared a restricted zone allowing authorities to strictly enforce new policies limiting movement. People are only allowed in or out for medical reasons. Israeli police along with the military continue to patrol major cities to keep people inside. Moving to iran, low risk Economic Activities are set to resume next week. The Iranian Health ministry is reporting just 3500 deaths. Theres some experts who say the true number is likely much higher. Intercity travel remains prohibited for iranians till the middle of this month as officials there warn of another wave of coronavirus outbreak. Iran continues to claim the United States is blocking medical aid from entering the country though theres no evidence to support these statements. In another part of the middle east palestinians in gaza are calling on the international xhuchbt for help. International community for help. They have 12 confirmed cases in a population of 2 million in small area an outbreak there could be catastrophic. They have 90 ventilators. They say they will use any means necessary including military force if israel doesnt allow medical aid in for the palestinian people. We have reported extensively inside gaza. The bottom line is there are limited medical supplies. The Israeli Palestinian conflict is often a political issue, but the issue today is one of humanitarian needs. Jon . Jon thanks, trey. Doctors are trying to find new ways to treat coronavirus patients. Some are testing a promising treatment take plasma from recovered covid19 patients and giving it to people who currently suffer from the virus. Anita vogel explains from los angeles. Hi, jon. It is giving a lot of doctors and patients hope that there might be a viable defense against the virus available right now. It involves patients who have already recovered from covid19 and are willing to donate their blood. Their plasma filled with antibodies able to fight the virus. Its separated and then injected or infused into people who are suffering with the disease. Last week 36yearold Aerospace Engineer jason garcia became one of the first survivors in the u. S. To make a blood donation. If youre comfortable donating blood, this is something easily you can do and you can actually have a huge impact on other people and save lives potentially. You can give up to 600 milliliters which is a little bit over half a liter of plasma and then that plasma bag, if you will, can be divided into three parts, potentially benefit and help three different patients. Plasma donation or infusion therapy is not a new process. It was used to help patients overcome sars, the measles, polio, and the spanish flu. A number of hospitals around the country are now giving it a try against covid19. According to the red cross, there are some requirements if you want to donate your plasma, you have to be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds, have a prior diagnosis of covid19, and meet specific laboratory criteria. You also must be symptom free for at least 14 days prior to donation with a followup lab test to prove it. Certainly doctors acknowledge the treatment is unproven, but say it is a beacon of hope for people who have run out of options, especially, jon, for all of those people out there that are on ventilators. Back to you. Jon it would be good to know that that works. Anita vogel from los angeles, thank you. More Team Coverage on the coronavirus crisis, how folks are keeping their faith on this palm sunday. Plus, were awaiting a briefing from the white house Coronavirus Task force. That is expected at the top of the hour. Whenever it begins, we will take you there, live. I switched to miralax for my constipation. Stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate the nerves in your colon. Miralax works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally. And it doesnt cause bloating, cramping, gas, or sudden urgency. Miralax. Look for the pink cap. Its more than just fast. It keeps all your devices running smoothly. With builtin security that protects your kids. No matter what theyre up to. It protects your info. And gives you 24 7 peace of mind. That if its connected, its protected. Even that that petcamera thingy. [ whines ] can your internet do that . Xfinity xfi can because its. Simple, easy, awesome. [ barking ] jon most of the churches in this country have been forced to close their doors to try to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Not everyone, though, is complying with stay at home orders. One megachurch pastor in tampa bay, florida, was arrested after holding a large service. Lauren green has more. The signs and miracles in this hour. Sunday sermon at a church in Tampa Florida was the last straw before florida authorities arrested pastor Rodney Howard brown for unlawful assembly. This reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week in danger. The churchs Legal Counsel defended howard brown in a statement, listing the ways he is trying to balance protecting his people and keeping their faith. The churches where the faithful are still gathering say this is about religious freedom and that government authorities dont have the right to demand they close their doors. More than 1200 people attended services at Life Tabernacle church near Baton Rouge Louisiana last sunday despite the governors order to stay at home there. We feel that this is not only our rights and privileges under the 1st amendment of the constitution, but we feel that we have a mandate from god. Others say the government is within its constitutional right to demand the churches shutter their doors, as long as houses of worship are not being targeted. Governments are not specifically singling in on churches in a way that they are not with other people. And theres a compelling government interest here, which is Public Health and making sure that the most vulnerable among us arent sacrificed the florida and louisiana churches arent alone. In ohio, a mega church is Still Holding Services Despite a ban there. And in philadelphia, last sunday, parishioners received inperson communion despite the archdiocese there suspending all public masses. In new york, lauren green, fox news. Jon amid all of this, christians around the world celebrating palm sunday, mostly at home. Churches across the globe normally would be filled for the beginning of holy week today, but the pandemic is forcing millions to find other ways to observe. Jacqui heinrich live in new york city with a look at that. Jacqui . Jon, the country is bracing for one of the hardest weeks yet with this virus, and its happening as holy week begins. Most states are under stay at home orders and churches and other houses of worship have been streaming their Services Online, but not everybody is complying. In at least four states, pastors have defied mass gathering bans saying the Health Measures threaten the right of religious freedom to worship and assemble. In ohio, megachurch solid rock has reportedly been hosting services with up to a thousand people, and in louisiana, megachurch pastor tony spell planned three services for today, despite already receiving six misdemeanors for violating the ban. This is extremely government overreach, so weve already created a plan this morning, since our situation has escalated that if im taken out of the equation today, we have a chain of succession, somebody else will continue the services. Complying churches are also paying a price. Easter and holy week are peak times for attendance and donations. The arch the archdiocese of new york set up a go fund me page. In los angeles, they are asking contributions to avoid furloughs and layoffs. Online services have been gaining steam, cathedrals in new york city all held virtual mass today. The cardinal were urging worshipper nos tot lose the faith. Worshippers not to lose the faith. We miss you very much, being with us physically, as do all of your parish priests miss having you in the parish for sunday mass, but we make the best of this, and we know jesus is with us, and were gathered together in faith and hope. Religious gatherings have been linked to virus clusters all over the world and recently in california. Jon . Jon Jacqui Heinrich on the streets of new york city, thank you, jacqui. Straight ahead, we are taking a closer look at new york, the u. S. Epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. How the empire state can stop the spread as its death toll tops 4,000. And coming up, at the top of the hour, a briefing from the white house, Coronavirus Task force. We will carry it for you live. At bayer, we make aspirin to help save lives during a heart attack. So it never stops the heart of a family. At bayer, this is why we science. Jon many doctors and other medical personnel are coming out of retirement to help fight the coronavirus as the number of cases continues to climb in the United States. Im jon scott. This is an expanded edition of the fox report, bottom of the hour, if you are just joining us, governors coast to coast are asking retired medical workers to return to the front lines and many are answering the call as the coronavirus pandemic takes a major toll on hospitals across the nation. Dan springer is in kirkland, washington, with a look at that story. Dan . Yeah, jon, we are seeing incredible courage and sacrifice from over 100,000 retired doctors and nurses, who have come back to the job to keep this Healthcare System afloat, during this pandemic. Governors in many of the hardhit states including california, new york, asked retired healthcare workers to come back to the job and many have answered that call. New york has 85,000 volunteers including 22,000 from outside the state. Some are right back on the front lines, treating patients with covid19. Others, like a 70yearold doctor in california, are doing tracing work to help limit the spread. Ive always been someone who looks for holes and puts fingers in them. Thats what i started to do, to look for the holes where i could give a little help. But some think it is way too dangerous. The director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness says retirees are by definition older, more likely to have preexisting medical conditions, and therefore, among the highest risk individuals. But even while theres a shortage of healthcare workers, we are seeing massive layoffs in the healthcare industry. Nonurgent care has almost come to a complete stop, so all the people who work in elective care or diagnostic testing are struggling. Thousands have lost jobs. Many more have lost hours. And even some er workers are losing pay because the Staffing Agency they work for has lost so much money on routine care. Of course, jon, right now, theres nothing routine about whats happening in this country and this Healthcare System. Jon . Jon nothing routine at all, dan springer, thank you. So after the fox report stay tuned for Fox News Sunday that is if it isnt covered up by the president s News Conference. Surgeon general dr. Rejoem adams will dr. Jerome adams will give the latest on how the Trump Administration is handling the outbreak. Michigan governor will break down her states response to the pandemic. And microsoft cofounder bill gates will discuss how his foundation is helping to try to find a vaccine. Thats tonight 7 00 p. M. Eastern, right here on fox news channel. After a Record Number of americans file for unemployment last week, many are wondering how our economy will open back up . Up next, what investors are expecting from washington. Plus, we are expecting that new briefing at the white house from the president and the Coronavirus Task force. It is expected within the next 30 minutes. We will take you there live, when it begins. Wayfair has way more ways to renovate your home, from inspiration to installation. Like way more vanities perfect for you. Nice. Way more unique fixtures and tiles. Pairing. Nice. Way more top brands in sinks and faucets. Way more ways to rule your renovation. Nice on any budget, with free shipping. Wayfair. Way more than furniture. Jon more than 6 1 2 million americans filing for unemployment for the week ending march 28th, doubling the number from the week before. Bryan llenas has a closer look at how some folks are trying to cope after losing their livelihoods, almost overnight. Every time we said it couldnt get any worse, it got worse. Industry after industry grinding to a halt in the wake of covid19. Employees fired or furloughed, with no end in sight. I do have a cushion that i can get by on for a short amount of time, so its a little scary to have to use that. The Federal Reserve bank of st. Louis publishing a staggering estimate that unemployment in the u. S. May reach 32. 1 this spring, that number would eclipse the 25 unemployment of the Great Depression. No one really knows how far this is going to go. Sarah runs a dogsitting business in philadelphia. Her revenue has dropped over 80 . She applied for unemployment through the pennsylvania labor website, but found inconsistencies from one day to the next. I saw that there were instructions to not do that, to wait for further instructions for people who are selfemployed. So i dont have any idea whats happening now. A florist who opened her budding business less than a year ago, her success was leading to an expansion into her own store. Not sure when i will be able to make that move now. This Financial Hardship is hitting her twofold. Her income has stopped and many deposits received months ago had to be returned. Because i had cancellations from my weddings, i have to refund them, so any money that i did have is now gone. Large gathering companies such as creative day technologies in michigan were one of the First Industries to shut down. Ceo dave gillis was forced to furlough his staff. Eligible for unemployment. We are covering their medical insurance. Trade shows are roughly a 1. 4 billion dollars industry, and gillis believes whenever the gathering plans are lifted, his work will still be a month away from that. We were the first to get clipped and the last to come out of it. New yorks unemployment claims hot line received 8. 2 million calls last week. They normally receive 50,000. A surge in online unemployment claims crashed the website. Today times square is empty. Broadway theaters are closed. And restaurants shuttered as people are just trying to figure out how they are going to pay rent. In new york, bryan llenas, fox news. Jon hard to remember but americas economy was booming right before coronavirus hit. Now the big question is, when can people go back to work as the Outbreak Forces more and more businesses across the country to close their doors . John bussey associate editor for wall street journal and a Fox News Contributor as well. I know you have been taking a look at the economic damage of all this, jon, and it is hard to overstate. We are in a big hole here. Yeah, thats right, jon. Thats well said. It is really hard to overstate in part because its unprecedented. We havent been through Something Like this before. Were such a large portion where such a large portion of the economy essentially goes off line overnight. Theres no manual on what to do next, how to turn it back on, when confidence comes back. I think at the end of the day, this is what weve been writing about quite a bit. This is going to rely upon confidence coming back, that is, of the consumer feeling that the virus is contained, that they are not going to be put in danger, that they are not going to be reinfected, that theres not going to see portions of the population reinfected, that you are not going to have wave upon wave of what youre seeing in new york and chicago and new orleans and other places, where the hospitals are overwhelmed. Once they feel that its been in some measure contained, that maybe theres a remedy out there or a treatment that will keep them from being put in the hospital by the disease and dying, that they can catch the disease, but recover from it, or theres a vaccine out there, then all bets are off, and you could begin thinking about an economy coming back. But our economics reporter has written about this, that behavioral economics shows that people will pay a huge price to avoid a very bad outcome, death being one of them, even if the chances of that bad outcome are slim. So a tell, youve got the virus contained and confidence improving, it is going to be very hard to imagine turning the economy back on. Jon the number of jobless claims filed this week, 6. 6 million doubles the number of the week before, 3. 3 million, and it is expected to get larger this coming week; right, john . John bussey, all right, it appears that we lost our connection to john bussey from the wall street journal. Meantime, what you are looking at there is the brady Briefing Room at the white house. President trump said he met with the Coronavirus Task force today, and he announced that he would have a News Conference if there was news to report. So it appears that that is going to be the case. The Coronavirus Task force and we presume the president will be briefing us from the Briefing Room, expected within the next 20 minutes or so. Back now with john bussey. John, 6. 6 million jobless claims last week, 3. 3 million the week before that. What does the week ahead look like, any idea . Yeah, i think that youre right in presuming that the numbers are simply going to get worse for a while. And they have gotten worse in excess of what economists had expected. So everybodys been surprised on the depth of the downturn and the speed of it. So back to the question of what do you do when the economy needs to be turned back on . And how do you make that judgment . How do you assure the public that its safe to go back to work, that the infections are contained . I think you are seeing maybe a sort of prelude to that in china, which has for one in one way or another, partly through deception convinced the public that it is safe to go back the work. They have started up their factories again. Whats happened there is the factories dont have customers. Weve shut down. Europe has shut down. Other parts of asia are shut down. Thats probably what the United States is going to see as well, to some disruption will slow production at the beginning, and then some customers. Other economies will still be contending with this, particularly if they havent contained the virus and it comes back. Containing is absolutely an essential ingredient to even beginning to think about pumping up the economy again. Jon yeah, the Great Depression was something weve all seen in the history books, and we could be heading into something very much like that, at least for the shortterm. I think that thats probably unfortunately not a bad comparison because the Economic Contraction that the economists are looking at now exceeds what we saw in the 2007, 8, 9 financial crisis. That was in part driven by business overstepping, overleveraging, too much debt. It was a financial crisis. This ones a consumer thats just shut down. Jon yeah, it is the shutdown of the whole world economy, just about. John bussey from the wall street journal, lets hope things get better. John, thank you pleasure. Jon washington is now looking to beijing for a possible coronavirus vaccine, but lawmakers are increasingly alarmed at how chinese authorities concealed the true extent of the outbreak that began in that country. How this pandemic could reshape u. S. China relations. Plus, were awaiting a live Coronavirus Task force briefing from the white house. You can see the press assembled there. We will take you there, live, when it begins. Sure. Okay. Okay safe drivers save 40 guys guys check it out. Safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 thats safe drivers save 40 . It is, thats safe drivers save 40 . Hes right there. Its him hes here. Hes right here. Hi hi. Hey thats totally him. Its him thats totally the guy. Safe drivers do save 40 . Click or call for a quote today. Safe drivers do save 40 . When you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Try pepto liquicaps for fast relief and ultracoating. Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Get powerful relief with pepto bismol liquicaps. This is not about the chinese people. This is not the chinese virus, not the wuhan virus, not the covid19. This is the ccps virus, the Chinese Communist party we know knew about this from at least late december, in all probability from early december. Jon not only china facing backlash over its handling of the coronavirus. The World Health Organization stands accused of helping beijing cover up the true extent of the outbreak. In january, it said, quote, preliminary investigations conducted by the chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human to human transmission of the Novel Coronavirus identified in wuhan. Several u. S. Senators are now calling for a topdown investigation into the organizations handling of the pandemic as well as its ties to china. Here to talk about it the author of the coming collapse of china asia analyst and Foreign Affairs journalist gordon chang. Gordon, unbelievable, whats happened here. That warning from the World Health Organization, presumably the group that should know how these things ought to be handled was completely wrong. This is one of the most contagious viruses we have seen in a time. That january 4th tweet, jon, was really damaging because chinese authorities knew about human to human transmissions in wuhan about the second week of december. And that january 14th tweet lulled a lot of Public Health officials in the United States and around the world into not taking actions they otherwise would have adopted. So china in a very meaningful way hindered the world from actually preventing this virus becoming the pandemic that it eventually became. Jon officially china is saying there are no new cases coming out of wuhan. Should we believe them . I dont think so, jon. I think wuhan has the virus there has burned its way through the population. There are probably a few cases, not meaningful numbers. Whys really of concern, though, is that this is probably jumped to other cities, especially those on the east, so for instance, beijing, are probably experiencing a substantial number of cases that chinas not talking about. And the reason why we can suspect that is because in shanghai, many of the Tourist Attractions have indeed been shut down in the last three or four days, after being reopened just a week before. So thats a real indication that theres a problem in the big cities. Jon chinas substantially undercounted the number of cases that it had; right . Didnt that drastically affect the situation in the United States, and frankly the rest of the world . Well, it certainly did. They certainly undercounted, and dr. Deborah birx, the white house Coronavirus Task force coordinator actually talked about this last week on tuesday, when she said the United States actually thought that this was serious but that it was small because it looked like sars, which was the 2002, 2003 epidemic, which was not as contagious. And so chinas underreporting had real consequences in the way that we looked at this, in what we did, and im sure thats the case around the world as well. Jon dr. Hahn who is part of the Coronavirus Task force spoke about that. I want to play that for you now. This is an area that we identified many months ago as a critical risk factor for the country, and the point that youre making is excellent, in that we really need redundancy in the medical products supply chain. We cannot be dependent upon any single country, and we need whats called redundancy, in our manufacturing. There was a lot of interest on the hill and in the administration on this, and weve got additional funds to be able to increase our Technical Assistance and manufacturing because we believe that domestic advanced manufacturing is one way to provide that redundancy and reduce our dependency on other countries. Jon is this pandemic, gordon, going to change the way u. S. Pharmaceutical companies and others deal with china . I think that it will, jon. Peter navarro, the president s trade advisor has been talking about an executive order on this very topic. That eo has not been issued yet, and its subject of intense dispute and discussion, at the top of the administration, because trade organizations including those in the pharmaceutical industry want to prevent certain aspects of that eo from being put in place. I think that the American People are going to demand this. You know, Maria Bartiromo of fox business talked about how china actually turned around a ship which had protective gear that was headed to hospitals in new york. Thats completely unacceptable. Jon i wanted to mention, gordon, that as were speaking to you, the members of the president s Coronavirus Task force are taking the podium there, at the brady Briefing Room. We expect that that will begin momentarily. So were going the take our viewers there. Gordon chang, an asia expert and also a Fox News Contributor, gordon, thank you. So we will be taking you to the brady Briefing Room momentarily. This is a fox news special report. Im jon scott in new york. The president met with his Coronavirus Task force today. There were no plans initially for a briefing, but they decided that because well, the president announced that if there was to be news coming out of their meeting today, he would hold such a briefing, and that appears to be the case. The Coronavirus Task force has assembled on stage in the brady Briefing Room in the west wing of the white house. The media are there. And we expect to see Vice President mike pence who is the head of that task force as well as in almost all certainty President Trump there at the microphone, giving us the latest on the coronavirus. We have been warned by the president and other members of the task force that the week, perhaps two weeks ahead are going to be excruciating for this country. The United States now leads the world in the number of coronavirus cases, that is if you can believe the numbers out of china. We were just talking with gordon chang about that. It is not at all clear that the number of cases china is reporting is an actual believable number. But at this point, the United States has basically a third of a million confirmed cases, and we are closing in on 10,000 dead of the coronavirus. We should get some new numbers tonight, in this coronavirus briefing, but we do not absolutely know where this thing is going and about the economic effect. Gordon chang is with us as we await the members of the task force. Gordon, china has been on something of a goodwill tour sending doctors, sending medical supplies to other nations around the world. Is that part of an effort to win back, i dont know, world confidence, world trust after the initial mishandling of the outbreak by both china, the Chinese Government, the Chinese Communist party and the World Health Organization . Gordon . It is very much an attempt to win back trust, but it is an attempt to displace the United States at the center of the International System saying the u. S. Is has handling this terribly. China handled it well, china should be the steward of the International System. This is not just sort of a defensive maneuver on the part of beijing. It is answer offensive maneuver as well. Jon what do they get out of this kind of pr campaign . I guess they get a couple things. First of all, they get to sort of fuzz over where this started. So for instance, from basically the end of the first week in february, they were tarring the United States, and that culminated on march 12th with the infamous tweet from the Foreign Ministry that said that the virus started in u. S. , patient zero was in america, and that the u. S. Army brought the virus to wuhan. So they do a little bit of that. But they also get some goodwill in places where their messages normally resonate, so for instance, in spots of antiamericanism around the world, but also you see this in places where, you know, they need chinese equipment because theyre desperate, so for instance, italy, and so china has been mischaracterizing its transfers of equipment saying that they are donations when they are really just sales. As we know, jon, a lot of that equipment and those diagnostic kits are ineffective or substandard. Jon as we were mentioning a moment ago, gordon, the Chinese Government and the World Health Organization said initially that coronavirus could not be transmitted from human to human, when in fact, it is one of the most contagious viruses that history has ever seen. Yes, and this has had consequences because the United States and other countries did not take those precautions that were necessary. You know, it was very good that President Trump imposed travel restrictions and quarantines on arrivals from china on january 31. That was very early. But sometimes those arrivals were not treated with the same rigor that we needed. And that was because china just sort of told everyone dont worry, and so the United States didnt worry, and the result is what we see today, almost 10,000 american deaths, and this is going to get much worse as the president s Coronavirus Task force has warned us this last week. Jon if china wanted deliberately to cripple other nations around the world, with the virus that first appeared inside china, well, they would have done very much like what they did. President trump now emerging to speak about the Coronavirus Task force and his work today. Lets listen in. All these people have been working very very hard today, i will tell you, for a long time, they have been working, but before i begin, i want to express our nations well wishes to Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he wages his own personal fight with the virus. All americans are praying for him. Hes a friend of mine. Hes a great gentleman and a great leader, and hes as you know, he was brought to the hospital today, but im hopeful and sure that hes going to be fine. Hes a strong man, strong person. Today every patriotic american heart beats in solidarity with the incredible people of new york and new jersey. Theyve really become a very hot zone, but some very good things are happening. In new york, the first time where the deaths were less from the previous day. Thats the first drop so far. So maybe thats a good sign. It could be. And the hospital levels are starting to perhaps decrease. Its been very short, but perhaps decrease. So we wish Governor Cuomo and all of the people in new york and new jersey, your governor is doing a great job. Hes doing a great job in new jersey. They got hit very hard. I just want to say that the full power of the American Government and american enterprise, it really is, this is an allout military operation that weve waged, and especially over the last number of weeks. 50 states and territories have now been approved for major disaster declarations, which is very unusual. Thanks to the army corps of engineers, new york citys Javits Center is now one of the largest hospitals in the United States. Its designated for treatment of the virus. Patients and staff by hundreds of federal medical personnel deployed from two army