Treating coronavirus patients. The ceo of the company that makes remdesivir told nbc news he expects the fda to act quickly to get the drug approved and out to patients. We have our doctor with us this hour, dr. Cash shah kimmel, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of medicine. Well get to dr. Kimmel in just a moment. We start with our reporters covering states and businesses that are reopening literally as we speak. In fact, were going to start with a giant industry opening its doors, the nations largest Shopping Mall operator is reopening some 31 malls across eight states, but doing it with strict new guidelines. One of those malls is in greenville, south carolina, and that is where we find nbcs ellison barber at heywood mall which opened just moments ago, as i understand it, ellison. Whats it look like there . What precautions are being taken to protect customers and workers . Reporter craig, i wish i could let you see closer to the door, but we arent able to get all the way up onto the mall property to show you exactly what is happening. Until ten minutes ago, i expected to stand here and tell you the only cars we had seen coming in and out of the parking lot seemed to be people who worked here. In the last ten minutes or so, more cars have driven in. There is actually a line of about two dozen people waiting to go inside of the mall. As you mentioned, Simon Properties say they are opening malls in eight different states. They say they are making very big changes that all employees will be required to wear face masks when theyre on their properties. They say theyll have employees do temperature checks before they go into work, and if their temperature is 100. 4 degrees or hire, they will be required to stay home and cannot return to work until theyve been symptomfree for at least 72 hours. Theyre limiting the number of customers theyll allow into their properties at any given time. Theyre also going to have security and other mall employees actively remind shoppers that they need to social distance. They say there will be announcements made over speakers so people dont forget. Despite all of that, there are still some people, employees, who feel like it is just not enough. I spoke to one woman who works for a luxury retailer in a simon mall set to open in atlanta on monday. She told me she is terrified to go back in. She said she feels like shes being forced to make an impossible choice between paying her bills on time and heading into work. She said that she had filed for unemployment. Shes just started getting it. Now she feels like she has to decide, does she want to keep her job, does she want income which she says she needs, or does she go into work and risk her health when they call her in . Heres more of what she had to say. If you are a worker and your employer calls you back, we no longer have a choice to stay home. Its not like we have a choice to say, no, im not coming in, i dont feel safe. We are now choosing wealth over our health because theres no way we can just sit back and not go to work. Reporter ive spoken to multiple Business Owners who have locations in sigh mond malls in a couple different states. Some of them have told me that they actually dont want to reopen their stores. They say they have safety and health concerns. Some say it doesnt financially make a lot of sense for them to open one location when theyre doing delivery or carryout at others. They told me, though, the thing with mall situations is they actually have a contract, and the general contract requires that they open their stores, their Retail Locations during mall operating hours. Some people ive spoken to yesterday said they were requesting permission not to open. I just heard back from a spokesperson with Simon Properties, craig. They say they will not make Retail Locations open unless they want to. Craig. All right. Ellison barber in upstate south carolina. Thank you so much. Lets go from the palmetto state to the lone star state. To texas now where starting today retailers, restaurants, other businesses also reopening at 25 capacity though. Texass own Garrett Haake at a popular restaurant in dallas. A restaurant now back in business. What are you seeing there . Whats the mood like especially since yesterday marked texass deadliest day since mid march, garrett . Reporter craig, theyre getting ready to start Lunch Service here in dallas, texas, today. Restaurant owners who ive talked to who are taking advantage of the opportunity to reopen really its only about half theyre dining everything they can to try to make their customers and employees feel comfortable coming back into a work environment. So at primos restaurant in dallas, that means servers will be in masks and gloves. Diners will have their temperatures checked before they can be seated. There are very few tables set up inside. Even patio seating will be limited. All this has given restaurant opportunities ive talked to a sense of cautious optimism. The emphasis is definitely on caution. So my crystal ball is as clear as anyone elses, but we do have some enthusiasm about the opening. We want to make sure were communicating to all our guests that, a, we appreciate you and, b, were going to do this in a very measured and safe way. If theres any time where we feel like we need to adjust and pause or stop, well definitely do so. Reporter craig, it really is an experimental element to this. Restaurants are trying to figure out how to make this work. Its hard enough to make money owning a restaurant at 100 capacity, let alone 25 . The Restaurant Owners ive talked to want to make sure they can get their staff back, their supply chains up and running. One of the covid19 realities, a lot of restaurants going to a reservationonly model. They dont want people standing around waiting for a table. Theres a way to measure demand. The demand does appear to be there. It will be very interesting to see what happens over the course of the weekend. Its supposed to be nice weather in most of texas, a lot of people coming out to these patio establishments. It could be for a very interesting scene, craig. A lot of folks flatout stir crazy. Garrett haake, thank you. Lets do to dr. Casha kimmel. Shes in texas, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of medicine and the texas medical center. Dr. Kimmel, texas reopening despite the fact that just thursday they had their deadliest day since mid march. This idea, dr. Kimmel, that you can take peoples temperature, and if theyre fine, they can come to work or come in the shop, if youre asymptomatic, what good does that do . Yes, good morning, craig. Thank you so much for having me on here. That is a very astute point. A lot of people who are even symptomatic from coronavirus are may or may not have a fever, may have varying degrees of fever and may have fever at different times. So checking a fever is not necessarily the most accurate way really of telling if somebody is sick or not. Just like you mentioned, theres so many people out there who are ace similar matter and are carriers of the disease. So this is not necessarily the best strategy. This week weve heard a lot about this drug called remdesivir as a treatment for coronavirus. The ceo of gilead, the company who makes the drug. The ceo was on the today show to talk about it. This is part of what he said. Were moving very quickly with the fda. In fact, the collaboration with the fda, commissioner hahn and the team has been terrific. I expect theyre going to act very quickly. We are prepared as a company to make sure we get this medicine to as many patients as soon possible after that approval. Dr. Kimmel, how hopeful should we be about this drug in particular . Very good question. Remdesivir is not a drug specifically developed for coronavirus. So its just against viruses in general. As a lot of people know, it was trield against ebola as well. We in the Scientific Community look for trials to tell us whether medicines are going to be safe and effective. Its very hard to tell from such a small trial that was to be for remdesivir against coronavirus or covid19, whether or not its actually going to be effective. The other thing is that we dont know a lot of the side effects. So this was sort of the issue, also, with hydroxychloroquine, that a lot of people are really having some potentially bad side effects that may not make up for the benefits of the drug. The other thing here, which is a big issue for those of us in the Scientific Community, is that the most recent trial for remdesivir was actually sponsored by the pharmaceutical company. Im not saying that that makes it a bad trial. However, there are certain biases that could be incurred there. I think that we should be hopeful but also very cautious. All right, dr. Kimmel, stand by for me there. Our doctor for the hour. Stand by because we are expecting to hear from new York Governor Andrew Cuomo this hour. He could have more to say about a major change for new york city subways. He announced new york city will take the unprecedented step of shutting down the subways for a few hours late every night for deep cleaning. The move stops what was and whats always been a 24hour subway service. It comes as theres a massive effort under way to hire more contact tracers in new york city and around the country as well. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez has more on that move to contain the virus. Reporter good morning. The trance imt authority here in new york starting next week plans to shut down the subway system for four hours every night for deep cleaning, 1 00 a. M. To 5 00 a. M. There are unprecedented measures to stop the spread as the number of hospitalizations continues to decline. Major cities throughout the country say they plan to hire contract tracers. Here in new york, that effort could involve up to 17,000 tracers. Governor andrew cuomo Just Announced hell do it in conjunction with former new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg and his school of Public Health at Johns Hopkins university. Now, experts there say across the country more than 100,000 contact tracers could be needed at a cost of nearly 3. 6 billion for up to a year. What do contact tracers do . When someone tests positive for covid19, theyll get a call from these tracers that will then try to find out exactly who theyve interacted with over the past couple days, a sort of disease detective. The tracers will call those people and tell them to quarantine for 14 days. Its very important to do that in order to contain the spread of this virus. Now, there are already job postings for contact tracers in cities like new york as well as the state of massachusetts. Theyve actually posted the Job Description online. So who will be these contact tracers . Recruiters might end up initially focusing on retired health care workers, for example, Public Health students. But potentially could also include anyone who has been laid off during this pandemic once they undergo proper training. Craig. All right, Gabe Gutierrez for us there in times square. Thank you. The government said help was coming for Small Businesses, those local restaurants, the mom and pop stores that bring flavor to our communities. But instead of a lifeline, a number of those Business Owners say they are being left to drown. First it was glitches and delays, then sightings of large corporations getting relief money. Any way you shake it, the process has not been easy. Omar and Astrid Thorpe own the brooklyn creamery, cream and cocoa, served caribbean inspired ice creams and desserts. A nod to their heritage. Omar, you and your wife have been trying to access the Small Business loan from the billions set aside for Small Businesses like yours. You were entire lir shut out for the first round of loans. Whats the process been like for you and astrid . I can speak on that. Good morning, craig. How are you . The process has been a long process. Initially when the pandemic was announced in march, i did a lot of research in terms of looking at ways how we can sustain our business. Were an ice cream business. Were going to be mostly popular in the spring and summer. When april came around and the sba loans, giving out loans through Small Businesses, i applied for our bank. It took a while for our bank to get situated with all the applications. When we initially applied, there was no way of following up with our bank, we couldnt follow up with the government, we couldnt follow up on anything. Its been three weeks, going on four weeks and we havent heard a thing. When the ppp was closed out, that was it. Right now, even with our local bank, theres no way of reapp reapplying. Right now theres no applications available. What is the bank telling you . Nothing. On their website, it just says were not accepting anymore applications. The Washington Post is reporting meanwhile that about 300 Public Companies got more than a billion dollars in stimulus funds including dozens of companies that have more than 500 workers, the maximum typically allowed by the program. That money was designated for Small Businesses. What is your reaction when you hear that . Honestly, im not surprised, but i was a little bit disappointed that these big corporations are getting this kind of money and also returning the money. So that shows to me that they didnt really need it. Small businesses like ourselves, we really need the money. We have payroll, overhead, costs of our products that we have to produce. We have customers that want our product. We cant produce it because we need staff. Its just a mess right now. Omar, whats going to happen if you guys dont get the relief money . Were running on needs of right now. Our high season is now, going into the summertime. We had to lay off all our employees. Were just running a really minimum business right now because we dont have the support that we need. Its just us. Were here all day and we spend night as well. Were here basically making all the product ourselves. The latest round of this c. A. R. E. S. Act funding, it also set aside about 60 billion for minority and underserved borr borrow borrowers. Many blackowned businesses are still being shut out of these ppp loans. Whats your biggest frustration . The biggest frustration is that there is no contact, no information, no one to speak to. Theres no way of us getting information on what to do next. Who do we called, who do we contact . A lot of the banks dont know whats going on as well. Even if i go to my banker, they have no clue. Were right now just trying to figure things out. Omar and astrid, thank you. I hear that your bourbon and cocoa infused ice cream is fantastic. I know you guys are still delivering. I hope that people are still ordering. Thank you, both. I look forward to stopping in when things get back to normal. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo giving that Daily Briefing roughly 15 minutes from now. When it starts, well bring it to you live. Also, this is, of course, a big week for a lot of students in our country, down payments for college in the fall, a lot of those down payments are due today. What will college even look like for them. Before we go to break, a lot of us are missing our normal sports right now, but theres been a sunday night ritual thats getting a lot of us through. Espns documentary the last dance focusing on Michael Jordan and the 9798 bulls. I spoke with his kids about seeing these episodes for the first time just like the rest of us. I wouldnt have it any other way. Watching it live. Seeing the reaction of the whole world really has been amazing and i cant wait to see what else is to come. Marcus, what about you, your memories from this time. How old were you when this was going down and what do you recall . I was born Christmas Eve 1990. I like to think that i was the good luck that started the run. As a little girl, when did you realize that Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan . It took a while. I think i was like 10, 11 years old when i finally just googled him and was trying to understand why everyone was so obsessed and why everything didnt think he had a regular job like i did. It definitely took a minute for it to hit me. No joke, i googled him. I was like, okay, now i get it. State farm is announcing the Good NeighborRelief Program were returning 2 billion dollars to our auto policyholders through may 31st. Because now, more than ever, being a Good Neighbor means everything. Like a Good Neighbor, state farm is there. Seniors have now decided which college they will attend in september. Today, today is the deadline to make down payments to hold their spots. Will they have that normal College Experience what will college look like, will they be able to move into a dorm, attend class . Rehema ellis is at Columbia University to tell us how the class of 24 is preparing. Rehema, do we know what the fall will look like for these College Students . Reporter i dont think we do. Even here at Columbia University, theyre still in their assessing phase of what the College Experience is going to look like. What we might see, however, craig, is there will be fewer students. Take a look at some of the numbers were getting. Already were seeing theres an expected decline in enrollment for u. S. Students, down about 15 overall. For International Enrollment down about 25 . That could mean for a tuition loss of some 23 billion. Another report i saw, it said it could be up to 45 billion loss in revenue as a result of a decline in tuition, room and board and other services. Thats going to have a big impact on what college looks likes. Some colleges on the edge of survival may not make it through this crisis. Even for historically black colleges, they might have a difficult time because so many operate on razorthin budgets to begin with. They have to think about social distancing here at the college. Theyre talking with Health Officials about what kind of procedures they need to put into place to make certain that their students, their faculty and their staff will be protected during this crisis that were all going through. And what happens, craig, in the fall if there is in the winter if there is a resurgence of the virus, what do they do then . So many questions, so much uncertainty for these College Students and the colleges and universities themselves. Rehema ellis on the campus of columbia. Thank you. For most americans, the guidelines are simple, wash your hands often, maintain social distancing. For a lot of folks with intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, understanding those instructions may be anything but simple. Across the country agencies that offer support to the disabled community have been shut down during the crisis. Peter burns is the ceo of the arc, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of people with intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Peter, youve cited three areas in particular that are among the biggest concerns facing people with intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Isolation, fear and medical rationing. Walk us through these things, and how isolating is the crisis for those with disabilities and their families . Well, thanks for having me on, craig. This pandemic has impacted all of us. Its particularly bad for people with intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and their families. What were hearing from our chapters around the company, our 600 chapters of the arc is for families, all the careful plans theyve put in place, the Building Blocks that enable their Family Members to be included in the community and have descend lives, thats all been shredded in the Current Situation and its not likely to come back soon. The centers for Disease Control also cites concerns about people with disabilities during this time. Those concerns include people who have difficulty understanding information and may not be able to communicate symptoms. How do you communicate, peter, the seriousness of the situation to someone who may not have the ability to fully understand the scope of the crisis . Well, you really have to work at it. Our folks with intellectual disabilities and their families are just living in fear about contracting this virus and what will happen to them if they end up being hospitalized, whether theyll even get out of that experience alive. One thing thats very important is to find ways to make sure their loved ones or direct support staff can accompany them into the hospital if theyre hospitalized, make sure they that there are opportunities to communicate with them and for them to be involved in their health care and to make sure theyre not discriminated against. Before you get to that point, though, whats really important is communicating to people so that they understand and really in simple language so they can understand whats going on with the covid19 pandemic and how do they protect themselves in this situation. Many of the agencies that support folks with disabilities on a daily basis either in the workplace or the community, a lot of these agencies, peter, as you know, have been forced to close down during the lockdown in many states. Does the responsibility fall on the family at that point . Are families prepared to become fulltime caregivers of adults with disabilities . Well, thats the struggle that so many families are going through now and so many agencies are struggling to continue to try to support people remotely through the use of technology, and the families are struggling with having to stay home from their jobs or not being able to work to support their Family Members. One of the real big problems we have today is the legislation that was passed by congress doesnt provide family leave for a parent or a sibling who is having to take off of work to support their loved one with disabilities. If you have schoolchildren home, youre covered. Congress kind of forgot about folks with disabilities and didnt provide paid leave for the Family Members who have to support their adult sons or daughters with disabilities. Thats something were trying to ask congress to address in the fourth Coronavirus Relief package. Peter berns on a topic near and dear to so many families all over this country. Thank you so much. Any moment now new York Governor Andrew Cuomo set to give that Daily Briefing. When it starts, we will bring it to you live. First, though, take a look at this. Crews putting face masks on those iconic lions outside the Art Institute of chicago, marks a new rule in illinois today. Everyone in the state now has to wear a face mask in public. My patients i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. Does it worry me . Absolutely. They are both very much hand in hand. So you should really be focusing on both and definitely at the same time. The new sensodyne sensitivity gum gives us the dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. By brushing with sensodyne sensitivity gum at home its giving you the relief that you need and the control that you need to take care of your oral health. And it creates a healthier environment. Theres no question its something that i would recommend. Many of lifes moments in thare being put on hold. Are staying at home, at carvana, we understand that, for some, getting a car just cant wait. To help, were giving our customers up to 90 days to make their first payment. Shop online from the comfort of your couch, and get your car with touchless delivery to keep you safe. And for even Greater Peace of mind, all carvana cars come with a sevenday return policy. So, if you need to keep moving, were here for you. At carvana the safer way to buy a car. For the first time apparent democratic president ial nominee joe biden is addressing an accusation of Sexual Assault from a former staffer, an exclusive interview on msnbc. Biden answered questions about allegations made by tara reade. Reade briefly worked in bidens Senate Office 25 years ago and claims the Vice President pinned her against a wall and sexually assaulted her in a corridor in 1993. The Biden Campaign has strongly denied the allegations. This morning, joe biden said this. Im saying unequivocally it never, never happened, and it didnt. It never happened. This never happened, and when she first made the claim, we made it clear that it never happened and thats as simple as that. Are you confident there is nothing . Im confident theres nothing. No one ever brought it to the attention of me 27 years ago, any assertion at all. No one that im aware of in my campaign my Senate Office at the time is aware of any such request or any such complaint, and so im not worried about it at all. This is an open book. Theres nothing for me to hide, nothing at all. Nbcs ali vitali has been closely following the story. Ali, tell me more about reades allegation and more about joe bidens response. Reporter craig, as you mentioned, tara reade came forward with this allegation of Sexual Assault, that joe biden pinned her against a wall and sexually assaulted her in the spring of 1993. You also played joe bidens vehement denial of that. He said it never happened. Reades story evolved over time. In april 2019 she was one of several women who came forward that said joe biden touched her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. That evolved to include an instance of Sexual Assault. Since the time she came forward with that allegation in a podcast at the end of march, ive had several conversations with her as well as five individuals who she said she told varying degrees of detail to at the time. Three of those people are former Senate Staffers of joe biden. They say they dont reall any conversations with reade regarding sexual harrassment that she experienced while she worked in off the fis. A fourth person who spoke with me an anonymously says she remembers tara reade telling her at the time about the assault in 1993. All this comes as we begin to look for a paper trail. Tara reade told me she filed a complaint when she worked in the senate with the Senate Personnel office. The important thing to note is that this complaint was about sexual harassment, not Sexual Assault. Craig. Ali vitali following it closely. Thank you, well be checking back in with you throughout the day. Right now new York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Lets listen in. Thats what the masks have done, what the social distancing has done. And new yorkers and all across this country, you saw that number change from that up trajectory to the downward trajectory. That shift in the trajectory reduced by about 100,000 the number of new yorkers that would have been hospitalized, 100,000 hospitalized. To be hospitalized, you to be seriously ill. A portion of those 100,000 would have passed away. So all this inconvenience, all this turmoil for what . To keep 100,000 people out of hospitals. Thats for what. The 100,000 people into hospitals would have overwhelmed the Hospital System, would have been chaotic. Thats where italy was. A number of those 100,000 would have died. So remember that context, and not just for the retrospective, but for the prospective. Our past actions changed the past trajectory. Our present actions will determine the future trajectory. It is that clear. It is cause and effect. You tell me what we do today, i will tell you the number of people sick tomorrow. Every day we get up, every day everyone says, oh, my gosh, i have to do this again. Yes. But what you do today is going to determine the number of sick tomorrow. And new yorkers have continued to do what they have to do, and you see that number of hospitalizations dropping. That is all good news. That is a credit to the community and the social conscience and the responsibility of new yorkers. The question now is, as were on the decline, how fast is the decline and how far is the decline. How low will the number actually wind up . Right now were at about 1,000 new cases per day. In the 900s, 954, 933, 973. Thats four days. Before that it was 1,076. That looks like the number is flattening, is plateauing at about 9001,000 cases. Three, four days, five days if you want to say between 900 and 1,100. That is still too high a number of new cases to have every day. Its not where we were. Its a lot better than where we were for sure. But 1,000 new cases every day is still a very high infection rate. Its still a burden on the Hospital System. So we now want to take it to the next level. Lets drill down on those 1,000 new cases. Where are they coming from . Why is the infection rate continuing . Who is getting infected, and lets get more targeted in our response. Were fighting this statewide. But you have to wage the battle, wage the war on many fronts. Its a statewide battle. Now that we have it basically stabilized and on the decline, the enemy is on the run, the virus is reducing. Lets get more refined, more targeted. Im going to be speaking with the hospitals this afternoon and say that we want to get more specific information on those new cases that are coming in the door. Where are they coming from . Who are they . To see if we can come up with a more specific target. If you look at the past few days where the cases have been coming from, this is a threeday, what they call rolling average. But you see, 17 from manhattan. Much of it correlates to population. But much of it also correlates with downstate new york. 717 manhattan, 12 bronx, 11 queens, but then 10 nassau. 7 westchester suffolk. So its the downstate region, and then upstate its erie county. It gives you a snap sought of where the cases are coming from. But we need more specific information to have a specific battle plan. Literally where do the new cases come from . Are they essential workers . Are they people who are staying home and getting infected by a Family Member . Or are they essential workers who are still traveling and possibly getting infected at work. Where do they work . How do they commute . Is this a question of getting infected on Public Transportation . We Just Announced new subway, buses, long island railroad, metro north protocols. Where in the state . Are these people being transferred from a nursing home . Whats their sex, whats their age, whats their Previous Health status, what are the demographics . Lets get more specific information from the hospitals to see if we can come up with a strategy that is more tailored to the reduction of these 1,000 cases per day. The number of deaths 289, lower than it has been but still tragic and terrible. All the good numbers, all the good news for me every day this number just wipes all away. We announced a statewide policy for our schools. We did it last march 18th. We said that we were going to close schools all across the state k12 and Higher Education schools we waived what was called the 180day requirement which is the state regulation that schools had to have 180 days of teaching. Schools then transferred to Distance Learning programs, Meal Delivery services, child care options for essential workers. That has worked out well, not perfectly. We had to do it in a rush, but there are lessons that we can learn here that could change teaching Going Forward and teaching in these types of situations Going Forward. But it did work it basically functioned well. Teachers did a phenomenal job stepping up to do this. It was a hardship on everyone, but we made the best of the situation. Colleges and universities were also moved to Distance Learning. Campuses were closed unless a student really needed housing on the campus. Schools obviously by definition have higher density, they have transportation issues, kids who are getting on a bus. We didnt have the protective measures to put in place. You have 700 Public School districts, 4,800 schools in this state. Then you have 1,80 Public Schools, 89 suny and cuny campuses. The total is 4. 2 million students. The decisions on the Education System are obviously critically important. We must protect our children. Every parent, every citizen feels that. We must protect our students. We have to protect our educators, and given the circumstances that were in and the precautions that would have to be put in place to come up with a plan to reopen schools with all those new protocols, how do you operate a school thats socially distanced with masks without gatherings with the Public Transportation system that has a lower number of students on it . How would you get that plan up and running . We dont think its possible to do that in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe. Were going to have the schools remain closed for the rest of the gear. Were going to continue the Distance Learning programs. Schools have asked about Summer School and whether well have attendance in schools for Summer School. That decision will be made by the end of this month. Again, nobody can predict what the situation is going to be three, four weeks from now. So were trying to stage decisions at intervals that give us the information, but also enough time for people to make the preparations they need to make. So any decisions on Summer Schools will be made by the end of this month. But in the meantime, meal programs will continue. The Child Care Services for essential workers will continue. We want schools to start now developing a plan to reopen, and the plan has to have protocols in place that incorporate everything that we are now doing in society and everything that we learn. Were going to be asking businesses to come up with plans that safeguard workers when they reopen. We need schools to come up with plans, also, that bring those precautions into the school room. Thats four schools. Thats also for colleges and the state will approve those plans. Related issue, that we need to discuss and we need to Pay Attention to, this covid crisis has caused significant disruption and many unintended consequences and ancillary issues that have developed. One of them is when you have people who are put in this situation immediately with no notice, it has caused Serious Mental Health issues. You have anxiety, depression, insomnia, loneliness, that feeling of isolation. Were seeing the use of drugs go up. Were seeing the use of Alcohol Consumption go up. This is a chronic problem. If youre feeling these issues, youre not alone. As a matter of fact, half of all americans have said that their Mental Health has been negatively impacted. Dont underestimate the stress of this situation. It happens on a lot of levels. Three out of four say their sleep has been affected. You dont know where your next paycheck is coming from. You dont know if your job is going to exist. Youre at work one day. The next day they say everything is closed, stay in the house. Youre in that house in a confined situation or youre in an apartment in a confined situation. You cant get out. Its difficult. For emotional support, we have a hotline that is set up. People shouldnt be shy in any way or have any second thoughts about calling for help. It is a pervasive problem, and people should make the call and get the help if they need the help. We also see in light with what were talking about a dramatic increase in the incidence of Domestic Violence. There was a 15 increase in march, a 30 increase in april. March is when this started, 15 , april, 30 . That is a frightening rate and level of increase. Again, new yorkers in need, Domestic Violence hotline, 8449972121. You can call and discuss the issue. You can call, dont have to give your identity, dont have to say where you live. People who need help should reach out. Theres no shame in reaching out saying i need help. This is a national epidemic, a statewide epidemic. Ask for help and were here to help. Were especially concerned about these issues for front line workers. Are they bringing that infection home . So this is a terribly stress frl difficult time especially for the front line workers. We have a special emotional support hotline for our essential workers, and were also going to direct all insurers to waive any cost sharing deductibles for Mental Health services for essential workers, which means the Mental Health services will be free for front line workers. Theyll be at no cost. Too many people, too many families have said to me, well, i would go for services, but i dont want to pay the cost. I cant afford it. I dont want to take that money from my family. Thats gone. Theres no kooft to get Mental Health services. So just wipe that reason away. Get the help that you need. Its even on its even in the best interest of your family. Last point. Personal opinion. Who said when life knocks you on your learn, grow and get back up. This has been a very difficult, difficult situation for everyone. When life knocks you on your rear, learn and grow. And we will collectively learn and grow. Were going to learn many difficult lessons from this situation. Were going to learn about Public Health threats that we never saw before, we never heard of,ing we never really anticipated, we never actualized. We talked about global pandemics and that possibility but you know what, until it happens, people dont really get it. Our Hospital System and how that works and how it works in an emergency, how teleeducation works, how telemedicine works, how you keep society functioning during an emergency, how you communicate to people the dangers of the situation without panicking people because you still need essential workers to come out and do their job. You dont want to panic people where they say i dont want to leave the house but you need to act responsibly. How do you do that in a short period of time . What do you do about Public Transportation . Learn the whole lesson with the downstate Public Transportation system. So there will be a lot to learn from this, which we will learn and we will be the better for. I believe that. In the meantime we have to go day to day and we try to make the best of a bad situation. You try to find that Silver Lining through the dark clouds. All of us try to do it in their own way. Everybody is struggling with it in their own way. And thats all across the board. In many ways this is the great equalizer. It doesnt matter who you are, where you are, this impacts your life dramatically. But personally if you work at it, maybe you can find a little Silver Lining. Im sitting there last night with my daughter mikaela. Shes my baby. The baby is now 22. And she says to me, you know dad, think about it, ive spent more time with you now than i will probably spend with you in the rest of my adult life. I said wow, what does that mean . She said, well, think about it, i have been with you for over a month. I wont be with you for another month for the rest of my adult life. Which is kind of jarring. Because i still think of her as my baby. But thats probably right. Shes 22. Shes going to go off and do whatever she does. You see her at holidays, maybe a few hours here, steal a saturday once in a while. Reminded me of the harry chapin song cats in the cradle, which is a great old song from a great man, great new yorker too. But these are, with all of the bizarreness, i havent been able to see my mother in two months. But i have my daughter probably for a longer period of time than ill probably have for the rest of her adult life. Thats probably true. So you try to find the Silver Lining. You try to stay positive. You stay socially distanced but we stay spiritually connected. New yorkers have been so supportive of each other. You can feel it. Theres a spirit of community and mutuality. People are there to help one another. People realize everybodys going through this. Everybody is in stress. You look at the way people complied with these rules as annoying as they are, masks, six feet, this. Thats out of respect for the other. I love the metaphor for the mask. The mask does not protect me. I wear the mask to protect you. What a beautiful sign of caring, of mutuality. I wear a mask to protect you. Thats the spirit. Even in this terrible time of difficulty. Yes, you can be socially distanced but you can be spiritually connected and closer in ways you have never been before. And i believe thats where we are, because we are new york tough, which means tough smart, united, disciplined and loving. Questions . Governor, in this areas reopening plans, could schools start to reopen as early as fall, possibly sooner . And were hearing that new york city, their teachers are looking at Remote Learning possibly in the fall. So i was just wondering about the timeline of all of this and what couldp ha at t happen at t earliest. There will be no opening of any school in the state for the remainder of the academic calendar year. We have to decide on Summer School. That decision will be made by the end of may. Theres no decision on the fall because the fall is a long time away. When do schools have to submit their plans by . It depends when theyre going to open but they should start preparing their plans now, because this is going to be a real exercise. Were talking about how Manufacturing Companies socially distance, how Construction Companies socially distance. How does a school socially distance . You know, this bizarre setup here, right, look at this room. How do you run a school like this . How many more rooms would you need to do this . How about a cafeteria . How about a dorm room . They need to start working on those now. Do you think teachers can realistically do this and School Administrators . Kids are kids. Theyre going to want around and be together in school settings. That is a very good question, karen. And thats what we talking to people all across the state, educators all across the state, you can come up with a plan which is by the way very hard. Talking about spacial requirements, if you did this in a classroom, required this in a classroom, how much more space would you need in a building . And then theres the other question of k to 12 and how do i get students not to socially distance . How do i tell a 10yearold to socially distance . We will err on the side of caution. Summer school you wouldnt need to