This crisis to switch up our on air shifts, my friend and colleague and i will be here to bring you the next 90 minutes as we take a look at the very latest in this coronavirus crisis. Public Health Officials warn this week will be the toughest weve seen yet. The Surgeon General yesterday called this our pearl harbor moment. There are over 350,000 confirmed cases of covid19 presently in the united states. An imprecise number because with he dont know how many people have it because we havent been testing everyone. More than 10,000 souls have died. New york has been hit the hardest. There are 130,000 cases in the empire state alone, more than onethird of all the confirmed cases nationwide. Yesterday we saw a drop in deaths here in new york. Sorry, katie. This is going to be interesting. Were going to figure it out. Yesterday we saw a one day drop in deaths here in new york. Even as experts warn of the week ahead. Governor andrew cuomo says the state is approaching the apex of the crisis. Hospitals are already overwhelmed. He warned that the state is beyond capacity for needed ventilators. Ventilators in new york are being used today . All of them. Were beyond capacity. What about the stockpile . How much remains in the states stockpile . Were beyond capacity. We are into the plan b, c, d that we outlined, right . We are into using bypap machines, were into splitting ve ventilators, turning two into one with two sets of tubes. Bill diblasio warned that his city arguably the global hot spot for this crisis is rapidly running out of crucial equipment. Abroad Boris Johnson has been hospitalized following a lengthy battle with persistent covid19 symptoms. Downing street says though it is simply a precautionary measure. He is still in charge. And japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe is preparing to announce a weeks long state of emergency in japan as cases there continue to rise. We want to begin, however, in new york and with us from the Field Hospital in manhattan, kathy park on long island today which is the next emerging hot spot in new york. Our nbc news correspondent ron allen. Kathy, first to you. This was a Convention Center then famously the core of engineers turned it into a 2500 bed facility. What is the situation . How many patients are they seeing there so far . We learned theyre treating 36 covid19 and noncovid19 patients. But were still trying to get a little bit more of an updated response as to what has actually happened behind me at the Javits Center. It has been a mobilization of the military. We have seen members going in and out of this facility all day long. I had the opportunity to speak with two soldiers from ft. Hood, texas. I asked them what do you think about being part of a mission like this . They said, a, they are proud to be a part of this type of crisis because theyre here to serve. And they will do so until they are no longer needed. And they will be joined by hundreds if not thousands of other Service Members over the course of several days. Governor cuomo said 1100 military doctors, nurses, support staff, they will all be coming to the new york city area to help with this crisis. 300 are already in the area now to assist new york city public hospitals. You mentioned the Javits Center. This massive Convention Center now turned temporary hospital has the capacity for 2500 beds right now. And as i mernntioned, 36 patien. They expect it to fill out over the coming days. Two miles away from where we are, brian, is u. S. Ns comfort at pier 90. And there is now a lot more conversations about whether or not they will be making this a covid19 only vessel. Right now theyre only taking noncovid19 patients. When you factor in the 2500 beds here and 1,000 beds on top of the ship that, is 3500 beds. That would relieve a lot of the strain going on right now at area hospitals. Brian . And kathy, youve landed right there on the disconnect. The American People see the president talking about these two facilities when he talks about the large effort he has supplied to new york. Almost every day he mentions even the hospital ship or the javits or both. Theres been confusion over whether they were going to accept strictly covid19 or strictly noncovid19 patients. As you point out, the numbers have been on the low side compared to capacity. And i dont know that anyone has offered a good explanation. Youre right. And, you know, Governor Cuomo said he was planning on getting on the phone with the president this afternoon to discuss this very topic. Its been on going. Ive been following the story for several days when this came online and when the ship arrived last week and, you know, weve been reporting that much of the two facilities, the Javits Center and the comfort remained empty. But hopefully there will be a change in the purpose, especially with the u. S. Comfort considering all the images and stories were hearing from the front line workers, brian. Kathy, thank you. Lets hope that confusion gets sorted out. I have a friend of mines mother, a 73yearold mother that was sitting in the er in brooklyn in a chair for 30 hours waiting to get a bed at a hospital in brooklyn. So those beds across the city are needed. In the meantime, lets go over to long island. Ron, officials out there are concerned that long island could be the next new york city. Tell me what are they attributing this surge to and what are you hearing out there . Theyre attributing it to proximity, Nassau County borders new york city. Its a dense suburb as subgo. When you put those two things together and have people going back and forth from nassau and Suffolk County commuting, you get the virus spreading. So the fact of the numbers are spiking here, it happened over the past number of days. And again today according to the governors latest briefing is no surprise to the officials out here. And they, like everyone else, is trying are trying to scramble to get as much personal Protection Equipment to expand Hospital Capacity and to deal with. This and to give the emts a break as much as possible as well. The county executive for Suffolk County said three weeks ago there were no fatalities reported out here. Now there are as many as 200. And thats in the county of about a million and a half people. Here at this hospital, north shore medical, they have been trying to reconfigure the hospital to accommodate the influx of covid19 patients. They turned an auditorium, a Conference Room into hospital wards. Behind me, the blue tents are emergency tents. About 60 beds here. They hope they dont have to use them. All day weve seen medical staff going back and forth preparing just in case. The future, of course, is uncertain. Even though some of the numbers seem to be plateauing, not rising as quickly as they were weeks ago, there is still a lot of uncertainty. Theyre still preparing for a really influx of more patients. We spoke to one medical director here at north shore. Heres how he explained the situation and what hes trying to do to make accommodations to keep as many people safe and well as possible. Heres what he had to say. I think the way were going to be successful is keeping our staff healthy, keeping them safe and focused on taking care of patients. So weve been very deliberate on planning what wards to put patient thats are covid19 positive on, making sure our staff knows what a hot area is, what a cold area is, where to put on their ppe and how to stay safe. In other words, doing the best they can under an enormous amount of stress. The Hospital System heres on long island as back in the city are facing a tremendous challenge. A lot of pressure. Health care workers doing the best they can to save as many lives as possible as this whole crisis continues, maybe slowing down, perhaps. I dont think anybody is really getting too comfortable with that idea. The last thing they want to do is take their foot off the accelerator, keep moving forward. This difficult week were experiencing plays itself out. Back to you. And we all hope to hear of that day when we have reached the apex. Perhaps it is happening now and we can start looking forward to it coming down. Our initial reports from new york from kathy park and ron allen, thank you both. We are very fortunate to be joined at this hour by the commissioner of the fdny daniel nigro. Commissioner, thank you very much for joining us. I have been following your travels through the city as youve gone from betalattalion battalion and going to the fdny and they hope to assume that thanks come from us as well. First of all, for our viewers watching from around the country, tell us the relationship we see and hear a lot about. Fdny and ems. The ambulances ain the city tha respond. Explain the relationship between fdny and ems. Ems merged into the fdny more than 20 years ago. So they are big and important part of the fdny and certainly now theyre carrying biggest burden during this pandemic. Mr. Commissioner, i want to ask you about caseload and the number of people, the Fire Department and ems are able to go out and treat. There was an order last week that we heard about from the city to all ems workers, to not try to not take anybody with a cardiac arrest to a hospital if they cant revive them on the scene. That was very scary to a lot of folks here in new york city. Can you talk to me about that decision, how it was made and what it says about the work the fdny and ems are doing . Well, you know, a few weeks ago we might have responded to 60 cardiac arrests in the course of a day. Yesterday we responded to 320. Thats what our members rare up against. Were trying to revive people and giving it a good, you know, 20 minutes. But the order is that if we cant return breathing, if we cant return circulation, the chances of the hospital being able to do it are almost zero. So taking that patient to a hospital that is already having difficulty managing their patient load is just impossible today. So its made a difficult job that our emts and paramedics have even more difficult. And if you listen to our radio frequencies, youll hear all day and all night that theyre responding to a cardiac arrest and that patient has been has deceased. And it just adds to the burden for our people every day in the field. Commissioner, indeed ive been listening to manhattan dispatch and hearing the volume of calls. Im curious about your members who for a living respond into homes and situations where covid19 is present. A lot of them have been uncomfortable with the idea of going home after their shift because of family members if they might have exposure on clothing or other surfaces. First of all, what percentage of fdny and ems employees are out right now on sick call . Right now there are over 2,000 members. Fireside and ems who are out just with covid19 either testing positive which is the number is about 500 or with symptoms of covid19. About another 1,000 out on medical leave for other reasons. And this is out of a workforce of 17,000. As you say, this is not only a very, very difficult time for our members, but for their families. Many calls we get are people concerned about that. We have been able to find hotel rooms for folks when they have difficult situations at home and theyre worried about, perhaps, immune system problems at home with their family and theyre able to between their tours go somewhere else. Commissioner, do your men and women have what they need . Do they have enough personal protective equipment . Do you have enough ambulances right now . I know fema sent up more to new york city. Is there more you need . Well, right now we have, thanks to fema and thanks to the dedicated mostly young people from around the country, just about every state in the union has sent help through fema and that has been a big help. As far as personal protective equipment, we hear so much about it day in and day out. Not just here in new york but around the country. I think there is still confusion over the level thats needed, whether its a surgical mask, m95 mask, sometimes youve heard senator schumer call for equipment, a ppe czar and it sounds like a fairly good idea to me. Because that part is difficult. Right now our members have what we need. We hope that supply chain stays strong so that we continue to get the personal protective equipment that we need. But i think it needs to be coordinated so that the people that need the proper higher level of protection get it and its not distributed in some fashion that is inappropriate. So here in new york the mayor appointed jim oneal who came back from retirement and if anybody can get that straight perhaps jimmy can. Well, lets hope so. Nobody works well with mixed messaging. Commissioner, thank you to you and thank you to all the women of the fdny and ems. Youre doing heroes work out there and we appreciate it. Still ahead, the president keeps touting unproven treatments for coronavirus and creating tension between our Nations Health experts and his white house staff. Plus, its been called a wild west fight for critical medical supplies. Youll meet the woman who had to race down a highway with a 3 million check just to get the state of illinois life saving m95 masks. But first, new jersey congresswoman Mickey Cheryl will join us. Her husband has tested positive for covid19. And now she is showing symptoms too. D now she is showing sympto too. Hey there people eligible for medicare. Gimme one minute. And ill tell you some important things to know about medicare. First, it doesnt pay for everything. Say this pizza is your part b medical expenses. This much about 80 medicare will pay for. Whats left is on you. Thats where an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company comes in. This type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesnt. These are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement for meeting their high standards of quality and service. So call Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company today and ask for your free decision guide. With this type of plan, youll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. And when you travel, your plan will go with you anywhere in the country. Whew call unitedhealthcare today and ask for your free decision guide. Call unitedhealthcare today [ one morwoo me by[ laughing ] woo play pop music no way dude, play rock music yeah woah no matter what music you like, stream it now on pandora with xfinity. And dont forget to catch Trolls World Tour in theaters and at home on demand friday. Rated pg. Lets party people one more time welcome back to our special coverage. The Coronavirus Fight has now hit very close to home for first term new jersey democratic member of congress mikie sherrill. Her husband tested positive for covid19. She, too, has been experiencing some of the symptoms. We are fortunate to be joined by new jersey democratic congresswoman mikie sherrill. I have so many questions. Ive had the pleasure of meeting you and your husband and like you, i know hes a veteran and doesnt tend to scare easily. But tell us about his condition. Tell us about your condition. You guys are parents of several children. How are you working home life and quarantine . Those are a lot of questions, brian. Nice to see you. Thanks for having me. So a couple weeks ago my husband started to have flu like symptoms. And at that time we knew so little about the virus and because he didnt have a cough and he didnt have a fever, he did he went online to talk to the doctor using our telemedicine and the doctor said it sounds like you just have the flu and to stay in bed and drink liquids which he did. And then we came to hear that many people around him who worked around him tested positive. So he went and got a test and, in fact, did have the coronavirus. I think and i hope hes on the other side of it. Hes still feeling tired but doing better. And then different people in our family, because we werent really quarantining him, because we didnt think he had the virus, i think maybe many of us might have some symptoms while my daughter has some headaches and stomach aches, ive just been fatigued with a cough. But overall, i think, you know, the symptoms that everyone else is having have been quite mild. Im really hoping that remains to be the case. And congresswoman, i have to ask you about your day job because the American People are still going to need the kind of help that comes from congress and appropriations. Where are we on being able to vote remotely because youre an example of why we cant have members of congress flying back and massing again under the capital dome. Right. Before we left and still in session, i had advocated we come up with a plan, you know, when youre in the military of a navy veteran, when youre in the military, youre in a crisis or planning nobody a crisis. So we started talking, many of us about, what the plan was. And how we would handle this crisis. And i think because here in new jersey were really on the front lines of it, we were starting to see how this might look. Question Left Congress thursday and my kids didnt go back to School Friday and they havent been back since. We were talking about it then. Ive been advocating to come up with a plan for remote voting. I know dr. Kim from washington state, another state thats been afflicted with this was talking about when we had a form, when we were back in session, you know, thinking about how we might be able to still function as a congress because not only does it impact our voting, it impacts how some of our committees are functioning as well. So we are getting different Conference Calls to talk to different experts, for example, im on the House Arms Services committee, so weve been hearing from different experts at the dod on certain pertinent issues. But we really, i think, do need to come up with a plan. Because we have got we passed three pieces of coronavirus legislation. I dont think anyone thinks thats the end of what we need to do. We have got to get to were already at work and we have to get coronavirus legislation, the fourth piece of legislation passed and then there will be more after that. So it sounds like youre going to need to get that figured out pretty quickly, congresswoman, that remote voting. Where does the vote stand and what will be in it . Well, right now i think what were looking at is critically what is happening on the ground. How can we take care of people now . What were talking about in new jersey, dwoent have enough ppe. We dont have enough ventilators. Were even running out of the sedatives for people on the ventilators. Were facing personnel shortages. We dont have enough testing going on. So really taking care of people right now. Also i think were seeing the plans and programs we put forward and the third coronavirus legislation, the c. A. R. E. S. Act is very popular. With very to reassure people thats not going to run out. When they go to apply for the Business Loans that they need to keep their businesses open, that theyre going to be able to get the help that they need. So we need to address some of that. I think we need to have triggers in place. So if we start to see certain things happening in an area or nation, it triggers more help and support for people. We need to be thinking about that for the fourth piece of coronavirus legislation. I would also say that weve got to think about how were going to get people back to work. So as i mentioned, the first thing you do, you know, in the military when youre crisis planning is logistics planning. What is the National Effort going to look like . How are we going to make sure that people feel comfortable with masks that they have the masks they need . How do we make sure we have the same antibody tests to see if youve been exposeded and have a level of immunity to give you a sense of comfort going back to work . These are the things we need to start addressing right now. Congresswoman, thank you very much. We really glad that you and your family are feeling okay. I hope it stays that way. Thank you. Thanks so much. The president keeps promoting an unproven treatment for coronavirus. And it set off a debate inside his white house pitting the nations top doctors against mr. Trumps senior staff. Trumps sef you should be mad at tech that makes things worse. But youre not, because you have e trade whose tech makes life easier by automatically adding technical patterns on charts and helping you understand what they mean. Dont get mad, get e trade. New crest pro active defense. Youre doing more to keep your body healthy for the future. Shouldnt your toothpaste do the same for your mouth . Now with crest pro active defense, future proof your whole mouth. Its active Defense Technology neutralizes bacteria to shield against potential issues. Crest. Navigators of the turf and keepers of the green. To the rural ramblers, back to the landers, head turners and stripe burners. Run with us on a john deere mower. Because this is more than just grass. Its home. Search john deere mowers for more. A. The other thing that we bought a tremendous amount of is hydroxychloroquine. We have purchased and we have stockpiled 29 million pills of the hydroxychloroquine. 29 million. I just think its something, you know, the expression ive used it for certain reasons. What do you have to lose . What do you have to lose . You have to go through your medical people. Get the approval. But ive seen things that i sort of like. So what do i know . Im not a doctor. Im not a doctor. But i have common sense. The president continues to push a drug that is largely untested and unproven as a treatment for coronavirus. Even his top Health Advisors have been reluctant to endorse the use. That is one of the many contradiction thats is coming out of this white house, a white house that government watchdogs say made a number of missteps in responding to the pandemic. As nbcs ken delany reports, hospital administrators also said conflicting guidance from federal, state, and local governments on how to use personal protective gear and other issues has led to a greater sense of confusion, fear, and distrust among staff that they can rely on hospital procedures to protect them. Dr. Irwin redlehner is also with us. This confusion about what they need for doctors and nurses, ive been hearing that and its leading to a lot of frustration with hospital administrators and confusion about how they are exactly supposed to keep themselves safe. The president says that hospital administrators are thrilled. Lets listen to that real fast. Many hospital administrators that weve been in touch with even in the really hot spots, you know what they are, are communicating directly with us that their level of supplies are meeting essential needs and at the current time theyre really thrilled to be where they are. Ken, what are you hearing . When i heard him say that, katie, i was stunned. We were already reporting on this amazing hhs Inspector General report which surveyed more than 320 hospital administrators in 46 states. While the news media is reporting about shortages of ppe, ventilators, this was an actual investigation by the Trump Administration and what they found was a Health Care System in chaos. They found shortages, yes, of ventilators and personal protective equipment. But also of basic supplies and hospitals like toilet paper. Cleaning supplies, and thermometers. So hospitals are not able to even take the temperatures of patients who may or may not be exhibiting symptoms and that they felt put their people at risk. They also found a sort of on going financial crisis among hospitals because they have had to cancel most of the elective procedures that bring in income and so some hospitals are actually telling hhs investigators that theyre considering laying off people at the very time they need as many employees as possible. And it really contradicts the picture that donald trump is trying to paint there. Theyre not thrilled. They are absolutely desperate and begging for a more fullsome response from the federal government and talking about getting defective products from the stockpiles. One case a hospital told of getting a shipment of 1,000 masks from fema and they were all expired and so unusable. Another hospital got 500 masks that were for children. Couldnt be used for the adult staff. Those are the anecdotes in this report. Its one of the most gruesome government reports ive ever read in one of the most frustrating, katie. Doctor, if i can jump in here. I know you do medicine and not politics. Are we in a place in this country where if you are one of our 50 governors, you stand a better chance of getting ventilators if you flatter and thank the president and you stand a better chance if you perhaps hold out hope implicitly that chloroquine may be what the president sees it might be . This is an incredible situation. I dont know how many times we can keep saying unprecedented and bizarre. But, you know, it keeps being was warranted every day. Heres the deal. I read the hospital report. It is extraordinary. Its not only extraordinary at what it contains, its also extraordinary in how much it krikts what the president keeps saying which is consistent with what he says about everything else. And so the two categories here, one is what is the honest truth about how the hospitals Health Care Systems are doing . And that honest truth is clearly theyre doing horribly. Theyre terrified and they dont have enough stuff, people, training, et cetera, to do their job. That is sort of one category. The other thing that shocked a lot of us in health care and Public Health was, you know, dr. Trump talking about the use of chloroquine for covid19 which is extremely inappropriate. And hes getting feedback from his own Health People that are telling him please dont say that. Its not proven. It might be dangerous. People could die from heart complications if theyre taking chloroquine in the wrong way and at the wrong time. We dont know if its safe or effective for covid19. So to have somebody in the Oval Office Standing in a podium talking about the values of a medication is really kind of mind boggling, brian. The other thing i would like to mention quickly is even this controversy about the use of the cloth, you know, ready made or handmade facemasks which are also controversial. So the president should not no president really should be speaking about either medical diagnosis or treatments. This is something that should be in the pexperts. He is touting unproven medical treatments is very, very dangerous and really unsettling, undermining confidence of people. And by the way, i think that seeps down from loss of confidence in the president , the loss of confidence in Public Officials in general. And we really, i dont know what to be done to control. This but it is horribly inappropriate situation that were dealing with now with the president acting like hes the doctor in chief here. Jonathan, i suppose if we take this to its conclusion, there could be a scenario where if you live in illinois, you have a loved one who is very sick with covid19, perhaps in need of a respirator, you then have to worry about respirator availability because your governor has been diligent enough in trying to provide for his state that along the way hes been critical of the president and not thankful, not appreciative enough in public. Thats very possible. Its a story line that cant be overstated. This fault line between the white house and the state houses across the nation. The governors who are at the front lines of this crisis who are trying so desperately to stock their hospitals and medical facilities with the life saving equipment. And were seeing from the president there is no doubt, he said himself he watches. He is keenly aware of what governors say about him in television interviews. He has spoken highly of those who have flattered him including some unlikely suspects like governor democrat kngovernor newsom in california. They have drawn wrath recently. President over the weekend claimed he didnt care if people if the governors were appreciative enough. I think we can fact check that to know thats not true. I think there is a growing concern that how each governor manages the president could impact their level of what they get in terms of necessary equipment. And on top of of that, were seeing this debate about the Nation National strategic stockpile in recent days where they said redefined it as a real backup for the states. They went so far as to change the definition on the website the next day. And instead of suggesting the stockpile was going to be the first tool out the door but rather only a stopgap short term measure if the states werent able to manage their own stockpiles leaving a lot of the governors feeling like they could be on the verge of being abandoned by the white house who continue to put the onus on the states to bat this will crisis. Jonathan, it seems like a lot of the focus is on the optics of the white house response rather than the response itself. There have been a number of articles over the past few days about whats happening inside the white house, calling it a chaotic response, outlining the time line leading up to today. All of the ways that the government failed to act more quickly in order to contain this or to get testing out. There was another report in axios between a fight between Peter Navarro and dr. Fauci. Can you pull back the curtain and tell us whats happening inside the white house and what that means for the president s ability, this administrations ability to keep americans safe . There has been in some especially in the early days of this response, some real tension and in fighting within the building. Of course, you have the president who didnt want to hear about this. Secretary azar and others, those at the cdc tried to warn him as early as january and february. The crisis is coming to our shores. He was slow to respond. More recently there was some communication issues between on the task force azar was ahead of it and then he wasnt. Vice president pence is now. Pences team had initial strug wells Jared Kushners operation managing the supplies. Some of that is straightened out. Yes, youre seeing the fault really be defined between those like navarro who are pushing the president to reopen the economy as soon as possible versus the doctors like dr. Fauci who are urging caution and time and patience. The fight this weekend was over that use of that antima layeral trug. Navarro saying it was going to be useful to deal with covid19. Fauci saying its simply not there yet. The data doesnt support it. Maybe it will work. But we just dont know yet. But youre having the president right now sort of begrudgingly listening to the doctors. I think it should surprise no one. Lets remember his hopes to reopen the economy by easter. If he pushes sooner than later to try to redo things again. Our thanks to all three of our guests today. Thank you for always be available to us. Another break in our coverage and next, an almost unbelievable story about the competition that states are getting into to get critical medical supplies. Coming off the conversation we just had. Youll meet a woman who raced down a highway with a check for over 3 million as one does these days to get doctors and nurses in illinois life saving 3m and m95 masks from china. That story when we come back. At t has connected us every day for over 100 years. And were here for you especially now, doing Everything Possible to keep you connected. Through the resilience of our network and people. We can keep learning, keep sharing, keep watching, and most of all, keep together. Its the job weve always done. It is the job we will always do. I appreciate what makes each person unique. Thats why i like liberty mutual. They get that no two people are alike and customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Almost done. What do you think . I dont see it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. vo quickbooks salutes the grit and determination of those who work for themselves. Theyre the backbone of our economy. And in these challenging times, theyre adapting to support their communities. But many need our help. If youre a Small Business in need, or want to help a local business, go to quickbooks. Com smallbusinesshelp intuit quickbooks. I here the governor complaining. Hes always complaining. I said give me a lifrs the couple things weve done in illinois and were building a 2,500 bed hospital in mccormick place. That is the big Convention Center in chicago. And were helping to staff it and will end up staffing it because hes not able to do what youre supposed to be able to do as a governor. He has not performed well. The premium on 2020 of being appreciative to the president. This is exactly what we were just talking about in our previous segment. The president expressing his displeasure with the duly elected governor of illinois during his afternoon briefing at the white house yesterday. And you can only imagine it had something to do with these comments, perhaps, by illinois governor j. B. Pritzger just a few hours prior. Ive said this over and over again that if action had been taken earlier, a lot fewer lives would be lost. Today, you know, were all competing against each other. States one against another, federal government competing against states, other countries competing against states for us to try to save the people of our states, to try to protect the Health Care Workers and essential workers and, frankly, everybody from this virus. And it is wrong. Its just wrong. He repeatedly criticized the federal government for opting to let states fight among themselves for critical supplies and protective equipment. We should note he is not alone. Other governors have done the same, bipartisan governors. A story in this weekends Chicago Sun Times shows that the lengths that illinois has been forced to resort to just to get the m95 masks, the paper compares it to the wild west. Two weeks ago the states assistant comptroller had to race down an interstate with a check for over 3 million to meet a middleman in a mcdonalds parking lot. Its almost not believable. Joining us is that state that very state official, illinois assistant comptroller ellen andres. Pick up the story. Having never seen or touched a check for that much money, and i can speak for katie, im pretty confident neither of us have raced down a highway with a check that size though we do know our way around a mcdonalds, how does it get to this point . So the governor has put together a task force that is filled with procurement people who are out there looking for Different Things to buy and as you talked about, its the wild, wild west and were against other states. So we found a or they found a supplier who had 1. 5 Million Masks that we needed. Our comptroller said we need to do whatever it takes to get things done. So this supplier needed money right away. And we actually had to stop our system and sort of do a manual warrant, as you say, which is a little bit old fashioned. And he was going to come pick it up that day. And he called and said i have to have it in my bank by 2 00. So our procurement person was upset about it and said, you know, weve lost it. I said i dont know, ill just hop in the car and drive it to him. So thats what i d i hopped in the car and took off down i55 and she worked with him and we got a meeting spot and, you know, some day ill tell my grandchildren about the time that i met a stranger in a parking lot at mcdonalds with a 3 million check for, you know, supplies for the coronavirus. But will you tell your grandkids that you were speeding down that highway or will you tell them that you went the speed limit . Thats the question . I was speeding. And while i was speeding i was thinking if i got pulled over, i would just hop in the state policemans car and you take over and we have to get them this 3 edit gdid get our masks. Let me ask you this. It seems youre over a barrel with this competition, that you are subject to whatever price this foreign entity wants to put on these masks, which is well above what they normally should be at. Youre kpeecompeting with other states, competing with the federal government, youre competing with foreign governments and the private sector. Is there a better way to do this . Well, i think our governor has made it very clear that there should be something done. You are correct, we have actually lost some of our business to other states and it drives up the price that all taxpayers are paying more for it. So were all at a loss when that happens. And there does need to be a coordinated effort, for sure. Do you have any way of knowing how many other states have this system that, in your state, Governor Pritzker has set up, and that is this kind of well, in this case, the opposite of a value meal, but this Rapid Procurement strike force that even though youre bidding up against other states and the feds in some cases, working together, you can go out and get what the people of your state need, at least. My understanding is that this is our only opportunity, is that he pulled together procurement people from illinois, the best, and theyre looking and theyre literally out there looking for masks and ventilators and rae t respirators, gloves, sanitizer, and comptroller mendoza has us ready to make those payments right away, and thats what were doing. And i dont know that we can even stop and take a breather to do anything else, because people will die. You know, financially speaking, ive been a cfo and ive never had to say that. And if we dont get our work done, people will die. And we dont have a choice. So, i took off running down the highway, although i would like to say i was really not at risk, and its a little bit embarrassing, because people are out there every day working with people, but this is what we can do to help, is to get the bills paid faster and things like that. While it is a wild story that almost seems out of a movie, it is an important reminder that you do have peoples lives on the line and youre doing it in order to get them personal protective equipment. Illinois assistant comptroller, ellen andres, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Ellen, thank you. And a story from overseas that katy mentioned at the top of our broadcast has to do with british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson hospitalized due to covid19. His spokesperson says its a precautionary measure due to persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive. Number ten downing street reiterated Prime Minister johnson is still the head of british government. Joining us now from london is nbc chief global correspondent, bill neely. First, any updates in the Prime Ministers condition . Hi, katy. Not yet, although it does look increasingly like Boris Johnson will spend a second night in hospital in london. Its 11 days, actually, since he was declared to have coronavirus. And downing street has stopped calling his symptoms mild. He tweeted today and said, im in good spirits, im in touch with my team. Im in for routine tests, but we dont know what those tests are. Most likely, there will be blood tests, but we dont know if his lungs are being tested or, if, indeed, he has been put on oxygen. And downing street didnt deny that he might have been put on oxygen and oddly the chief medical examiner officer said he wasnt sure what his condition was. But clearly, its much more serious than what he was first admitted, when he said, look, ive just got a bit of a fever. These are mild symptoms. Hes now saying, identive got fever and ive got a cough. But he says he remains in charge of the government. Ironic that he was taken to hospital last night, just as the queen, Queen Elizabeth ii was giving her extraordinary reassuring message to britain about a third of the population of britain watched that tv broadcast in which she praised health workers, she thanked people in britain for sticking to the rules, and today, the death figures were a little bit better. They are slightly lower, but im afraid actually, katy, the uk like the u. S. Is just beginning a peak week. And that is in contrast to whether countries in europe like spain, like italy, like europe, whether are clear signs that the numbers, the death numbers and the case numbers are beginning to fall, that perhaps they have turned the corner. Bill neely, our man in london, reporting on the uk and its hospitalized Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who notably made the decision late on behalf of his country to socalled shelter in place and stay home in the face of this approaching covid19. Time for us, for another break, as we approach the top of the hour. A city at a standstill. Our look at new york, a city on edge as it nears the peak of this pandemic, looking at the desolate times square, its still hard to believe. Hospitals in the city are overwhelmed. Lifesaving supplies are in short supply. Our teams on the ground, our experts on the front lines will report in with the very latest after this break. The very latet after this break [daughter laughs] not such a bargain. Theres only one quicker picker upper. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Sprinting past every leak in our softest, smoothest fabric. Shes confident, protected, her strength respected. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. You cant always stop shfor a fingerstick. Betesd, her strength respected. With the freestyle libre 14 day system, a continuous glucose monitor, you dont have to. With a painless, onesecond scan you can check your glucose with a smart phone or reader so you can stay in the moment. No matter where you are or what youre doing. Ask your doctor for a prescription for the freestyle libre 14 day system. You can do it without fingersticks. Learn more at freestylelibre. Us. There are times when our need to connect really matters. To keep customers and employees in the know. To keep business moving. Comcast business is prepared for times like these. Powered by the nations largest gigspeed network. To help give you the speed, reliability, and security you need. Tools to manage your business from any device, anywhere. And a team of experts here for you 24 7. Weve always believed in the power of working together. Thats why, when every connection counts. You can count on us. Good afternoon. Brian williams along with katy tur, part of our special coverage. If youre just joining us, here now the very latest across our country. There are over 350,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus nationwide. More than 10,000 people have died. In new york, the epicenter of this crisis, there are 130,000 confirmed cases. Nearly 5,000 deaths in new york alone. Things are expected to get worse from here, with dr. Tony fauci warning the country is struggling to get a handle on this crisis. Governor andrew cuomo warned today if new york had reached the apex of cases, it is a disturbingly high one. If we are plateauing, we are plateauing at a very high level, and