E white house isuse is considering making that recommendation in hot sp acro s a dratic shift in guidance, designed to stop the spread of the virus. And it comes as confirmed cases now top one million worldwide. Nearly a quarter of all of those infections are right here in the u. S. More than 5,000 have died across the country. And theres another stunning number tonight, more than 6. 6 million americans filed for Unemployment Benefits last week. Thats double the number of claims from the week before, and it is historic. Take a look at this chart that puts it in perspective. Puts it in perspective. Earlier this year, weekly claims numbered in the thousands. Tonight, they reach into the millions. In the outbreaks epicenter, new york and new jersey, some hospitals are now diverting patients as those i. C. U. S fill pa. Our team is covering all of the headlines, and well get to that new guidance on the masks in just a moment, but Mark Strassmann leads us off tonight and, mark, we just hear
Pres. Trump thank you very much. Thank you. Very comfortable here. A lot of room. And we appreciate you being here. Yesterday i announced we would be extending our social distance guidelines through the end of april. This is based on modeling that shows the peak in fatalities will not arrive for another two weeks. The same modeling also shows that by very vigorously following these guidelines, we can save more than one million american lives. Think of that. One million american lives. Our future is in our own hands, and the choices and sacrifices we make will determine the fate of this virus and really the fate of our victory. We will have a great victory. We have no other choice. Every one of us has a role to play in winning this war. Every citizen, family, and business can make the difference in stopping the virus. This is our shared patriotic duty. Challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days. This is a very vital 30 days. We are sort of putting it all on the line, this 30 days.
This virus feeling the Impact Retail giants, macys, gap and kohls announce mass layoffs for tens of thousands of workers while the Federal Reserve issues a dire influence warning, the outbreak could leave nearly 50 million americans out of work. All that plus, to the rescue. Were going to need new people to come in and take care of patients. I can do that, and i will. The brave volunteers leaving home and heading to the white hot center of the u. S. Outbreak to join the fight on the front lines. I just want a make a difference. How they are answering the call to action today tuesday, march 31st, 2020 announcer from nbc news, this is a special edition of today the coronavirus pandemic with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Studio 1a. This is studio 1a i havent been here in a while. I was going to say, so many things are not normal. And in this moment right now, as im looking at you, something final is its good to see your face, savannah. It feels g
How citizen soldiers from the National Guard are helping to combat the coronavirus. But first, heres todays eye opener, your world in 90 seconds. Every day when i go to work, i feel like a sheep going to slaughter. Confirmed coronavirus cases now top 1 million worldwide. I know you have seen the slope in the United States versus the slope in italy. And we have to change that slope. Certain areas of michigan, detroit, looked like it was doing pretty good and then all of a sudden, it went up. The nations top Infectious Disease expert says the whole country should already be under orders to stay at home. If you look at whats going on in this country, i just dont understand why were not doing that. We really should be. Another historic surge in unemployment claims. More than 6. 6 Million People filed for benefits. A mindblowingly horrible, recordbreaking number. Two cruise ships carrying passengers with flulike symptoms have been allowed to dock in florida. After coming to an agreement wit
Minister designate in just 10 weeks on the stuff carver may be able to unite 6 hereon factions hungry and helpless the coronavirus pandemic impacting Food Supplies for hundreds of millions dependent on. And living in fear of the dead why some in indonesia dont one virus victims buried in their towns. Well staggering new figures reveal the extent of the damage to the worlds biggest economy by the coronavirus shut down in just one week another 6600000 people filed for Unemployment Benefits that means nearly 17000000 americans have lost their jobs in the past 3 weeks thats around one in 10 workers for more on this lets turn to our White House Correspondent Kimberly Halkett shes live for us from washington d. C. Kimberly how much of a shiver are these numbers sending down the spine of the economy there. Well they were expected but still the numbers are staggering never before in u. S. History has there been such a significant job loss in such a short amount of time the numbers are simply a