Exclusive abc news investigation. American military medical investigators sounded the alarm about coronavirus back in november. So why didnt the white house ramp up efforts to combat covid19 more quickly . Rapid tests roll out. Results ready in just five minutes. The gamechanging technology now shipping out across the country. Who can get them and who cant . Just how accurate are they . Thank you. Road to recovery. Survivors speak out after beating covid19. A texas woman heads home after being on a ventilator for ten days. Im a survivor. The grandmother who moved out of the icu. And the father of three home after nearly a month in the hospital. The lessons from those who beat the virus. And the tv doctor saying thank you to the Real Health Care heroes from shows like house, scrubs and greys anatomy. I want to thank all the doctors and the nurses. How the stars are showing their gratitude this morning. Announcer live in times square, this is good morning america. Good morning, america. Its great to be with you on this wednesday morning. Its also great to have george and robin joining us from their homes. Good morning, sunshine. Good morning, robin. Good morning to you, michael. It is wonderful to start with a glimmer of hope from where the pandemic began. After 76 days of lockdown, wuhan, china, is open again. The city has only reported three new confirmed cases in the past 21 days. The people counted down like it was new years eve. I dont blame them. Midnight light show, skyscrapers lit up with the words hello, wuhan. Air, train and bus service into and out of the area is back now. Some restrictions do remain but, george, this is definitely progress we want to see. It is so good to see that progress, robin. And it comes as the worldwide death toll has risen now above 80,000 people, 82,000 people but more than 300,000 have recovered from their battle with coronavirus. Important to keep an eye on that as well. On the economic front the Treasury Department is asking congress for an additional 250 billion for Small Business loans. The initial 350 billion from the stimulus package is already gone. There is so much need out there. I know. Already gone. Were going to speak with dr. Deborah birx. Coronavirus task force in just a moment. But well continue our coverage with tom llamas at st. John the divine being turned into a field hospital, once an iconic church. Good morning, tom. Reporter robin, good morning to you. For weeks weve told you how the hospitals here in new york city need help and now a new life line. As you mentioned st. John the divine, the largest gothic cathedral in the united states. That truck behind me loading in supplies, tents and beds and to think that medical patients are going to be treated inside of a church during holy week is far from normal but now its necessary. This morning, growing evidence the outbreak may be slowing. But go inside hospitals, and youll see painful reminders the coronavirus still has a grip on america. Around 4 00 three people died, one after another. Reporter that reality playing out at maimonides hospital in brooklyn. Doctors taking us inside one of their icus. They need you over here. Come, lets go. Reporter dr. William pascal alerted a patient is having extreme breathing problems. Her oxygen and Blood Pressure dropping. The doctors and nurses Work Together to flip the patient over. Its a maneuver called proning. They tell us it helps the oxygen flow and that move ultimately saved the patients life. What happened just now is an absolute emergency. Its a lifeordeath situation. Unfortunately, thats what were seeing with a lot of our patients here. Reporter in new york the rate of hospitalizations is dropping. But the state also dealing with its highest oneday total in fatalities. That 731 people who we lost, behind every one of those numbers is an individual, is a family, is a mother, is a father, is a sister, is a brother. Reporter michigan also facing a prolonged battle with the coronavirus. The states largest hospital system, Beaumont Health facing staff shortages. 1,500 workers, including 500 nurses off the job because of coronavirus symptoms. In detroit, the mayor imploring people to stay home, social distancing could be working. We are at a time where i think we may be bending the curve but were at a very dangerous time if we dont stick with what were doing. Reporter this morning, were also hearing the powerful stories from those on the front lines. In new jersey, nurse vicki hilario going beyond the call of duty working 12hour shifts then volunteering to conduct covid19 testing. Its all about being selfless and being able to think about other people beyond your understanding. Its just your love to serve others. Reporter as the fight against covid rages on, america in some areas struggling with so many abrupt changes. In wisconsin, long lines of people wearing masks, not looking for care, looking to vote. State leaders and the courts unable to compromise on how to change the election date. Voters defying stayathome orders and long lines also in south florida. People lined up to pick up forms to apply for unemployment benefits. A lot of masks but not a lot of distance. We had a lot of people show up way too early. We gave out hundreds and hundreds of applications but now were printing up hundreds and hundreds more because we just have more demand. Reporter and those images of those long lines you just heard right there, more signs of how so many are struggling financially right now. We also want to mention this morning there was a family down in new orleans that lost four members, the franklin family, officials now telling us all four of them tested positive for the coronavirus. Michael. All right, tom, tough news to hear. Thank you very much for that. Now to that breaking news, an exclusive, abc news investigation out this morning reports that the National Center for medical intelligence warned the military and the white house late last year about the spread of coronavirus in china. Our senior White House Correspondent cecilia vega joins us now with the details. Good morning, cecilia. Reporter hey, michael, good morning to you. So, it was just yesterday that President Trump said no one had even heard of the virus two months ago but we are now learning that as far back as late november American Military medical investigators overseas sounded the alarm to officials right here at home about a contagion sweeping through wuhan. Those concerns that the virus could be devastating were detailed in a report and multiple sorts have described that report to our team. Now, its not just that, there were repeated briefings for policy makers across the federal government through december and by early january the warnings made it into the president s daily briefing. But it wasnt until late january that President Trump made his first Public Comments about this virus saying that he wasnt at all worried about it and that he had it totally under control. Of course, this is now raising serious questions about whether the administration could have ramped up the response efforts before it actually did. Michael, so far no comment from the pentagon or officials at the white house. We know youll stay on them today, cecilia. We also heard the president in the middle of this pandemic threatened to cut off funding to the world health organization. Sorry about that. Reporter he did, youre right, michael. Its because he says hes angry with the group saying theyve been too china centric during the outbreak and said point blank well put a powerful hold on the money given to them but a few minutes later he seemed to backtrack saying hes strongly considering it but if this does happen, it would be huge. The u. S. Is the largest single contributor to the w. H. O. Were talking hundreds of millions of dollars, michael. Not long ago he was praising the w. H. O. Thank you so much, cecilia. Going to go to george now. George. Thank you, michael. Were joined by dr. Deborah birx from the White House Coronavirus task force. Dr. Birx, thanks for joining us. We just had that report right there that the National Committee on mode kal intelligence first compiled evidence of a cataclysmic coronavirus event in china back in november. They briefed it to the military. They briefed it to the white house. So why wasnt more action taken more quickly . Well, i have to say i wasnt here during any of those events. I was working in Subsaharan Africa on hivaids so i dont really know the Situational Awareness around that report. Okay. Well, well follow up with the white house later. Let me ask you, though, about r hiv, malaria, tb, a variety of diseases. Lets talk about the spread of the virus right now. What are the most encouraging signs youre seeing right now and which hot spots give you the most concern . So, we track on a countybycounty as well as hot spot metro area. We want to make sure we dont miss any rural areas so we were tracking for small outbreaks in rural areas and the Health Commissioners and the local governments have handled those supe superbly, and were very confident those were single outbreaks and then were tracking the large metro areas. You know, we look at daily case reporting but i think its really important that we look at those not only as single days but combination of days and really look for trends and look at our testing data to see whether the number of test positives have started to decrease because were doing a large amount of testing now so by we integrate all of that t are concerned about the metro erea of washington and baltimore and the philadelphia area. All of our previous areas seem to be steady, at least. Ud then certainly were looking very carefully at california and washington to really understand how theyve been able, as a t mmunity of americans to mitigate so well. Given what were learning iout all that, is it realistic to think that the guidelines could be relaxed by may 1st or is it going to go on far longer than that . So were doing a series of clear investigations of what happened in washington and l. A. And what does that mean and how you keep the number of cases down. Were also looking very arefully at rolling out an hopefully having soon within the stxt 10 or 14 days an Antibody Test to tell how Many Americans were asymptomatic and infected. This makes a big difference in ieally understanding who can go back to work and how they can go back to work. So all of those pieces need to come together over the next couple of weeks. En finally, we all learned that your infant granddaughter was suffering from a high fever over the weekend. You werent able to go see her. How is she doing now . Thank you very much. Fortunately she got the rash of roseola yesterday which is very reassuring. When you make diagnosis from telemedicine and its your own granddaughter youre nervous andicularly with the high fever associated with covid19. I knew she hadnt been out of y e house and that whole house is quarantined so still you worry terribly. So thank you. Great relief. Dr. Birx, thanks for your time this morning. Thank you very much. Tellso, robin, that is good news right there. Today, we are going to follow up on the investigative report. Its simply stunning that medical intelligence had reports r corona in china back in november yet nothing was done thatweeks and weeks and weeks. Many were taken aback hearing about that, george. Aank you. George, as you know, this orning we also have some incredibly tough news to share with everyone. Its a very sad day for our gma family. We know coronavirus has affected so many of you and it has claimed one of our family members too. Our talented studio camera ht ligor, tony greer has passed away from complications due to the coronavirus. He was such a bright light an sixg in our studio for more ehan six years and you could s so feel tonys beautiful spirit. You could feel it from a mile away. We love tony and theres so many things they loved. His oved his family. His beloved mother fannie, his sister janet. Rs brother kevin. He loved taking his nieces, nephews, any relative who came to visit him, hed take them out and show them the city. He loved his longtime girlfriend liven. Were thinking of her. She lives in his hometown of chicago. Er a love traveling the world together and traveled pitensively and tony loved his music playing guitar in his band picking up gigs around the city allplayed a mean guitar. He was a cool dude and he loved gma. He loved meeting all the people that would walk through our doors, actors, singers, stars. Tony got to see them all and he itok pictures, as you can see ith many of them and they were gracious to take a picture with him. We loved every single moment we were blessed to spend and share with tony. Youcondolences to his family in chicago, his mother fannie. Weve got to say this to you, ul. Am, your son was a good man. He was kind, he was thoughtful. Th was always a gentleman and,. Eorge, you know as a parent, you cant ask for much more than that. You cannot, robin. Boy, you said it right there. Tony and i shared the early shift in the breakfast room. He was a consummate gentleman and just such a lovely man. Such a lovely spirit and, michael, as you know also, just a total pro. Good total pro and somebody, moorge, that you see every day and we always had a good morning, always a smile. You saw him in the early shift. In the breakfast room, i guess he was going back for seconds re iuse i would see him a little bit later there as well. But he will be missed here in our studio and thoughts and fayers are with tonys family ord our gma family as well. Thank you, guys, for that. Lets go to ginger at home. To ginger. Ah, this is a very difficult morning. Michael, thank you so much. I have to say, its funny, i didnt know what you would say but tony was such a part of my morning routine, not just from yhe pantry where we get our food but i almost would time my morning by seeing his smile. Eeat is going to be so missed, but i cant imagine the feeling for his family and so many people that have been touched by this virus, i just want to say we love you, tony, and your family. Ll hnow we have to of course start with weather news because theres serious weather happening and will happen again today. Going to get you right into the lepures west of pittsburgh, new kinsington, pennsylvania, a church wrecked by 75 mileperhour winds. Those damaging winds were just one element of the severe ltorms. We were talking about the potential for large hail yesterday. Check that out. That verified. Goodness gracious, cedar brook, wisconsin, where up to three inch hail were found. Gr golf ball size hail in parts of illinois, that was winnebago n thide chicago and more on that wisconsin, that hail falling from there to toledo, that storm moves through the midatlantic this morning and then a new front moves through. So you have southern illinois, Southeast Missouri and even northern mississippi and alabama all included in the enhanced risk but i want you to see that yellow area outside of it. Still have a shot of seeing tmaging winds, isolated tornadoes and definitely large hail again. Behind this serious cold as we get into the weekend, even philly dropping into the 30s. Lets get to the stormy cities now brought to you by allstate. Good morning. Im abc 7 news meteorologist mike nicco. After gray start, look for sunshine and milder temperatures this krafternoon. A spray how tray shower across bay. Dry conditions this weekend. Low 60s along the coast. Mid to upper 50s along the bay. Tonight, upper 40s to mid 50s. My sevenday fofofofofofofofofoo coming up, the new rapid test. A result in minutes instead of days, but who can get it and who cant . Also this morning, the patients who battled the virus and won. What were learning from them as well. Grocery delivery reality check. How long are the waits and what can you do to find some of those hardtoget items . Were going to let you know when we come back with more gma. Happen every day. People are surprising themselves the moment they realize they can du more with less asthma. Thanks to dupixent, the addon treatment for specific types of moderatetosevere asthma. Dupixent isnt for sudden breathing problems. It can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. Its not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. Dont use if allergic to dupixent. Serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. Tell your doctor right away about signs of inflamed blood vessels, such as rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and before stopping any asthma medicines, including oral steroids. Du more with less asthma. Talk to your doctor about dupixent. Thats why lincoln offers you the ability to purchase a new vehicle remotely with participating dealers. An effortless transactionall without leaving the comfort and safetyof your home. Thats the power of sanctuary. And for a little extra help, receive 0 apr financing and defer your first payment up to 120 days on the purchase of a new lincoln. In these challenging times, we need each other more than ever. We may be apart, but were not alone. Use Aarp Community connections to find or create a Mutual Aid Group near you. Stay connected and help those in need. To find or create a Mutual Aid Group near you. Youve got something up your sleeve what you didnt know was you were surprising your fatherinlaw steve the best part of wakin up is folgers in your cup there will be parties and family gatherings. There will be parades and sporting events and concerts. To help our communities when they come back together, respond to the 2020 census now. Spend a few minutes online today to impact the next 10 years of healthcare, infrastructure and education. Go to 2020census. Gov and respond today to make americas tomorrow brighter. Its time to shape our future. Athat provides strong, longlasting pain relief, so sean can help push her on her next adventure. At bayer, this is why we science. And thats not a tissue. Protection. Lysol spray kills over 100 illness causing germs, even this seasons most common flu strains. Lysol what it takes to protect. Now, your health, your safety, this is abc 7 news. Good morning. Its official now, students from six bay area counties will not be heading back to school this academic year, at least not to their regular clas