Right, i dont call. This hours after the president signed the 2 trillion relief bill that will put money in your hands. Were live at the white house. Crackdown, Police Officers across the country stepping up patrols, breaking up gatherings and making sure people are maintaining their social distance. While in rhode island cars with new york plates are being stopped at the state border and told to quarantine for two weeks. All that plus, show of thanks. New york City Residents take their gratitude to the streets, cheering for Health Care Workers working around the clock to help tens of thousands impacted by the virus. Applause for the real heroes today, saturday, march 28, 2020. Announcer from nbc news, this is a special edition of today, the coronavirus pandemic with peter alexander, Kristen Welker and dylan drier. Welcome to today we thank you for joining us onhi morning, my friend kristen and i in d. C. This morning, maintaining our proper social distance and staying close to our families like everyone is these days. Were looking forward to paying tri responders, the true heroes in this. These days we know the heroes wear masks and gloves and gear. Were going to help celebrate them in a little bit. Well begin with the latest headlines. The number of cases in the u. S. Jumped again overnight to at least 102,000, with 1600 deaths now. The u. S. Now has more reported cases than any other country in the world. Nearly 45,000 of the cases are in new york state. Some good news for the tens of millions struggling because of coronavirus. Those relief checks from the federal government could be in your hands in just three weeks. President trump is signing a 2 trillion relief bill on friday. Some states are resorting to more drastic measures to stop the spread. In owed island, police are stopping drivers with new york plates telling them to quarantine themselves. Floridas governor is telling people coming to the state from coronavirus hotspots, they need to selfquarantine as well. Our team is covering the story across the country and around the globe this morning. We want to begin with nbcs Erin Mclaughlin in los angeles. This morning, across the country over 100,000 cases. More than 1500 dead and an allout war against covid19. We go out there today and we kick coronavirus ass. The state of new york now with the grim distinction of being the epicenter of the crisis in the United States. Friday the death toll surged from 385 to more than 500. Among the lives lost, mt. Sinai nurse. Kious kelly. He had this infectious energy. You felt good when he was around. Friday night, all across the city, a show of appreciation for those on the frontlines. The doctors continue to warn the system is overwhelmed. Its like a war zone. Were in a war with very limited resources. Scrambling to build makeshift morgues and field hospitals. New york Governor Cuomo to lester holt. I hope this whole facility, lester, stays empty and we built it for nothing. You dont believe thats going to be the case . The numbers dont say thats going to be the case. In california, its all hands on deck. Every minute is a minute lost. Dire warning from officials. Los angeles is just days away from the kind of crisis engulfing new york. This weekend, the u. S. Mercy is expected to port to help noncovid19 patients. As impressive as the ship is, it has 80 icu beds. L. A. Officials estimate they need 3,000. New orleans, too emerging as a hotspot. Blayne alexander. With the case this is louisiana growing faster than anywhere else in the world, the reality is there are not enough test toss confirm every case. In miami, a mandatory curfew. Orders to stay off the streets from 10 00 p. M. To 5 00 a. M. It is growing quickly. I mean, every time i go into work, we have at least a few more cases. Now theres a statewide ban on Vacation Rentals in addition to a twoweek quarantine to anyone arriving from louisiana and new york. In rhode island, police stopping cars with new york plates. Right now, we have a pinpointed risk that we need to address and we need to be very serious. That risk is called new york city. That was nbcs Erin Mclaughlin reporting. Also this morning, hospitals across the country should hopefully be getting more ventilators after President Trump under pressure invoked a little used power of the presidency to get a major automaker to pitch in. That automaker says they were already on it. Kelly odonnell has the latest on that. Kelly, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, kristen. Despite the president s reluctance, hes using the federal government as power to manufacture more ventilators and buy more where available the next three months. A tight timeline given the number of serious to supply states and allies. If we do not need them, that would be wonderful and we can help a lot of great people all over the world. We can help them live. Bristling at demands mr. Trump made his expectations known. I want them to be appreciative. If they arent nice, i dont call. The president backed off his push to ease restrictions by Easter Sunday saying he will consult medical experts. Life, safety, if we need more time, theyre not going to have a problem waiting it out. The president was surrounded by Republican Leaders as he signed the largest relief package in u. S. History. Democrats were not invited to attend. I want to thank republicans and democrats. Today, President Trump heads to norfolk, virginia to send off a Navy Hospital ship. Nbcs Courtney Kube . The next time theyre scheduled to be in port is new york city. The thousand beds on this ship will ease some of the burden on new york city overwhelmed hospital system. It sends a message when the president goes there to say thank you. The president said hell be careful not to shake hands while in norfolk. And General Motors says its working around the clock tirelessly and had already agreed to do the work when the president invoked the production act. They hope to have 10,000 ventilators made each month. Kristen. A lot of hospitals eager to see that equipment. Kelly odonnell from the white house. Theres hopeful news this morning. The fda has approved a new test that could give patients results in the as fast as 10 to 15 minutes helping to pinpoint the spread of this outbreak. 50,000 tests a day are expected to be delivered as soon as next week bp the agency is also expediting an experm mental new treatment that uses the blood plasma from patients who have recovered from the virus to treat those who are ill. We want to bring in the doctor for the system wide special pathogen program. Shes been working for years preparing new york city for a health emergency. And shes Netflix Documentary pandemic where she predicted Something Like this could be in our future. What worries me it just takes one person to start an outbreak. We can host a number of different diseases. Just a matter of time where the next pandemic is going to start. We just dont know where or how but we know it will. We appreciate your time on this day. We know that on monday we hit the end of that 15day window, the end of the 15 days to stop the spread that the white house is telling us about right now. Can you give us a Progress Report . Are we making progress . Is there a sense we might be out of this window at some point soon . Well, its still very early on in the epidemic in the state of new york. Were obviously not alone. What happens here will happen in major cities throughout the country in a matter of days to weeks. A lot of these cities are not far behind new york city. So youre seeing whats happening in new orleans, youre seeing whats happening in miami and other areas like dallas. You know, we are obviously the epicenter today. Tomorrow it will be another city. We need to make sure the first and foremost have the resources and equipment they need. It is coming in. We need to continue to advocate for it and get it. Its not just a onetime injection. This is something that needs to consistently happen. Following up on the timeline, of course, weve heard President Trump talk about the fact that he would like to reopen at least parts of the economy by Easter Sunday. He seemed to back off of that a little bit yesterday as our Kelly Odonnell noted. Can you put this into perspective . What is the risk of reopening things too quickly . If we open the economy sooner and basically back down on social distancing, which youll see. Much higher morbidity and mortality. Even more taxed health care system. Right now, Health Care Systems are being overwhelmed. Not just here in the state of new york but obviously across the nation. Youre seeing more and more pop up. Whats going to map, theyll continue to continue to become overwhelmed. When people need to seek care, for other health alignments that are still existing in todays world, people still having babies, still having car accidents, heart attacks. We wont provide Great Services to Everything Else coming through the doors. We need to make sure were not overwhelming the health care system. We know that teams and Emergency Responders have been preparing for a pandemic like this for years. Now we witness a scramble to try to get those supplies they need urgently right now. How were we caught so short when it comes to tests and ppe, personal protective equipment, and all the items that the nurses and doctors need right now . Well, you know, at the end of the day, we rely on a just in time supply chain when it comes to health care services. We dont keep a surplus of four or five months of personal protective equipment or committed supplies. You have enough resource that is you need for a given time period. That makes sense. Obviously, you dont want to Waste Resources if you dont need it. Its a just in time economy as supply chain that we work towards. When instances like this happen, its hard to predict how aggressive theyll be and what the impact is. By the time you want to order more supplies, we have even hoarding, not just shortages, hoarding of supplies happening around the nation. This is not new. We saw this in ebola when people ordered more than they need. The folks that need it, its a backl backlog. We appreciate your time this morning. Stay safe and healthy. Thank you. As we mentioned earlier, Police Officers nationwide are putting their lives on the line as they always do, but this time its to make sure people obey government orders to stay home and to keep at a distance while theyre outside. Kathy park is in studio 1a with that part of our coverage. Kathy, good morning to you. Kristen, good morning. As we continue to stay apart to help slow spread of the virus, officers are patrolling the streets and enforce social distancing. It appears its working in some places but the message isnt getting through to everyone. These days, officers from california to new york are on the frontlines keeping you safe by making sure youre keeping your distance. But they have been enforcing it. That means breaking up large gatherings, crammed parks and even monitoring businesses with growing lines. Theres no congregating allowed. A ramped up response after crowds were seen defying federal health guidelines. Emergency. Members of the public are reminded to keep a safe distance of six feet from others. In new york city, the epicenter of the outbreak in the u. S. , people are searching for relief from the indoors, heading outside for fresh air or some exercise but reminded to play it safe. I think people are pretty good at keeng their distance from each other. Everybody has the same goal in mind. Across the country, the police are enforcing the rules, even if that means patrolling from hundreds of feet in the air. As we see people in groups, were going to break them up. If we see a place too crowded, well get people to disperse. Well issue warnings. Giving people more options to spread out, several blocks closed off to traffic so pedestrians can move freely. During this outbreak, more officers are getting sick, too. More than 500 uniformed members of the nypd tested positive for covid19. A sobering reminder of the risks of policing during a pandemic. I appreciate them. I appreciate them a whole lot. And if crowding continues to be an issue here in new york city, mayor bill de blasio has said parks could be the next to close. Decision on that will be made tonight. Kristen, peter. Kathy park, thank you for that report from new york. Normally at this time of year the race for 2020 would be at a fever pitch with candidates crisscrossing the country, asking for your vote. In light of the coronavirus, the campaigns are looking different these days, obviously. Nbcs Geoff Bennett has more on that and what the candidates are doing about it. Good morning, peter. The coronavirus pandemic has temporarily transformed nearly every aspect of american life, including the race for the white house. Virtual campaigning is now the new norm for Bernie Sanders and joe biden. With President Trump seizing the National Spotlight day by day from the white house, the Democratic Candidates have had to find new ways to connect with voters. Going to get their say. While the remaining 2020 president ial candidates are used to seeing adoring crowds on the campaign trail, the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to find new ways to connect with voters. President trumps daily briefings are now his daily substitute for Campaign Rallies weve done one hell of a job. Its lucky you have this group right here right now for this problem or you wouldnt even have a country left. He initially down played the virus and boosted his reelection bid by blanketing the airwaves. With the leading democratic candidate left pushing for a higher profile. Former Vice President , joe biden, like most americans is following the cdc guidance to stay at home and it threatens to blunt his momentum. Bidens campaign this week installed a Television Studio in his basement to help step up his public presence. Im chomping at the bit. But i am where i am. I hope to be the nominee in the democratic party. I hope im able to get my message across as we go forward. Biden now holds Virtual Press briefings, appeared on a Digital Edition of jimmy kimmel. Are you able to stay away from people during this time . Im not officially quarantined. But im trying to follow the rules here. Even hosted a virtual happy hour. None of us want to be cooped up in our homes. Meantime, bidens lone competitor, senator Bernie Sanders is signaling hes pressing forward despite trailing in the delegate count this week he held a virtual town hall. Sanders perhaps remaining in the president ial race for months to come since now more than a dozen states have postponed primary elections out of fear that inperson voting right now could spread the virus. Even though joe biden opened up a nearly insurmountable delegate lead over sanders, sanders is actively pursuing the democratic nomination, even wants to participate in a potential april debate if one happens to be schedule. Joe biden, though, says there have been enough debates and wants to bring the primary to a quick close. No Campaign Stops to go to. Geoff bennett is here. Thank you very much this morning. Appreciate that. We know that a lot of this can be overwhelming. We want to make sure were shining a light for you on some of the good news every day. Moments like this one. Brave Health Care Workers being cheered on for their heroic efforts. Take a look. Emotional moment there. Shes a nurse at the Swedish Hospital in seattle and she was brought to tears by the sound of the community cheering for her and her colleagues. Her girl friend says its been a difficult few weeks and those are happy tears to be recognized and also appreciated and peter, we cant say it enough. These are the folks on the frontlines. Gives you goose bumps. We need to do the same and cheer them on. Were so grateful for them. We want to take a turn and check the forecast. Our friend dave price from our station wnbc is staying put at home in new york city this morning with a forecast. Dave, were anticipating one of the kids is going to run behind you at some point. Everyone is still right now. This is not what i maent when i said to both of you id love to have you at my house. Were going to make it work. Lets go to the maps right now. Take a check of the weather. Hold the two dogs at bay and see if we can get to this. Lots of rain. Deep in the area of low pressure through the Central Plains. A warm front extend east to the midatlantic. A cold front down to the Southern Plains to central texas. Heavy rain and flash flood watches through the ohio river valley. Big concern, Severe Weather it is expected through the mid afternoon and into the early afternoon. 43 Million People at risk. West of chicago to eastern iowa is the strongest chance. We could upgrade that risk. Well watch and see what the Storm Prediction Center says later. Usually this setup is for the dixie alley to the south. The heaviest rain through the ohio river valley into the Central Plains today. Were also looking at snow through sections of