Red flag. The newly revealed memo that reportedly shows the white house was warned about the risk of a pandemic in january, as dr. Anthony fauci suggests life after the outbreak may never be the same. If you want to get to precoronavirus, that might not ever happen. Well talk about the difficult road still ahead with the nations Surgeon General. Turn for the worse. British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson spends the night in intensive care amid his ongoing battle with the coronavirus. A top official now deputized to step in as the nations leader when necessary. Just ahead, the very latest in a live report from london. Aboutface. The secretary of the navy apologizes after slamming the captain of a u. S. Aircraft carrier, concerned over a Virus Outbreak on his ship. Hes a, too naive or too stupid to be the Commanding Officer of a ship like this. The blame game of the captains firing and fallout. And breaking overnight. Bringing back baseball . The plan reportedly being worked on to start the Major League Season as early as next month. Where and how the games could be played. Today, tuesday, april 7th, 2020. From nbc news, this is today, with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Hi, everybody. Welcome to today. Happy youre joining us on a Tuesday Morning. Savannah working from home once again. I know. But i got a different look. They upgraded my background, hoda. I have a little bit of 30 rock. I can feel a little closer to you in studio 1a. Yes. Im still in my basement. I like that look. We have a lot to get to overnight. Theres 368,000 case of the coronavirus in the United States, with more than 10,000 fatalities. But here in new york, efforts to flatten the curve appear to be working. Meantime, despite the states stayathome order, todays president ial primary in wisconsin is still being held with inperson voting. The governor issued an executive order that would delay voting till june, but late overnight, it was overturned by the highest court. The leaders are working on the next rescue bill to bolster the hardhit economy. House speaker, nancy pelosi says another 1 trillion is needed on top of the 2 trillion recently passed. And concern isPrime MinisterBoris Johnson after he we have complete coverage. Were going to begin in new yowhles. Gabe gutierrez is near the u. S. And is along the hudson. Gabe, good morning. Reporter good morning. This Naval Hospital ship has only treated about 48 patients so far, but overnight some breaking news. One of its crew members has just tested positive for covid19. Only noncovid patients, but Governor Cuomo asked the president to change that as the citys Health Care System is pushed to the brink. Some good news in hardhit new york. It would suggest a possible flattening of the curve. Reporter daily hospitalizations are down. So are icu admissions and daily intubations. And though deaths are still rising, the increase has been stable for two days. Still, Governor Andrew Cuomo is warning new yorkers not to let their guard down. If we are plateauing, we are plateauing at a very high level and theres tremendous stress on the Health Care System. Reporter President Trump has now agreed to allow the thousand bed, floating hospital, the usns comfort to treat covid patients. But a crew member was isolated after testing positive for the virus. Meanwhile, theres another 2,500 beds at the Javits Convention center, which has been converted into a massive hospital and is now open. And possibly another 200 more beds next week at st. John the divine, the largest cathedral in america, that is working out logistics of opening its doors to the sick. All potential relieve valves, for doctors who work at a covid19 unit in north Shore University hospital, and says all of her patients are seriously ill. You can actually smell fear. You smell death. Reporter in harlem, frustrated medical workers are demanding more protective equipment. To have an n95 mask every day is nothing. Thats like begging for crumbs when we need dinner. Reporter new york city accounts for nearly onequarter of the nations surging death toll. A funeral home in brooklyn says its running out of body bags. Were overwhelmed. Overwhelmed. My staff is theyre on wits end. Reporter as city officials urge new yorkers to wear face coverings when going outside, the governor is furious that some are not properly social distancing. And he has doubled the fine from not doing so from 500 to 1,000. Savannah . All right. Gabe, thank you. Now, to the dire shortage of vital medical equipment nationwide, including testing kits and even thermometers. Its being highlighted in a new government watchdog report. Were going to talk about it with the nations Surgeon General in a moment. First, tom costello joins us with the details of that. Tom, good morning. Reporter good morning to you. The nation right now bracing for coming days and weeks. The president , meanwhile, defending his administrations handling of the outbreak even as, on the ground, in the nations hospitals, state governors and an Inspector General watchdog report, paint a devastating picture. This morning, a new definition of our new normal. If back to normal means acting like there never was a coronavirus problem, i dont think thats going to happen. If you want to get to precoronavirus, you know, that might not never happen in the sense of the fact that the threat is there. Reporter as the nation faces a critical stretch in the battle against the coronavirus. The next week, week and a half, is going to be a big surge, the professionals tell us. Reporter a new inspectorgeneral watchdog report finds hospitals nationwide are facing shortages of critical medical gear. And many states are warning their hospitals will run out of personal protective equipment within days. Among them, hardhit michigan. At all three health systems, there are less than three days until face shields run out. And less than six days until surgical gowns run out. Reporter illinois governor, echoing the dire situation, criticizing what he says is the trump administrations rationing of resources. When you compare our federal shipments to our burn rate, the product that weve received from the federal stockpile will last only a handful of days in this multimonth battle. Reporter meanwhile, many Small Business owners are struggling to obtain loans promised under the 2 trillion relief package. As technical glitches and sheer demand have overwhelmed the Small Business administration. The president saying the money earmarked for the plan may not be enough. Were going to have to probably add more money to this to save and to keep our Small Businesses going and to keep the employees of those Small Businesses working. Reporter also overnight, South Carolina reversing course. Now telling its 5 million residents to stay at home or work with few exceptions. Still eight states remain without a full stayathome order. Dr. Anthony fauci says he spoke with the governors of two of those states, iowa and nebraska, and he believes they have an acceptable equivalent. The president says it will be left up to the states for now. They are doing what we are asking them to do without having to put the seal on it. I will have to say, if i thought it was necessary, i would do it in a heartbeat. Reporter as the country enters another week of sheltering at home and social distancing, dr. Deborah birx is calling on americans to take care of each other. While acknowledging how tough the situation is for everyone, including her own family. My grandchild of 10 months got a fever of 105 this weekend. Im the doctor. And i couldnt get there. And thats just an illustration that i know you all are making sacrifices. And i guess i want everyone to take this seriously. Reporter meanwhile, the New York Times is, this morning, reporting that senior white house trade adviser, peter navarro, warned the president , warned the white house, of the situation with the coronavirus in late january. Peter navarro writing, on january 29th, the lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave americans defenseless in the case of a fullblown coronaVirus Outbreak on u. S. Soil. The lack of protection elevates the risk of the coronavirus evolving into a fullblown pandemic emperiling the lives of millions of americans. He wrote that on january 29th, at the time the president was suggesting this was all a hoax. Savannah, back to you. Tom costello, thank you. That brings us to dr. Jerome adams, the u. S. Surgeon general. Good to see you, sir. Good morning, savannah. Let me ask you about what tom Costello Just reported. The New York Times says its seen a memo dated january 29th, in which a top trade adviser at the white house warned that trillions of dollars could be at risk and millions of americans could be at risk because of coronavirus. Did you ever see that letter . Were you aware of that letter . And more broadly speaking, do you believe the white house, at its most senior levels, had sufficient warning of the pandemic potential . To answer your question, i never saw that letter. But you and i talked about the fact that i ran a state Health Department for three years. Ive been in Public Health for 20 years. Weve been saying for decades this is a possibility. But when you look at sars, when you look at mers, when you look at the situations we dealt with, many people at all levels, did not expect Something Like this to happen at this magnitude. And so there are many lessons learned. This virus has humbled many of us. And i think at the federal, state and local level, we will backtrack and try to figure out how we can improve moving forward. Its interesting that you ai. You just said, it kind of took people by surprise. But i guess thats the point of this memo being reported by the New York Times in january this year, january 29th. It said particularly, that this could put millions of americans at risk. Coronavirus in particular. Do you believe the white house had that sufficient warning to know how bad this could be . Well, what i know, based on my interactions with the task force and remember, i joined the task force later there were preparations going on the entire time. I can tell you within hhs, that secretary azar, from the time this started to develop in china, was looking at the stockpile, was trying to come up with plans. So there was work going on behind the scenes. But again, this virus has humbled many of us. What im focussed on now is helping the American People understand what they can do moving forward to protect themselves. And thats why were learning into t the good news, savannah, is we are seeing many places across the country level out their hospitalizations, their icu admissions, their death rates. We know mitigation works. And so, i want people to focus on what we need to do in the next two weeks to really flatten the curve and slow death rates. I wanted to ask you about that. You said many places, but new york in particular has real glimmer gs s of hope. Intubations down, hospital admissions down, icu admissions down. Do you believe new york has hit the peak and flattened the curve . Well, i dont want to say theyve hit their peak yet. Sometimes places will go down for a little bit and then pop back up again. But i want to say, washington and california, kudos to the Public Health professionals out there who have flattened their curve, definitely. And in new york, we see that because people have been cooperating remember, savannah the power to change the trajectory of this epidemic lies in the hands of the American People. This virus spreads persontoperson, and the way we combat it is each person with maximum distance between each other. And the people of new york are doing that. I know that i helped america understand this was going to be a hard and tough week, but i also wanted them to understand weve had hard week, weve had hard times in our country before and weve come together. And america is coming together to battle this disease. And we are starting to see progress. At the same time, you have this Inspector Generals report, from the administration the health and Human Services agency, stating there is still a severe shortage of testing, that hospital workers dont have that personal protective equipment in the numbers they need. Theyre even not having enough thermometers in some places. Do you acknowledge, sir, that theres woefully inadequate resources right now for many, many hospitals and Front Line Health Care workers or colleagues . Pile doesnt have enough in there to deal alone with this type of epidemic. We know that states are responsible for stockpiles and they were inadequate. We know that hospitals when you look at hospital prepared preparedness, and i worked with hospitals as a director, we didnt have enough in there. Were trying to move and allocate the resources. And i can tell you that so far, we are working with governors to make sure people are getting what they need when they need it. And remember, people called me an alarmist when a few weeks ago, i was telling places to pull out of elective surgeries. And i was telling people, dont take the n95 or medical masks because thaw arent helpful for the general public to prevent them from getting coronavirus, but they are needed for Health Care Workers. I have told pe now, its important for everyone to do their part and lower demand so we can move supplies to where theyre needed and make sure my colleagues, my Health Care Workers, my friends are getting what they need to be able to protect themselves. A couple quick things. I only have a few seconds left. I know you have to go. Georgia beaches were reopened by the governor. Good idea or bad idea . Well, thats the governors decision. If youre going to go to the beach, stay six feet apart. If youre going to be closer than six feet, you can make yourself a homemade mask to protect yourself and your neighbor from being out there. Right now, the best advice i can give everyone, just stay at home. Give us a week, give us two weeks. Ideally, give us 30 days. But stay at home. What about the state of wisconsin, which is having inperson voting today . The governor there actually tried to delay the election but it got into a court battle and the voting will go on today, what do you say about that . I say as a black man, i know that people have died for the right to vote. This is very important to our entire country. Out there and vote, please, do it as safely as possible. Maintain six feet. Please, especially in wisconsin, consider wearing a cloth facial covering to protect your neighbor. If youre going to exercise your right to vote, do it as safely as possible. And check out my advice at cdc. Gov or look at making a cloth mask and see how i put this one together. Well do that. Dr. Adams, thank you for your time. We appreciate it. Thank you. Be safe. Were going to get through this. Thank you, savannah. Also this morning, messages of support are pouring in for british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson. He remains in intensive care in a London Hospital this morning, after his coronavirus symptoms suddenly worsened. Today Senior International correspondent, keir simmons, is there. Reporter good morning. We just received an update from British Government officials. They say the Prime Minister has been stable overnight, he received standard oxygen treatment and hes been breathing without mechanical support. They also describe him as in good spirits, but it is deeply d distu disturbing. Take a look at this. The hospital where Boris Johnson is in intensive care is just across from the houses of parliament, where he so often faced political opponents. Now his challenge is a simple virus. Prime minister reporter hes been leading the british charge against coronavirus. But this morning, britains Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is in intensive care. Focused on the fight of his life, his own difficult battle with the virus. Politics pushed aside. European leaders, like the french president , who so often disagreed with johnson, tweeting support. When youre in intensive care, its a big deal. Reporter President Trump, hoping the Prime Minister will pull through. Americans are all praying for his recovery. Hes been a really good friend. Hes been really something very special. Strong, resolute, doesnt quit. Doesnt give up. Reporter on thursday, johnson was outside downing street, cheering Britains Health workers. He looked visibly sick in a video message friday. I still have a temperature. Reporter on sunday, he was moved to the hospital. And yesterday, just hours after tweeting, im in good spirits, he was given oxygen and moved to intensive care. The queen being kept informed. His foreign s