54,000. By the way, it was exactly one month ago today that the death toll here in the United States was just over 1,000. At the same time, more states are preparing to crack open the doors to their economies, doors that were slammed shut weeks ago when the pandemic hit. Stayathome orders expire tomorrow morning in a few states where restaurants and some stores will be allowed to open under strict safety rules. But officials at the white house tell cnn that social distancing directives are not going away any time soon. Social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases. This Public Health crisis is not the only unprecedented catastrophe looming over the United States right now. The u. S. Economy is enduring week after week of staggering losses, and americans are out of work in numbers not seen in decades. One of President Trumps economic advisers is projecting an extremely grim picture. This is the biggest negative shock that our economy i think has ever seen. Were going to be looking at an employment rate that approaches rates that we saw during the Great Depression. During the Great Recession remember, that was a financial crisis around 2008 we lost 8. 7 million jobs in the whole thing. Right now were losing that many jobs about every ten days. The next couple months are going to look terrible. Youre going to see numbers that are as bad as anything that weve ever seen. I think the Unemployment Rate is going to jump to a level probably around 16 or even higher in the next jobs report. The past five weeks alone, 26 million americans have lost their jobs and are filing for unemployment. Lets go to the white house right now. Our Kristen Holmes is joining us. Kristen, you just heard a white house economic adviser there saying the coming months, in his words, look terrible, but thats not necessarily the tone coming from everyone in the Trump Administration. A lot of mixed messages coming out of the white house, even on this day. Reporter thats right, wolf. I mean, this was a much bleaker picture than weve seen before. And to be very clear, the surprise is not the numbers. We know that economists have privately been saying that the unemployment numbers could reach those levels. The surprise is that its coming from a white house economic adviser. The messaging coming out of the white house has been really steady and very upbeat. We know President Trump has said on multiple occasions that the economys going to have a big bounce back. And even earlier today, treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin painted this much rosier picture. I think as we begin to reopen the economy in may and june, youre going to see the economy really bounce back in july, august, september. And we are putting in an unprecedented amount of Fiscal Relief into the economy. Youre seeing trillions of dollars thats making its way into the economy, and i think this is going to have a significant impact. Reporter so, i do want to make one thing very clear before i break that down. I dont think theres a single american who hopes or who doesnt hope that that is whats going to happen, that the economy will not bounce back. I think everyone is looking at this, they know that there is a high level of unemployment. Most people know someone who is unemployed, and people are watching their businesses and wondering if theyre going to survive this. But there are a lot of questions as to whether or not the economy can come back as strongly and in that short of a time frame, particularly big cities, those big cities that house a lot of these unemployed americans, that have a lot of these businesses that drive the economy. When are they going to be opening back up . We still dont have a timeline for that. And the other big thing that economists just cant predict is what is society going to look like once it does reopen . Are people going to actually go out and frequent these businesses like they once did, wolf . You know, kristen, its interesting, we just discovered here at cnn about some letters being sent to people all over the country right now, personal letters from the white house. Tell us about that. What are these letters all about and whos getting them . Reporter so, if you were one of the people who received any sort of stimulus money from the stimulus response, you also likely got a personal letter from President Trump. And as you said, we just discovered these viewers sending them into us earlier today, and essentially, they came in an envelope with an irs stamp that paid for fees and postage from the treasury department. And it was a note that, one, had a message of hope, saying the white house, the administration was there for these families at these times, and two, just provided basic information about those stimulus payments how much money they person received and how exactly they got it, whether direct deposit or check. Now, one thing that we have learned is inside of the legislation, there is a section in there that says that anyone who is paid within 15 days will get a notice in the mail that talks about those basics how much money they got, how they got that money, just so that they are aware. But it doesnt say that it has to come from the president. So of course, weve reached out to the white house to see who made the decision, when it was made to have President Trump have his own signed note to these people receiving the money. But we also know President Trump likes to be the face of all of these positive aspects of the coronavirus response, like his name on those stimulus checks to begin with. Yeah, important point, Kristen Holmes reporting from the white house. Thank you. Well get back to you. I want to go to georgia right now, where tomorrow restaurants will be allowed to reopen. This comes just a couple of days after the governor there allowed operations to resume at barber shops, nail salons, gyms, even bowling alleys. Those plans, despite the fact that georgia has not, repeat, not seen a 14day downward trajectory in cases. Cnns natasha chen is in atlanta for us. Natasha, what has the reopening been like for businesses . What can we expect to see tomorrow . Reporter well, wolf, tomorrow, movie theaters will be allowed to reopen along with those restaurants doing dinein service. And that comes with a number of restrictions. For example, employees have to have face coverings, no handshakes, a lot of requirements for sanitation and washing of hands, and there are no more than ten customers allowed per 500 square feet. I have to say, when i was in South Carolina covering some businesses opening there last week, the density allowed was a lot stricter than this. So georgia is going with ten customers per 500 square feet. Now, when we talked to Business Owners of barber shops, of bowling alleys, you know, there is a level of uncomfortable awareness that there is a health risk here, but they also have not gotten any of the Financial Aid that theyve applied for, so theres a huge amount of pressure to open their doors just to earn any kind of income. We know that there are a number of restaurants who have told us directly or posted online that they dont feel that its time yet to open their doors for dinein service, so they are holding off, though we know a handful of restaurants as well as at least one large chain that is going to do this. And Governor Kemp did say that cases may go up with this reopening here, but he also says that this state is more prepared to deal with that than they were a month ago, wolf. Got some live pictures i want to show our viewers, live pictures from downtown atlanta, natasha. This is not very far away from the cnn center. You can see, i guess some people moving up, not many, few cars, if any, at all. Have you heard any reaction to the governors decision to allow businesses to reopen, specifically from communities, natasha, hardest hit by the coronavirus . Reporter absolutely. Well, albany is a hotspot here in georgia, and the mayor spoke with cnns ana cabrera about this. He was talking about how he wishes that in his community, the situation in his view requires that they do shelter in place or stay at home for a longer amount of time. Heres what he said about that. We were upset that the governor did not allow us to continue our shelterinplace ordinance. But our citizens are generally going to be guided by the environment that were in, and were finding that most churches have no plans to reinstitute Worship Services at this time. Most of our restaurants will continue to offer only curbside and delivery. Reporter and so, hes also saying that Governor Kemp has said that if there is an uptick in cases in albany that the state will offer whatever resources are necessary to help get that under control. So, really a lot of conflicting emotions here from local leaders as well as businesses, trying to make the best call for Public Health but also for their wallets, wolf. All right, natasha. Thanks very much, natasha chen in atlanta. Lets stay in atlanta right now. Marcher there, leisha lance bottoms, has been critical of Governor Kemps decision to reopen the state. The mayor is joining us right now. Mayor, thank you so much for joining us. Based on what youve seen this weekend so far with businesses like hair salons, gyms reopening, for example, how concerned are you that now restaurants will follow suit tomorrow . Wolf, im extremely concerned. And as an elected official, we often want to be right. But i can tell you that this is one that i hope that im wrong about. And ive said it before. Ill say it again. I hope that the governor is right and im wrong, because if he is wrong, more people will die. And this notion that we can somehow deal with more people who are sick is ludicrous, because we dont have a cure, and there are Healthy People walking into hospitals dying from this illness. And so, simply because we may have a bed to offer them or a hospital room for them doesnt mean that we can save their lives. And i think that therein lies the problem. I understand that people are hurting economically and people dont want to have to make this choice, but its important so that we can flatten this curve for a sustained period of time. When i look at the numbers, the numbers that i have received from this afternoon, our deaths are up 32 from this time last week. Our positive tests up 26 from this time last week. We arent headed in the right direction, and my fear is that were compounding this problem. Yeah, people are concerned. We just showed some live pictures in downtown atlanta, not far from the cnn center, and very few cars. I didnt see hardly any people over there. Take a look at this. You can see whats going on. Normally on a sunday at this time, it would be jammed. People would be moving around. What would you say, mayor, to a restaurant owner, though, who is facing potentially losing his or her business if they dont reopen . You know, wolf, what i can say, there are a number of restaurants in this state and in this city who have said we absolutely will not open. But what i would say to someone who is potentially looking to lose their business is my heart goes out to them. And as an elected official and as a leader, we have a responsibility to try and help people recover from this. We have a responsibility to put money in the pockets of the small Business Owners who need this, who are depending on this. But it is irresponsible in the middle of a pandemic for us as leaders to be irresponsible. And i think that when you say to people, you can open with certain guidelines, and our answer to them is, and if you get sick, we have a bed for you . I dont think to me, its a lack of understanding of what covid19 is doing to people across the globe. A federal health official, mayor, tells cnn georgia was expected to run out of unemployment funds within 30 weeks. They believe this played into Governor Kemps decision to reopen. Do you think the governor reopened as a way to avoid paying unemployment claims . Well, i know that has to be a consideration because our state is facing a 4 billion budget shortfall over the next several years. But you know, we know that when people fill out unemployment applications, the question is asked, did you refuse to work . Can you return to work . I believe the labor commissioner in our state has now said you can earn up to 300 a week and still receive your unemployment benefits, so that helps a bit. But i know that this is an economic consideration because were hurting in the state in the same way were hurting across the world. But what i can also say is this, wolf we are not a first generation whos faced adversity. We are not the first generation whos dealt with a pandemic. Well get to the other side of this, but only if we make responsible decisions. We cant keep turning back and take two steps forward and then take ten steps back. It only prolongs this crisis thats facing this globe. And the stakes, as we all know, are so, so enormous. Mayor leisha lance bottoms in atlanta, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Good luck to everyone there. Meanwhile, in the middle of a global pandemic, americans are desperate for the latest medical information about the coronavirus, but the president is giving out some dangerous misinformation. Two doctors will join us live to give all of us the truth about whats going on. Stay with us. Youre in the situation room. Since 1926, nationwide has been on your side. Weve been there in person, during trying times. Today, being on your side means staying home. Nationwide office of customer advocacy. But we can still support you and the heroes who are with you. 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And if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. Take on ra talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. Rinvoq. Make it your mission. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. The white house has sent the weekend trying to clean up President Trumps suggestion that perhaps putting disinfectants into the body could kill coronavirus. Experts in the Administration Like dr. Deborah birx have clarified that this dangerous theory is not a treatment at all. At least one state is already trying to deal with the enormous fallout. Heres the maryland republican governor, larry hogan, earlier today. We had hundreds of calls in our hotline here in maryland about people asking about injecting or ingesting these disinfectants, which is, you know, hard to imagine that people thought that that was serious. But people actually were thinking about this, was this something you could do to protect yourself . The suggestion came, perhaps, from the president himself. Joining us now, the Infectious Disease specialist at Johns Hopkins university, dr. Aimish hidalja and president of the american medical association, dr. Patrice harris. Dr. Harris, clearly this kind of misinformation is extremely, extremely dangerous. How should Public Health officials right now minimize the confusion, disseminate the correct information in a critically important moment like this . Well, wolf, words do matter, and its important in this Public Health crisis that we have the voices of physicians and scientists and Public Health officials out first. We need to make sure there is clear and consistent messaging on what to do and what not to do. So, i know that over the last couple of days and its unfortunate that we are here, but Public Health officials and physicians are having to say that no one should ingest or inject these household cleaners. And so, we just, as physicians, the medical Community Need to continue to be out front and give clear, concise messages. Yeah. And as i keep saying, doctor, any one of these disinfectants, like purell, for example, right here read the warnings. Right on the warning, it always says for external use only, so youve got to be really, really careful. Doctor, its understandable that people may be desperate for ways to protect themselves, so what should they be doing to seek out what we can call credible, safe information . They should be talking to their doctors. They should be looking at trusted sources of Public Health information like their local Public Health agency, their state Public Health agency, the cdc, the nih. There are lots of sources there. And unfortunately, people have a lot of faith in what the president says, and sometimes its not going to be accurate, and you really need to look at Health Professionals and scientists to actually guide you through what to do, whats safe, whats not safe. Its really important. And dr. Harris, giv