we need 30,000. what happened after. tonight, these images of a packed new york city subway. tonight, we hear from doctors and nurses across the country on the front lines. what they desperately need. worried about bringing the virus home to their families. as tonight, we learn of two health care workers who have died from coronavirus. and news tonight on former presidential candidate amy klobuchar's husband. she reveals he is now hospitalized, on oxygen. and like so many americans, she is unable to be at his side amid concern loved ones could get this at the hospital. the toll here in the u.s. a 34-year-old man dying from the illness. louisiana becoming one of america's newest hot spots. confirmed cases there tripling in just days, weeks after mardi gras. and dr. jen ashton here tonight. how long can you have this before you even show symptoms? and we ask the doctor about news of a possible test to see if you've already had it, and if you have immunity. late developments on capitol hill tonight. will congress pass the $2 trillion relief bill? news tonight, the summer olympics have now been postponed. and we have learned, a famous playwright has now died from coronavirus. good evening. it's great to have you with us on a tuesday night. this is yet another heavy night of news. president trump with conflicting messaging on the coronavirus. after pushing social distancing, to give doctors, nurses, and health care workers a fighting chance against this, the president signaled he wants the country open by easter. it left medical experts to answer questions about whether they would offer that same guidance. as health experts say we're not even close to seeing the worst of this yet. tonight, the number of cases in america now more than 53,000. nearly ten times more than just a week ago. more than 670 are now dead. at least 22 states imposing stay at home restrictions. four more states in the past 24 hours. empty streets from boston to detroit to dallas, to california's pacific coast highway. the most cases nationwide now in new york state. the number doubling every three days. the vast majority in new york city. these are the lines outside a hospital in queens. 400 ventilators arriving in new york, and new york's governor asking the white house, do you want a pat on the back? we need 30,000, pointing to the nation's stockpile. begging the federal government for more help. the governor saying what happens here will happen across the country. and the images that caused alarm. service reduced in new york city and so many other cities. and the crowded subway car at 5:30 a.m. this morning. there is new concern in many parts of the country, including louisiana, just weeks after celebrating mardi gras. the governor saying its medical resources will be overwhelmed in a matter of days. calling for a major disaster declaration. tonight, the pentagon sending two army field hospitals to new york, another to washington state., . jen ashton with your questions. news on a possible test that could show if you have already had coronavirus, if you have any immunity to it. we will carefully guide you through it all tonight. we begin with tom llamas, who interviewed new york's governor just today. >> reporter: tonight, as the coronavirus spreads through the country, president trump warning the restrictions may infect the economy to a point of no return. the president now saying he wants the u.s. open for business by easter. that's in 20 days. >> i will tell you that right now. i would love to have that. it's such an important day for other reasons, but i will make it an important day for this. i would love to have the country opened up, and just raring to go, by easter. >> reporter: later adding he'd like to see churches full. >> i would love to aim it right at easter sunday so we are open for church service and services generally on easter sunday would be a beautiful thing. >> reporter: president trump comparing the more deadly coronavirus to the seasonal flu. >> we lose thousands and thousands of people a year to the flu. we don't turn the country off, i mean, every year. >> reporter: the president's own team pressed whether the country should be easing social distancing within weeks, not months. >> i think the question is really, can we be laser focused rather than generic across the country? in other words, can we use our data in a laser focused, granular way to look at what's happening on the ground and adjust our public health messages based on what is needed by the number of cases. >> reporter: right now in new york, people are dying from covid-19. the country's hot zone. the infection rate doubling every three days. >> one of the forecasters said to me, we were looking at a freight train coming across the country, we're now looking at a bullet train. >> reporter: a frustrated governor andrew cuomo predicting the virus' peak in new york will be faster and higher than expected. 140,000 hospital beds and 30,000 ventilators needed now. calling on the federal government to help get it done. >> when we went to war, we didn't say, anybody want to build a battleship? who wants to build a battleship? anybody want to do that? that's not how you did it. the president said it's a war. it is a war. >> reporter: fema setting up this field hospital in new york. the javits center will not only be a hospital, it will be a distribution center. these are some of the supplies like cots, beds, gloves, and the ventilators. today i asked the governor about the president's push to reopen the country. to president trump, what would your message be about balancing it. concept. there is no dollar figure on human life in this country, and there never should be. >> reporter: in new york and across the country, doctors telling us tonight what it's like. >> we are soldiers very much in the bunker fighting this invisible virus. and we enter the trenches every day when we go into the hospital. >> right now, it feels like i'm fighting a fire with blindfolds on. >> reporter: we're now learning two health care workers from georgia have died from covid-19 infections. gabriel najarro, a physician's assistant in atlanta, fears exposing his family to the virus. >> it's been tough not trying to be as close with my sons because i'm worried about getting them sick. >> reporter: in oregon, a field hospital going up. in wisconsin, a rush to donate masks. and ford motor company now starting to manufacture medical face shields. the virus infecting people from all walks of life. senator amy klobuchar, who just ran for president, telling us how her husband is now hospitalized and on oxygen. >> he was coughing up blood. his oxygen levels were dangerously low. he's been there for a few days. >> reporter: she says one of the hardest thing is not being there with a loved one. >> i would rather be there with him right now. and i can't do that. all you can do is call and email and text and try to reach the caretakers who are taking care of him, i've never even met them, to get updates. >> the senator talking about the situation so many families face when their loved ones are taken to the hospital. they can't visit them. they have to hope and pray from a distance, hoping their loved one gets better. tom llamas, back with us tonight. we heard from the president, who reiterated his hope to open the country by easter. but he said he would be guided by dr. fauci and dr. birx. who we've all come to know, standing behind the president. and dr. fauci weighed in on this. >> reporter: that's right. this news just came in. dr. fauci was very, very clear about this. the president may want to reopen the government on easter, but dr. fauci said he told him in the oval office, they have to be flexible. they will look at it and see if it's even feasible. pointing to new york, saying easter sunday does not look like it's feasible to reopen new york. >> quickly, tom, dr. birx also weighing in, saying those who have recently been to new york city should self-quarantine for 14 days as they return home elsewhere around the country? >> reporter: yes, this was a pretty big headline, agreeing with the governor of florida. if you live in new york city and you left because of the crisis here, you need to self-isolate for at least 14 days, regardless if you went to florida, north carolina, or long island. you need to self-isolate for 14 days. >>this evening, we have new reporting on the toll across this country. in new orleans, the number of cases skyrocketing tonight. the warning from the governor there, just weeks after thousands celebrated mardi gras. and the death toll in the u.s., including a 34-year-old man. kaylee hartung, back reporting for us after recovering from the coronavirus herself. >> reporter: tonight, the virus taking its toll. jeff ghazarian, just 34 years old, one of hundreds to die in the u.s. >> he just had a lot of love and humor and could approach and talk to anyone. >> reporter: ghazarian's loved ones say the cancer survivor was on a ventilator for five days before losing his battle late last week in california. the dire warning now being sounded in louisiana. confirmed cases tripling since friday to roughly 1,400. >> don't go out unless you absolutely have to. the virus is here and everyone needs to act as if they have it. >> reporter: just four weeks ao anthousands of tourists, celebrating mardi gras. at least 270 now hospitalized across the state, many needing critical care. >> it's like i'm standing at the shore, watching a tsunami coming in at a very slow pace. we try to prepare, but i know it's going to be coming. >> reporter: tonight, thousands with the virus under quarantine. after reporting from the nursing home in washington state that was overrun with cases, i began to feel symptoms. my body ached, i had chills, and a headache. i took this video in the emergency room. he just came back to tell me i'm going to be tested. but those results are going to take 5 to 7 days. i think i've got a lot of quarantine time ahead. by the time i received my positive test results, my symptoms had mostly faded. 28-year-old matt robertson from shoreline, washington, spent two weeks in a hospital, at times unconscious and on a ventilator. he's now rebounding, doing physical therapy to regain his strength. >> my case could have been more tragic and that there was that chance that i could have not made it through this. >> kaylee joins us from her home, where she continues to quarantine. as she gets better from this. you reported how much better you were feeling already, but what have your doctors told you? what are we hearing from the cdc about folks like you who have had it, about any potential immunity you might have going forward? >> reporter: officials at the cdc are talking about the need to test those of us who have had the virus to determine if we can get it again or continue to spread it. right now, there is so much unknown about the virus, including when that immunity develops. >> kaylee, thank you. more on that with dr. ashton in a moment. a as neament. and not a moment too soon for millions of families out of work. tonight, the stories from colorado to massachusetts to new jersey. small business owners, families, workers, waiting for those checks just to get by, to get food. here's terry moran. >> reporter: they're still at work on capitol hill, still struggling to reach a deal on the massive $2 trillion bill to rescue an economy in free fall. >> the clock has run out. the buzzer is sounding. >> reporter: democratic leader chuck schumer pushing his troops, too. >> there are lots of good things here. but we all know we must do these things. >> reporter: 3.4 million people filed for unemployment last week, according to morgan stanley. that's nearly five times more than the highest week ever. this chart tells the story. just look at that spike. the restaurant industry, shut down in so many places, is getting clobbered. we heard it in denver. >> people in this industry that tend to live paycheck to paycheck, not having even one is detrimental to your rent, to your car payment, to just everything, honestly. >> reporter: people who get paid by the hour are hit hard too. according to the bureau of labor statistics, 3 out of 5 americans work for hourly wages. bryan morin's pizza shop in new jersey has been in the family for over 25 years. he was forced to take out a $50,000 loan to help his employees get through the crisis. >> we can't risk laying off our employees, and we can't risk them not having a paycheck so they can pay their rents, pay their bills. >> reporter: amelia deren owns a small jewelry business in massachusetts, and she says orders that are ready to ship are being cancelled, and invoices are not being paid. >> i employ stay at home moms, including a military spouse, and to be able to stay in business during this uncertain time is all that we can hope for. >> reporter: big businesses also crippled -- the airlines, cruise lines, hotels. the desperation felt across the country, but in washington, still no deal. lawmakers will work into the night, looking to close the gap and get the money flowing. and that economic rescue package would include a $1,200 check for most americans, $2,400 for married couples, and $500 for each child. negotiators tell us they feel they could reach a deal tonight. >> not a moment too soon. terry, thank you. overseas, major news on the summer olympics. they've been postponed. india, 1.3 billion people, the country on lockdown. from italy, another difficult number. and images from spain, loved ones, the dead, reportedly left behind. here's james longman. >> reporter: death is everywhere in spain. this ice rink in madrid transformed into a morgue. officials taking every possible precaution. still, more than 500 died in a day. the country now seeing a faster infection rate than italy. these images posted on social media show a hospital overwhelmed. and alarm tonight that the bodies of the elderly are lying abandoned at nursing homes across the country. the spanish armed forces finding seniors in extreme and unsanitary conditions. corpses still in their beds in at least four locations. this woman desperate for news of her 97-year-old mother. "we live in anguish," she says. "we have no information whatsoever." it's an unrelenting spread. over 400,000 people now confirmed infected worldwide, up 100,000 since just saturday. some 85% of new infections from europe and the united states. the horrifying toll continues in italy. 743 more deaths in the last 24 hours. although there is cautious hope, the infection rate there is slowly reducing. other countries mirroring their national lockdown to stem the tide. tonight, india attempting the largest ever. its 1.3 billon people ordered to stay home for 21 days. japan bowing to the inevitable, the olympics is now postponed, end s two-moh ckdown of . its epicth optimistic that its nightmare is ending, while the rest of the world prepares for the worst. with talk of the united states back to business as usual by easter, it's important to remember that china has now taken two months to lift its lockdown and heavy screening will remain in place, even in wuhan. >> james, thank you. when we come back, dr. jen ashton with news of a new test. will it show if you've had coronavirus, and if you've built any immunity? we've also learned tonight, a famous playwright has died from coronavirus. . passenger manifests, census information, even wwi draft registration cards. threts. that made it so real for me, it wasn't just a story anymore. bring your family history to life like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com i was told to begin my aspirin regimen, blem. and i just didn't listen. until i almost lost my life. my doctors again ordered me to take aspirin, and i do. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. listen to the doctor. take it seriously. 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[announcer] you can quit. for free help visit cdc.gov/tips finally tonight here, "america strong." imagine. tonight, the two american doctors with a message. ♪ ♪ imagine there's no heaven it's easy if you try ♪ >> dr. elvis francois and dr. william robinson, surgeons at the mayo clinic in rochester, minnesota, singing john lennon's "imagine" after their shift ended. ♪ ♪ imagine all the people living for today ♪ >> both of them telling us why they did it. >> it felt like a good time to share that bit of hope and togetherness, and do a bit to make somebody's day a little bit better. ♪ ♪ but i'm not the only one >> in order to beat this thing, and self-isolate and quarantine, it's going to take everybody. the message of that song hit home. >> tonight, their message as america fights this with the world. ♪ ♪ i hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one ♪ ♪ >> that landed today when i saw it. we're grateful to our doctors, nurses, and health care workers on the front lines. i'm david muir. i hope to see you right back here tomorrow. good night. now your health, your safety. this is abc7 news. >> good evening. thank you for join us. >> i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm ama daetz. today the number of coronavirus cases surpassed a thousand. statewide there are more than 2,000. >> less than a few minutes ago gavin newsom wrapped up his meeting. >> he announced the first miner to die of coronavirus was a teenager being treated in los angeles county. the governor used this tragic case to emphasize that it's not just seniors who are vulnerable to serious complications. >> we had the tragic loss of a young life, a teenager in lancaster, california. some of the headlines said a child, but to be more precise, a teenager. young people can and will be impacted by this virus. in fact, young people disproportionately are the ones testing positive in the state of california. 50% of the 2,102 individuals who have tested positive, 50s were are between the age of 18 and 49. >> the bay area's law enforcement community is getting hit by the coronavirus. a san francisco police sergeant with the special victims unit who worked at the hall of justice tested positive. the sergeant's work partner is said to be feeling sick and is now self-quarantining. a fourth santa clara sheriff's deputy has also been infected. oakland reported the second employee has tested positive. >> within the past few minutes we learned a san francisco man has died from the coronavirus. he is the first death to occur in the city. >> health officials say he was in his 40s and had multiple underlying health issues. san francisco has 152 infections overall. santa clara county's case count went up today by 54, pushing the total to 375. >> now there were three new fatal there's reported within the past 24 hours. the south bay continues to be the most impacted county.