tonight, the heated debate about how and when to reopen. texas now allowing its stay at home order to expire in just two days. restaurants, malls, and movie theaters will open. other states ready to soon follow. and tonight, vice president mike pence, and the questions after this photo, not wearing a mask while meeting with covid patients at the mayo clinic, even as the health care workers there point out at the clinic they wear masks. the american families who need food. wrigley field converted into a giant food bank. hundreds lining up. and worries tonight about the food supply growing. at least 21 meat plants closed. millions of pounds of meat could go to waste. president trump ordering plants to stay open. how will that work, with more on that alarming in c now being investigated in the uk, spain, and italy. doctors here in the u.s. taking the warning seriously. and we have major news on that massive vaccine trial at oxford. you'll want to hear this. americans who have no choice but to fly. that image last night, a crowded plane. and what's changed tonight. the race for 2020. joe biden and the surprise moment with hillary clinton today. and your pets and the virus. after reports of cats infected, the new study that now says a dog has tested positive in the u.s. so can the pet get it from the family? can the family get it from the pet? good evening. it's great to have you with us here on a tuesday night. america at a crossroads. so many states making difficult decisions, do we reopen, and how quickly? and how do we do it without putting lives at risk? tonight, the cdc warning in the weeks ahead if we don't keep strong social distancing, deaths are likely to continue to rise. all of this amid the sobering milestone tonight, the number of confirmed cases in the u.s. topping 1 million. one-third of all cases worldwide. as we remember the lives lost. more than 58,000, 2,000 in the last 24 hours. the urgent push for testing. so many americans would like to know if they've been exposed, if they have any antibodies. as communities prepare to reopen. long lines for tests in new york, people keeping their distance. testing in massachusetts, where the outbreak is still at the peak. deaths there surging past 3,000. they've extended their warning, urging families to stay home for at least three more weeks. and the effort to reach the african-american community, free testing in this underserved neighborhood in north philadelphia. and in georgia, restrictions lifted on restaurants. more than 100 new deaths there in the past 48 hours. and in florida, 83 more deaths reported today. one of the largest daily increases yet. and the worries about the food supply in this country. president trump ordering the plants to stay open. but many asking, how will that work with thousands of workers infected with the virus? and how could this affect prices at the grocery store? we'll get to it all carefully for you tonight. we begin with tom llamas right here in new york. >> reporter: today, as the number of american coronavirus cases tops 1 million, the staff at one of new york's hardest hit hospitals gathering outside for a moment of unity. soaring overhead, the air force thunderbirds and the navy's blue angels, saluting the essential workers who have sacrificed so much. >> we've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in all of this. and the good is beautiful. >> reporter: in new york today, for the first time in more than a month, the number of new hospitalizations dipping below 1,000. down 70% since the peak several weeks ago. the governor now examining ways to reopen the state at the epicenter of this crisis. >> we want to reopen. but we want to do it without infecting more people or overwhelming the hospital system. >> reporter: public health experts say the key to that is testing. today in manhattan, a two-hour wait outside this urgent care center offering tests for coronavirus and antibodies. this long line is proof that testing remains an issue in places like new york and it's not just at this single location. we're seeing and hearing about lines all over the city. the lack of testing, a problem throughout this pandemic. mia rungin says her sister rana, a new york city school teacher, was turned down twice before she finally got a test. it was positive. rana fought the virus in the hospital for a month. monday, she lost her battle. now in philadelphia, an effort to expand testing in underserved >> hi, how are you? . dupree. if >> reporter: 200 cars of people packing this church parking lot. some came on foot, sitting in chairs, six feet apart. >> perfect. >> reporter: dr. stanford explaining to her team why increased testing is so important to stopping the spread of covid-19 in the community. >> we had a police officer, positive, protecting and serving and now going out and he's positive. >> reporter: governors across the country begging the trump administration to help them expand testing. feeling the pressure, the president announced he's ramping up federal efforts. >> we want to get our country open, and the testing is not going to be a problem at all. >> reporter: the administration says they want to make sure states are able to test at least 2% of the population. some experts say that's not nearly enough. vice president mike pence today traveling to meet with doctors at the mayo clinic. he didn't wear a mask, even though the clinic says they informed his staff that was the policy. tonight, parts of the country reopening. georgia setting the pace with restaurants now welcoming customers to sit down and have a meal. beauty salons open for business. it all makes terrica parks shake her head. the mother of two survived the coronavirus, and thinks it's way too soon for georgia to reopen. >> it's impossible to practice social distancing in a nail shop. >> reporter: alabama, where covid cases are rising, isn't moving to reopen as quickly, but things are moving. today, governor kay ivey announcing many businesses can open at the end of the week, at a reduced capacity. restaurants, still takeout for now. in california, where the battle is still hard fought, governor gavin newsom says the state will eventually reopen slowly, in phases. >> we believe we are weeks, not months away from making meaningful modifications. >> reporter: for the country, and for patients, the road to recovery is long. and tonight, we're hoping for more endings like this. in detroit, dr. scott kaatz, who treated some of the hospital's first covid patients, finally heading home himself. >> we really love seeing that today. tom, back with us tonight. we talk about this every evening, testing is so important to reopen the country. and dr. fauci saying the testing situation in the u.s. isn't perfect by any means? >> reporter: he says the testing issue in the u.s. is not perfect, but we'll get there. he said by the end of may, early june, everyone who needs a test should get one. he says that's what he's being told. as you can see with the line behind me, people in new york have been waiting hours, and they don't want to wait until may, or june. >> tom, thank you. we stay focused on the americans that need jobs. also in need of food. the long lines across the country. and questions about the food supply. the president ordering meat plants to stay open. but what about the thousands of workers who are infected? here's alex perez in chicago. >> reporter: tonight, the desperation for food etched on their faces. >> my name is samantha diaz. to bring food to my family is really important. >> my name is ana and i'm here because i'm out of work. >> my name is i'm tonia taylor. my family is sort of in a bind. >> reporter: taylor is out of a job. she's usually working a concession stand at chicago's wrigley field. today she's one of 800 people picking up boxes of food at the ballpark. since the covid outbreak, demand at this makeshift pantry is up 300%. >> we used to think it wouldn't happen to us, but now we know. we got this rude awakening. >> reporter: a rude awakening for 26.4 million newly unemployed. in newark, new jersey, 2,000 boxes of food were gone in hours. >> go, go. >> reporter: in california, car lines stretch for miles. >> there's a lot of people here. >> reporter: tonight, the food supply itself under threat. at least 21 plants closed, more than 4,000 workers sick. millions of pounds of meat will likely go to waste. the president will sign an executive order under the defense production act to compel plants to stay open. >> there's plenty of supply. it's distribution, and we will probably have that today solved. >> alex, outside wrigley field tonight. now a food bank. the president with the executive order to compel plants to stay open. what steps are being taken to protect the workers, thousands of whom are sick with the virus? >> reporter: the white house says the meat packing plants are essential. the executive order keeps the plants running and protects the companies from legal liability should a worker get sick or die. the workers' safety itself, it seems, has been left up to the plants. david? >> alex, thank you. we reported last night on the troubling headline from overseas. the urgent alert from doctors in the uk about a rare and dangerous reaction to the virus in children. doctors in the u.s. are taking this seriously. here's james longman. >> reporter: tonight, a rare condition in children, possibly linked to coronavirus, is now being investigated across europe after an alert was sent out to british doctors. the uk health service drawing attention to a reaction likened to toxic shock syndrome, with severe flu-like symptoms, fever, rashes, difficulty breathing and in some cases inflammation of the heart. >> i'm very worried about the early signs that in rare cases there's an impact of an autoimmune response in children that causes a significant disease. >> reporter: a prominent member of italy's pediatric society sending out an alert to 10,000 of his colleagues. doctors in spain also reporting seeing signs of this in younger patients, although experts are clear that the vast majority of children are still least affected by coronavirus. meanwhile, one of the most promising vaccines in the world is moving quickly into large clinical trials at oxford university. six monkeys given the vaccine at a facility in montana did not contract covid-19 when exposed to it, and remained healthy for 28 days. monkeys that were not vaccinated consistently fell ill. there is no guarantee that it will work. but more than 6,000 volunteers are coming forward for the human trials that began last week, and are scheduled to be completed in september. >> james, i want to go back to the illness afflicting children. doctors in the u.s. taking the warning very seriously? >> reporter: that's right, david. u.s. doctors heeding the advice from here in the uk. they're looking for nontypical cases, things like rashes, extreme inflammation, and low blood pressure. we're hearing that doctors in the united states are seeing cases in america. david? >> james, thank you. and that image you saw last night, the packed flight from new york to north carolina. one major airline tonight now taking action. here's gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, as tsa passenger numbers slowly rise, airlines are changing policies. jetblue will require all e, the u.s. carrier to do so. reporters asking president trump today whether he's considering making masks mandatory on all flights. >> sounds like a good idea. to me, sounds like a very good idea. >> reporter: this, after a video went viral showing a nearly full american airlines flight from jfk to charlotte, many passengers not wearing masks. erin strine recorded the video. she was flying home after her grandmother's passing. what was this experience like because you get on this plane and you were surprised to see so many people? >> it was shocking to say the least. it was the first time that i felt truly unsafe. >> reporter: american saying it will block half of all main cabin middle seats and will provide passengers masks, but the passenger decides whether to wear them. united saying it will try to leave one seat empty next to each passenger. delta blocking middle seats. airlines hit hard by the pandemic. air travel in the u.s. is down by 95% compared to this time last year. but for those who are flying, the head of the largest flight attendants' union wants everyone in the air and on the ground wearing a face covering. >> from the airport door to the airplane door on the airplane, and then back out through the airport, we want people wearing face coverings in all those areas. >> reporter: david, the president says he's looking at possibly testing international travelers for the virus before they fly into the u.s. he says that decision is coming pretty soon. >> gio, thank you. the virus having a major impact on the race for 2020. and joe biden with a surprise guest, hillary clinton endorsing biden. here's mary bruce. >> reporter: on the virtual campaign trail today, joe biden got a boost from hillary clinton. >> and i'm really thrilled to have my friend, the former senator and former secretary of state, and a woman who should be president of the united states right now. >> reporter: a polarizing but powerful figure, clinton won the popular vote in 2016 and has a loyal following. she and biden go way back. they've worked together for 25 years. as vice president and secretary of state, they met once a week. a private breakfast every tuesday. clinton today recalling their family ties back in scranton, pennsylvania. >> and my grandfather and then my father grew up in a house on diamond avenue, and while the rodhams were living on diamond avenue, the bidens were over on north washington street. >> reporter: today she officially endorsed her old friend. >> i am thrilled to be part of your campaign. >> reporter: without saying her former rival's name, clinton had a clear message for president trump. >> just think of what a difference it would make right now, if we had a president who not only listened to the science, put facts over fiction, but brought us together. think of what it would mean if we had a real president, not just someone who plays one on tv. >> reporter: hillary clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. so she has a powerful base. but she's also criticized for losing the election to donald trump, and is accused of alienating progressive voters. the group that biden is now trying to win over. but there's no question, this is a big milestone for the biden campaign. >> mary, thank you. when we come back, the new study that shows a dog testing positive for the coronavirus. where, and can a family get this from their pet? where, and can a family get this from their pet? tive for the coronavirus. can a family get this from their pet? first words aren't delayed. caring isn't postponed. courage isn't on hold. and love hasn't stopped. u.s. bank thanks you for keeping all of our spirits strong. we've donated millions to those in need and are always here for our customers and employees. that family doesn't have to take out of their house. it relieves stress off of me to let me know i'm doing something good for the community, not just papa john's. i'm doing something good for the community, why accept it frompt an incompyour allergy pills?e else. flonase sensimist. nothing stronger. nothing gentler. nothing lasts longer. flonase sensimist. 24 hour non-drowsy allergy relief when taking a break from everyday life is critical to everyone's health, there is one thing we can all do together: complete the 2020 census. your responses are critical to plan for the next 10 years of health care, infrastructure, and education. let's make a difference, together, by taking a few minutes to go online to 2020census.gov. it's for the well-being of your community and will help shape america's future. ♪ next tonight here, the new study showing a dog has tested positive for the virus in the u.s. here's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: tonight, a family dog in north carolina presumed to be the first canine in the u.s. to have covid-19. >> he's tired, he's like, why am i awake? >> reporter: winston the pug showed mild symptoms. >> he didn't want to eat his breakfast and that's not usual for him. >> reporter: the dog's owner, dr. heather mclean, a pediatrician, says she, along with her husband, an e.r. doc, and son all had coronavirus in march. the family taking part in a duke university study, everyone was tested, including their pets. winston is not the first animal thought to have the virus. in new york, several tigers and lions at the bronx zoo were diagnosed, as well as two household cats believed to have contracted the virus from people in their households or neighborhoods. the cdc says social distancing applies to pets too. don't let them interact with other animals or people, and if you're sick, avoid your pet if possible. on this question of if you can get the virus from your pet, dr. anthony fauci said, at this time, there's no evidence that the virus can be transmitted from your pet to a person. but he went on to say, anything is possible. there's a lot we're still learning about how this virus works. david? >> eva, thank you. when we come back, we're tracking severe storms from houston to chicago. possible tornadoes, giant hail, damaging wind, as this moves east. possible tornadoes and severe wind as this moves east. ♪ ♪ love is all you need. and i recently had hi, ia heart attack. it changed my life. but i'm a survivor. after my heart attack, my doctor prescribed brilinta. it's for people who have been hospitalized for a heart attack. brilinta is taken with a low-dose aspirin. no more than 100 milligrams as it affects how well brilinta works. brilinta helps keep platelets from sticking together and forming a clot. in a clinical study, brilinta worked better than plavix. brilinta reduced the chance of having another heart attack... ...or dying from one. don't stop taking brilinta without talking to your doctor, since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily, or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers, a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. slow heart rhythm has been reported. tell your doctor about bleeding new or unexpected shortness of breath any planned surgery, and all medicines you take. if you recently had a heart attack, ask your doctor if brilinta is right for you. my heart is worth brilinta. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. we're tracking severe storms at this hour. possible tornadoes, giant hail, and damaging winds from texas to illinois. a tornado watch across several states before the system moves east. when we come back, the triplets and their feat, and now their fight against the virus. their fight against the virus. you'll want to see this. auto p. we're also offering flexible payment options for those who've been financially affected by the crisis. we look forward to returning to something that feels a little closer to life as we knew it, but until then you can see how we're here to help at libertymutual.com/covid-19. [ piano playing ] open. remember having that feeling for the first time? the first day you opened. the first day you had a customer, the first day you taught a class, had a client, a patient, a session. open... remember the night before you opened? who could ever sleep? open... but there's a different question we are being asked now. are you going to remain open? even when your doors are closed? open. that's how we show who we are. and there's another way to be open, to pull together - or push, depending on the door. and we are making it work and we will continue to make it work together. because open we stand. - [female vo] restaurants are facing a crisis. and delivery orders to make it through. grubhub. together we can help save the restaurants we love. confident financial plans, calming financial plans, complete financial plans. they're all possible with a cfp® professional. find yours at letsmakeaplan.org. doprevagen is the number oneild wmempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. here's the thing about managing for your business.s when you've got public clouds, and private clouds, and hybrid clouds- things can get a bit cloudy for you. but now, there's the dell technologies cloud, powered by vmware. a single hub for a consistent operating experience across all your clouds. that should clear things up. you met them right here, once our persons of the week, and they were deserving. tonight, they are proving their strength and determination again. you first met the cantos brothers, triplets from arlington, virginia, right here. they're blind, and they're impressive. named persons of the week when they all became eagle scouts. >> brand new eagle scouts leo, nick, and steven cantos. >> i don't think it would have felt the same if we had done it with exceptions or special considerations. i made it the same way as other eagle scouts. >> reporter: we met ollie, their dad who adopted them. he's blind as well. they presented him with eagle scout pins too. >> i wear these with pride. because they made it to eagle scout, they are ambassadors of the possible. >> reporter: last monday, all three brothers tested positive for covid-19. first, leo was taken to the hospital. talking to our station, wjla. >> it's really scary. i mean, when i came to the hospital i was like, "what's going on? you know, i've never been this sick before." >> reporter: nick, taken to the hospital too. steve isolating at home. their father with no symptoms. he's had to keep his distance, but he's proud of their resilience. >> the tough thing is not being able to be with them. >> reporter: tonight we're happy to report leo is going home. through the hospital doors. >> there we go. >> reporter: tonight, this message. >> one of the things that we learned during the scouts and when i became an eagle scout is not to give up even though sometimes things aren't easy to fight. and so i'm continuing to fight through it and so are my brothers. >> keep up the fight. leo, nick, and steven. we cheered you on years ago, and it's a critical tool in the coronavirus pandemic, personal protective equipment, and it's led to one man's arrest. new at 6:00, the abc7 nws i-team digs into broken promises he made to customers here in the bay area. we're not going back to the way things were. >> it could be weeks until some businesses reopen, and months for others. tonight a update on the lifting of restrictions in california. i'm luz pena in san francisco's mission district, where the fourth and final day of testing is under way. they're expecting at least one thousand people to get tested today. abc7 news at 6:00 starts right now. now, your health, your safety. this is abc7 news. >> good evening and thank you so much for join us tonight. i'm ama daetz. >> a and i'm dan ashley. a big announcement from governor newsom today on our state rule, and we're also seeing some changes a the local level. some counties are starting to relax shelter in place orders, starting tomorrow residents in sonoma county will be able to walk or bike, but not drive to some parks, entry been closed since march 23rd. restrictions on construction, real estate, landscaping and more will also be loosened according to the press democrat. el dorado county is letting its order expire with the exception of continuing to restrict essential travel to the lake tahoe basin. everyone will still be under the state's stay-at-home order, keep in mind. the governor says some regions could loosen restrictions before others, but only with widespread community surveillance testing. >> we're not just because people think they're ready to reopen, even loosely than the state guidelines. we're not going to just blithely do that. >> today marks day 43 since we began to shelter in place here in the bay area. we have completed six full weeks, can you believe it? we are starting week seven. the reasoning behind our sheltering in place is to flatten our cu