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Don Lemon Tonight

No Nationwide Lockdown Amidst Staggering Number Of Cases; Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) Is Interviewed About The White House Coronavirus Task Force's Response To The Pandemic; Coronavirus Pandemic; U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Doubles In Three Days; More Than 87 Percent Of Americans Under Stay-At-Home Orders; More Than 211,700 U.S. Coronavirus Cases, At Least 928 Deaths Reported Just Today; USNS Comfort Begins Treating Patients In New York City; Documents Show Backlog Of 160,000 Tests At Just One Lab. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired April 01, 2020 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: You know, I get it now. And if you match that with chest constriction of people can't breathe, I totally get why we're losing so many people and why are hospitals are so crowded.

So, here's the message, don't be me, but more importantly, be better than we're being right now. Care enough not just to stay home, but to stay on our leaders, to make sure that they're doing everything they can to limit this.

I'm telling you this is the part of our lives we will live through and remember the most. How do you want to be remembered during this time?

It's now time for Don Lemon. "CNN TONIGHT" right now.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Yes, but also care enough -- I said last night to -- that we should, Chris, cut each other some slack and just be human. And care enough to check on the people you love. I text you today. I knew something was wrong because usually you text right back. You call. You texted me and you said you don't want this. Last night was really bad. I love you. That's all I heard.

I was like, something is not good. And I text Christine I didn't hear from her. And I said to Tim, I said, all right, let's get in the car. Let's go. So, we got in the car, went to the supermarket and dropped some stuff off to your house, and that was the end of that.

So, I would say if -- if there's someone you're worried about, if someone you love or somebody -- even somebody you don't love so much or whatever, just check on them and say how are you doing? Even somebody you have some beef with. Just say how are you doing?

I'm just thinking about you. I was worried about you. And I'm just checking on you and I hope you're doing OK. I think that's the time. This is the time when we can do that. Maybe you want to make amends with someone. I think we should all probably do that right now. Don't you think?

CUOMO: And we'll see -- you're 100 percent right, of course. But you know, when I've seen some of it. I'm surprised by how many people even in the evil places like on Twitter and stuff like that, where they're saying nice things even if they see you and me as representing something, you know, political poisonous to them.

So, I think people are starting to get a sense of perspective. That you may want to kill somebody in a debate, but it doesn't mean that you want them to die of a disease. And I think that that's going to be good for this country. I think hard times make strong people.

But you do not get through hard times if you don't make the right moves, and I can't believe that they're allowing anybody in this country to wait this out so that it just comes to their communities and devastates them like it's doing to us right now. I just can't believe we're allowing that.

LEMON: Yes. It's crazy. And your point about -- been making the same point. We cannot forget. Listen, we have to move on. We hope this president does well. We hope the administration does well. We hope the leaders do well. That's why it's important we hold them to account.

We cannot forget the time that we lost. The time that we lost was so critical and so important. And as you said, you, you know, you got it. But you wished that if you were going to get it that you would have gotten it sooner so that you would have known what people were going through and that you could have call the president out in real time and said, hey, mister, this is no hoax, this is no Democratic hoax, no matter how you try to describe it, whether you're saying it's a Democratic hoax -- the Democrats trying to take you down or the media's trying to take you down. That's not what's happening here. This is absolutely 100 percent real.

CUOMO: Right. The new hoax is everybody's got a test now who wants it. Don, I'm telling you. I'm like plugged into a new network now, right, because of me having this.

I have thousands of people around this country saying the exact same thing. Like, I'm looking at their accounts to see if they're copies. You know, I can't get a test. They got a test. I've been waiting 10 days, 14 days, 16 days, you know, I'm already better.

So, these people, what are you going to do? You're going to go back out and start living your life if you're not sick anymore. You haven't even gotten the test results yet. How can we expect to get in front of this when we keep making the same bone-headed moves?

I know people are tired of hearing it. But that's too bad because we are nowhere near where we need to be to beat two more weeks.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: I'm telling you, you and I will be talking about this well into late spring.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, so I socially distanced myself, I will tell them -- I saw Chris today through the window in a space through the glass.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Through glass like I was in a zoo.

LEMON: And your wife told me to go around the back if you want to see him through the glass. You were asleep on the coach. I knocked on the window and I said hello and we just walked away. But we delivered groceries.

And I was so happy I put them by the door, and I walk back to the car and Christina opened the door and she said, you can come in if you want. We are all negative. No, we're going to stay, we're going to stay socially distanced just because we have to.

And I just want to make sure I'm doing what everybody says I'm doing because I'm the man on the news at night saying you should do that. So, we did. She had the mask on. And we were so happy that everyone in your house tested negative for COVID-19. So, very happy.

CUOMO: I cried. I cried like I was you when I got that news that they were all negative.

[22:05:04]

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: I was shocked that they're negative. And, look, I know that doesn't mean that they'll always be negative.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: But the idea that at least every day that they don't have this virus is a blessing for me. I don't want anybody to deal with what I'm dealing with now, let alone one of my kids. I don't know I'd handle it, having given them something like this. This is terrible.

LEMON: Mario hadn't been so happy to see me since I brought ice cream I don't think ever. So, anyway, enjoy the groceries. Enjoy the groceries. Enjoy the soup. Whatever it is I put in there.

CUOMO: They didn't bring me any of the ice cream. Sorry.

LEMON: You take care, buddy. I'll see you soon. All right. If you need anything give me a call.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I love you. I'll be watching.

LEMON: I love you too. All right. Take care.

This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

Here's our breaking news. The numbers are shocking and the fact is we are nowhere near the peak here. The coronavirus cases in this country passing the 200,000 mark today. More than 211,700 reported cases. More than 4,700 deaths.

That number is soaring. One month ago, that was March 1st, today is April 1st. One person, one person had died of the coronavirus in this country. Tonight, just one month later, there are more than 4,700 deaths.

And we have reached another grim milestone. At least 928 deaths reported in just one day today. The largest day total yet.

I want you to take a look at how that number has grown over the last few days, OK? So just look at your screen, please. Saturday it was 394. That was new deaths reported. Sunday, 456 new deaths reported. Monday, that number was up to 575. Last night, at least 830 new deaths reported.

And tonight, it is now 928 new deaths reported. The World Health Organization says, in a matter of days coronavirus cases will top one million worldwide. The president saying this tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Difficult days are ahead for our nation. We are going to have a couple of weeks starting pretty much now, but especially a few days from now, that are going to be horrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, that coming after the president began tonight's briefing not with important information about the coronavirus plague gripping the country, but instead, he used his time in front of a stricken nation to make a lengthy announcement about what appears to be an unrelated counter narcotics operation and to tout his border wall.

There is a time and a place for that. There is. It's not now. Not when nearly 90 percent of Americans are under stay-at-home order orders. Not when it's the deadliest day in this crisis so far. Not when our emergency stockpile of medical supplies is nearly empty.

Not when Americans want to know what their government is doing to save their lives and protect them and their loved ones. But instead, the experts like Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx waited in the wings while the president played politics.

And with one medical expert after another telling us that staying at home is the best weapon we've got, there are 11 states that are so far refusing to order all of their people to stay at home.

There are no statewide orders in Alabama. None in Arkansas and Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming. Though some of those states have municipalities and counties with stay at home orders, they do, but asked tonight why he doesn't just take things out of the hands of the states and issue a nationwide order himself? The president said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: States are different, and I understand that the governor of Florida, great governor, Ron DeSantis, issued one today. And that's good. That's great. But there are some states that are different. There are some states that don't have much of a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, he just doesn't get it. There's no magical, invisible barrier. No border wall between Americans under stay at home orders and Americans still moving around freely.

And with tests still not available to anybody who wants one, despite the president's false promise last month, there could be untold number of Americans who don't even know that they have the virus.

It makes no sense to leave the decision to local governments like Tennessee. Where Governor Bill Lee is ignoring growing calls from inside his own state to issue a stay-at-home order.

And as for the president's praise for Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, he's late to the game. Only issuing a statewide stay-at-home order today, but insisting on exempting religious services as essential business.

[22:10:03]

These states have had weeks, weeks when they didn't do what they should have done. If they had the courage to do something that might have been unpopular, maybe they wouldn't be facing these horrifying numbers today.

And tonight, a source close to the coronavirus task force admitting what we can all see with our very own eyes, despite White House claims that the president and his administration did everything right.

That source tells CNN tougher social distancing measures implemented earlier could have kept this crisis from getting as bad as it has.

The source telling CNN the president, quote, "took a gamble and got it wrong." When he counted on warm weather to make the virus recede, ignoring predictions from his own experts, it's disturbing that in the middle of a crisis like this, the president just doesn't seem to know what he is talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have to get our country going again. We did the right thing. We had no choice. We did the right thing. Other countries tried to use the herd or the herd mentality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: It's not herd mentality, it's herd immunity. Which is, what happens when enough people have immunity to a disease either through previous infections or vaccination that they indirectly protect people who aren't immune. And then there's this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're attacking the virus on every front with social distancing, economic support for our workers, rapid medical intervention and very serious innovation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Attacking the virus with social distancing, seriously? You call that social distancing? Look at the picture, everyone. That's social distancing?

Night after night the president stands up there for a coronavirus briefing -- coronavirus briefings surrounded by advisers who are not even close to social distancing. This is part of a parade of misstatements and downright falsehoods at a time when we need facts more than ever. Just listen to what the vice president said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't believe the president has ever belittled the threat of the coronavirus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Really? You don't think the president has ever belittled the threat of the coronavirus, the president who said the virus was totally under control, who said this is like the flu, who said it would disappear like a miracle, who called it a hoax, who said it would go for 15 cases to zero, from 15 cases to zero, who said he wasn't concerned about it at all?

That's not belittling? Sounds like a whole lot of belittling to me. When what we need now is facts, honesty, credibility. And all of those are in short supply in this White House.

Let's bring in now CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and White House Correspondent, Kaitlan Collins.

Good evening to both of you.

Dr. Gupta, thank you, sir, for joining us.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

LEMON: Today the U.S. reported more than 900 deaths. The death toll is doubling every three days, and yet the president defended not issuing a national stay-at-home order. Listen to this and we'll talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There are some states that are different. There are some states that don't have much of a problem. There are some -- well, they don't have the problem, they don't have thousands of people that are positive. If a state in the Midwest or if Alaska as an example, doesn't have a

problem, it's awfully tough to say close it down. So, we have to have a little bit of flexibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, let's talk about the facts here. The White House task force models, Dr. Gupta, don't they depend on full compliance?

GUP: Yes. Yes. Yes, exactly. You know, the numbers, you know, sad, these projections in terms of the numbers of people who might die, obviously, you know, this is jarring for a lot of people to hear.

But you're absolutely right, Don. They are dependent on the fact that by the end of this week. What is it, Wednesday? So, a couple of days, the entire country, every state in the country has to be in a stay-at- home order.

And if you do that and you extend those to the end of May, which is also what the model said, then you might get to these numbers that are now considered the lowest possible number of deaths, 100 to 200,000 people. I can't believe I'm evening saying that but that's -- you have to do all these things and we're not there yet.

And Don, I don't even know what to say about it anymore. You know, we've been talking about this for so long. The science is pretty clear, not only from other countries around the world, but here in the United States. Everyone knows it's a virus. It doesn't, you know, it travels, you know? It doesn't respect any kind of boundary or border of a state.

[22:14:56]

So, I just -- I think the idea now that people who are not shutting down and staying at home are adversely affecting not only themselves but everyone else around them. Their communities and all of that is real, and I think most people fundamentally understand that. I really do. Even if they're not doing it.

LEMON: Yes.

GUPTA: I don't understand why they're not doing it. Maybe that will go down as one of the great mysteries for me in these last several months of reporting, but it needs to be done and I'm still hopeful that maybe it will be.

LEMON: Yes. Kaitlan, more than 900 American lives lost today, but for people tuning in to today's coronavirus briefing to hear about the outbreak, they got something else. What's going on here?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that wasn't what you heard from the president. It really hasn't been the message that you've heard from the president as he's been talking, and that's what's so notable about those projections we saw yesterday where the president was saying, well, people were saying if I had done nothing, 2.2 million people could have died. But, Don, to be clear, we don't know of any public health experts that were suggesting that to the president. He said potentially some of his business advisers, some of his friends outside the White House were advising him doing such. We don't know of anyone who would advise that.

And so, of course, you know, the fact that we are now dealing with this death toll that could potentially involve 100,000 people is really stark. And so that's what's so notable.

Yesterday, you know, you heard so many people talking about the president's new tone. Talking about how somber he sounded, but that doesn't change the fact that he did downplay it for months. And when you see these people, these governors not issuing these stay-at-home orders, a lot of them are listening to what the president has been saying.

We even heard the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis say as much today. One thing that led him to issue this statewide at home order or the stay- at-home order a little reluctantly, a little belatedly, I guess you would say, he was citing the president's change in demeanor at the briefing yesterday.

So, some of these governors are taking their cues from the president, and that's why it's so important what it is exactly the message that's coming out of the White House about all of this.

LEMON: Yes. I was asking, why were we hearing about a drug task force when people at are home waiting to get information about how their government is saving their lives? Why didn't we hear about that at a coronavirus briefing instead of, listen, there is a time and a place for that. Why did we hear that instead of at a Pentagon briefing or something?

COLLINS: Yes, I think there was some confusion why that was the beginning message with the president coming out with the Attorney General Bill Barr right there next to him. Talking about this, talking about the measures that they're taking instead of talking about, of course, what people really want to know. Which is, they want to be able to tune into these briefings and hear, you know, what do I need to be doing now? What has changed? What's the latest on this?

Not all of this other stuff sometimes that they're hearing. And so, people have tried to streamline those briefings. Sometimes of course they go incredibly long when the president is involved in them and they're not always exactly on what's going on with the latest on coronavirus.

LEMON: Dr. Gupta, Florida finally got on board today, but Governor DeSantis says in-person church services are OK. How dangerous is that exception that he is taking?

GUPTA: Well, you know, look, Don, I mean, I understand that, you know, especially at times like these, I mean, people do turn to their faith and you know, we're really dependent on each other, and, you know, they want that sense of support. But this is dangerous. You know, I just want to be crystal clear on that.

And, again, this is the science talking, not even necessarily me. You know, we've seen examples of this in South Korea. You know, where you had significant explosion of causes related to these gatherings. It's very difficult to socially distance. You're in prolonged contact with people, so it's dangerous.

I mean, I think that it's not only dangerous for the individuals, but then they go home. They can spread it to their family members, they can spread it to their neighbors, their communities. I mean, I say it over and over again, but we're really dependent on each other right now.

And, again, I don't in any way want to diminish the value of it, but you know, we also have these technologies where people are doing these -- organizations are getting together online in different ways now. There's different ways --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Streaming services, yes.

GUPTA: Streaming service. I mean, you know, whatever it may be. But, you know, I hope people understand and it's not just in an act of defiance because it can really be hurtful, not just to them but to people they've never even met.

People who they've never even met are dependent on their behavior. That's one area where, you know, the virus can more likely spread.

LEMON: Yes. And it's interesting that religious groups are -- I'm a person of faith, but you can't -- religious groups can't say it's an attack on religion because people aren't going to work, right?

And if you aren't going to work, if you aren't going to the gym, it's not an attack on work, it's not an attack on exercise or an attack on gyms, it's not an attack on concerts. You cannot gather in places because it is a health risk or health hazard.

GUPTA: Right.

LEMON: So, do what the experts say, what the science and medical folks say. Dr. Gupta, Kaitlan, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

GUPTA: Thank you.

[22:19:58]

LEMON: And make sure -- this is a programming note for you. Tune in tomorrow. Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper host CNN town hall, coronavirus: facts and fear. Tomorrow night 8 p.m. right here on CNN.

Listen, there is someone that I have been speaking with lately about the impact coronavirus has on our country on her state and on the communities we both care about. And I asked her to come on the show and talk with me about it, and that is Senator Kamala Harris. She's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: California is one of the hardest hit states with more than 8,100 cases of coronavirus. At least 171 deaths. It was the first state to order its residents to stay at home.

And California's Governor Gavin Newsom has a message for fellow governors who haven't yet issued stay at home orders, saying to them just today right here on CNN, what are you waiting for?

Let's bring in California Senator Kamala Harris. Senator, thank you so much. I really appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you for the conversation that we had. We're going to talk about all of it.

[22:25:02]

I wanted to talk to you because California is hardest hit, I also want to talk to you about minority communities as well. But the U.S. now has surpassed more than 200,000 coronavirus cases. So, just give me your reaction to what Vice President Pence said today, blaming the CDC, China for any delay in the U.S. response.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): This is a tragedy. This is tragic. Chris Cuomo, you and I were talking about him and how he is suffering through this while working. People are dying every day in America. And we could not have prevented the coronavirus from hitting our shores, but we certainly could have acted much faster, taking this seriously and then acting on what we know to be the seriousness of this moment.

This is -- this is a very -- the very type of moment, the very type of crisis that requires government to work and do its job.

But instead, we've had an administration and a president who called it a hoax, who has not taken it seriously, and we have seen then the delay and what it has resulted in in terms of the numbers that we've seen, and we know we've not even peaked yet, Don.

So, what do we need to do? There are a number of things we need to do immediately. The Defense Production Act. The president has said that he will use it. He has invited a couple of companies as it relates to ventilators.

Well, he needs to put it in full gear and encourage and create incentives and direction for the private sector to also produce more asks, more PPEs, more tests, and, frankly, had he done it sooner, those -- those items would be in production and available in market for the cities and the counties to purchase and to bring to their hospitals.

So, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done. There's a long list of what went wrong already, but there's work that can be done to still deal with stemming the tide.

LEMON: Well, let's talk about -- let's talk about that. I want to talk about what you guys are going to do, especially since you come from California, fifth largest economy.

HARRIS: Right.

LEMON: Right? And the impact it's having on California, you would know about this. What are you guys going to do, especially when it comes to financial assistance in Congress, from Congress?

HARRIS: Right, so I've talked with the Governor Gavin Newsom almost every single day. He's doing an extraordinary job. I had a conference with 13 of California's biggest mayors representing cities with populations over 300,000.

They are shouldering the responsibility where there has been a vacuum of leadership at the federal level and in Washington, D.C.

In terms of what Congress has been able to do so far, it is not enough, but what happened most recently was we passed a $2 trillion bill. A $150 billion which goes to states and localities to help them cover the costs of dealing with the virus and dealing with the crisis.

A $100 billion which is going to hospitals to help them purchase the equipment that's necessary. There is a component of that money that also helps the hospitals pay the health professionals to help them with childcare and things of that nature.

There is the work that has been done around supporting small businesses and the economic impact that has resulted from the public health crisis, but there's more to be done.

Part of what I'm fighting for and I'm still in D.C., I've not left, because we have so much more work to do. We need to pass paid sick leave. People need to be paid to stay at home when they are sick instead of going to work because their first priority is to feed their babies and pay the rent.

We need to make sure that we are also protecting consumers during the tragedy of this moment because what's happening is today is April 1st. Rent is due. The bills are due. Three point three million people lost their jobs.

And so what I'm saying is -- maybe because I was an attorney general for two terms in California, let's protect consumers and put a stay on credit reporting so that while they are trying to buy food with their credit cards and missing perhaps payments, So that doesn't get reported on our credit score, which will have lifelong consequences in terms of their economic health and well-being.

LEMON: It really --

HARRIS: So, there is still a lot of work to do be done and this is impacting California, a state of 40 million people in a very direct way. But the California and local and state officials I believe are really modelling the best of what government can do.

LEMON: It really is a domino effect. I didn't think about all that, about the credit reporting and on and on and on. HARRIS: Yes.

LEMON: But let's talk about this before we run out of time. The corona -- its impacting everybody. Politicians. Celebrities.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEMON: You know, our colleagues, family, friends, it doesn't discriminate. But I'm curious what you think specifically how its impacting communities of color.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEMON: Because I think doubly so, maybe more. Communities of color feel it harder.

HARRIS: So, you're right. This is the conversation we had, and thank you for inviting me to come on.

So, what this is doing is it's blowing the roof off of what already existed as gross disparities in our society based on a number of factors, including race.

But on the subject of race, disparities around health. Disparities around economic status. Educational disparities.

[22:29:59]

And so, for example, let's talk about health. So, black families and children are 20 percent more likely to have asthma. Black families are 40 percent more likely to had blood pressure. Black women are three times more likely than white women to have lupus. Viruses that affect the respiratory system have a direct impact on people who are suffering from sickle cell anemia.

So, what we know then is that this virus by its nature preys on people who have pre-existing conditions. And what we know to be vulnerable communities based on their -- based on health disparities. Making sure we are putting the resources in to getting them the attention and the help that they need.

The educational piece. Three million children in the United States do not have access to the internet. OK? And it is mostly in poor communities, in rural communities. So, while all of these -- these schools have shut down and we think, well, our children are supposed to be learning online. Well, not three million of them.

So part of why I'm here fighting is to say let's deal with the next bill and put the money in to -- and I'm calling for $2 billion to lay the foundation to put broadband in these communities. There is the work that we need to do around education, understanding that our students and in particular students of color graduate with an enormous student debt, disproportionately so.

LEMON: Yes. HARRIS: So, part of what the last bill did is help them in terms of

student loan debt and deferring interest rates and deferring payments, but, again, we're going to have specific communities that are going to be particularly hard hit because the disparities existed even before this pandemic struck.

LEMON: OK, listen, this is a little bit more producers, if you will allow me. I have more thing that I want to get to you and if you can, do it for me quickly, Senator. We're seeing numbers like 3.3 million Americans filing unemployment claims. And we know that unemployment rate for black Americans is higher than white Americans.

HARRIS: Right.

LEMON: This surge will have an outsized impact, too, on that. Can you speak to that for me? And what is the Congress, meaning the Congress and the Senate, what are you guys doing about it? How can our government help us?

HARRIS: So, part of what we did in the last bill was that we have extended unemployment insurance for four months and for most workers it will be up to their full salary. In addition what is unique about what we accomplished was that it will also -- those unemployment insurance benefits will extend to gig workers, to the self-employed, to people who otherwise did not have access to unemployment benefits. And so that is a good thing.

But we also need to focus on small businesses. The black women are the fastest-growing owners and creators of small business. Well, small businesses across the country, regardless of gender or race of the business owner, are being devastated. So there is relief in that package, $10,000 and then other relief that they can apply for, both in terms of loans, but also in terms of grants that don't need to be paid back, and it's important that we get that information to folks so they know what benefits do exist and make sure that they apply for them.

LEMON: Senator, thank you so much. Let's continue the conversation.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEMON: And please, please be safe, OK?

HARRIS: And just one more thing, Don. Let's just remind everybody, social distancing, yes, emotional distancing, no.

LEMON: No, right.

HARRIS: Let's take care of each other. Let's take care of each other.

LEMON: Absolutely. Thank you Senator Kamala Harris, we appreciate it.

HARRIS: Take care.

LEMON: You take care as well. The navy hospital ship docked in New York City taking on its first

patient today. We're going to go live on board that ship and speak to the captain in charge. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:35:00]

LEMON: New York City is under siege from the coronavirus, but now there is help from a new source. On Monday, the naval hospital ship Comfort docked in New York to help handle the surging need for hospital beds. Today the ship receiving its first patient. I want you to take a look at this. It's a beautiful sight. Help is here in our city.

And joining me now, the commanding officer of the USNS Comfort. And that is Captain Patrick Amersbach. Captain, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us. It is a beautiful sight to see you and the ship and the scenery behind us. Our beautiful city. First off, thank you for the work that you're doing. Tell us about the Comfort's mission in New York and what patients are you going to be treating and how does that help the coronavirus fight?

CAPTAIN PATRICK AMERSBACH, MILITARY TREATMENT FACILITY COMMANDING OFFICER, USNS COMFORT: Absolutely. Thanks for having me this evening. I really appreciate it. So we're here, the USNS Comfort's here to help relieve some of the pressure on the local health systems by taking non-covid-19 patients, (inaudible). So, basically, they will be tested and screened prior to arrival. We'll take the full spectrum of medical patients aboard this ship.

We have an 80-bed ICU. We have multiple medical surgical beds on different wards. Full capability like you would find in any other hospital. In hopes of making an impact and, again, helping New Yorkers and helping the health care system by decompressing some of that, well, what you guys have had to deal with, the numbers and overcrowding in your system.

LEMON: Your ship has 1,000 hospital beds. The mayor of New York City, Mayor Bill De Blasio, says having the Comfort is like adding a whole other hospital to the city. What tools does your ship bring to this crisis?

AMERSBACH: Absolutely. As I mentioned, we have ICU beds. We have 80 of those. We have ventilator support for patients that may require it. We have four radiology suites. We have a CT scanner. We have O.R.'s full spectrum as far as lab and pharmacy, in addition to the radiology and then medical surgical beds.

Now, keep in mind, the ship was designed for major combat operations, so some of those beds are actually bunk beds. So we will be working very closely with local authorities, FEMA, to ensure that the patient population that comes on board is suitable for our environment.

[22:40:14] LEMON: So, listen, you know, given the surge, you know, of cases here

of covid-19 in New York, I want to know what kind of precautions that you are taking with patients, staff and equipment to make sure the virus does not spread to your ship and that you guys are safe.

AMERSBACH: Thanks for the question. We are following CDC and DOD guidelines. We consider ourselves in a bubble. Anybody that comes to the ship has to be screened, you know, according to the CDC guidelines, including a temperature, they'll put a mask on, we'll watch them wash their hands in front of us and, again, they have to have a very specific purpose to be on this ship.

Other than that, unfortunately, we are not going to be able to leave the ship while we're here and see the beautiful city of New York, but that is a small price to pay to help New Yorkers.

LEMON: How did you get ready so fast? Because you weren't supposed to be ready. The ship wasn't supposed to be ready for a while.

AMERSBACH: Absolutely. So, we were in our maintenance period. The call came out. We had a mission. So our professional civilian mariners, the people that work in the Norfolk Naval Base as well as our crew pitched in as a team and got the ship ready to go. Went to sea early and got here as you mentioned earlier than expected.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, captain, we want to thank you so much. We just want to remind the folks that they're looking at the beautiful city behind you, but it's pretty much in lockdown, and you guys are here to help. It makes everyone -- gives everyone some degree of comfort, of course, I did not mean that as a -- no pun intended, but you guys are certainly are doing that. Captain Amersbach, thank you so much. We appreciate you and thank you for your service.

AMERSBACH: Thank you very much.

LEMON: Thank you.

CNN's uncovered a huge backlog of coronavirus tests that caused massive delays. We're going to dig into the truth about testing next.

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[22:45:00]

LEMON: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reversing course today, issuing a statewide stay at home order. The order directs the people of his state to limit their movements outside the home to what's quote, necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities, but exempted from this order, places of worship, that the governors counts as essential businesses. That as health officials warn against large gatherings.

So, joining me now, Danny de Armas, he is the senior associate pastor at first Baptist Orlando. So, Pastor, I appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much. You know, we have seen these stories of pastors ignoring the warnings, holding big church services with people packed inside, close together. Your church has thousands of members and you decided that three weeks ago to hold your services online. Tell us why.

DANNY DE ARMAS, SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST ORLANDO: Well, principally because the mayor of our county, Mayor Demings, had ordered a stay at home order, and we love our city, we love the people here. The last thing we would want to do is to put people in danger and to gather our people and maybe create a scenario where people got sick and carried the virus somewhere else.

That would just not be like us, and besides, we're not the church gathered right now, we're the church scattered right now. We're still the same body of believers and we still have the same number of people participating with us in a new way, and for the time being, it's kind of novel and interesting and new. And so it's been a fun experience for us and for the people.

LEMON: That is a good way of looking at it. Listen, one of those pastors defying the guidelines and local laws is -- I'm sure you heard about it, he's Rodney Howard Brown, who was arrested on Monday after this took place in his church over the weekend. We have the video up. Governor DeSantis is still calling churches places of essential business. Should in-person services still happen?

DE ARMAS: Well, Don, that's a very complicated question, and the particulars matter a lot about each particular situation. In our particular situation, we did not feel like it was warranted. It was for us not a way to demonstrate love to our community and not necessary for us to be the body of Christ for us to gather at this season.

At the same time, there are some religious liberty issues at stake and I think those who know that area and arena better need to make the decisions on that. For us it was not a hard decision to make, though. We support our civic leaders and our government leaders, and we will -- we love the people of central Florida, where we live and worship. And the last thing we'd want to do is to put people in our community at risk.

LEMON: Yes.

DE ARMAS: And so we love this community. Wouldn't want to risk anything with them.

LEMON: Right. So you said there are some religious liberty issues at stake there, but you're also -- what I also hear you saying is that there are some -- there's some personal responsibility to do the right thing and protect others, even if you feel fine yourself and even if you feel that there are some issues that you're concerned about when it comes to religious liberty?

DE ARMAS: Yes, sir. For us that's definitely it. Our mission is to follow Jesus and to lead other people to do the same. Jesus lived a life displaying love for everybody. And that's what we want to do. And how would it be loving to take actions that put other people at risk? What we actually want to do is we're willing to put ourselves at risk to help other people. And to love other people.

[22:50:03]

And so we're looking for ways -- if there are places where people won't go and won't help because they're afraid, we're a body of Christ who will step into any situation to help people and to love people even if it's to our own peril because we believe that demonstrates the love of Jesus for people and the way we want to do it. And we don't see that as heroic as much as we do seeing it living a life the way Jesus live life and that's what we wanted to do.

LEMON: Pastor, best of luck to you. Please be safe. Thank you so much for appearing on the show.

DE ARMAS: Thank you, Don. Thanks for having us.

LEMON: Absolutely. We'll be right back.

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[22:55:00]

LEMON: CNN uncovering evidence of a huge backlog in coronavirus testing that resulted in massive delays, and all the experts say that there is no way that we can get to any kind of normal life any time soon until this gets fixed. CNN's Drew Griffin joins me now with the truth about testing. Drew, good evening to you. Tell us about this backlog. How significant is it?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: It is pretty significant and it's the reason that we have tests that are taking four to five, even up to 10 days, to get back to patients which is putting all kinds of strains on the system, especially on the personal protection equipment.

Two weeks ago the president rolled into the Rose Garden with all these CEOs and bosses of the commercial labs that were supposed to take over the testing and take charge and end all the problems with testing. But we've found from internal documents that was obtain by CNN is that one of those labs, Quest Diagnostics, started getting so many orders it just had a huge backlog.

I want to show your viewers a chart that we recreated from some of those documents we got. And it showed that as of last week on this day, last week, last Wednesday. Quest Diagnostic had orders for 320,000 tests but could only produce 160,000. So they had 160,000 test backlog. Tonight, after we published our story, Quest got back to us and said we've made it a little better. We've only got a backlog of 115,000.

But these commercial labs that were supposed to take up the slack on all these testing are backlogged for various reasons. The biggest is the demand exceeds the capacity at these labs. They don't have the equipment, and so this is creating this huge backlog which is just adding more problems for this testing.

LEMON: Drew Griffin, thank you for your reporting. I appreciate it. We'll be right back.

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