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Don Lemon Tonight

Not All 50 States Follow The Stay-At-Home Order; New York Receives The Help Sent By The Federal Government; Succeeding Coronavirus Waves Will Take More Lives; Asians Do More Action Than Talk; United States To Stop Shipping Personal Protective Equipment Overseas Amid Supply Shortages; Ellis Marsalis Jr. Is Dead At Age 85 From Coronavirus Complications; Kentucky Governor Is Aggressively Battling Coronavirus; More Than 212,000 U.S. Coronavirus Cases And At Least 946 Deaths Reported; Stanly County School District In North Carolina Delivering Meals To Children Who Are Out Of School. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired April 01, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

The coronavirus pandemic is worsening by the hour. There are now more than 212,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the United States. More than 4,700 people have died.

Unfortunately, the death toll has doubled over the last three days. And there have been at least 946 new coronavirus deaths reported in the U.S. just today. The most reported deaths in a single day in this country since the outbreak began.

Tonight, more than 87 percent of Americans are living under stay-at- home or shelter-in-place orders but President Trump says he will not issue a national stay-at-home order.

And as governors around the nations begging the federal government for medical supplies, the president admitting that the national stock pile is nearly completed, saying he wants suppliers to ship directly to hospitals.

I want to bring in now CNN White House Correspondent, John Harwood and CNN's resident fact checker, Daniel Dale.

Gentlemen, hello. Good evening to both of you.

John, first up, at least 946 people perished today. Governors are still competing for supplies. Hospitals on the frontlines of this war begging for them. At the briefing today, did you hear a strategy to defeat this virus?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, not a new strategy, Don. But there is a strategy of sorts. And that is enforce social distancing to try to slow the spread of the virus, try to surge medical equipment to health care workers who get a break by slowing the surge, by slowing the growth of cases and try to cope with the incoming as the curve rises, and then push ahead for therapeutics and a vaccine to try to deal with the virus when it comes back later and to prevent new cases.

The problem, especially with the first two elements of that, are in execution, the president has been slow, late, and weak. And that is because in the beginning he decided to downplay the coronavirus. He didn't want to rattle the economy.

Then when it got really serious, he didn't want to invoke the Defense Production Act or didn't want to use that authority even after he signed invocation of the act. And so, you had a scatter shot process on creating medical supplies.

And when governors resist putting stay-at-home orders, especially red state governors, he hasn't been willing to push them. The irony is, everybody talks about the Republican Party of being Donald Trump's party. Iron-grip over the party and that sort of thing.

It is true that people in the Republican Party are afraid of Trump, afraid that he can hurt their careers. But has he shown the strength to push them and get them to do what they don't -- or aren't otherwise inclined to do? No, he has not.

LEMON: Yes. Let's flip a map and show what you're talking about, where the places where they are resisting the stay-at-home orders. President Trump is resisting implementing those. So, why is he dragging his feet on this? There they are in the red. Why is he dragging his feet on this, John?

HARWOOD: Well, I think there's been a feedback loop created first by the president downplaying. Then Republican politicians picking up on that queue. Republican voters picking up on that. And then right-wing media projecting that message far and wide. It's not a big deal. It's like the flu. Democrats and the media are exaggerating it.

Now when the catastrophe is on top of the president, he has, to his credit, adjusted his message. But he, sort of, backed away from it and he hasn't put the hammer down in terms of telling states to change what they're doing.

Now, he did talk to Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida today. DeSantis had not been willing to do a stay-at-home order. Hi did. Greg Abbott in Texas has done that. Brian Kemp in Georgia has done that, but it's been slow and he's backed into it. And that's because he's been sort of hemmed in by the atmosphere, political atmosphere he created.

[23:05:04]

LEMON: Daniel Dale, here's what the president said when asked about the possibility of a national stay-at-home order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 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 or thousands of people that even think they might have it or hundreds of people in some cases.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What's -- Daniel, what's the reality here?

DANIEL DALE, CNN REPORTER: The reality is that while different states have been affected so far to differing extents, there is no state that does not have the problem. By CNN's count as of this afternoon every state had more than 100 cases and many of the states had very little ability to do the widespread testing that experts say is necessary to both determine the true extent of the problem and to contain it.

So, even the states that are indeed only in the hundreds may well be in the thousands in reality. We just don't yet have the ability to show that through confirmed tests.

LEMON: Daniel, the president made a number of dubious claims. This one is about ventilators. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're soon going to have more ventilators than we need. We're building thousands of ventilators right now. It takes a period of time to build them, and again, nobody could have known a thing like this could happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: More ventilators than we need. No one could have foreseen?

DALE: So, it's not yet clear how the availability of generators compares to the need for generators. That's very much to be determined as we see how bad this gets.

But this claim that nobody could have foreseen, nobody could have known, this is something Trump is saying literally almost every briefing. It's part of his argument for why he's doing a good job. It's I'm doing a good job and no one could have thought this would happen.

In reality there were years of warnings from inside and outside government both about the general risks of a pandemic and about the need for tens of thousands of ventilators in a severe pandemic.

For example, there was a study in 2015 by experts at the CDC, as well as other entities of government that said that as many 60,000 ventilators could be needed for a severe flu.

So, Trump's repeat notion that no one could have known we would need these many ventilators is not borne out by out by the facts. LEMON: All right. Daniel, John, thank you so much.

Hundreds of paramedics, EMTs and ambulance just pouring into New York City this week to meet a record surge in 911 calls.

New York Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Nigro really welcoming them this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL NIGRO, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT: When I heard about like this is actually a real thing that people would come from around the country to help us out with ambulances. I almost didn't believe it. Seeing is believing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, joining me now with more, CNN's Shimon Prokupecz. Shimon, thank you so much for joining us. What can you tell us about the emergency personnel coming to New York City? How many are there, and where are they coming from?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: They're coming from different parts of the country. You have folks coming from Illinois. There's folks from Georgia, all across the country, it's set up really by FEMA to get these extra resources into this area.

So, it's 250 ambulances and then you have two EMTs and paramedics per ambulance. So, we're talking about 500. Their primary responsibility because they really don't know this city, it's going to be really hard for them to go out on calls.

The primary -- their primary responsibility is going to be the transferring of patients. Right? It could be to these field hospitals that are being set up all across the city. It could be the transfer of patients from one hospital to another.

The hospitals really want to relieve a lot of the pressure that they're facing. And so, they want to transfer less critical patients, patients with, let's say just need oxygen, out of some of these city hospitals and into other hospitals so that they can just focus on the critical, most critical patients who are on ventilators.

So, that's what these ambulances are going to be doing. They're going to be moving people around to try and relieve some of the pressure, Don.

LEMON: So, they volunteered to come here? Is that correct?

PROKUPECZ: Some of them -- Yes. That's correct. Some of them volunteer. Some of them are going to be paid. Right? They're being put up in housing. But this is all in coordination, of course, with the government, with FEMA, with city officials, Office of Emergency Management.

They're all working together pooling resources from other locations because they really -- this is about to really explode here in New York and they know they're going to need all the resources they can get.

And so, this is what they're doing. They're bringing in -- they're going to bring in more resources. This is just the beginning of what else is probably going to come in the following week, Don.

LEMON: Doctors and nurses as well, right?

PROKUPECZ: There's doctors. There's nurses. Nurses are flying in. Some of them are staying in hotels being bussed to different hospitals.

[23:09:58]

I spoke to a doctor at Elmhurst who said she walked into the E.R. and there were all these different doctors there, some from Georgia, nurses from Georgia. So, they're all getting familiar with each another, working together.

But the relief is what's needed at a lot of these hospitals. And they're starting to get that by these doctors and nurses that are coming from outside of New York.

LEMON: Simone Prokupecz, thank you. I appreciate your reporting as well.

Now I want to bring in Dr. Syra Madad, a special pathogens specialist. Thank you so much, doctor. I appreciate you joining us. A number of casualties, staggering, only getting bigger. Are we losing the war on coronavirus?

SYRA MADAD, SPECIAL PATHOGENS SPECIALIST: Well, the war unfortunately has just started at least here in the state of New York. We're obviously going to see the cases increase, both mortality rate and obviously those coming in with new infections.

And you know, the health care system around the state of New York is obviously doing an amazing job trying to keep up with the pace. But obviously, we know that there's a long fight ahead of us.

LEMON: Doctor, a source told CNN that the strategic national stockpile is running on empty. They're out of protective equipment. What does that mean to the health care workers who were in the hot zone?

MADAD: So, for the frontline staff, you know, we need to make sure first and foremost that they have the resources and the supplies that they need. And currently those resources are met in a way that we are getting supplies. We have currently what we need.

But these -- we know this is a protracted event and we need to continue to have these injections of supplies given to front line staff. So, with the strategic national stockpile this is obviously news to a number of us as well that the supplies are dwindling. It's very unfortunate.

And what this is going to just mean is that there's going to be a lot more competition, a lot more hoarding, a lot more price gauging, if you will, for states that are competing with each other to get more PPE supplies for their own staff. And so, it's an unfortunate circumstance but hopefully, you know, we can get additional support at all levels of government.

LEMON: Officials -- doctor, officials are now saying that it might be good for the public to wear masks, but doctors and medical workers are still dealing with shortages. What do you think people at home should be doing?

MADAD: So, that's a great question and this is something that obviously is in the news a lot. And you hear the White House task force, you know, discussing this particular topic of should the public be wearing a mask?

And I want to just maybe spend, you know, a minute on what it means to wear a mask.

So, first, we need to make sure that the N95 or the respirators are reserved for our healthcare workers, those that are on the frontlines caring for these patients. Secondly, you know, we want to also make sure that people understand that we should let social distancing be our mask.

And what that means is that, if we are distancing ourselves and staying home, there's no need to wear a mask unless you're caring for somebody that is obviously sick. But at the same time, you know, with this current virus, it has a very, you know, a very odd spectrum of illness, if you will.

And what that means is that you have individuals that are asymptomatic that can spread the disease. You have people that are pre-symptomatic that obviously can spread the disease and they don't know they have it yet. And then you have people that in the middle, you know, and then those in the more several states.

So, if you are going out in public, for example, you know, going grocery shopping. You know, you don't know if somebody is asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic out there. So, the psychology is that if they're wearing a mask then maybe you should wear a mask too just so they don't feel as if, you know, they're being singled out. You know?

So, in that context, perhaps, you know, it's good to wear a mask. But at the same time, we want to make sure people understand that wearing a mask may put you at higher risk. And what that means is that, you know, you need to do good hand hygiene before, after, and during wearing a mask.

Because people are constantly fidgeting and constantly their touching their face. They might put you at higher risk. They want to make sure people understand there are things that are more proven to be effective like washing hands.

And so, if you are going to wear a mask, you know, and whatever the guideline that's going to come out from public health authorities in the coming days, just making sure that you're abiding by other public health measures and not letting your guard down in terms of not washing your hands and not, you know, not abiding by social distancing measures.

LEMON: Yes. Because I notice some people wearing the masks are constantly pulling them up and down, they're actually touching their faces, you would think more, right, doctor?

There's a - doctor, there's a lot of interesting -- and I'm interested in this -- an antibody test to detect who's already had the virus and develop antibodies. Dr. Birx said that she has asked universities to look into it. What would that mean for all the medical people confronting this virus daily?

MADAD: So, there are a number of different therapeutics being investigated and are in clinical trials. And so right now there is no FDA approved treatment for treating coronavirus disease.

[23:14:53]

There are a number, as a mentioned, in clinical trials and you can use certain interventions for compassionate use. So, what you're mentioning in terms of antibodies. You know, you have convalescent plasma that is being used.

There is a small study that was conducted in China that, you know, did show some promising results, but there's a difference between, you know, using something that FDA has approved through emergency authorization use versus something that has been approved.

So, something that has been approved that has shown to be effective versus something that FDA saying, you know, you can go ahead and use through the emergency means, it may be effective. So, this is something that is still being explored but it certainly looks very promising.

LEMON: Yes. Doctor, thank you so much. Really good information. I think when they figured that -- when that test is finally figured out, there's going to be a lot more people who actually had it and got over it than we realized. That's just my thought.

MADAD: That's right.

LEMON: Yes.

MADAD: We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. So.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you, doctor.

MADAD: Sure. Thank you.

LEMON: We're a couple of months behind Asia when it comes to the coronavirus. What lessons could we learn? CNN has the whole world covered on this story and we're going to go to China, we're going to Hong Kong, we're going to South Korea to bring you the story. That is next.

[23:20:00]

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LEMON: Vice President Mike Pence blaming a lack of transparency from China for the Trump administration's delayed response in fighting the coronavirus even though the whole world knew it was a problem there.

But parts of Asia have fared much better than the U.S. This chart shows how Hong Kong and South Korea were able to blunt and slow surges. But fears remain over a possible second wave and what will it take to really stop it.

So, let's discuss now. Joining me now is CNN's David Culver. He is in Shanghai, China. Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong, and Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea. Hello to one and all.

David, I'm going to start with you. Because China has claimed fewer and fewer locally transmitted cases, but it stepped up restrictions to try to stop the virus from coming the in. Is the government playing a game of whack-a-mole to prevent the virus from spreading again?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. An important word you used there, Don. Claim. Because this is of course the source of these figures that being the Chinese government. And they released these figures daily and they've come under a lot of scrutiny. As you mentioned Vice President Pence there questioning them.

And they now show many days without any new locally transmitted cases. So that's either a testament of the extreme measures being taken here or it's not fully accurate. And we've seen frequent changes to their methodology and reporting these figures including just yesterday they started finally including the asymptomatic cases.

LEMON: But as you and the doctor just a few minutes ago were pointing out, something that comes across from the Chinese government more than anything else is that there will be already people who have recovered from this than will have succumbed to it.

And that's something that when you look at the 80,000 total case count should be stressed that currently as the government says there are only a couple thousand active cases.

That being said, there's this new concern about the second wave. And we look at how they're reacting to that and the actions they're taking. And certainly, it's coming across in the official rhetoric too. I mean, they point to these imported cases which, in fairness to the government here, it's happening across Asia.

Ivan and Paula can attest to that where they are too. And as a result, China is essentially shutting down to all foreigners. And while businesses are coming back online, life is showing a steady resumption, we sometimes experience here this step forward and then it's two steps back.

So, they've got the restrictions that open up internally maybe for a day, maybe even just for a few hours to allow something like a cinema or karaoke bar to reopen and then they put the restrictions back in place. All of this, Don, is for fear of this second spike, second wave, and this resurgence.

LEMON: Since you mentioned Ivan, let's speak to him now. Ivan, Hong Kong had early success in containing the virus but has seen an increase in cases over the past week. Now the city is using electronic bracelets to track quarantined people and even arresting some who have violated their quarantine.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, Hong Kong is a really interesting case because everybody thought this city would get absolutely clobbered. It's right next to mainland China, it's one of the most densely populated places in the world.

And when the pandemic began a lot of ex-patriates, for example, started moving their families out. But the government cracked down. It closed schools in late January. And after more than a month it was able to keep the infections in the city with the population close to that of New York City to under 150.

But in the last two weeks, that number of infections has more than tripled. It's a real spike. And part of that is because as people realized in Europe and in North America that they felt less comfortable there, they started coming back to Hong Kong and bringing the infections with them.

So, the government here has enforced mandatory quarantines on around 50,000 people. Anybody arriving at the airport gets this electronic bracelet you mentioned, and that helps keep track of you. If you're going to break your quarantine, the authorities have identified at least 70 people who have done that, and they've threatened them with up to six months in jail.

And it's also had to do a lot of other measures like closing down public recreational centers, things that hopefully in the coming weeks will show that it can slow this sudden second wave of infections here.

LEMON: Interesting. Paula, let's go to you now. South Korea has been really aggressive with testing and contact tracing. But it's also worried about a second wave. You had your own personal experience with testing. Tell us about it.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. Yes, I got a little closer than I would have wanted to. But it really showed that the policy here is the fact that they are testing first and asking questions later.

[23:24:58]

So, my 4-year-old spiked a fever and within 24 hours it wasn't coming down. So, what we did is we called ahead to the hospital. They told us to go to the parking lot where there were trucks set up for this occasion and it just showed how efficient it was. We went inside. Within 15 minutes, we filled out the questionnaire.

My daughter had had a chest X-ray, within an hour had a test for influenza and for the novel coronavirus. Then we went home. We stayed home and eight hours later we had a text message to say that luckily, she had tested positive. She had tonsillitis as it turns out. One of the most common childhood illnesses that you can get.

But what it does show is that --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You mean she have tested negative.

HANCOCKS: -- they didn't want to examine her until they knew -- that she tested negative, yes, exactly. But they didn't want to examine her and find out what could be wrong with her until they knew she was negative. They don't want to put the frontline doctors in jeopardy, in danger.

LEMON: Yes, Yes. Well, it's very smart. David, listen, you know, we have been talking about this in the U.S. having a debate here about wearing masks and you know, when and where to wear them if you're going to do it. But they're commonly seen in China.

CULVER: Right.

LEMON: Do officials there feel that masks have helped with containment?

CULVER: Yes, culturally here it's not too unusual to see people wearing masks. In fact, you know, initially a lot of folks wear it for the smog here in China. Some people wear it for personal health reasons.

You know, for me coming from northern Virginia initially, it was an adjustment for me to adapt to this. I mean, now I carry it with me everywhere I go. You feel like a part of you is missing if you don't have it on you. And you're a bit self-conscious but you're uncomfortable without it now and people are uncomfortable if you're without one now.

And expats I've talked to they've even echoed that they're shocked that it's not something that's happening in the U.S. and across Europe. But there is a belief that it does help with containment. I mean, to that point, it's not an option for me to put this on and off. You've got to wear it. it's mandatory.

And you're leaving, if you're walking around and maybe you get a cup of coffee and you decide to slip it down and start sipping your coffee, after a while, police with gesture to you to put a mask back on. And that's reinforced at the top.

You've got President Xi Jinping when he is seen out publicly wearing a mask. So, Don, you got to wonder if it's going to be enforced in the U.S. where if you see at press conferences with President Trump wearing one or the vice president pence or other leadership.

LEMON: Well, David, Ivan, thank you very much. Paula, thank you. And we're happy that your daughter did test negative. Sorry that she was ill, but we're glad that she tested negative for the coronavirus. Thank you so much for joining us. You guys be safe and we'll talk to you soon.

Government officials say that the national stockpile of medical supplies just about empty as they send out their last round of protective gear. How can that be? Well, what has been promised versus what's being delivered. We'll talk about that next.

[23:30:00]

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LEMON: President Trump confirming tonight that the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile is almost empty. He claims more medical supplies are coming and they'll be sent directly to hospitals. But where are the supplies coming from?

CNN's Leyla Santiago joins me now. Leyla, good evening to you. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. You have new reporting about overseas supplies coming in on flights chartered by FEMA, but only some of those supplies are going to hotspots. Tell us about it.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, only a portion of the supplies coming in from overseas are being allocated for these prioritized hotspots that have been deemed prioritized by FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The other portion is going straight into the private market, you know, the place that has been a source of frustration for a lot of states who were saying it is way too competitive because they're competing with other states and the federal government.

So, let's take this last flight that just came in as a sort of example as to how this works. So, a private company secures some supplies overseas. FEMA charters the flight in. And in this last fight, they said all right, 50 percent of that. So, half of the flight of supplies will go straight to the private market. The other 50 percent, we want that to go to these prioritized hotspots.

But here's the thing, Don. I had asked for a list of those hotspots. Not getting it. The only thing that FEMA has clarified is that it involves areas in D.C., Illinois, Texas, Florida, Washington, and California. But exactly where in those states they're going, what is going, and how much, that is still very much unclear.

LEMON: Mm-hmm. And the president was asked about the reports about a free -- some PPE being sent overseas. Let's listen and then we'll discuss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any truth on reporting that your administration is stopping shipment of USAID stockpiles of PPEs abroad?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, no truth whatsoever. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the U.S. stopping shipment of our own stockpile through USAID to other countries?

D. TRUMP: No. Whatever we have, whatever we've committed to, we commit, but we also need a lot for ourselves, so we're very focused on that until we get over this. So obviously, we're not going to be shipping too much until now. We do have excess of certain things and we don't have enough of others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Leyla, CNN has new reporting on this?

SANTIAGO: Right, exactly, the Trump administration is not going to be sending out PPE to its allies anymore. This is coming to us from a congressional source that says late last Friday they were notified that the Coronavirus Task Force, which is led by Vice President Pence, decided to stop shipment overseas of those -- of the PPE, to keep that in the U.S.

[23:35:08]

SANTIAGO: And Don, we were just talking about it. We ourselves are bringing in things from overseas, from Mexico, Honduras, China, today Russia. I also thought this was interesting, that CNN obtained a list of 25 items that the State Department gave to diplomats to request of their host countries.

LEMON: Leyla Santiago, thank you very much. I appreciate it. States that acted quickly to combat the coronavirus are seeing a lot fewer cases than states that waited to issue stay-at-home orders. The stark difference, next.

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[23:40:00]

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LEMON: For --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, Ellis Marsalis.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[23:45:00]

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LEMON: So some sad breaking news to report to you tonight. Ellis Marsalis Jr., the New Orleans jazz legend, educator and father of four musical sons, died today at the age of 85. That confirmed to CNN by Quint Davis, the director -- Emeritus -- of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. His son Branford Marsalis telling The New York Times the cause of death was complications from the coronavirus.

Four of Ellis Marsalis's six sons followed in his musical footsteps, including his son Wynton, managing and the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the winner of multiple awards, and Branford, the Jazz saxophonist, who has recorded albums with sting among others.

As a native Louisianian, I can't tell you what this means to our state and also really to the jazz world at large and to the world at large as well, a huge, huge, huge loss for this world, dying from complications from the coronavirus. Ellis Marsalis.

Now, I want to turn now to the state of Kentucky, reporting an additional 93 cases of coronavirus today, bringing its total to 684 with at least 20 deaths. Governor Andy Beshear says that Kentucky is experiencing a surge in cases. He has been one of the most aggressive governors in battling the coronavirus. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's been on the job less than four months, one of the nation's newest and youngest governors.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): The office of governor of the commonwealth of Kentucky --

ZELENY (voice-over): But Andy Beshear of Kentucky is standing out in the state by state fight against the novel coronavirus, where some governors are leading and others following. It was back on March 6th when Beshear declared a state of emergency.

BESHEAR: We now have every resource available to us to respond.

ZELENY (voice-over): One day before Governor Andrew Cuomo would do so in New York and a full week before President Trump would do it nationally. The next day, during Beshear's daily briefing, he introduced Kentucky to the art of social distancing, well before the phrase needed any such introduction.

BESHEAR: Try to stay about six feet apart.

ZELENY (voice-over): And this week, he signed an unusual executive order, telling Kentucky residents not only to hunker down at home, but not to leave the state unless it was absolutely essential.

The White House has declined to issue a national stay-at-home order, leaving states to impose an uneven patchwork of rules. All but a handful of states have now implemented some version of the statewide order with caveats in several rural areas.

As Beshear and many governors have taken steps before the administration has, others have followed the president, no one more stridently than Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who had refused to issue a statewide order until today.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I did consult with folks in the White House. I did speak with the president about it.

ZELENY (voice-over): It was the president's grim tone Tuesday, not warnings that health officials have been making for weeks, that he said finally persuaded him.

DESANTIS: When you see the president up there, when you see his demeanor in the last couple of days, that's not necessarily how he always is.

ZELENY (voice-over): The individual decisions that governors on the frontlines made in March could help determine how their states fair in April.

BESHEAR: I can't control what other state do and how they go about it, but I can say that the people of Kentucky have bought in to what we're asking.

ZELENY (voice-over): Beshear is the 42-year-old son of former Governor Steve Beshear, a rare Democrat who won last fall in Kentucky, defeating the sitting Republican governor who Trump campaigned for.

BESHEAR: There aren't Democrats or Republicans. There are only Americans versus this coronavirus.

ZELENY (voice-over): The actions of governors often are rooted in politics, where in this case, guidance from the White House. Many of Beshear's early steps in Kentucky came at least a week sooner than Tennessee, where Governor Bill Lee is a Republican. Tonight, Kentucky has more than 600 cases while Tennessee more than 2,600.

Stephanie Jolly has been tracking the differences between the two neighboring states.

STEPHANIE JOLLY, EDUCATOR: The growth trajectories seem to split fairly early on and there hasn't been a way to contain the growth in Tennessee.

ZELENY (voice-over): A chart she posted went viral, tracking Kentucky's early response to the slower reaction in Tennessee.

JOLLY: A lot of people saw it as, like, oh, Kentucky versus Tennessee. It really wasn't anything about that. So, I didn't want to say, look, Tennessee is doing a terrible job, but rather, in fact, to motivate Kentuckians to keep doing it.

ZELENY (voice-over): Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Jeff, thank you very much. Now, I want to bring in Ron Brownstein. He is a senior editor at The Atlantic and a CNN senior political analyst.

[23:50:01]

LEMON: Ron, you have a piece on CNN.com and it is titled "Coronavirus is Dividing Blue Cities from Their Red States." So, Ron, here's what you write in part.

You said, "The fact that so many GOP governors tightened statewide restrictions immediately after President Donald Trump finally admitted the virus's full risk from the White House podium underscores how much his earlier minimizing had contributed to the critical delays in those states."

Do these Republican governors endanger their states by listening to President Trump instead of science?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, SENIOR EDITOR AT THE ATLANTIC: I think it's pretty clear they were afraid, Don, to get out in front of him. The dynamic that I wrote about in my stories, if you look across many of these red states, whether it's Florida or Georgia or Texas or Arizona or Tennessee or Missouri and the Midwest, you see the same dynamic.

The mayors and county executives in the biggest metropolitan centers have been pressing on these governors to institute statewide restrictions, statewide stay-at-home orders because these population centers have done so, but they feel their efforts are being undercut by the lack of uniformity across the state. You know, people can congregate elsewhere, contract the disease, and bring it into their community.

The governors have persistently refused to do, even in the last several days as the state medical associations and state hospital associations in places like Texas have weighed in.

It is, I think, not a coincidence that we have seen this sharp movement, first in Arizona, then in Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida, all after the president, you know, acknowledged finally this week from the White House podium just how serious this is on a trajectory to be and it does suggest, I think, they were very reluctant to get out ahead of him.

LEMON: Listen, I've got just about 20 seconds here, and I know it's a tough thing to do, but you heard Jeff there in his piece. Kentucky has nearly 600 cases. Tennessee has more than 2,600. Will there be consequences for these governors essentially ignoring city officials until Trump changes tune?

BROWNSTEIN: I think it's going to sharpen what we've already seen in all of the states, which is urban/rural divide. And the republican heartland, the small town, rural, I don't think there's going to be consequences, but I do think that if you think about like the big metro centers in Texas, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas, Florida, Georgia, it's going to continue the movement, I think, away from Republicans because they seem to have sided with ideology over science at a critical moment in the state's, you know, development.

LEMON: Ron Brownstein, thank you very much. I appreciate it. With schools closed, a lot of kids across the country are in need of a good meal. I'm going to speak to someone who is taking care that kids in his community are getting one.

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[23:55:00]

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LEMON: In tonight's taking care segment, making sure children are getting enough to eat while they're not in school under the coronavirus pandemic. Many districts across the country have programs in place, including the Stanly County School District in North Carolina.

Joining me now is the superintendent, Jeff James. Superintendent James, thank you so much. I appreciate it. What schools in your county closed due to coronavirus? What were you seeing? What were some of the issues students and families were having?

JEFF JAMES, SUPERINTENDENT, STANLY COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS: Well, of course, Mr. Lemon, anytime we close schools, it weighs heavily on school superintendents about how we feed students who would not, otherwise, get a meal unless it was for the school system. We provide a whole lot more than just education. So it is a hard decision when we have to decide to shut schools down.

Of course, our governor, Roy Cooper, decided to close our schools on Monday, March the 16th. We, actually, had a precursor meeting that Friday and talked about the possibility. And my leadership team, believe it or not, was so concerned that we met on Sunday afternoon for about eight hours and put a plan together.

We were able to roll out, Monday morning, serving breakfast and lunch to a tune of 6,000 meals. And before the week had ended, we were up to over 10,200 meals a day. The first week, we actually served approximately 45,000 meals and provided a hot lunch and a breakfast for the following morning.

LEMON: This is called "Here Comes the Bus," right?

JAMES: Yes. Now, we have an app that we purchased over two years ago when school violence had escalated. Our community was concerned and, of course, my school board. We invested in several different protocols to help us. So "Here Comes the Bus" is actually an app that's free to our parents and students.

And one of the things we wanted to make sure of, Mr. Lemon, was that students were not standing on a porch or at a bus stop. We realized that safety began as soon as that student left their front door or back door to get to the bus. So this app actually helped us during this time.

So an unintended consequence of purchasing the app for parents and students, it actually notifies the student or parent when the bus is in a perimeter range of their house so students do not have to wait at a corner or bus stop on their meals. So the app also lets us send short messages out and it's been a great tool for us to use for safety all the way around.

Of course, it proved to be a great tool for making sure we're feeding students. We have approximately 8,400 students in our district. About 62 percent free and reduced lunch. And, again, the first week, we served 45,000 meals and followed up the second week with 43,000. So to the tune of 88,000 meals we served in a period of two weeks to our students.

LEMON: Well, you are doing god's work, and we appreciate you joining us for our taking care segment. Listen, you take care, you be safe, continue to do great work. Jeff James is the superintendent at the Stanly County School District in South Carolina -- North Carolina. We appreciate you. Thank you so much, sir.

OK, and be sure you tune in tomorrow night. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Anderson Cooper's going to host a CNN town hall, "Coronavirus Facts and Fears." That's at tomorrow 8 p.m. right here on CNN. And I'll see you right after at 10 p.m. Thanks for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.