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New Day Sunday

Coronavirus Death Toll In The U.S. Passes 2,000; CDC Issues Travel Advisory For New York, New Jersey, Connecticut; Trump Backs Off Quarantine Of Parts Of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut; USNS Comfort Sails To New York To Ease The Burden On Hospitals; New York Opens Four Emergency Sites For Hospitals; Virginia Girls Making Cards For Seniors In Assisted Living Facilities; Family Fights COVID-19 Symptoms As Six- Year-Old Tests Positive; Italy's Death Toll Passes 10,000, New Cases Climb Rapidly; Virus Changes Life For Millions Across United States; NFL Player Turner Doctor Calls Coronavirus Hectic. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired March 29, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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


[06:00:13]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN now confirms more than 2,000 deaths here in the United States from coronavirus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More than 200 million Americans in 25 states are ordered to stay at home, and governors are pleading for help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out of desperation, doctors in New York City and Italy are now using ventilators meant for one person to keep two patients alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm optimistic that we'll be able to save some lives. We've got nothing to lose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are perhaps just at the outer bands of a Category 5 hurricane. And this may get worse before it gets better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good Sunday morning to you. Thank you for being with us.

And as you join us, more than 121,000 Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus, that number of deaths, as you heard, now more than 2,000. And to give you some context there's an increase in the number of cases, more than 20,000 in just 24 hours.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And that means that the U.S. is still the global hot spot for the virus. More than 652,000 people around the world have been infected and it has killed more than 30,000 people globally. BLACKWELL: The CDC now has issued a two week travel advisory telling people in New York and New Jersey and Connecticut to refrain from non- essential domestic travel. More than half of the cases in the U.S. are in those states.

PAUL: And that move came after President Trump spoke with the governors of those states. It all came together after the president backs (ph) off (ph) his initial idea to issue a short term quarantine in that region. Last night he said on Twitter that a quarantine -- quote -- "would not be necessary." And we want to begin there with CNN's Kristen Holmes.

So, Kristen, after he made this statement about backing off the quarantine that came, of course, after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had said it would be a -- quote -- and I want to quote here -- "a federal declaration of war." How did the White House react to that?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look that's right. And this is really the latest in this push-pull we've seen between state and federal governments between those governors and President Trump.

And yesterday, despite the fact that we know that New York's Andrew Cuomo, the governor there, has been in near constant contact with President Trump over the spread of the virus over the last week and a half, Cuomo seemed blind-sided when President Trump first announced to reporters he was considering this quarantine that included New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and then it doubled down on it, who's tweeting about it now. Of course, New York's Andrew Cuomo is not one who ever bites his tongue. He lashed out at the idea first at a press conference and then in an interview with our own Ana Cabrera. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): This would be a declaration of war on states, a federal declaration of war. And it wouldn't just be New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, next week it would be Louisiana with New Orleans, and the week after that, it would be Detroit and Michigan, and it would run all across the nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So just moments later President Trump tweeted out this. We're going to pull it up for you. It said, On the recommendation of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and upon consultation of governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the CDC to issue a strong travel advisory to be administered by the governors in consultation with the federal government. A quarantine will not be necessary. Full details will be released by the CDC tonight. Thank you.

Now even this seem to not be exactly what these governors wanted in a statement. After this tweet the governor of New Jersey said that this was nonbinding. He made it clear that this was not something that could be enforced. And he also said, this doesn't change the rules that he himself, the New Jersey governor, had put in place a week earlier.

PAUL: All right. Kristen Holmes, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Kristen.

Later today we're going to hear from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Dr. Anthony Fauci. That's at 9:00 eastern on "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER" so you'll want to watch that.

PAUL: Right now the USNS Comfort is on its way to New York to help ease the burden on hospitals during the coronavirus outbreak. Expected to be there by tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The president gave the ship a send off yesterday this is despite the ongoing dispute with New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo. Here's CNN's Ryan Browne.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: President Donald Trump sending of the USNS Comfort, a U.S. Navy hospital ship to New York, it's expected to arrive in New York on Monday and will start seeing patients on Tuesday.

Now the ship is massive, almost 900 feet long. It has the capacity to house 1,000 hospital beds. It carries aboard 1,200 medical personnel.

[06:05:00]

It has 12 operating rooms. And the idea is it will help alleviate some of the burden the coronavirus is placing on New York civilian hospitals by treating non-coronavirus patients, people suffering from things like broken bones and other ailments. Now this will help free up hospital space in these types of medical facilities in New York that can handle people suffering from the coronavirus.

This is one of several steps the U.S. military is taking to help New York City. It has started building field hospitals. The army has converting the Javits Convention Center into a makeshift hospital capable of seeing thousands of patients. President Trump calling the Comfort a 70,000 ton message of hope and solidarity for the people of New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This great ship behind me is a 70,000 ton message of hope and solidarity to the incredible people of New York, a place I know very well. A place I love.

We're here for you. We're fighting for you and we are with you all the way. And we always will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWNE: Now the ship will arrive on Tuesday and it'll start seeing patients then. But it remains to be seen whether this step, along with some of the other steps the U.S. military and other administration entities are taking will be enough to arrest the growth and spread of the coronavirus and alleviate the burden being placed on hospitals in New York.

Ryan Browne, CNN, Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. Ryan, thank you very much.

So with that report we know now what the mission is for the Comfort's crew. What's not so clear is how long it will remain docked in New York. Here's what the ship's commanding officer told Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN PATRICK AMERSBACH, COMMANDING OFFICER, USNS COMFORT: We're going to be there until we're no longer needed. That's what we're being told and that's what we're planning for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Amersbach says that his crew will not be allowed to leave the ship until that mission is completed. The Navy has taken the precaution to minimizing the potential exposure of coronavirus on the ship.

PAUL: So while that ship makes its way to New York the state with the most cases in the U.S. is desperate, as you can imagine, for help. CNN's Jason Carroll is outside New York's Elmhurst Hospital. Jason, good to see you this morning.

Help us understand how much relief this ship is going to bring to the state?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, desperately needed for New York State. As you can imagine, the key focus here in the state has been about the need for medical supplies, such as ventilators, masks, the need for increased number of hospital beds, here at Elmhurst Hospital and at a number of hospitals across the city, Christi.

We've been hearing from medical experts, those who are working on the front lines of this crisis saying they don't have enough masks. Masks that don't fit, having to reuse masks. The governor has been trying to get out in front of this saying that the state and the city needs to do more to raise the number of hospital beds, increase the number of hospital beds.

What they're doing is they are creating these emergency medical facilities in all of the boroughs. They're transforming some of these spaces into emergency medical facilities. In the case of Queens, for example, transforming a racetrack at the Javits Convention Center. There's going to be a medical facility that's going to be opening there tomorrow. But once again, I want to get back to -- about that travel advisory as well because that's something that a lot of folks here in New York City, in the tri-state have been talking about as well. You hear much talk about that but this is something that folks in the New York City area have been doing quite frankly for the past several days.

Let me read to you part of the travel advisory from the CDC. It says in part, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut residents are urged to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.

Well, Christi, you head to any of the airports here in the area whether it be Newark or New Jersey or JFK or LaGuardia, these airports are essentially empty for all intents and purposes. And so this is something that a lot of folks here have been following all along.

But, again, back to the medical crisis here in New York and in the tri-state area, just to give you a sense of just how critical the crisis is here. Some 52,000 cases of coronavirus in New York state, the second to that is New Jersey, 11,000 cases in New Jersey, really taking a toll on first responders, when you just look at the NYPD, for example, 700 coronavirus cases, 12 percent of the workforce now have called out sick -- Christi.

BLACKWELL: I'll take it, Jason. Jason Carroll for us there live in New York. Thank you so much.

Let's bring in now Dr. Saju Mathew, primary care doctor, public health specialist, also a CNN medical analyst. Doctor, good morning to you.

DR. SAJU MATHEW, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Let's start here with this new travel advisory from the CDC. As mentioned, the president backed off a quarantine for New Jersey, New York and Connecticut but added this travel advisory. And frankly Jason makes a good point there that -- I'm in Georgia and people here are refraining from non-essential domestic travel.

[06:10:06]

What's the virtue of what we're hearing from the CDC and do you expect it will be especially effective?

MATHEW: Yes. Victor, the bottom line here is with community spread, these are people that are asymptomatic who have COVID-19, the bottom line is social distancing, physical distancing. And we can look at countries like China, Wuhan especially, that had this draconian methods of really quarantining people. The bottom line is if we don't really hunker down and have a nationwide shelter in place, this infection which is already out of control, can get much worse.

BLACKWELL: I want to bring in some questions that we have received from viewers on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter as well, run through a few. Let's start with Jack. He starts with, if a person tests positive, does that mean that they have it or could it mean that they have had it? MATHEW: Good question. If you have tested positive, that means that you currently have the infection. We don't know just from that one test if you had it previously, that would be another test to check antibody levels.

BLACKWELL: Next question from Dawn. With mandated school closings across several states, I recently learned that daycares continue to operate. Should they close too?

MATHEW: In my opinion as a primary care physician, Victor, absolutely. Again, going back to what I said at the very beginning, we need to socially distance ourselves and just really prevent additional spread. So, yes, my recommendation would be that those schools should be closed as well.

BLACKWELL: So a lot of questions, Doctor, we received are about hydroxychloroquine. It's a malaria drug. The president says that this could, if paired with azithromycin, could be a game changer. You have prescribed this. You're familiar with it. Are you as optimistic?

MATHEW: I'm definitely cautiously optimistic. I think that would be the word that I would use as a primary care physician. I grew up in West Africa and I have personally taken this medicine to prevent, you know, malaria or to treat malaria. So, yes.

I do want to say to all our viewers that this medication has been on the market for so many years. We definitely understand the dangers of this medication and how this medication works. But the problem is, Victor, we don't have studies that have clinically proven that it would be safe in patients with COVID-19. But I am cautiously optimistic that these clinical trials could definitely show us in the near future if we can use this medication safely.

BLACKWELL: Another question here. This one is from Trenton. You talked about social distancing. He asks, I have a community laundry room at my apartment complex. Is it going to be safe to use those washers and dryers to do the laundry?

MATHEW: You know, another good question. This is a question a lot of my patients ask me as well. Ultimately, the heat in the washing machine should definitely kill the virus. And we have no studies to show that it has transferred from laundry onto a person's skin. So if you use the maximum heat on the laundry setting it technically should deactivate and kill the virus so yes it should be safe.

BLACKWELL: Jasmine wants to know should we -- how we should be handling our groceries or any outside packages that come into our homes.

MATHEW: Yes. So two points regarding groceries. Number one, if you can afford and if it's easy for you to order in, that would definitely be the safety bet, especially if you have elderly patients that are staying with you.

If you visit the grocery store I recommend to everybody cut down on the number of times that you go to the grocery store. If you can go once a month and get all the groceries that you need, that would be the most important. And when you bring the groceries back, Victor, it's extremely important to make sure that you clean it out, wash a jug of orange juice. You can wash it down with hot water. You can use Lysol wipes and clean the outside. And if you're warming up food, then that should be safe.

BLACKWELL: Yes. That is something that I personally have not been doing but now that you've said it I will do it. Last one before we let you go here.

We're a couple of days out from end of the White House's 15 days to stop the spread. The president sent a letter out to governors saying that there would be now classifications for high risk, medium risk and low risk counties.

Considering how rapidly the numbers are changing as it relates to deaths and confirmed cases, those classifications could change daily. How effective do you expect that will be?

MATHEW: Ultimately, you can't just go by low, medium or high risk. If there is one patient in a county and one patient is positive of COVID- 19, that one patient can infect large numbers of people. So a county by county shelter in place is probably in my humble opinion not the best way to go.

[06:15:03]

Ultimately it's about everybody sheltering in place for a long period of time to really kill this virus.

BLACKWELL: All right. Dr. Saju Mathew. Good to have you, sir.

MATHEW: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: And of course we want more of your questions. We will take them straight to the professionals. Tweet us @VictorBlackwell, @Christi_Paul and we'll do our best to get your answers here on NEW DAY.

PAUL: I know that this heavy news. We want to make sure that you understand there are some good things going on out there as well. Things that maybe you can replicate in your area.

We have four girls in Virginia right now who are reminding us social distancing doesn't mean that you can't socialize. So the Hendrix and Huggins sisters are making and sending cards to senior citizens who are living in assisted living facilities. They're among the first to participate in a program called "Every Letter Is A Virtual Hug." Now despite their age difference the girls have found they have got something in common with the seniors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're trying to quarantine in here but they're quarantined all alone and they don't have their family around them to make them happy. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can't have any visitors right now so we're making them all cards so they're happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Right now those cards are going to residents at four assisted living facilities in that area. Good for the kids, good for the people who receive them.

BLACKWELL: The Hendrix and the Huggins. Good work girls.

PAUL: That's right.

BLACKWELL: We're going to continue to talk now about the impact of coronavirus, but this time on children. A young family, three small children. They all have symptoms of COVID-19. The 6-year-old has tested positive for the virus. We're going to hear his mother joining us live next with her message to your family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:20:47]

PAUL: Twenty minutes past the hour right now.

And Chicago is reporting the first death of a baby, younger than a year old with coronavirus in the U.S. Health officials say a -- quote -- "full investigation is under way to confirm the cause of that death." But it's important to note here expert say the vast majority of children are going to be just fine. We don't know if there were underlying conditions with this child but another death of an infant younger than one year old was previously reported in China. That baby did have pre-existing conditions.

I want to introduce you to our next guest who says she, her husband, her three young kids all have COVID-19 symptoms. Her oldest, who's six years old, is recovering after testing positive. She shared her situation on Facebook writing this. I'm posting this because I think it's important that people understand that if the virus is here in rural New Hampshire, it is everywhere, and while our family is lucky to be young and healthy and barely experienced more than what felt like a cold, it is clear this will not be the case for everyone.

Brittany Weeks with now. She's a mom. She has also been a nurse. Thank you so much, Brittany, for taking the time this morning to be with us.

I know that you've shared some pictures with us of your kids. How are they doing, first of all? How are all of you?

BRITTANY WEEKS, FAMILY HAS COVID-19 SYMPTOMS, SIX-YEAR-OLD TESTED POSITIVE: We're doing fine. Currently we really have very minimal symptoms if any just a little bit of coughing, running noses, typical cold, certainly nothing worse than anything we've experienced in the last year or so with any other cold at this point.

PAUL: What happened that prompted you to take that information and want to go get tested?

WEEKS: So we actually were scheduled to have a well child visit with our 6-year-old that we canceled as a result of being sick, just to be extra cautious and just went through the symptoms with the triage nurse, and they recommended that we get screened to be tested. And then based on the fact that we had traveled within the last two weeks out-of-state, that was essentially the reason they had us tested.

And I think at that point they were maybe being a bit more liberal. It seems now that not everyone is having that experience. So we probably wouldn't have been tested if it wasn't for that fact.

PAUL: But your 6-year-old is doing well?

WEEKS: He is doing really well. Yes. At this point, he is feeling great, running around. You wouldn't know that he -- that anything really at this point had occurred.

PAUL: OK. I know that your intention in sharing this story was because, as we indicated, you live in rural New Hampshire, and you realized if this is happening to us here, that means it's probably infiltrated the area.

What do you want to tell parents who might be in a similar situation as you because this is a very anxious time?

WEEKS: Yes. I guess as a parent especially with three kids it's easy to sort of on the surface to say, yes, I'll be calm and cool and collected with all of this and knowing that it probably won't be something that I will have to worry about. But it was and at the same time, it wasn't anything worse than a mild cold for our family. And we're very healthy individuals so we're lucky in that regard.

And I just wanted to share that because I felt like there wasn't a lot of experiences out there that I've been reading about on a personal level. We also, just being concerned about a lot of nurses that I used to work with who have young families and knowing that they're nervous going into work and coming home with this and bringing to it their families so I wanted them to maybe have some reassurance that for us the experience really wasn't horrible.

PAUL: What are your friends who are in the medical field telling you?

WEEKS: Essentially it's things that I'm really reading on Facebook, on their pages. But a lot of it just seems like they feel -- especially in New Hampshire currently that they feel there's this calm before the storm, a lot of the hospitals have tightened up regulations in terms of visitors, visitation policies so it's sort of eerily quiet. I don't know currently because I'm not working there but that's what I've been reading at least.

PAUL: So how do you have these conversations with your kids about coronavirus and what it is, especially knowing that it has now kind of made its place in your home for a second?

WEEKS: Yes. [06:25:00]

So it's been interesting. Because, right, we had to get tested and we actually -- our 6-year-old, we went through a drive through testing. And it was really surreal. There were tents set up by. I sort of felt like I was in some kind of a strange movie with outbreak.

It was a really odd scenario, and people coming at him with masks in our car. And he handled it really well but -- we just -- we talked about it being a virus and being something that most likely would be fine for our family but that it was going to affect a lot of people and that we did need to take it seriously.

PAUL: OK. And your neighbors and your friends, they obviously know about this now.

WEEKS: Yes.

PAUL: What kind of conversations have you had with them?

WEEKS: Most people are just glad that we've been sharing it and that we're OK and basically, you know, expressing that they're glad that we're doing all right. Everyone is kind of curious. I've had a few people reach out who had similar symptoms with their children wanting to know what our experiences were, what might have worked for us and what we were being told by the medical community.

PAUL: The one thing I did want to ask you about as well is the fact that -- and correct me if I am wrong here, but you've got the test, and it took more than a week to get the results back?

WEEKS: Yes. So that was sort of a bit of a frustrating part but we completely understood, you know, based on what we were hearing in the news that it was going to take a while.

They originally told us 48 to 72 hours. But it ended up being a week and two days, essentially. A week and -- yes, a week and two days before we heard. That was really hard for us essentially because we didn't know. Are we infected? We kind of felt like should we quarantine, should we not? Wasn't clear.

PAUL: Well, Brittany Weeks, we're so grateful that you're all OK. And I think you're right to share what you've experienced because this has so many parents really on edge at the end of the day. And to see that your child is doing well, all of your children and you are all doing well, I think that's going to maybe ease some anxiety for some people. Thank you for taking time to talk to us.

WEEKS: Sure. No problem.

PAUL: OK. Take good care.

WEEKS: Take care. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Now if you're looking for more information about the cases in the U.S., visit our Web site, CNN.com. Now the U.S. has the highest number of confirmed cases in the world but Italy is the deadliest hot spot in this pandemic. The major obstacle for healthcare workers there is still getting the tests and the protective gear. We'll talk about the impact around the world next.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. Let's go to Italy now. That country has the highest number of people killed by COVID-19, now more than 10,000. And there was an increase of 3,600 confirmed cases, and that's just in the past day.

PAUL: More than 60 million people are living under an increasingly, what some call, unbearable lockdown. It's growing tighter by the day, in fact. Police are patrolling the streets, making sure no one is outside without a valid reason.

BLACKWELL: And now to Spain, more than 5,000 people have died from the virus there. And and over the last two days, flights have arrived carrying loads of protective equipment for healthcare workers. The Spanish Health Ministry says the country is reaching the peak of the curve.

PAUL: And a hospital in Brussels is converting scuba masks into emergency ventilators to try to make the demand there. There are more than 9,000 confirmed cases in Belgium. And the mounting death toll from COVID-19, as we said, it's hard to process, caskets have been piling up in churches because of the country's tight restrictions and social distancing guidelines. The families and friends, they can't even go to their funerals.

Here is CNN's Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Coffins, one next to another next to another next to another, lined up in a church in Northern Italy, the epicenter of this country's coronavirus outbreak.

Social distancing means family and friends can't say their final farewells. The sick were all alone as they lay dying.

There were people, says the Father Mario Carminati, who died without anyone to hear or see them, without the possibility to talk to their loved ones, with no one to comfort them.

The increase in new cases has of late shown signs of beginning to slow down. But now, COVID-19 has killed more people in Italy than anywhere else on earth.

The public health's system, one of Europe's best, has been pushed to the limits. The disease has killed more than 50 medical personnel, more than 7,000 have fallen ill. Italy has been under lockdown for almost three weeks. Severe measures may be starting to bear fruit says the Dr. Moreno Tresoldi (ph).

We should see less people arriving in the emergency ward, he says, and we will be able to better look after patients.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: Even if the numbers are starting to level out, the damage coronavirus has done to this country is breathtaking. Friday evening, the 24-hour death toll was 969. Saturday evening, the authorities reported another 889 people had died. If there is light at the end of this tunnel, it is at best a faint glimmer.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.

BLACKWELL: Well, most of us are starting week three of the stay-at- home policy across this country. We'll take you around America to show you how some families are impacted by our new abnormal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. 20 minutes to the top of the hour now. Almost 200 million people across this country are under some sort of stay-at- home order.

PAUL: Yes. It's changed everything, hasn't it? I mean, the way we live, they way we work, the way we socialize.

CNN's Martin Savidge kind of gives us a glimpse of what's happening behind other people's doors and how they're coping with the changes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Across America, coronavirus is changing lives. Instead of studying, 22-year-old college student Asia Judge (ph) is getting a hard lesson in life. Her mom sent us pictures of Asia closing out her dorm at now closed Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina, her entire senior year in question.

With her high school closed, senior Kristin Lee of Hendersonville, Tennessee, stands to lose lifelong memories, dreams of softball, prom, maybe even graduation.

KRISTIN LEE, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: I heard about it and I started crying. I was really upset about it because this year was my -- like it's our senior's year.

SAVIDGE: Coronavirus changed everything at Zace Brand in Fredericktown, Ohio, until recently, one of the last denim producers in the country. But the news of medical shortages haunted owner, Zach Meyers.

ZACH MEYERS, ZACE BRAND: It really just started to kind of build up inside to the point until where I realized we needed to take action.

SAVIDGE: So, he found army surplus material right up on CDC guidelines, and with his son and three employees, makes hospital masks selling for $5 apiece.

MEYERS: This isn't a for-profit effort. What we like to have is just enough to cover our material and our labor.

SAVIDGE: He's hoping the masks help others while helping him stay in business.

John Henderson checked in from Texas, saying he is crazy busy.

JOHN HENDERSON, TEXAS ORGANIZATION OF RURAL AND COMMUNITY HOSPITALS: I'm driving down the highway with a load sticking out of my sunroof in my wife's forerunner. I've got 60,000 surgical masks in boxes in my car.

SAVIDGE: He and his team from Texas Rural and Community Hospitals are going non-stop delivering personal protective equipment to 157 rural healthcare facilities all over the Lone Star State.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two boxes are going to the hospital in Dalhart for a total 3,000 masks.

SAVIDGE: He said his family is healthy, the kids have started learning online and they all appreciate life more.

ADRIAN, AMAZON EMPLOYEE: Hi, I'm Adrian. I've been with Amazon for about ten years.

SAVIDGE: Adrian, checked in with a small on-the-job in an Amazon fulfillment center in Connecticut.

ADRIAN: Our kids are at home doing their lessons planned with mom and help from our teachers in distance learning. We're practicing social distancing.

SAVIDGE: Unlike services like Amazon, they become more vital to people as they isolate. Adrian knows it and he's proud to play a part.

ADRIAN: I remember growing up that Mr. Rogers said when there were scary things on the news that always look for the helpers. And for me, that's been the best part for me being an Amazonian.

SAVIDGE: Stanton Moore could really use some helpers or just plain help.

STANTON MOORE, GALACTIC DRUMMER: We have had to close the club, we have had to cancel our tour.

SAVIDGE: Moore is the drummer in the band, Galactic. The group owns the famous Tipitina's in uptown New Orleans. But coronavirus has devastated the music scene.

MOORE: It's kind of an eerie feeling to be in this iconic venue and have it be empty.

SAVIDGE: There's no money to pay musicians, bartenders or roadies.

To try to get some income, Stanton teaches drums online.

MOORE: I've been doing Skype lessons right here with my computer set up right here.

SAVIDGE: You can also go online and buy a virtual drink at Tipitina's as a donation.

MOORE: This has been daunting for us and we don't know when all of this is going to end and we don't know what the future holds.

SAVIDGE: That is just as true in New Orleans, as it is everywhere else. Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Yes. That reminder about Mr. Rogers, always look for the helpers, because there are -- even in the toughest times, there are people helping.

PAUL: We have seen more families together just out walking. We didn't know there're many people lived in our neighborhood. I mean, of course, we did know but we never saw them. And to see the way people are helping each other and offering, if you need anything, if you ever go next to Next Door, that app, so many people saying, whatever you need, tell me, here I am, here is how to get ahold of me. I mean, it is. I keep saying it, but it's true. I think it's a reset making us go what are our priorities and what do we value.

[06:45:00]

BLACKWELL: Yes. Our thanks to Martin Savidge for that story.

Coy Wire is up next with sports, and he is going to introduce a man was once an NFL player, now a doctor, and we're going to hear the challenges that he and his colleagues face during this pandemic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, six people are injured this morning after a tornado ripped through Jonesboro, Arkansas.

BLACKWELL: This storm damaged the mall at Turtle Creek, flattened buildings there, scattered debris across the parking lot. You see some of it here.

At the airport, at least one airplane was turned over, hangars damaged as well. Look at how fast this tornado intensified over the area.

PAUL: I always give credit to whoever is filming that, although that might be a still camera on a building.

BLACKWELL: And let me say, this is not time lapse video. [06:50:01]

This is real-time.

PAUL: This is happening in the moment. I mean, that's frightening.

We do know that search and rescue teams are still looking for anyone else who may be hurt. And at 6:49 now this morning, the sun may be just kind of popping up as well for a while. So, well, look at this thing as it hits. We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

The sports world, of course, is not immune to coronavirus, as we already know. But now, a new case, the owner of the New York Knicks has tested positive.

BLACKWELL: Coy Wire is joining us now. So what do you know about the case?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Christi. Well, here is what we know. James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks and the NHL's New York Rangers, he was showing minimal symptoms last night, that according to the team, the Knicks saying in a statement, that the 64-year-old is in self-isolation but he's continuing to oversee business operations.

The Knicks are the league's most valuable franchise. None of its players have tested positive for coronavirus, although ten players in the league have. The NBA season has been on hold since March 11th.

Now, Olympic officials, they have guaranteed that all athletes who earned a spot and qualified for the Tokyo 2020 games will retain those positions whenever the games do take place next year. The World Athletics president, Seb Coe, in a letter, announcing that every Olympic sport will honor the qualifications that happened this year. More than 6,000 athletes have qualified for the games, but that's a little more than half the athletes.

So, ultimately, when will they compete to determine a spot? So many coronavirus restrictions, there are still a lot of uncertainty about when or even how the rest of those athletes will qualify.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka tweeting that while she's disappointed she won't be representing her home country of Japan this year, she fully supports the decision to postpone the games. She says, now is the time for all countries in the spirit of the Olympics to rally together to make sure we're saving as many lives as possible.

Now, here is a great story for us this morning, a former NFL player turned doctor, Myron Rolle, he is using his presence right now in hospitals to let us know exactly what these front1line healthcare workers are going through.

Now, Rolle is 33 years old. He was former All-American and Rhodes Scholar at Florida State. He is now a neurosurgery resident in Massachusetts General in Boston. He chose to study at Oxford in what would have been a senior year at FSU. But he was drafted by The Titans. After three NFL seasons, he left the league to pursue medicine, Rolle telling ESPN how his colleagues there in Boston are being tested right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MYRON ROLLE, NEUROSURGERY RESIDENT, MASS GEN/FORMER NFL PLAYER: As soon as you get into the hospital, which I'm here now, you put on these protective masks. Everybody has to wear them.

The numbers are staggering. Our neurosurgical floor has been transformed into a floor just full of COVID-19 patients. It is hectic, that's for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Dr. Rolle went on to say that they're struggling for bed space right now, Victor and Christie. They're also struggling for personnel trying to scramble to deal with this influx of COVID-19 patients.

Now, let's go to this Bucs' quarterback, still seems odd to say Bucs, but Tom Brady, one of the strictest health regiments in the entire NFL, he's using his start status to share some immune-boosting types, if you will, for everyone who is stuck at home during this coronavirus pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUARTERBACK: We got to stay hydrated and we have to give our body what it needs in order to support itself with nutrient-dense vegetables. Mom, you'd be very proud of me saying that. I know I wasn't great at that as a kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: This is the quarterback and NFL player, of course, Victor and Christie, who eats avocado ice cream and he's really into -- he doesn't eat any strawberries because for some reason they're not healthy enough for him. But it's good to see these celebrities in all sorts of venues or avenues, I should say, to help spread the word about being safe, being healthy while we're getting through this pandemic.

BLACKWELL: All right. Coy, thank you very much.

PAUL: Good to see you, Coy. Thanks.

So, stay with us, because music is being used to encourage people to wash their hands in a fight not to spread the coronavirus. We'll explain more in a moment.

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[06:55:00]

BLACKWELL: So Christi talked about this a little bit before the break, this catchy song that teaches children and some adults, probably, how to properly wash their hands.

PAUL: Yes. I mean, the song is light-heart but it is a way to learn a potentially life-saving lesson. Listen to this.

All right. So they're hoping that that tune is going to help the 20 second scrub into our daily routine if you hear it coming from your bathroom with your kids.

BLACKWELL: It's going to be in my head all day, all day.

I just got the Bored in the House song out of my head, and now this is going to be there all day.

[07:00:02]

PAUL: My goodness. Listen, if you're looking for ways to impact your community, help those affected by the coronavirus.