Coronavirus: Number of Americans Testing Positive Skyrockets | NBC Nightly News

Good evening everyone, Americans are receiving mixed messages tonight at a time when we cannot afford it. Coveted cases are doubling every few days in some communities in this country, now with calls at the state level becoming louder and more insistent for Americans to isolate President Trump focused on Boosting the economy is talking about ways to soon return to the business, putting him on a potential collision course with public health experts who say now is not the time to let our guard down. Our team is in place and leading our coverage. Miguel Almaguer with a reality check. where we are tonight with nearly half the country's population under stay-at-home orders tonight, skyrocketing

number

s of Americans are

testing

positive

for the corona virus as states struggle to contain the deadly outbreak in New York, the

number

of Confirmed cases statewide are doubling every three days, tens of thousands are sick, we are not slowing it down and it is accelerating on its own.

We are now seeing a bullet train because the numbers are rising very quickly and infections are spreading rapidly, partly due to high density and common use. surfaces the governor says he needs ventilators for new makeshift hospitals like the Javits Convention Center in neighboring New Jersey a ventilator keeps Jack Allard alive Jack's parents, Jenny and Andy, say the recent college graduate fell ill ago ten days and is now in critical condition the young athlete is fighting to reach his 26th birthday next week nationwide in Los Angeles County 80% of

coronavirus

cases are adults ages 18 to 65 and today the city reported the first death in a patient under the age of 18 but those most in danger of becoming critical I will remain the old word this afternoon Legendary 81-year-old playwright Terrance McNally died today from complications of the virus.

The president said he wants Americans to get back to work and businesses open next month. I would love to see the country open up and just looking forward to Easter with the virus spreading rapidly, many governors are threatening fines and even jail time for ignoring orders to stay away from crowds, but there is no mandate national and some leaders are choosing to remain open for business. Many governors today across the country have put in place shelter in place I will NOT go there, plus Rhode Island states like Florida and Texas do not have state regulations to keep residents at home, which leading some to worry that they could become the next epicenter of the virus.

Our Sam Brock is in Houston all the time. Texas' largest cities, including this one where stay-at-home orders have been issued, but not in rural areas, where some residents tell me not enough is being done to keep them safe as the global crisis also continues to unfold. A symbol of global unity that the Olympic Games now have. officially postponed in Tokyo swimmer Katie Ledecky was favorite for the gold medal, we know this is the right decision and we may have a little time to take a step back tonight, a global crisis hits home as fear and uncertainty spread across our country in In a White House briefing that just concluded there is growing concern about New Yorkers who have left that area and perhaps gone to other states.

We're told that 60% of the country's

coronavirus

cases come from the New York area. Anyone who has left that area must self-isolate for 14 days comes as case numbers explode in states like here in California Lester yes, a very telling warning Miguel, thanks now to the battle within the battle which is about how we protect who are trying to help us, but some hospitals tonight are still rationing personal equipment, protective equipment and asking for more from their states, from the federal government, even from corporations, here's Tom Costello, ers and I see you tonight, a battle campaign to keep patients alive, but doctors and nurses are still running out of protective masks and face shields. and gowns at Leominster Hospital in Massachusetts, doctors use paper bags to store and reuse their masks as they move from patient to patient, we'll be at the bedside no matter what you know, so don't think about your type. supplies or rationing if you need to be at the bedside, you will be at the bedside, some healthcare workers are already sick, like the San Diego nurse, Meghan uses nostalgia and waits for test results, she is afraid of infecting to others, we feel sick, we are trying. to do the tests and either we are not going to do them or the tests are taking five six seven days to return, experts continue to warn that hospitals could eventually need hundreds of thousands of additional ventilators, the governor of New York lashed out at the White House in frustration , where are the fans, where are the robes, where is the pee?

Where are the masks, where are they, but the vice president insists that help will arrive today? 2,000 2,000 ventilators were sent directly to New York New York is truly the epicenter of the corona virus now in our country 2,000 more will arrive tomorrow Governor Cuomo says he has bought us all the protective equipment he can around the world, but probably just enough for a few weeks, meanwhile companies large and small are stepping in. Ford says he will produce 100,000 face shields with which he is working on 3 million to increase production of respiratory masks and with GE expand production of a simplified ventilator.

GM and Tesla also promise to make ventilators, although experts warn that it is a complicated process that takes time. In upstate New York, a small creative studio is also using their 3D printers to convert We are putting up face shields for hospital staff, we can hear the urgency in their voice, we feel that urgency, we are working as quickly as possible to put everything possible in their hands while the pandemic is affecting lives beyond the ICU that Emily and Billy Shearer await. a girl any day, but her hospital, like many, and the hot zones of the pandemic do not allow spouses to enter the delivery room.

I'm nervous about what happens when something goes wrong. I am saddened by the thought that he simply won't be able to be there at the birth of our second daughter. Also tonight the FDA approved a self-administered kit for people to use at a

testing

site by swabs from their own nose instead of sending that sample for laboratory analysis of Cova 19, although it may take some time to implement. Lester, it's okay, Tom Costello, thank you. you with a Senate close to a deal on that huge relief package that includes checks for Americans stocks soared today Peter Alexander now with more information on President Trump's goal of reopening the US for business despite guidance from many health officials President Trump tonight explains why he hopes to have the United States.

In the words he opened up about Easter, just 19 days away, Easter is a very special day for me and I see that it is that timeline that I am thinking about. I believe that on Easter Sunday there will be full churches throughout our country. I think it would be a beautiful moment, but the proposed timeline runs counter to what his top health advisor told NBC News just a few days ago about how long the pandemic will last. I don't see it suddenly ending next week or two weeks. I don't think there's any chance of the president arguing that the White House's social distancing guidelines could be relaxed to allow Americans to get back to work, we can socially distance and go to work and we have to work a little harder and the economy I can't wait, you can destroy a country this way by shutting it down and you are going to lose more people by putting a country into a massive recession or depression, you are going to lose people, thousands of people will commit suicide, top Democrats warn. that the president not loosen restrictions too soon what the president is suggesting is actually a recipe for more uncertainty, more inspections and more damage to the economy, whatever the president decides, Americans are still subject to restrictions established by governors and mayors, including shelter, lodging and school orders. closures everything is close to the Senate as a deal for that two trillion dollar emergency aid package.

The bill is expected to greenlight checks for most Americans about $1,200 per person $3,400 for a family of four and four months' pay for workers who were furloughed as per that late-Easter schedule. That night, the doctor was absent, she weighed in by saying that she had spoken with a president and that that date is very flexible, that they would first need to evaluate its viability. Lester, it's okay, Peter Alexander, thank you and for now, the pain is only getting worse. for American businesses and their workers as job losses mount, here's Jolene Kent tonight Across the country, businesses large and small are losing jobs as the impact of the coronavirus deepens.

Major airlines are facing the prospect of cutting even more domestic flights as many take off from nearly empty Florida. It now requires that anyone flying from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Airlines are worried that other states could follow Florida's lead in scenic Hudson. Wisconsin stores are closing their doors to comply with the governor's new safer-at-home order. will go into effect tomorrow morning, art gallery owner Ruth Mizenko has run her store for almost 20 years. Yes, we can last, but I don't know how long. Across the country, restaurant reservations have plummeted to near zero as millions stay put.

Honestly, it's been really frustrating. Andrew Volk was forced to close the Portland Hunt and Alpine Club restaurant he owns, and his wife laid off all but one of the employees. There is frustration at not having control over something we have worked very hard to build and there is sadness for our staff at not being able to do it. give them answers, all this pain from coast to coast is piling up. Jobless claims are rising, crashing some state unemployment websites, and the unemployment rate is expected to hit nine percent by the end of the year. On Thursday we will find out how many people have filed for unemployment claims and that number is expected to be in the millions Meanwhile, companies say that even after this pandemic is over they expect it will take at least six months to get Lester back or this virus hitting us in so many ways, okay, Joleen Kent, thank you. you you