[Music] well thank you foregoing a facemask vice president pence turning heads after touring the famed Mayo Clinic apparently defying hospital policy by refusing to cover his face his defense he doesn't need to wear a mask because he receives regular testing since I don't have the corona virus I thought it'd be a good opportunity for me to be here Americans lining up for tests waiting for hours at walk-in medical centers that now offer antibody testing as we now surpassed more than a million confirmed cases in the u.
s.
refusing to reopen some state leaders are allowing non-essential businesses to get back to business others are sacrificing profits for safety I talked to one restaurant owner from Atlanta who was part of a movement going against Georgia's governor security warning as America works and plays online someone's spying on your Zune calls what pandemic we're getting a look at parts of the country that have not felt the full impact of the corona virus our Matt Gutman takes us on a trip across some roads less traveled and never mind Field of Dreams tonight we're talking about a field of hope good evening everyone and thanks so much for streaming with us I'm Lindsay Davis they say timing is everything and that is certainly true at this moment while we are united in our eagerness for this pandemic to pass we were divided by the win of it all and there are multiple timelines now emerging so many are calling for a return to normalcy but the CDC with a warning today the deaths are likely to continue to rise quickly without proper social distancing we're seeing scenes like this South Side North Carolina's General Assembly protesters calling for the rollback of safety regulations while workers in scrubs and masks they stand in silence against them and in Arkansas the line of cars for a drive up food bank backed all the way up to the highway the event was scheduled to last for four hours but ran out of food after just the first hour but we begin tonight with our Tom yamas on the surging testing capabilities and how that could be key to reopening today as the number of American coronavirus cases tops 1 million the staff at one of New York's hardest hit hospitals gathering outside for a moment of unity soaring overhead the air force thunderbirds and the Navy's Blue Angels saluting the essential workers who have sacrificed so much in New York today for the first time in more than a month the number of new hospitalizations dipping below a thousand down 70 percent since the peak several weeks ago the governor now examining ways to reopen the state at the epicenter of this crisis we want to reopen but we want to do it without infecting more people or the hospital system public health experts say the key to that is testing today in Manhattan a two-hour wait outside this urgent care center offering tests for coronavirus and antibodies this long line is proof that testing remains an issue in places like New York and it's not just at the single location we're seeing and hearing about lines all over the city the lack of testing a problem throughout this pandemic Mia Runyon says her mr.
Rana Zoe a New York City school teacher was turned down twice before she finally got a test it was positive Rana Zoe fought the virus in the hospital for a month Monday she lost her battle now in Philadelphia an effort to expand testing in underserved african-american communities 200 cars of people packing this church parking lot some came on foot sitting in chairs 6 feet apart perfect dr.
Stanford explaining to her team why increased testing is so important to stopping the spread of Koba 19 in the community of iners across the country begging the Trump administration to help them expand testing feeling the pressure the president announced he's ramping up federal efforts if we want to get our country open and the testing is not going to be a problem at all the administration says they want to make sure states are able to test at least 2 percent of the population some experts say that's not nearly enough Vice President Mike Pence today traveling to meet with doctors at the Mayo Clinic he didn't wear a mask even though the clinic says they informed his staff that was the policy tonight parts of the country continue to reopen Georgia setting the pace with restaurants now welcoming customers to sit down and have a meal Beauty Salons open for business it all makes tarika parks shake her head the mother of two survived coronavirus and thinks it's way too soon for Georgia to reopen it's impossible to practice social distancing and in our shop Alabama work ovid cases are rising is it moving to reopen as quickly but things are moving today governor kiv announcing many businesses can open at the end of the week at a reduced capacity restaurants still take out for now in California where the battle is still hard-fought governor Gavin Newsom says the state will eventually reopen slowly in phases we believe we are weeks not months away from making meaningful modifications for the country and for patience the road to recovery is long and tonight we're hoping for more endings like this in Detroit dr.
Scott Katz who treated some of the hospital's first Kovac patients finally heading home himself and Tom Yama's joins us now Tommy it's clear and has been just how important accurate testing is and in this effort to reopen up the country we heard from dr.
Falchi today about the availability of testing and when everyone might really have access to it what's he saying you know dr.
Feld she acknowledged that the system is not perfect right now but he says we will get there he says he's being told by the end of May early June anyone who needs a test can get a test he says at least that's what he's being told but Lindsay you can see here just behind me we've been here all day people have been waiting for up to two hours to get either an antibody test or a coronavirus test so people want to get tested right now and that's part of the frustration right now it's also part of the reason why it's taken so long for states to reopen and for businesses to get going as well they want to make sure people are healthy before they open their doors all right he's saying end of May early June okay Tom yamas thanks so much since we've all been so limited in our movements it's rather easy to forget just how different this pandemic looks in different parts of the country while we've seen many cities overtaken by the fight against the corona virus hunkering down and staying in there are some parts of the country where the effects of the crisis haven't even been felt our Matt Gutman visited some of these communities while on a road trip home and filed this report whipped by the wind the Welcome booth at this Badlands campground may seem like the loneliest place on the planet okay so you need it for two nights except cedar past campground caretaker go5 Eola stationed in her booth along with that jug of hand sanitizer has company coming it's not available on Saturday night no geo drove out here from Massachusetts now she's been planning to flee an accounting job anyway then came Kovac being out here I'm not as I don't see it as much as if I was back in Massachusetts or in a bigger city so I'm not as exposed to it I get it I it becomes real to me when I go to the food center to restock my supplies we're the only left one person in at a time that's because locals here are desperate to keep the virus out so this is a county with zero cases Jackson County has no cases we've never had a case we try to maintain that case because once we get a case it could mean the closure of all of us we are the confession of national and they have been busy so-called kovat refugees coming from all over this man had just pulled up from Baltimore you stop seeing the masks we stop seeing Nast and as we got further west into Minnesota up until then we were seeing them pretty consistently by the time we got within a hundred miles of the Minnesota South Dakota border we didn't even have X's on the floors and most of the convenience stores and gas stations and stuff my producer Robert Cepeda and I spent the past week driving from Minneapolis back to Los Angeles visiting parts of the country that have had few or no kovat cases places where almost no one wears a mask where people still try to shake your hand and go to indoor water parks like this one in Rapid City South Dakota and where people still have places to go encountering a surprising amount of traffic in Denver where there are over 2, 500 cases and they're zipping across South Dakota's grasslands we found cedar pass and Gio the accountant turned campground caretaker who has been diligently spacing out her campers they're just on the road trying to isolated we saw spacious RVs and college kids pitching tents were you cooped up in Minnesota's there like I stay a shelter at home order we then headed west from the Badlands casas of clay and rock to Mount Rushmore there we found the coral family from Iowa who had the president's mostly to themselves it's open I don't feel bad about using it yeah westward the Black Hills giving way to wide open plains Karen Thursday Wyoming South Dakota and Wyoming are two of just eight states without statewide shelter at home worms we stopped in tiny Hartville Wyoming which says it's the oldest incorporated town in the state a place everyone knows each other Tasha runs the post office here which still has those brass Pio boxes if you're sick stay home other than that open everything back up these small businesses are struggling I think it's time yeah so in America one size doesn't fit all no small people are completely different than LA or New York or Vegas ease across the street the owners of the miners in Stockman's steakhouse Scott and Christine felt the same way from there to the county seat Wheatland Wyoming flat County here's the kind of place where people still reach out to shake your hand it's got a population of nine thousand zero kovat positive cases that's one reason the ems director told us he's got to treat everybody from the outside like us like they have the plague when he talked to folks here they say they have been social distancing all their lives because places like this are so rural that EMS chief his name is terry stephenson state like kappa playing out here he says people rely on their common sense would you say the town is open closed I mean how how would you describe Wheatland right now we have been impacted I would say that most people would describe it as a partial closure the governor did not give a stay-at-home order his explanation was when it's raining nobody should have to tell you to put on a raincoat so we've got a disease going around nobody should tell you but eventually he knows kovat will come here to down the street dan Brecht owns the wandering Hermit bookshop we've done pretty well you know people who don't have anything to do read books or they want to get a jigsaw puzzle or they get a board game but practical reason about the rest of the town Ned rash is the CEO of the Platte County Memorial Hospital one of the friendly folks who innocently reached out to shake my hand when we first met just a few minutes ago the your inclination was he says he's been locked and loaded for weeks but no kovat patients yet not hard their caregivers they want to provide care they want to touch the patient they want to care for the patient and so on the one hand I think there's this there's this you know anxiousness as you as you said to provide care for the patient but on the other hand I think there's a lot of gratitude rural hospitals across the country bracing for the same the earlier they are in the kovat outbreak the longer they must forego revenue-generating treatments and the more likely they are to face financial collapse one of the good things is were part of a larger system Banner healthcare and so we're able to draw on support for Banner Health and not only just for the financial side of things but also lessons learned around covin back at this cedar past campground we continue our walk about with geo hazel hazel hadn't hitched her trailer and set out a few weeks ago trying to stay in sort of kovat light States yes actually there yeah that's what I did I looked at who was lighter blue and and it was South Dakota Montana and why almost everyone we spoke to believe that kovat would come even here to the wind beaten Badlands and that no one would seed normal anytime soon because we've never experienced anything like this before and a lot of people will be suffering from that PTSD that okay should I go out take once to take one step out and risk that I don't think I think it's gonna be a slow going trying to get everything going back to normal what the new normal is our thanks to Matt for that piece and for more on what this ramped up testing is telling us and what we can do with this information we're joined now by dr.
Todd Ellering director of infectious diseases at South Shore health in Massachusetts and an ABC News contributor thanks so much for joining us hi Lindy I think we have them on the phone okay well as we reported the administration wants to help States test at least 2% of their populations for the virus what would that accomplish and is that adequate just 2% well again when we talk about testing we have to ask ourselves are we talking about testing directly for the virus with the squad are we talking about antibody testing they tell us three different things the swabs tell us who has active in Factor the antibody tests tell us who has a history of infection so testing is important but depending on the site it gives you different information but it's 2% enough I mean I think that that's a tough question I think the key is not necessarily the exact number but making sure we're testing the right people the most vulnerable populations those things need to be tested aggressively and the parts of the country that are seeing clusters so I don't want to say the hot don't because then we've waited too long we want to surround ourselves with testing aggressively both symptomatic and asymptomatic a symptomatic individuals in those places where we're seeing a spike in the number of cases all right just one more question for you with more people also getting antibody testing at this point do you think that we could ever move to a system of so-called passport immunity allowing those who have tested positive to return to work in public life Lindsay it's a great theory but I don't think that's ready for primetime why because most of the country will test negative the prevalence although we don't know exactly we've even seen in New York City the city that has the greatest number of cases in the world that even in that city that's the ultimate hot zone most patients test negative only 20% and that's on the high end so I think unfortunately most of us will not be able to hold that passport right now and show positive justice ok thank you for that information we appreciate it and now to cities in America that are coming back to life after lockdown it can certainly be complicated Georgia's governor was one of the first to let some of his state's businesses reopen while many are thrilled to be back in business others are worried that the move was too soon for a state that still has more than 24, 000 coronavirus cases Fred Castelluccio owns seven Atlanta restaurants and is with us now to tell us more about why he thinks that it's premature to fully reopen Fred thanks so much for joining us so hopefully we have your signal I couldn't hear you're just there but I want to start off by asking you're one of more than 50 restaurant owners in Atlanta who took out a full-page ad in the Atlanta journal-constitution today asserting that you will not yet reopen your dine in businesses why make that move I just want to make sure we hear you now yeah so the decision was just one that we believe there's strength in numbers here you know we're working hard to serve the community we believe that you know through our takeout and delivery options that's the best way the safest way that we can save that serve the community at this moment and really it's about the safety of our staff and our guests and really the community at large and we feel as though it's just a premature at the moment to open our dining rooms and and you know have another element that we can't control okay so again you're saying that the governor's decision was was to reopen was premature what would have been a better plan and what will it take for you to feel comfortable opening your dining rooms once again it's just there's no good decisions here you know we're all faced with very very difficult decisions as individual business owners when to open and I know that the governor had a lot of elements that you know he went into that decision to reopen the businesses here in Georgia and I know that was challenging and it's challenging for us as individual business owners and so you know I think as we look forward what what's going to be the the best thing moving forward for us it's just you know when we see cases drop to a low enough number that you know the risk is less and you're still operating takeout services at some of your restaurants you have never had to offer takeout only before but is that enough to sustain your business and are you worried about the future of your restaurants and the people that you employ Fred I think we've lost them the difficulties of relying solely on technology in these days of Kovan 19 the pandemic has of course been stressful for so many of us these past three weeks for the Majan being unable to see or hear on top of it that's the reality for tens of thousands of deaf and blind Americans when we come back the personal stories of how they're coping during these difficult times Plus from the hill to the frontlines one congressman explains why he's volunteering to treat Kovac 19 patients in his home state and what that experience is teaching him about this pandemic and an urgent warning from homeland security how video calls could be at risk from spying foreign governments but first here are some of the trending headlines on ABC News calm [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the most powerful stories of our time an entire Nightline your mom said comb your hair your dad told you smart not your dog is judging you right now and your best friend just called you crazy we all need someone go pull no punches and give it to us straight now imagine getting your news like that no bull no spin just give it to me straight straightforward news straight to the heart of the story ABC news straight forward [Music] [Music] matrix [Music] good morning sunshine morning sunshine [Music] right now how do you make sense of it all now afternoons on ABC one place with a good information you need we are all in this together and we're going to get through this together pandemic what you need to know afternoons at 1:00 Eastern 12:00 Central and Pacific on ABC [Music] what you're hearing and seeing is the military's Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fly over in New York City roaring past all five boroughs and some other American cities today in honor of those health care workers on the front lines of the Cova 19 crisis and take a look at this people in New York forgetting just for a moment those social distancing rules as they try to get a glimpse of those Jets and you may not have heard of it just a few months ago but with the nation now on lockdown and millions working from home the video service zoom has become go to for many looking to connect with friends family and co-workers but there's now a new warning from homeland security officials on whether zoom could be vulnerable to spying ABC News chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas has those details it's the video meeting app increasingly popular in the era of social distancing but today the Department of Homeland Security is deeply concerned the zoom users may be vulnerable to spying by foreign governments zoom now seeing 300 million daily meeting participants could be used to eavesdrop on citizens and be an opportunity for espionage according to that new homeland security bulletin it flatly states any organization currently using or considering using zoom should evaluate the risk of it fuse fossil intelligence services may use this as an opportunity to collect information that they normally would not have access to a particular concern according to the intelligence analysis China the country where some of zooms development is done the document warning China's access to zoom service makes Beijing uniquely positioned to target US public and private sector users many people are working from home and having discussions they normally would have at work remotely so if you choose to use those type of systems out of convenience then you're making yourself vulnerable to these type of espionage the alert comes less than a month after the FBI warned that hackers were able to interrupt calls with obscene or disruptive messages so called zoom bombing like this one that disrupted a town board meeting earlier this month black since then zoom has increased security including adding password protection to calls the zoom spokesperson telling ABC News the company disagrees with the intelligence analysis calling it heavily misinformed adding that workers in China lacked the power or access to make substantive changes to our platforms or the means to access any meeting content at Pierre Thomas joins us now Pierre what else is oom saying in response to this Homeland Security Bulletin well they're saying that they have layers of security and that they're constantly updating to deal with privacy challenges and they say any zoom meetings that take place outside of China are not routed through servers they're here Thomas for us tonight thank you so much coming up next president Trump says he will order meat processing plants to stay open during this outbreak but with thousands of kovat 19 cases coming from these types of places does that put workers at risk plus a new warning from the american academy of pediatrics why even in a lockdown you should still keep your latest check up [Music] you in times like these the news making events happen here ABC News is it a trump meeting face-to-face with one of the world's most brutal dictators kim jong the president to trust him I do trust him yeah I think he trusts me and I trust him Ivanka Trump I have to ask you about your emails your father had taken Hillary Clinton to task for this there just is no equivalent seems her the idea of lock her up doesn't apply to you you know Comey how strange is it for you to sit here and compare the president to a mob boss very strange Michelle Obama what do you wish you could tell your pre White House self who Melania Trump do you think there's still people there that you can't trust yes still working out yes Michael Cohen so he's still alive yes it's a big statement and now in a year with so much on the line we're right there good evening tonight from Washington a very busy news night America's number one news source ABC news straight forward we all need someone who pull no punches and give it to us straight no bull no spin now imagine getting your news like that just give it to me straight ABC news straight forward you tell us your full name for the record Jeffrey Edward Epstein every girl that meets Jeffrey starts off with you know a massage he's like I'll pay you $200 every girl that he brings me Walsh was underage he told me how did he get so rich how did he get away with it for so long and what do the women who survived his crimes and they'll have to say wise Jeffrey Epstein listen free now on Apple podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts what's the most innovative Daily News podcast out there to listen to every day well the Edward Armour Awards say its start here The Daily News podcast from ABC News even the New York Times calls us a top news podcast worth listening to start here free on Apple podcast welcome back now to a new warning on a potential impact of Coppa 19 on children let's take a look by the numbers the American Academy of Pediatrics represents 67, 000 pediatricians across the country and it's sounding the alarm to remind parents that annual visits should not stop because of kovat 19 the organization says that as many as 80 percent of the children the US are not seeing their pediatricians during the pandemic and that could mean that children are missing key vaccines one health records company found a 50% drop in childhood vaccines given for diseases like measles and mumps and the oort New York Times reports a 73 percent drop in HPV vaccines and according to Global Health Organization's this issue could be worldwide more than 100 million children could be at risk of contracting measles after some two dozen low and middle-income countries have now suspended national immunization programs and when we come back the incredible struggles facing deaf and blind Americans during this pandemic how they're surviving and even pitching in to help their communities Plus unfortunately for this little guy it appears that pets are not immune to kovat 19 but before you worry too much his story does indeed have a happy ending and our tweet of the day an unfortunate incident for our colleague will reave this morning on GMA Oh we know coronavirus has affected so many of you America has changed for now there's no question about that people are finding a way to come together what else should people know about how to care for their families through this if you feel it's not too late to flatten the curve it's not too late when do we expect to have a vaccine adored we are all negative you ally in the kids how are you feeling I feel fine Robin she wanted to share this message you know I'm feverish if I'm on national television with no makeup Aly is now on the Robert's family prayer chain we are so grateful that we get to do this from home I'm gonna take the camera and turn it around great to see so many Americans stepping up all in this together the world coming together as one we're gonna get through this together right here with you on Good Morning America we know coronavirus has affected so many of you America has changed for now there's no question about that people are finding a way to come together what else should people know about how to care for their families through this if you feel it's not too late to flatten the curve it's not too late when do we expect to have a vaccine adored we are all bigoted of you ally in the kids how are you feeling I feel fine Robin she wanted to share this message you know I'm feverish if I'm on national television with no makeup on Ali is now on the Robert's family prayer chain [Music] we are so grateful that we get to do this from home I'm gonna take the camera and turn it around you do know you're sideways right great to see so many Americans stepping up all in this together the world coming together as one we're gonna get through this together right here with you on Good Morning America [Music] with States clamoring for more aggressive testing as they push to reopen the White House unveiling a blueprint they say will get States the resources they need now that we've expanded testing dramatically and CDC has altered the criteria for testing I think you'll see as governors have unlocked more and more potential in their laboratories Florida governor Ron de Santos an ardent supporter of the president assured Trump in the Oval Office today but we still right now are able to meet the current demand they have more testing than you have demand right now yeah it's a fantastic thing but the responsibility for testing still falls on the states and critics say the Trump administration's plan doesn't provide solutions as to how to administer the high volume of tests they need and not every state has passed its apex it's been a trickle of patience what a volume has not been high over the past few days today the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels honoring their work with formation flights over New York New Jersey and Philadelphia household staples have been flying off the store shelf since the corona virus outbreak hit the u.
s.
nearly two months ago however expects some luck this week with toilet paper and paper towels manufacturers in the US have been amping a production but the virus also continues to disrupt the country's food supply as farmers say they have been forced to discard excess produce and milk and livestock one of the country's largest meat providers Tyson Foods says the food supply chain in America is breaking and predicting limited supply and higher prices for their product Koba 19 has forced 13 of the country's largest meat plans to close really thrilled to have my friend the former senator and former Secretary of State and the woman who should be President I states right now Hillary Clinton Joe Biden getting the endorsement of Hillary Clinton today during his online virtual town hall I am thrilled to be part of your campaign to not only endorse you but to how highlight a lot of the issues that are at stake in this presidential election possible tornadoes giant hail and damaging winds from Texas all the way up to Illinois a tornado watch across several states before this entire system then moves east today President Trump said that he will use the defense production act to order meat processing plants to stay open classifying them as critical infrastructure the government also says it will provide extra protective gear for employees along with new safety guidance this comes as the White House said it fears as much as 80 percent of US meat production could shut down because of the pandemic for more on this let's bring in ABC's terry moran terry extra safety gear is great of course but after more than 6, 000 people working at these places either got sick or had to go into isolation is this really safe Lindsay we are about to find out meat processing plants as we have found out cross the country are hotspots by their nature because workers are so crammed in for efficiency purposes and for cleanliness purposes but they are right next to each other and it is one of America's major industry so we are seeing a showdown between the giant companies which provide the meat and the food for America is inexhaustible appetite for meat and the workers and activists who fear that they are at risk as you say thousands have fallen ill with kovat and this is something going forward that they are very concerned about the president brought the hammer down using the defense production act to force these plants to stay open because as the head of Tyson said over the weekend the American food supply chain is breaking so it is an urgent problem that the president is addressing with a very dramatic solution and the president also said he wanted to address liability problems what does he mean by that exactly you know it's unclear Lindsey liability means lawsuits and there is we have asked the White House they aren't quite clear with us on what they mean but it is in what what the companies seem to be looking for is protection from liability for workers who fall sick or die from kovat because they have been forced to work in a plant which has become a hot spot of the corona virus pandemic that is how extreme things are though the president is using it looks like the force of law which will protect the giant companies that provide America's meat supply with liability protections from its workers who will be forced to go to work one of the things that this entire pandemic is teaching us is how fragile our supply chains are and how concentrated they are in the hands of a few great big businesses that's what this is big business on one side which provides this essential American staple of our diets meats and on the other hand the workers and activists and the unions who are essentially facing them down over the issue of life and death and and also the president has been hesitant to use the defense production act in other areas so why use it now you know I think a couple of things first I think those liability protections are brought in under the defense production Act that is a very strong law and this is a very dramatic gesture for the President to do but I think also because the president was told that we are not far away from the unthinkable in America food shortages I've been in countries where there been food shortages it's demoralizing it's frightening to the public and in a country as bounteous as America is where plenty is food on our tables is part of our national identity to confront the prospect that the food supply chain is breaking that's devastating to the president's claims that we are ready to go back to work that every is under control it would be devastating to him politically and psychologically damaging to the morale of the American public I think that was one of the big drivers here for him to act as dramatically as he has here although at the end of the day while the companies are getting protections for liability the protection for the workers is only going to be issued it looks like in guidelines basically suggestions from the government to separate the workers to provide them with protective gear 65 year old workers and older you know might want to be able to stay home there'll be no teeth it looks like in enforcement of safety procedures for the workers who must now go to work in these plants which have become some of the biggest hotspots in America Lindsay right so it sounds like the businesses would then be policing themselves Terry Moran thank you so much for that the pressing need for food is being felt by so many Americans across this country with many food banks seeing endless lines in recent weeks and with the baseball season on hold today the home of the Chicago Cubs was transformed into an unlikely food pantry with volunteers at Wrigley Field handing out groceries to those struggling to make ends meet ABC's Alex Perez was there hey Lindsay because of the pandemic the need for food for a lot of people is only growing Wrigley Field us we know baseball is on pause but take a look behind me here this concourse is a very busy right now filled with volunteers who are filling up these boxes for food for people who need them lots of people to feed their families I never thought I see a day that it would be this this strenuous you know just trying to stay afloat everyday necessities such as food you know it's rough it's like new to me cuz I didn't like like I never did this and yeah it's a lot different like do I really need this or there's some people you know no income we don't don't you know working in a bar where we can't be night tonight so it's it's you know was unexpected are you worried about the months to come you said you might not work until August first 30 40 bucks whatever they have for us you know it all helps out if you work concessions right here at Wrigley and there's going to be coming to work you're coming to pick up some food yes difficult thing no it's not it's keeping me hopeful so like I say I'm coming up here for foods a day hopefully I'll be coming back to work Sloane volunteers who spend hours of filling the boxes for people who need the food in it they'll find about two weeks worth of food there's produce there's meat there's eggs even milk we are to making sure that we can get people who need it most we don't know when this is gonna I don't think anyone has a crystal walling to tell us right so we're actively recruiting donors and volunteers and food donors to make sure that we can continue to meet the increased need that we're safe so the boxes of food that people walk away with here are filled with about two weeks Lyndsay 300% are thanks to you Alex and when we return now to the critical questions of when and how the country should reopen and how we're doing on testing joining us now is dr.
Roger Marshall US congressman from Kansas and also a physician thanks so much for joining us Lindsay glad to be on appreciate you covering the t issue so you are a member of the House but you've also been volunteering to treat Kovac 19 patients and administer testing what have you witnessed on the frontlines of this crisis well you know first of all just the the great work that doctors and nurses are doing communities coming together so President Trump is giving us all the tools that we need to be to be doing this testing down in southwest Kansas where 20% of the beef for America is processed so this has just been a great community effort I'm so proud of what we're doing here we're on an uptick on the virus but but we're figuring it out and your state Kansas has plans to lift stay-at-home restrictions on Monday are you concerned about the virus spreading once this happens you know as a doctor I'm always concerned and certainly in southwest Kansas it's a different story than the eastern third of the state wichita the biggest popular population in the state I think had one new case yesterday so I think Wichita is ready to go there's a lot of rural communities that are ready to go we have to stay focus on a responsible safe way to do it and it's going to be the responsibility of every community to keep practicing those those simple social skills like washing your hands staying home if you're sick avoiding crowds those types of things so so we're figuring out one county at a time you talk about those counties in terms of being ready to go what exactly is Kansas done to prepare to reopen and are you confident that it's enough yeah I think first of all we vet we do have an ample amount of testing I was able to call a private company just last week and ask them for six thousand tests to come down here to help us out with the packing plant issue and overnight they're able to ship six thousand tests so in the meantime over the past two weeks I've been visiting with businesses across the state getting geared up to come up with a plan now not every business is ready to open up but I think like for instance health care we need to open up some of the outpatient surgery Lindsay what I'm concerned about today as a physician is the mental health of people if we don't get this economy opened up in a safe healthy fashion in a responsible fashion we're gonna have more people die from suicide and health conditions related to poverty than we do from the virus so we have to figure out a way to do both well I think that you have an interesting perspective and that you have one foot kind of in the potato political world and then another foot in the medical world President Trump says that his administration has done a good job on testing would you agree with that and also how important do you think that testing is to determining when states are ready to reopen he's just done a good job he's done an incredible job what people don't realize is way back in early February when the president realized the CDC was having a little hiccup he reached out to private enterprise if he hadn't done that back in February I don't think there's any way I could have asked for six thousand tests last weeks that had them shipped here overnight so I think the president intuitively has stayed ahead of the game we have all the resources we knew right need right here in southwest Kansas to keep these critically necessary food processing plants open so I think he's done an incredible job and so you don't think that there's ever been a testing shortage in your area oh absolutely and in the beginning there was but it certainly wasn't on the president's back the CDC messed up to begin with but but incredibly it's been ramped up at just a phenomenal fashion the beginning he's been saying from the beginning oh they're enough test they're beautiful they're perfect but you're saying that there were not enough tests at that time right not saying we're not poor I'm saying blame meaning there was challenges everybody that needed a test got a test but today is this different situation we're trying to open up businesses when we're trying to keep a critical infrastructure plant like a like a packing plant open then we have to reach that a little bit deeper and we need more testing now than we did two months ago curious also to get your take on you know the debate right now about whether the federal government should provide economic aid to hard-hit States Mitch McConnell has suggested that struggling States should declare bankruptcy where do you stand on this well I think a little common sense goes a long ways I'm the physician like you said I want to see where this the three trillion dollars we rolled out were that all lands that no matter what legislation we write in Washington nothing works until we get this economy safely and responsibly going again so let's see we are a month from now III don't certainly I don't think the federal government should bail out states that have made some irresponsible decisions over the past decades so let's stay focused on getting this Crona virus under control stay focused on getting businesses open in a safe responsible fashion and let's revisit this in two weeks or a month congressman thank you so much for your time we appreciate it yeah thank you so much god bless you this pandemic with its months of quarantine and economic turmoil has certainly been stressful to say the least for many of us but imagine being unable to see or hear throughout this difficult time with tens of thousands of deaf and blind Americans are coming to terms with a new normal during kovat 19:1 that's challenging their ability not only to survive but thrive here's ABC's Devin Dwyer for most of us sights and sounds of the covert emergency have been inescapable the number of cases of coronavirus spiking here in the US this is a terrible experience but for some Americans the scope of this outbreak has been uniquely difficult to face my name is Philip Whismur I am deafblind Philip Whismur a student at Gallaudet University in Washington DC is one of an estimated 40, 000 Americans facing kovat 19 while unable to clearly see or hear I have not gone off campus since March 18th I only come out of my dorm to get food get the mail and that's about it it sounds lonely yeah it is sometimes I do feel lonely my other friends that are completely blind feeling very very isolated deafblind Americans survived by touch hand over hand to communicate fingers on Braille signs for mobility hugs and handshakes to feel connected experts say deafblindness is a spectrum not everyone experiences complete darkness and total silence but touch is critical and now comes with significant health risks everything revised won't touch and now we're not allowed to touch the requirement to stay six feet away from other people is actually not safe for me as a blind person I need to touch my guide and many guides are fearful of being touched and touching back being home alone is a very big issue that we're faced with today we're talking about all the things that could happen additional suicides in Surrey certain things like that 28 year old Tyler Samuel of Nashville Tennessee says she's fighting that loneliness relying on her partner for help with daily tasks a genetic condition since birth has degraded her hearing and sight remind you've just really worried that I wouldn't find that independence and when you do find it you don't want to lose it and so for it to be kind of chipped away is it kind of lowers your self-esteem Samuel still walks to work every day by herself this is mine now kind of empty walk home a pediatric surgery coordinator at Vanderbilt University Hospital she's a freelance opera singer with dreams of going big but the pandemic has prompted some soul-searching I lost a friend go to bed and she was very young and thirty early thirties and it kind of prompted me to go ahead and get my master active on my will together and something that I wouldn't like my wishes to me now a trip to the hospital is what many deafblind Americans told ABC News they fear most there's an assumption in a lot of medical communities that it's better to be dead than disabled haben Girma is a leading advocate for the community I would be deeply terrified I would not get communication access that I would not get the care I needed if I were to get the virus and go to the hospital she says it's a fight for equality the daughter of an Eritrean refugee Girma is the first deafblind woman to graduate from Harvard Law School in 2015 President Obama recognized her as a champion of change today you're actually feeling my questions with your fingers with her special Braille keyboard and guide dog Milo by her side Girma in an informal network of deafblind advocates are determined not to be forgotten it's certainly not with deafblindness I think makes people very you know uncomfortable generally Rebecca Alexander of New York City wants the world to know that deafblind professionals can pitch in too she's volunteering her services as a counselor to hospital workers on the frontlines just knowing that even someone like me who the community I think at large if they knew how limited my vision my hearing was they might not consider me as someone they would reach out to for help and it does feel good to be able to provide that Ashley Benton who coordinates services for the deafblind in North Carolina says police and rural areas are checking on residents who don't have technology to communicate they contacted us which was beautiful and so we were able to work with the officers who have the appropriate PPE to go in and check on this one consumer to make sure that they were safe it's so important because we're all going together near Seattle deafblind sisters Nancy and Debby summer sticking together through it all a person stew stay connected and to contribute to the recovery figure out what you can do to give back and help your community the deafblind community raising its voice in its own way what are you liking to sing these days I love Queen I liked it I loved Bohemian Rhapsody and like so many dreaming of that big escape after kovat what I would like to do after this is all over with is take a vacation just thankful for what they still can touch I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that everything will be ready to open again and hoping that the koban 19 decreases for ABC News live I'm Devin Dwyer in Washington thanks so much to Devin for that it was one of the first questions that many asked when this pandemic first started Ken pets get the virus well tonight we're getting details on one of the first Kovach cases in a dog this is Winston the Pug he lives in North Carolina dr.
Heather McLean says that she and her family came down with Cova in March and recovered her entire family including Winston joined a study at Duke University his results came back positive on Friday good news MacLean says they are all doing much better the CDC recommends that you treat your pets just as you would any family member right now no interaction with people or animals outside of your house and isolate your pet from anyone who gets sick and now a look at what may be the pharmacy of the future will reave has those details this morning the flying pharmacies of the future drones delivering medication to patients wherever they are in this case the villages in Florida CVS and ups announcing a joint partnership to deliver prescriptions to the nation's largest retirement community of over 135, 000 residents the venture aims to keep the retirees in the villages of vulnerable population at home safe and socially distanced amid the corona virus pandemic while getting them their medication fast CBS executive vice president and chief operating officer John Roberts saying in a statement now more than ever it's important that our customers have access to their prescriptions this drone delivery service provides an innovative method to reach some of our customers in cooperation with the FAA the drones will start with flights of under one mile with an eye on expansion not only proud of that in helping the customers but it also is getting the goods that they need for their health back sooner thanks to will coming up are you missing interaction or living your best life in lockdown it's the same for these guys our VIP tour inside the Denver Zoo including meeting one of their newest residents plus the story behind this photo against all odds how these two ended up back together [Music] you right now how do you make sense of it all now afternoons on ABC one place with a good information you need we are all in this together and we're going to get through this together pandemic what you need to know afternoons at 1:00 Eastern 12:00 Central and Pacific on ABC in times like these and news making events happen here ABC News is sitted Trump meeting face to face with one of the world's most brutal dictators kim jong oh the president to trust him I do trust him yeah I think he trusts me and I trust him Ivanka Trump I have to ask you about your emails your father had taken Hillary Clinton to task for this there just is no equivalence hipster the idea of lock her up doesn't apply to you you know Comey how strange is it for you to sit here and compare the president to a mob boss very strange Michelle Obama what do you wish you could tell your pre White House self who Melania Trump do you think there's still people there that you can't trust against still working out yes Michael Cohen so he's still lying yes it's a big statement and now in a year with so much on the line we're right there good evening tonight from Washington a very busy news night America's number one news source ABC news straight forward Friday nights true crime cinematic stunning the unthinkable follow the clues ABC the world may feel out of your control but your happiness doesn't have to be learn the secrets to happiness listen to the 10% happier podcast free on Apple podcasts ABC News honored winner of for Edward R Murrow awards including the most prestigious on her overall excellence in television ABC News America's number one News choice ABC News America's number one news source straightforward news straight to the heart of the story ABC's straight forward welcome back everyone you are looking at a field of tulips just outside of Amsterdam the Dutch farmer is using flowers to spread a message of encouragement to health care workers you can see it there stay strong sales from the radiant bloom dubbed the stay strong tulips will go to an initiative raising money for Doctors Without Borders of course we're all handling social distancing a little bit differently and for some maybe it's a welcome break for others it's downright brutal as Clayton Sandell shows us it's no different for residents of the Denver Zoo at the Denver Zoo the flamingos are on the loose getting a little exercise on pathways that used to be crowded with people we just added more flamingos and have just been venturing further and further with the zoo close thanks to coronavirus keepers say some animals miss those crowds this is our EMU take Ralph we definitely noticed that anytime anyone walks by he's right at the front here and checking us out URI is normally shy for a tiger he's very good oh there he is actually right there but lately he's showing more of his stripes he's been a little bit more exploratory in his environment he started to try and explore this catwalk above your head the giraffes are rubbernecking more than usual we're getting a lot of stares specifically from Davi he is very people-oriented and for tundra the grizzly the zoo even smells different they can smell miles and miles away but without anybody here she doesn't have that much new stuff to smell the guest may be gone but caring for nearly 3, 000 animals he's non-stop we have a lot of essential staff from our animal care to our grounds and horticulture maintenance stuff a lot of people are doing a lot of work every day seven days a week after lions and tigers tested positive for Koba 19 at a New York zoo everyone here is on guard we're taking additional precautions with keepers that work with species that might be able to contract the virus [Music] really tired really sleep with no crowds cindy casa boone and her fellow zookeepers have started spending lunch time with some lonely orangutans so this is Irena she's probably the do history team I've ever worked with she's probably one missus people a lot she just loves play with people the public still hasn't seen two month old Rhino Juna in person but keepers say there's an upside helping her get acclimated it's a lot faster not having hundreds and hundreds of people screaming and excited and all of those things can be potential added stressors the elephant's haven't forgotten the crowds either connecting with yes but other beasts don't seem to be bothered the Kangaroos don't seem to care at all they may have noticed the difference but it doesn't really seem to be affecting their behavior very much how weird is it to see this place completely empty it's been a little strange the zoo is hoping that paying customers can come back soon Animal Care is costing about a million dollars a month but until the pandemic is over the zoo is well for the birds Clayton Sandell ABC News Denver the birds indeed and before we go tonight the image of the day we have a theme going for you tonight our animal theme that is Eric Johnson and his dog Bella she disappeared when a tornado flattened their home in Putnam County Tennessee in early March but tonight 54 days later man and bestfriend are reunited feels so good that's our show for this hour stay tuned to ABC News live for more context and analysis of the day's top stories I'm Lindsay Davis thanks so much for streaming with us and good night.
