And it's great to have you with us on this Thursday night.

And as we come on tonight, a new and grim milestone in this country.

The number of deaths has now topped 16,000.

And in New York state, more cases than any other country in the world outside the U.

S.

And we did learn today of new research indicating just when the virus might have arrived here in New York City here for weeks before the first reported cases.

We're gonna drill down on that in just a moment here.

The death toll tonight in this country now more than 16,000 people in the U.

S.

And its staggering when you really think about these numbers, more than 7000 lives lost in New York State alone.

Scientists have long pointed out that the death toll often lags behind the surge patients in the hospital, of course, for days or weeks than dying from this, you can see that death toll right there in New York steadily rising and those new highs three days in a row.

But I wanted to show you something else tonight because there is a glimmer of hope.

Look at this, also from New York State, and it shows the rate of increase of new cases in the state steadily falling in recent days.

Of course, let's hope that holds and that it will eventually be reflected in the death rate.

We can hope.

Scientists say.

This shows that the social distancing is working tonight.

Here, we're gonna take you inside a New York City hospital where doctors are using a rare treatment to save the lives of patients and their thirties and forties, when ventilators simply aren't enough.

And the threat now spreading to new hot spots, including New York's Long Island staff at Stony Brook Hospital cheering as a convoy of nurses from elsewhere arrived today.

Emergencies tonight in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.

C.

In parts of Louisiana in Detroit in South Florida and the heartbreaking images in so many places across America tonight, the long lines for food, the new unemployment numbers out tonight, more than 16 million Americans now out of work needing help.

When will the checks arrive?

And will millions of Americans have to be tested for antibodies?

Will that be one way to help get this country back?

Working back to some sort of normalcy what Dr Anthony Fauci said about this today, and we begin tonight with a B C's with Johnson here in New York tonight, the battle to save lives, growing more desperate, making considerably more progress inside this icy you.

My monitors hospital in Brooklyn, doctors deploying a rare treatment on Cove in patients in their thirties and forties.

Still failing on ventilators in the current epidemic is used as a last resort when the ventilators air.

Not enough heart surgeon Dr Paul Saunders, a covert survivor himself using ECMO, temporarily drawing blood out of the body to help oxygenate red blood cells in patients whose lungs aren't functioning with such a limited resource is we have to be very careful toe, you know, to as to who we're gonna offer it to and making sure those patients are ones that are really have a good chance of of a good benefit.

Emotions running high for nurse Mary Kate Finn Aro working in the same I see you where her father, a doctor, was being treated for the virus.

He's now back home.

Feeling better, unfortunately, was not ever able to go inside of his rooms, and you wanna cross contaminate between other Copan 19 patients on him.

So I waved to him from outside of the glass.

But in New York state, the death toll reaching new heights by the day Corona virus killing nearly 800 people in just 24 hours.

We've lost over 7000 lives to this crisis.

Uh, that is so shocking and painful and breathtaking.

I can't I don't even have the words for it.

Overwhelmed hospitals scrambling this week to move patients to facilities with more room stacking.

Some patients on bunks in large trucks to be transported, the virus surging in New York suburbs in Suffolk County, Long Island Cove in 19.

Claiming the lives of two nurses.

Construction on a 1000 bed field hospital now underway.

New research now suggests the virus was circulating in the New York area by mid February, weeks before the first confirmed case in New York was seated before they really knew what was going on, and that's why they're in the difficult situation that they're in right now.

Researchers suspect that travelers brought it mainly from Europe, not Asia.

Back in early March, we heard from Americans who said they weren't screened on their way back from Italy.

Ah, growing hot zone at the time, as of right now way have not experienced any sort of extra check based on anything.

Tonight, the government is taking its first step toward getting more Americans back to work.

The CDC issuing new guidelines for essential workers who have been exposed to the virus but are asymptomatic like temperature checks before shifts, wearing face masks and practicing social distancing at work.

But pandemic still sweeping across the country.

In Illinois, the death toll topping 500 a virus exploding behind bars of the Cook County Jail in Chicago, at least 350 inmates and staff infected.

Most of the inmates haven't been tested and a devastating toll for nursing home residents in New York state, more than 1200 dead and thousands infected.

At one home in Richmond, Virginia, 39 residents have died from the virus.

Now the deadliest known outbreak in the country appears.

Isn't this trap?

It appears that way.

Innocence.

That way we can go and take him out tonight.

Doctors air closely watching growing cases in D.

C, Baltimore and Philadelphia, where Mike and Kelly Dewan saw firsthand how quickly the virus spreads.

Within days of a birthday dinner for his daughter's, 10 members of the family were sick.

The entire family grandparent's, too.

But Mike deteriorated quickly.

Labored, breathing can get, can get deep breath like I can't breathe After 17 days on a ventilator and that experimental Ebola drug, Mike woke up and is now recovering.

So I think about it every day and a special day for Paul Sanders, That doctor in Brooklyn we just met today, his colleagues greeting him with cheers his first full day back in the i c U.

After defeating Corona virus himself, now continuing the fight to save others.

Thank you very much expected, an undeserved, he said.

That was unexpected, undeserved.

But we all know it is very deserving.

They applauded him and continue to do so even after he said that a powerful moment today with Johnson with us from Mount Sinai, Morningside Hospital tonight and what I know a battle for those doctors every day.

But New York is really seeing some glimmers of hope tonight.

The rate of hospitalizations also slowing David.

The number of hospitalizations is beginning to flatten considerably, so they want to see that trend continue and then decline, a sign that New York state could be nearing its apex.

But as you mentioned earlier, that painful death rate still very high, officials are hoping that will soon come down as well.

David Lloyd with Johnson leading a soft that I quit Hi, everyone, George Stephanopoulos here.

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