>> shop for her. that would be really great. all right. friends, we are back in 25 minutes with an abc 7 > good morning, america. president trump braces america for hard days ahead. >> this is going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks. >> warning more than 200,000 in this country could die from coronavirus as the death toll climbs past 4,000. more than 1,000 dead in new york city alone as governor andrew cuomo confirms his brother chris is now battling covid-19 and new questions about whether all americans should be wearing face masks. why the cdc is considering a change in policy. the surgeon general joins us live. crisis on the front lines. health care workers under siege. the doctor who shared these dramatic images inside elmhurst hospital now confirming she has tested positive as more medical professionals sound the alarm.e.

a ncrk the head of new york's emergency medical services joins us exclusively live. drama on the high seas. the cruise ship stranded with a hundred sick on board and four already dead. now fighting to dock in florida, but the governor is saying not so fast. how president trump is responding. supermarket safety. advice from the top infectious disease expert. how she shops from the shopping cart to the checkout line and what she does when she gets those groceries home. rent rebellion. as mortgage and rent payments become due, calls growing for a national rent strike amid record unemployment numbers. the sharks join us live. what to do if you need help paying those bills. and social distance dancing, the way neighborhoods and families from new york to nashville are staying together while keeping apart.

the moves that will make your morning. good morning to you, robin and george. >> good to see you there, michael. while people, as you know, are doing their best trying to make the most of this very difficult moment, george, the president did strike a very somber tone in his latest briefing. >> robin, he was as grim as he's been through this entire crisis and quite a striking difference from how he downplayed the severity in the first weeks. here's what he said last night. he warned the nation to be prepared for a really rough two, even three weeks, and the numbers are simply mind-boggling. we could reach more than 200,000 deaths according to the experts but dr. fauci did say he hopes with mitigation efforts it won't climb that high. and we do want to show you one hopeful note this morning that comes from italy. take a look at this empty waiting room.

overflow waiting room at a hospital in italy. that room is normally packed with coronavirus patients. their curve may be starting to go the other way. >> that is something that's good to see, george. we begin here in new york city which has become the global epicenter of this disease. whit johnson starts us off near the naval hospital ship "comfort" here in manhattan. good morning, whit. >> reporter: michael, good morning to you. the u.s. navy ship "comfort" behind me here will be seeing patients today. it's acting as a relief hospital for the new york city area to treat people who don't have covid-19. across the country, more states are enacting tough new restrictions, bracing for worse dies ahead. this morning, a somber milestone, coronavirus killing more people in the u.s. than the terror attacks of 9/11. more than 4,000 falling to covid-19. the loss of life only expected to climb. the white house coronavirus task

force revealing grim models estimating the virus could kill between 100,000 and 240,000 in the u.s. alone and president trump warning americans of a painful two to three weeks ahead. >> the experts are predicting as i think a lot of us are predicting after having studied it so hard, we're going to start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel, but this is going to be a very painful -- very, very painful two weeks. >> reporter: now fresh debate among the nation's top doctors about whether cdc recommendations on face masks should be revised to include the general public. >> it's just being considered by the task force now about whether that recommendation that already exists relevant to wearing masks should be altered in any way. so it's still under discussion. >> reporter: but amid growing shortages doctors want to make sure medical professionals in hospitals across america have the masks they need first. those on the front lines are under attack. >> all the patients in this room, all the feet that you see,

they all have covid-19. >> reporter: dr. colleen smith who shared these dramatic images from elmhurst hospital in queens with abc news and "the new york times" now confirming she's tested positive herself for covid-19. describing her symptoms as mild. dr. smith among a growing chorus of health care workers sounding the alarm. in new york, governor andrew cuomo still clamoring for medical supplies including those sought after ventilators. >> anyone who says, oh, maybe you don't need that many ventilators, you're saying 30,000 ventilators, you don't need that many, you don't really believe you need that many. you know how you know i really believe that number? because we are paying $25,000 per ventilator, and we are broke, and the last thing i want to do is buy a single ventilator that i don't need. >> reporter: the governor revealing his own brother cnn anchor chris cuomo is now positive for covid-19. >> he's an essential worker,

remember, the press, so he's been out there. he's a really sweet, beautiful guy and he's my best friend. >> reporter: but while the number of cases continues to soar, signs of hope and recovery. 44-year-old tetu, a father of three who has been on a ventilator and put on that experimental ebola drug is now awake and talking. >> it's just awesome to talk to him an hear a voice on the other end of the phone when we call him. it's really special. >> reporter: and a hero back to work. 41-year-old dr. ross grant spent three days in the hospital after contracting covid-19. tuesday was his first day back on the job as an internist at cedar sinai in los angeles eager to continue his mission to save lives. >> i'm feeling, you know, inspired to be back here actually. i mean it's nice to see the camaraderie of everybody at the hospital really working their hardest. >> reporter: nationwide the army

corps of engineers is racing to build as many as 341 field hospitals, some of those have already been constructed here in new york state where more than 75,000 people have been infected. robin? >> yes, whit, thank you very much and as you said in your report one of them is the governor's brother, chris cuomo, who was a former colleague of ours here at abc, and part of the "gma" family, and like everyone else, we're sending him our best and his family as well. joining us now from washington is the u.s. surgeon general, dr. jerome adams. dr. adams, thank you again for joining us. we appreciate your time. we know how busy you are. want to get your thoughts on some things because at first it was said 15 days was needed to slow the spread. then the president extended it to the end of april. many people are wondering what are the chances that's going to be enough, doctor? >> well, the original 15 days was designed to slow the spread and for us to have time to reassess and we learned some good things and some bad things.

the bad things that we learned are that there are places across the country, no place has been spared. no state has been spared from the spread of this disease. but the good news is when you look at places like washington, and you look at places like california that aggressively mitigated and social distanced, they were able to level and flatten their curves. and so we're looking at this next 30 days as an opportunity for the entire country to really understand if we do the right things, then we can flatten our curve in our own different areas and get to the other side. you ask is 30 days going to be enough? it will be for some places. it won't be for others depending where they are on the curve. the most important thing to know if you are aggressive about mitigation you can get through to the other side and usually in about three weeks or so to hit your peak and start to see cases come down. >> that is the hope. the debate about masks, i know about a month ago you weighed in at first and you were saying do not buy, do not wear masks if you're healthy and now the cdc

and others are changing the recommendation. so where do you stand right now? >> well, thank you for the opportunity to clear the air on that, robin. initially the cdc, the world health organization and my office recommended against the general public wearing masks based on the best available science at the time in terms of whether or not it prevented the wearer from catching coronavis. now, we've learned about this disease and always said we'll learn more and adjust and we've learned there is a fair amount of asymptomatic spread and asked the cdc to take another look at whether or not having more people wear masks will prevent transmission of the disease to other people. but here's the most important thing, even if you do wear a mask it can't be at the expense of social distancing. we don't want people to think, hey, i'm going to wear a face covering so it's appropriate for me to go around other people. the most important thing to do is for people to stay at home and again the cdc is looking at whether or not we should be

recommenore peop wr masks when they go out. the final point i would make to people on masks is if you are going to wear a face covering when you go out, please understand you still don't need an n95 mask and if you take one of those, you may be taking it out of the hands of a health care worker who needs to it care for patients. >> yeah, that's a good point and glad you made that. a final question, you were talking about how stay at home but you know that's not the case all across the country. there are some states that have not issued that like in florida. do you believe that governors, more governors need to have stricter guidelines about staying at home? >> well, what we want everyone to do is look at these 30 days to stop the spread guidelines including social distancing, staying six feet away from one another including limiting large crowds, and we trust the governors in many states, and

many have said we don't want to take chances and will ask people to shelter in place, but the most important thing is regardless of how you do it in your state, you should encourage and enable as many people as possible to stay at home including providing them social support so that they can do the right things, and that's why that bill that was passed last week was so incredibly important. we don't want people to feel like they'll lose their job or miss out on opportunities to be able to support their families because they're doing the right things. >> and they're thinking about that. it's april 1st. a lot of bills are due today. dr. adams, thank you very much. >> we're going to get through this, robin. we will and the good news is washington -- italy as you all mentioned earlier, even in new york we're seeing acceleration slowdown. i feel confident we can get through to the other side if we all cooperate and do our part together. >> thank you, dr. adams. appreciate that. michael? >> thank you. >> thank you, robin. now we turn to the crisis for first responders. some overwhelmed by a record number of 911 calls. our team followed along on

several of those calls from a safe distance, m. eva pilgrim has much more this morning. good morning, eva. >> reporter: good morning, michael. yeah, those emts and paramedics are often the first people to come in contact with those with the virus putting their own health at risk going into homes to help the sick and their families. this is the front line of the fight against the coronavirus. the ems workers are the infantry and they're overwhelmed. the number of calls to new york's 911 system skyrocketing to all-time highs. >> this is the scariest thing i've ever seen. >> reporter: at this point they assume every call is a coronavirus patient. we followed their day from a safe distance. >> another ambulance just pulled out. >> reporter: the call, this woman says her aunt is covid-19 positive and has pneumonia. this is her second trip to the hospital. >> who is going to help her?

>> she's scared. >>red for ant . more than 20% of the ems force is now out sick. most with covid-19 or symptoms of the virus. the ones that can are working with only limited protective gear. families at home. >> we have dozens and dozens of members who are sleeping in their cars because they don't want to bring it to their families. >> reporter: mayor bill de blasio announcing the cavalry is coming. >> 250 more ambulances are coming right away to new york city from fema from all over the country to help us address our 911 calls. >> reporter: meanwhile the ems workers here continue to answer the call. >> i know we're going to come down with this. at this point it's not a question of if we are going to get it, but how bad we're going to get it.

>> reporter: and all the ems workers we spoke to said they are going to be out here as long as they can. one, a stage four lung cancer from 9/11 survivor says he knows he's high risk, but he's out here because he says it's his duty. george, truly heroes. >> wow, that is real service right there. okay, eva, thanks very much. let's bring in the head of the emergency center for the new york fire diplomat. lillian bonsignore, thank you so much for joining us this morning. eva just gave a sense of the kind of sacrifices your people are making every hour of every day, thanks to you and all your troops for that, as head of the mission just give us a sense from your perspective of what they're going through. >> thank you for having me this morning. it is -- they are unbelievably courageous out there and we've seen an unprecedented increase in our call volume. we normally operated at a level

of about 4,000 jobs per day and we are now up around 6,500 per day, over 6,000. so they are working very, very hard and they are on the front lines of this mission. they believe in this mission and i believe in them. they're doing an incredible job but they're seeing a lot of sick people all day every day. >> this dwarfs even what you all saw during 9/11, doesn't it? >> yeah. you know, 9/11 was a different situation, but this is certainly one of the biggest things we've ever seen and the fact that it's a prolonged operation makes it even that much more difficult. so we know that our emts, our paramedics, all our first responders and health care workers will come in every single day for quite some time to see the same types of illnesses and increasing numbers of people who require help. >> people that require help but you're also being forced on those front lines to make life or death decisions in the field.

>> you know, ems people and all health care providers make life and death decisions every single day. they have committed themselves to saving the lives of the people that need us and they're doing a tremendous job doing that. >> eva reported about 20% of your workforce is out now. we know some reinforcements are coming from around the country. what more do you need? >> yeah, we have about 23% of our ems force out on medical leave right now. like i said they're the soldiers on the front line and unfortunately they are not immune to this virus so they are also becoming sick. we've had a tremendous response from around the nation to try to come in and give us a hand. we activated our mutual aid agreements which brought -- just yesterday we had 120 additional ambulances from across the nation that were in the field helping. we had our volunteers that are activated. they're out there helping. all of our hospital based

voluntary partners from ems have increased their number of coverage so this is an all hands war and these soldiers are out there fighting this war every single day and they're doing a tremendous job out there and we're going to continue to bring as many resources in as we possibly can to ensure we provide all the care and respond to all of those calls that desperately need our help. >> we are grateful to all of them. we are grateful to you. thank you, chief, for joining us this morning. >> thank you very much. >> all right, george. very grateful indeed. also this morning, people are finding a way to come together. you guys are going to like this doing it while keeping that social distance. take a look at this neighborhood dance party in buffalo, new york. everyone is showing off their moves to the rolling stones. the person who shot the video saying you can't help but be uplifted while being surrounded by people of all ages inspired to dance. that is great to see and coming up, everybody, we have the high

stakes race to get people off two cruise ships stuck at sea with 100 sick on board and now the fight to dock in florida. the urgent plea this morning, but first let's go to ginger at home. hey, ginger. >> michael, at least nine reported tornadoes in the south. this video is from damage from southeastern alabama and then we have video from florida as well. so there were several spots hit just yesterday. there is a new storm developing in the northwest. the northern plains will get snow out of it but by friday there's some severe storms coming back into the forecast especially for texas, heavy rain in arkansas. all right. let's get to the sunny cities now brought to you by sprint.

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get a free footlong when you buy two. ♪ now, your health, your safety, this is abc 7 news. >> good morning. it's 7:23. new shelter in place orders have been extended until may 3rd for most of the bay area. changes include dog parks and playgrounds being closed. most construction is banned. funerals are limited to ten people or fewer. rent is due at the start of the month and here we are. we talked to the housing rights committee about what you should do if you just can't pay. the bottom line, if you can't make rent, don't just ignore your landlord. instead, try to work out a payment plan. >> our recommendation is basically that you write the landlord. write the landlord. let the landlord know what the situation is. it's really about all you can do

right now. >> we have a breakdown of the places that have passed eviction moratoriums. find those at abc7news.com. m my wife never gets home in time to see little man go to sleep.

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now your accuweather forecast with mike nicco. >> good morning. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist mike nicco. quite a temperature range from mid to upper 30s in the north bay to around 50 in oakland. a little cooler this morning. your commute, no weather worries. it's a little breezy on our bridges but nothing you can't handle. this weekend, can you handle being inside even more? we have light to moderate rain on the way. half an inch or more in most neighborhoods. >> we have been warned. thank you. coming up on "gma" staying safe in the supermarket, the right way to shop. what to do when you get those groceries home. we will have another abc 7 news

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hey, sheila. silence your growl. just one bowl of frosted mini wheats and you're good till lunch. welcome back to "gma." nothing like some quidditch to wake you up. that's a match from "harry potter and the sorcerer's stone." this morning j.k. rowling is going to make your month more magical. she's got a special announcement that will affect everyone at home. that's coming up in our next hour. >> nice tease there, michael strahan. thank you for that. that is ahead. but first, we have the top headlines, you know, that we're following right now. president trump telling americans to prepare for some challenging days ahead saying, it's going to be a, quote, painful two weeks. this as coronavirus cases spread now nearing 190,000 here in the u.s. new york city, the epicenter of the outbreak, first responders

are simply overwhelmed. fema is sending in 250 ambulances to help. want you to take a look at this. police officers in phoenix, arizona, they're going door to door to help out students. they're delivering laptops to those who need them to keep up with their online schoolwork. about 1,500 computers were distributed. got to keep in mind not everyone has a computer to keep up with their online work. so, george, the girls, how are they doing with their schoolwork at home? >> well, you mentioned it right there, robin. it's not possible without a laptop. as you say, so many don't have it. they officially got back to school in their bedrooms this week. but it's incredible what you see. this technology today is just amazing. they're going to their classes on zoom and can see all their classmates and their teachers on zoom and so far at least they're doing a pretty good job of keeping up. in fact, they say they're getting ahead since they have

all this time on their hands here in the house, but they are doing okay. they are feeling okay, and ali wanted to thank everybody. >> what about ali? >> she's fighting through this but she's doing well and is in good spirits. >> that's good news. >> thank you, guys. >> that's what counts. >> yeah, it is. we turn to the latest on those cruise ships with people stranded at sea. so many sick people on board, hundreds of them and some of them are battling confirmed cases of coronavirus. the head of the cruise line is now begging for a country to let them dock as the ships head towards the u.s. but florida's governor is saying not so fast and gio benitez is covering all the latest on that. good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, george, good morning. yeah, we just checked and right now these ships are just off the coast of western cuba but nobody knows for sure where, when or if they'll be allowed to dock. this morning, drama unfolding on the high seas. four people have died and at

least 200 others reporting flu-like symptoms. now u.s. officials are deciding whether to allow holland america ships into u.s. waters. some local florida officials saying they must help those on board. >> we are their last hope. what are we going to do? let the ship go back out to sea and let it just float around and let people die? >> reporter: but florida governor ron desantis asking president trump not to allow the ships to dock in florida. >> the way to deal with this is to send medical attention to the ships. just to drop people off at the place where, you know, we're having the highest number of cases right now, you know, just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. >> reporter: the president speaking about the ships at a news conference. >> there are people sick on the ship and we don't want to be like -- they're going to be ghost ships. i got to do what's right not only for us but humanity. >> reporter: amy's parents are on board the "zaandam."

her father bill has severe pneumonia. her mother, gloria has a fever. >> there's no time. these people need to get off the ship. there are people more ill than my father, and they don't have the time to wait to port. >> reporter: the "zaandam" left buenos aires march 7th but soon after in limbo. the "rotterdam" delivering supplies transferring some passengers not exhibiting symptoms. >> we have done testing on 11 people thus far. nine have been positive. two have been negative. we are assuming that the people who get sick have covid. >> reporter: holland america telling us the ships have a total of eight ventilators, six doctors and nine nurses. the ships haven't been allowed to dock anywhere. the cruise line's president saying already four guests have passed away, and i fear other lives are at risk. and now the parent company, carnival, revealing there are at least a couple passengers reporting flu-like symptoms aboard another cruise ship, "the coral princess" in the caribbean also heading to florida.

and now the u.s. coast guard says that all broward county commissioners must agree on whether to allow these ships to dock, otherwise, they say they will not be allowed to enter u.s. waters. michael? >> gio, as those cruise ships face the crisis we're learning new information about how coronavirus spreads and how deadly it may be. dr. jennifer ashton joins us now with more. good morning, jen and as always, thank you for joining us. there's a surprising new study out of china about covid. what can you tell us about that? >> well, michael, we've heard from the beginning how challenging it is to get a good grasp on the numbers because we don't have a good idea of how many people are truly infected but this was a very important study out of the chinese data appearing in the journal "lancet" and it showed the overall mortality rate of covid-19 appears to be 0.66%.

now, compare that to seasonal flu overall which is 0.1%. the other interesting thing in the 20 to 29-year-old age group, covid-19 is 33 times more fatal than seasonal flu. so, again, you heard a lot of people comparing it, not even in the same category. >> yeah, you compared flu and the coronavirus, but they say, according to the cdc, researchers say that the coronavirus is much more contagious than the flu. >> exactly. according to this study they found it to be three times more contagious. the other interesting thing is we seem to see a gender difference that men and women are equally likely to become infected, but for every age group, men have twice the risk of death of women, and we're not sure why that is. >> wow. that's really interesting, and we're now learning more about the true numbers of people who are asymptomatic and may pass it along without knowing it. what can you tell us about that? >> that is really important. it's thought based on this study that 25% of people infected with coronavirus can have no symptoms at all and that people who are

infected can spread the virus 48 hours before they develop symptoms. that is part of the reason why you see the cdc re-evaluating the need or the possibility for the general public to wear those surgical masks so they can prevent spreading it to others. it's not for their protection. it's because of this asymptomatic transmission. so important data in this study finally. we're getting more numbers. >> even with the masks you have to practice social distancing still and, doc, thanks so much for that information. robin? >> good points, michael. thank you. now to a concern so many of us share right now, and that is how to stay safe while grocery shopping and what to do once you bring those groceries home. in fact, how to sanitize grocery items has been one of the top trends on google. becky worley joins us from san francisco with some expert advice. good morning there, becky. >> reporter: good morning, robin. you got to eat, but some of the

grocery shopping measures you see promoted on the internet might seem extreme. so i asked a researcher who studies viruses like covid how she shops to help all of us figure this out. >> rinse it off, try to get all the soap off it. >> reporter: the internet provides a fair bit of grocery handling advice from throw everything in the bathtub with soap to putting aluminum foil on your grocery cart handle. to cut through all the info, we asked an infectious disease expert to tell us how she shops. >> i think it's a hard and scary time to go grocery shopping. >> reporter: dr. angela rasmusen works at columbia university and studies the transmission of diseases like covid-19. her first point? >> people should consider going to the grocery store a little less than they normally do. only as often as they need to. in my household we try to minimize our grocery store trips to once a week if less. >> reporter: what does she do? picks a time when she thinks the store won't be crowded. for her that's sunday morning. then once there, she wipes down

her cart and brings hand sanitizer. dr. rasmusen says she's careful not to touch too many items but it's the interaction with people in the aisles that she worries about the most. and checkout. >> i try to go through self-checkout so to minimize my interactions with cashiers and also minimize their risk. >> reporter: recent guidance from the cdc says the virus can live on cardboard for 24 hours, and plastic and metal for 72 hours, but our expert says this is primarily a disease caught by respiratory droplets spread by coughing and sneezing. less likely from germs on substances. the w.h.o. says in previous coronavirus outbreaks like mers and sars there was no transmission through food. plus, the cdc says there's likely very low risk of transmission through the food you eat. dr. rasmusen adds she's not concerned with some of the handled items in the grocery store. >> i have gone to deli counters. i have gotten fresh meat and fresh fish.

deli counters in general i think are probably pretty low risk situations. >> reporter: but keeping your hands away from your face during the shopping trip is a focus for her, and when she gets home, she says she washes her hands, but she doesn't wipe down her groceries. why doesn't she wipe down her groceries? because she washes her hands a lot. i really noticed what she doesn't do. she doesn't wear gloves because we touch our faces just as much wearing gloves as we do barehanded. she doesn't wash her produce in soap and water or any other extreme way. these are comforting practices from someone who is in the know, michael. >> all right, seems like she's in the know like you said. thank you very much. and coming up, we have our exclusive interview with the ceo of zoom, the usually popular video conferencing program. what they're doing to protect your privacy. and up next, a true crime series "tiger king" and a new call for leads to solve the cold case. to protect

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we are back with the hit show so many are binge-watching "tiger king." as the series takes off, a florida sheriff is now issuing a new call for help to solve the cold case involving one of the character's ex-husbands. will reeve has the story and, will, this show has been the talk for the last few weeks. how are you doing, my friend? >> reporter: i'm doing well, man. it has and we've seen this happen before. a show like "making a murderer" or a podcast like "serial" blows up, and the viewing public all but demands authorities re-examine the case in question. now, with this don lewis cold case from "tiger king," it's capturing so many people's attention. florida police are looking to capitalize. >> hey, you cool cats and kittens. >> reporter: as if a show about a private zoo owner escalating his feud with a rival to a nearly murderous level could get any more shocking, "tiger king," the netflix phenomenon fascinating millions with its cast of salacious characters.

>> the audience will say, oh, my god, that guy has a mullet. >> reporter: and exotic big cats, now sparking new interest in a cold case. one of the biggest questions from the seven-part true crime docu-series -- what happened to carole baskin's former husband, don lewis? >> they believe carole fed him to a tiger. >> reporter: now florida police are hoping to use the show's popularity to find answers. >> this has been a cold case for -- since 1997. i'm hoping for any type of piece of evidence, statement or interview that may help us solve this case. >> reporter: sheriff chad chronister speaking to writing since the quarantine has made "tiger king" all the rage, i figured it was a good time to ask for new leads.

>> we've received on average about six tips a day. people are taking notice and taking the time to at least send in information. >> it just makes for wonderful sales of newspapers, i'm sure, for them to speculate that i fed him to the tigers which is crazy. >> reporter: carole baskin has denied any involvement in his lewis' disappearance, and has never been arrested or charged with connection to it. the big cat rescue owner saying she's looking for answers too. a spokesperson from her organization telling abc, quote, we hope someone will come forward to the authorities with information about what happened to don lewis. >> all i've seen is what is playing out in the press. it wasn't what i was expecting by any means. >> reporter: one of the show's other breakout stars, private zoo owner bhagavan antle, says all the focus on the missing persons case is overshadowing his true mission. >> we're an opportunity for people to get to know wildlife, to have this experience. what we do, they misrepresented dramatically so they could make us appear like we're part of the blend. >> reporter: so far the tips that have come in, the sheriff says, are not credible but he has assigned a supervisor to the

case hoping that interest in the show and the case itself will prompt some people to come forward with some real information, michael. >> all right, will, thank you for that. i'm sure a lot of people are paying attention. coming up it's april 1st. what to do if you can't pay your rent? the sharks are here to help. it's not an april fools' joke. they're going to give you real solid advice. up next, it takes two to pull off this "play of the day." rob bass, take us to commercial. ♪ it takes two to make it out of sight ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ make it out of sight ♪

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♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ we are back now with our "play of the day." and it does take two to pull off moves like these.ved grandfather. she's challenged him to a dance-off. they live right across the street from one another. they usually see each other every day so now like so many people they're finding a new way to see each other. i don't know what grandpa is doing right there. while staying a safe distance away and kyra's mom -- that's her father and she said he's turning 81 next month and she's never seen him dance before but he is dancing right now. >> you know what, your grandkids, robin, they will make you a kid again. i thought he was going to get down and do the windmill. >> 81?

are you kidding me? he's fantastic. >> that's right, george. jennifer garner is going to join us live when we come back. you've got it all. all this grass. all this mulch. all these projects to do. you need a tractor that can do it all right. mowing. hauling. mulching. trenching. if it's on the to-do list, the #1 selling sub-compact tractor in the u.s. can do it. versatile performance-matched attachments. legendary durability. affordably priced. the kubota bx series. i'm phil mickelson. that's me long before i had psoriatic arthritis. i've always been a go-getter and kinda competitive. flash forward, then psoriatic arthritis started getting the better of me. and my doctor said my joint pain could mean permanent joint damage. and enbrel helps relieve joint pain, helps stop that joint damage, plus helps skin get clearer.

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now your health, your safety, this is abc 7 news. >> good morning. it's 7:56. people in the bay area are drinking a whole lot more now that we have to be at home. data from backtrack, a san francisco company that makes smallphone connective breath liesers, finds increase consumption increased by 42% last week. sales have soared by 400% since the stay at home orders began. someone out here is making money. are we surprised? no, of course not. if you are going to be out and about, high amount of uv index. wear the sunscreen. if you have allergies, remember that. temperatures from 59 in half moon bay to 65. as we head through the weekend,

a one on the storm impact scale. light to moderate rain, more than a half an inch. >> thank you. coming up on "gma" an interview with the ceo of zoom. so many are using it. the tips and tricks to

for hard days ahead. >> this is going to be a very painful -- very, very painful two week>> warning more than 20 the country could die from coronavirus. as the death toll climbs past 4,000, more than a thousand dead in new york city alone. as governor andrew cuomo confirms his brother, chris, is battling covid-19. and new questions about face masks. what the cdc is considering. the latest this morning. it's the first of the month. so many mortgages, rent payments, utilities and credit card bills are due. as millions of americans are suddenly out of work and so many businesses have closed their doors or furloughed their employees, the ripple effect across the economy right now.

zoom 101. as more and more people use it for meetings for work and catching up with family and friends, we talk to the ceo about the major new privacy concerns. the so-called zoom bombing and your real questions about the best background answered. new this morning, j.k. rowling's harry potter announcement. how the month of april is about to get a little more magical for you and all the gryffindors in your house. ♪ can't touch this she saves lives and she busts moves. now the tiktok nurse is joining us live as we say, good morning, america. ♪ can't touch this good morning, america. thanks for joining us on this wednesday morning and, robin, keeping with tradition, you have to ask me what is today? >> what is today, michael? >> hump day! all right. now we can carry on.

>> oh. now all is right in the world. in fact, someone on my social media said make sure that michael says that. it's not the same unless you say a little hump day. thank you for that. as you know, we got two great guests joining us this morning. jennifer garner is going to join us live from her home. bethanny frankel is going to join us live. they're both doing so much during this very difficult time. now, george, now that we know that ali is on the mend, i can ask you this. what is going on with your background? you're at home. what is going on? what is that? >> that's the green screen. what can i tell you? it's the way they set it up. i have no control over it. but we have a pretty good setup right here. the dogs are going back and forth. as i said, ali is upstairs. she's still sleeping. right now the girls are actually greating rea getting ready for school right now. i was scared to death cooper was

going to come in and bomb through this shot. he got bored waiting so he just walked away. >> but wait a minute. we did hear him barking and lucas got blamed for that. >> i heard you got blamed -- i heard lucas got blamed. >> just go ahead. throw the dogs under the bus, you two. i mean, let the dogs be dogs. that's what happens when you're working from home. >> that's true. >> but i am so happy you two are working from home. i think america is happy because they love seeing your faces in the morning. >> thanks, mike. now we're going to go to the morning's top headlines. some new developments in the coronavirus outbreak. cases in the u.s. now nearly 190,000. health care workers and first responders overwhelmed. fema is now sending hundreds of ambulances to new york city and the naval ship "comfort" is getting ready to see patients. whit johnson there with more. good morning again, whit. >> reporter: michael, good morning to you. the u.s. navy ship "comfort" behind me here has 1,000 hospital beds. they are expecting to take on patients today who do not have covid-19. meanwhile, the white house is

warning the entire country that this pandemic will get worse before it gets better. this morning, a somber milestone. coronavirus killing more people in the u.s. than the terror attacks of 9/11. more than 4,000 falling to covid-19. the loss of life only expected to climb. the white house coronavirus task force revealing grim models estimating the virus could kill between 100,000 and 240,000 people in the u.s. alone. president trump warning americans of a painful two to three week as head. >> the experts are predicting as i think a lot of us are predicting after having studied it so hard you're going to start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel but this is going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks. >> reporter: and now fresh debate among the nation's top doctors about whether cdc recommendations on face masks should be revised to include the general public. >> the debate about masks, i know about a month ago you weighed in at first and you were saying do not buy, do not wear

masks, if you're healthy and now the cdc and others are changing the recommendations so where do you stand right now on people wearing masks that do not have symptoms? >> we've learned about this disease and always said we'll learn more, we'll adjust and we've learned that there is a fair amount of asymptomatic spread and so we've asked the cdc to take another look at whether or not having more people wear masks will prevent transmission of the disease to other people. but here's the most important thing. even if you do wear masks it can't be at the expense of social distancing. the final point i would make to people on masks is if you are going to wear a face covering when you go out, please understand you still don't need an n95 mask. if you take one of those masks you may be taking it out of the hands of a health care worker who desperately needs it to care for patients. >> reporter: here in new york state there are now more than 75,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and governor cuomo

says they are not expecting to hit the apex for another 7 to 21 days. george? >> yeah, whit, we still have a ways to go. thanks very much. we turn to some of the economic hardship. it is the 1st of the month. that means mortgage and rent payments are due and calls for a national rent strike are starting to gain momentum after those record unemployment numbers came out last week. more are coming tomorrow. rebecca jarvis is here with the latest on that, good morning, rebecca. >> reporter: good morning, george. yeah, we know the figures. millions of americans have been laid off, lost their jobs in recent weeks and a number of small businesses are now at risk of going out of business, but the good news with those bills due is that a number of companies, credit card companies, banks, wireless providers, utilities, car companies are all allowing customers to be behind on those payments without any kinds of fees or additional issues with their lateness on their bills. for example, if you have a mortgage through chase right now, you can go to

chase.com/mortgageassistance. they are offering 90-day forbearance on mortgages. bank of america, wells fargo, citi also offer similar programs. the government backed mortgages through fannie and freddie -- fannie mae and freddie mac are also safe right now. the fcc has a list of wireless providers who have now signed on, the keep americans connected. that means wireless services will not turn off your wireless service if you are behind on wireless bills because of coronavirus. the auto companies both ford and gm have places on their website that are set up for americans who are behind on their car payments and as far as renters go, a number of states and cities at least 34 states have now signed a moratorium on evictions, michael, which means if you are behind on your rent, you will not be kicked out of your home, and one last thing, michael. i would highly recommend people start looking online for this

information because of the fact that so many are calling. there are big delays and big wait times. so you're better off going online if you have the ability to do that to look for this information, michael. >> go online then reach out to those providers and let them know your situation. rebecca, thank you so much for that. coming up our exclusive with the ceo of zoom, how to protect your calls from zoom bombing and upgrade those meetings. jennifer garner is joining us live. always makes us happy and smile how she's helping kids learn and stay entertained. plus mega "deals & steals" supersavings on 25 products. we will be right back. there will be parties again soon, and family gatherings. there will be parades and sporting events and concerts. to help our communities when they come back together, respond to the 2020 census now. spend a few minutes online today to impact the next 10 years of healthcare, infrastructure and education. go to 2020census.gov and respond today

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♪ good morning, good morning good morning, america. welcome back to "gma." it is great to have amy here in the studio with us, and robin is joining us from home. hey, robin. >> it's good to see you both there. we appreciate you holding down the forf for us. dollars fort for us. everybody that's there and you two and behind the scenes appreciate it. tomorrow special edition of "binge this." can't wait for michael to bring that to us. right now you know who is going to bring it right now from home. that is the one and only lara spencer with "pop news." lara. hey, robin. good morning to you. i've got a little assist here from reva just barking like crazy, so i'm going to hold her and pray for the best. we will begin this morning with legendary singer/songwriter carole king taking a page out of neil diamond's book and changing some of the words to one of her most famous songs. she took to facebook to share

her new version of the 1971 hit "so far away." take a look. ♪ so far away everybody has to stay in one place anymore ♪ ♪ it would be so fine to see your face at my door ♪ ♪ doesn't help to know you're just time away ♪ >> well, that song so beautiful and those few words changed make all the difference, right? she also gave her gratitude and thanked medical professionals and essential workers out there saying in part thanks to the people who keep the groceries coming and the trash being picked up. there's so much i don't know, but i'm not taking it -- i'm not taking any of it for granted. guys, this post making it so clear. you have got a friend in

carole king. we just love that song, carole. thank you so much. and the world's number one tennis player, novak djokovic showing how he's getting creative at home. well, check this out, you guys, he got his tennis fix in with his brother marco using frying pans as rackets and furniture as a net in his living room posting on twitter writing the competition never stops, #tennisathome and serving up a $1 million donation to buy ventilators and other medical supplies for serbian hospitals. and, by the way, if his modified tennis inspires to you try it at home be careful and we say the loser uses the pan to make breakfast. i love that video. he is awesome. just another example how all of us are trying to get creative at home and finally, guys, ellen degeneres wanting kids so badly to somehow celebrate prom season in some way.

so she took to instagram posting this throwback photo of herself in 1976 and she writes, quote, if your prom was supposed to be this weekend i want to see your gorgeous prom outfits. this was mine, so the bar is low, post yours with the #ellenprom. i promise you'll wear them to prom soon. so many high schoolers have taken her up on her offer. they have responded showing off their prom looks. we love the photos. you guys look beautiful. we also notice some photos from folks that look like they may have graduated already like tory from rhode island. let's check her out. do we have tory? tory's photo was one of hundreds, also some ladies killing the sleeve and hair game. it brought me back to my own prom photo. please keep the pictures coming. ellen, again, using the #ellenprom. we got to get photos in there. i did try to get mine in there. you have no idea the wrangling

that's going on. i am, like, getting absolutely bitten by this rascal this morning. so forgive if i seemed a little distracted during "pop news." never a dull moment, robin, never a dull moment. >> never, never. lucas is like, he's asleep right now or he would be doing the same thing. hang in there, lara. >> hang in there. got her hands full. great job as always, lara. now we turn to our "gma" cover story about zoom, the video conferencing platform soaring to popularity, helping people work and going to school from home. there are lots of fun features, but there's also been some privacy issues. rebecca jarvis spoke with zoom's ceo, and is back with that. hey, rebecca. >> reporter: hey, michael, yeah, that's right. we've seen this huge increase in users on zoom. it's almost becoming an essential service for so many americans who are at home on lockdown now, but with that new business comes new questions

about security, privacy and how to keep those conversations safe from intruders. >> what's up? >> reporter: zoom, so many of us are using it to stay in touch. >> what you guys been up to? >> reporter: and conduct business. >> hi, michael. >> reporter: but now some are having major issues as zoom meetings are getting hijacked. in a new trend it's called zoom bombing. >> at first it just seemed like people were checking in and then very quickly it devolved into a lot of pornographic images being dumped as screen shots. >> reporter: reid lander was zoom bombed last week. he says he fears it could have cost him business. >> it screwed up the meeting completely. we totally lost an opportunity when it happened. >> reporter: zoom founder and ceo eric yuan says there are things we can be doing every day to protect ourselves. >> you need to understand the secure features. about thousand -- how to use

zoom. >> reporter: some they recommend create a password for each zoom meeting. you could also establish a waiting room for your group. this way you could welcome each person individually and keep track of who is coming in. and for added safety, lock down the meeting once everyone is inside. this way no one new can come in once the meeting has begun. >> we take privacy very seriously and have a privacy policy, and owe intention is never wanting to sell any customer data. >> reporter: according to the ceo there is no tracking customers after meetings are complete. >> yeah, after the meeting is over, we do not check anything. >> reporter: while safety is the top priority zoom also has a lot of features to make your meetings more fun like customizable backgrounds, transforming a boring corner of my bedroom into the new york harbor. here we go. this is so much better. i feel so much more at home with lady liberty at my side. >> absolutely. you look great. >> reporter: now, if only i could transform my bedroom into

that new york harbor every day here on "gma," not the case but, robin, the other best practice here with zoom is don't share the link to any kind of zoom meeting on social media. don't share it publicly. just text it between friends and let them know this meeting is happening at this time. the world doesn't need to know about that meeting. robin. >> yeah, that's right. all right. appreciate that. this is a real background. this is really in my screening room. this is the real deal. thanks, rebecca. time now for a very special guest. with schools shutting down, actress jennifer garner has launched #savewithstories and enlisting her friends to read their favorite books on social media to kids at home all for an important cause and jennifer always makes us smile. she's joining us from her home in los angeles. good morning to you, jennifer. how are you doing, and how are the little ones doing as well? >> good morning, robin.

i'm doing so well. i may or may not be wearing pajamas on the bottom and a sweater on the top, but this is a great way to do press. i mean, i miss seeing you, but hey. it's all right. >> right. >> we're doing really well, thank you. even my kids, even little ones can feel so grateful and really thinking about everyone in the medical profession and people stocking groceries, we're great. no complaints. >> i'm glad to hear that. this is a wonderful initiative. you're always thinking of others. you and amy adams came up with this idea. just tell us the inspiration behind it, jennifer. >> well, it was amy's idea. amy called me a couple of weeks ago, friday night late and said, i have this idea and somebody told me maybe you can help. and she said, i want to ask our community to read children's books on social media and to ask

for a donation to help pay for food for kids who are affected by school shutdowns. and i said, yeah. >> i know. that's what's so wonderful. >> i said, yeah, i can help with that and the next morning we were off and running. and, you know, i've worked with save the children for 12 years. we work in rural america. i called mark shriver who runs the u.s. programs there first thing in the morning and we hit the ground running, decided to partner with no kids hungry because no kid hungry is more urban and they're more food based and save the children is more rural and we're more education focused and so together it's a great match because all these kids also, you know, summer slide over summer, kids who are low income often lose two to three months of reading and math progress and so this is going to be a really long summer for kids who don't have broadband. my kids are in school on zoom

every day and teach remembers -- their teachers are doing an incredible job. but so many kids don't have books at home. there's one book for every 13 kids in poor america. their schools can't afford ink or paper and so we're just trying to help out wherever we can and, of course, feed kids. feed kids. >> that is a great -- how can people get involved, jennifer? if they want to help? >> the first thing is it's really fun in a couple of ways, one, we're feeding kids across the country and we're getting books and educational supplies to their homes. the second thing is there are books being read by your favorite actors or athletes or singers or just all kinds of authors and they're on @savewithstories on instagram and people are telling me, you know, we're getting the most fun feedback. now families are reading their own books and we're putting them up and you can read a book. can you go in and watch and can you donate, you can do a

one-time $10 donation. i typed it out for you. here. you text save to 20222 or you can go on and do -- @savewithstories or savethechildren.org forward slash save the stories to donate. just enjoy the stories also. >> absolutely. i love it. you're a multitasker and put up the graphic for us. >> i know. >> we appreciate that very much. >> i got it all going on at 5:00 in the morning. >> do you have it all going on. >> i follow you on social media. your cooking show is hysterical but that's for another time. >> thank you. >> thank you, thank you. my best to you, my best to you and thank you to all your friends for what you're doing? >> thank you so much. >> you take care. >> everyone has been amazing. thank you so much. take care, robin. be safe. be well. >> you too, jennifer. you do the same.

now from jennifer to ginger at home, and ginger, how are things going for you at home with the kids? >> thank you for asking. i actually have one of them right here, adrian is with me and i'd say we are doing pretty well. we have definitely all been sick in the last two weeks and adrian has been feeling much better for a long time, right? ben and i are fighting through it. today is so much better than yesterday so we are so grateful we get to do this from home. keep everybody safe and bring you a "gma" moment today because we've loved all of these. adrian, i got to show you this. i know you are so interested. this is the peters brothers from travers city, michigan, watch this. yes, there goes the ball and then the books and then the string, what's this called, ad? >> a rube goldberg machine. >> a rube goldberg machine. >> he's been wanting to make one of these this entire time and i think this is going to be our inspiration, right? want to do it today? >> yeah. >> all right, after you're done with school then we'll do that because we got to do the online school first. hopefully everybody at home is

doing just as well and hopefully you can send us your machines good morning. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist mike nicco. what a gorgeous morning unfolding. a nice afternoon on the way. it will be a touch breezier and chillier than yesterday. clear and kind of chilly the next couple of nights. we have april showers for the weekend forecast. upper 50s, low 60s coast through the bay. low to mid 60s inland. tonight, 30s in our inland valleys, 40s for the rest of us. going to be a wet one this weekend. coming up next, the tiktok nurse who is bringing a big smile to so many people's faces. stay with us. people's faces. stay with us.

now, your health, your safety, this is abc 7 news. >> good morning. california schools may be closed for the rest of the school year. the state department of education sent a letter to school district superintendents that says because of safety concerns and social distancing needs, it appears the students won't be able to return to campus before the end of the academic year. the decision to re-open schools is in each of the district's hands. san francisco unified and oakland unified haven't made a decision. mike if i could do one thing, i'd make sure there were more textbooks in schools. i'm a teacher. i've seen the need, but my girlfriend here likes to say ... "don't just talk about it, be about it." and we're about the 2020 census. because when everyone gets counted on the census, it helps inform public funding in our neighborhood

for the next ten years! don't just talk about it - -be about it! complete the census online, by phone or by mail. shape your future. start here at 2020census.gov.

now, your accuweather forecast with mike nicco. >> good morning. check out the bay bridge toll plaza. it's quiet as you could expect. so is our weather today for your commute if you have to be out and about. not so much this weekend. april showers on the way. a one for both days. at least a half inch of wet weather possible. it's going to be a rainier system than last weekend. almost as chilly with temperatures in the 50s after being in the mid to upper 60s the next couple of days. >> thanks, mike. another update in 30 minutes or so. you can always find the latest on our news app and at abc7news.com. hope you are having a great start to your morning. good news continues now with "good morning america."

♪ stand by you ♪ we could find a way to break through ♪ ♪ even if we can't find heaven i'll walk through hell with you ♪ ♪ you're not alone because i'm gonna stand by you ♪ ♪ even if we can't find heaven i'm gonna stand by you ♪ ♪ even if we can't find heaven welcome back to "gma." those were just some of the faces of the health care workers across the country out there on the front lines of this pandemic. we are so very grateful for all the work that you all are doing. you are true heroes. >> yes, we salute each and every one of you and just to shout out a few people this morning, dr. mark manship, a 69-year-old emergency room doctor in sullivan, indiana, his family

says he refuses to retire because it would go against everything he's ever believed in and then hannah friedman, an oncology nurse at the dana-farber cancer institute in boston says she's doing her best karate kick right there to take down covid-19. >> looks like a good kick. and then there's this nurse at mercy hospital in springfield, missouri, has been keeping everyone's morale up and putting a smile on all of our faces with her tiktok videos like this one that got more than 3 million views and, lara, you're about to talk with her. >> i sure am. michael, kala baker is the mastermind behind those tiktok videos and we'll talk to her and some other nurses at mercy hospital right now. good morning to all of you ladies. before we begin i want to say thank you. >> good morning. >> for everything that you guys are doing, how are y'all holding up? >> we are doing good. we're a little bit stressed out but we're doing it together and

we're happy to be serving. >> we're so happy to see you guys and happy to look at your tiktok videos. guys, millions of views. what was your reaction when you saw these numbers just growing and growing and all the love you're getting for them? >> yeah, honestly we are just still so shocked. we're honored that people even want to watch us dance because we are not dancers. it's been amazing to see all the people around the world watching them and sending us their love and support. ♪ >> first of all, i fully disagree. look at your moves, you guys. you can move. i want to hear the inspiration, how did you come up with the idea and why did you begin doing the videos? >> obviously it's just been a little bit stressful around here and it was just a good way. i saw a video and i thought, we could do that and so it was a good way just to step away from

our work for a second and bring some joy to the people around us and just to my co-workers that we could all get together and do something fun. >> they're so fun. i love the song choices. do you guys all vote or, kala, are you in charge of that? >> i try to find things that are upbeat and joyful but we just -- i try to find easy ones then we -- i try to find easy ways that we can memorize them because we don't have all day. >> yeah, listen, you guys, it's so good to see you smiling in there because i know it's nonstop for you and, again, as i said we're so grateful. do you have time to show us a few of your moves before we go? >> yes, we are ready, yeah. >> let's do it, girls. >> let's do it. >> okay. >> five, six, seven, eight. ♪ ♪ can't touch this

>> ladies, thank you. we'll be watching you on tiktok and thinking about you. u. >>hank yo much. >> hang in there. remember, we are all in this together. and

we are back with a special "deals & steals." it's april and the 50th anniversary of earth day is

coming up later this month. take a look at the fantastic window display of eco-friendly products from 25 different companies. we were planning to put it all up, but that display obviously now on hold but guess what, the savings are not on hold. tory johnson has all the details so, tory, tell us what you have for us. >> that's right, i'm so excited about this. it's not in times square but it's all online, 25 eco-friendly companies, one of my favorites is a company called cozier. their bamboo has been one of oprah's favorite things. it's become one of mine. here's the owner. >> it's been so tough watching stores that used to carry our products close and struggle at this time. our small company supports the jobs of 50 families across the u.s. good people who love making the world a little bit cozier and more sustainable place. >> and that's what all of these small businesses are doing.

they are right now challenged by unbelievable circumstances but they're still doing anything they can to make the world a better place, 25 different companies, all sorts of categories, drinkware, reusable totes. my favorite probably all of the paper towel alternatives and perhaps best of all is you can get all of these companies on our website with savings that start at 50% off everything. >> that is fantastic, tory. we love hearing that and want to mention we partnered with all these companies so you can have the very latest on these great deals. you can get them on our website, goodmorningamerica.com. thanks, tory. >> thank you. and now we're calling in the sharks to help out small businesses and answer your questions as everyone tries to navigate this economy. >> we certainly have a lot to discuss today with the federal government announcing those new details about programs to help r

employees. and it's april 1st so rent is due right now for millions of people. we have robert herjavec and rohan oza joining us to answer all of those questions. >> gentlemen, thank you for joining us. rent abatement is now one of google's top trends right now. the rent is due, today is the day but a lot of companies cannot pay because these forced closures so, robert, what should they do? >> well, good morning, michael and first of all i want to thank all the doctors and nurses there from the "shark tank" family and the first responders in this amazing time. you've got to turn your assets into cold hard cash right now and don't forget. you're not the only one in this boat. tell your landlord, be your transparent, but your priority right now needs to be hoarding cash and making sure you're going to survive. a lot of people aren't going to pay their rent today. that's just the facts. >> yep, so just be honest and communicate. we have some viewer questions for you both so let's start with jessica who owns a small business, let's take a listen.

>> i'm the owner of yoga baby clothing, a comfortable clothing brand for toddlers and babies. in a time like this when consumers are only purchasing necessities how can i still grow my e-commerce business. >> rohan, what do you think? >> good morning, guys.'s a tou r eryby. and obviously when this first occurred, everyone was buying essentials. food, beverage, cleaning supplies, the the infamous toilet paper scandal, but i think that as times start -- purchasing behaviors start to have a degree of normality to them, people are going to need baby clothes. babies every month are going to outgrow their clothes and jessica has a business that is essential. it may not seem as essential as buying food day one, but it is essential in an ongoing basis. and has grown up in the e-commerce platform. all of our brands are switching to e-commerce so she has that platform.

lean into that. lean into that audience that she has not just on her website but other amazon marketplace, etsy, treat the e-commerce world as different stores and lean into your community. she's built her brand with the community, lean into that community and be creative. people are looking for moments of happiness and lightness and nothing better than babies to deliver that. so figure out how to develop content with your community, with these kids and this community today, you lean into them will give you a much bigger business tomorrow. >> robert, you say being in this space is a good thing right now. >> yeah, you know, i disagree with rohan. people aren't switching to e-commerce. there is only e-commerce right now. i have 2-year-old twins at home and my wife may not watch the news every day but i'll tell you this, she goes to her mommy group email and blog every single day. go to your close loop communities online right now because in this age where we can't touch each other or see

each other physically, you tend to trust the people that you know and that closed loop community is what my wife and so many other mothers right now are turning to. >> you guys, the federal government just gave guidelines to small business owners about incentives to hold on to workers. it's called the employee retention credit.vailab tall bus and our , dana, has a so l'sch wn a hair saloin the bronx. we were mandated closed two weeks ago, and it was just extend another two weeks, so that's taking us to four weeks without any revenue. should my staff collect unemployment or wait for the disaster relief loans to come in and retro pay them? i'm looking for the fastest and smartest way to help them. >> can you tell us about the considerations for small business owners? >> yeah, michael, the very first thing is people like dana, make sure you can survive. there is no point in getting a credit if you can't keep your doors open so rule number one is

can you make it to the point where the credit actually helps you? the second point is get informed. there's a lot of information out there. look it up online. make sure you qualify and apply early. >> rohan, you say the key to using this $350 million or billion dollar small business program is knowing how to use it. >> you're right, michael. the government passed the biggest stimulus package in history. you've got to figure out what you are due. what is yours. now, it's a 900-page document which is tough to go through and one of the things that i found is where you can find cheat heat on what's due to you. the u.s. chamber of commerce has a great one in four pages that summarizes the four or five major packages where it's long-term loans, cheap interest rates or grants that can be forgiven, payroll benefits you can get, loans if you don't lay people off. i think try to find those cheat sheets and see what's due to you so you can get your business to stretch out longer during this

tough time. >> robert and rohan, thank you guys for joining us. i had friends reach out and say how helpful that this ask the sharks segment is. thank you guys for contributing to it today this morning. >> thank you. >> we appreciate you. now we're going to go to ginger. hey, ginger. >> yes, hey there, michael. i love the shark segment too. now we have a special announcement that could help some of you. it is from "larharry potter" creator j.k. rowling, and she's launching "harry potter at home." great for the fans in response to the covid-19 emergency. there's a whole new digital hub that is packed with information and activities for kids, parents and care givers, plus, throughout the month of april in partnership with audible and overdrive families can access free audio books of "harry potter and the sorcerer's stone." rowling said in a statement the teachers, parents and careers -- carers that ar working to keep children's lives as normal

and happy as possible while we're all on lockdown deserve a bit of magic. i hope these initiatives will give children and adults a happy distraction during their enforced stay at home time. you can check out the magical new initiative online at www.harrypotterathome.com. that's the website and now we good morning. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist mike nicco. a great day to be outside, not as warm at yesterday and a little breezier. we have a string of dry days with sunshine, but this weekend is looking wet. now to something that all of us can participate in, it is april 1st so it is u.s. census day. i know we did this and sent ours in where every person in this nation truly counts and this morning with our sponsor, the u.s. census bureau we will tell you why it's so important you participate. how you can get involved. take a look. you've got mail from the u.s. census bureau and it's time to send in your report. >> what's the 2020 census?

well, it's when the u.s. census bureau counts everyone who lives in the u.s. and its territories. >> reporter: why is it important? the data is collected by our sponsor, the u.s. census bureau once every ten years. it's required by our constitution. it determining representation in congress and helps guide how more than $675 billion in federal funding each year will impact our communities. >> it's actually some of the most used data in this nation. the information for making decisions that are so vital for our health and safety uses census data. we have to know where these communities are. the census data is so valuable. >> reporter: how do you do your part? it's simple. >> first time in history you can respond online. you can respond by phone or you can respond by mail. you can do it from the comfort of your home. >> reporter: the u.s. census bureau reminding us that every person counts. >> just remember, this census belongs to everyone. we're counting on you.

help shape your future. it is so valuable to you, your family, friends and this nation. >> actually super easy and quick and i just did it online. you can too. cong up ongm she's always so helpful in a lot of disasters and this one is not an exception. stay with us. "gma's" make it count is sponsored by the 2020 census. shape your future. start here.

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find great offers and value, today, at xfinity.com we are back now with someone who is urging us to be strong during this difficult time with her bstrong initiative. entrepreneur and philanthropist, bethanny frankel joins us this morning live from her home where she is helping others through her bstrong initiative in partnership with a global empowerment mission. it is so good to see you, bethanny. >> i can't see you.

>> hi there. oh, but i can see you and your little one behind you. how is it going at home there? >> oh, good. it's going okay. it's like having a homeschool and art station using what i have in my refrigerator. my freezer, my cans. i'm actually decent in a crisis as it turns out. >> oh, you are great in a crisis and helping others. thank you, bethanny. thank you, thank you, thank you. whether it's a hurricane, whether it's a volcano, whether it's a fire, you and the bstrong initiative is there as you are here for coronavirus. this is something so different, though, it's not a region or area impacted. the world is impacted, as you know. >> it's amazing because we worked with the australia fires and that was a really big disaster and the bahamas and puerto rico, but you could acquire relief from other places, it wasn't that the whole world was on fire and i've never

seen anything like this in so many different ways, in the ways of the desperation, the corruption, it's just -- it's like guerrilla warfare you have to be rogue and figure it out as best as you possibly can and just -- you can't spare a second. you have to have the stomach for it. it is a roller-coaster ride and you have to jump in and help. >> you also have to be able to adapt because you started with corona kits. that was geared for families and then you made a pivot then you were sending much needed gear to those on the front lines. so can you kind of explain that strategy? >> before lockdown it was all about corona kits which was prevention which was immune-building systems, vitamin c building, and hydration boosting. hand sanitizer wipes, some gloves, some masks, medical information, and for those who had to be out and

about on the subway or local mall or wherever and then most people were locked down and it pivoted to hearing about the health care workers pretty early, i heard, from just a few people and started hunting down what they call ppe, the protective gear for people risking their lives for ours and this has been so intense just finding relief all over the world and in massive quantities, you know, it's millions and millions of units. it's tens of millions of dollars, it's very intense. 100% of bstrong goes to the effort so it's not like we're sitting holding $100 million in a closet where we just have this money to just run and gun. so we have been putting up personal funds, personal guarantees for what we're worth, and we have been working with different governments all over the country. so governments have been calling us because we have been so quick to access and source this relief. >> so how can people at home

help you out here, bethenny? >> so the best thing is truthfully people want to help they feel helpless and the truth is, using social media for good and not evil is amazing. using it to connect and to spread the word and to tell how to donate to bethenny.com/bstrong and my partners to basically spread the word about exactly what we're doing. if you look at my instagram it's explaining exactly what we're doing. day-to-day we're giving 10,000 masks to this hospital. we gave a million hazmat suits to new york. people feel connected to it. people feel empowered and understand where the money is going. i think that's missing in philanthropy. people feel they give money and it floats into the air and don't really understand. they don't know how much is going. so to really be connected to this and you can really, really help because the money that we raise from your donations is for all of the smaller hospitals, volunteer hospitals, the ones what time is it? bed time. my wife never gets home in time to see little man go to sleep. her bus stop is a mile away.

i wish i could at least walk home with her. i'm completing the 2020 census for my family. my response can impact how public funding is spent in my community. that could mean education for little man- -and a closer bus stop for her. (relieved, loving) hey. hey. shape your future. start here. complete the census at 2020census.gov. (relieved, lwho've got their hey. heczema under control.rs, with less eczema, you can show more skin.

so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. that's a difference you can feel. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within. and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent.

thanks for watching from all of us here at "gma," have a great day, everybody. ve a great day, everybody.

now, your health, your safety, this is abc 7 news. >> good morning, everyone. hamilton has officially ended its run in san francisco. it was scheduled to resume through may 31. the producer says it would cancel those after the city revised its shelter in place order prohibiting live events through may 3. people who purchased tickets will be able to get a refund. let's look at what's going on outside. i have good news. good morning to you. you can see the sunshine. if you are out, high uv index. use the sunscreen and protect yourself from the allergies, also. let's talk about what's going to happen this weekend. it's not going to be dry and warm anymore. it's going to be 50s for highs and rain.

>> thanks, mike. time for "live with kelly and ryan." we w >> announcer: it's "live with kelly and ryan!" today, from the new sirius, "mrs. america," uzo aduba. and author and businesswoman, bethenny frankel. and performing his new head, "where are my," max. and we continue "live's virtual fitness" with another workout. we will meet another one of the working heroes. all next on "live!" ♪ and now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest! >> ryan: good morning to everybody. it is wednesday, april 1st. kelly, so great to see you. >> kelly: i wanted to show you my mug that was sent to