Nightly Rundown: 100K-200K deaths predicted; Trump extends guidelines; USNS Comfort arrives in NYC; Amazon & Instacart strikes; Macy’s furloughs

The Nightly News - with Lester Holt - Nightly News: 3.30.20

To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts | View in browser By Dan Donahue, NBC Nightly News Good Monday afternoon. Tonight we have full team coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, as cases in the U.S. rise to over 153,000 with 2,815 deaths. White House predicts up to 200,000 coronavirus deaths in best case scenario The White House coronavirus response coordinator said today that the U.S. will see mass deaths in the pandemic — even if the country does everything right. “If we do things together well, almost perfectly, we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities,” Dr. Deborah Birx told NBC News. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, told CNN today he "wouldn't be surprised if we saw 100,000 deaths." After seeing the latest projections, President Trump on Sunday extended his administration’s social distancing guidelines — like avoiding going to work, eating at bars and restaurants, and gatherings of more than 10 — through April 30. Those guidelines were set to expire today, and Trump had repeatedly expressed desire last week to have the country "opened up" by Easter, April 12. Trump predicted that coronavirus cases will likely peak "around Easter" in an interview today on Fox, but did not cite supporting data. Geoff Bennett will have more on that from the White House tonight. Fauci warned in another interview today that smaller U.S. cities that do not yet have a lot of cases could see the same acceleration as New York City. Fauci said the "dynamics of the outbreak" are concerning in New Orleans. Tonight our Morgan Radford is in Detroit, a city Fauci said is "starting to show some signs that they're going to take off." We also have Sam Brock in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order today urging residents of Southeast Florida to stay home — but he has resisted a larger statewide order. Dr. Deborah Birx predicts up to 200,000 deaths 'if we do things almost perfectly' Deaths rise to over 1,000 in New York as USNS Comfort arrives The Navy ship the USNS Comfort has arrived in New York City to help lighten the load for hospitals flooded with coronavirus patients. The Comfort has 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms. It will be used to treat non-coronavirus patients to free up space in the city's besieged hospitals. The ship arrived as New York crossed a grim milestone, with deaths from COVID-19 now soaring over 1,000 across the state. New York has over 66,000 confirmed cases with 1,218 deaths, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today. New York City is the epicenter, accounting for 36,221 of those cases, and 790 deaths. Additionally, the city’s Department of Health has reported its first death of a minor from coronavirus. The young patient had underlying health conditions, according to newly released documents. Officials are scrambling to add more beds in the city as hospitals become overwhelmed. In Central Park, an emergency field hospital with 68 beds is being set up. The virus is also sweeping through the ranks of the city's first responders. In the NYPD, over 5,000 staff members — 14 percent of the force — are out sick today, a senior law enforcement officials said. A total of 930 members of the department have tested positive for COVID-19. Gabe Gutierrez is reporting on the crisis gripping New York City on tonight's broadcast. USNS Comfort hospital ship arrives in New York City harbor to aid coronavirus response Amazon and Instacart workers strike for coronavirus protections Jo Ling Kent is reporting on workers at Amazon's warehouse in Staten Island, New York and Instacart grocery delivery workers, who began walking off the job today. The Amazon workers want their warehouse closed down for a deep cleaning, after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC the warehouse does not need to be shut down, and said the company was following guidelines from health authorities. The spokesman said Amazon has stepped up the cleaning and sanitization of its facilities. Some Instacart workers are also striking across the country. They are demanding the company give them personal protective equipment like hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, and extra $5 in hazard pay per order, and default tip amounts of at least 10 percent on each order. Instacart said on Sunday it would begin making hand sanitizer more available, and make it easier for customers to set default tip amounts. The workers blasted Instacart's response. "Aside from simply not being enough, this is insulting for a number of reasons," they said in a post on Medium. Meantime, the economic fallout from the pandemic is worsening. Macy's announced it is furloughing most of its 125,000 employees, after shutting down all of its stores on March 18. Instacart delivery workers plan to strike for coronavirus protections Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app. FOLLOW US Download the NBC News Mobile App This email was sent to: stevenmagallanes520.nims@blogger.com. This is an automated email. Do not reply directly. 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 Privacy | Unsubcription | NBC Newsletters | Contact