JUDY WOODRUFF: Coronavirus deaths in the United States have reached a new milestone, 3,700.
That overtakes China's officially announced total of 3,300.
Italy and Spain each have recorded many more deaths, while the U.S. has far and away the
most cases of any country, more than 180,000 so far.
President Trump warned tonight that the country faces -- quote -- "a very tough two weeks."
And, everywhere, officials scramble to keep up.
Amna Nawaz begins our coverage.
AMNA NAWAZ: Across New York City, local landmarks are joining the front lines of the fight against
coronavirus. The Javits Convention Center, now a 1,000-bed hospital, took in its first
overflow patients last night, that as New York, the epicenter of America's outbreak,
saw known cases in the state top 75,000.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he purchased 17,000 new ventilators from China. The need,
he said, is desperate.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): You know how you know I really, 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.
AMNA NAWAZ: The need is also great in Louisiana, where 239 have died.
Governor John Bel Edwards warned today, with over 5,200 known cases and over 1,300 hospitalized,
the state may run out of ventilators this weekend. He implored residents to do all they
can to slow the spread.
GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): Stay at home, stop the spread and save lives. There's no
way to see that number and not be startled. And, look, I'm telling people to expect things
to get worse before they get better.
And I saw the number, and I was startled.
AMNA NAWAZ: Hospital beds are filling up, but streets remain largely empty across the
country. As of tonight, Arizona and Tennessee join the dozens of states limiting residents'
activity outside their homes.
All told, at least 32 states now have some sort of stay-at-home order in place, affecting
more than three-quarters of the entire U.S. population. And those directives are unlikely
to ease soon, according to projections from the White House this week.
President Trump extended the social distancing guidelines until the end of April, after new
models estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans could die of the virus.
White House lead coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci:
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID Director: If we pulled back on what we were doing and didn't extend
them, there would be more avoidable suffering and avoidable death.
But it was patently obvious, looking at the data, that, at the end of the day, if we try
to push back prematurely, not only would we lose lives, but it probably would even hurt
the economy.
AMNA NAWAZ: President Trump, meanwhile, proposed that the government take advantage of rock-bottom
interest rates, slashed to mitigate the pandemic fallout, and move forward on a -- quote -- "very
big and bold" $2 trillion infrastructure bill.
Leaders in other countries, like Chile and Hungary, are taking advantage of the uncertainty
with power grabs, cracking down on dissenters and consolidating power. Officials at the
European Union expressed concern today.
ERIC MAMER, Spokesperson, European Commission: Respect of freedom of expression and legal
certainty are essential in these uncertain times.
AMNA NAWAZ: But in Europe's hardest-hit nation of Italy, a glimmer of hope, a health official
announcing the three-week-long national lockdown has led to a leveling off of new infections.
In memory of the thousands of Italian victims so far, a moment of silence tonight in Rome.
Nearby, in Spain, nearly 850 deaths today made it the country's deadliest 24-hour stretch.
So, on the streets of Madrid, in the pouring rain, police officers, ambulance drivers,
and street cleaners stood in silence to pay their respects.
In other cities, sounds of gratitude echoed in the streets. From Singapore skyscrapers
to townhouses in England, residents worldwide stuck at home stepped outside to take part
in a new pandemic tradition, applauding medical workers fighting the virus, as one shift ends
and another begins.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Amna Nawaz.