Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown spoke with MSNBC's Chris Jansing Saturday evening to discuss the impact the coronavirus is having on the city. 

Jansing was broadcasting live from Cleveland in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She focused the nationally televised show on the Buckeye State, as it's one of 20 states that began reopening Friday.

Dayton's Mayor Nan Whaley and Mayor Brown joined Jansing live via video chat within the first two minutes of the show.

Jansing asked, "Mahoning County, which includes Youngstown, I have been to your city many many times, has had the largest number in the state per- capita. I think I checked it this morning, you may be down to second, but 82 people dead as of this morning. Nine-hundred cases. How does it change or does it change the equation for you? What are your residents telling you about their willingness to get things re-opened?"

"The residents in Youngstown and specifically Mahoning County, they're asking and making sure we want to take it slow," said Mayor Brown. "We are going to take the opinion of Dr. Acton as well as the governor. But we're going to take it slow. We are going to look at the data and what the medical science says for us right here in Youngstown, Ohio."

Jansing also asked the mayor if he knows why Mahoning County has been so hard hit.

"There's theories out there," said Brown. "I'm going to leave that up to the medical (professionals) and the scientist to figure that out. We can say we are close to Pennsylvania or right down (Interstate) 80 where New York City falls right into Mahoning County. We're not sure. But with all efforts, we are figuring out what we have to deal with."

Economically, the virus has taken its toll on Youngstown, forcing the city administration to seek voluntary furloughs from 7 to 10 percent of employees.

When asked about what type of help the city needs and where they believe they can find it, Brown said federal funding is the key. 

"I think right now the federal government. We are like everyone else in this pandemic. We see loss in revenue on every account for us. Ohio is like many other states," he replied. "In Ohio, we deal with income tax and sales tax, so if those are down, we're suffering. Cities are suffering. Now, we need more than any time for the federal government to step in and help places like Youngstown, Ohio and Dayton, Ohio.

The communication between Governor Mike DeWine and all of the mayors throughout the state was discussed.

The mayor said conversations between them happen regularly.

"When we get on the calls, the governor will ask, 'What are you hearing and what are you seeing?'," said Brown. "We give him our feedback, and what I like more than anything from the governor is when we give him our feedback. We will hear it in the press conference a day or days later and you can see action. I think that is the one thing you can take away from Ohio is that you see action from the governor. He's not just giving us lip service. We see what he is doing and that is what we are all following together. This Ohio Mayors Alliance should be a model for other mayors across the nation to follow because if we work together, we can all get through this pandemic together."

Mayor Brown has been keeping people up to date on his Facebook page titled "Mayor Jamael Tito Brown."