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CNN Live Today

SARS Fears

Aired April 18, 2003 - 12:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER CNN ANCHOR: Well, the CDC lists 35 probable, we'll say probable, cases of SARS in the U.S. Most of the patients had traveled to Asia, where the outbreak began. In this country, though, fear it seems is spreading faster, in some cases, than the disease.
CNN's Jason Carroll joins me live from Chinatown in New York City, a community paying a heavy price because of the SARS scare -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Anderson.

You know, when you come down here to Chinatown, you can really see the effects of people's fears. In reality, there are 10 likely cases of SARS here in New York City, and it is believed that in each one of those cases, the person in question contracted the disease overseas, but even so, when you come down here, the perception is that you can catch this disease, because -- simply because the people believe that lots of people walking around on the sidewalks are carrying the disease, and that simply is not the case.

When you come down here to Chinatown, you see people walking with masks covering their faces, some of them are covering their faces with scarves or with tissues. Business here especially taking a hard hit, business owners telling us that their customers are simply too afraid to come down to the area of Chinatown. The Centers for Disease Control saying that people should not succumb to their fears, that they should simply use their common sense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIR.: Every time there's an epidemic of a new infectious disease, it's also followed by an epidemic of fear. We're seeing increasing reports about the stigma in the Asian community associated with SARS, and we've all experiences for the past 22 years, some of the fear and stigma that has been associated in the past with HIV infections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg came down to Chinatown earlier this week to try to jumpstart things in the business community. He dined at a local restaurant, telling people that they should not worry about coming down to Chinatown, they should not worry about catching SARS, he said. In this crowded city with so much traffic, he said people are more likely to get hit by a car -- Anderson. COOPER: I'm not sure how comforting a thought that is actually, but have you met people down there? I mean, we saw a couple of pictures of people who had masks on their face. When you talked to people, did they say this is a big concern of theirs?

CARROLL: Absolutely. I spoke to one woman who comes down to Chinatown to do her shopping for her fish stew, to get fresh fish down here. She said she had a conversation with her husband before coming down here, and I said, well, what were you so afraid of? She said, I was afraid of catching SARS. I said, so what did you do? I said, well, what I did was I just had my tissue here, and she said that she basically wanted to get the bargains, so she was willing to take the chance of coming down here to get the good deal on the fish -- Anderson.

COOPER: A true New Yorker, wanting a good fish city, outweighing their desire for personal safety.

Anderson Cooper, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired April 18, 2003 - 12:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER CNN ANCHOR: Well, the CDC lists 35 probable, we'll say probable, cases of SARS in the U.S. Most of the patients had traveled to Asia, where the outbreak began. In this country, though, fear it seems is spreading faster, in some cases, than the disease.
CNN's Jason Carroll joins me live from Chinatown in New York City, a community paying a heavy price because of the SARS scare -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Anderson.

You know, when you come down here to Chinatown, you can really see the effects of people's fears. In reality, there are 10 likely cases of SARS here in New York City, and it is believed that in each one of those cases, the person in question contracted the disease overseas, but even so, when you come down here, the perception is that you can catch this disease, because -- simply because the people believe that lots of people walking around on the sidewalks are carrying the disease, and that simply is not the case.

When you come down here to Chinatown, you see people walking with masks covering their faces, some of them are covering their faces with scarves or with tissues. Business here especially taking a hard hit, business owners telling us that their customers are simply too afraid to come down to the area of Chinatown. The Centers for Disease Control saying that people should not succumb to their fears, that they should simply use their common sense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIR.: Every time there's an epidemic of a new infectious disease, it's also followed by an epidemic of fear. We're seeing increasing reports about the stigma in the Asian community associated with SARS, and we've all experiences for the past 22 years, some of the fear and stigma that has been associated in the past with HIV infections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg came down to Chinatown earlier this week to try to jumpstart things in the business community. He dined at a local restaurant, telling people that they should not worry about coming down to Chinatown, they should not worry about catching SARS, he said. In this crowded city with so much traffic, he said people are more likely to get hit by a car -- Anderson. COOPER: I'm not sure how comforting a thought that is actually, but have you met people down there? I mean, we saw a couple of pictures of people who had masks on their face. When you talked to people, did they say this is a big concern of theirs?

CARROLL: Absolutely. I spoke to one woman who comes down to Chinatown to do her shopping for her fish stew, to get fresh fish down here. She said she had a conversation with her husband before coming down here, and I said, well, what were you so afraid of? She said, I was afraid of catching SARS. I said, so what did you do? I said, well, what I did was I just had my tissue here, and she said that she basically wanted to get the bargains, so she was willing to take the chance of coming down here to get the good deal on the fish -- Anderson.

COOPER: A true New Yorker, wanting a good fish city, outweighing their desire for personal safety.

Anderson Cooper, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com