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New Day

Global Markets Plunge As Coronavirus Fears Grow. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 09, 2020 - 07:00   ET

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


[07:00:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day.

We do have breaking news. The coronavirus outbreak is now a global pandemic. CNN will now start using that term considering the criterion which is the number of cases and the spread across many countries and the sustained levels of community transmission.

In the U.S., there are 22 people who have died from this. There are more than 500 cases now. Worldwide, there are nearly 4,000 people who have been killed and more than 108,000 cases.

Coronavirus fears are again rattling financial markets. Stocks in Asia and Europe plunged overnight. Dow Futures are pointing to a sharp drop when the market opens. Christine Romans will have an update in moments.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: The waiting game is almost over for thousands of people on board a cruise ship in Northern California. The Grand Princess is set to dock in Oakland sometime today. We don't know exactly when whey will begin transferring passengers to federal military installations for quarantine. It could take days to get everyone off. 21 people on board have tested positive for coronavirus, 19 of them are crew members and also two passengers.

CNN learned the top doctor on Capitol Hill is warning members of Congress who may have been exposed to coronavirus at the CPAC conference last week. A number of phone calls to a number of members who did come in contact with this person, two Republican members are under self-quarantine right now as a precaution. We'll tell you much more on that ahead.

We're going to begin though with a look at the markets plummeting this morning before the trading opens. CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans joins us now with the very latest.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And, guys, this is the 11th anniversary of the bull market in stocks and it faces its biggest test since the financial crisis. Around the world, big moves lower, U.S. Stock Index Futures down here. In fact, the move so fierce overnight. Some of the feeds for Dow Futures have frozen down almost 5 percent and the S&P 500 was actually halted in overnight trading at one point as these circuit breakers went into effect because it plunged more than 5 percent.

World markets tumbling here. Asian markets closed sharply lower. And look at European markets. They are nearing what we call a bear market. That means they're almost 20 percent down from their recent highs. That would spell the end of the post-recession bull market for these stocks and, again, Dow Futures lower.

Where are we in the U.S.? Stocks are down. As of Friday's close, they are more than in correction territory. And today will be more significant losses here.

Adding to the global turmoil, an oil market crash. At one point, crude prices down 30 percent. We haven't seen that since 1991. Now, that will mean maybe by summer, lower gas prices for American consumers. That's good news. But for shale oil producers in the United States, it could mean bankruptcies and a lot of job losses in Texas and Oklahoma.

So there are two sides to this global oil story. This is because of, honestly, a price war going on between Saudi Arabia and Russia, a real struggle there for power and influence in the oil market added on to this coronavirus story.

Look, global supply chains have been strained. That's why you're seeing some concerns in the credit markets. The ten-year treasury yield down below 0.5 percent. I can't believe those words are coming out of my mouth. I have covered the bond market for years. This is something that no one could have seen coming and shows that the global markets are predicting a lot of anxiety in the global economy, maybe even a recession, guys.

BERMAN: I'm going to say, Romans, that last number is the one that is shocking to so many professionals in the business. I know it's hard for consumers, I think, to understand. We have to let you go. You're going down to the exchange. Why? Today it looks like it will be different. You've told us this morning that the market faces its biggest test in 13 years today, so we'll get underweight about (ph) now.

Now, to California where the Grand Princess Cruise Ship is expected to dock sometime today. At least 21 people on board have tested positive for coronavirus. CNN's Dan Simon is live at the port in Oakland with the latest.

We don't know exactly when this ship will come in. But we do know once it does, Dan, this is a complicated process.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. After days of idling off the coast of San Francisco, we know that at some point, the Grand Princess will reach a port. It will come to the port of Oakland where healthcare workers will help disembark the more than 24 passengers who have been on board.

From there, they will go into a 14-day mandatory quarantine. For passengers, this has been such an agonizing experience.

[07:05:01] They've been kept in isolation in their rooms, really not even able to get much fresh air at all.

I want you to listen now to one passenger who bought cruise tickets as a Christmas present for his wife. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: What have these last few days been like for you?

ARCHIE DILL, PASSENGER ON GRAND PRINCESS CRUISE: Well, it's not quite prison, but it's a lot like that.

SIMON: Have you been concerned or worried about the fact that there is coronavirus on the ship and potential you could get it?

DILL: No, I'm not worried about that at all. I think we're quarantined and that we're basically being protected from the crew that has it.

SIMON: This whole thing for you has just been overkill.

DILL: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, that's just one passenger's perspective. We do know that all the passengers on the ship will get a full refund for the voyage and they will get a credit towards a future cruise.

Now, John, in terms of how the process is going to work today, as you might expect, those who have the most acute medical issues, they will be taken to local hospitals. And then over the next two or three days, they will start unloading the rest of the passengers, first those from California who make up approximately 40 percent of the ship.

And then as we've been reporting, the crew -- and remember, 19 of them did test positive for the coronavirus. They will quarantine at sea.

John and Alisyn, I send it back to you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much, Dan.

All right, CNN is now calling the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. For more on the crisis and the government's response, we are joined now by a member of the White House coronavirus task force, that is Dr. Anthony Fauci. Dr. Fauci, we always appreciate you making time to come on here and give us the facts.

So, first, we have criteria for why CNN is now calling it a pandemic. Do you agree with that terminology?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It's going to mean different things to different people. It's a widespread infection involving multiple regions of the world. People would call that a pandemic. CNN would call it a pandemic. WHO will call it a pandemic. It's not going to make any difference with what we do. That's the point. Instead of people getting all bent out of shape about what you call it, it's a serious situation for sure.

CAMEROTA: No, understood. I understand. I mean, from your point, what does it matter what it's called? And the only reason it matters is if there is a change in the preparedness or if there's a change in the plan. I mean --

FAUCI: Alisyn, there won't be. Alisyn, if I say I declare this a pandemic, which I have no authority to declare anything. But if I do, it's not going to change what we're doing. It just is not. We need to go full-court press on this, no matter what you call it.

CAMEROTA: Yes. And what does full-court press look like?

FAUCI: It means really getting out there. And first example, what we did yesterday, it's very important right now that if you look at what's going on globally and in the United States, the vulnerable people, when you look at the statistics of what we're gathering, of the people who get infected, the ones who get in trouble at a high rate are people with underlying conditions, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, diabetes, particularly the elderly. Those are the ones that need to be protected because they're vulnerable.

So right now is what we're saying, if you fall into that category, you shouldn't wait for anything. You should be doing what some people are calling social distancing. What it really means, stay out of crowds, don't do travel, above all, don't go near a cruise ship. Don't go on a cruise ship. Those are the kind of things we're doing.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Fauci, I can't help but think about our president and our presidential candidates when you say this. These are all 70-plus- year-old men with some history, a couple of them, of heart issues and so -- they're campaigning. They're out pressing the flesh. They're in big crowds. Do you ever worry about Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden or Donald Trump?

FAUCI: They have made a commitment of their life to serve publicly, and that's what they're doing. And there are just risks that people take, and there are relative risks. And each individual makes up their mind for their own safety.

What I'm saying in general, for the general public, if you fall into that category, be careful. Don't put yourself at an extra risk.

But within that, individuals will make their own choice.

CAMEROTA: You're saying from where you sit, they are putting -- they are taking a risk?

FAUCI: Well, I don't know really hardly anything about the underlying conditions of these people. I'm not just talking about elderly people. I'm talking about elderly people, particularly those with underlying conditions.

[07:10:02]

If you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, if you have congestive heart failure, if you're on immunosuppressant drugs for cancer chemotherapy, those are the individuals that really should be protected because they're vulnerable.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Do you agree with the surgeon general who says we're past the point of containment?

FAUCI: It depends on what you mean by past the point of containment. You always should do some sort of containment. But we're getting particularly in areas like Seattle, we're getting to do mitigation. So there's these definition of things. Containment means you really put most of your resources to stop a spread. For example, you don't let people in from the countries in which there are high levels, like Northern Italy and places like that, Greece. Mitigation means we're here, we have infection, let's try to make the best of it by separating people.

I don't think you ever abandon containment completely, but sometimes you have to transition from containment to mitigation.

CAMEROTA: Should families cancel their plans for spring break right now if they are going to be getting on a flight?

FAUCI: It depends on what you mean, Alisyn, by families. I mean, if you have vulnerable people in the family and if you get infected, even if you're in that category which you would hardly get any symptoms, and there are people who do extremely well, the majority, 80 percent of people will do well if they don't have any underlying conditions.

But you may get infected and then come home and infect your grandmother or grandfather who does have an underlying condition. So each family unit, each individual has to look about not only the risk for themselves, but what risk were they putting the people around them in.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Well, I mean, the problem is it's unknowable, right? And so parents have to today -- let's pretend it's middle-aged parents with young kids. Today, they're trying to decide if they should get on a plane. And so should they?

FAUCI: There's no doubt you shouldn't say no travel for anyone. We certainly are not there yet. But what you've got to be careful about what category you fall in. Right now, if you have somebody who is 45 years old, doing well, a business person or whatever, there's no problem getting on a plane. If you're a person who has an underlying condition, elderly particularly, doing that kind of travel is putting yourself at an extra risk.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about the cruise ship that is currently offshore of California but will be, we're told, docking today and letting its 3,500 passengers off, but the crew will be staying on board. Is this the right protocol?

FAUCI: Yes, it is right now. I think that there's a step-by-step approach that they're going to be doing. First of all, there are some children there who are compromised. They want to get them off. There are people who have conditions, they want to get them off. You want to get the Americans who are in California off. You want to get the others off who are going to get on flights and go to different places. The crew are the ones that will be there and then the responsibility of that will be for the shipping company.

But right now, for the State of California, it's to get those people off, get the ones who need help, the help they need and get the others to where they need to be.

CAMEROTA: When you say children who are compromised, you mean there are sick children on board?

FAUCI: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Who have coronavirus?

FAUCI: No. They're on board and they are compromised in other ways.

CAMEROTA: Understood. And the people who can get on planes, those are people who will have certainly tested negative?

FAUCI: Yes. Anybody who is positive is not going to get on a plane. The people who are going to get shipped out are going to be going first to a holding facility and they will stay there and be tested. If they are tested, they're not going to go anywhere. If, in fact, they are negative and they have the incubation period time that essentially runs out, then they'll go to wherever they need to go.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Fauci, CNN has new reporting this morning that there's tension between the White House and some of the agencies that are all trying to get the message out and trying to deal with this. The two sides have grown increasingly distrustful of one another. People inside both the CDC and the White House say, as officials on each side question the decisions, that either appear to downplay the crisis or generate further concern.

Because you're right in the middle of it, I'm just wondering how you're threading that needle and what to do about -- look, the president, I think it's clear, has at times presented an overly rosy picture. I know that he's not comfortable with people who he thinks at the CDC or FDA have presented a dire picture. So what is the public to understand about both of these things that don't seem to be able to co-exist?

[07:15:01]

FAUCI: You know, I can only speak for myself, Alisyn. As you know, every time I have come in front of this camera with CNN New Day or any other place, I tell them exactly what I feel based on the data. I give you my honest opinion of what we should be doing, my honest evaluation, the same as I'm doing today. But it can't speak for everyone who is involved in this.

CAMEROTA: And, Dr. Fauci, because you are such an experienced voice, how does this compare to anything that you've ever dealt with?

FAUCI: You know, whenever you have unknown, which is where we are right now, we're gathering information, we're learning a lot, but there's still a lot that's unknown about where this is going. You always almost have a fog of war about it. It's not that different than the very early years of the HIV epidemic, of the anthrax attacks, of the concern about the pre-pandemic bird flu. Everything has a little bit of a different twist to it. It's not exactly the same. But there's always that uncertainty that gets people very anxious.

CAMEROTA: We appreciate your candor, Dr. Fauci. Thank you very much for coming on New Day. We'll talk to you again soon.

FAUCI: Good to be with you.

BERMAN: I have to say we're lucky to have him on with us. We're lucky to have him in the important rooms when the decisions are being made because someone needs to lay out the facts as they are.

CAMEROTA: For sure. And we always appreciate his voice on our program. We know how busy he is.

BERMAN: All right. You've been hearing this morning. CNN is now calling the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Why? What exactly does that mean? And we heard Dr. Anthony Fauci talk about mitigation now, how there are some parts of the country that have moved beyond just mere containment. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us next.

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[07:20:00]

BERMAN: Breaking this morning. CNN is now calling the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. You just heard Dr. Anthony Fauci explain how there are clearly parts of the United States that have moved beyond just mere containment to mitigation. In other words, it's here and now we just have to deal with it.

I want to bring in CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, you were listening to Alisyn's discussion with Dr. Fauci. But, look, he didn't want to come out and say yes or no to pandemic, because I don't think he wants to have to answer that question all day or every day, but he basically said we're treating it as if it were. We're doing what we're doing now. What did you hear there?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, that's exactly right. I mean, I do think that this is more than a semantic issue here because there's definitely different types of preparation that go on and some very specific things in terms of hospital beds, in terms of ICU beds, in terms of breathing machines.

I think Dr. Fauci obviously and deservedly so is one of the most respected voices on this whole issue in the nation and perhaps the world. I think he's trying to do the best he can to add clarity to what has become an increasingly murky situation, to try to add clarity, to try and explain some of why we've been so late to test people and the fact that we don't have a clear idea of what exactly is happening in this country as a result. He's doing the best he can to try to explain that, but it's tough.

CAMEROTA: But, Sanjay, just to be clear, you're saying that there would be a difference in preparedness just under the pandemic categorization, because he said there would be. And so we're saying that, what more beds would become available, ventilators or something?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, what I'm saying is that we've been focused on tallying up the numbers every day. This goes from 100 to 200 to 300, and I don't think that means anything to anybody, Alisyn. What I'm saying is that there's clearly a shortfall with regard to what is coming. There's not enough beds, there's not enough ICU beds, there's not enough breathing machines. That is very clear. That is the federal government's own estimates in terms of what's going to be necessary. And it's still not clear to me if we can make up the shortfall.

So the question I think I would have asked Dr. Fauci as well is, here are the number of people who are likely to need a breathing machine, here are the breathing machines that we have, how do you reconcile these two numbers? That's the very clear question. If we're talking about mitigation, you address concerns like that as opposed to saying, we're going to focus our efforts on trying to quarantine and contain.

As Dr. Fauci said, you can do both simultaneously, but there are some very, very specific issues that need to be addressed, some of the ones I've outlined. Maybe I can show the numbers again, if we can, in terms of the requirements in a pandemic situation for a moderate pandemic or a severe pandemic, they say 38 million people would need medical care. A million people would need hospitalizations, 200,000 people needing ICUs. We don't have that right now.

So if we're calling this a pandemic and we are serious about it, what does that mean in terms of being able to compensate for those shortfalls? That's the point I think we're trying to make.

BERMAN: Sanjay, we also heard Dr. Fauci talk about this cruise ship which will dock today. And the plan is to bring the passengers off over the next few days, but the crew is going to stay on board. How do you assess that decision?

GUPTA: Well, you know, we certainly had some lessons that we learned I think from the Diamond. When cruise ships are not a great place necessarily to quarantine people because clearly there was transmission of the virus on board. Some 700 people became infected on that previous cruise ship.

With regard to the crew, they are oftentimes staying in close quarters. They have been obviously continuing to do service to the passengers up until the point that the passengers are going to disembark. So I'm -- I think from the lessons that we learned from the Diamond, are we basically saying that it is likely that the significant percentage of people on the crew are going to become infected upon that ship or should we do a better job to isolate them on land as well? [07:25:07]

Some of this we're dealing with for the first time. I mean, we only have sort of the Diamond cruise ship as a precedent and lessons learned. But I think there were some important lessons there. So I think being able to isolate people in a more appropriate and robust fashion seems to make sense.

CAMEROTA: Sanjay, what about that question that I asked Dr. Fauci, which is it's spring break time, and parents are trying to figure out if they're canceling their trips, if they're just going to have a staycation, if their kids are going to be safe. What's the answer for people right now on that practical level?

GUPTA: Well, I heard what Dr. Fauci said. I think his immediate response to you was, it depends on how you define family. Are there people within the family more at risk? We know the people more at risk are people who are in their 70s and 80s and people who have specific underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and hypertension as well as kidney disease.

But, Alisyn, look, I think from a pragmatic standpoint, we know that people can carry the virus even if they're not showing much in the way of symptoms. We know that even if you don't have somebody like that in your family, you may come in contact who you could spread the virus too if you're out and about. So I think it's a tough decision.

I think there's a lot of families who are probably saying, we may not do that this year, we may not travel, we may not get on a plane this year for spring break, but it's got to be a very personal decision.

I think, clearly, something is happening and I think people should not ignore that with regard to this coronavirus.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, we really appreciate talking to you. Thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: At least two Republicans in Congress are now self- quarantining after attending the CPAC conference last week. New report on the warning going out from the top doctor at the Capitol, next.

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[07:30:00]

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