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Italy on Lockdown; Airlines Slash Overseas Flights; New York Deploying National Guard to Coronavirus Cluster. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired March 10, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: As the nation comes to terms with the virus, the president moments ago said he is open to getting tested himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think it's a big deal. I would do it. I don't feel that -- any reason.

I feel extremely good. I feel very good. But I guess it's not a big deal to get tested, and something I would do,.

But, again, spoke to the White House doctor, terrific guy, talented guy. He said he sees no reason to do it. There's no symptoms, no anything.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: You know what? If there were, you people would be the first to know it. You would -- you would maybe even tell me about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling it -- and I'm quoting him -- "a matter of life and death."

The governor is deploying the National Guard to a suburb of New York City that's become home to the largest cluster of coronaviruses in the case -- in the country starting Thursday.

Troops will set up a one mile containment zone in New Rochelle. Schools, houses of worship, large facilities will all be shut down for two weeks. Governor Cuomo saying that this has to be done after 108 cases sprouted there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Go in, we will clean the schools and assess the situation.

This will be a period of disruption for the local community. This is not your normal pattern, right? It's not a shotgun pattern of disparate cases. This is a true geographic cluster. This is literally a matter of life and death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Brynn Gingras joins me now from New Rochelle.

And, Brynn, tell me everything you know.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brooke, well, we are on Main Street in New Rochelle. It's pretty quiet at this hour. It's likely going to be even more quiet in two days' time, when the National Guard actually comes here to town and starts that two-week containment period.

Now, as you sort of laid out for your viewers, the idea of this is really to shut down areas of large gatherings. That's not necessarily to tell people to stop stay in their homes unless they have already been given that order by public health officials.

It's more of shutting down those areas where people gather to help contain the virus within this area, which is really a hot spot, the governor calling it likely the biggest cluster in the entire United States.

So, like you said, the National Guard is going to come to town, schools are going to shut down. They're going to be some businesses that shut down, places of worship, churches, synagogues. The whole list of who exactly is going to be impacted hasn't really quite been laid out just yet between the state and local officials here on the ground.

But we expect to hear more about that in the very near future. And when the Guard is here, the National Guard, we're hearing they're going to be going door to door helping people make sure they get their food for those who have to stay inside their homes, also help cleaning public spaces.

Again, this is just the next phase in the city trying to handle all the cases that have really concentrated to this area. If we remember, it was a couple of weeks ago when one of the first cases in the entire state happened here. A lawyer from Westchester County from this town of New Rochelle contracted the virus, tested positive, still recovering from that virus, and then the cases just sort of exploded from there.

BALDWIN: Brynn in New Rochelle -- Brynn, thank you so much.

As this is all developing, the question is, how big of a disruption will this be?

Westchester County Executive George Latimer joins me now.

New Rochelle is, of course, in your county.

So, George, you tell me a little bit more about -- let's call this person patient zero, the center of this cluster. How did he or she get sick? Do you even know?

GEORGE LATIMER, WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK, EXECUTIVE: Well, Brooke, we don't know how the index patient, as we're calling the individual -- I know the person's name, but for privacy's sake, we will refrain from it.

BALDWIN: Sure.

LATIMER: How he contracted it.

We do know that he had -- excuse me -- a case of pneumonia just previous. So while he's a fairly young man, he was compromised. His system was compromised when the virus hit him. And in the circle that he traveled in, his religious institution -- he attended religious services, he attended a bar mitzvah, he attended a funeral.

And in that tight cluster have been most of the cases that have put New Rochelle on the national map. We're up to 108 cases right now, as with the governor's numbers this morning. And that's a tremendous concentration.

But they have been testing in this circle of contacts and finding many people positive.

BALDWIN: Yes, hearing from the governor, I mean, he really puts it in perspective, saying, New Rochelle, this is the largest cluster of coronavirus in the entire country.

Tell me this, because when people hear National Guard has been deployed, they think, oh my gosh, police state. You tell me what the role of the National Guard will be.

LATIMER: Well, this is going to be concern.

When people see armed officers on the streets of your -- an American city, you immediately think something very bad is afoot. As the National Guard is deployed, their purpose is to deal with people who are going to be inside their homes under quarantine, make sure they do get food, medicine, things that will keep them from having to go outside the house under emergency circumstances.

[15:05:00]

They're also going to help, I think, very effectively in cleaning up all of the different public spaces that are there. We have religious institutions, five, six institutions in this corridor that's been set aside for attention, and the schools as well, as I think four major schools in New Rochelle, and a couple in an adjacent district in Tuckahoe that will also require shutdown and also cleaning.

The hope is, as we have seen so far in this area, Westchester, just outside of New York City, home to many prominent people, this is a county of people who are very well-connected, but they're also very smart. They understand what we're facing.

We have an issue that we have to resolve. We have to be pragmatic about it. If being in your home for 14 days, that's -- to do it, that's what we have to do.

BALDWIN: And, George, I mean, a lot of people jump on the train, right?

You get to -- you get from New Rochelle to Manhattan, Metro North. So can you confirm that Metro North and Amtrak will still be stopping at New Rochelle, doing service to New Rochelle?

LATIMER: Yes, the Metro North system in downtown New Rochelle and some of the other stations that serve parts of New Rochelle, if you look at a map, you will see that the long skinny seven-mile stretch of New Rochelle is adjacent to other train stations as well.

There's still going to be service by Metro North into the city. Individuals who are compromised won't be on those trains, but the cleanliness of those trades is also being worked on by the Metropolitan Transit Authority here in the New York area.

BALDWIN: All right, George Latimer, we appreciate you very much. Thank you on all things Westchester County and New Rochelle.

How about airlines? Airlines are getting hit hard, as the coronavirus spread is prompting millions of people to stay home. Two the country's biggest airlines, Delta and American, now are joining JetBlue and United in announcing drastic flight cuts for the summer, Delta slashing its international flights by as much as 25 percent.

Laura Begley Bloom, travel editor and contributor for "Forbes," is with me now.

And I know this is your wheelhouse, all things travel. So, first, just explain to us, when I'm reading that Delta, for example, is cutting domestic and international travel, what does that mean? How much.

(CROSSTALK)

LAURA BEGLEY BLOOM, "FORBES": They're cutting a lot of flights right now, 10 percent really for domestic and much more for international.

I think the good news for consumers is, this means flights are likely to get cheaper. We're already seeing that prices are coming way down. So if there can be sort of silver lining in all of this, this might be the moment to take that vacation you have always dreamed of. It's going to cost you a whole lot less.

BALDWIN: Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta, was quoted saying: "We are prepared to do more as the situation evolves."

And he also said that he believes -- quote -- "There's no question the government will intervene." Perhaps he means in the form of some sort of economic stimulus. Have you heard anything to that extent?

BLOOM: Well, what we have been seeing so far is that the airlines are really taking a lot of measures of their own. They're -- some of the executives are even taking pay cuts. The CEO of Southwest Airlines took a pay cut, to try to help cut costs. And we're seeing that they're asking for employees to go on furloughs or maybe take some unpaid vacation time. So the airlines have it all ready. They're trying to do whatever they can to avoid that government intervention.

But I think, eventually, it might happen. And it might be a good thing. We don't want to see the airlines crash.

BALDWIN: Right.

How about -- you have pointed out one positive is that the industry, if you have a flight, spring break time, right, and you want to cancel or rejigger, that they are being flexible and accommodating. How accommodating?

BLOOM: The airlines are being extremely flexible right now.

A lot of the airlines have announced that they will waive all cancellation fees. They will let you take the flights and book it to a future flight. If you have existing flights, and you're not within a time frame, call the airlines. They might be able to help you.

It's sometimes a case-by-case basis, but they're really being flexible and understanding and trying to help consumers -- give them more confidence.

BALDWIN: Last question, just quick. If people do jump in on the flights are cheaper bandwagon, and they want to -- do want to go somewhere and are healthy, what do you recommend as far as travel insurance is concerned?

BLOOM: Well, most people insurance policies won't cover a pandemic or an epidemic.

What you want to get is something called cancel for any reason insurance. And it's a little bit more expensive, and you won't get all of your money back. But it'll give you some peace of mind, and you will get a huge chunk of the money back if you decide to cancel.

BALDWIN: It's literally called cancel for anything?

BLOOM: It's also known as CFAR, cancel for any reason insurance.

BALDWIN: There you go.

Laura, thank you very much.

BLOOM: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Good to have you on.

Coronavirus fear is also hitting the entertainment and sports industry. "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of fortune" will now tape without studio audiences out of concern over the spread of the virus.

The rock band Pearl Jam is cutting their tour dates. And two sources tell CNN that the Coachella Festival, one of music's largest events, has been postponed until likely this fall. Major sports leagues here in the United States are also taking steps to protect players.

Here is CNN's Andy Scholes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, this is the first time something like this has ever happened.

The NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL and MLS putting out a joint statement, and the leagues coming together to make that announcement about closing their locker rooms to the media.

[15:10:03]

Here's the statement: "After consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, and given the issues that can be associated with close contact in pre- and post-game settings, all team locker rooms and clubhouses will be open only two players and essential employees of teams and team facilities until further notice. Media access will be maintained in designated locations outside of the locker room and clubhouse setting."

Now, those changes go into effect today. According to ESPN, NBA owners are holding a conference call tomorrow to figure out what's next. The league did send out a memo over the weekend telling teams to prepare to play games without fans in the arena.

We reached out to the NCAA and asked about plans for March Madness. And, Brooke, right now, they told us their advisory panel continues to not recommend any cancellation of events.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Andy Scholes, thank you.

Still ahead, an emergency room doctor joins me to answer your questions about coronavirus.

Plus, we are live in Italy as a national lockdown has banned all public events, includes museums and tourist sites. The number of cases of coronavirus in Italy now well over 10,000.

Plus, the president's former homeland security adviser is recommending drastic measures to stop the pandemic, including closing schools for up to eight weeks.

Stand by.

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BALDWIN: As coronavirus continues to spread here in the United States, there are signs the situation could be stabilizing where the global crisis originated in Wuhan, China.

President Xi Jinping making his first visit to Wuhan earlier today, in an apparent show of confidence that this outbreak is now under control there.

Also today, the last two field hospitals that were built to treat the overflow of patients at the epicenter are closing.

In Italy, government officials there are taking drastic measures to fight the outbreak. The entire country -- so, we're talking 60 million people there -- are now on a total lockdown.

The country is the hardest hit in Europe, where the death toll jumped by 168 in the past day. So far, more than 600 have died in Italy, which has confirmed more than 10,000 cases.

And CNN's Delia Gallagher is in Rome.

And, Delia, how are Italians reacting to this just unprecedented lockdown by the government?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, we're out here in Rome's Prati neighborhood. This is an area where, normally, at 8:00 at night right now, it would be buzzing with people coming back from work, going out to restaurants and bars.

I don't know if you can see, but there is nobody on the streets behind me. There's a few cars coming around, because, of course, people can go out to work, if that is really strictly necessary.

But we saw that people are more or less abiding by the government's plea really to stay inside as much as possible, not to gather in groups if they're outside, and to stay about three feet away from each other, if they do have to go outside.

A lot of the Italians I have spoken to today -- this is the first full day of lockdown for the whole country -- they said they're happy to abide by it, because there is a fear here of the virus coming to other areas.

It's already reached a lot of other regions, but, in the north, where they have had the most severe cases, they have the best health infrastructure there, in the Lombardy region, where Milan is.

And one of their coordinators of an intensive care unit up there told us yesterday, look, we are reaching collapse.

So, the fear here is that hospitals in other regions, Brooke, will not be able to handle those kinds of numbers. And, in fact, doctors that I have spoken to have said they really wanted this lockdown, because they feel it will help to control the virus and, hopefully, although obviously there will be major economic repercussions from all of these closures, the real point here is to control the spread of this virus -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Health, number one. And, to your point, there is no one behind you, and when that bus passed by, not a soul on board that bus.

Delia Gallagher in Rome -- Delia, thank you.

Back here in the United States, President Trump's former homeland security adviser is recommending the U.S. take extreme measures to fight the virus before it's too late.

In this opinion piece in "The Washington Post," Tom Bossert wrote that the U.S. should start by closing schools for up to eight weeks, isolate the sick, quarantine those who come into contact with those infected.

Let's go to CNN's Kylie Atwood.

She is live at the State Department.

And, Kylie, tell us more about these potential drastic steps that Tom Bossert is recommending.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes.

Well, the point that Tom Bossert really hits home in this op-ed, Brooke, is that time is of the essence. He says, time matters, and the difference in two weeks, whether or not there are effective intervention steps that are taken in two weeks or not, can be the difference between success and failure in combating the coronavirus.

And he then turns to both science and history to make his argument. And the things that he is proposing are quite drastic and wide- ranging.

I want to read to you what he writes in this op-ed.

He says -- quote -- "School closures, isolation of the sick, home quarantines of those who have come into contact with the sick, social distancing, telework, and large gathering cancellations must be implemented before the spread of the disease in any community reaches 1 percent. After that, science tells us these interventions become far less effective."

So then he also points to the fact that history can tell us some lessons here. With regard to the Spanish Flu of 1918, it killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide.

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Obviously, that was a long time ago. But he says there are certain cities in the U.S. that reacted to it more effectively than others. And one of the things that he does highlight is the school closures.

That is something that we have been covering as it comes, schools really making decisive actions here, but he says that could be the single most effective measure taken. And it's not because children are the most susceptible group. In fact, they aren't.

But what it does is protect parents and grandparents from interacting with students who could have come into contact with anyone who contracted the virus.

So he says, administrators and teachers and parents all need to be putting their thinking brains on right now and really planning for how to educate children when the schools do close, because he says that experts are saying that it could be up to eight weeks of school closures that would be needed to combat the virus here.

So he's hitting it home that time really matters -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: We have got to get on it and figure out what to do with these kids in these schools across the country.

Kylie, thank you very much, Kylie Atwood at the State Department.

Just into us here at CNN, one of the Republican lawmakers who self- quarantined after being in contact with an infected person at a conference in Washington just got his test results back. So we have that for you.

Also, what are the risks to children from coronavirus? We have got a doctor to answer that and so many of your other questions about coronavirus next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:37]

BALDWIN: As we learn more and more people testing positive for coronavirus and the measures currently under way to protect people, CNN is answering your questions.

You have a lot of excellent questions.

So, guess what? I have a E.R. doctor. Rob Davidson is here with me. He's also the executive director of the Committee to Protect Medicare.

And, so, good to have you on.

I know you are on, just full transparency, because your lovely daughter, not at all -- not at Barnard here in New York. And that's just the issue with so many, not just students here in New York, but across the country.

So, we appreciate having you.

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT MEDICARE: Right. Yes. Yes. Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: Here's question number one from a viewer.

Kids vs. adults. Are children less at risk than adults? What threats do they face, the kids?

DAVIDSON: Yes, as far as we can tell, they're less at risk of having severe disease. We don't exactly know. It may be something about their immune systems and how their immune systems react to the virus, and the kind of havoc the virus may cause in their bodies.

We think they're likely, similar to flu, pretty good vectors. For probably any of these viruses, they're pretty good vectors. So them getting sick, getting the sniffles not too severe, but then giving it to an adult, giving it to grandma in a particular higher risk group, that's probably the bigger concern.

And that's why some schools are being closed, because they want to stop this constant transmission between these kids that aren't necessarily the most sanitary folks in our society.

BALDWIN: Right. Right. They're kids.

Question number two, is it safe to put cell phones up against your face?

DAVIDSON: Yes, I mean, people should exercise caution. Always wash their hands well, use hand sanitizer well, because that's really the risk.

You come into contact. You get it on your hands, you get it on your cell phone, and then you bring it up to your face, get it in your eyes and your nose.

BALDWIN: That's not good.

DAVIDSON: And so it's really all about practicing good hygiene yourself, washing your hands.

But, yes, we I think we can still use our cell phones if we do that.

BALDWIN: Question three, with more -- this is great one -- with more first responders being quarantined, what's the impact? Could we see shortages and slow response times?

DAVIDSON: This is my nightmare scenario.

A, the first responders, but also I work in a small rural emergency department in Michigan, and we have three nursing -- skilled nursing facilities within a five-mile radius, two assisted living centers.

As people in the health care community, particularly on the front lines, EMS providers and nurses in the emergency department, doctors in the emergency department, as they come offline, you're straining the system.

We're still having people having heart attacks and strokes and broken hips and appendicitis throughout all of this. That baseline number for which we are normally staffed doesn't go away. And so if those people are taken offline, we have three ambulances in a county of 47,000 people.

Once our hospital fills up, which, if it hits our community, it will fill up very quickly. Our three isolation beds that we have will fill up. We will be having to transfer people out, and now using those ambulance services. These folks make $15, $16 an hour working 24-hour shifts as it is. Imagine having people working double shifts, extra time, or just taking them offline and losing that...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: That is scary, because it's not like people are going to stop breaking bones, to your point.

(CROSSTALK)

DAVIDSON: Right, right. Normal things still happen.

BALDWIN: They're needed. They're needed.

DAVIDSON: For sure.

BALDWIN: Last question. Is it safe or OK to go to the dentist?

DAVIDSON: It is. I went to the dentist last week. Our dentists practice very good hygiene. Mine wears a mask, wears gloves.

So, yes, I think we should still be doing whatever we think we should be doing in that respect, unless you're sick. If you're particularly sick yourself, please don't bring it to your dentist's office and get anyone else sick.

BALDWIN: Yes, don't infect the office.

DAVIDSON: Right. Right.

BALDWIN: Dr. Rob Davidson, thank you very much.

DAVIDSON: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

And, also, you can submit your questions at CNN.com/coronavirusquestions.

And please check out our latest podcast. This is from the good doctor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent.

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