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Cuomo Prime Time

False Hopes Don't Save Lives; War Veterans Ready to Help if Needed; Coronavirus Torment People Financially, Physically and Mentally; The Importance of Combating Coronavirus and Its Toll on Mental Health; Jewel is Holding Digital Concert to Help Families in Need; Being an "Ameri-can" in Time of Crisis. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired March 20, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: As the numbers of cases go up, they are going to use the word exponentially now. They're doubling every three or four days.

Americans are being ordered to stay home. Why? Because we're afraid. No. Because it's a show of force. It's the only way to starve this virus and reduce the cases as quickly as possible.

And the president floated the idea of a drug. That's been unproven as a possible treatment and got push back from one of the nation's top experts today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That will be a game changer. But we're going to know very soon. But we have ordered millions of units.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The information that you're referring to specifically is anecdotal. It was not done in a controlled clinical trial. So, you really can't make a definite statement about it.

TRUMP: I think without seeing too much I'm probably more of a fan of that than maybe than anybody. But I'm a big fan. We'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: You are not a fan of a drug. OK? Either it has been shown to work or they're not sure. You can be hopeful without being misleading. If you're on a bed on a ventilator, you want to know that something works. Not that someone is a fan of it.

If you have a loved one who is sick and you are desperate for information about something that may help them, being a fan of a drug is not what we need right now. And Tony Fauci should not be put in that position.

But don't take it from me. Director Ashish Jha is director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. When we're talking about this, am I right to say hope is a beautiful thing. Optimism is empowering. But to say you are a fan of a drug that has a little bit of anecdotal evidence as opposed to being approved of label and having some type of guess at a real protocol is a big difference, is it not, doctor?

ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: So, good evening, Chris. Yes, absolutely. Optimism is great, as you said. Hope is great. But when it comes to medicine, you know, we rely on science. We -- medicines either work or they don't work. And we have to study and learn and not just, you know, not just leave it at hope.

So, Dr. Fauci is right about this. We're hopeful that chloroquine might work. But we just don't have scientific evidence right now. So, we're not there.

CUOMO: Now let's talk to people on layman's terms about why this drug even make sense. We have been told it's a virus. There's no medicine for it. So, what are we talking about? That once somebody get into that pneumonia kind of phase that there are drugs that have been seeing to help with that kind of condition, is that what we're talking about?

JHA: Yes. So, look, there's several drugs that we're hopeful are going to potentially work. And you know, I'm kind of using my words very carefully here because we don't know. We have drugs that stop the replication of the virus. Stop the virus from reproducing. Those are the ones that are probably most hopeful because they should work. But again, we haven't tested them in people.

Chloroquine the one that President Trump seems to be a big fan of has been shown in test tubes to work. But there are a lot of things that work in test tubes and don't end up working in humans. We need the drug to work in humans.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: That's what they mean when they say in vitriol. When we hear them talking about --

(CROSSTALK)

JHA: Yes, in vitriol.

CUOMO: -- it worked in vitriol. That means in the test tube as opposed to in the body.

JHA: Yes. So, you -- exactly. So, you mix a little drug in there with a solution of the virus and it seems to work. Well, that's great. But things are very different in the body. The human body is not a test tube as all of your viewers know.

CUOMO: Now what about the idea that well, the Chinese came up with medicines and he, Italians came up with medicines. Why don't we just use what they used. Is that true?

JHA: Look, the Chinese and the Italians haven't come up with new medicine. They have been testing some things and they've been doing some studies and we'll know about those results. And then if any of them show to be working we'll use them. But what the Chinese and the Italians said was exactly what we're doing right now in hospitals across America with COVID patients. We're just supporting them and helping them get through their severe illness.

CUOMO: You know, the reason there's desperation on this is that the unknown the uncertainty has translated into a feeling that this thing kills you if you get it. And it doesn't matter how often we say the numbers are about 2 percent and 98 percent survive. It doesn't feel that way. How do we handle that?

JHA: So, it makes sense. It's a new virus, most of our viewers, you know, probably haven't heard of it in a month o two months ago it does seem scary. And of course, the pictures coming out of China and coming out of Italy are people -- are people who do die from it.

[23:05:01]

The good news here is most people who get it will do OK. Some people will end up getting sick and having to go to the hospital but they will recover. And then a small percentage, probably around 1 percent maybe 2, depending on who you are, may end up dying from it.

And of course, our goal is to figure out how do we reduce that even further. But the virus does scare me. I mean, it's obviously if it kills 1 or 2 percent of people that's a bad thing. But remember, most will recover from this disease without too much trouble.

CUOMO: Now something else that's particularly scary about this, is that basically it's explained to people that it spreads like the common cold and it hits you like pneumonia. So that's a tough combination. Easy to spread. We all know like everybody gets a cold at some point during the year just about, right, at least half of us.

JHA: Yes.

CUOMO: But now we're hearing that you and I are together, God forbid one of us has it, the other one gives a nice bro hug, hey, great to see you. And then two or three weeks later I can get sick from this. One that's logically inconsistent. If it spreads so fast why does it take me so long to get sick?

JHA: Yes. Well, let's talk about that. Basically, what happens is right, so let's say we give each other a hug which we should not be doing if we were in the state --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Not right now. I'm a hugger but not right now.

JHA: Not right now. But I am too, Chris, I am too. So, at some point that will be fine. But not right now. But let's say we did that and I spread a little virus to you. It got into your body, it got in through your nose, it got in through your mouth, got in, you know, through your eyes. It would take the virus a little time to replicate and grow.

So, you'd feel fine walking around because you just had a tiny bit of virus. But that virus would grow and grow and grow and eventually would get big enough and would affect enough of your tissues that you would start having symptoms.

That's why it takes a while. We think it typically takes about a week to 10 days for those symptoms to really come on.

CUOMO: And that's why the social isolation is so formidable. Because that lag time means that if you're staying away from other people and keeping distancing during that time, you really starve off these virus' ability to do that slow replication in others.

The idea of what happens over time in a second wave. That is the new paranoia. How does the second wave work? If we're flattening the curve and treating the cases what's the second wave about?

JHA: Yes. And this is something that a lot of people worry about. This happened at 1918 pandemic flu. You know, look, it hit -- it hit America, it hit the world millions of people died in the spring and then it -- and then it sort of faded in the summer. And everybody relaxed. And it was going to be OK. The flu is over.

And then in the fall it came back with a vengeance and killed tens of millions people around the world. So, people worry about that with COVID and think that might happen. We don't know. Right? New virus. We don't know.

But we worry that we'll going to you social isolation, social distancing, we're going to starve the virus, it will kind of fade, we'll get relaxed, everybody will go back to normal in the summer. And then it's going to come back in the fall and it will come back much worse and it's going to shut everything down.

So, I think there's a plan for that. I think we can avoid that. We can get ready for the fall. It's going to take work. I think we can avoid that second wave.

CUOMO: How?

JHA: But if we do nothing there's a real risk. Look, we got to go on war footing. And I hate to use the war analogy but that's what it is. So, imagine that it really does fade out over the summer. Over the summer we got to build tests, we got to make sure we have plenty of tests so when it comes back in the fall, we can test people.

We got to get our hospitals ready, we got to make sure our doctors and nurses are ready and protected. We've got to make sure we have enough hospital beds and ventilators.

There's a ton of work ahead of us. Here's the bottom line, Chris. This virus is not going away any time soon. Not until we have a vaccine. And its life is not going to go back to normal tomorrow or next week or even next month. We can -- we don't have to be on lockdown for the whole time. We can make that better. But if we commit to working together all of us as a country, we can

defeat this thing. But not if we're fighting over what we're calling the virus and who started it. We have to focus now on moving forward and defeating this. This is our common enemy.

CUOMO: So, are we going to have to do this all over again?

JHA: Well, it's up to us. If we sit around and don't use the time between now and the fall to really, really get ready, then yes, we may have to do it again and may be longer and more painful. It's up to us.

Look, the reason we're in lockdown now is we wasted two months. Everybody knew this pandemic was coming. We knew for the last two months. We did nothing about it. We downplayed it. We're now suffering through the pain of that.

If we after this pain of social distancing, if we then go back to normal and act like nothing is going to happen, then we're going to suffer again. But I think we're going to be smarter the second time around. I think we're going to get ready and we're going to be much better prepared for round two.

CUOMO: Dr. Jha, thank you so much for your perspective on this. I can't wait until the day comes when I see you, I give you a big hug.

[23:10:05]

JHA: I'm looking forward to it, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Take care.

JHA: Thanks so much.

CUOMO: Now, we're trying to figure out how you target your concerns right now. You got the elderly, you've got the low income, you know who we haven't been hearing about? Our veterans. Why? veterans? Aren't they the best of us? Many of them -- actually more than half are over the age of 60.

Now the V.A., you know, they have been controversial. In general, good care. But they didn't ask for a ramp up in help early on with this. But now, can they handle it? How are their resources? How are they doing? P.J. Rieckhoff, the arch typo Angry American just like the name of his podcast is next with perspective on what we need to do to help our heroes.

[23:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: The V.A. provides healthcare services to more than nine million veterans. But it also serves as the nation's back up health system. So, you have a big question here. How ready is the V.A. if the outbreak grows worse, and specifically, will they be able to take care of our veterans? Many of whom are over 60 making them particularly vulnerable to this virus. Perspective from Iraq War vet and veterans advocate, P.J. Rieckhoff, the man behind the Angry American podcast. How are you, my brother?

PAUL RIECKHOFF, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: I'm good, Chris. I'm good, Chris. Excellent work, man. I want to start by just thanking you for your leadership. You really been stepping up and answering the call. And I know folks across the country have been inspired by you and your brother.

CUOMO: Well, when I got friends like you it helps you learn to do the right thing. And you flagged this to me a couple of weeks ago that the V.A. had been offered help, they didn't take it. And now they're worried about their resources and being able to take care of veterans. What is the situation?

RIECKHOFF: Bottom line is that we are facing an unprecedented threat. We all know that. We talk about this being war footing. Well, this is war footing. And we need to mobilize the entire country around this threat in a way we never have before. It's truly one team one fight.

And I just want folks to understand, maybe most of all the V.A. can be reinforcement. You mentioned it on the intro, the key part of their mission is to be the nation's entire backstop. The entire healthcare system. They can be a source of tremendous reinforcements in this time.

They've got doctors, they've got facilities. They've hundreds of billions of dollars in funding. But they've got to be called upon to do it. And until recently you aren't hearing from the secretary of Veterans Affairs. You're also aren't hearing from the secretary of defense. You are hearing from CVS and Walmart but you aren't hearing from these two great agencies that can be helpful.

But I think we've got to understand that right now that entire agency that serves nine million people is only tested about 1,100 veterans. So, they haven't been ahead of the game. They haven't asked for enough resources. They haven't tested enough people. And it looks like right now we've tested more professional athletes than we have veterans. And that's a problem if we are going to stay ahead of this curve.

CUOMO: What is the inside scoop? Because you're still so connected to the community, about why they haven't they been called? Is it the political optics of militarization of this in the play?

RIECKHOFF: You know, it comes down to leadership. I mean, across the board an everything we say right now leadership in my view is going to be the determining factor. The president didn't mobilize the V.A. He didn't mobilize the Department of Defense. Now he finally is and making that tremendous resources and be kind of a two-prong attack here in serving Americans.

You know, we say in my show all the time, look for the helpers. Well, the helpers can come in the form of our veterans and our military at an unprecedented level. They have scale and scope in terms of logistics and medical personnel that no other agencies have in the entire federal government and rivals anywhere else in the word. So, the president has got to ask the secretary of defense to step up.

And then the secretary of defense has to be honest. In a couple of weeks ago he told Congress he has everything he needs. Then in a recent bill he asked for $16 billion. Even now he's saying we've got everything we need.

But then simultaneously, he issued an order today calling up reserve folks who have been retired, over a thousand of them, to serve at the V.A. So, there's been mixed messages. But we want Secretary Wilke to succeed and want him to be a lead element here and we want folks to help. But he's got to ask for that help.

In one way he did today. He asked for retired medical personnel who worked at the V.A. So, I'm going to echo this message for him, if you wanted those folks you can step up now and you can help. You can be a part of this fight. Go support the V.A. It's a patriotic thing to do, you can serve your country in a way you probably have never done before.

CUOMO: So, help me understand this, because you got governors all over the place worrying about capacity. Doctors saying, they don't have enough PPE, the protective wear and they're going to get sick and we're going to run out of those first responders.

You would think that you would jump to the military almost immediately. So, let's think a little bit about what we're missing. I accept your answer, P.J., not just because you are twice my size that it's a question of leadership. But we have to be missing something. That they haven't made that move yet.

Because they keep getting asked about the army corps of engineers and my brother says that he has been in touch with the army corps of engineers and that they're working it out but there's so much more capability that hasn't been tapped. Why?

RIECKHOFF: That's the question for the president. Right? And so, the press corps should be asking him every day, we should be getting daily briefings from the Pentagon from the secretary of defense. We should also be getting daily briefings from the secretary of veteran's affairs. We haven't gotten that. They've been kind of a black hole of information here.

But the Department of Defense should be fully mobilized to attack this threat in the same way we were 17 years ago today to invade Iraq. We should be mobilized now domestically to provide all resources we can.

[23:19:56]

The military is great. We just -- it's not just about fighting. We can also move lots of people. We can feed lots of people. We have tremendous manpower. And the Department of Defense can be the lead element on everything from helicopters to building hospitals.

That's going to start right now with your brother, for an example, with the National Guard being deployed in places like New Rochelle. Governors can deploy those National Guard and they're doing that in over 22 states.

If the president is smart, he will reinforce them with federal assets and just two navy ships that are going to take a couple of weeks to get to New York and San Francisco. We need a full mobilization of our military in any way then can help.

CUOMO: I don't get it. We must be missing something. There must be a political optic in play. I don't mean it as a criticism. There must be something in their calculus. Because they are so desperate for resources and I have one guy say to me it's a national security issue. That you have to make sure that the country is kept safe and that you don't have the military working on hospitals in a way that makes us vulnerable.

But that kind of assumes that like we think we're going to get attacked in the homeland during this time like, because we're vulnerable. But everybody else is getting beat by the virus too, P.J. So, it's not like anybody else is in full strength.

RIECKHOFF: Well, the military is now testing across the force, you know, worldwide. And I talk this week in my podcast to the lead spokesman for our coalition forces in Iraq. And everybody in Iraq and Syria and around the globe is now finally getting tested. We got to keep those safe wherever they are.

But they have tremendous resources here at home that should be mobilized. There should be no political opposition. This is a question of leadership. And we've got to adapt, improvise and overcome it as we say in the military. And nobody does that better than Department of Defense.

You got millions of people who face an asymmetric enemy for over, you know, almost two decades now. You've got people who know how to handle adversity, you've got people who know how to follow orders and get together and work together. It's a tremendous source of resource. And I think it can be a source of hope.

You know, over a million of us have served overseas since the Iraq War that started 17 years ago. And we're here at home. We can be a part of that lead force in helping whether it's at the national level in leadership or it's in the community helping your neighbors and friends.

We want to be a part of that reinforcement that happens. And the president has got to lead that fight and he's got to ask for it. This is a time for a national call to action. So, every day the president talks to America he should also be telling us what we can do. That's the mistake we made after 9/11. We never enlisted the American people. We can do that now. And it's got to start with the president. And he doesn't do it, we got to do it our ourselves.

CUOMO: P.J. Rieckhoff, thank you so much for much needed perspective. I appreciate it, brother.

RIECKHOFF: Thank you, brother. CUOMO: Be well. You and the family, stay healthy. The Angry American is his podcast. It's actually not an angry thing at all. He's just super-concerned about things, he talks to players and all these different spaces. It's a great podcast, you should check it out.

All right. If you are feeling overwhelmed, scared, lonely, stressed out. You know what that is? Normal. You know why, because this is really scary, frightening, destabilizing stuff. And it doesn't just affect your body on the outside. It's about your mental health. We talk about this a lot on the show. We're going to live it now.

You know, just because you're not sick with the virus doesn't mean you're not sick with worry. Emotional stress is every bit as taxing as physical stress. We've got to think about it. We've somebody here who is an authority on wellness to help steer us through the tough times. Yes. You know that face. Deepak Chopra joins us next.

[23:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Fear is a specific response to danger. Anxiety is what so many of us have now which is fear of something uncertain. You don't know what it is that has you so scared. And that's what we're dealing with, with the virus.

There are ways to cope though and there are ways to get your mind right about this to help yourself with emotions. Emotional wellness and mental health is every bit as important as anything that can happen to your body. You know who knows? Dr. Deepak Chopra. What a gift to have you. It's good to see you.

DEEPAK CHOPRA, FOUNDER, THE CHOPRA FOUNDATION: Thank you. Thank you, Chris. You're right. Emotions can compromise your immune system. But emotions can also enhance your immune system.

There are three levels of turbulence right now amongst our population. First is fear. And fear can be embraced. It should be embraced in fact. And you feel the fear in your body. That's one way to embrace it. You disconnect the sensations in your body from the thoughts in your mind. But if you don't control fear it leads to stress.

Stress, chronic stress is very dangerous because it compromises the immune system. It raises your blood pressure, adrenaline levels, cortisol which weakens the immune system. And if stress is not managed, it leads to panic which leads to irrational behavior. A lot of which we are seeing right now. And then the perpetuate cycle perpetuates. And we are compromising our immune systems with unprovoked or should I say unmanaged stress. That is --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: We can call that cycle the toilet paper cycle.

(CROSSTALK)

CHOPRA: That's it, the toilet paper.

CUOMO: Because that's what we saw people run out to do. But now here's the --

CHOPRA: That's right.

CUOMO: -- here's the response for you to deal with --

(CROSSTALK)

CHOPRA: Or we call it the chloroquine cycle that's left. You know, a lot of people will rush now to look for chloroquine because --

CUOMO: Right. Because of what the president said. But we have to let the doctors use it because they are the ones who are going to need it and figure out --

CHOPRA: Right.

CUOMO: -- who it's right for. So, people will hear this. And based on what I'm getting so much everyday they'll say this. Deepak Chopra, love you, love the book. Love the glasses.

[23:30:02]

But there's a virus hunting me like a savage. And I don't know what to do. I'm going to get it. Everybody is getting it. Society is shutting down. This is totally real. It is not in my head. And there is nothing I can do. How do I not lose it?

DEEPAK CHOPRA, FOUNDER, THE CHOPRA FOUNDATION: So, here are two things. Follow everything that has been suggested. Social isolation -- not isolation -- social distancing, physical social distancing, all the hygienic measures, washing hands, everything. That would mitigate the risk of both mortality and morbidity which is right now around one percent.

Having said that, it is also important to practice mental hygiene. Mental hygiene means that you have the ability to slow your mind down, to quiet your mind down. One of the ways you can do that -- there are enumerable ways to do it, but one of the way you can do it, even right now as people are watching us, inhale to the count of six, pause to the count of two, exhale to the count of four. They will slow down their breathing by about half from 14 to eight.

And you can watch your heart rate also go down at the same time. When your heart rate goes down, your breathing slows down, your thoughts settle down, and what happens in your body immediately is self- regulation homeostasis and decrease in inflammation.

CUOMO: What do we do at home, Deepak? So we're home. We're going to be at home a lot.

CHOPRA: Yes.

CUOMO: You don't have to be alone when you're isolated. But what are ideas for people to use this time in a way that isn't just them thinking about the worst? How can you use this time?

CHOPRA: Remember that emotions do not respect boundaries and even physical boundaries. The internet is spreading emotions like a contagion. We have a pandemic of anxiety, fear, and stress. What I'm doing every day is offering meditation on social media. I have created a website for people to help each other. It's called "neveralone.love."

There are many other things we are doing collectively to help people give each other attention, which means deep listening, affection. Let them know that you care for them, appreciation. Notice the good qualities and strengths they have, compliment their strengths, and acceptance of the present situation.

Having said that, employ every possible technique to quieten the mind, not positive thinking, which can be faked. And a positive mind can be a turbulent mind. But a quiet mind is a healing mind. There are many ways to do that. Mindful awareness of observing your thoughts, your emotions, sensations in your body, images in your consciousness.

Sensations, perceptions, images, feelings and thoughts are all entangled as bodily sensations. So feel your body. Silence your mind by focusing on your breath or repeating a mantra or saying a prayer. There's no substitute for quieting the mind and encouraging each other in these best practices for what can only be called mental hygiene.

We need to practice mental hygiene right now as well as physical hygiene because the body and mind are not separate things. Whatever happens in the mind is reflected in the body. Whatever happens in the body is reflected in the mind. Whatever happens in social media right now is also the collective mind and the collective brain.

So, you know, we can start setting each other dopamine hits, serotonin hits or opiate hits or whatever you call it through emoticons and by just telling each other we are there for them. And even for the elderly, we should be there for them through technology. And we can also provide help through technology, including financial help, food services, and many other services.

All this is being galvanized not necessarily by the government or by industry, by people across the board all over the country. I am engaged with them and I know what's happening. There are a lot of people who are doing amazingly heroic things to help each other calm down. Reassure each other that this, too, shall pass.

CUOMO: You know, we fight all the time on this show for people to recognize that mental health and mental illness is every bit as real as physical illness and should be treated with that kind of respect instead of just crazy versus having cancer or diabetes. But no matter what you have with mental health, it is always crazy and disparage.

[23:35:03]

CUOMO: This is a lesson. There are many people in the country right now who are learning that the mind and your emotions can mess with you every bit as much as any kind of virus. Deepak Chopra, of course, you know I am a big fan, and I appreciate everything you have to say. I hope people go to the website and check it out.

CHOPRA: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Deepak Chopra. He is so calm. He must know something we don't. He must be trying to trick us. It makes me a little anxious. I'm not kidding. That's exactly what you shouldn't do. Quiet the mind. Know that we are going to get through this.

Here is another gift to you on a Friday night. The one and only Jewel is here. You know why? It is because I'm a fan. No, because if you're stuck indoors, it doesn't mean that you have to miss her next show. She is going to help those in need and you can, too. What a better way to spend our time. Finding a way to help others and you get to hear from Jewel. What's better than that? Nothing. Next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right, we got to keep highlighting our nation's "Ameri- cans." I talked about the Americans in the last hour but this is really about so many of us, the ordinary people, doing the extraordinary and the extraordinary people doing even more. You know why? It is because we get through it together.

That includes Grammy-nominated artist Jewel, who is putting on a digital concert tomorrow to help those stuck in quarantine and others in need of aide. I love it. But you know what? I'm not surprised. Not by Jewel. She's been doing this for a long time. Welcome to "Prime Time."

JEWEL, SONGWRITER AND SINGER: Thanks for having me.

CUOMO: Thank you for being here. More importantly, thank you for why you're doing this, not just to help us and calm us during this and give us some enjoyment in a time we need that, but what motivates that. The idea that you have and you have worked on for so long that helps you in your own life when times were hard about what to tell yourself in your mind, how to deal with mindfulness and the awareness of the situation.

You put a film about this with Deepak Chopra, who we just had on. Tell people where they should be in terms of how to see the situation and where we're headed.

JEWEL: As everybody knows, this is an unprecedented time. We're being asked to evolve and evolve at a rapid pace. That's painful. This is a painful, scary time. But we're more than up to the challenge. We're very capable of doing this. Our children will remember the attitudes that we have in our homes much more than they are going to remember all of these details.

And so maintaining what Deepak so beautifully called mental hygiene is really critical, looking at social distancing as social caring and then looking at connection. You know, we have been a very connected society, but the quality of that connection hasn't always been amazing.

This is an amazing opportunity for us to have a deeper and more connective experience and realize not every thought and feelings affect to realize what we put in our mouth is important, but what we put in our ears and what we put in our eyes is also important. It affects our biochemical reactions tremendously and helps our immune systems.

CUOMO: So, people are saying, yeah, no, look, Jewel, I'd love to connect, I'm stuck in my house, they're telling me I can't go out, I can't go anywhere, and I'm using up all my available free time panicking. So, how am I supposed to connect right now when I'm waiting to get a knock on the door and basically see the grim reaper, which is a virus, destroy my life?

JEWEL: We have a choice every second with what we do with our thoughts and with our feelings. And we can either panic or we can decide what we can do that's productive. It's a choice every person has to make. In our youth foundation, Inspiring Children, we teach children to try and make those choices every day and every second. If they need to, they call friends.

You know, there are only two states of being. There is dilated and contracted. So anxiety, fear, depression, anger, jealousy, greed all contract you, the whole biochemical response in body. Joy, gratitude, thoughtfulness, curiosity, generosity are all dilating.

You can be in two states at once. So I realized when I was homeless and having panic attacks that if I was really contracted, I had to find a hack to get too dilated. So for me, that meant being grateful, and there is so much to be grateful for. We are not in World War II getting bombed with rations of one bread and one banana for an entire family.

We are up against incredible, horrible things right now, but we are capable of handling this and we are in control of our feelings and our thoughts. That's something the virus can't take from us. It is something no one can.

And so when you're in a contracted state, a really simple hack is to think of what you're super grateful for. There's a lot to be grateful for. We live in a country where there's still plenty of food, there's still plenty of toilet paper, and there's still plenty of people who want to reach out.

In my youth community, they started a twitch. It is called "Inspire House" on Twitch, where they study together. And so there's this big communities where they get sad and they get depressed. They reach out. It is a virtual community but they are there for each other when they cry. And they are finding that that's actually been a more profound connection than before they had this taken away.

CUOMO: "Inspire House" on Twitch.

JEWEL: Yeah.

[23:45:00]

CUOMO: And it's interesting that, you know -- this is one of the things here that we have to digest. What's really scary about this is that the destiny is in your own hands. Most bad things are in somebody else's hands. Will the military save us? Will the politicians figure it out? Will the election go the right way?

This is if you do what we're asking you to do. Things will be much more manageable. So you have to put it on yourself, but you don't want to because it's inconvenient and scary. And you have to expect everybody else to and you're not sure that they'll do it, so you don't know that you should do it. It's very hard. And yet, we make all these crazy connections on social media and take all the silly things so seriously.

And now, we are faced with something so serious and people are worried about connecting over it. I am hoping that changes and you are helping do that with your concert. So how does it work? How do people watch?

JEWEL: Yeah, I have a youth foundation. We have been going and working with at-risk youth for 18 years. We give them mindfulness tools and we're doing this concert. Ninety percent of our kids' parents have already lost their jobs and been laid off. The economic crisis that is ensuing is very worrisome to me.

Suicide tends to double during recessions and you add isolation on to that. There were 1.2 suicide attempts last year in America. So for saying that's doubling, that's a very frightening number. So right now, I'm very concerned about people's mental health. I am very concerned about getting them practical doable steps.

I built a website called jewelneverbroken.com that has easy three- minute exercises that have proven to work through neural plasticity to wire your brain. Anybody can go there. It's free.

CUOMO: What's the website?

JEWEL: I am doing this concert to help raise money. Jewelneverbroken.com. It has free mindfulness tools.

CUOMO: Jewelneverbroken.com.

JEWEL: Yes.

CUOMO: When you say it two, three times, you'll be amazed how many more people go to it. You're doing a concert. Tell us about it.

JEWEL: Thank you so much.

(LAUGHTER)

JEWEL: Yes, I'm doing a concert to raise funds for these children. We're trying to keep them in their home and keep them fed. These people that are being displaced and losing their jobs already. So it's Saturday night, tomorrow, at 5:00 Pacific on my Instagram page, @jewel. So I say it three times, @jewel.

CUOMO: Did you say @jewel? I'm too contracted to hear you.

(LAUGHTER)

JEWEL: And it will also be live on my Facebook page.

CUOMO: I am reviewing (ph) the manifestation of contraction.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: By the way, if you want to know what completely contracted looks like, it is the guy with the makeup on in the box next to you. So if they go to @jewel, they will be able to watch the concert at 5:00 Pacific time, OK?

JEWEL: Yes.

CUOMO: And they can also go to --

JEWEL: It will also be streaming on Facebook.

CUOMO: Great.

JEWEL: So people know, it is also on Facebook, which is @jeweljk. It is a free concert. I'll be talking about mindfulness. I'm taking questions that people are most concerned about, and I'm singing. I have some new songs that I'll be debuting.

CUOMO: Great. You are an incredible talent. I have followed your entire career from its inception. I was blown away about what you overcame to become an artist and what you channelled through your music and through your voice.

That has meant so much to so many, and it is great to see you now giving back to so many. I can't wait to hear from you again. Let us know how we can help your cause. We're all going to be in this for a while. We are here to help. Jewel, God bless and be well.

JEWEL: Thank you.

CUOMO: All right. The benefit concert for Jewel is called "Live from San Quarantine." It is very funny. As Jewel said, find it on her Instagram and Facebook page tomorrow, @jewel and @jeweljk on Facebook. The time is 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, OK? Jewel is doing her part. She always has. She's not alone.

Let's end the weekend on a positive note. It's actually a factual note, "Ameri-cans." Not everybody is like this. Not everybody is afraid. So many of you are saying we got this. I'll show you how, next.

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[23:50:00]

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CUOMO: First, I feel every piece of your concern. I know you're living it because I am, too. I got worries about my team. I'm drowning in information from all these different sources. I got to figure out what to tell you and how. I got worries about my own family. My mother, am I exposing her and my kids because of how much I'm working?

Now, we're all trying to figure out what to do. And the fear is haunting. And yet my faith is constantly boosted by who we call "Ame- ricans," people who are recognizing the same things that are stressing us out and doing something about it like fashion designer Christian Siriano. So he tweets an offer today to my brother, the governor of New York. He says I've got people who can sew. We're ready to go. We'll make masks using the full team.

And the governor's office hears about it, takes him up on that. And look at this. Siriano posted this photo tonight of a prototype. He didn't wait to jump in. He saw an opportunity, and he is helping where he is needed, because he knows that he can. Thank you for being an "Ameri-can." More of our best.

Did you hear about the distilleries switching to producing hand sanitizer? Their main ingredient is alcohol, right? No brainer.

[23:54:59]

CUOMO: So they are using their stock, adding inactive ingredients, churning out the recipe that will help save lives. That's what I'm talking about. That's who we are when things get tough. We can all be part of the solution, little things, doing what we're asked to do, ordering restaurant takeout or delivery, tip generously, give blood. This is truly a roll-up-your-sleeves moment. Together, as always, as one.

That's all for us. D. Lemon is going to be back on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern with a special edition of "CNN Tonight" with the latest, of course, on the crisis. We have the news. We're here for you. Stay with CNN.

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