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U.S. Surpasses China with Most Reported Cases; Hospitals Scrambling to Keep Medical Supplies Stocked; Louisiana Emerges as Potential New COVID-19 Hotspot; 3.3 Million Americans File for Unemployment Insurance; U.S. House to Vote on $2 Trillion Stimulus Soon. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 27, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:19]

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Great to have you along. Welcome to all of our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow.

So just ahead, right now the United States has more known cases of the coronavirus than anywhere else in the world. So we take you inside the hospitals fighting the war against it, meeting the doctors struggling to cope. Plus places that should be packed are empty as the American economy seems to be dropping into recession.

So at this hour the U.S. now has the highest reported number of coronavirus cases in the world. The WHO says it's confirmed cases of the virus in more than 190 countries and territories. No one is known to be immune, and despite the efforts of doctors around the world, so far there is no vaccine.

Johns Hopkins University has logged more than 532,000 cases worldwide with more than 24,000 deaths. And then in the U.S., more than 82,000 Americans are now infected surpassing even China. The U.S. on Thursday reported 15,000 confirmed cases in just a single day. Yet the U.S. president seems eager to move on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now people want to go back to work. I'm hearing it loud and clear from everybody. I think it's going to happen pretty quickly. A lot of progress has made but we've got to go back to work. We may take sections of our country, we may take large sections of our country that aren't so seriously affected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, per capita there are now almost four times the number of cases in the U.S. than reported in China. And the epicenter, as you know, is in New York.

Well, Erica Hill is there and filed this report.

Erica, hi. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Empty streets lead to packed emergency rooms across New York City, the country's epicenter for this pandemic.

COREY JOHNSON, SPEAKER, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: It is insane that in the wealthiest country in the world that our heroes that are on the frontlines do not have all of the personal protective equipment to protect themselves.

HILL: The need for critical gear, including ventilators, is unrelenting, as the number of patients soars. At Elmhurst Hospital in Queens 13 people dying in just one day.

DR. COLLEEN SMITH, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR, ELMHURST HOSPITAL: All the people that you see, they all have COVID.

HILL: Dr. Colleen Smith documented 72 hours inside Elmhurst for the "New York Times."

SMITH: There's some various offices, from the president to the head of health and hospitals saying things like we're going to be fine. Everything's fine. And from our perspective, everything is not fine. I don't have the support that I need and even just the materials that I need physically to take care of my patients, and it's America. And we're supposed to be a first world country.

HILL: CNN has reached out to Elmhurst Hospital about Dr. Smith's statements.

Further south at New York City's Bellevue Hospital, a makeshift morgue is being set up for a possible surge. And NYU is allowing senior medical students to graduate early to help meet the demand for health care workers. Across the country, leaders are watching urging people to stay home knowing they may be next.

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D), LOS ANGELES: What we see in Italy, from what we see in Spain, from what we see in New York City, it's coming here. Nobody is immune from this virus.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): Just over two weeks ago we had zero. This crisis is ramping up exponentially.

HILL: In Louisiana on the heels of America's deadliest day for this virus, cases are skyrocketing. And in hospitals everywhere doctors are preparing for the possibility of difficult questions about who is treated.

DR. MICHELLE GONG, CRITICAL CARE CHIEF, MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER: We want to do our best to save every life that comes through our doors, but during a pandemic when resources become scarce, sometimes we have to engage in uncomfortable conversations.

HILL: More proof that this unpredictable virus is changing how we live every day. GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: You have a whole new generation who

have never lived through anything like this. They never went to war. They were never drafted. They never went through a national crisis. And this is going to shape them.

[04:05:02]

HILL (on camera): As the medical professionals were leaving this hospital earlier today, they told CNN that inside it is bursting at the seams. And when asked about how they were feeling one said there's a state of panic. Health care workers are worried. They're concerned they could get the coronavirus. They could be a carrier and give it to someone. And not just among their colleagues or potential patients, but their families as well when they go home.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: OK, Erica, thanks for that report.

Now the death of a nurse in New York further underscores the need for health care workers to get the support they need. 48-year-old Kious Kelly tested positive last week. Days later he was dead. He may be the first nurse in this hard-hit city to die from the virus. His sister said he had asthma but otherwise was healthy. And she spoke with CNN just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARYA SHERRON, SISTER OF NEW YORK NURSE WHO DIED OF CORONAVIRUS: Unfortunately everything happened so quickly. He told my parents that he was positive and had corona and three days later he sent me a text message and shared that he was in the ICU and on a ventilator, and he couldn't talk or he would choke so he was having trouble breathing. And six days later he died.

We can do something about this, and that we didn't in time for -- to save his life is challenging but that I don't get the sense that we are. In fact, I know we're not to be honest. I know we're not dealing with it now. So that makes it hard because it's in vain if we're not going to get our -- all of our health care workers everything that they need.

And, you know, Chris, it's disturbing what is happening. I don't think America knows. The news is not sharing with us what our health care workers are seeing and being asked to do, and it's shameful. It is shameful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Now in the face of pleas like that, the White House disagrees that there are shortages of key supplies. Its response coordinator insists there are enough ventilators and hospital beds to go around even in New York. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The situation about ventilators, we were reassured in a meeting with our colleagues in New York that there are still ICU beds remaining and there's still significant, over 1,000 or 2,000 ventilators that have not been utilized yet. But to say that to the American people, to make the implication that when they need a hospital bed it's not going to be there or when they need that ventilator, it's not going to be there. We don't have evidence of that right now. And it's our job collectively to assure the American people that it's our collective job to make sure that doesn't happen.

Right now you can see these cases are concentrated in highly urban areas. There are other parts of the states that have lots of ventilators and other parts of New York state that don't have any infections right now. So we can be creative. We can meet the need by being responsive. But there's no model right now, I mean, no reality on the ground where we can see that 60 percent to 70 percent of Americans are going to get infected in the next eight to 12 weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, Al Edwards, an associate professor in biomedical technology at the University of Reading School of Pharmacy.

Thanks for joining us this hour. You just heard those comments. What do you make about the supply problems across the world?

AL EDWARDS, UNIVERSITY OF READING SCHOOL OF PHARMACY: Yes. I mean, it echoes situations locally here in the U.K. And we've heard similar things in Italy and I believe the same thing would have happened in China. I think the comments at the end are most powerful, that we will respond and everybody is being incredibly creative to try and fix these gaps.

But I think we also have to be honest to say there are many frontline health workers who haven't perhaps had those supplies provided to them yet because it's such a complex situation. And so much needs to be done all at once, very quickly.

CURNOW: No, and it's about allocating supplies and making contingency plans. It's about forward planning. And that seems to be where there are shortfalls.

EDWARDS: Yes. I think, you know, I could be critical in certain circumstances. Plans could have been made some weeks or even months ago but, you know, I myself was planning to go ahead as normal this month. So even with the best foresight, we're not very good at responding ahead of times. It's only now when the situation starts to get really bleak in some countries that we're starting to scramble to catch up.

[04:10:01]

CURNOW: And what do you make about the push for a vaccine? How soon do you think that could be out and about? EDWARDS: Yes. So I like to sort of emphasize that we've made great

strides as a global vaccine discovery community to speed up the process of vaccine discovery. It's going to be much quicker than any vaccine that's ever been developed before. But we mustn't rely on a vaccine because it could still be 12 to 18 months before we have enough vaccine doses. Even if the vaccines we're trying actually work and are safe, that takes time.

CURNOW: And that's a lot of people that might be impacted.

Let's talk about treatments then. So in terms of what people are having to deal with, what nurses are having to deal, what doctors are having to deal with around the world, is there anything that can ameliorate what they're experiencing? And I know there's been a lot of controversy about certain drugs.

EDWARDS: Yes. I think we need to be a little bit patient but also be reassured that medics are incredibly resourceful. And because it's a new infection, these are cases of, you know, acute respiratory infection which taking a slightly different form to ones that we've seen before. So what we will see is increasing refinement in protocols. Again, what's really good is people are sharing as quickly as possible their best possible successes.

So all of the emergency medicine doctors in Italy are sharing their experiences and everybody around the world is quickly learning the best combination, the best time to ventilate, all of these finer details. And we'll find over time we should steadily be able to reduce the impact and make these patients recover quicker and more safely.

CURNOW: And I think all of us are trying to think positively, not get too negative to look for the silver linings here. I know a lot of people are just perhaps enjoying spending extra time with their families if they can. After the dust settles, perhaps in two years' time even, you say this, you know, vaccine might even take 18 months, do you think people will have greater respect for scientists, for medical professionals?

There's been a trend towards ignoring experts and warnings in recent years. We've seen it with the anti-vaccer movement. Do you think this is going to make a lot of people take these warnings from science more seriously?

EDWARDS: I really hope so. What I don't want to see is people suggesting that there's an, you know, over hype or that the scientists are trying to say it's too big a problem. Because these are real deaths and real harm happening across the world and to everybody. It's a really dangerous disease. So I think that could be a really positive thing, to see how quickly we can respond and to sort of relearn how we do medicine and make use of technology in a really high-pressured situation.

So I think we'll be able to applaud innovators. We'll be able to applaud the role that big science and also community action could take in tackling this worldwide outbreak.

CURNOW: Yes. And even just the folks who are at home trying to sew masks. Everybody trying to do their bit.

Al Edwards, from the University of Reading School of Pharmacy, appreciate your perspective. Thanks for joining us.

EDWARDS: Thank you.

CURNOW: OK. So in New Orleans an official warns that the coronavirus is the disaster to define our generation. Louisiana is seeing a massive, massive spike in cases. Right now more than 2300 people there have the virus with more than 500 cases just reported on Thursday alone.

Well, Ed Lavandera is in New Orleans and he has this report -- Ed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a day where the nation's coronavirus death toll passed the bleak 1,000 milestone, the focus is shifting to Louisiana. A state that may have the fastest growth rate of infections in the country.

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): We're not doing as well as we should. Not when we know what is coming down the road in the not-too-distant future.

LAVANDERA: There is an urgent demand for medical supplies as confirmed cases skyrocket, increasing by more than 500 in less than 24 hours. The governor says that time is running out. Ventilators and protective equipment are in short supply and hospitals in New Orleans alone could lack the capacity to provide proper care by next week without outside assistance.

MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL (D), NEW ORLEANS: We need resources from the federal government to unlock the chains and really tear them down in the state of Louisiana so that we can meet our people where they are and so that we can give them the services that they desperately need, and particularly our health care professionals on the ground working tirelessly.

LAVANDERA: Dr. Rebekah Gee, CEO of LSU's Health Care Services Division, says some health officials have resorted to buying hospital gowns on eBay. Other extreme measures are underway just to get the basic medical supplies they desperately need.

DR. REBEKAH GEE, CEO, LSU HEALTH CARE SERVICES: Making masks from Office Depot, plastic -- you know, covers that you put on documents that you're trying to make look formal and putting string and punching holes in them.

[04:15:03]

LAVANDERA: Health experts are monitoring six clusters at nursing homes including Lambeth House Retirement Community in New Orleans where as of Tuesday officials say 11 people have died of COVID-19.

A growing theory for the rapid spread is last month's Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, taking place weeks before the governor issued a stay-at-home order. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the state was from an individual who tested positive in the New Orleans area 13 days after the end of the iconic party, which draws thousands from all over the world. Officials say they believe the patient contracted the virus locally.

COLLIN ARNOLD, DIRECTOR, NEW ORLEANS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: We had over a million and a half people in the city including international visitors, you know, all attending parades daily.

LAVANDERA: Federal help is on the way. President Trump approved Louisiana's disaster declaration on Tuesday and some are residents are heeding the stay-at-home guidance with movement in New Orleans down 73 percent according to one federal official.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I have spoken to the political officials in New Orleans and in the state of Louisiana. They're now shutting things down in a very vigorous way. It is likely that that should have been done a little bit sooner.

LAVANDERA: And Governor John Bel Edwards warns that Louisiana's current trajectory is not sustainable and compliance is crucial for the state's well-being.

J. EDWARDS: Our future from where we are today with the curve that we are on is not promising.

LAVANDERA (on camera): This is the scene on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. It has not been this quiet in this famed party district since Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago. This is a city well- accustomed to staring down the eyes of hurricanes, but the eye of a storm like a viral pandemic is not something the city is used to.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks, Ed, for that.

So the New Orleans mayor spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer just a few hours ago and he asked why Mardi Gras was allowed to go forward this year. Well, she said she would have canceled the festivities if she had had access to the data she needed to make an informed decision. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANTRELL: Well, if red flags were given I would say at the federal level, leadership matters. And so while I was the first in the state of Louisiana to stop social gatherings, I had to cancel the St. Patrick's Day parade. You know, all hell broke loose when I did that, but it was necessary. So given data, allowing science to lead us, it does matter and leaders on the ground, we rely on the facts to make decisions for the people that we serve. Given no red flags, we move forward. In hindsight if we were given clear direction, we would not have had

Mardi Gras and I would have been the leader to cancel it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Strong words there. So the coronavirus outbreak is certainly taking a toll on first responders in New York City. The police department says more than 10 percent of its uniformed officers called out sick on Thursday. Almost 300 officers and more than 50 civilian workers have tested positive for the virus.

And more than three million Americans making unemployment claims. That was only last week. How Washington, the Fed, and those losing their jobs are handling such a dire situation because of the outbreak. That is next.

You're watching CNN.

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[04:22:19]

CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Now people all over the world are losing their jobs because of coronavirus, shutdowns and struggling to figure out how they make ends meet. In the U.S., a record number of Americans, some 3.3 million, filed for unemployment benefits just last week.

Kyung Lah spoke with a few of them. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH SOUDER, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, I.E. ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: How are you doing, guys?

It's just been a completely life-altering experience from start to finish. And within a week, I mean, this is unbelievable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I have a two-ounce and I have an eight- ounce.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A record number of newly unemployed Americans with a virus that leaves no business untouched.

SOUDER: We would have all the seats filled.

LAH (on camera): All of these seats?

SOUDER: It would be a line out the door.

LAH (voice-over): 3.3 million filed jobless claims last week. Coronavirus cratering businesses.

SOUDER: We went from being about to franchise to basically running a to-go business. I -- you know, I haven't slept. I am -- I'm worried about having a heart attack to be perfectly honest with you.

LAH: With no diners, the Drunken Crab is hemorrhaging thousands of dollars a day. Every business, every industry, re-evaluating under this economic tsunami.

SOUDER: Have a good night.

LAH: Josh Souder already forced to make that hard choice.

SOUDER: I had to -- you know, was forced to lay off 75 people. At first you're thinking about them. OK, I feel horrible for them, and then they have to go home and tell their family, I just got laid off.

JAY BOCKEN, RESTAURANT GENERAL MANAGER LAID OFF THIS MONTH: I called my wife over the phone and said, honey, I'm on my way home. And she just -- she pretty much immediately knew.

LAH: Laid off from the Drunken Crab, former general manager Jay Bocken immediately filed for unemployment. And it's just the tip of the iceberg say economists predicting by summer 14 million workers will lose their jobs due to the coronavirus shock.

BOCKEN: You're talking thousands and thousands of people looking for work simultaneously. It's going to hit every aspect of life and the government needs to react and help us get through this. That's the only way it's going to work. And people are not going to be able to support their families for more than two months.

LAH: And already signs money is getting tight. Outside this West Hollywood bar, employees only, a line. Inside, the small staff preps meals, free meals for workers who show a pay stub. Like bartender Geri Courtney Austen.

GERI COURTNEY AUSTEN, LAID-OFF BARTENDER: All of us like immediately lost our jobs I think as of Monday or Tuesday.

LAH (on camera): Are you worried about how long this is going to last?

AUSTEN: One hundred percent. Yes. If it goes on months, I don't think any of us have any idea what we're going to do.

[04:25:03]

TOM SOPIT, RESTAURANT OWNER: The moment this happened we're going to dig ourselves in a hole regardless.

LAH: Are you scared?

SOPIT: I'm concerned.

LAH (voice-over): Restaurant owner Tom Sopit's rent is $1,000 per day. He doesn't want to fire anyone but this is a new reality he will have to face.

SOPIT: Yes. All we can do is help each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Kyung for that report.

Her stories are being felt across the world. Now a recession in the U.S. might already be here. The Federal Reserve chief says the U.S. economy could recover, but the pandemic has to be under control first. Jerome Powell told NBC that the Fed has more ways to fight this economic meltdown even though rates are already at zero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: When it comes to this lending, we're not going to run out of ammunition. That doesn't happen. We may well be in a recession but again I would point to the difference between this and a normal recession. This isn't -- there's nothing fundamentally wrong with our economy. Quite the contrary. We would tend to listen to the experts. Dr. Fauci said something like the virus is going to set the timetable, and that sounds right to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, the House will soon vote on the Senate's historic $2 trillion stimulus package but there's no guarantee it will pass. Some lawmakers are scrambling to fly back to Washington just in case they need to vote in person.

So let's talk about all of this with Christine Romans. Christine is in New York.

And hi. Good to see you again. Let's talk about unemployment. I mean, Kyung Lah's piece really hits home how so many families really going to be struggling through the summer. And not just in the U.S.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you multiply Kyung Lah's reporting by thousands and thousands and thousands across the country, and you get to that million -- 3.2 million number, more than 3.2 million people who just in one week filed for unemployment benefits. And what I've been hearing is that, you know, the number was probably even bigger than that because so many people couldn't get through to their state unemployment offices, right?

The Web sites went down. The phone lines were jammed. There were just so many people rushing to file for unemployment benefits. So I think we're going to see that kind of rush for the benefits over the next few weeks.

Here's the thing though. I mean, this is what it looks like when you shut down an economy on purpose, right? We're doing this on purpose, the government is, so that you can prevent an even bigger public health problem, get ahold of the spread of the virus and then hopefully reopen the economy in an orderly way on the other side of that. So that's the hope. In a way, these numbers are terrifying but not really that surprising.

CURNOW: So what do you make of the stimulus package? And should a lot of these folks be flying back to Washington just in case?

ROMANS: Well, they need to get this done. And probably, honestly, I don't even like to call it a stimulus package because it doesn't really stimulate anything. This is just stopping the bleeding. Stimulating might have to come later in more money being spent and I know that sounds crazy when you look at just how big this is. The biggest bailout undertaking in American history. $2 trillion.

It's just a gargantuan bill. And it might not be enough depending on, as the Fed chief said, the timeline of the virus here. They'll have to get it done. The president wants to sign it by today. I think markets have already baked in that this is done and there's more bailout money, more relief, more rescue, more stimulus coming down the pike.

You've seen three days of huge stock market gains in the United States because there's this feeling that the money will be flowing from both the Fed and from Congress. The money will flow to protect those people who have been thrown out of work because we've shut down the economy.

CURNOW: OK. Good to speak to you. Christine Romans there live in New York.

ROMANS: You, too, Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks so much.

So European markets have opened. Let's take a look at some of the numbers. They've opened lower and that's despite strong gains in Asian markets in recent hours. Take a look at Wall Street on Thursday. Also down. The main markets all in the red. London FTSE also down 3.5 percent. U.S. Futures currently lower but not by much. Still pointing to a negative day for U.S. markets.

And now to Singapore which is threatening tough measures for anyone who doesn't observe social distancing. People could face up to a $7,000 fine or six months in prison if they meet in groups of 10 people or more or if they don't keep at least one meter apart. The government reports close to 700 cases of coronavirus and two deaths.

So you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still to come, Italy's desperate struggle with the coronavirus has been a warning to other countries. Is that a sign of what is coming to the U.S.? A report from Rome, next.

Also how do you postpone a huge global event like the Olympics? Japan is about to find out. And the numbers involved are mindboggling.

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[04:30:00]