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Louisiana Emerges As Potential New COVID-19 Hotspot; Doctors Describe "Apocalyptic" Scenes At New York Hospital; Doctors Search For Safe, Effective COVID-19 Drugs. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 27, 2020 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

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MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL (D), NEW ORLEANS: 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.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): 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, all attending parades daily.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Federal help is on the way. President Trump approved Louisiana's disaster declaration on Tuesday. And some 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, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: 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 (voice-over): And, Gov. John Bel Edwards warns that Louisiana's current trajectory is not sustainable and compliance is crucial for the state's well-being.

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: 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 this city is used to.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Ed, for that report.

And you heard the New Orleans mayor in Ed's report there who had also spoken to Wolf Blitzer on Thursday and Wolf asked her why Mardi Gras was allowed to go forward this year. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Now, she also went on to say that if she had had clear direction and data that indicated a threat she would not have hesitated to cancel the festivities.

And cities from New Orleans to New York say they're running short of ventilators despite the claims of the contrary from the White House. And that dispute has certainly led to a terse exchange between President Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And, you know, they say -- like Gov. Cuomo and others -- that say we want, you know, 30,000 of them -- 30,000. But think of this -- you know, you go to hospitals that have one in a hospital and now all of a sudden everybody's asking for these vast numbers.

So -- but we have now companies stepping up and they're building them. They're doing the masks. We've already delivered millions and millions of masks.

But remember, we're really a second line of attack. The first line of attack is supposed to be the hospitals and the local government and the states -- the states themselves.

And I am getting along with Gov. Cuomo. I think that a lot of things are being said that are more. I don't think that certain things will materialize. You know, a lot of equipment is being asked for that I don't think they'll need.

But I'm building -- you know, we're building four hospitals, four medical centers, and many other things we've developed, and sent thousands of -- thousands of ventilators. And hopefully, they're going to do well.

But, you know, you have to understand. This has to be managed by local government and by the governors. It can't be managed by the federal government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, the White House coronavirus response coordinator says many towns and cities around the state of New York have ventilators that they're not using.

Meanwhile, the New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that one besieged hospital there is holding its own.

[05:35:00]

We're hearing very disturbing stories about -- concerning conditions inside some other hospitals in the area. Doctors and nurses say they are living on the edge right now, as Brian Todd explains.

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

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Colleen Smith says she doesn't care if she gets in trouble for taking this footage and sharing it with the media. Smith is an E.R. doctor at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, one of the hardest-hit facilities treating coronavirus patients in New York City.

The video she took, which she sent to "The New York Times", shows an overloaded emergency room, patients lining up outside, and a refrigerator truck which she says the hospital had to get to store the bodies of patients who died. SMITH: 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.

TODD (voice-over): Smith told the "Times" on a regular day prior to the outbreak, her E.R. would see about 200 people. Now it's about twice that.

She filmed a new shipment of ventilators Elmhurst had just received from another hospital.

SMITH: Five -- five ventilators. Oh my God.

TODD (voice-over): Staffers at Elmhurst describe the scenes at that hospital to the "Times" as apocalyptic and said calls over a loudspeaker of quote "Team 700", the code for when a patient is in danger of dying, come several times on each shift.

CNN has reached out to Elmhurst Hospital for a response to Dr. Smith's video and comments. The hospital has not replied. But in a previous statement, they said they are working hard to meet demand.

But caregivers at other New York area hospitals are also worried and are talking about it.

Dr. Meredith Case, an internal medicine resident at Columbia's Presbyterian Medical Center, tweeted "Today was the worst day anyone has ever seen, but tomorrow will be worse. We are on the precipice of rationing."

Dr. Susannah Hills, a head and neck surgeon at the same hospital, tells CNN she believes it's inevitable she's going to be exposed to coronavirus.

DR. SUSANNAH HILLS, HEAD AND NECK SURGEON, COLUMBIA PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER: In my department, the procedures that we do are procedures that tends to aerosolize the virus or emit particles into the air, and that's particularly high risk for exposure.

TODD (voice-over): Some hospital staffers seem on the verge of breaking. A nurse at a Long Island hospital who treated coronavirus patients posted on social media, "I cried in the bathroom on my break. I cried the entire ride home."

SMITH: We don't have the tools that we need in the emergency department and in the hospital to take care of them and it's really hard.

TODD (on camera): Another doctor, a pulmonary specialist at a prominent Boston hospital, says she is scared right now to share the same air in a room with a coronavirus patient. She says she comes in, does only what she needs to do, and then leaves the room. She says the can't even spend a few moments reassuring those patients, which leads to the overwhelming numbers of people feeling isolated -- patients and doctors alike. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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CURNOW: Now, the death of a nurse in New York City further underscores the need for health care workers to get the support they need. Forty-eight-year-old Kious Kelly -- here he is here -- tested positive last week. Days later, he was dead. And he may be the first nurse in the heart of the city to die from the virus.

But his sister said he had asthma but was otherwise healthy, and she spoke to CNN just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARYA SHERRON, SISTER OF NEW YORK NURSE WHO DIED OF CORONAVIRUS: Unfortunately, the -- it happened -- 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 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 every -- 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)

[05:40:00]

CURNOW: New York's governor insists hospitals now have enough protective gear, at least for now, although he admits distribution hasn't been as good as it could be.

For a list of ways you can help protect health professionals and support those fighting the coronavirus, please do visit our Web site Impact Your World at cnn.com/impact.

So just ahead here on CNN, drug trials are -- for treating coronavirus are underway here in the U.S. We'll take a look at the rigorous process and the researchers fighting to save lives. You're watching CNN.

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CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

So, with more than half a million coronavirus cases around the world, doctors are hopeful they can find the right drugs to treat this outbreak. But that, of course, requires testing and clinical trials that could take months.

Well, CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains.

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DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI, MEDICAL DIRECTOR BIOCONTAINMENT UNIT, JOHNS HOPKINS, DRUG TRIAL PARTICIPANT, JOHNS HOPKINS: So my package just arrived.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thursday morning, Dr. Brian Garibaldi gets his first delivery.

GARIBALDI: When I receive the first shipment on the first day, I'm going to take four tablets right away. And then six to eight hours later I take three tablets.

COHEN (voice-over): These pills are either a placebo or they're hydroxychloroquine, a drug that might prevent or treat coronavirus. Dr. Garibaldi, medical director of the biocontainment unit at Johns Hopkins, is part of a study to see if it works.

The University of Minnesota is running the study along with universities in Canada. They hope to send pills to 1,500 people who might have been exposed to coronavirus, like Dr. Garibaldi. They'll see if the study subjects who get hydroxychloroquine are less likely to get coronavirus than the people who got the placebo.

COHEN (on camera): You've been at the bedside of patients with coronavirus.

GARIBALDI: I have. Yes, I've taken care of about 15 patients so far.

COHEN (voice-over): And even though he's careful --

[05:45:00]

COHEN (on camera): Do you ever get scared working with these patients? Do you ever get scared for your own health?

GARIBALDI: Well, yes, and I think we're always concerned that when we take care of patients with infectious diseases that we might be putting ourselves at risk.

COHEN (voice-over): President Trump has been enthusiastic about hydroxychloroquine.

TRUMP: It's shown very encouraging -- very, very encouraging early results. I think it's going to be -- I think it's going to be great.

COHEN (voice-over): But doctors say not so fast.

COHEN (on camera): The president seems pretty confident that it will help patients. Do you think it will? GARIBALDI: You know, I'm not sure. I think we really need to study it to understand what role it's going to play. So while there's hope that it might work, there -- we have to be mindful of the fact that it potentially might not and there could be potential harms.

COHEN (voice-over): And there are other coronavirus treatments in the pipeline, too.

FAUCI: We're talking about remdesivir, other drugs, immune sera, convalescent sera, monoclonal antibodies. All of these are in the pipeline now queuing up to be able to go into clinical trial.

COHEN (voice-over): At Montefiore Medical Center in New York City and at other hospitals they're trying remdesivir, a drug that attacks the virus, to see if it's better than placebo. And they're testing drugs called monoclonal antibodies, which help your immune system respond to the virus.

And the New York blood bank is collecting blood from people who've recovered from coronavirus so it can be given to people who are sick in the hopes that it will help them.

The big question, when we will know if these treatments work? Usually, it takes years to test out drugs, but because of this pandemic, doctors hope to have results in months or maybe even in weeks.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

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CURNOW: Thanks, Elizabeth.

So just ahead on CNN, this deadly coronavirus is threatening people all over the world, including in the east of London which was, of course, bombed badly during the blitz in the Second World War. We hear how some survivors are handling today's crisis and what wisdoms they can share.

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[05:50:45]

CURNOW: A war against an invisible enemy. That phrase has certainly become common these days, hasn't it, to describe the fight against the coronavirus.

Decades ago the world was waging a different kind of war, World War II. So, Nick Glass spoke with some of those men and women who remember it all and they have a message for the rest of us. Take a listen.

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NICK GLASS, CNN JOURNALIST (voice-over): This is Dagg Pike, merchant seaman, as he was in 1950. It was our first interview arranged by the Royal British Legion over the safety of Skype. At 87, Dagg is staying at home and keeping isolated with his wife. DAGG PIKE, 87, FORMER MERCHANT SEAMAN: We made it through the war quite comfortably. You know, we were getting bombed. We went through the blitz North Surrey. It was tangible.

This one, nothing. It's totally intangible. You have to believe people that this funk (ph) is out there somewhere trying to get to you.

GLASS (voice-over): Who else, we wondered, could draw comparisons with the Second World War and the new crisis? We decided to chance our luck down the east end of London.

The local ex-servicemen's club looked very shut. There was a notice on the door. But, in fact, shortly after 4:00 in the afternoon, they opened up for a few diehard regulars.

Sharon manages the place. Seems to be the cheerful heart and soul of the local community. At 58, she also happens to be, proudly by descent, a pearly queen, the working-class version of royalty in these parts.

We kept our interview at a distance, using a boom microphone.

SHARON CROWE, MANAGER, LEYTONSTONE EX-SERVICEMEN'S CLUB: We don't get passing trade anyway -- it's a members club -- but I think it's frightened them a little bit.

We had -- last year, we had St. Patrick's Day here and you could not move. You couldn't get another table. This year, it was pretty slim pickings.

But it was the older generation that come out, not the younger generation, which I found really strange. And when I spoke to the older ones they went, well, we've lived through the war. This ain't going to kill us.

BOB BATTLEBRIDGE, FORMER SOLDIER: When it first started, I thought to myself that they're making too big a thing out of it. But yes, it's getting worrying now.

GLASS (voice-over): They didn't note at the time that this was pretty much last orders at the club. Like all pubs in London, closed government instruction before the day was out.

Bob is an old soldier and a club regular. This last week, his 92-year- old mother passed away of natural causes.

BATTLEBRIDGE: I've lost me mom. I wanted to give her a really good sendoff and because of this coronavirus that shut the chapels so the ministers have got to go to the graveside. They're only allowing 10 people to be at the graveside.

So my son was also a popular lad in Scottish and thankfully, he's got clout with many (ph).

GLASS (on camera): It's quite tough. GLASS (voice-over): Looking out over Leytonstone, its tar (ph) blocks and terraced streets, there was nothing to suggest that much had changed. A blossom was out.

Doris, a widow, lives on her own in a high-rise flat with her cat and dog.

GLASS (on camera): How does this compare with the war?

DORIS MILLER, 93 YEARS OLD: Well, I don't know. People just went on with it. And I know I was only a child but I don't remember people panicking for food. I mean, food wasn't good, was it, during the war, as you can imagine.

GLASS (on camera): What are you going to do now? What -- is your behavior going to change, you know, over the next few days, months?

MILLER: Well, I can't isolate -- I can't. No -- well I still feel fit. I mean, I've got neighbors who offered to do my shopping but I like to do me own thing. But I won't venture out as much as I do and all the social events are all canceled anyway.

GLASS (voice-over): Nick Glass, CNN, with some of the older Brits adjusting to the threat of the coronavirus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Some other perspective there.

[05:55:00]

And finally, a heartwarming moment in Chicago as music reverberates off the empty buildings downtown. A street performer who says in the midst of calamity, people are looking are for peace.

Mike Lowe, from our Chicago affiliate WGN reports.

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ANDREW DAVID, CHICAGO STREET PERFORMER: Singing "Hallelujah."

MIKE LOWE, REPORTER, WGN-TV, CHICAGO (voice-over): Out of the shadows came street performer Andrew David.

DAVID: Singing "Hallelujah."

LOWE (voice-over): He sang a song perfectly suited to our times --

DAVID: Singing "Hallelujah."

LOWE (voice-over): -- conjuring our lost intimacy with each heartbreaking verse.

DAVID: Singing "Hallelujah."

(END VIDEOTAPE) CURNOW: That hits every time, doesn't it?

But, you know, it's difficult for everyone, no matter where you are, to connect with people while social distancing. And it's especially difficult for our children, isn't it?

So, many around the world are leaving messages of hope in their windows. It's not clear how this trend started but it's a good one. Photos of windows decorated with hearts and rainbows and other symbols are popping up all over the place, particularly on social media. So I want to show you some of them to make you smile.

Sisters Josephine and Nora, age five and two, helped to put up these hearts on their window in Michigan, Their mom, Jenna Webb, said she wanted to bring love and joy to essential workers in their neighborhood.

And then take a look at this one. Natasha James of British Columbia is the founder of the Facebook group "Hearts in the Window." She told CNN she wanted to make an online community giving families an activity to do.

And then all the way in Norway, 8-year-old Olivia and Kristoffer showed off their rainbow drawings in their windows.

Well, enjoy doing that with your kids wherever you are.

Thanks for your company. Help our medical workers by staying at home and staying safe.

Thanks for watching. I'm Robyn Curnow. "NEW DAY" with John and Alisyn begins next.

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