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Boris Johnson Tests Positive For Coronavirus; U.S. Overtakes China With Most Total Reported Cases; China Bans Foreign Visitors To Avoid Second Wave. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired March 27, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:15]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Hi, folks. I want to bring you up to speed with something that's happening today which is that I've developed
mild symptoms of the coronavirus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello everyone. We are coming to you live from London, I'm Hala Gorani. This is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Also this hour, the U.S. overtakes China with the most reported cases of coronavirus in the world. We are live in the United States.
Also, Spain sets a new grim record, 769 deaths in a single day.
And China where the virus originated, closes its borders to foreign visitors to stave off a second wave of infection as well.
Welcome, everybody. A lot to get through this hour. The coronavirus has infected a world leader. We are learning just in the last few hours that
the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the virus.
He posted a message on Twitter just a few minutes ago announcing the diagnosis saying he has mild symptoms and that he is self-isolating at 10
Downing Street.
Nic Robertson is there at 10 Downing and joins me now live with more. Talk to us about this announcement. Of course a few days ago, it was Prince
Charles and today, we're learning Boris Johnson is also positive.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, he was tested yesterday by N.H.S. staff inside Number 10 Downing Street on the advice of
the country's Chief Medical Officer because he was suffering from some of what are the now the classic symptoms. That he had a high temperature and
that he had this persistent cough, but he is saying that he will continue because it is mild symptoms, continue to leave the country and his battle
against the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: Hi folks, I want to bring you up to speed with something that's happening today, which is that I've developed mild symptoms of the
coronavirus. That's to say, a temperature and a persistent cough.
And on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer, I've taken a test that has come out positive, so I am working from home. I'm self-isolating and that's
entirely the right thing to do.
But be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fight
back against coronavirus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So not just technology, of course, because there are other staff at Number 10 Downing Street involved in running the country and the
instructions for them, we understand is that they can knock on the door of the apartment where the Prime Minister is self-isolating, and if they have
documents or other things they need to give to the Prime Minister, they leave them sitting outside.
The Prime Minister presumably could then pick them up himself. That's the way the government is going to be led for now.
GORANI: Right. That is absolutely remarkable. And by the way, many of our viewers are aware. Those who've been following this coronavirus story, that
on March 3rd, Boris Johnson said, I shook hands with everybody. You'll be pleased to know and I continue to shake hands and of course today, March
27th, Boris Johnson announces that he has tested positive.
And not just Boris Johnson, his Health Secretary who is leading the fight against coronavirus, Matt Hancock is also saying he is self-isolating with
mild symptoms.
And I guess the question is, how many people did Boris Johnson interact with whether it was inside of government, outside of government that now
are going to have to either get tested or at the very least, self-isolate?
ROBERTSON: Well, one of the questions has been, when did he last meet the Queen? The last two interactions he has had with the Queen because he has
his Prime Minister weekly conversation with her have been on the phone.
The last time we met with her was the 11th of March, so that sort of 14-day incubation period for the virus before symptoms that are sort of a long
stretch. That seems -- the meeting with the Queen seems to fall outside of that.
When it comes to other members of the government, officials here at Downing Street are saying that there are no plans to test other members of the
government at this time.
But the Prime Minister of course, has interacted with a great number of people that he -- you know, his advisers, other staff within Downing Street
as well as other Cabinet members over the past few weeks, what level of interactions they've had isn't clear.
But what we do know is that the advice to people in Number 10 is continue with your work. No need to self-isolate if you've come in contact with the
Prime Minister, only begin to self-isolate if you show symptoms and I think perhaps the Prime Minister would point to the fact that his Health
Minister, Nadine Doris, who was self-isolating because she tested positive a little over two weeks ago, was actually back in Parliament having
recovered on the front benches again, just as recently as yesterday.
[10:05:26]
ROBERTSON: But the Prime Minister for now, self-isolating and you're right, the question is, how many other people around him are going to be
impacted by proximity to him?
GORANI: Also, it is surprising, at least to me and anybody who has been following this story that even individuals who've had contact -- direct
contact with the Prime Minister are not told to self-isolate unless they have symptoms, which as we know sometimes don't show up for a couple of
weeks.
Nic Robertson, standby, we will be getting back to you for more on what's happening in the United Kingdom.
But from the U.K. to the United States, the United States is now the new epicenter for this coronavirus disease. It has overtaken China, where all
of this began, of course.
There are more than 82,000 cases reported in the United States, and this number, of course, is rising every single day, hour by hour. CNN's Nick
Watt has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): More than 1,000 now dead, the United States has more reported cases of coronavirus than any other country
on Earth according to Johns Hopkins University.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's attributed to the testing. We're testing tremendous numbers of people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): Despite the rising numbers, the President now considering easing social distancing guidelines in some parts of the
country to get some people back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've got to start the process pretty soon. So we'll be talking to you a little bit more about that next week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): And today, a glimpse of the staggering economic impact. Last week, nearly 3.3 million more Americans signed up for unemployment, a
record since such records began more than 50 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's nobody's fault, certainly not in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): A $2.2 trillion stimulus package to help industry individuals and the healthcare system passed the Senate, still waiting on a
House vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Hopefully, it'll get approved equally, easily in the House. Really, I think it will go through pretty well from what I hear. Virtually
everybody -- there could be one vote -- one vote -- one grandstander, maybe. You might have one grandstander.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): Meanwhile on the front line --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the feet that you see, they all have COVID.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): And 13 died at this one New York Hospital in one day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had to get a refrigerated truck to store the bodies of patients who are dying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): An ER doctor sharing a rare look inside her hospital with "The New York Times".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. COLLEEN SMITH, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR, ELMHURST HOSPITAL: 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 -- it's America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): CNN has reached out to Elmhurst Hospital for official comment on the statements of this doctor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Leaders in various offices from the President to the Head of Health and Hospitals saying things like we're going to be fine. Everything is
fine.
And from our perspective, everything is not fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): New York's Governor says there is enough protective equipment for now, but distribution might be stop and start.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): You cannot get the curve down low enough so that you don't overwhelm the hospital capacity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): New York State has by far the most confirmed cases right now, but they've also done by far the most testing. Twenty five
percent of the national total says the Governor.
So everywhere else?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it could be as much as one in three walking around asymptomatic right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): The first confirmed case in the U.S. was January 21st, Washington State. About a month later, the President said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going down, not up. We're going very substantially down not up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT (voice over): That day, 56 cases; today, more than 80,000 cases across every single state, hence, more than half the country ordered, stay
home to slow spread for now.
WATT (on camera): The Mayor of Los Angeles said he expects California to become the next New York. Three thousand cases so far. They expect that to
go higher, and they are preparing. The Mercy, a thousand bed US Navy Hospital Ship will pull in to the Port of Los Angeles Friday morning.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: So the United States is the worldwide epicenter. In Europe, it is Spain that is doing very poorly.
Before we get to that though, I want to talk to you about what's going on, on Capitol Hill because Members of the U.S. Congress are currently debating
a Stimulus Bill, although it should be called a relief bill, really. It's a Crisis Bill.
They've started debating the biggest crisis stimulus relief deal in American history. This is coming to us live from Capitol Hill.
[10:10:22]
GORANI: It's a fairly empty House floor. The result of social distancing there as well, and the stimulus legislation will be discussed for up to
three hours. It will be followed by a vote.
The House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer calls it an unusual, but critical session. I should say that was Minority Leader.
Now, let's talk about Spain and the health officials there are reporting a new record in the number of deaths just over the last 24 hours, 769 people
died overnight, bringing the death toll there to nearly 5,000 in Spain alone.
Let's bring in journalist, Al Goodman. He is live in Madrid with the very latest. And I know Spain has implemented quite draconian containment
measures, but unfortunately, Al, they're not seeing results yet, the results they'd like in the numbers.
AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Hi, Hala. They are not seeing the results as quickly as they would like. Spanish officials at the beginning of this
week, were quite optimistic saying that maybe the peak in the curve would be reached this week. One of them even said on Wednesday.
Now, they've retracted and they're saying they expect the peak to come soon. And the figures too are bearing them out a little bit. The death
toll, terrible and rising this day, but it is a percentage decline from the day before and quite a decline from the day before that.
The same thing with the number of cases, they are rising, but the percentages are going down.
One figure that is very troubling for everyone in Spain, more than 9,000 medical workers themselves are infected. That's 15 percent of all the
cases.
The medical workers say it's because they lacked the protective gear that is in such short supply here in Spain and around the world, and another
place of focus here in Spain, the senior citizens homes.
The officials say most of the victims have died in hospitals, but the exception are the senior citizens by the hundreds have died in nursing
homes, 24 in just one home here in Madrid, which is so hard hit.
Again, the workers there say lack of protective gear for themselves and lack of protective gear for the senior citizens.
I've got a friend who went with her family to the nursing home where her mother is on Thursday to get her mother out. She doesn't have coronavirus
yet and they don't want her to get it in that home -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, and those are very difficult decisions that need to be made by family members because at least the guidance we've been given is if
you have elderly relatives, you know, don't go visit them. Even sometimes, if they're in a care home or a nursing facility, don't even approach that
building.
I mean, how are people making these very difficult decisions?
GOODMAN: They're making the decisions, in a way, just the way that the authorities are in the 17 regions of Spain are. They're just trying to get
on top of this. They're playing a game of catch up.
There's been increasing criticism that the government got to this too late. They ordered this lockdown too late. It started in mid-March. It's been
extended to mid-April to just the day before Easter, but the individuals like my friend and a woman who was on national radio pleading on Thursday
to get into one of these homes so she could get her 94-year-old dad out of there. They're just trying to save their loved ones -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Al Goodman. Al with the very latest there on what's happening in Spain. You can see that across Europe, this
virus is really coming wave after wave, one country after the next especially countries like Italy for instance and Spain, where there's a
large number of elderly people and a very large elderly population and the most vulnerable people are the ones obviously suffering the most.
We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America's doctors are already planning for the ethical challenges they will soon face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Deciding who lives and who dies, the U.S. could soon face a similar situation to Italy, where medical personnel are using something
similar to wartime triage. We'll be right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:16:38]
GORANI: Now in France, the country's Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe is warning of very difficult days ahead, calling the pandemic, a crisis "that
will last."
It comes after France recorded its highest daily death toll on Thursday. Melissa Bell joins me now live from Paris. So it's always worrying if your
Prime Minister says that a crisis will last without giving a timeline, but essentially preparing people for a worst case scenario for quite a while.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hala. Edouard Philippe's words published today we're pretty strong, a stark warning to the French
that really they needed to hold on. We're expecting a further press conference tomorrow that will be held by him and the Health Minister in
which we'll hear more about what the French government is planning in terms of its strategy, also answering questions that have been over personal
equipment.
For instance, masks and hand gels and whether frontline people dealing with this crisis have the means that they need to take it on adequately.
You mentioned a moment ago, Hala, those waves that have passed over Europe. What we're seeing here in France, record rises not only in the number of
deaths announced yesterday, but the number of new cases nearly 4,000, and what we're seeing here in France just a week after Italy, where it seems to
be heading towards the peak that has yet to come.
And another stark warning from Edouard Philippe this afternoon on where we are with that emergency as the government tries to seek the balance between
hoping that the measures of confinement will bear their fruit and continuing to deal with a healthcare system that is under tremendous
strain.
Using his analogy, the wave he said that has spread from the East of France and was now heading the Ile-de-France, the region around Paris had been
very high. And that already, the healthcare system here in France was submerged.
Imagine, Hala, when that wave hits cities like Paris. Back in Italy, it had hit cities like Cremona, Bergamot was such strengths, but the doctors there
had said look, if it hits Milan, we'll be in real trouble.
And if this is what is coming in, it appears to be with the Prime Minister is suggesting that could prove catastrophic for French authorities -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Melissa Bell. Thanks very much for that. So let's move on and Melissa mentioned Italy. Well in Italy, the surge in coronavirus
cases is indeed overwhelming. Hospitals and healthcare workers as well.
It could be a preview of what's to come in the United States. Those virus hotspots. CNN's Delia Gallagher takes a look at this pretty grave warning
and the ethical dilemmas that U.S. doctors could also eventually face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In some of Northern Italy's cemeteries, there's no space left for the dead, killed by the
coronavirus.
Hospitals are crumbling under the sheer number of patients and U.S. experts warn, if this disease could cripple Italy's strong healthcare system, the
U.S. could be next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It essentially got out of hand and it became difficult for them,
as good as they are, and they're very good to be able to contain it in a way that is contact tracing, all that kind of thing.
It was more mitigation. How do we deal with what we have? They were in a very difficult position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER (voice over): In this exclusive footage given to CNN, doctors show us operating rooms in a hospital in Northern Italy turned into
makeshift intensive care units.
Barely conscious patients, doctors and nurses pushed to the brink. They now have to choose who will live and who will die.
Some medics have described it as wartime triage, patients with the highest chance of survival get priority, and it is doctors, nurses and emergency
workers who are exposed to the greatest risks. At least 39 medical professionals have died in Italy since the crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANGELO PAN, HEAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE, CREMONA HOSPITAL: Even a small error can give you the infection and then you have to hope not to get any
serious problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER (voice over): It's a stark picture for those in the U.S. now fighting the disease. America's doctors are already planning for the
ethical challenges they will soon face.
In Italy, exhausted doctors struggle physically and mentally from the strain. They hope other countries will learn from them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are not even counting the dead anymore. Look at the news that's coming out of Italy and take note of
what the situation really is like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER (voice over): A dire situation and a warning for the world. Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, the coronavirus pandemic has forced healthcare workers into extreme conditions. Dr. Joanne Liu is the former head of Doctors Without
Borders, and she joins me now live.
So we're seeing Italy, Spain with the highest number of deaths recorded in a single day. France has not peaked yet. What is it going to take for these
countries to turn a corner, Dr. Liu?
DR. JOANNE LIU, FORMER INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, MEDECINS SAN FRONTIERES: Well, I think that it's to be able to be resilient and to maintain the
workforce as much as they can, and it's hard because in time I think that we always made a lot of practice about the worst case scenario but we do
it, you know, when everything is stable around us.
Now, we're doing it when we have, you know, colleagues and friends who are infected and it means that collectively, everybody needs to be in fighting
with them.
As I always said, you know, the epidemic starts in the community and stop in the community. Everybody needs to do his bit to make things better.
GORANI: How is this -- how are lessons that you and your colleagues from Medecins San Frontieres, methods you used in disaster zones and war zones?
How can they be utilized in cities and countries during peacetime? Big hospitals in Paris, for instance, or in New York?
LIU: Well, I think that there's three things for me that is pretty key. I think it's in terms of structure. I think that having a dedicated structure
for COVID-19 is key, because you don't want to mix your staff who care for COVID patient positive and staff who doesn't care for it. And you don't
want you center to become an amplification center if you're not infected, to go to places where you could get contaminated.
So it's really important, dedicated center only for COVID patients, I think makes a difference. We learned it in so many other epidemics, MSF.
I think the other thing as well is to really support our staff to be able to continue to care in such a stressful environment. I remember, you know,
my staff in Ebola kept saying, it is like being at war, and basically someone shooting at you all the time, because you cannot never let your
guard down. It's always there.
So it's important that we support our staff. It's important that we support the medical staff to make the hard decision, because it's mass casualty
scenario, not only once a day, every day, and it's going to be like this for the next few weeks. So we need to support them in terms of --
GORANI: Yes. Got it. But would you compare what's happening with -- have you ever seen anything like this on this scale? What's going on with
coronavirus? It is so global, this pandemic. Have you ever -- do you think healthcare workers have ever been confronted to something an infectious
disease like this?
LIU: We have seen, you know, similar situations, but not at the same scale, not at the world scale, but we've seen situation where, like, you
were reporting by the Italian caretaker, that they don't count the dead anymore. They just are overwhelmed.
So we have seen those situation, but it's much smaller scale. So we're not used to work in mass casualty mode, from one day to another and for weeks
on. This is what we're not used to.
We are not used to work with scarcity. We are not used to lack in the right equipment. We are not used to used to making hard decision every other
patient. This is what we're not used to.
GORANI: And Dr. Liu, one of the things you tweeted was coercive laws are driving people underground. So if you don't force people to self-isolate,
what's the solution? Because when the rule isn't in place, and it's not enforced, people will go out. They'll go to parks, they'll keep jogging and
they'll keep interacting. What do you do?
LIU: Well, the thing is, caution has never been, you know, something that we supported. I really do think that we need to -- you know, miracle in
epidemics often comes from the community and it is when the community really, I would say, take their life in their hands and they change their
behavior.
We've seen it in so many places that when things turn around is when the community said, I'm in charge, and I'm an actor, I'm going to make the
difference.
And we need to convince people that they are the one who can make the difference today. It's not only people in the hospital.
GORANI: All right. Dr. Joanne Liu, thanks very much. The former director of Doctors Without Borders. And we're also going to be discussing,
hopefully, with you at some stage what this means for the most vulnerable populations in the world, of course, I'm talking about the homeless. And if
there's some sort of disaster zone, also, that emerges if there's an earthquake or a natural disaster, what to do then? Thank you very much, Dr.
Liu.
All right, let's move on. We were discussing -- where are we going now? To a break? Apologies. Full transparency we are -- we have a very unusual
setup here, so I'm having to get used to it as well.
When we come back, we're going to be speaking with a psychologist on how to stay sane, and even happy during this pandemic.
First, though, our chief medical correspondent has the simplest advice for you. Wash your hands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, I'm going to show you how to wash your hands. Most people know how to do this, but
always worth remembering. I am just going to wet my hands here. Get plenty of soap. And just start rubbing your hands. And make sure you really
interlace your fingers like this. And then also turn your hands over, don't forget the backs of your hands, people often forget that. Both sides, get
it really well.
And then I'll actually get underneath the fingertips here and even the nails a little bit to make sure you clean underneath there, and then you've
got to get the thumbs. Thumbs are really important. Sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice to yourself, and that usually will do it.
And then I just sort of get the soap off my hands here and there. And then here's the key. Before the turn the water off. Dry your hands and use the
same paper towel to turn off the water so you don't contaminate yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:02]
GORANI: Welcome back. The United States has hit a grim milestone. The country now has more coronavirus cases than any other country, more than
China even where this all began.
At least 82,000 Americans have the virus now which has claimed nearly 1,200 lives. U.S. President Donald Trump wants people back to work by Easter,
April 12th.
However, the nation's top Infectious Disease expert is casting doubt on that date saying it's more aspirational than rooted in fact, or based on
any official recommendation.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now live. So let's talk -- because there is a race for a cure right now, obviously, and
vaccine though that would take longer. What is the latest on whether or not there is in our future some sort of cure that could help treat people with
this disease -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, what research physicians are telling me is that things that would ordinarily take them
months to accomplish is taking them just days. And what I mean by that is just the application to study a drug, to do this trial, to do that trial.
They say it's moving ahead very quickly. They hope to have results in weeks to months and not many, many months in the future.
But as you said, the race is on to find drugs and treatments to prevent or treat coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So my pack has just arrived.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): Thursday morning, Dr. Brian Garibaldi gets his first delivery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI, MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF BIO CONTAINMENT UNIT, JOHNS HOPKINS : When I received 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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 Bio Containment 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): And even though he's careful --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (on camera): Do you ever get scared working with these patients? Do you ever gets scared for your own health?
GARIBALDI: Well, you know, I think we're always concerned that when we take care of patients with infectious disease is that we might be putting
ourselves at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): President Trump has been enthusiastic about hydroxychloroquine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They've shown very encouraging -- very, very encouraging early results. I think it's going to be -- I think it's going to be great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): But doctors say, not so fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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 is 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): And there are other coronavirus treatments in the pipeline, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: We're talking about remdesivir, other drugs, immune sera, convalescence sera monoclonal antibodies. All of these are in the pipeline
now queuing up to be able to go into clinical trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): At Montefiore Medical Center in New York City and at other hospitals, they are 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 will we 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Now, we saw Dr. Fauci in that story just now, he heads up the part of the National Institutes of Health that would fund and support these
kinds of studies.
Interestingly, when we took a look, his institute is supporting all sorts of trials for coronavirus, but they are not supporting trials on
hydroxychloroquine.
So an interesting note they are supporting other trials, but not hydroxychloroquine, at least not as of yet -- Hala.
GORANI: Very interesting. Thanks very much, Elizabeth Cohen. Athena Jones is in New Jersey not far from New York City at a center that is providing
testing for first responders.
Talk to us about how this works. Can any first responder just show up and get tested for corona?
ATHENA JONES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Hala. Well, just to be clear, we're in Holmdel, New Jersey. We are at the PNC Bank Arts Center.
This is one of two sites set up by New Jersey that's being run by New Jersey, a joint operation between the New Jersey National Guard and the New
Jersey Department of Health.
[10:35:11]
JONES: I should mention, though, that it is tomorrow that this site and the other state-run site will be testing only symptomatic healthcare
workers and symptomatic first responders. Today, anyone who's a New Jersey resident who has symptoms can come and get in this line to be tested.
Now, this site opened at 8:00 a.m. and they first started testing here on Monday, and I can tell you from the folks, talking to folks here, they have
reached capacity pretty quickly.
Certainly, the first couple of days, within the first 15 or 30 minutes, they already run out of tests. They've been capping it at about 250 tests.
And so today, behind me, I don't know if you can see, already a couple of the lines, the long lines of cars have now gone away. They've been tested.
There's one more line remaining that means that they're still admitting a few cars. They still have a few tests.
And this is what's so important. You know, New Jersey is second. That's the second highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, second only to New
York in the United States. So that's just under 7,000.
But of course, we can't get a clear picture of how many people really have this virus until there is more testing. That is why you're seeing these
testing sites pop up.
But again, tomorrow is when this site, another site run by the state will be only testing symptomatic healthcare workers, symptomatic first
responders and that is important because these are the people who are on the frontlines, obviously caring for people at hospitals, but also even
being the first people to have contact with people who are suspected of having coronavirus perhaps at their homes when they call an ambulance.
So these are people who are very concerned about being exposed to the virus and exposing it to others. We already know of at least one EMS worker who
is now in very bad condition at a hospital who got the virus from her coworker, not even from contact with a patient -- Hala.
GORANI: And where does the testing take place? I remember seeing testing facilities in South Korea where you could drive up basically and get
swabbed in your car. How are the testers staying safe when people -- yes, is that how it works?
JONES: That's exactly how it works. As I mentioned and as you mentioned, I mean, these are people who have symptoms, to be tested here, to not be
turned away, you have to live in New Jersey and be showing symptoms.
And so you can see, I don't know how much you can make of it, they're wearing blue protective gear, blue personal protective equipment that we've
been talking so much about in order to stay safe and people drive up. They're not getting out of their cars, they drive up, roll down, and that
is how they're tested and then they drive away.
But personal protective gear is obviously incredibly important. It's one of the reasons we've seen some states be discouraging testing, depending on
who you are, whether you have symptoms and that sort of thing, because you're trying to conserve this very important gear to keep folks -- keep
folks safe.
But even as you come in here, I mean, there's a lot of National Guard around, folks trying to make sure that people follow the protocols to make
sure that this is all done safely and that these people who believe they have coronavirus symptoms can get this test, find out if they have it and
act accordingly -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, thanks very much. Athena Jones in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Now, we've been telling you about the situation in Italy, the situation in France as well and what's going on in Spain. Let's get the Europe-wide
perspective because this is obviously an E.U. issue that is urgent.
The E.U. Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, has just been part of a meeting on the bloc's response to the pandemic and she joins me now
live from Brussels.
Thank you so much for being with us. What was said in this meeting because these countries -- Italy, Spain, France -- they haven't peaked yet and this
is a huge health emergency for the E.U. What which strategies are being discussed?
YLVA JOHANSSON, E.U. COMMISSIONER FOR HOME AFFAIRS: Of course, we are providing equipment and a lot of solidarity has been shown between the
member states and I had just come from a meeting where we have been discussing how we could have good cooperation with border measures so that
goods and people can move smoothly.
But we're respecting the restrictions for social interaction, and there has been a lot of progress in the last week.
GORANI: But how do you keep goods moving smoothly when there are such draconian restrictions on movement? How does that work, practically?
JOHANSSON: Yes, we'll set up again guidelines and we have been able to set up green lanes for goods to come smoothly through crossing the borders, but
also for people, a lot of cross border workers that is really necessary otherwise, for example, critical functions like healthcare systems will
have a huge problems.
And these are the things that we are working on almost around the clock to solve a lot of problems that are have occurred and we have been very
successful in dealing with this problem.
So now, more or less all the problems, fingers crossed, things have been solved so that people that have critical functions in their profession can
move, citizens can come back to their home country, transit through another member state, and critical goods can also be delivered because this is
really important, especially in these times.
[10:40:31]
GORANI: Well, certainly. One of the things you tweeted and this is an angle I hadn't thought of actually, because everyone is so consumed with
the health angle that criminals might be taking advantage of this pandemic, you know, to take advantage of vulnerable people.
For our viewers in Europe, what have you spotted in terms of illegal activity and how can people protect themselves?
JOHANSSON: Yes, we have -- Europol is working very close together with member states and today presented a report that criminals, they are
adapting extremely quickly to this new situation.
You know, almost everybody is online right now, and we are so exposed to a lot of fake news and a lot of fraud and false items that you can -- that
they try to sell to you. So this is really important that we have the cooperation to be aware of this.
But may I put one important thing that is very important for me is that we can now see that child sexual abuse online, there's a lot of indication
that this is actually booming in these days.
So those people that search pedophiles that search for child sexual abusers online, there are indicators that is increasing rapidly right now. And this
is of course, extremely dangerous, and especially when we have so many children, some of them very vulnerable, also online right now. So this is
an area where we need to --
GORANI: Well, why is that? I need to ask you why? Because parents watching us are probably very worried about this particular statement. Why is there
more sexual abuse searches online? I mean, how do you explain it during this lockdown?
JOHANSSON: Sorry, but I can't explain that. That is not what is being provided to answer why, but we can see this happening. We can see a lot of
indicators on this and this is what I would like to say, be aware.
This is really important that we should address to fight child sexual abuse online and also to say to parents to be aware of what your children are
doing online.
GORANI: Yes, great advice. Thanks very much. Ylva Johansson for joining us, the E.U. Commissioner for Home Affairs and good luck to you and all the
officials in charge of coming up with a strategy in response to this pandemic.
So much anxiety out there and thanks also for shedding light on what some criminals and apparently, pedophiles as well are doing taking advantage of
the situation. Thank you very much.
We are going to take a quick break. When we come back social distancing. Economies crushed. Anxiety. We're going to speak to a Psychology Professor
who teaches a course on happiness and she will give you her advice, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:42]
GORANI: Welcome back. As I was mentioning before the break, even if we are healthy, physically healthy these days, mentally it might be an entirely
different question.
Being confined not knowing what the future holds -- all of these things make people anxious and are giving people a reason, perhaps to feel
psychologically fragile.
Joining me now is Laurie Santos. She leads the most popular course in Yale University's History, Psychology and the Good Life. And Laurie, you also
host "The Happiness Lab" podcast. So talk to us about what people can do when they are home with no clear visibility in terms of the future, what
they can do to make themselves feel better.
LAURIE SANTOS, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, YALE UNIVERSITY: Well, I mean, the upshot is that this is an incredibly challenging time for our mental
health. We know it's a challenging time for our physical health, but we have things we can do physically. We can wash our hands, we can socially
distance.
The good news is that the Science of Psychology gives us all of these things we can do to protect our mental health during this challenging time.
I think the most important one is to be as social as possible right now, even in this period of social distancing. The great thing is that we have
these technologies we can use to reach out to others from our phone to things like FaceTime, and Zoom, and Skype.
We can be having this in real time connection with other people and that's more critical now than ever. There's so much work suggesting that the way
we get through crises in the past, like, say, Hurricane Sandy, and so on, is to reach out to other people. We can't do that physically. But the
awesome thing is that we can do that virtually.
GORANI: Yes. But I mean, is it really the same? Technology is frustrating. I mean, in the end, you're really just kind of mentally exhausted from
having to, you know, click on icons and try to spell out words and connect with people with this delay and echo, and does it really replace face-to-
face interaction?
SANTOS: Yes, I mean, it's not as easy as face-to-face interaction. I mean, normally what we do in a crisis is you know, I'd go out with my friends to
the pub, or I'd -- you know, go to my mom's house and give her a hug. I can't do that right now.
But with a little bit of like startup cost, you really can get a lot of that from the kind of connection we see in real time. You don't get it
through scrolling through your social media feed or clicking likes, but you really do get it through the face-to-face connection you see in technology.
When you see people's facial expressions, you can hear them laugh, or you can play games together or even exercise together. That's what I've been
doing with friends of mine. We set a morning yoga time, all together across different time zones. Those are real interactions, and basically as good
psychologically as face-to-face.
The problem is the startup costs. We really have to be more deliberate. We're not running into our coworkers at the watercooler. You know, we have
to set a Zoom time to meet up with them. But once you do that, you get the same benefits.
GORANI: You know, one of the things I was asking myself is that people who live in peaceful prosperous countries, European countries, the United
States, they're getting just a small taste of what it's like for people in conflict zones to live confined and in fear without any clear visibility
going forward as to when this, you know, difficult time might end.
And so that would develop gratitude and empathy perhaps for people who are going through a tough time. And I've always read that being, you know,
being sympathetic to people's -- to people's tough times is something that will develop gratitude and make you happier. Do you agree with that?
SANTOS: Yes, definitely. There's so much work suggesting both that gratitude or taking time to count your blessings and being other oriented,
just focusing on other people and how you can help them. Those are two things that we know statistically bump up your wellbeing.
And there are things that we can be practicing at this time, like in spates, in part because of the situation. I think we're realizing how
grateful we should have been for all those simple things we took for granted.
You know, going to my daily coffee shop. You know, being able to see my friends in person. We're missing those right now. But that's going to -- at
the end of this crisis -- give us a moment to savor them so much.
I mean, I'm already thinking of, you know what latte I'm going to buy at my coffee shop when I go back there. But I think there's also a moment that we
can be a little bit other oriented right now.
I think this is critical. We can get caught up in thinking about people panic buying and people not being cooperative. But in fact, there's so many
examples of people doing amazingly nice things.
And the act of doing that, sort of thinking about someone outside yourself can reduce your anxiety and improve your wellbeing. So think of which
elderly neighbor you can just kind of call up, you know, check in on somebody, you know, make a donation if you have a little windfall of cash
from not paying for your commute or your morning coffee.
If you have a windfall of time, see if you can use that to help someone.
[10:50:31]
GORANI: Yes, and I absolutely agree. I've done that with the neighbors I have that live alone and it's certainly something that made me feel
connected to them and made me happier.
What would you say to somebody who just has had it? They start crying, they're having a panic attack, they just can't face you know, reality
anymore. What do you do when you're in a situation of crisis rather than kind of a -- you know, sort of an overall feeling of dread, just something
quite acute.
SANTOS: Yes, I mean, well, first, I would validate it, right? This is an incredibly scary time, an unprecedented scary time. I mean, we're all
really facing our mortality, you know, serious economic crisis. Like this is real, like this is the time that the human body is going to experience
anxiety.
And I think what we need to do is to recognize that that's okay. This is a time for self-compassion where we're going to be experiencing anxiety. And
we can, in some sense, allow that.
I think this is one thing to do, if you're experiencing that level of anxiety is see if you can, in some sense, come to terms with the fact that
it's okay.
One physical technique for doing that is to try to take time to focus on your breath. Like try to sit there and sort of do what people tend to do in
meditation, which is to sort of follow your breath. If possible, try to breathe from your belly. That's what activates the parasympathetic nervous
system, the sort of rest and digest system, and then just notice what you're feeling.
And you don't have to love it, but you can say, okay, I'm feeling really anxious right now. Just the act of not running away from it, not kind of
trying to fight it can actually make you a little less anxious and a little bit more okay with what's going on.
GORANI: Laurie Santos, the host of "The Happiness Lab" joining us from Yale University. Thanks very much. We'll be right back on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, time is running out if you're a foreigner trying to travel to China. The government has announced that it is temporarily closed its
borders to all foreign nationals holding visas and even residence permits. David Culver is in Shanghai, home to China's largest population of
foreigners. Talk to us about this ban -- David?
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've got about an hour left, Hala before that ban takes effect and it will block most all foreigners who plan to be
entering Mainland China.
What they've been doing up until now is essentially funneling all those foreign international flights into 12 airports here in Mainland China,
including here in Shanghai. And I've got to tell you, talking to folks who have gone through the process of arriving, once you land, it's another 12
hours that you go through several screenings, evaluations, Customs, of course, and then you're bussed over to a testing center.
You have to get tested and you wait for your results, which could take six to eight hours. So it is a lengthy and tedious process, and certainly
taxing for the officials here to put that all together. Yet, they are doing it because of the imported cases and the rise of imported cases that
they're seeing is really concerning here.
[10:55:04]
CULVER: They have reported that they have seen no locally transmitted cases in recent days, which seems to be a sign of success, those numbers
coming from the government, of course. But at the same time, they're showing these imported cases going up and up in numbers, and that's really
concerning -- Hala.
GORANI: Is that why we're seeing a big spike in Hong Kong?
CULVER: It's exactly why. Yes, and Hong Kong is not alone, you see it in Taiwan and Thailand as well. You're seeing it really across this region.
But Hong Kong in particular, it's interesting to see what's happening there. They've just reported their largest spike, their largest number of
total of new cases and that is based on imported cases.
So they're now starting to take actions which quite honestly, I'm surprised hadn't been in effect earlier. I mean, actions that we've seen here and
been living through for the past two plus months, including restricting the amount of capacity that restaurants can have, having tables set apart by
about one and a half meters.
They're closing down cinemas bowling alleys, gyms -- again, all things that have been part of our life really that have been shut down for the past two
plus months, but now they're doing that in Hong Kong. And they're also restricting non-residents from coming in. So they're imposing similar
travel bans, if you will, trying to just stop the imported cases from rising, trying to contain what they have, and keep it under control as best
as possible.
The Chief Executive there, Carrie Lam, implementing those to take effect starting this weekend. So it'll certainly be life changing for the many
people in the territory.
GORANI: All right, David Culver in Shanghai. Thanks very much. Now, I want to leave you with something beautiful to end this hour. It is the Rotterdam
Philharmonic Orchestra and what the musicians of that orchestra are doing during the lockdown.
[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]
GORANI: This video took a week to produce. Each musician played the same song alone with precise timing so that all of the tracks could be combined.
And I'm going to leave you with this, and I will see you on Monday. If it's your weekend, please try to have a good one. Thanks for watching. Stay with
CNN, the news and the music continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:00]
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