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Hundreds Of Medical Workers Sick, Hospitals Fight Supply Shortages; New Orleans Sees Jump In COVID-19 Cases; Renowned Pediatric Neurosurgeon Dies From Coronavirus. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired March 31, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: A good Tuesday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWSROOM: And I'm Poppy Harlow.

America hits a milestone as the nation fights this pandemic. 575 Americans died yesterday alone from COVID-19. That is the largest number of deaths that we have seen in a single day so far in the United States. The death toll across the country has now risen above 3,000. We will hear from the White House on their updated guidelines today.

SCIUTTO: Also this morning, a sobering report. The doctors at a New York City hospital are being told now to think carefully about who and who does not get a ventilator. Hospitals across the country are desperate for more supplies. Staff, bed space, and we are now seeing field hospitals going operational. Convention centers, in that image in the left of the screen, that's a tent hospital in New York City's Central Park.

Within minutes, the Navy hospital ship, Comfort, will take on its first non-coronavirus patients. This is to help take the pressure off New York medical facilities as they treat a surge in coronavirus patients.

HARLOW: So right now, three out of four Americans are being told to stay at home, and we are seeing some signs, especially on the West Coast, that that could actually be working.

Let's begin, though, in New York. Our Brynn Gingras joins us this morning. What is the state of play in the city that is suffering the most from this right now, just at least in terms of sheer numbers?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, sheer number that, in fact, Poppy, we are starting to see the landscape of New York City change before our eyes. Of course, you guys mentioned Comfort in New York City's harbor, we have the Javits Center that's now going to be a hospital.

We have learned this morning that also the place where they play the U.S. Open, the tennis center, that's being transformed into a hospital with 350 beds. And then, of course, you've got this hospital right behind me, a smaller version field hospital, but still transformed right here in Central Park where people typically go to exercise or sunbathe on a nice day.

This hospital transformed really just in days. A group out of North Carolina, a Christian group, came up here on Saturday, and we're hearing that patients will start going inside today, 68 beds in all. There is also a small ICU unit taking patients, really, from all of the five boroughs, again, just trying to release a little bit of the burden that all these hospitals are experiencing at this point.

Even with all of this aid that is coming into the city, we've heard from the governor that they need more. He actually made a plea for more personnel, anyone who can work, healthcare workers, to come to the city, and he said, you know what, we'll pay you back because it's possible your neighborhood is going to need help in the very near future as well.

I also want to mention to you guys, you guys said it at the top, but there is this Wall Street Journal report about a New York hospital telling its doctors to, quote, think more critically about who is intubated, essentially saying if it's not going to change their clinical outcome, then they're going to have to make those tough decisions and they have the support of the hospital.

Now, the hospital is saying that these were the guidelines that these doctors always practiced under but it's just another of how serious the situation here is in New York City. Poppy?

HARLOW: It certainly. Imagine if you're one of those families that they are deciding between if it comes to that. Brynn, thank you for that reporting. Jim?

SCIUTTO: With me now is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Dr. Fauci, we know you have so much on your plate. Thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Good to be with you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Let's begin. I'm sure you heard our reporter there describing a tent hospital set up to deal with the surge in cases. We have the biggest one-day death toll so far from this in the U.S., 575 dead. For Americans watching now and who rely on you, you're a voice of calm and a voice of facts in the midst of all this, what should Americans prepare themselves for in these coming couple of weeks?

FAUCI: Well, it's a critical time, Jim, in the next couple weeks, because, as you know, we have very intensive mitigation, the kinds of things you've described on the show with the physical separation. If you look now, we're starting to see glimmers that that is actually having some dampening effect. But that does not take away from the seriousness of what you just described on the show.

We clearly are seeing cases going up. The people in New York are in a difficult situation, and what they're trying to do appropriately is make the best of it by opening up facilities that might decompress the surge of cases that they're having. And you described it very well, and that's the reason why things like the Javits Center, getting the Comfort into the harbor, to be able to do that.

We are still in a very difficult situation. We hope, and I believe it will happen, that we may start seeing a turnaround, but we haven't seen it yet. We're just pushing on the mitigation to hope that we do see that turnaround.

SCIUTTO: So tell us where you're seeing what you described just there as early signs. I know that New York has seen a decline in the rate of growth in new infections.

[10:05:04]

What else are you seeing that gives you some hope that the curve is being flattened somewhat?

FAUCI: So what happens, Jim, is that it occurs in phases. If you look from day-to-day of the number of new cases that require hospitalization, when you're really going up exponentially, it increases from day-to-day. Once you start to level off, then you're going to have less people who are going to be going into intensive care, and then later on, later on, because it always lags, you'll see a decrease in deaths.

So what we're starting to see right now is just the inklings. And I don't want to put too much stock on it because you don't want to get overconfident, you just want to keep pushing in what you're doing. You're starting to see that the daily increases are not in that steep incline, they're starting to be able to possibly flatten out.

I mean, again, you look at it carefully, hope it's going in the right direction, but that's what we really are trying to attain, that multi- phase component where it ultimately starts to come down.

SCIUTTO: Well, that is welcome news, and thanks so much for sharing that.

I want to ask for what else helps. So if social distancing is helping and we're beginning to see some effect of that, what about masks?

Now, the president raised the prospect of recommending all Americans wear some form of mask here. Should all Americans be doing that? And to be more specific, is that about something like a bandana, et cetera, because we already know of the shortages of medical masks, PPE masks, even for healthcare workers?

FAUCI: Well, Jim, the idea of getting a much more broad communitywide use of masks outside of the healthcare setting is under very active discussion at the task force. The CDC group is looking at that very carefully. The thing that has inhibited that a bit is to make sure that we don't take away the supply of masks from the healthcare workers who need them. But once we get in a situation where we have enough masks, I believe there will be some very serious consideration about more broadening this recommendation of using masks. We're not there yet, but I think we're close to coming to some determination. Because if, in fact, a person who may or may not be infected wants to prevent infecting someone else, one of the best ways to do that is with a mask. So perhaps that's the way to go.

And, again, I say, Jim, that's under very active consideration. We'll be discussing it today, this afternoon, at the task force meeting.

SCIUTTO: I see. And to be clear, you're saying when the supply is sufficient to allow that.

FAUCI: Right. Because the one thing, Jim, you don't want to do, you don't want to take masks away from the healthcare providers who are in a real and present danger of getting infected. That would be the worst thing we do. If we have them covered, then you could look back and say maybe we need to broaden this.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Speaking of broadening, if I can, from the beginning, and I know this is in the data, indicated that this was principally a disease and infection dangerous to older people and people with pre- existing conditions. As we learn more, and you do see hospitalizations among younger patients, is that still true?

FAUCI: Yes, Jim. The original data from China made it seem, and I think correctly but maybe not with all the nuances, that it was like very compartmented. If you're old or you have an underlying condition, you have a high risk of complication. If you're young, you're okay. We're starting to see that first from Europe, with Italy and France, and now right here in the United States.

It isn't as sharp and clean as that. We are starting to see young individuals in their 30s and their 40s who have no underlying condition that would predispose them to complications who are getting very seriously ill, requiring intensive care. We have to keep an eye on that. It's still a minority, Jim.

Overwhelmingly, it's still the elderly and those with underlying conditions. But that's one of the pleas that we make to the younger people. Don't think that you're exempt from not only serious illness but from the fact that you might be spreading the infection. That's why everybody has got to pitch in, everybody.

SCIUTTO: Drug therapy treatments, I want to ask about that. Are drugs, such as chloroquine, other anti-malaria drugs, is there evidence that they are working, that they're making a difference now?

FAUCI: You know, Jim, I've said that multiple times. When you have drugs that people have anecdotal, not proven clinical studies, people have a need and it's understandable. Since we don't have anything, let's get it out there. But you have to hearken back to the facts, Jim. There is no definitive evidence that this works.

That doesn't mean that people under certain circumstances might use compassionate use.

[10:10:04]

But if you want to get back to the science and you look at the data, you need a controlled trial to be able to definitively say something works. And we have not had that with those drugs.

SCIUTTO: Understood. Looking ahead, you have said that you anticipate a second wave of this outbreak in the fall. Would you expect that to be as bad as the spike in cases as we're seeing right now?

FAUCI: No, Jim, if we do have a second wave, which as I mentioned publicly, I think there is a reasonably good chance we will given the pervasiveness of this infection and its transmissibility. I don't think at all that it will be as bad because we will have several things in our favor. One, we'll obviously be very prepared. We have better equipment. We'd be able to deal with it better. But also we have a number of drugs that are in a clinical trial and we're pushing hard on the vaccine. Remember, I said a year to a year-and-a-half, so by next winter, we may be able to even utilize that.

So I think that I can say with some confidence that if we indeed get that second wave, we will be much, much better prepared than we are right now.

SCIUTTO: And in terms of the science, will people have some immunity if they've been exposed to it, even if they're not aware they've been exposed to it, if those infected in a second wave, would they have immunity to getting infected again?

FAUCI: Yes. I mean, the people who are infected -- I mean, there is no doubt in classical infectious disease that if you recover from an infection, that you will have an immunity that will protect you from infection with the same particular pathogen, in this case, the coronavirus. The level of people who have been infected, I don't expect it would rise to the level to give what we call of herd community protection. What it would mean, that it would protect those who have been exposed, but at the community level, there would not have been enough infections to really have enough umbrella of herd immunity.

SCIUTTO: Final question. so many people rely on you as the voice of calm in the midst of all this. So many people watching now, I'm sure they're fearful of the threat. Just a few words that you might give to the American people today as they prepare for the next couple weeks and what's to follow.

FAUCI: Yes, Jim, thank you for giving me that opportunity. We really have to hang in there and abide by the mitigation strategies. We do believe it's working. It's hard. It's not an easy thing to do. There's suffering and there's death and there's massive inconvenience economically and otherwise. But we're really a strong nation. We've been through some amazing things in our history. So let's all hang in there together. We will get over this and this will end.

SCIUTTO: Dr. Fauci, thank you so much for today but also for all the work you're doing for this country.

FAUCI: Thank you, Jim. Good to be with you.

SCIUTTO: Well, doctors in California say that the state's strict social distancing policy is working. You heard from Dr. Fauci there. They're seeing evidence elsewhere. What can the rest of the country learn?

HARLOW: Yes, he's such a good, calming voice in all of this.

Also really sad news to share with you. Dr. James T. Goodrich, a pioneering doctor who developed a method to separate conjoined twins, you followed their story here on CNN over the last few years. Well, he died yesterday due to complications from coronavirus. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who spent so much time with him, will be with us to reflect on his life and his legacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

HARLOW: So New Orleans is seeing a pretty alarming jump in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. A police department is going as far as issuing arrest warrants for people accused of violating those orders that are, of course, to ban large gatherings.

Ed Lavandera joins us with more. They people to take this really seriously?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no question. They really feel like they are on the upward trend of this trajectory here in New Orleans and Louisiana on a haul. And it is really hard, just culturally, to get people in the City of New Orleans to really buy into this idea socially distancing themselves. If you've spent any time in New Orleans, you'd understand exactly why that is.

But the cases here now have topped 4,000. There have been nearly 200 deaths. There's a great deal of concern about what's coming here in the coming days. The governor of Louisiana says that he has requested 14,000 ventilators, up 2,000, but so far has only received 192.

The governor did say he got a commitment from President Trump yesterday to bring another 150 ventilators, but those are not here yet and there's no word on when they will be arriving. Poppy and Jim?

HARLOW: Of course, they want to know that critical question. Thanks very much.

SCIUTTO: Another city we're following, the City of Detroit has also become a major hot spot in this pandemic. CNN's Ryan Young is there now.

And, Ryan, it's getting so bad there now that officials are converting a convention center into a hospital, a step we've seen a lot of communities take. RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And we actually got an update within the last 30 minutes or so that I'm going to share with you.

Look, that's the TCS Center behind us. That's where the auto show normally would be. 900 beds of what we're told initially, but we just learned that maybe they're going to bump that number up to a thousand.

[10:20:03]

And there's going to be a reason why they need that. We're already hearing in this state over 6,500 cases, 184 people who have died so far. That number could go up again today. When you think about the community spread, the police chief has tested positive for COVID-19. A detective has lost his life to the virus. And then just yesterday we saw the superintendent of schools put out a heartbreaking tweet. They lost two employees and three parents just yesterday.

The conversation here is why, because when you go throughout the city, usually, it's bustling. It is completely silent. It's almost sort of dead throughout the city corridors. But what they're worried about is that community spread. In fact, in one hospital alone, they've seen over 650 COVID-19 patients so far, so you know the numbers will continue to grow. Poppy?

HARLOW: Quite a sight in the middle of downtown Detroit. Ryan, thanks very much.

So the Navy ship, the USNS Comfort, has now docked. You saw it on the show yesterday as it was coming in live, a very welcome, welcome sight to this city. It's now ready to admit non-coronavirus patients. The mission, help they city's overwhelmed healthcare system.

Shimon Prokupecz joins us now for more. So it's been 24 hours since it got here, and they're ready to take people on.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are ready, Poppy, to take patients on.

So there is a system in place and just to clear perhaps some people could be confused about how this is going to work, the city is going to be working with the hospitals in determining who is going to come here. We expect how the process is going to work is they're going to find patients that meet the criteria to be aboard this ship, and then they will be brought here, pulled out of the hospitals and brought here by an ambulance. That process is still underway.

The ship is ready. They have all the operating rooms staffed, they have all the doctors, the nurses and the techs and everything they would need to function as a hospital. The thing is they're just waiting now to go through the system, the criteria, and figure out exactly who they're going to bring to the ship. And, of course, as you said, this is to help relieve a lot of the stress and the burden that is now on the health system here in New York City.

SCIUTTO: Well, a welcome sight, you might say a comforting sight for New Yorkers to see that ship there. Shimon Prokupecz, thanks very much.

The coronavirus has taken a legend in the medical community. Pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. James Goodrich, just ahead. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he is going to join us to honor the life of his friend and colleague.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Who are the victims of this? Sadly, many doctors. Among them, a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon who, in a remarkable operation, successfully separated conjoined twins. He has now fallen victim to coronavirus just yesterday.

HARLOW: His name was Dr. James Goodrich. He was a pioneer in the field of helping kids with complex neurological conditions. He is also a friend and a colleague of our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, I am so sorry. I was crushed. I think we all were when we saw this news yesterday.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, no question. I mean, there is a lot of things about this spreading virus that I think we are all becoming increasingly aware of. Many of us have, thankfully, not been touched by it personally or known somebody who has. But, look, that might happen to us, and it may come sooner than we think, and it happened to me this week. So I wanted you to get a chance to meet and know Dr. James Goodrich.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: You may not have immediately recognized him behind the mask, but the tufts of gray hair and twinkling eyes would eventually give him away.

For 27 hours, we sat together as he meticulously operated on Anais and Jadon McDonald separating their brains. Two children, among countless others, alive, thriving because of Dr. James Goodrich.

DR. JAMES GOODRICH, NEUROSURGEON: You've got to think after a while they kind of like become your own kids, my God, the Christmas cards you get from families you've been taking care of for 30 years. It's like you operate on a child that's just been born. It's a life- altering experience for a parent.

GUPTA: For Anais and Jadon's mom, Nicole, it was like watching a superhero.

NICOLE MCDONALD, MOTHER OF TWINS ANIAS' AND JADON: I was so blessed to say that not only did I get to see Dr. Goodrich with his cape on doing the most brilliant, complex surgeries that anybody could do, and I got to know him with his cape off.

GUPTA: We bonded over our shared calling, neurosurgery. In our world, we pretty much all know each other because there are just about 4,600 neurosurgeons in the country. And we also bonded over our shared love of kids, all kids.

MCDONALD: This is for you and all the work that you've done and what you did to make our family whole by making our babies separate. We love you.

GUPTA: So dedicated to his work, Dr. Goodrich never had kids of his own.

Was it his conscious decision not to have kids because you didn't want that emotionally?

GOODRICH: Not really consciousness, but I was in the military before college.

[10:30:03]

And so when I came out I had to go back basically community college and then college.

END