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Doctors In U.K. Prepare For Outbreak Peak; Dubai Expo 2020 Likely To Be Postponed; Staying Mentally Healthy During Social Distancing; U.S. Trails Other Countries in Per Capita Coronavirus Testing; Up to 200K Could Die from Virus in U.S.; Louisiana Struggles to Enforce Social Distancing; Doctors Modify Ventilators to Double Patient Coverage. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 31, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, the White House warns that coronavirus pandemic could claim between 100,000 and 2 million American lives.
Spain now has more COVID cases more than China but some doctors and nurses are refusing to show up for work.
Also ahead, with necessity the mother of invention, some doctors are now doubling the capacity for ventilators.
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VAUSE: It came with a cold thud on Monday, a bleak best-case scenario from the coronavirus task force. If Americans did everything right in the coming weeks, the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. could be limited to somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people.
Just for context, think the Rose Bowl in Pasadena or Wembley Stadium in London. Right now the U.S. have recorded 3,000 fatalities, 160,000 coronavirus cases. Restrictions of movement recommended or ordered now impact 3 of 4 Americans and the U.S. president has extended those guidelines until the end of next month.
Also the White House may soon recommend anyone in public should be wearing a face mask.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we reached a historic milestone in our war against the coronavirus. Over 1 million Americans have now been tested, more than any other country by far. Not even close. And tested accurately.
JAMICHE ALCINDOR, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Mr. President, you said several times that the United States has ramped up testing but the United States is still not testing per capita as many people as other countries like South Korea.
Why is that and when do you think that number will be on par with other countries?
TRUMP: Well, it is very much on par. The -- the -- look, look, per capita we have areas of country that's very, what, I know South Korea better than anybody, it is a very tight. You know how many people are in Seoul?
Do you know how big the city of Seoul is?
ALCINDOR: (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: 38 million people. That's bigger than anything we have, 38 million people all tightly wound together.
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VAUSE: For the record, the population of Seoul is almost 10 million people, not 38 million. South Korea has tested 1:130 people, more than double the U.S.; the U.S. 1 in about 300. Monday the coronavirus claimed 574 lives in the United States, the deadliest day so far. Details now from CNN's Nick Watt.
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): A life lost in Brooklyn, one of thousands now across this country.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I would like to avoid it but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw 100,000 deaths.
WATT (voice-over): Today a Navy hospital ship docked in New York City.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last time this great hospital ship was in New York was in the wake of 9/11.
WATT (voice-over): A field hospital now in Central Park and fines for those who refuse to social distance.
BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK MAYOR: The fines are in the range of $250 to $500. That obviously will be a violation of summons that would be provided. I don't want to see that happen,
WATT (voice-over): One research organization now projecting New York will reach peak death rate 10 days from now, at nearly 800 deaths that day. Michigan will be a day later, California 25 days from now and Virginia not until mid-May.
ANDREW CUOMO (D), GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: What you see us going through here, you will see happening all across this country. There is no American who is immune to this virus. WATT (voice-over): In Michigan, confirmed cases exploded from around
50 to nearly 6,500 in two weeks.
FAUCI: We're also worried about Detroit. Detroit is starting to show some signs that they're going to take off.
WATT (voice-over): State to state travel restrictions also spreading, Rhode Island now ordering all visitors to self quarantine. They weren't just stopping cars with New York plates and New York state threatened to sue, from noon today anyone traveling to Texas from these states and cities must self quarantine 14 days.
Hotspots in all those places. And now it's time, we are told, for more rural areas to brace themselves.
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: If the metros and the rural areas don't take care now, by the time you see it, it has penetrated your community pretty significantly.
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WATT (voice-over): Louisiana today reports 485 new cases and 34 deaths; still, hundreds reportedly attended this church Sunday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The church is the most essential thing in all the world.
WATT (voice-over): The pastor in Florida, who once prayed over the president, was arrested today for continuing to hold large services.
Doctors from the front lines begging us all to stay home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can think of it as your lungs being filled with fluid, like you're drowning. And once you get that point where you are drowning, you need a ventilator to stay alive. And we're running out of equipment for people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one that's beeping in the background is a young patient who was presumably healthy before they came in. This is not something that's isolated to the old.
WATT: Here in the U.S., the federal government doesn't have any domestic travel restrictions in place. But the states are pretty much taking care of that themselves, with these mandatory quarantines for people traveling into many states.
But Monday, I think, the first, Kentucky, the governor has now banned all nonessential travel out of the state. They have a relatively low confirmed case count but the governor does not want people leaving Kentucky catching the virus and then bringing it home -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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VAUSE: A nationwide lockdown in Italy will be extended until April 12th. More than 100,000 cases have been reported in Italy and over 11,000 people have died. Among them, 63 doctors, nearly 9,000 Italian health workers have tested positive.
Spain has more confirmed cases than China, nearly 88,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Despite that, one of the country's biggest unions says health care workers will boycott a makeshift hospital in Madrid because of poor security, overwork and a lack of equipment. Al Goodman has details from Madrid.
Al, what are officials saying about the state of this hospital and claims from the union?
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the temporary hospital that is being set up at the Madrid convention center. It's a series of sprawling rectangular pavilions and the problem, according to the unions and the regional government of Madrid, was in one of those pavilions.
Workers are saying that all the health protocols that they should be following weren't being followed. There wasn't enough space between them and their colleagues, there wasn't enough equipment. Everything was wrong. They complained vociferously.
The Madrid regional government issuing an apology; the director of the hospital issued an apology, in his Twitter account and in other matters, but the government says it's a temporary problem, that they say is now solved.
So it's just one of the flashpoints as they are building out what could be 5,500 beds, at the convention center. The death rate is what's on everybody's mind, because there is no cure for the coronavirus.
Spain, in addition to surpassing China in the number of cases, also has the second highest death rate in the world, more than 7,000 deaths and 44 percent of them, John, coming in just the past 4 days.
Those medical workers at the convention center, also worried because there are more than 12,000 medical workers across Spain who have got coronavirus. Most of them, the government says, are mild cases and they're home. But several doctors have also died.
And now the director of Spain's health emergency services, the doctor who is the point man for the whole central government response himself, has coronavirus. So there is a lot of concern, they are beefing up the -- increasing the number of intensive care beds, especially in Madrid and Barcelona. And they are adding to the morgue.
There is a temporary morgue already at an ace rink in Madrid and now they're adding a second one, at a build already outfitted to be a forensics center, that has the drawers that you see to be able to handle bodies. That is now going to be put to use a lot quicker than anybody expected -- John.
VAUSE: That is a grim omen of things to come. Also 12,000 health care workers being infected is troubling, to say the least. Al Goodman, thank you, with the latest details from Madrid. The World Health Organization's senior expert on emergencies says
while lockdowns and travel restrictions should lead to some kind of stabilization, there is still much more which needs to be done.
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DR. MICHAEL RYAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Everyone has talked about the curve up and everyone talks about the stabilization. The question is, how do you go down?
And going down isn't just about a lockdown and let go. To get down from the numbers, not just stabilize, requires a redoubling of public health efforts, first to push down, not -- it won't go down by itself.
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RYAN: It will be pushed down. And that is what we need countries to focus on.
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VAUSE: Dr. Neha Nanda is an epidemiologist who teaches at the University of Southern California Medical School.
Thank you for joining us.
DR. NEHA NANDA, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MEDICAL SCHOOL: Thank you, John.
What is your reaction first up to what we heard from the White House coronavirus task force, that if we do everything right in the United States, the death toll will be somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000?
Considering right now this country is not doing everything right, so would you expect that death toll to be much higher?
What is your first feeling on this?
NANDA: So I think the way things are moving, the key things to prevent death and disease, today as we know it, are non pharmaceutical interventions. And social distancing leads the pack. We have started social distancing, we have been very proactive in California.
I think if we become very diligent about social distancing we may be able to not exceed the predicted death toll.
VAUSE: The U.S. president has been talking up this antimalaria medication which has seen some positive results. On Monday he announced the drug is being distributed across the country. Listen to what he said.
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TRUMP: So the pharmaceutical company Sandoz has been working with us very closely and, as Alex mentioned a little bit, 30 million doses of the hydroxychloroquine to the United States government given. And Bayer has donated 1 million doses of the chloroquine, which will soon be distributed to state and state health officials around the country.
Teva Pharmaceuticals is also donating 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to U.S. hospitals.
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VAUSE: The FDA gave approval over the weekend, even though there's been no real testing of these drugs, they're saying the benefits will outweigh the risks. But there are a lot of risks that come with these drugs, right?
NANDA: Yes, the drugs we are talking about is the antimalarial drug called chloroquine. And another one called hydroxychloroquine also known as Plaquenil. At this time there is no robust data to suggest we can use these drugs extensively in patients.
However given what I said, we don't have a lot of ammunition. So if we do decide to test these drugs or use these drugs on our patients, we have to be very cautious. So hydroxychloroquine is known to cause cardiac effects. People can go into arrhythmia, that is an irregular heartbeat, that can be life-threatening.
So if we do use these drugs, we have to be very cautious and we have to be good about monitoring the adverse events. There is some anecdotal evidence around hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin. It's a case series that was put together. But it is not robust data. Not at all.
VAUSE: There are risks but they're desperate times, desperate measures. We're being told that the coronavirus will be most likely be seasonal, expected to return later this year in the Northern Hemisphere. Here's Dr. Anthony Fauci.
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QUESTION: Are you prepared for this to strike again in the fall?
FAUCI: In fact, I would anticipate that that would actually happen because of the degree of transmissibility. However, if you come back in the fall, it will be a totally different ball game. Our ability to go out and be able to test and identify and isolate and contact trace will be orders of magnitude better than what it was just a couple months ago.
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VAUSE: And that obviously is the good news but the key to all of this is a vaccine. And even if the vaccine is ready, which is unlikely, how effective will it be?
Because I think about the seasonal flu and the CDC said the current influenza vaccine has been 45 percent effective overall against 2019- 2020 seasonal influenza A and B viruses. So when the next coronavirus arrives, will it be a different strain?
What would you expect in terms of effectiveness of any vaccine?
NANDA: The effectiveness of any vaccine is decided by how quickly the virus can outsmart us, as in how quickly does it mutate. And at this time, we know very little about the mutation rate of this virus. What was shared, right now, I am a strong believer in that, that it will likely come back.
It won't cause as much of morbidity is we are seeing, because, first, we will affect testing and second my hope is that, after we all have seen it over time, there would be this herd immunity that will help us combat the virus.
VAUSE: Doctor, thank you, we appreciate it.
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NANDA: Thank you, John.
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VAUSE: Still to come, with hospitals across the U.S. having a drastic shortage of ventilators, some doctors are taking desperate measures to keep patients alive.
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VAUSE: The pandemic has forced a delay in China's national college entrance exams. The test is taken by millions of high school students each year and most will now sit for it July 7-8. Now to Beijing, Steven Jiang standing by.
This is a huge step by the government. There's so much planning that goes into these exams every year, to say nothing about the security questions as well.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: That's right, John, all of these factors you have mentioned show the unprecedented nature of the decision. You know how important the test is for millions of students who take these entrance exams but also their families and schools, especially those from poor families or underprivileged backgrounds.
This is still considered their only shot to get out of poverty or achieving some degree of upward social mobility. That's why these people, their families and the students, have invested so heavily in the preparation for this exam.
Many would say the whole country's educational system has been built around this. You've been here, you know they stop traffic in the cities for the test and also banning people from making noises around testing sites. And the parents sending their kids to 5 star hotel rooms, to give them a better place to eat and rest before exam time.
So all of these over the top actions, to illustrate the importance of this exam for millions of Chinese people here. That's why the decision by the government here is probably going to ease some minds here, by giving the students a bit more time to prepare, considering that many of them have been stuck at home for the last few months.
That's why a growing number of provinces have announced a partial reopening of schools, particularly for third year -- that's the graduating class of high school students for this exam. Again, unprecedented move by the government, illustrating the severity and far-reaching impact of the coronavirus impact.
VAUSE: Thank you, Steven, thank you for the update.
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VAUSE: Amid a surging number of cases, the U.S. state of Louisiana is also struggling with large groups ignoring orders to stay at home and practice social distancing, CNN's Ed Lavandera reports from New Orleans.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, remains a coronavirus outbreak hot spot, health officials are asking people to do more about social distancing.
And in a New Orleans that's proving really tough to do.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This is uniquely New Orleans tradition, a second line funeral procession down a neighborhood street. But in the age of coronavirus, this second line ended with police issuing an arrest warrant for the parade's organizer, accused of violating the stay-at-home orders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will have to enforce the laws every step of the way. We need law and order.
The pastor of Life Tabernacle Church near Baton Rouge also defied the orders and held Sunday services with 1,200 people. The pastor's father said church is the most essential thing in all the world.
JOHN BEL EDWARDS (R-LA), GOVERNOR: It is grossly irresponsible for people to flagrantly disregard and violate these social distancing measures.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Louisiana is bracing for a week that is expected to strain hospital capacities across the state. Outside the Tulane Hospital in New Orleans, a sign of the grim task unfolding inside. The hospital confirms these refrigerated containers are being used as a temporary morgue to hold all the deceased patients.
Medical teams are scrambling to salvage personal protective equipment. A hospital worker shared this image with CNN, of brown paper bags, where medics store their masks to be re-used. The major concern hee is they could run out of ventilators by this weekend.
The governor says the state has requested 12,000 machines and has only received 192, none from the national stockpile. The governor says he has repeatedly requested ventilators from the federal government.
EDWARDS: I am making the case as emphatically as I can. But even if we get several hundred, that is not going to be enough, based on the current modeling that we're seeing.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Tiffany Vega Gibson says she was diagnosed with COVID-19 almost two weeks ago. She is convinced she picked up the infection during Mardi Gras.
TIFFANY VEGA GIBSON, COVID-19 PATIENT: I honestly at one point thought I wasn't going to make it and I couldn't breathe.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The 34-year-old said she saw firsthand the strain medical teams are enduring to treat coronavirus patients filling hospitals.
GIBSON: They told me that, the floor I'm on, there are 33 beds and every single bed is full. So the nurses, anybody who comes in the room, has on protective classic mask over their face. I feel like they've had to reuse, the nurses, reuse the same one every shift because I see it hanging outside the door.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): After week in the hospital, she was sent home to finish recovering. And just like that, another hospital bed is free for the next coronavirus patient.
LAVANDERA: The coronavirus case total here in Louisiana now tops more than 4,000. With nearly 500 cases added to that list here on Monday. The majority of those cases, are from here in the city of New Orleans.
And the governor here insists that the trajectory that the city is on is not good, it will continue to stress out the capacity of the hospitals across the state for the foreseeable future. And that is why they continue to pound away at this message of urging people to stay away from one another -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.
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VAUSE: Across the U.S., governors are warning a shortage of ventilators will mean that some people just will not survive. In many hospitals, protocols are now in place to decide who will live and who will die. CNN's Paula Newton reports that doctors in New York are working to increase the capacity of the ventilators they already have.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of desperation, doctors in New York City and Italy are now using ventilators meant for one person to keep two patients alive. And doctors say that if they don't try it, more patients could die.
DR. ALAIN GAUTHIER, ANESTHETIST: We know that difficult decisions will have to be taken. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to save some lives if we try this. We've got nothing to lose
NEWTON (voice-over): Doctor Alain Gauthier is a small town Canadian anesthetist and has a PhD in respiratory mechanics. He is working with engineers and doctors across North America to refine a crude but lifesaving technique, first seen here.
DR. CHARLENE BABCOCK, RESPIRATORY PHYSICIAN: So here you have a T tube here, here and here.
NEWTON (voice-over): Dr. Charlene Babcock posted this YouTube video about two weeks ago.
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NEWTON (voice-over): As an E.R. doctor in Detroit, she wrote a study on the technique more than a decade ago. She says doctors all over the world are now asking her for this how-to video. She uses T tubes as splitters and shows how doctors can use three adapters to split two valves into four ports, helping up to four patients at once.
BABCOCK: This has not been studied. I will tell you what has been done (INAUDIBLE).
NEWTON (voice-over): In the tragic hours that followed the Las Vegas shooting, doctors used T tubes and adapters to keep more injured on ventilators until they could be transferred to other hospitals.
This is what Dr. Gauthier (ph) is working to adapt.
GAUTHIER: What the doctor has suggested is to use T connectors at both ports with appropriate filters to decrease the amount of cross- contamination from one patients to the other.
NEWTON (voice-over): He is studying it closely, teaming up with engineers at MIT to brainstorm on best practices.
GAUTHIER: The challenge with that is the matching of the two patients and initially we are trying to put two patients that have the same size, same respiratory system properties and we will be able to ventilate them together for a while.
NEWTON (voice-over): New York governor Andrew Cuomo has been blunt that more people will die if they don't get more ventilators. He is pushing the FDA to approve doubling up on those ventilators.
ANDREW CUOMO (D), GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: The tricky thing is the ventilator has a set pressure and normally you regulate the pressure to that patient's lungs.
NEWTON (voice-over): And that is why this is highly controversial. Some specialists question whether more than one patient on one ventilators receive optimal treatment. That is where specialists like Dr. Gauthier come in.
GAUTHIER: I know that we will not be able to save everyone. There will be a lot of learning during this whole process but I'm confident that, in the end, that we will be able to help people by this system.
NEWTON (voice-over): -- Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
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VAUSE: Still to come, the coronavirus expected to hit its peak in the U.K. within days.
Is the country ready?
Live from London on the preparations being made.
Also ahead the U.S., rushing to increase hospital capacity and that includes constructing field hospitals. More on that in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everybody you're watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm John Vause with the headlines.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: He says anyone out in public may have to wear a face mask. Spain has passed China in the number of coronavirus infections. According to Johns Hopkins University, there were nearly 88,000 cases on Monday. A health emergency spokeswoman said the daily infection increase has slowed since the strict shutdown measures were imposed.
And Italy is now reporting more than 100,000 confirmed cases, more than 11,000 dead. 63 doctors are among those who have died. The Italian government is extending restrictions on movement until at least April 12, which is Easter Sunday. CNN Contributor Barbie Nadeau joins us now live from Rome.
So, Barbie, while the north of the country is dealing with this pandemic, the worst of it in the south. It's economic pain, which seems to have the potential to lead to quite some great deal of unrest.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. You know there are cases in every single province across the country but the North has taken the bulk of this hit. We are seeing increased reports of looting in stores, of shoplifting in stores. Authorities are warning about infiltration by organized crime syndicates. All of these things are terribly worrying as people move towards the, you know, fourth week of this lockdown.
People have by now missed a paycheck. There are bills that are due. And people are very anxious, nervous, frustrated and afraid, John, about what the future holds and how much longer we'll be under this lockdown.
VAUSE: And as far as the situation in the north, they're saying that you know, that these numbers continue to increase, but maybe there are some hope about the rate of infection.
NADEAU: That's right. You know, we're seeing the death rate just skyrocket again, overnight. It's just unfathomable to think about this. These people aren't able to bury their dead or their families or say final goodbyes. But the contagion rate is stabilizing. They're telling us that we've seen five days now where the contagion is slowing down.
They're doing aggressive testing in the north, not so much here in the south, not so much in the in the deep south, certainly, but if the contagion rate slows down, it continues to slow down at this rate, we could see the flattening of the curve. We could see a beginning of the decrease in number of cases. And that's the light at the end of this tunnel everybody is looking for, John.
VAUSE: Yes, let's hope so. Barbie, thank you. Barbie Nadeau live in Rome with the very latest. And while the outbreak of the coronavirus in Britain may be slowing, officials are wanting the current emergency measures could stay in place for months. The chief science advisor is also warning the worst is not over. The country will be facing that crisis with a shortage of vital medical equipment.
Meantime, both the Prime Minister and the Chief Medical Officer remain in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. Live to London for the very latest now, CNN International Security Editor Nick Paton Walsh. Nick?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: John, Britain, like really the rest of the world, struggling with the same problems here. How inexact the science is, how the numbers give them no real sense of certainty, and basic shortages of protection equipment for their medical workers.
But we are possibly just as little as six days away from the beginning of what they call the peak here in London. And behind me is the ExCel Conference Center rapidly converted to house possibly 4,000 overflow patients from coronavirus. As we see the weeks ahead get bad, this center possibly open in the next 72 hours, but a country on edge for what's ahead.
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WALSH: London maybe a week from the worst. The sprawling pop up hospital on the banks of the Thames due to have 4,000 beds is part of a message of readiness. But elsewhere, some doctors feel far from ready. George Zumbadze is one working this weekend in an urgent walk- in health care center. U.K. guidelines told him to wear this, but he saw images from Italy and wanted extra protection and bought these in a hardware store.
GEORGE ZUMBADZE, DOCTOR: This family that I saw has two kids. So you know, we made a little bit of fun to say I look like (INAUDIBLE) I look a little bit astronaut, and I said, well let's go to fly. So you know, you are (INAUDIBLE) so you do this on a daily basis.
WALSH: But the health care center told him not to wear the extra gear because they had to obey guidelines. So he's had to stop going to help in the center, not just to protect him, he doesn't want to spread the infection to other patients.
ZUMBADZE: We want to help. That's what we do. That's what we're trained to do. And that's what kind of program is in our -- in our head. But then at the same time, we also -- you know, we know that we shouldn't harm to others. So I feel very uncomfortable for myself, for the people that are will see you know, one to the other because I feel I might don't get this virus in that particular moment, but there's a possibility I could transfer the infection from one person to another person.
WALSH: A doctor support group said Monday many have reported having to get their own PPE. The health care center in question said staff safety is non-negotiable. And a doctor recently left their shift after refusing to use appropriate PPE. The government has pledged nationwide PPE deliveries.
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ROBERT JENRICK, U.K. SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: To NHS and social care workers, all those who rely on this equipment, and to their families and loved ones watching this afternoon, we understand and we will not stop until we have got you the equipment that you need.
WALSH: Grave uncertainty just as the peak nears in London.
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WALSH: Now, the capital like many cities trying to work out exactly the pace of infection here. One NHS manager I spoke to here in London complained about the lack of detailed information they're getting nationally about modeling. In fact, they have to do their own said this NHS manager. That suggested they could be seeing the peak beginning here, the week of the sixth of April worsening in the week of the 13th of April.
And in each of those weeks, they were concerned in just their district of London there'd be several hundred beds short in intensive care. That's where possibly the overspill may end up going behind me. The ExCel Center, as I said, hastily made 4,000-bed capacity center here for care, possibly opening as early as tomorrow.
But the capital here, unsure really what to make of the differing numbers coming out of central government handed to government officials. They're also onshore to such uncertainty, but certainly, the week ahead, very gray potentially here for London. John?
VAUSE: And very quickly, Nick. What's the condition of the Prime Minister? He was self-isolating for seven days? I believe that seven days comes up this coming Friday. Do we know what his condition will be like come that day? You know, what's the latest on that front? WALSH: I mean, obviously it's hard to get a peer inside. He's probably got medical details, but he has been appearing on self-done broadcasts from number 11, neighboring number 10, where the Prime Minister would normally live. He seems OK. His voice is holding up as far as we can tell. We've heard that one of his key advisors, Dominic Cummings is also in self-isolation.
And John, you have to remember, that is key in terms of enabling the government to function here. They are all functioning by remote at this point. That's not optimal, particularly given the challenges ahead. They all say that they still have their hands on the levers of power here certainly, but deep concerns I think for the UK's readiness in the weeks ahead. John?
VAUSE: Nick, thank you. Nick Paton Walsh live this out early there in London, but we appreciate it. Thank you, Nick. In New York's iconic Central Park, a site not seen since World War II, a makeshift hospital is now in place. Officials are racing to build these makeshift hospitals not just in parks, but as well as convention centers and even a parking garage. CNN's Brian Todd reports.
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ANDREW DUNCAN, NURSE, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: We have to line them up one after the other, bed by bed trying to intubate anywhere we possibly can to save people's lives.
BRIAN TODD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some doctors and nurses on the front lines say their hospitals are facing an overwhelming flood of patients.
ELIZABETH STACHTIARIS, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR: There's patients building up in all the corridors on oxygen. Their oxygen tanks are running low. The rooms are short. The nursing staff is short, the doctors are falling ill too.
TODD: These emergency room doctors say shortages are at dangerous levels.
MONALISA MUCHATULA, EMERGENCY MEDICINE DOCTOR: We're running out of medications, we're running out of equipment, and we're even running out of oxygen, which is something that patients that have COVID-19 need.
TODD: One of the most critical shortages, ventilators.
RAVI WETTASINGHE, EMERGENCY MEDICINE DOCTOR: Think of it as your lungs being filled with fluid like you're drowning. And once you get a point where you're drowning, you need a ventilator to stay alive and we're running out of that equipment for people.
TODD: Racing to fill the breach, New York is now urgently building emergency field hospitals at the Javits Center in Central Park and elsewhere. And around the country, cities bracing for impact are rushing to build out their capacity in case they're hit by the same tsunami as New York. ERIC TOSH, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR: So this is our field hospital.
TODD: In Fredericksburg, Virginia, about an hour south of Washington, Mary Washington Hospital has set up a field hospital in the parking garage just a few feet outside its emergency room.
TOSH: We're going to start out with two triage stations, but we'll be able to scale that up as we need.
TODD: E.R. Doctor Eric Tosh takes us through what looks like a mash unit with portable X-ray machines, oxygen units, intravenous equipment. They saw what was happening in the hardest-hit cities, Tosh says, and got this facility operational in a few days. There are now only a few coronavirus patients inside the main hospital, none in the field hospital. But Tosh is confident that will change.
TOSH: We hear from colleagues in New York and New Orleans that they're seeing as many as two to 400 percent of their normal daily volume. So, this is designed for about that sort of influx.
TODD: It's required some creative ingenuity. The hospital took old waiting area recliners and converted them into treatment chairs.
[02:40:01]
TOSH: And input old plant hangers that we're going to repurpose as I.V. bag holders.
TODD: And they've installed a rather sobering feature that Tosh hopes his E.R. team will never have to use in case patients get violent.
TOSH: If the people need to get out, we'll be able to get out to the back of the tent here and into the main treatment area.
TODD: An escape hatch.
TOSH: Yes.
TODD: Tosh says, right now, he's balancing being prepared with managing the fears and concerns of his staff over what may be coming.
TOSH: I don't know that anybody alive has ever seen anything like this, but we've had lots of training at being flexible and creative and doing things in the way that maybe they weren't meant to or designed to be done.
TODD: One thing Dr. Tosh is now concerned about is a drop off in patients seeking emergency treatment outside of coronavirus. He's seen much fewer patients come in here seeking treatment for heart attacks and strokes over the past few weeks. He says they're all fearful that they're going to get coronavirus. Brian Todd, CNN, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
VAUSE: Well, it was being called the World's Greatest Show to buy Expo 2020. Now, it's set to be delayed by a year because of the coronavirus. CNN's John Defterios is live this hour in Abu Dhabi. So I guess the first World Expo in the Middle East, it was inevitable, right, that this is going to happen?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, I think so, John. Once the shoe fell on the International Olympic Committee, and the Summer Games in Japan being delayed a year, this only seems to make sense for the steering committee to make this recommendation to the full general assembly.
They were supposed to be meeting in June, but I'm told that the vote will probably happen now by the end of April. And this is a big deal, as you suggested, the first in the Middle East. The minister in charge, who was also the director-general of the Expo 2020 in Dubai was saying that the world will want this Expo more than ever after the coronavirus, and I can't disagree with that. They can almost position it as an expo of renewal.
Now, there's two sides of this, John. The oil price pressure we're seeing right now will make it challenging to continue with the construction getting everything done, although that will take place with no doubt. But the silver lining is at least they don't have to host an Expo after the worst recession in our generation. Let's put it that way. So they can kind of get through 2020, which has started horribly as we know, and look forward to 2021 in the autumn after the Summer Games.
VAUSE: Another issue, another talks between President Trump and Russian President Putin about oil and fresh 18-year lows on Monday. So, is it possible at this point in the midst of this pandemic to try and rebalance the market? Is that even an option here?
DEFTERIOS: Well, it's an option but you'd have to be very radical with the cuts, John, to do so. Because, as you suggested, we're swimming in oil. We have a billion barrels of extra supply right now. And in the last quarter, it's the worst on record. We saw prices dropped by 65 percent.
Now, we have a slight rally coming back today for WTI which went below $20 yesterday, and also for Brent Crude. There's some solace that China put out a manufacturing figure, almost showing a V-shape recovery after that atrocious February because of the coronavirus. So that does hold hope for the future in China and snapping back with a stronger recovery.
But at the end of the day, John, this boils down to three major players, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump. Putin and Trump spoke yesterday and they talked about oil and collaborating to see if they can find a solution. The answer by Saudi Arabia was we're going to boost our exports by at least 600,000 barrels a day, up to well over 10 million barrels a day. And this will strain U.S.-Saudi relations if we don't get a deal that puts a floor under oil prices. John?
VAUSE: A $1.70 a gallon here in Atlanta. I haven't seen that for years. John, thank you. John Defterios live there in --
DEFTERIOS: Yes, can imagine? John, can you imagine? Yes. VAUSE: It's crazy. OK, John, thank you. John Defterios live for us there in Abu Dhabi. Still to come, from days, to weeks, to month, around the world, social distancing and restrictions of movement are being extended. So when we come back, what you need to do to stay healthy and sane in this new world of social distancing.
[02:45:00]
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VAUSE: U.S. President Donald Trump expecting coronavirus fatalities to peak in about two weeks. That's a big part of the reason behind his decision to extend social distancing guidelines until the end of next month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By very vigorously following these guidelines, we could save more than one million American lives. Think of that, one million American lives. Our future is in our own hands and the choices and sacrifices we make will determine the fate of this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: To Los Angeles now, and Psychologist Wendy Walsh is there standing by. Wendy, good to see you again.
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST, CAL STATE UNIVERSITY, CHANNEL ISLANDS: Good to see you.
VAUSE: OK, clearly, we will all be spending a lot more time at home either by ourselves with families or with roommates. So at this point, what is the one big thing that you would advise that we should all be doing right now so we keep our mental health in good shape, and we don't go basically insane?
WALSH: It's very simple. Reach out and connect with others. Use the brilliance of technology. To FaceTime, to telephone, and talk to people every single day. Even if you've got nothing to say, or no reason, make a bunch of phone calls to people far away or in the house next door that you can't talk to, because we are wired to bond, and our brains do better when we are in a village and we are connected with others.
VAUSE: How important is it that we acknowledge how we feel that we're stressed, we're scared, we're worried, whatever?
WALSH: It's really important. You know, I noticed the first week of quarantine here in the U.S., there was a lot of nervous energy. If you looked on social media, people we're doing pilates, and yoga, and exercise classes, and cooking classes, and it was sort of frenetic energy.
And now we've gone into a generalized sense of lethargy, and we're seeing real symptoms of depression and cognitive problems, right, trouble remembering things, feeling disorganized, feeling easily overwhelmed by that e-mail box. And you know what, it's OK. Everybody's feeling it. And my best advice is if you have a to-do list, celebrate yourself if you do only one thing on that list every day. That's all that matters.
VAUSE: You know, I'm in the news business, I probably shouldn't say this, but how important is it right now that you watch the news, you're informed, but you turn it off at some point because there is a risk of being overwhelmed, right?
WALSH: You have to self-regulate when it comes to the news. So, I happen to check it in the morning and the evening. That's my deal. I do it with my morning coffee to see if I missed anything. And then at the end of the day, in case anybody had a press conference that I need to hear about. But the rest of the day, I'm not constantly checking, and I specifically don't depend on social media and rumors for my news. I go to credible sources.
VAUSE: Yes. Right now, what, we'll have a third of the planet which is under some kind of lockdown or restriction of movement. And take a look at this map here. This sort of gives you an idea of just how widespread these other countries with governments have either recommended or issued some kind of order of stay at home. Given just how widespread all of this is, should that bring comfort that we're all going through this together or stress because of the sheer size and scope of this crisis?
[02:50:03]
WALSH: Well, obviously, the size brings more feelings of anxiety. But I hope that people can understand that not only do we have a physical health threat here, we are experiencing a global mental health crisis, that we are in a globalized depression together. But that word together should be the healing thing, is that we'll get through this together. And we have to if we're happened to not be living completely alone in isolation. We have to hold those near and dear.
I happen to have my two daughters home, one is 17, one is 22, and I think to myself, when am I ever going to get this time all three of us together on nest again. We should try to focus on the good in this as well.
VAUSE: Going out and getting exercise, staying physically healthy is important. But we've seen in a lot of places, beaches have been closed, parks have been closed because too many people went there. So what's the advice now and like just simply getting out trying to get some fresh air, trying to get some physical exercise, what should people do?
WALSH: Well, it's clear that exercises is one of the best remedies for depression and in fact, intensive exercise, even for a short duration is the best thing for our heart. I happen to live in a beach community in California, so I was really sad when they close the beaches. But yes, people were on the boardwalk and the strand were very, very densely moving. So my personal solution has been to wake up before the sun comes up
and go for a very fast run for 15 or 20 minutes when there's not a soul out on the street. Literally, I've been running at five in the morning in the middle of the road where there's no cars or people. It's quite eerie. It's like I'm in a sci-fi movie. But I make myself do it every morning.
VAUSE: Good to see you. I mean, great advice. I appreciate it.
WALSH: Good to see you.
VAUSE: And we have this just in from British Airways. The carrier has announced that operations from Gatwick Airport have been suspended at least for a temporary period of time. A statement for the airline rates in part, due to the considerable restrictions and challenging market environment like many other airlines, we will temporarily suspend our flying schedule at Gatwick.
The airline says this is obviously temporary, but there is no word on just how long this suspension will be in place. We'll give you those details and more on this as soon as we get it.
Well, with millions of people infected globally by this pandemic, find out how to help feed the hungry, protect health professionals, aid refugees, and support frontline workers, please go to cnn.com/impact. Still to come, around the world, sporting events have been postponed or canceled so why are horse races still being held in Hong Kong?
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VAUSE: While sporting events and games around the world are put on hold or just outright canceled because of the coronavirus, one sport in Hong Kong seems to continue on and that's horse racing. But as CNN's Kristie Lu Stout explains, it's a totally different atmosphere on these uncertain times.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The Wednesday Night race in Hong Kong, a raucous ritual that draws tens of thousands to the course in Happy Valley feels a bit different these days. When the bell sounds, and the horses break from the gates, there's only an eerie silence. There are no crowds or spectators, only staff, jockeys, owners, and club officials are allowed on site.
And without the usual roar from the stands, I can clearly hear the horses' toes pound the grass track as the jockeys yells to pull them on.
It must be a bit surreal when you don't hear the roar of the crowds anymore on a Wednesday night.
[02:55:15]
WINFRIED ENGELBRECHT-BRESGES, CEO, HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB: This is surreal. But if you look at the importance of horse racing in Hong Kong, where 30 percent of the adult population follows horse racing, where we have 1.5 million racing fans, and every Wednesday night we have at least seven, 800,000 people who are now still sitting on the T.V. and feel entertained. And that's why we think it's important to provide the tradition and to continue horse racing.
STOUT: The outbreak has transformed the sporting landscape in the region. Over coronavirus concerns, both the Hong Kong and Singapore legs of the World Rugby Sevens Series have been pushed to October, and the Tokyo Summer Olympics have been delayed for a year, the first time an Olympics has been postponed.
But in Hong Kong, the race gallops on with strict precautions in place. Everyone is subject to temperature screening before entry. Face masks are mandatory and the courses are disinfected on a regular basis. The club's off-course betting agencies remain closed, but locals can place their bets online. The Hong Kong Jockey Club says up to 700,000 people have online betting accounts. That's close to 10 percent of the city's total population. The turnover for tonight, almost $145 million U.S. dollars, down from $162 million from one year ago. The club sites drop in cash only customers for the difference.
TOM BIDDINGTON, RACING EDITOR, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: Racing around the world at the moment probably the only sport that's continuing because it can behind closed doors. So racing is in a unique position because of the you know, the setup and the bedding aspect of it and being able to do it remotely. So the fact it's able to do that in these times when people need entertainment, particularly if they're stuck at home, I think it's a positive thing.
STOUT: Because the Wednesday night races continue in Hong Kong, what kind of message does that send to the rest of the world?
ENGELBRECHT-BRESGES: It is the uniqueness of Hong Kong and the resilience of Hong Kong to deal with difficulties and overcome them. And this is a Hong Kong (INAUDIBLE). And Hong Kong Racing is a symbol of Hong Kong.
STOUT: COVID-19 maybe keeping the crowds away but the races are still running and the betters still betting, a tradition since 1973. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN. Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues after a very short break with Rosemary Church.
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