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New Day Sunday

U.S. Deaths Near 54,000 As Some States Ease Restrictions; Doctors Warn COVID-19 Can Cause Sudden Stroke; Source: White House Discussing Plans To Replace HHS Secretary Alex Azar; Satellite Photos Raise Questions About Kim Jong-un's Health. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired April 26, 2020 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:03]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, listen, in just a few minutes we'll be joined by the Pastor Jamal Bryant. He's Georgia's senior pastor who thinks it's just far too early to reopen the state of Georgia. He says the governor's decision is, and this is a quote, leading us to slaughter.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of your NEW DAY starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in what we've referred to as the surge here in Massachusetts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we don't do this right and we have a second spike, we end up with more economic damage.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Maybe the life you save is not your own. You still save the life.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And then I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

PAUL: Well, good morning to you on this Sunday. We are -- we want to welcome you, very warmly, whether you're here in the United States or elsewhere. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

And "The Washington Post" summed it up, ready or not, America is opening back up.

PAUL: Yes. This morning, the coronavirus has killed at least 53,934 Americans. Right now, more restrictions are being lifted across the country. State leaders hoping that weeks of social distancing are allowing now some businesses to reopen and that people can return to some sense of normalcy.

BLACKWELL: So, we started to see some of it this weekend, barber shops and nail salons, some of them filled up in parts of Georgia. Beaches in California, people were there, trying to get some type of respite. Alaska let some restaurants open although they cannot exceed 25 percent of their normal capacity.

PAUL: But as those restrictions eased, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor has this warning for us. He says states must have enough tests to respond to inevitable outbreaks that will occur and that the U.S. needs to double the amount of test it's currently doing.

I want to begin with CNN's Jason Carroll in New York, so despite some experts washing that we're just not ready for this, help walk us through the states that are beginning to ease restrictions this week and what the expectation is for that, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Christi. Well, look, there's really not one way of looking at this, but we've got so many states who have different plans in terms of how they are going to reopen. I mean, you look at places like New Jersey, New York and Hawaii, I mean, still operating under its stay-at-home and then you look at a state like Georgia where the governor has received a great deal of criticism from folks who say he's trying to do too much too soon. But, look, in the state of Georgia, you can go to the gym, you can go to a tattoo parlor or a bowling alley with some restrictions.

Then you look at state of Kentucky where you look at the health care industry, if you want to go to the dentist this week or go to a physical therapist you can do that there but then look at the state of Oklahoma. On May 1st, for example, with some restrictions, you'll be able to go to a restaurant or a movie theater. So, different states, different policies.

When you look at a place like New York, you look at the governor of New York or Massachusetts or New Jersey, they say, look, you know, these are states where we've got to operate under really strict conditions. I mean, even if things are trending in the right way if you look at a state like New York, you look at the USNS Comfort, at last check, just one patient left, the number of hospitalizations in the state are down, the number of intubations in the state are down as well.

But even with those numbers trending in the right direction, New York's governor says still a lot of testing, expanding testing needs to be done. I mean, very soon in the state, Christi, you'll be able to go to the pharmacist to get diagnostic testing but the governor says still much more needs to be done to expand testing before there can be any talk before setting a specific date for reopening -- Christi, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So, D. Anthony Fauci, we mentioned this just a moment ago, says that the U.S. needs to double testing. Tell us about that. Is there a timeline and how many we explained it? CARROLL: Right. Well, look, he also stressed a number of other

factors. He says this has got to be a multi-stepped approach. He also talked about the need for continued isolation for contact tracing, and he also talked about, look, having the private sector getting involved in this testing as well but basically, Victor, what he said is the country needs to double its efforts in terms of how it's doing its testing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: We don't want to get fixated, but right now, you know, we're doing about 1.5 million, 2 million per week. We should probably get up to twice that as we get into the next several weeks, and I think that we will. Testing is an important part of what we're doing, but it's not the only part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:06]

CARROLL: And here's another point that Dr. Fauci stressed which has to do with the country reopening. He says as the country reopens in all likelihood what you're going to see in some spots an increased number of infections because you've got more people interacting with each other. Even some of those who might be trying to practice social distancing, and he says that the country has to have enough tests to anticipate something like that happening -- Victor, Christi.

PAUL: All right. Jason Carroll, always appreciate it. Thank you so much.

CARROLL: So in Georgia, you know, it's Sunday morning, and a lot of people typically would be heading to church. Now, Governor Brian Kemp has pushed to reopen several businesses but never really told churches that they could not gather. He just limited them to ten persons. You know, he also is now releasing or relaxing some of that guidance as well.

But there's one pastor in Atlanta, outside of Atlanta, who says that Kemp's plan is absent of moral integrity and void of wisdom. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JAMAL BRYANT, SENIOR PASTOR, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: Something is wrong with the moral fiber of our community when we put commerce over the value of human life. Yes, all of us got cabin fever 2.0. All of us are scratching to go outside, but I don't want any of us rushing to a premature death and to an early funeral. We've come through too much to die at the hands of irresponsible legislators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Irresponsible legislators.

Joining me now to talk about this, Reverend Jamal Bryant, senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, just outside of Atlanta.

Pastor, good morning to you.

BRYANT: Good morning to you all.

BLACKWELL: You take a step further than, that and you say the decision from the governor is not just negligent. You take a step further and say it's malice and you call this decision, quote, an assault on the minority community in Georgia. Explain why.

BRYANT: You'll notice that here is the inconsistency of Governor Kemp is the courts are still closed, the Georgia statehouse is still closed so if he feels we're making progress, he ought have to he and his comrades be the first one to demonstrate it, but they are still living in quarantine. It is minorities who are finding themselves at risk that strategically he would open places that are epicenters for minorities to gather.

BLACKWELL: I want you to listen to what the governor said, an admission and an assertion. This was on Monday when he announced this reopening plan. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R), GEORGIA: We have more people moving around, we're probably going to see our cases continue to go up, but we're a lot better prepared for that now than we were over a month ago. We have the hospital bed capacity. We have the community knowledge. We have a lot of things in place now, the ramped-up testing that we're doing, the contact tracing that we're going to be doing it, and I believe we'll be able to stay on top of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Reconcile that with what you're seeing in the community where your church is, where your congregants live. Is that reflected there as well?

BRYANT: Yes, I'm in DeKalb County where we can't find any sign of tests. If we take this same verbiage and insert it had in the mouth an African or a Middle Eastern leader, Governor Kemp would be headed to The Hague for crimes against humanity, that you're knowing and willfully allowing people to leave themselves in jeopardy and danger, it's indeed callous and underhanded and I shudder.

This weekend, I had to do two virtual funerals and I'm scared to think where we'll be my Mother's Day knowing that the governor has not let any resources or any support for our communities.

BLACKWELL: When you say headed to The Hague, I mean -- and I understand, I watched the video online, very aggressive language, and I know you're passionate about that, but can, and I'll ask you to reflect on it.

BRYANT: Yes. BLACKWELL: Some of the steps that the governor says that his

supporters say that he's taking to try to mitigate any spread with requirements, measures to try to stop people from contracting or transmitting this, so when you suggest that he's -- he's committed some crime against humanity, what about the efforts to stop the spread?

BRYANT: They are very minimal. Let's not forgot here in Atlanta, the headquarters for one of the nation's foremost hospitals, Emory, the CDC. Seventy-six percent of Americans have said across ethnic backgrounds that they don't mind staying quarantined until they see some measurable progress.

[07:10:05]

Georgia has not even seen its peak yet and we're ill-equipped and underprepared. And so what it is that he is giving is what Shakespeare will call tinkering brass and sound and fury and really amounts to nothing because he's not doing anything such as the governor of Maryland who has brought in tests from overseas or Governor Cuomo who is fighting for ventilators. Our governor does not deserve to sing Alicia Keys' song "You're Doing a Good Job" because he's not.

BLACKWELL: You're asking all Georgians, African-Americans specifically, but all Georgians to stay at home. You've got thousands of members at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a lot of business owners, and what do you tell the owner of a small salon. She's got maybe just four or five chairs or the owner of a boxing gym, and they were just staying afloat before this?

BRYANT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And we know had the minority businesses don't really get as many opportunities for bank loans as their white counterparts so they are at back of the line for federal help.

BRYANT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: They're saying, listen, if I don't open, I -- I will have to close permanently. What do you tell that business owner?

BRYANT: Is that their humanity is more valuable than their economy. America is dyslexic in its priority because we're seeing things backwards, is that if you're going to make a fast death -- fast dollar that leads to a fast death, what does that matter?

And what it is that you are announced is really the undercurrent of what's taking place to be black in America. We keep hearing about pre- existing conditions but don't talk about disparity in health care.

We talk about the rush back to the marketplace but don't talk about how African-Americans are always in the last place to get a small business loan, but very far off in priority to get a loan for used car. And so, the whole landscape of the American economy is going to have to go under an autopsy based on this pandemic. BLACKWELL: So, you've decided not to return to the sanctuary. You've

got your virtual sanctuary at New Birth and I know other pastors across the area are as well. You know, you've got an infrastructure there. You've got the ability to stream, but a lot of small churches don't.

Pastor, I remember you from Baltimore when you were preaching at Walbrook and Cochran before you all moved to the empowerment temple and there's a story in "The Washington Post" that we can put up, they will not survive this. What's your message to those? How does this change the religious -- the place of worship landscape in this country?

BRYANT: It speaks to the digital divide. I'm blessed of God. We have a million dollar television studio. We're announcing actually today to all pastors in DeKalb County who don't have technology or equipment, I'm going to allow them to come to our church to record their services for free, and that's the kind of give-back that we do in terms of community to help these pastors who don't have access to be able to stay afloat.

This is the time where we're all supposed to understand what Dr. King called the beloved community. It's not who we are in times convenience but in times of challenge, and this is a challenging time for all of us.

BLACKWELL: Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, thank you so much for your time this morning.

BRYANT: Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: Christi?

PAUL: So, 50 years after breaking up, the Beatles are bringing people together even during a global pandemic.

Look at this.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PAUL: So more than 70,000 of you went online yesterday to stream the Beatles movie "Yellow Submarine". Fans were encouraged to dress up for sing-along watch party and look at this, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr there made virtual appearances during the event. The band called it a celebration of love and music.

BLACKWELL: Illinois is reporting a significant increase in calls to poison control after President Trump's disinfectant remarks. Up next, we'll talk to a doctor who is working to fight this pandemic about that and all the other significant medical headlines.

PAUL: Also, there are questions this morning about whether there's another shake-up in President Trump's cabinet coming. What a White House source is telling us about a potential reshuffle specifically about the Health and Human Services Department.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:18:47]

BLACKWELL: Eighteen minutes after the hour now.

After the president's comments on disinfectants on Thursday, the Illinois public health director says that her department has seen a significant increase in calls to poison control.

PAUL: Yes. Just in the last two days. She says some of those calls included someone using a detergent-based solution for a sinus ribs and there was another person she said who called that was gargling with a bleach and mouthwash mixture to kill germs, and here's her warning now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. NGOZI EZIKE, DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Injecting, ingesting, snorting household cleaners is dangerous. It is not advised and can be deadly. In the past two days there's been a significant increase in calls to the Illinois poison center compared to this same time last year associated with exposures to cleaning agents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, that was Illinois. Let's talk about the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. They put out this warning saying please don't administer disinfectant products into the body. The communications director for Maryland Governor Larry Hogan says they decided to post this alert after they received more than 100 calls to their hotline.

[07:20:02]

Now, there are states obviously beginning to reopen. Doctors on the front lines, meanwhile, of this pandemic are still dealing with new cases every day.

BLACKWELL: In New York, the numbers are staggering and you've been watching. There's been now more than 282,000 confirmed cases, 22,009 people there have died.

Joining us now Dr. Charles Powell, head of pulmonology and critical care at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.

Dr. Powell, thanks for being with us.

What are you seeing in New York now? I mean, early on it was the rush to get the PPE. Are there going to be enough beds and ventilators? What's the situation this morning?

DR. CHARLES POWELL, HEAD OF PULMONOLOGY AND CRITICAL CARE, MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL: So, Victor, over the last two weeks, the focus has changed significantly. Two weeks ago the focus was on making sure that we had enough beds, enough ventilators and enough personnel to care for all the patients who would come to our hospitals or who might be coming to our hospitals in the future if social distancing did not reduce the number of patients who needed to come in.

So we passed that peak now two weeks ago and the focus really returns to what we're used to do and what we do best, and that's taking care of the patients in our care.

We've discharged many, many patients and the number of patients in the hospitals are going down, but the numbers of the patients in the ICUs is staying pretty stable which really indicates how severe this disease can be and it also indicates that there are many questions that remain unanswered about who will get better and who will become more severe and what the best treatments are for those who are more severe in terms of their presentation and their disease course.

POWELL: So, Dr. Powell, that's what I wanted to talk to you about because there's new information that COVID-19 is causing strokes in young adults. There seems to be a virus that necessarily is mutating but somehow it's evolving in a way that there are new symptoms and new people that are affected in terms of age groups and their health, whether they are sick or whether they are not sick.

How confident are you that the medical community has a handle on how this virus moves, how it works and how to treat it.

POWELL: Those are really important questions that we as a medical and scientist community are working hard on every day. This virus presents in so many different ways. Some people present with a loss of taste and smell. Some people present with blue toes. Some people present with more classic symptoms, fever, shortness of breath, aches and pains.

And the disease course in terms of who gets better and who gets sick, that's very variable also, and we don't yet understand what makes somebody more or less likely to get sick but there are some themes emerging, and one of the themes that's emerging is that for many of the patients who get sick it seems to allow blockade of some of the blood vessels. Sometimes the blood vessels are small like in the lung and kidney and sometimes they are large, also in the lung and also in the brain.

And so, there's a lot of effort to try to understand how that happens and to introduce some new therapies into the treatment of COVID that weren't used initially that may help prevent blood clots from forming or hoping that the clinical trials using these types of agents will show some benefit in patients as we go forward. It's a challenge. It's a moving target.

BLACKWELL: Doctor, let me ask you about these states reopening. You point out to one of our producers that in Hubei Province, they didn't relax social distancing until they had a stretch of days with no new cases. That's not happening in the U.S. Some states are opening even before they reach this gating criteria from the CDC of 14 days of a consistent decline.

So I wonder, is that -- is that threshold enough? Should there be a percent and off of peak? Should there be a hard number per capita? What do you think about what should be the criteria to reopen? POWELL: Yes, so as you said, Victor, in China it was two weeks with no

cases before relaxations were put into place. I think the principle is what's important. The principle is reopening is not a reasonable approach until the prevalence of infection is low such that you can identify those who have the infection and they can be isolated and that you can identify their contacts so that they can be isolated as well.

That's the principle that has to be followed in order to reopen, but you can't do that if you can't test. (AUDIO GAP) greatest country in the world are not able to test all those that need to be test right now and that is really the deficit.

I heard the comments from Dr. Fauci about what we need to do.

[07:25:02]

And I think until we get to the point where we know what the prevalence of infection is where we control the infections by isolating and identifying contacts, opening up and relaxing the distancing is going to be a strategy that's going to increase the number of infections and deaths.

PAUL: All right. Dr. Charles Powell, we thank you so much for the work you and your teams are doing. Do take care of yourselves.

POWELL: Thanks so much, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Doctor.

So, we're talking about the states opening up and experimenting with the models. The strict measures need to be taken to protect workers and customers? We're seeing some of those come into play as well.

We'll talk with the member of California's recovery task force team about how America can get back to work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: So we've talked about the criticism of the Trump administration and their early response to the pandemic.

[07:30:05]

And now, there is a top U.S. health official who may be looking for another job. It's a possibility. A senior administration official tells CNN that there are talks at the White House about a plan to replace the Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

PAUL: CNN's Sarah Westwood is following this from the White House.

Sara, what more do you know this morning about a potential shake-up here?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Christi, it's unclear if this move is imminent or if it will happen at all. There are some advising the president that right now removing Secretary Azar could just add to the chaos. There's little appetite for such a massive shake-up at the top health agency in the administration right now.

But it has been clear that Secretary Azar has about on thin ice for a little while now. We've been hearing there's been finger-pointing to him especially when he was head of the coronavirus task force in the early day disease of the response, some of the infighting, some of the disarray on that task force, that was blamed on Azar as was a lack of communication with the White House about some of those early decisions that were made regarding the coronavirus response effort.

Now, a spokeswoman for HHS downplayed these reports telling CNN Secretary Azar is busy responding to a global public health crisis and doesn't have time for palace intrigue. Of course, there's been questions raised recently about Azar's standing when a longtime loyalist in 2016 campaign adviser Michael Caputo was installed as spokesman for Azar. That was seen as a sort of check on Azar's powers, having someone that Trump really trusts put into HHS.

And, of course, this is also up folding against the backdrop of the scrutiny over ouster of the top vaccine expert at HHS, Dr. Rick Bright, who is now filing a whistle-blower complaint at HHS.

BLACKWELL: After the president's disinfectant and sunshine on the inside comments on Thursday, we got some reporting that some of his advisers were telling him to kind of pull back on the -- the briefings or his participation in them. Is he buying into that?

WESTWOOD: Victor and Christi, yes, his allies are telling President Trump, trying to encourage him not to have these daily briefings, that there's sort of diminishing returns on the length of the briefings and on the fact that he's appearing daily and sometimes the administration officials who are appearing at these briefings are simply running out of coronavirus questions. They are starting to face questions that veer off the topic of COVID-19. So there's been put pressure on President Trump to consider him to not have briefings and may be laying the groundwork to do that.

I want to read you something he tweeted yesterday. What is the purpose of having White House news conferences when the lamestream media asks nothing but hostile questions and then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings and the American people get nothing but fake news. Not worth the time and effort.

So we may not see as many of these meetings going forward, the president perhaps taking that advice from his team to stay away from the cameras a little bit more than he has.

BLACKWELL: Sara Westwood for us at the White House -- Sarah, thank you.

So, this morning, Jake Tapper will be joined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response coordinator, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, and former Democratic nominee for Georgia governor, Stacey Abrams. That's on "STATE OF THE UNION", right here on CNN at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. PAUL: Several states started experimenting with gradual re-openings

during the COVID-19 pandemic. More are making plans here. California Governor Gavin Newsom started a task force on business and job recovery. He is consulting with former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer, four ex-governors and dozens of business leaders to help guide the state out of lockdown.

And one of those members of the task force is with us now, Mary Kay Henry. She's the international president of the Service Employees International Union that services 2 million members, we should point out.

Mary Kay, thank you so much for being with us. We certainly appreciate it.

First, out of the gate, I do want to get your reaction to some of the states who have started to reaction their restrictions. Do you think now is the right time?

MARY KAY HENRY, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION (SEIU): Health care workers and essential workers are dying on the front lines of this pandemic, Christi, because president Trump refuses to do his job and get them the personal protective equipment they need. And black, brown, immigrant and Asian workers are paying a heavier price because of the systemic racism and corporate greed that has riddled and service and care work across this economy.

How dare the president or any governor force people to return to work in unsafe conditions without adequate health and safety protections, PPE, testing and the income support that every workers needs in order to stay home when they have to, to care for themselves and their families if they are exposed or infected or get sick.

[07:35:02]

PAUL: We've had some -- we've had some doctors and nurses on who say they are not having a problem with PPE, that obviously is happening in some areas of the country but not in others.

What criteria do you see needs to be met to get to a point that is safe for the country outside say what the medical community has touted for so long, the testing and the contact tracing?

HENRY: Well, I've been hearing all week from nursing home workers who are having to use garbage bags because they don't have gowns when they care for residents. I've heard from fast food workers who is have no gloves, no masks, no disinfectant in their stores, and they are being exposed.

And so, we need adequate personnel protective equipment for every essential worker, for the 2 million nursing home workers in this nation, for the 2 million home care workers and then the 50 million workers who are doing fast food, delivery, all kinds of essential work, that has never been valued in this country. It needs to be valued, and those workers have to have access to paid sick leave, to health care, to free COVID testing in order to safely return to work.

PAUL: I want to read you what Governor Newsom said about this task force that you're on and what the mission is here. He said: We want to make this actionable. We want to make this meaningful. This is not something where in six months I'm looking forward to giving you a draft or putting out a long thick report. We want in real time to demonstrate meaningful reforms, meaningful changes.

California is the fifth largest economy in the world. There are more than 2.1 million people who have filed unemployment in that state just last month.

What can be done realistically between now and six months from now to get people working and safe?

HENRY: Well, I appreciate Governor Newsom's foresight and putting workers at the table and making sure that unions are a part of the decision-making with employers and government and thinking not just about the 2 million unemployed, Christi but the 5 million more workers who have never been in jobs where they can feed themselves and support their families or expect to have health care.

And in this moment I think it's a time where corporations, state government under Newsom's leadership and working people are ready to join together and get everyone back to work in jobs that are going to need to be done that we never had to have before. We have janitors who can be certified to do deep cleaning and COVID testings. We have fast food workers who want to be able to deliver safely the food that people need but need to be armed with the personal protective equipment that could be made right here in California.

So there's lots of ways in which we can consider how we can rebuild infrastructure and invest in the care giving that's never been valued and that needs to be valued once and for all this country.

PAUL: Do you think that's plausible in it the next six months?

HENRY: I think anything is possible when we put our minds to it. This is a nation that put people on the moon. This is a nation that rebuilt Europe after World War II. This is a nation that can work together and employ 7 million people who are needed to do jobs that we've never had to have done before because of this pandemic.

PAUL: Mary Kay Henry, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much, ma'am.

HENRY: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Coming up, North Korea says nothing to see here. You know, there's the speculation about Kim Jong-un's health. It's getting a lot of attention online. We'll tell you why these new picture, especially the ones on the right, the ones on the left aren't new, are adding to the intrigue.

We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, an alleged "thank you" note and satellite images of a train are the newest clues in this ongoing mystery about the health of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

BLACKWELL: And, of course, we know that the CNN reporting that the U.S. is watching intelligence that suggests that Kim is in grave danger after surgery.

Let's bring in now, Will Ripley. He's reported from inside North Korea 19 times. He's following what is -- let's call it a mystery. He's with us from Tokyo.

Will, first, let's talk about the pictures, the images, what they suggest and what you are hearing.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor. Hey, Christi.

So what these images show us put out by U.S. think tank 38 North is that a train that looks like Kim Jong-un's train and it's parked on the spot where Kim Jong-un's train goes, it's at his compound or was in recent days in Wonsan, a very luxurious, heavily guarded compound on the North Korean coast.

What's interesting about the train being there is that Kim Jong-un usually likes to fly there by plane. I've been there, twice, both times, Kim Jong-un was there and he flew in on his own plane. He can also drive. It would be a much shorter trip by car than by train. So, it raises the question why is the train there?

Obviously, ever since Jim broke the news that U.S. was monitoring intelligence that Kim was in grave danger after surgery and we know that Kim is 5'7", 300 pounds, a heavy smoker, he works a lot of hours, he has a history of heart problems in his family, it has raised a lot of questions about whether Kim's health could be in jeopardy.

But the train's presence there doesn't prove or disprove that.

[07:45:03]

It simply raises questions maybe he did have surgery and he can't fly. Maybe there's going to be a serious procession leaving his compound, but we're not going to get any answer until we get not reports that Kim Jong-un sent a "thank you" but either a confirmation or denial and facts about Kim Jong-un's health, and North Korea is not giving that right now.

PAUL: So, this morning, we know there's an adviser to the South Korea's president who is saying now that Kim Jong-un is, quote, alive and well.

What do you make of that assertion from that particular individual and how much credence do you give it?

RIPLEY: This is South Korea's Moon Jae-in administration playing its role as the eternal optimist. They did it during diplomacy even as it was falling apart, they're putting a positive spin and even putting positive spin on this current situation because President Moon has engaged with Kim Jong-un. It is to his benefit for Kim Jong-un to be alive and well so they can try to pick up diplomacy, pick up the pieces after the summit talks fell apart with the United States. South Korea kind of left, you know, just wondering what their role is here.

But, look, whether or not they are looking at the same satellite images that the U.S. is looking at, what intelligence they are looking to, when Kim Jong-Il died in 2011, North Korea didn't announce it for a couple days can. Everything seemed normal.

North Korea is very good as projecting business as usual but what is significant is the silence from North Korea and I have very well- placed sources that normally by now would be able to tell me yes, he's healthy. No, he's not doing well. They are totally shut out of the loop on this. There's only a small handful of people inside North Korea that knows what is going on when it comes to Kim Jong-un's health which is a heavily guarded secret.

So, frankly, I question reports, you know, from one end of the spectrum that he's doing really well to the other end of the spectrum that he's on death's door. We will not know the answer to that until North Korea is ready to give us that answer.

BLACKWELL: All right. There's a lot intrigue in 2014 when he disappeared and then showed back up. We'll see what happens now.

Will Ripley for us from Tokyo, thanks so much.

PAUL: Thanks, Will.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is returning to work tomorrow after a mount-long battle with the coronavirus. His absence left a pretty big hole in the government's leadership there as the country dealt with the epidemic. More than 20,000 people have been killed by the virus thus far in the U.K.

BLACKWELL: So after joking about who might play him on "SNL," Dr. Anthony Fauci got late night comedy treatment from Brad Pitt. We'll show you next.

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[07:50:15]

PAUL: Listen, I know a lot of us have some real concerns about our health right now. Well, beyond hand-washing and that all-important social distancing as we try to fight off coronavirus, there are some other things that you can do to help your immune system.

CNN Contributor Lisa Drayer has details.

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LISA DRAYER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: One of the best ways to stay healthy is to eat a nutritious diet. Fill half of your plate with vegetables and fruits. This will help to give you plenty of immunity-boosting nutrients.

Research shows that fit individuals, those who partake in regular physical activity, have a decreased rate of infection compared to sedentary individuals. Physical activity helps to flush bacteria out of the lungs, decreasing your chance of getting a cold, flu or other viruses. For a cardio workout, try jumping jacks, knee lines, back kicks and burpees.

Stress management is so important. In fact, if we're too stressed, it reduces our body's ability to defend against bacteria and viruses. So one of the simplest ways to manage stress is to simply meditate and focus on your breath. And if your thoughts start to wander go back to the breath without judgment.

Sleep is so important. You definitely don't want to skip on sleep. Not getting enough Zs can negatively impact your immune system. So, the National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to eight hours per night, but if you can't get that amount, don't worry. You can fill in the gap with naps.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So there's a therapy dog that's helping health care workers cope with this crisis.

BLACKWELL: Loki -- and Loki apparently loves to wear scrubs, used to do face-to-face pet therapy at the university of Maryland medical center but then the pandemic hit.

And now, she's checking in on patients, the doctors and the nurses like everybody else, video conferencing. Her owner started making care packages with face masks and lotion and lip balm and tea, and they have delivered thousands of those kits.

PAUL: You can read more about Loki and how the community needs help and how to do so during this pandemic just go to CNN.com/impact and thank you for checking this out. We're all in this together doing what we can.

We so love spending our mornings with you. Thanks for being with us.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Hope you make good memories today, too.

BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King is up next, but, first, Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci on "SNL" last night. Thanks so much for being with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD PITT AS DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: I'm getting fired, but until then I'm going to be there putting out the facts for whoever is listening, and when I hear things like the virus can be cured if everyone takes the tide pod challenge, I'll be there to say please don't.

[07:55:03]

And to the real Dr. Fauci, thank you for your calm and your clarity in this unnerving time and thank you to the medical workers, first responders and their families for being on the front line, and now, live, kind of, from all across America, it's "Saturday Night."

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