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FDA Grants Emergency Use Authorization to Drug Remdesivir to Treat Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients; Some States in U.S. Begin Phased Reopening of Businesses including Malls; Boston Mayor Marty Walsh Interviewed on Testing for Coronavirus in Boston; Earthquake Hits Puerto Rico; U.S. Airlines Requiring Passengers to Wear Masks; Health Institutes Seeking Vaccine for Coronavirus. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired May 02, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:33]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: So glad to have you with us here. We want to welcome you here in the United States, wherever you might be in the world. It is Saturday, May 2nd. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell, and you are in the CNN Newsroom.

PAUL: So this is the first weekend of these loosened coronavirus rules for more than half the country at this point. Most states are planning to partially reopen by May 10th.

BLACKWELL: So we've heard about the restaurants and barbershops, now potentially the mall. That's an option if you're living in one of 10 states. Simon Property Group reopened more than two dozen malls across several states on Friday, more are going to open on Monday. Let's go to California now where there's some tension over a decision to add some restrictions. You see the crowd here. This is Huntington Beach yesterday, protesting the governor's order to close all beaches in Orange County.

PAUL: There's some optimistic news to give you regarding the treatment for COVID-19. The FDA is giving emergency use authorization to the experimental drug remdesivir. It can be used to treat hospitalized patients who have severe cases.

BLACKWELL: We'll be hearing from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo this hour. He'll give his daily update on the situation in his state, a live look at where he will be delivering those remarks. Still under some pretty tight restrictions there in New York.

PAUL: Let's start with a closer look at how reopening is really playing out across the country. Texas and Florida, for instance, are two states approaching this phase. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Dallas where some businesses are already back open this weekend. And CNN's Rosa Flores is in Florida where phase one of reopening begins Monday. Again, it looks different in every state because they're doing this with different protocols. BLACKWELL: Let's go to Rosa in Miami. Talk to us about how Florida is planning to reopen, and why south Florida won't see some of these restrictions lifted yet.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right. Florida is taking more of a regional, phased approach, with most of the state reopening on Monday for phase one, except the southeast counties of Miami-Dade, where I am, Broward, and Palm Beach. These three counties make up about 30 percent of the state's population, but they account for about 60 percent of the nearly 35,000 cases and 57 percent of the state's about 1,300 deaths. That's why it's no surprise that the mayors of these three counties got together and decided to reopen, but only parks, waterways, golf courses, and other green spaces. And they are excluded from the rest of the state's reopening play. They of course reopened these green spaces with some restrictions, including face coverings and social distancing.

Not everybody is following the rules. We checked in with Miami Beach, and the police there tell us that in two days they issued about 1,500 warnings to park goers who were not wearing facemasks and were not social distancing. The leaders of these three counties of course say that for these counties to get to phase one, people have to follow the rules.

As for the rest of the state, phase one begins on Monday, and this allows restaurants and retail to reopen at 25 percent capacity indoors. Restaurants can have outdoor dining, but the seating has to be at least six feet apart. Again, this is only phase one, so even though there will be those re-openings and elective surgeries will be allowed to happen, bars will still be closed, schools will still be closed, and Victor and Christi, hairdressers will still be closed. So people needing haircuts will have to take the scissors to their hair themselves just like I have and other people have because, again, this is only phase one, and Florida is taking a phased regional approach, taking it slow especially for the three counties that have the most cases in the state.

PAUL: Rosa, you look beautiful.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it looks goo, I was going to say that.

PAUL: Very impressed.

FLORES: Thank you.

PAUL: Very impressed.

BLACKWELL: Rosa Flores for us there, thanks so much.

PAUL: Thanks, Rosa.

BLACKWELL: So Texas Governor Greg Abbott is pushing ahead with plans to reopen his state. His executive order went into effect one day after Texas reported its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic, 58 deaths on Thursday.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Ed Lavandera is with us now from Dallas. So this new executive order, Ed, supersedes any local guidelines, right?

[10:05:08]

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does, Victor. That's been the rub here in Texas where you have many of the big city leaders, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, all Democrats, by the way, kind of squaring off, if you will, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who's under a great deal of political pressure to open the economy up here in Texas.

And so far what we've seen is a phased reopening of the economy here. and starting yesterday, retail businesses, movie theatres, restaurants could begin operating, but only at a 25 percent capacity. Libraries and museums also reopened. Depending on where you are, parks, tennis courts those types of things have also opened up in various places. But there is a great deal of concern, and some of the things that are not included in this newest order are hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, gyms, bars. Those, the governor says, will be part of the next phase if everything goes well.

And that's the question we have right now, right. Over the last couple days, we've seen a large increase in the number of coronavirus cases being reported in Texas. It also comes at the same time that testing is starting to ramp up a little bit, nowhere near where many officials say it needs to be. But that is the rub here is we're seeing more of these cases being reported. The governor says he's listening to doctors and data in terms of reopening.

But here on the streets, guys, the people are speaking out for themselves, really. It's been very quiet in terms of how many people you see in stores and really coming out. Big city leaders continue to urge people to stay at home.

BLACKWELL: Ed Lavandera for us there. Ed, thanks so much.

The FDA has now given emergency use authorization for the antiviral drug remdesivir. Now, the studies, conducted by Gilead, have found that the drug could improve or shorten recovery time for people who are suffering the most severe effects of coronavirus. Let's bring in Emory University Medical School, the doctor there, Aneesh Mehta, who is overseeing a trial. Dr. Meta, good morning to you.

DR. ANEESH MEHTA, LEAD INVESTIGATOR, NIH REMDESIVIR TRIAL, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So let me start here, those four days -- we can put up the findings of your study. It reduced the median recovery time by four days, 11 days down from 15. Of course, no one wants to be in the hospital, everybody wants to recover and go home. But give us an idea of what do those four days, what do they buy you? A less likelihood of permanent injury or scarring? What's saved by those four days?

MEHTA: So for the last two months or so I've been taken care, with my colleagues, of several patients with COVID-19, and some of them have mild cases, but many of them have more severe cases and end up being in the hospital for a long period of time. We, at Emory, were honored to be part of this clinical NIH trial to

look at the medicine called remdesivir to see if it would improve the outcomes of our patients with COVID-19. And, again, the preliminary findings, we're still waiting for the final data to come out in a few weeks, but the preliminary data indicates that we are able to get patients home four days earlier than if they're receiving a standard of care. That four days allows them to be with their family earlier. That four days also prevents the complications people get from more prolonged hospital stays. And important, as we prepare for more patients in the future, and also need to take care of several patients that don't have COVID-19, this allows us to have those beds and resources available for all of our patients.

BLACKWELL: Is there any significance to what was on the other side of the screen there, the mortally rate down from 11.6 percent from those who received the placebo to eight percent for those who received remdesivir?

MEHTA: So the preliminary data so far from our clinical trial indicates there may be a difference, but it has not met statistical significance, meaning we don't know for sure if that's a true difference. We may see more of a difference in mortality when the final data is available. But still, eight8 percent mortality is not ideal. So we need to continue our research. We need to continue to understand how we take care of these patients so that we can decrease that mortality even further and get more patients home to their families.

BLACKWELL: Let me ask you -- first, let's play Daniel O'Day. He's the CEO of Gilead. And let's listen to what he says, and I've got a question on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL O'DAY, CEO, GILEAD SCIENCES: This is a medicine that's really for the most severe patients. Our scientists are hard at work to see, now that we know this medicine has an impact on patients, if we can bring it earlier into the disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:10:00]

BLACKWELL: So tell me, thus far in your research, your part of this, and I know this was around the world, is there any indication that this does not have to be reserved for patients who are in extremis, that a few days after a positive result from a test, that this could have some impact?

MEHTA: This medication, remdesivir, can only be given by vein. So it's an intravenous medicine, therefore can only be given in the hospital. But antiviral medicines in general tend to work better earlier in a disease process. And so we would really like to be able to give this medicine it earlier to patients to see if it can have an even broader impact on their overall outcome. I would say the data that we have collected in this clinical trial,

once we have more data available, we should have a better understanding in exactly which patients remdesivir is making a large impact in, and then those patients that it is not seeming to help, how we can move forward with other medications in combination with remdesivir that may be able to help them better.

BLACKWELL: So potentially a cocktail that could have a greater impact in that pairing.

Let me ask you, the FDA has given emergency use authorization. Where are you all in the study, and how far, potentially, from an FDA full- out approval?

MEHTA: So this wonderful NIH adaptive clinical trial that has been developed by our wonderful scientists will adapt now to look at remdesivir with medications that modulate the immune system, meaning it controls some of the inflammation that the virus creates. And we will go on to see if this has an additional benefit in reducing the symptoms but also reducing the mortality of patients that have COVID- 19.

We are eagerly waiting to hear more information from the FDA as to how they will consider remdesivir moving beyond the emergency use authorization to potentially eventual approval. But in the interim we also are interested in offering not only the study but every therapeutic option we have for all of our patients to make sure that we are really getting them home to their families as quick as we can.

BLACKWELL: Can I ask you one broad question, a little broader than the treatment from remdesivir, about the potential vaccine? Dr. Anthony Fauci, along with the lead scientist at the NIH for Vaccine Research, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, they gave a few hints or suggestions about when a vaccine could possibly be ready. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: In order to get a vaccine that's practically deployable for people to use, it's going to be at least a year to a year-and-a-half at best.

DR. KIZZMEKIA CORBETT, LEAD SCIENTIST, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH: If all things go well, and if these phase one, phase two, and phase three clinical trials work simultaneously for the good, our plan is to have people vaccinated all over the world by next spring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Next spring. Certainly ambitious. This would be a first for vaccine to be available in that short of a period of time. How probable is it?

MEHTA: Well, as we all know, vaccines take a long time to produce and to test. We have to look at the safety. We have to look at how effective they are, and really make sure that it's effective and it works in many, many types of people. And so that work is going on right now. We're honored that the NIH gave my colleagues at the Emory Vaccine Center at the Emory Hope Clinic availability to do early testing on some of these vaccines, and throughout the summer we will be working hard to evaluate these vaccines. As Dr. Fauci has mentioned, ideally, if everything goes well, we should hopefully have a vaccine ready towards the end of the year or early spring. However, we still have a lot of work to do and, and so we're looking forward to these trials rolling out and hopefully being able to offer a true preventative vaccine for many of our communities.

BLACKWELL: Dr. Aneesh Mehta over at Emory University, thanks so much for being with us.

MEHTA: Thank you very much.

PAUL: At any moment we're going to hear from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. He's giving an update on the coronavirus outbreak in New York which is still under restrictions right now. We're going to bring that to you live when it happens. There's a picture of the podium as we wait for him to take it.

BLACKWELL: This in from Puerto Rico, still recovering from hurricane Maria, and lockdown because the coronavirus, has just been hit by another earthquake. You see these pictures just coming in from Puerto Rico. Officials are now just starting to assess the damage. We'll get you more when we get it.

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[10:19:00]

PAUL: We have some breaking news out of Puerto Rico this morning. Take a look at the pictures that we are just getting in here. A 5.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded in the waters off the southern part of the island. And you can see the damage it has caused to several building there in the city of Punta. You have got bricks on the ground, as you can see, obviously some structural damage is going to be on the other side of this as they try to assess what's happening there and make sure that everybody is OK.

We know at this hour city officials are checking on the safety of the people. Look at that roof that has just collapsed. They're also assessing the damage that has been caused by this, but the fact that this is just happening, listen to this. This happened just as the city is preparing to partially lift its coronavirus restrictions. That's happening, supposedly on Monday. We don't know if this is going to have any effect on whether that actually happens. They've been in lockdown for two months at this point, but as soon as we get more information we'll give it to you. But these are the latest pictures we're getting after a 5.5 magnitude earthquake there in Puerto Rico.

[10:20:05]

BLACKWELL: We talked a bit about lifting some restrictions. Let's go to Massachusetts now, where that is not happening. Not only is the governor extending the stay-at-home order there, but he's ordered that all residents, all people there in Massachusetts, in the commonwealth, will have to wear face coverings in public. This is coming after statewide hospitalization rate is down, testing is up.

PAUL: In parts of Boston, infections are still rising. Mayor Marty Walsh of Boston is with us now. Mr. Mayor, thank you for taking time to be with us. We know that you're very busy right now. Your governor said yesterday was the third day in a row that COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state have dropped. So with that said, you obviously taking a slower, more meticulous approach to reopening, what is your hesitation right now?

MAYOR MARTY WALSH (D-MA), BOSTON: The hospitalizations have dropped if you average statewide. When you look at different regions, they're still either steady or high. And I think we're still having a high level of infection rate here in the city, in the state. And I think that the governor is taking all the appropriate steps as far as moving forward. He put together a reopening advisory committee, which Boston sits on. He's looking through, and we're all working through every area and every different industry moving forward.

So I think as we take this approach it has to be a thoughtful approach on how we reopen society. It's also about looking, the testing numbers are so small in Boston, we've tested I believe about four percent of the population in Massachusetts, maybe a little less than that in Boston. So we still don't have an accurate count of where we stand with coronavirus as far as people that are infected with it or people that have recovered from it.

BLACKWELL: Mayor, you mentioned a high rate of infection, but you mentioned yesterday in this news conference that Boston is actually seeing a surge. Is that a result of the ramped-up testing, or is there actually an increased rate of infection?

WALSH: Certainly, I can't fully answer that, but certainly we are having more testing. We've increased our capacity significantly, not where we want to be. So obviously with more testing we're going to see higher numbers. That's something that's an accurate statement.

I can't say if we have a larger infection of folks right now with the virus. It's hard to say that with the numbers we have. I think the more testing we do, and as we get further and further into more testing and some antibody testing, we're get a better understanding of where we actually do stand when it comes to the virus.

PAUL: Mr. Mayor, New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio, was on Wolf Blitzer last night, and he hold him when he was asked how much he needs to avoid bankruptcy in that city, that he has a gap of $7.4 billion in his budget, and he expects that obviously to escalate, that loss of revenue. And he says that if they don't get financial help from Washington, and this is a question from him, he says a lot of mayors, Republican and Democrats both, are thinking unfortunately about furloughing public employees or even layoffs. Here's who he's talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY): And I'm talking about first responders, police, fire, sanitation, health care workers, educators. This is the backbone of our cities and our country, all that is on the line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: The financial gap in your city, how badly do you need some federal funds? And are you considering, are you one of those mayors he mentioned who is considering furloughs for workers in your city?

WALSH: As of right now we're not looking at furloughs. As of right now we're in the midst of the budget process. My city council is reviewing the budget. We've already reduced it once from the beginning rollout of the budget to what we submitted to the city council, and we're expecting that when we do a final budget here, it'll be significantly less, the investments that we planned six months ago certainly won't be there that we want to do because we have to be careful with our costs.

I think the federal government certainly is going to have to help cities and towns across America, large and small. I was on the call last week, Bill, was on that call, too, Mayor de Blasio, that we were talking to mayors around the country, and they're in tough shape. And they were in financial tough shape before coronavirus, and this is only making it more complicated with the loss of business and the loss of revenue and the loss of taxes and the loss of income tax and sales tax. All of those taxes are down, fees and other things that we rely on in our budgets, they're all down, and virtually zero in some cases.

So I think that there will have to be -- Senator McConnell talked about bankruptcy. I don't think that's the way to go. I think what we need to do is help support cities and towns all across America so that bankruptcy is not an option. That's not the way that any of us want to go and I don't think that's the way we should be thinking about how do we recover as an individual city with our budgets.

[10:25:00]

BLACKWELL: Last thing here before we let you go, Mr. Mayor, face coverings now required across the commonwealth when in public. In Lawrence, in Cambridge, in Somerville, there will soon be fines for people who do not wear face coverings. You've been frustrated with the people who are not wearing these face coverings in grocery stores, even out running for exercise. Do you intend to institute fines for those people who do not comply?

WALSH: We worked with the state a little bit on that. The governor came out with a ruling, he's allowing cities and towns to enforce it. We are going to come up with policy to enforce it. Again, my hesitation was that I was hoping people would take the responsibility themselves to make sure that they protect themselves and other people with facemasks. Clearly there's too many cases of situations that's not happening. So we are going to be taking what the governor did yesterday and rolling it into a policy in the city of Boston to make sure that people are protected. Again, making sure that folks that are working on our front lines in

grocery stores and coffee shops and places like that don't have to be concerned when they see people come in without a facemask, or when runners run or bikers run or bike or even walk for that matter. Other people are out there, too, wearing facemasks, and they're doing it to protect you and them, I should say, and we just want to return the courtesy of that.

So we are going to be doing some here policy in Boston on how we move forward. And then the worst thing about this is the enforcement, taking our public safety officials, our police department, and having them have to enforce facemasks when they should be doing other things is somewhat bothersome. But we're going to do everything we can to keep people safe and alive.

PAUL: Mayor Marty Walsh, we so appreciate you taking time for us today. Wishing the best for you and the people of Boston. Thank you.

WALSH: Thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Mayor.

PAUL: So we're going to hear soon from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, he's giving an update on the coronavirus outbreak in New York. There have been some developments there. You can see the live pictures as we wait for him to take the podium. As soon as he does so, we will bring that to you.

As retail businesses begin to reopen, the experience is likely going to look, and it's going to feel quite a bit different. Coming up, the safety measures some stores are putting in place as they get ready to welcome back shoppers.

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[10:31:43]

PAUL: This weekend, some shopping malls are reopening, in several states, including some locations around Georgia.

BLACKWELL: Governor Brian Kemp was criticized for going further and faster than most governors in allowing businesses to reopen. President Trump says that he agrees with most but not all of the governor's decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to see us open safely, but I didn't like spas and tattoo parlors. And I wasn't thrilled about that, but I said nothing about Georgia other than that. I like the states opening, they will be opening. They're going to open safely and quickly, I hope, because we have to get our country back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Natasha Chen is with us now from Atlanta. Good morning to you. For the customers who are ready to go back to retail stores and malls, will they be different? And what should they expect?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Christi. No one is really here yet because the stores don't open until about noon. But when people get here, they will see that, at least at this outdoor mall, there are signs telling them that walkways are now one way. They'll also see that in common areas, the furniture has been spaced out a lot to promote social distancing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: In Georgia, the state that has taken the most aggressive measures to reopen the economy, the new month brought with it an entirely new place to get out of the house -- the mall.

ANIELA RESPRESS, AREA GENERAL MANAGER: First of all, it's been scary the first heard about it, but also exciting for our tenants to be able to open up.

CHEN: The state's shelter in place order officially expired Thursday night for most Georgians, though Governor Brian Kemp extended the order for the elderly and vulnerable populations to shelter in place through mid-June. Still, his executive order allowed retail stores to open back up on Frida, about a week after restaurant, barber shops, and even tattoo parlors. At Avalon, an upscale outdoor mall in Atlanta's suburbs, management readied the grounds for shopping in the socially distant era.

RESPRESS: All of the common area furniture have been placed six feet apart.

CHEN: And the walkways are one way only. But only about a fifth of about 100 shops at Avalon were open, and many of those were either curbside pickup or by appointment only.

Altar'd State, a women's clothing store, was one of the few that had its doors open.

MADISON BURNHAM, "ALTAR'D STATE" ASSOCIATE: And of course there always is that fear of just maybe that one person will walk in who has it, but we are taking really good precautions to just make sure that doesn't happen, and have a lot of sterilizing everything. We have the option to wear masks. We wear gloves at the cash wrap just to make sure we're not touching everything.

CHEN: New protocols include steaming every article of clothing that a customer tries on, and regularly disinfecting the fitting rooms. And because only 10 people, including employees, are allowed inside at a time, there was a line of customers waiting outside. We found Kate Martin at the end of that line.

KATE MARTIN, SHOPPER: I'm a nurse, so instinctively I think still too contagious, it's a very contagious disease, so I still think it might be a little too soon so come back out and be this close together. So we'll see.

CHEN: But you're here. MARTIN: I am.

CHEN: She's wearing a mask, which the mall is also giving to its customers, but still not everyone is.

[10:35:03]

MARTIN: They should be, but they don't take it seriously.

CHEN: The retired nurse had a message for the young and mask-less, who could have been unknowingly passing it to more vulnerable populations.

MARTIN: You might not get as sick, but they will. And they will get it from you. Do it for your grandmother.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: And again, no one is really around us here yet at the moment, but the mall is giving out face coverings for people, for their guests, and they are recommending that guests who come here wear face masks. Victor and Christi, back to you.

PAUL: Natasha Chen, appreciate, thank you.

BLACKWELL: So there are a few people headed out to malls and to some of the retail shops, but there are even fewer people going to airports. We know that the airline industry is really struggling. Some of these airlines are desperately trying to get you back onto their planes.

PAUL: All major U.S. airlines have toughened up their security protocols, not just for employees but for passengers as well.

BLACKWELL: CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is with us now with more on the changes. Are these big, exclamation point changes that we will all notice? How many of them are happening behind the scenes that we're intended not to see?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Christi, you know that all major airlines are now requiring that passengers wear masks, a move that the industry made voluntarily in the absence of a requirement from the federal government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN: A scene too similar to travel before this pandemic, new videos of packed planes, passengers bottled up in rows and aisles, raising new fears about social distancing when flying and new calls to restrict air travel even further. This week JetBlue became the first airline to require passengers to wear masks, its COO calling it the new flying etiquette. Now all major U.S. airlines, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United have volunteered to do the same. But the leader of the Association of Flight Attendants goes further, telling CNN there must be a federal ban of leisure travel by air. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because the flights have been pulled down, we're

seeing more and more full flights without policies that really address proper social distancing.

MUNTEAN: But the nation's air travel is at a virtual halt. Nearly half of all commercial jet liners are now parked. The a TSA says only five percent of passengers are passing through airports compared to a year ago. I set out to see what it's like to fly right now, traveling from Washington D.C. to Atlanta and back.

It's hard to find someone not already wearing a mask.

Airlines are stepping up their use of electrostatic sprayers to disinfect passenger cabins. Airlines are also not booking middle seats, hoping to keep up social distancing on board. Industry groups say the average domestic flight is now carrying 17 passengers, up from just 10 passengers just over a week ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the people that are traveling are probably healthy. They're not ill or critical or in a bad situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody should be wearing a mask.

MUNTEAN: The Department of Transportation gave airlines permission to start scaling back service to small city airports. Plane-maker Boeing's CEO is forecasting a years-long recovery for airlines. Even still, the industry is holding out hope that new measures will mean a new normal of flying again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hopeful that that will happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MUNTEAN: Changes go beyond just on board. Delta and United have done away with boarding by zone, instead now boarding by row, starting with the back of the plane first. Victor and Christi?

BLACKWELL: Pete Muntean with us. Pete, thanks so much.

PAUL: So doctors in Washington state, the first coronavirus hot spot in the U.S., are reacting to news that the FDA has approved remdesivir for emergency use. We have more on that report and what it means, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:00]

PAUL: Still ahead on CNN Newsroom, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is giving an update on the coronavirus outbreak in New York. There's a live picture for you as we await his presence. I hope he's sitting at the table there with the flags. And as soon as he gets there, we'll get it to you.

Doctors in Washington state obviously were among the first to treat coronavirus parents in the U.S. BLACKWELL: CNN's Sara Sidner spoke to doctors in the Seattle area

about the FDA's authorization of the drug remdesivir for emergency use.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Doctors and scientists certainly do not want to give the public false hope when it comes to a drug that might be able to treat coronavirus. However, this drug is giving them some real hope.

DR. FRANCIS REIDO, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, EVERGREENHEALTH: It was now everybody that was potentially at risk.

SIDNER: Dr. Francis Reido is an infectious disease specialist on the front line of the war on coronavirus. From the first confirmed COVID- 19 death in the U.S., Reido and EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, Washington, are now at the forefront of finding at treatment. They're taking part in a clinical trial of remdesivir.

REIDO: This is an intravenous medication. It's given for 10 days.

SIDNER: After it was administered to the sickest COVID-19 patients, Dr. Reido says it showed real promise. And that was just phase one of the trial.

When you go into a second phase of the trial, what does that mean?

REIDO: So the second phase is going to use this as the backbone. So every patient will receive remdesivir because the first trial, act one, showed benefit, shortened the course of illness, and almost statistically significantly showed a decrease in mortally.

SIDNER: In phase two, some patients will also get a companion drug called ersininev (ph) which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. But every COVID-19 patient in the trial will now be treated with remdesivir.

Why is that a big deal?

REIDO: This's huge. It's the first scientifically proven beneficial drug in terms of the treatment of SAR CoV-2.

[10:45:03]

SIDNER: Trials of the drug are happening across 68 sites, more than 1,000 people have taken part. The results, people recovered 31 percent more quickly with remdesivir. That translates to four fewer days of suffering in the hospital.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Although a 31 percent improvement doesn't seem like a knockout, 100 percent, it is a very important proof of concept, because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.

SIDNER: Remedesivir was originally created as a potential drug to treat Ebola. Dr. Reido was also on the front lines of that battle, traveling to Africa. He hopes the drug works this time around.

But before the second trial was done, the president alongside the CEO of Gilead, who makes the drug, announced the FDA's emergency use authorization for remdesivir.

DANIEL O'DAY, CEO, GILEAD: We'll be working with the government to determine how best to distribute that within the United States.

SIDNER: The FDA acting unusually quickly. For now, the drug is being used only in hospitals on the sickest COVID-19 patients. It is not a cure. Some of the patients treated with the drug still died, but others felt better faster.

So this could be a major tool in the fight against coronavirus?

REIDO: Correct.

SIDNER: Wow.

REIDO: But it all has to be proven. We all have to do the science, the careful science.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: You have to be clear that this is only given to the most severely ill patients who are in the hospital, and it's done intravenously, so this is not available to a wider group of patients. But because these trials are going to, they are looking into if there is a wider section of coronavirus positive patients who may, in the future, be able to use remdesivir. Victor, Christi?

BLACKWELL: Sara Sidner for us there. Sara, thank you so much.

So listen, this is a tough time. We're all feeling a little stressed, a little unsettled about the coronavirus, what this means for our lives. Celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, they say they're feeling uneasy, too. And that's why last night she kicked off this 24-hour call to unite event. It's happening right now. It's online. And we're going to tell you what to expect if you watch.

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PAUL: So you know sleep is known to boost our immune systems, which is really important right now. In today's "Food as Fuel," CNN's Jacqueline Howard shows us how the things we drink during the day affect how we sleep at night.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Getting enough sleep, or better quality sleep, may begin with what you sip during the day.

[10:50:03]

The first step is stay hydrated. An Oxford study found a link between sleep deprivation and inadequate hydration. For women, experts recommend you drink about 11 cups of water each day, and a little more than 15 cups for men. Experts recommend before you head to bed, though, try avoiding caffeine. That includes caffeinated coffees, teas, and sodas. And although a nightcap may be tempting, it may contribute to poor quality sleep. According to the "Journal of Neuroscience," drinking alcohol casually or chronically may interfere with adenosine levels, a chemical in the brain that helps you sleep. Instead try sipping warm milk, or better yet, milk mixed with some honey, which one nutritional study suggests as an effective and affordable way to improve your sleep.

But overall, it's recommended to watch your liquids close to bedtime so you won't have to make too many trips to the restroom while falling asleep.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BLACKWELL: That's 98 Degrees there. Right now, celebrities around the world are holding this 24-hour livestream event, they're part of it. It's called "The Call to Unite." Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, Mandy Moore, they're taking part. You see here former President Bill Clinton, also former presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush are involved.

PAUL: Viewers, they want you to find a way to help someone today. Donate, volunteer, share a story of hope and compassion, anything you can do. It can be really simple, but it might be the one thing somebody needs to hear or see today.

And on that note, I want to introduce you to a 16-year-old who's trying to make social distancing more tolerable with some pretty incredible sidewalk chalk drawings. She's clearly very talented, look at this. Some of these take as long as four hours. I just hope it doesn't rain. Railey Warren says she's even set up a map on her Instagram account so you can find them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAILEY WARREN, SIDEWALK ARTIST: Right now, people are stuck in their homes, can't really -- social distancing, that's hard on some people. So I'm hoping to create as much fun as possible, and something more interactive like this chalk art.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: If you have chalk, use chalk, do what you can to help. Some of her drawings highlight local businesses in Augusta that are trying to stay afloat. And if you're looking for a way that you can help your community during the pandemic, go to CNN.com/Impact.

PAUL: As we've been telling you, we are waiting to hear from Governor Cuomo there in New York. He is going to give us an update on the status in his state. We are going to be bring that to you live as soon as it happens. There's a live picture. He is expected there any moment.

[10:55:06] But we want to thank you for taking time to be with us. We love your company in the mornings and we hope you make some good memories today.

CNN's Newsroom continues with Fredricka Whitfield. That's up at the top of the hour.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.