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Coronavirus Pandemic Italy Reports 63,900 Plus Cases 6,000 Deaths; Spain Praises Healthcare Workers; Shortage Of Protective Gear Endangering Medical Workers; Coping With Stress In The Face Of A Crisis; Celebrities Push Social Distancing; Stay-at-Home Rule Saves Lives; President Trump Wants to get Rid of Social Distancing; Hubei Looking Forward to a Big Day; Analysts Predicts Global Recession. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 24, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, Britain's prime minister orders a sweeping stay at home order, calling coronavirus the biggest threat to face the country in years.
In Spain hospitals are overwhelmed with patients, and some are lacking basic supplies, health care workers say they may have had to recycle and reuse equipment.
And later, some helpful tips on how to cope with the stress of a global pandemic.
Stay-at-home it could save your life. That is the message governments around the world are telling people as the number of coronavirus cases soar past 334,000 people, and 14,000 deaths globally.
And at least 42,000 cases, in 50 -- 541 deaths are in the United States, more U.S. states, and other countries are restricting people's movements. Sixteen U.S. states have issued stay at home orders, that's about 43 percent of the country's population.
In Italy and Spain severe restrictions remain in place. India is extending restrictions to millions of people across the country, until the end of the month. And the U.K. has finally banning people from leaving their homes, except for essentials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: You must stay at home, because the critical thing we must do, to stop the disease spreading between households.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And CNN's Anna Stewart joins me now from London. Good to see you, Ana. So British Prime Minister Boris Johnson there issuing a sweeping stay at home order. What all did he says and how does he plan to enforce this?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, on that enforcement issue it's interesting, police will be able to break up gatherings of more than two people, they'll also be able to issue fines, although from media reports it suggests these fines will start quite low around 30 pounds $35.
Brits are being told at this stage to carry any kind of I.S. or form if they do go out, they are allowed to go out once a day for exercise, they are allowed to go for essential work to buy groceries, but it has essential sort of shopping. So, they are being told to stay home.
They don't have to prove it like you do in France or Italy, you have to carry a form there to able to tell authorities exactly what you're doing and who you are. Now how will anyone know if you are on your first or fifth walkout, you are only meant to go out once a day in the U.K. now, it will be very hard to enforce crucially.
The government of course could ramp up these measures and they could ramp up how they enforce it. They haven't, for example, triggered what's called the civil contingencies act that will give them more draconian powers.
I'd say the emphasis from yesterday from the prime minister was about saving lives. And it's really a sort of rallying war cry, he said I know that as they had been the past so many times the people of this country will rise to the challenge. So, I think the prime minister is hoping that the Brits will listen this time to the advice, not advice anymore, the command stay at home. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes. And it's certainly very different the way he initially responded to this, but how long will these new restrictions be in place for the British people. And of course, what will it likely take for the measures to be lifted?
STEWART: This was interesting. Boris Johnson, the prime minister said they will keep these restrictions under constant review, but they will look again in three weeks, and relax them if the evidence shows we are able to.
And as you know, in many countries now, every day feels very different, governments are pouring over data, data from your own country how many cases there are, how many deaths there are, how it is escalating, and also comparing that to other similar countries.
So, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the U.K. is supposedly about two weeks behind Italy in terms of the spread of this pandemic, so perhaps three weeks seems a little unlikely that measures would be lifted, but they will review them. And of course, as I said, they can't ramp these measures up, they can't enforce them more strongly if Brits do not do as they are told and stay at home. Rosemary. CHURCH: Yes. And of course, this having to happen in some places
because so many people are not taking any of this particularly seriously, right?
Anna Stewart joining us live from London, many thanks.
[03:05:03]
Monday was the deadliest day in the U.S. fight against the coronavirus with more than 100 new fatalities reported, and yet President Trump appears eager to lift the social distancing guidelines he put in place to so slow the outbreak. He wants Americans to get back to work as soon as possible, so the U.S. economy can recover even if it means going against the advice of his own health experts.
Our Kaitlan Collins has more now from the White House.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Trump has been weighing this idea of easing those federal guidelines that he and his administration put out just a week ago, they've got about one more week left and then before the administration said they were going to reassess where they are.
And we're told by sources that the president is heavily weighing easing those restrictions. And the president seem to confirm that in this briefing, arguing that he believes it's only going to be a matter of weeks not months before a lot of these businesses that have closed their doors are going to reopen.
Now these are the guidelines put out by the White House that had some of those strict measures that we've seen so far, telling people not to gather in groups of 10 or more, but now the president says that that might be changing his mind.
He says he wants the economy to be able to reopen, he says he doesn't want the government to be shut down. But of course, this comes as health experts have said it's just simply isn't enough time to be able to properly evaluate whether or not those two weeks did enough to flatten the curve.
And the president seem to hint that even his own doctors aren't on the same page with him after he was asked do those doctors endorses ideas of potentially easing these guidelines just a week from now, the president said no, they did not endorse it, he said that they have spoken about it, and he said he thinks they're OK with it. But the president said that if it was up to the doctors, they would shut down the entire world.
Clearly, on two different pages there as the president has been fielding this internal divide between the economic focus advisers on his coronavirus task force team and the ones who of course the health officials, the doctors and the scientists, who have said it's just simply not enough time to know if they have been able to effectively flatten the curve.
They've got about one week left on those. The question is going to be, what the president himself decides as he's got about a week to look at the data that's coming in. And we know his surgeon general is only warning that the numbers are going to get worse before they get better.
But when asked if the president would commit to follow the advice of the doctors give him about what steps he should take, the president only said he would be listening to them, and others as well.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
CHURCH: And as health experts around the world race to find a cure for the coronavirus, President Trump is touting yet again several medications as a possible treatment. They include chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine which are used to treat malaria and other conditions. He says they could be a gift from God despite warnings from health experts against hyping these unproven medications.
New York will begin trials in the day ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: At my direction, the federal government is working to help obtain large quantities of chloroquine. And you can look from any standpoint tomorrow, in New York we think tomorrow pretty early, the hydroxychloroquine and the Z-Pak, I think it's a combination, probably it's looking very, very good, and it's going to be distributed.
We have 10,000 units going. And it will be distributed tomorrow, it will be available. And is now they already have it they are going to distribute it tomorrow morning to a lot of people in New York City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Joining me now is Dr. Anne Rimoin. She teaches at UCLA's epidemiology department. Thank you so much for being with us.
ANNE RIMOIN, PROFESSOR, UCLA DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY: Pleasure.
CHURCH: Well, as the WHO launched its trial testing existing drugs to compare treatments, President Trump was touting the benefits of the anti-malarial drugs at his daily briefing. He talked about one man whose life was saved, but some people have actually died as a result of using these drugs. How much hope do you think these anti-malarial drugs offer, and do you support they use starting Tuesday apparently?
RIMOIN: It's an interesting situation, because we've never been collectively so concerned about having drugs in place, and needing them in such at such an urgent time.
Now these drugs that we're talking about, a specific type of chloroquine, are drugs that have been around since the 40s, you know, known to be fairly safe and tolerable in standard doses. But they've never been used in this capacity and there's very little data to suggest that they actually work.
[03:10:04]
You know, we worry about any kind of mass distribution of drugs even an emergency use setting when there is not enough data for on the safe efficacy for this particular indication.
CHURCH: Right.
RIMOIN: So, I think that the idea of giving this to so many people in such a short period of time without any understanding of the true side effects or the effectiveness of it, is not well founded.
CHURCH: Right, and President Trump also said at his briefing that he wants to open up the United States in a matter of weeks, not months despite the rising number of the coronavirus cases, because he says we're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem. What's your response to that?
RIMOIN: I think it's not very well grounded in science, or what we've seen from any other country. That we have to be learning from the global experience, we're not different biologically than any other than people in any other place in the world.
The countries that have been able to go through this quickly and be able to have less stringent lockdowns, are countries that have personal protective equipment, that have massive capacity for testing and contact tracing. They are unprecedented capacity of and cooperation between all sectors. Social, political, economic.
And they have real national strategy and leadership along with many more hospital beds and hospital capacity to manage the number of patients coming in. In United States right now we do not have those things in order. And as a result, it just doesn't make any sense that within two weeks we will be able to start opening things up.
CHURCH: The bigger part of the story, as you mentioned the availability of ventilators and personal protective gear, why do you think President Trump seems reluctant at this time to implement his power under the Defense Production Act.
He's there, he hasn't implemented it but he has the authority to do this now to get companies to make more masks and ventilators. Many of them so people don't die, and so the doctors and nurses are not putting their own lives at risk. And how important is it that he does this sooner rather than later? What's he waiting for do you think?
RIMOIN: I don't know. But I will say that it is critical that we have maximum capacity to be able to handle PPE or to have PPE and to have enough ventilators and all of the associated supplies and equipment that are required to be treating the number of cases that we are anticipating.
It is -- it is not -- it's not possible to be able to manage without the PPE that we need and many, many people are going to die, and people are going to have to start making decisions about triage and who's going to get a ventilator and who won't if those things do not starts coming into production. So, as far as I'm concerned, the sooner that this happens the better. We're already late.
CHURCH: Yes.
RIMOIN: It's time to get moving.
CHURCH: And no doctor wants to make that selfish choice decision at all at this time or any time.
RIMOIN: Exactly.
CHURCH: And of course, we are seeing these two parallel universe is right now of doctors and nurses working on the front line saving lives and pleading for more personal protective equipment, while on the other hand some people not taking social distancing measures seriously, not staying home, even out partying on beaches and in bars.
How do you feel when you see these two colliding worlds, and why are people not getting that message loud and clear about just how serious this is?
RIMOIN: It's -- it's an interesting phenomenon and a worrisome phenomenon. I think that it is so hard for most people to really understand that this is reality. That people are in a sense of denial, that they just can't believe that this is true, and changing behavior and getting people to do things that are so far out of their comfort zone, it's difficult even under the best of circumstances.
But also, when you are facing something like a virus, which is, you know, such an existential threat for so many people, I think it just, I think -- I think that that's the biggest problem.
You know, we've seen this, we've seen this with Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in West Africa, you know I've been working on Ebola for the last several years, and working in the DRC for 20 years.
And I'll tell you, you know, epidemics are difficult and they are hard to get people to act on the -- you know, for the good of society. And especially when it's not something that they understand or understand the mechanism so well.
[03:15:04]
CHURCH: Just incredible, isn't it? Dr. Anne Rimoin, thank you so much for talking with us. And again, we salute you, we salute all of your colleagues and for all of those out on the front line waiting for more equipment. We just find this extraordinary, but thank you so much for speaking with us. I appreciate it.
RIMOIN: My pleasure. My pleasure.
CHURCH: And China's Hubei province has announced travel restrictions for most of the region will be lifted Wednesday. The world's first coronavirus case was reported from Hubei province three months ago. CNN's Steven Jiang joins us now live from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven. Of course, this is very encouraging news but how sure can we be that this is reliable given China's lack of transparency throughout this outbreak, and how sure can they be that another wave of the virus won't occur?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, data reliability is always a big question mark on the minds of many people. I think we discussed this yesterday. Even the central government here of course, do acknowledges, even as they have effectively stem the spread of this virus nationwide, they are still expecting sporadic infections and local outbreaks to continue, because of the second wave, potential second wave of infections you just mention.
But still, with having said that, this is a major, major milestone in terms of lifting of all these very stringent restrictions, lockdown measures placed on Wuhan and the rest of the province since January. Really trapping millions of peoples in their homes for over two months. Wreaking havoc to their lives and livelihood.
So according to the latest announcement from the Hubei's provincial authorities, starting tomorrow on Wednesday with the exception of Wuhan, all people deemed healthy by the government as reflected in a very important green health QR code on their mobile phones will be allowed to leave Hubei.
And also starting on Wednesday migrant workers in Wuhan deemed healthy with that green QR code who have also tested negative for the virus will be bust outside of the city to their work locations.
Now for the rest of the Wuhan that they should be looking forward to is the 8th of April. That's when all people with that green QR code would be allow to leave the city, as well as the province. So, this is really a lot of people have been hoping for a long time. And already within city limits we have seen officials removed road blocks, checkpoints.
They have also allowed some workers to return to their jobs, they have resumed limited bus services, and workers have been deep cleaning and disinfecting subway trains and stations, really all preparing for this prospect and now they have a date to look forward the 8th of April. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes. Again, as I say very encouraging if all this is based in reality. And of course, talk to us about how markets are likely to respond to this, and how quickly China feels it might be able to get its economy up and running and factories working again.
JIANG: I think presumably the markets will welcome this news, but of course they may be, the investors may be cautiously optimistic as well, because this is a very delicate balance the authorities are trying to strike here. Even as they announce this news we have now, you know, seen the latest news from the latest numbers from Wuhan which is on Monday they recorded that new locally transmitted case after five days with no local cases. That case involved a Wuhan doctor. So, this is the kind of reality check even as they continue to report dwindling -- a dwindling numbers within this country and most cases being imported which is why they really strengthen their screening and quarantine targeting international arrivals.
But still, as you said earlier, this potential second wave of infections very much on the minds of many people including officials here. But they do want to get the economic engine ramp up again, because the first two months of the year they have seen horrific economic data.
All these investment numbers as well as, you know, other output have plummeted. And so, this an economy that may be experiencing its first contraction in four decades. So, they want to get people back to work to return, people to a sense of normalcy but it's very, very delicate in terms balance they're trying -- they're trying to strike. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes. Most definitely. Steven Jiang bringing us the latest there from Beijing. Many thanks.
We'll take a short break here. Still to come, the novel coronavirus means an uncertain future for so many people who are no longer working. After this short break a closer look at the jobs being lost and the livelihoods at stake. Back in a moment.
[03:20:00]
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CHURCH: The U.S. stock market closed in the red despite aggressive measures from the Federal Reserve. The Dow dipped by 3 percent, the NASDAQ ended down about a quarter of 1 percent, and the S&P 500 was down nearly 3 percent.
The slide in the markets come after the U.S. Senate again failed to push forward a stimulus package. Democrats have blocked the measure over concerns it prioritizes corporate industry over U.S. workers. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says they were optimistic about making a deal on Tuesday.
Now this comes as economists are predicting recessions worldwide. So, let's bring in CNN business emerging markets editor, John Defterios in Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, John. So, how likely is it that we will face a global recession, or even a depression. Some people are mentioning that possibility.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Probably the biggest challenge for the United States since the Great Depression, Rosemary, I think that's accurate. And it's pretty clear now that the second and third quarter we are going to see a very deep recession, so it carries through September.
We heard from the IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva who said it will be equal to, if not worse, than what we saw 10 years ago during the global financial crisis. I think that's being actually conservative. She was attending a G20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting that was held under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia, and use the opportunity to talk about the developing world who are often overlooking these countries.
Let's take a look at the big five as I call them here from India, Indonesia, Brazil, you have Nigeria there as well with his huge challenge going forward because they are big populations, these are total of two billion people.
And what the IMF managing director was saying that they are under the dollars squeeze because the dollar has been rising, they don't have the wherewithal for fiscal stimulus right now financially, and they need support on health care front at the same time.
Just take India as an example, 1.3 billion people, four times the size of the United States. The prime minister announced the lockdown yesterday, and the market reaction was quite violent actually, the main index was down 13 percent, the rupee fell to a record low.
And we've seen some stabilization today but it kind of outlines the challenge, we're not talking about these hugely populated countries, and the challenges that they face going forward. Just trying to solve the problem and contain the virus.
CHURCH: Indeed, and John, in the United States, as we mentioned, Republicans and Democrats both playing politics by the way with a delayed stimulus plan, while Asian markets rally in response to injections of government stimulus money.
Let's look at those numbers. Look there, Japan's Nikkei up more than 7 percent, Seoul KOSPI up more than 8 percent, Hang Seng up more than 4 percent. I mean, these are encouraging numbers, it shows you what happens when governments are able to inject some money into the economy. What does that tell us? What does that tell politicians in the United States?
[03:25:05]
DEFTERIOS: Well, it's a great question you pose, Rosemary. I'll tell you why, because they are not squabbling on Capitol Hill about the $2 trillion. We know the numbers there; they are fine-tuning the package so you can squabble all you want.
But the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Central Bank came in with some serious firepower and said there is no top here to the support they are going to provide. And they even targeted towards mains street.
So, this is a very clear signal as you suggested the Asian markets have rallied. It's interesting to note at the same time that the countries I was talking about, for example, India, Indonesia, the Philippines were not seeing the market rally because they are under pressure.
Now I think there is a lost opportunity here, I talked about the G20 meeting that was taken place virtually that was held by Saudi Arabia, they're talking about a task force and greater collaboration. Rosemary, 10 years ago we went through the crisis, it was the G20 that
came together that developed in the developing world, and it's not helping right now that you have people like Donald Trump who don't support multilateral institutions, and U.S.-China relations are strained right now, particularly on the trade front.
So, I think this is going to be a mistake. The leaders who will have a virtual meeting in the next few days, and they should come together and support the developing world, that's not happening. But you have the big four, the U.S., China, European Union, and Japan, they are providing the stimulus and that's why you see the rally today, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. John Defterios bringing us the latest from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks.
The pandemic is already hitting global economies and in the United States and could ruin many restaurant owners and employees.
CNN's Kyung Lah has more on the impact of the virus from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing guys?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just been a completely life altering experience from start to finish. And within a week, I mean, this is unbelievable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we have a two ounce --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like the virus spreading across the globe, the economic damage leaves no restaurant untouched.
JOSH SOUDER, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, I.E. ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: We would have all the seats filled,
LAH: All of the seats.
SOUDER: It would be line out the door.
LAH: California stay at home orders to fight coronavirus change the entire industry in an instant.
SOUDER: We went from being here about the franchise, to basically running it to go business. You know, I haven't slept. I'm worried about having a heart attack to be perfectly honest with you.
LAH: With no diners, the drunken crab is hem reaching thousands of dollars a day. Restaurants a sign of what's to come in the U.S. economy. The industry estimates up to seven million people will lose their jobs in the next three months. Nearly half of all service workers.
Josh Souder already forced to make that hard choice.
SOUDER: I had to, you know, I was forced to lay off 75 people. At first you thinking about them, OK, I feel horrible for them. And then they have to go home and tell their family I just got laid off.
JAY BOCKEN, RESTAURANT GENERAL MANAGER: I called my wife over the phone and said, honey, I'm on my way home and she just said she pretty much immediately knew.
LAH: Laid off from the drunken crab, former general manager Jay Bocken immediately filed for unemployment. One of the 2.25 million Americans that Goldman Sachs estimates filed jobless claims in the first week and there's more expected in the weeks to come.
BOCKEN: You're talking and thousands and thousands of people looking for work simultaneously. It's going to hit every aspect of life and the government needs to react and help us get through this. That's the only way it's going to work. People are not going to be able to support their families for more than two months.
LAH: And already signs money is getting tight. Outside this west Hollywood bar, employees only align. Inside, the small staff preps meals, free meals for workers who show a pay stub. Like bartender Geri Courtney-Austein.
GERI COURTNEY-AUSTEIN, BARTENDER: All of us like immediately lost their jobs I think as of Monday or Tuesday.
LAH: Are you worried about how long this is going to last?
COURTNEY-AUSTIN: One hundred percent, yes. If it goes on months like I don't think any of us have any idea what we're going to do.
TOM SOPIT, RESTAURANT OWNER: The moment this happened we're going to dig yourself in a hole regardless.
LAH: Are you scared?
SOPIT: I'm concerned.
LAH: Restaurant owner Tom Sopit's rent is $1,000 per day. He doesn't want to fire anyone, but this is a new reality he will have to face.
SOPIT: Yes, all we can do is help each other.
LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: They are on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus. But health care workers in Spain say they don't have the tools and equipment to fight the outbreak. We'll explain when we come back.
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[03:30:00]
CHURCH: The coronavirus numbers out of Italy are simply staggering. Officials are reporting nearly 64,000 cases and at least 6,000 deaths. But there was a sliver of hope. On Monday, Italian officials say they had the lowest daily increase in cases since the outbreak started on February 21st. They say this could mean infections are on a downward trend, and Spain is paying tribute to its health workers, its healthcare workers, nearly 5,000 are infected, that's more than a 10th of the known coronavirus cases in that country.
And journalists Al Goodman joins me now, from Madrid. Good to see you, Al. So, after Italy, of course Spain is the 2nd hardest hit country, let's talk about the situation there right now. And what's been done to try to help the people of Spain.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary. While the Spanish health minister, speaking on national television on Monday, he said the government will guarantee that all the medical supplies get to where they are needed. All the protective gear will get to where it's needed, but there are some groups that have some doubts about that starting with the medical workers. As you just mentioned that figure is between 10 and 12 percent of all the cases.
Now many of them have been complaining for weeks now, either through their unions or individually, that they just don't not have enough of the masks and the gloves, to take care of the issues in the emergency rooms and through that the hospitals that there is a dire need of respirators, for the people who are gasping literally for air.
Another group are the Madrid funeral workers, the Madrid's city funeral, there's about 500 of them that said they are not going to be transporting bodies, from hospitals to burial sites or incineration sites, because they also, lack the equipment and that has pushed local authorities here in Madrid to designate a major ice rink, (inaudible)--
(BAD AUDIO)
-- as a temporary morgue and the military has already started taking bodies from hospitals, where their temporary morgues in the hospitals after someone dies, it stays at the hospital in a separate section, those are filling up. So there is a lot of dire need, and the authorities say, there is some cult, because the number of people in intensive care has declined slightly as a percentage of the overall group.
Some officials saying the peak in Spain maybe coming soon, but they still -- if that happens, they still would not lift the lockdown order, to stay at home order, which is due very soon to go in to effect, to remain until April 11th, it's a Saturday, the day before Easter, Rosemary.
[03:35:13]
CHURCH: Clearly still a lot of people out on the street there. Al Goodman, bringing us that live report from Madrid. Many thanks. And as we heard from Al, healthcare workers in Spain, they're worried about the difficult situation they find themselves in. They say there are more patients in hospital beds and the lack of protective equipment. What we are hearing everywhere. CNN's Scott McLean has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every night Spaniards gather on their balconies to applaud the nation's healthcare workers, little do they know just how much they deserve it. Not only are the hospital short on space, frontline health care workers say they are dangerously short on protective equipment.
Do you feel safe at work?
Not completely, it reaches a point where we don't stop to think about it otherwise we would not go into see the patience and we need to treat them, he says.
Eduardo Fernandez, is an ICU nurse and a Union Rep, who says staff are forced to reuse single-use masks, because there simply aren't enough. Already more than one in 10 people in Spain with a confirmed coronavirus case are healthcare workers.
I'm not surprised at all he says, in fact I'm sure the numbers are higher because they don't test us. The protection measures are decreasing, as we are running out of material, and now well, we're using garbage bags.
You have to be pretty desperate to use a garbage bag as a medical gown.
He says it's a desperate measure, but it's better than nothing.
His union created this how to video to teach staff stitch to teach staff, a skill they never learned in medical school. The thicker the bag the better. Another doctor fearing repercussions agreed to speak with us unanimously, he says he's exhausted, overwhelmed and even showing mild coronavirus symptoms, but he has no choice but to show up for work.
The situation at the hospital is saturation, way beyond 100 percent capacity he says, it's around 180 to 200 percent.
This video shows patients lying on the floor at the Madrid hospital. The Madrid health department confirmed its authenticity, but says it shows only a snapshot in an especially busy time. And that conditions quickly improved. Hotels and even a convention center in Madrid, are now housing patients. The doctor tells us in his hospital, there isn't enough medication, and both protective equipment and ventilators are being rationed.
What has been the hardest thing for you personally?
To decide who survives. And who you can give the resources to knowing that many of those people with mechanical respirators, and proper intensive care units, could survive, he says. Not to tell many people that their family member will have to die, because we don't have the resources. The regional government did not deny either of these accounts, and instead blaming the federal government for wide spread shortages across the country. Madrid is expecting some $25 million worth of protective gear to this week. It can't come soon enough. Scott Mclean, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And across the United States, healthcare workers say shortages of masks and other safety supplies, are putting their lives at risk in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, CNN's Drew Griffin spoke with some doctors who are growing increasingly anxious as the days go by.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: From the front lines, the lack of ventilators, personal protection equipment and face masks, is at a critical stage, where medical workers from across the country say, there are asked to do things that a week ago would have brought reprimand or even termination. Re-used supplies.
DR. SOMIL VIRADIA, BASED IN CALIFORNIA: You currently have to check out a mask in order to see a patient that is suspected to have a coronavirus. And after that you actually have to use the mask, the same one for five more patients.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have probably three to five days of N95 masks left.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am down to my last n95 mask, and I'm reusing it. It's unacceptable that we're sending medical professionals like lambs to the slaughter house.
GRIFFIN: Doctor Patrice Harris, president of the American medical association says, what she is hearing from her physicians, he's just unprecedented.
DR. PATRICE HARRIS, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: They are saying they're having to reuse mask and they are saying they are being asked to re-sterilize masks, all things which in normal times we would certainly not do. May even be grounds for discipline or dismissal for violating routine and infection control policies and practices.
GRIFFIN: New York has now topped Washington State as the new epicenter. And the epicenter of critically short supplies and staffing, the mayor issuing dire warnings to federal officials.
[03:40:04]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we do not get more ventilators in the next 10 days people will die.
GRIFFIN: Dr. Nisha Mehta runs two closed Facebook groups with about 65,000 physicians across the country. She says a doctor in New York told her conditions are so dire, he compared it to 3rd world health care.
DR. NISHA MEHTA, BASED IN NORTH CAROLINA: He said this is worse than anything I've seen in any of the 3rd world countries that I've been in. I feel like if there is such a thing as a 4th world countries, that's what our hospital system is already.
GRIFFIN: Supplies are steadily increasing, but not enough to fill exploding demand in state after state. Where hospitals are already at critical shortages were preparing for them. In San Diego, the UCSD system posted this guide. Requiring good stewardship of masks. The memo warning staff, inappropriate use of N95 respirators, could easily end up with minimal supplies during the peak of this pandemic.
The bigger threat is running out of health care workers, because of the lack of protection. In (inaudible) New Jersey, 35 physicians and nurses, are no longer working, at Holy Names Medical Center, because they are either confirmed or suspected of having covid-19. Chief medical officer, Dr. Adam Jarrett, says those supplies and staffing are holding up, he is not sure for how long.
DR. ADAM JARRETT, HOLY NAMES MEDICAL CENTER, NEW JERSEY: I'm very concerned that if things don't slow down, that the supply chains do not open up, and we don't figure out a way to get the nurses in here, from the federal government, from the military, in a week or so from now, I may not be able to the feel the same way about the fact I have not had to compromise here.
GRIFFIN: One question being asked. How long will doctors and nurses stay on the job, risking their own lives, if asked to do so without proper protection?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are all scared as health care providers, that working and bringing home to our families.
GRIFFIN: Several healthcare workers are already reporting illnesses. If that trend continues and doctors and nurses can't go to work, because they are sick or worse frightened of getting sick, that can only deepen this crisis. Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And for many people, the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus is causing stress and anxiety. When we return, tips from an expert on how to calm your nerves during this unprecedented pandemic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: This pandemic is causing all kinds of stress for people from economic strains, to mental health issues. My next guest is a motivational speaker, who has some ideas on how to cope. Jay Shetty, thank you so much for joining us.
JAY SHETTY, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here. CHURCH: I want to ask you, what you would say to all our viewers
right now who are worried about what lies ahead both economically and medically.
[03:45:07]
SHETTY: I think one of the biggest things I'd love to start with, is that I feel right now, due to the fear and uncertainty and anxiety, one of the biggest mistakes were making, is that we are feeling guilty, and we are judging ourselves. So, we are judging ourselves and not being the perfect parent, the perfect person, the perfect partner right now. That this is a time of transition.
It is something we have never experienced before, and we have to give ourselves the time to adapt, we have to be patient with ourselves, and stop judging and quilting ourselves to begin with. Both of those emotions are not good for our immunity, not good for our mental health, and we don't need it to help us move forward.
CHURCH: That is great advice, and I know that you're holding daily meditation and relaxation classes for people online. Talk to us about the easiest meditation, breathing exercises that you can share right now, with our viewers to help them cope with what's going on right now in the world.
SHETTY: Absolutely. I'm so grateful, that 10's of thousands of people are joining me every single day on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to meditate, every single morning or afternoon, and evening wherever they are and one of my favorite simplest meditation practices, is becoming aware of our breathing, something each and every one of us can do.
So what I recommended is put your left palm on your stomach and breathing in, for a count of one, two, three, four, and then breathing out for a count of more than four. One, two, three, four and more. If you do that three to five times every single day, any moment where you really feel that acute anxiety or pressure, it will just re-ground you and bring you back to feeling centered and balance. So, breathing for four, and breathe out for more than four.
CHURCH: So, Jay, why does that calm people? Why does it soothe them? And so to give them some sort of center?
SHETTY: Absolutely. What are the challenges we feel in our life is that our mind and body are often not aligned, so sometimes our mind is racing around, and our body is feeling sluggish and wishing it was in bed, or sometimes our body are running around and our minds are feeling really kind of tired and drained.
When we breathe in and out and bring our awareness to that, from our mind in our body, we are re aligning our mind and body. So we are not adding that friction and tension anymore with our body and mind being comes to alignment. So, bringing them back together, bringing them to harmony and unison, helps us to be mentally and physically present to where we are right now.
CHURCH: And what do you say to some people who would suggest, that why used meditation when it doesn't change my circumstances in any way. What I do 10 minutes of meditation the world is still where I left it 10 minutes before that. What do you say to them?
SHETTY: Yes. Exactly it's true that the world outside of you is not going to change, the world inside of you can. And why do you want to carry anxiety, stress and pressure, for the rest of the day, after meditating not only can you be free of some of these worries, but you also have more clarity, fresh eyes, to come back to the same challenges, with more stillness, more calm and more peace. Which actually helps you process them far better than you had before. So, it's like de-contouring, or reducing the weight on your mind, so that you can actually approach your challenges with more enthusiasm and energy.
CHURCH: And for a lot of people at the moment, if they are self- isolating or quarantining by themselves or with their family, there are frustrations that come with that, how do they continue to have shared experiences and how do they get involved on, say, your online meditation?
SHETTY: Absolutely. Well one of the things that we are searching for right now, is not just shared space, but shared experiences. So you don't just want to be in the same room as each other, with everyone on their phones, you won't have an experience together, so just because we can't be in the same space, doesn't mean we can't schedule virtual breakfast, lunch, dinners, virtual workouts with people, virtual game nights, virtual movie nights.
There are so many ways of still having shared experiences and if someone in your life had a birthday or an anniversary, or a big moment they are about to miss, still make it a point to commemorate, and celebrate that day with them virtually. And make sure that you let them know how special they are.
So we are doing the same thing every single morning at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time, its 12:30 p.m. Eastern, and every single day, I'm guiding a meditation, where 10's of thousands of people from across the world are gathering to meditate and find calm and peace and unifying together. That's a shared experience that where vibrating across the whole world.
[03:50:03]
CHURCH: And where do they go to find that?
SHETTY: You could find that on Facebook, on YouTube or Instagram live, every single day, so whichever app you're on, we are there.
CHURCH: Right. And so for a lot of people, watching it's a difficult thing if they've lost their job, you know, for them they are wondering how they are going to feed their family, if someone gets sick in the family, how they're going to look after them, what do you say to those people?
SHETTY: I know, that's a really tough situation to be in, and I deeply send my prayers and meditation to them, (inaudible) what a challenging situation that is for so many people. I know people I met scenario, the first thing I'd say is that, I'm really hoping that a lot of government officials, a lot of support help from the country, and the nation is going to come their way as well, and so that's something I'm really hoping for.
The second thing I would say, is that in that scenario, really focus on these deep moments and exchanges that you have with the people you love, like the best you can do is really saver those experiences, and really be present in those experiences and support them in the best way that you can. And I really think that that's the most important thing.
CHURCH: Jay Shetty, so inspirational. This is really important to pass on, these sort of experience for people particularly at this time, a time that the whole world, all of humanity is experiencing this. We thank you so very much.
SHETTY: Thank you so much for having me, such a pleasure.
CHURCH: And celebrities are using having their pull to push social distancing, what they suggest you do with the extra time you may have. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: And in the United States the governor of New York is also pushing the stay at home message, New York has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with over 20,000 cases and counting. So, Governor Andrew Cuomo reached out to a few of his celebrity friends to help drives the message home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT DE NIRO, ACTOR: Hello, this is Robert de Niro, we all need to stay home. We need to stop the spread of this virus, and we can only do it together. Not just to protect ourselves, but to protect others and all the older people you love. Please. I'm watching you.
[03:55:00]
DANNY DEVITO, ACTOR: Hi, everybody its Danny DeVito, and I'm asking you from the bottom of my heart, all over the state of New York, stay home. I mean everybody. I mean, we got this virus, this pandemic and you know, young people can get it, and they can transmit it to older people, and the next thing you know, I'm out of there. So, Governor Cuomo asked me to ask you, please do us a favor, all of us and stay home. Not spread this virus around. Thank you. Watch a little TV why don't you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey guys, I got a message for all you young people out there, who think that it's businesses as usual, it's not, we really have to all stay at home, it's the only way that we are going to stop the spread of this virus, and it's only going to work if we all do it together. And even if you're not worried about yourself, think about protecting the older people in your life who you love, who are very susceptible. So, please stay at home, and take this is an opportunity to, you know, take a breath and maybe read some books, or watch the movies, or take up a hobby.
What I've always been interested in chainsaw art, never had the time to explore it and now through the miracle of the internet some tutorials and Etsy. I've been able to really get into it. I mean, I know nothing about it but I'm learning every day, so stay home. Remember we're all in New York tough. Governor Cuomo and I thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we got the mustache, we did some quick lines and we're here from the bottom of the lip, this is the top of the lip, and we should be here where the mouth opening is and I'm going to start cutting this away, his lips kind of round out, and down in, and then I will be doing all the beard underneath here. And it's OK if yours doesn't look exact, the whole point is to be artistic, and the goal is to make your own and have your own design.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A powerful message for everyone. Stay home. And thanks for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church, I'm back with more news right after the short break. Do stay with us.
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END
