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The Lead with Jake Tapper

School Changes; Keeping Safe; President Trump Invokes Defense Production Act. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired March 18, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: And we are going to begin to see military medical capacity and personnel begin moving into place -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, it is stunning.

Barbara Starr, thank you so much for that report from the Pentagon.

Special coverage continues now with Jake Tapper.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

And, of course, we begin with the health lead.

President Trump announcing this afternoon he is invoking the Defense Production Act. That will enable him to try to get more supplies to health care workers quickly, the president saying he sees the fight against the coronavirus as a war.

As officials desperately try to stem the spread of the deadly virus, the U.S. surgeon general warning today that we should all act as if we are infected, and limit our interactions accordingly, to keep this pandemic from getting worse, to keep it from spreading to those who might die from it; 120 people in the U.S. have died from the coronavirus so far, more than 7,000 in confirmed infected.

The actual number of infected assuredly much higher because of the lag in testing. As you can see in this graph, that is up from about 1,000 cases just a week ago, the White House cautioning today that we will continue to see in the next week a further spike in confirmed cases as testing increases.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins joins me now live from White House.

And, Kaitlan, President Trump said today he is invoking the Defense Production Act. Explain to our viewers what exactly that means.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, it gives the present these emergency powers where he can go and tell private companies they need to ramp up production of a certain product in order to protect national defense, typically used -- see it used for something like military equipment, something of that nature.

This is a chance where we could see it used for something like medical equipment, which we were hearing from hospitals, of course, they say, is in short supply, though we should note the president said -- quote -- "just in case we need it" is the reason why he's signing it today, though, certainly, health experts have said they do need it.

TAPPER: And, Kaitlan, President Trump also said that the U.S. is securing more ventilators. But you asked a very important question. You tried to ask, what's taken him so long to invoke the Defense Production Act, which people have been calling for him to do for weeks, and, indeed, what's taking them so long to take it as seriously as he seems to be now?

COLLINS: Yes, these ventilators are crucial. They are going to help save lives. And doctors say that, if they don't get enough, they're going to be essentially deciding who gets one and who doesn't, who lives and who dies, potentially, they say, is their worst-case scenario.

So it was a good thing that the president did it today. It is what they have been calling on him to do. But they have been calling on him to do it for weeks.

So listen to how he responded to that question in the Briefing Room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hospitals are opposed to ventilators too. And when we have thousands of ventilators, it sounds like a lot. But this is a very unforeseen thing. Nobody ever thought of these numbers. Nobody ever saw numbers like this even with regard to testing.

Normally, we wouldn't be doing testing. And they decided to do it. Very, very hard to ramp up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, Jake, we should also note, I asked two days ago, how many ventilators exactly do we have nationwide? The president said he would get us an exact number. But, today, they still have not gotten us that exact number of how many we have, so we can know, how many do we need?

TAPPER: Yes.

And the simple truth, if the number was enough, they would tell us.

Kaitlan Collins, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

I'm going to talk to Defense Secretary Mark Esper in the next hour about this new action the president is taking invoking this new act.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, saying today that the state he runs is in desperate need of thousands more ventilators and also ICU hospital beds. The governor also mandating that all nonessential businesses need to keep at least 50 percent of their employees working from home.

Let's bring in CNN's Shimon Prokupecz, who in Times Square, cordoned off from the crowd there.

Shimon, there are exemptions to this 50 percent working from home requirement?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: There are exemptions, and they are important exemptions -- exemptions, because these are the essential workers, anywhere from doctors to nurses to first responders, emergency workers, firefighters, police officers.

In the coming days, these are the people that are going to be on the front line. And the governor says these exemptions do not apply to them. They need the nurses to keep working. They need the doctors to keep working, and, in fact, they need even more nurses. And that is a big fear right now with the government that they do not have enough nurses.

They're asking -- they're looking for more nurses to come in and try and staff some of these hospitals for what's to come. So there are going to be a lot of exemptions. And that's going to be mostly for the first responders and the people that are going to be on the front line of this as the virus increases.

TAPPER: Those doctors, nurses and hospital employees need more protective equipment. They don't have enough masks. They don't have enough personal protective equipment.

Shimon Prokupecz, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Let's bring in CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen now.

And, Elizabeth, Governor Cuomo announced that a medical ship would be brought to the banks of New York. He said up to 50,000 more hospital beds might be necessary in the next 45 days. He's also pushing for opening temporary medical facilities across New York.

[15:05:11]

What more needs to be done, do you think?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, more of that, and more of helping hospitals that are already there.

We just heard from our Barbara Starr about bringing in mobile hospitals as well. I think there are three areas that we need to be thinking about, more beds, more equipment, which you just mentioned, Jake, and more workers.

There is a hospital, Jake, in Western Massachusetts that is missing 160 employees because they might have been exposed to the virus. So, of course they can't come in and work. They're not sick, but they might have been exposed to the virus. That is a huge problem. And, hopefully, with all these resources that

we're talking about, that there will be more workers to fill in some of these gaps.

TAPPER: And Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who I'm going to talk to in the next hour, he said the Pentagon will make available up to five million health care masks and other personal protective equipment from the Pentagon's Strategic Reserves.

Presumably, that will help prevent the spread of the virus. But five million, is that going to be enough?

COHEN: You know, nobody knows what numbers we need. Let's just put that out there now. Nobody is sure. So we're trying things like this.

Another thing that they're trying is that these same N95 respirators that we have heard so much about, these masks, they're also used in construction and in industry. And so there's been a request from the federal government: Hey, guys, can you please take what you have stockpiled and hand it over to the health care sector?

That could certainly help. The fear is, is that people may already be cutting corners on this personal protective equipment. Doctors and nurses perhaps already are using surgical masks, instead of N95s, or maybe going without the face shields that they should be using.

This would be disastrous. We have to protect our health care workers.

TAPPER: Is the country prepared for these health care workers to get sick because of the lack of proper masks, the lack of personal protective equipment?

COHEN: No, we are not prepared. I mean, if already in this one hospital in Massachusetts they're missing 160 people, again, not because they're sick, but because they have been -- they have might have been exposed, that is a big problem we are not equipped for.

And you can make more masks. You can put up tents and get more beds, but you can't instantly train medical professionals. That is a big problem. These people are not instantly replaceable.

So, for example, do we need to bring retired doctors out of their retirement? Do we need to use medical students in different ways than we have been using them? Those are some of the questions that need to be asked now, not later.

TAPPER: So, when I did this show yesterday, we reached the sad landmark of 100 fatalities due to the coronavirus. We're now at 120. That's a 20 percent increase in just a day.

If we keep doing a 20 percent increase, this thing is going to be exponential in terms of fatalities. How bad could it get?

COHEN: It could get much worse.

I think Dr. Anthony Fauci has said it very clearly and repeatedly. This is going to get worse before it gets better. We are on the upswing of this outbreak. We are not on the downswing.

Hopefully, if we all do what we're supposed to do, the social distancing measures, all of those things, we will see a peak, but it will be a small hill, rather than a tall mountain. And that's going to help a lot, because if we face a mountainous peak, that's a lot of people who need to be taken care of all at one time.

If we can keep it down to a small hill, if we all do our parts, just as we were called during world wars to do our part for the country, if we can all do our part to social distance, we can keep that increase as small as possible.

TAPPER: All right, Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta, thank you so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

TAPPER: Coming up next: a stark new warning for young people -- why officials say millennials should not act or think they are immune.

Plus, exercising outside, ordering takeout, what is still safe to do during this pandemic? What is OK?

We will talk to our medical experts, including one who was infected with Ebola, coming up.

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TAPPER: Millennials and Gen Z, the Trump administration has a new warning just for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: There are concerning reports coming out of France and Italy about some young people getting seriously ill and very seriously ill in the ICUs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Really, really bad news.

Dr. Birx says that many young people were at risk because they didn't think they would get sick. Early reports, of course, suggested that the most vulnerable in their 60, 70s and 80s.

Here with us now, Juliette Kayyem, the former assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former director of Detroit's Health Department, and Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health at Columbia University Medical Center.

Thousands packed on the beach in Florida, presumably for spring break.

Juliette, is it time to shut down beaches completely during this?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Absolutely. There's just -- it's sort of incomprehensible at this stage that

either people haven't gotten the lesson or mayors or governors are not coming on stronger. We now -- last time you and I talked, we now have alignment between the federal government and states and locals.

Time is short. This is not going to be forever. We are just trying to slow the spread, so that we don't overwhelm a capacity that's already hitting sort of a hard point right now. So I think that whatever tools are available for mayors and governors and the federal government, use them now.

This is negligence on people's parts and negligence a little bit on public safety part.

TAPPER: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been saying that each one of us needs to act as if we have the virus, and we need to expect and act as if everyone else has it.

[15:15:03]

Today, the U.S. surgeon general echoed the sentiment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEROME ADAMS, SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: You could test negative and still be early in the incubation period and still spread coronavirus.

So, if you're sick, just like you did, stay at home. We should be acting as if we have the virus, as Tony Fauci says, so that we can protect one another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That's the surgeon general talking, I believe, to Savannah Guthrie, who is broadcasting from her basement.

Dr. El-Sayed, what do we need -- broadcasters and medical professionals, what do we need to convince people that they really need to be staying home as much as possible?

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, FORMER DIRECTOR, DETROIT HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Look, if you have got a pair of lungs and you're breathing, you're at risk.

So, don't pretend just because you're young and the likelihood of serious disease is low that you can't get it. You absolutely can. And we have to remember, it's not only just us, but public health is about what we do collectively for everyone.

And if you're not worried about your own health, I want you to think about an older person who you love, maybe that neighbor, a grandmother, a grandfather, somebody who means a lot to you. And I want you to realize that if we have a serious spread of disease, the probability of death in that group of people over the age of 70, you're talking about 10 percent, one in 10. And so we have got to protect ourselves, because all of us are at

risk. But we have also got to protect everyone else. And our choices right now in these moments are going to mean the difference between watching our health system get overwhelmed in the next two weeks to a month to two months, or potentially being able to flatten that curve, and make sure that our medical professionals on the front line have what it takes and are able to save lives in this situation.

TAPPER: Dr. Craig Spencer, I'm sure you have seen the images we have all seen, bars and restaurants packed.

Now, since then, a lot of bars and restaurants and many public spaces closed, including gyms. We have seen a lot of people exercising outside. These are some images from San Francisco yesterday, people out for walks, for jogs, rollerblading, taking a stroll, certainly not in many cases staying six feet away from everybody.

The city has an enacted a shelter-in-place guidance, but they also have said it's OK to exercise.

Dr. Spencer, what should people be doing? Should they be exercising if there are a lot of other people around exercising as well?

DR. CRAIG SPENCER, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Yes, I think it's a really good question.

And I think Dr. El-Sayed's advice is really critical here. It's not just about us. It's about all of us. And we need to think about the public and the public health. The important thing is, things maybe like running or riding a bike are different than going to the gym or interacting in large groups.

One thing that I mentioned is that, five years ago, after treating patients in West Africa, I myself had Ebola in New York City. I was treated here. There was a lot of hysteria. Everyone made Ebola jokes. And there was so much, I think, panic, and then a lot of that dissipated.

But what we're seeing, and what I know here, as someone providing care on the front lines, this is going to be completely different. What we're seeing now is really just the beginning of what could be a tidal wave of patients that overload our emergency departments and our ICUs.

And unless we all take the responsibility right now, unless we limit our exposures, whether we're young or old or immunocompetent or immunocompromised, it runs a real risk of the number of people coming into my emergency room and emergency rooms throughout the city and throughout the country overloading our capacity.

And if that's the case, not only do coronavirus patients get worse care, but our other patients, those coming in with deliveries, with heart attacks, they get worse care too. So we all need to collectively make a decision to stand up, protect our neighbors and do the right thing, which is socially distance.

TAPPER: So, just quickly, Dr. Spencer, if a friend of yours called you and said that -- and let's say it's a friend in a city, like New York, or Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, whatever, a friend in a city -- Seattle obviously is its own story, so let's exempt them -- and says, can I go for a run, can I go for a bike ride, would you have a different message for that person than maybe somebody who lives in the suburbs or in a rural area?

SPENCER: Look, I think the main point here is that people need to have some distance. It's not about being outside.

In addition to the concerns about physical health right now, we need to really focus on our mental health needs. Being inside every single day for weeks and weeks on end is going to be really, really tough. And limited interaction with humans is going to be really tough.

It's something we saw every single day in West Africa, that inability to engage, interact and touch.

I think going for a run is OK. I went for a run last night. I mean, be thoughtful about making sure you're not running less than six feet away from somebody else. But, even then, I think we just need to be thoughtful about the things where we're likely to expose others.

Going for a run, going for a bike ride is good for us. It's good for our physical health. It's good for our mental health. We just need to be thoughtful about those instances in which we can expose others.

So, going to the gym, running on a treadmill at the gym is less wise. Going out for a run, I think, right now makes a lot of sense.

TAPPER: So, go for a run, but don't go for a run in an area where there are a lot of people.

TAPPER: Juliette, the United States and Canada temporarily closed their border, with an exemption for trade. Was this just inevitable?

[15:20:01]

KAYYEM: It was.

I think just given what Canada had decided to do, which was to close itself off, this is -- this was inevitable. This is part of the surge, which is what I have been calling, which is everyone needs to conceive of what we're doing right now as the beginning, as the doctors were saying.

This is just the beginning. And the goal of what we're doing by social distancing is to simply give public health and public safety enough time to be able to -- to not be overwhelmed by the need.

So we're just trying to build capacity at this stage. So that's why you saw today this pivot to the military, to military resources, to the Defense Production Act, which a lot of us have been pushing for, to just get basically, Jake, stuff, just get stuff out there, so that our public health community can be able to treat patients, and that, so once we're able to treat patients without overwhelming the system, that's when we start to think about ending this isolation. That is basically our goal. So, the more of us who do this, who do not get sick, the faster all of us will be free. And so that's another way to present it to your children and your community.

TAPPER: Some grocery stores, Dr. El-Sayed, are offering specific times for shopping for just elderly people.

If you're elderly, if you have preexisting conditions That compromise your immunity, is it even safe to go to a grocery store or A pharmacy? Should you ask a younger person to do it for you?

EL-SAYED: I would recommend that you ask the younger person to do it for you. And they shouldn't even bring the groceries inside the home.

They should leave them at the door. And to younger folks who are worried about seniors who are relatives or friends, call, don't visit, but make sure to ask, do you need anything? Is there anything that I can do for you in a moment like this?

But always making sure that, if you're out in public, the probability, the risk that you might have been exposed goes up. And so you don't want to then expose the most vulnerable folks, these folks. And so being able to say, look, I'm going to go pick it up, but I'm going to leave it at the door.

And then, before you bring it in, wipe it down, Clorox it down, bring it into the home.

And this is the moment right now to be taking extra precautions. As the other two guests said, what we're doing right now may mean the difference between what we face in two weeks to a month.

And we have got all got to do our part.

TAPPER: In fact, if you're taking in those groceries that a younger friend has left, just take them out of the bag, and take them in the house one by one. Leave the bags outside, because studies suggest the coronavirus can linger on plastic for three days.

Dr. El-Sayed, Juliette Kayyem, Dr. Spencer, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Homeroom from home -- a new look into the virtual reality kids across the country are experiencing, going to school online, as some predict schools might be closed for the rest of the year, if not longer.

Stay with us.

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[15:27:40]

TAPPER: President Trump is closing the border, the northern border, that is.

Today, the United States and Canada announced that they will temporarily suspend nonessential travel. This does not include trade.

President Trump says this was done by -- quote -- "mutual consent."

CNN's Sara Sidner is live for us from the U.S.-Canada border.

And, Sara, what can you tell us?

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is incredibly quiet here.

The people who live around here, I am standing on the U.S. side. If I go just past there, I'll be in Canada. On one side is Blaine, the town of Blaine in the United States, in the state of Washington. The other side is Murray.

And what you're seeing is almost no traffic at all, because people have started to hear that the border is going to be shut down. We actually were able to cross into Canada, though. They have not gotten word that it has shut down right now. But what we are told is, if you go into Canada, they hand you a sheet of paper.

And that paper says you have to self-isolate for two weeks once you get into the country. And, so that alone would stop people from really wanting to do it. So we were able to go in.

And then they said, look, just turn around and go back into the United States.

We are also hearing from people who live in Canada, but are U.S. citizens, they are, of course, allowed to come back to the United States, and go back in, but now recreational travel, tourist travel, that is all going to be shut down here as some point.

What I can tell you, Jake, is, there's a lot, a lot of worry about the economy here, not just about sickness, the economy in Blaine dead tonight -- today -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right.

There are about -- almost 700 cases of coronavirus in Canada, which is a fraction of what we have in the United States.

Sara Sidner, thanks so much.

Millions of families are now facing a startling reality, public schools, private schools possibly closed for the rest of the school year.

In Kansas, the governor has already made that decision, ordering schools to remain shut down yesterday. And the governor of California says his state should be prepared to be next.

So, how do teachers, administrators, parents adapt to this new normal?

CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro sat down with one teacher to try to figure it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, who's going to be in class today?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The running list of school closings nationwide changes by the minute due to coronavirus.

For the time being, the face-to-face school day has been replaced by e-learning. Many college students may be used to logging into school, but now online learning has become the norm for students of every age.