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Don Lemon Tonight

COVID-19 Spreads Like A Wildfire Worldwide; POTUS Did Not Undergo Test For Coronavirus; GOP Lawmakers Self-Quarantined After Contact With A Carrier; Italy Under Total Lockdown; At Least 722 Known United States Coronavirus Cases, 26 Dead; Coronavirus Pandemic Impacting Schools Across United States; Super Tuesday Round II; Dow Falls Record 2,000-Plus Points On Coronavirus Fears; Wall Street Rattled By The Coronavirus Outbreak; Grand Princess Cruise Ship Arrives In Oakland With At Least 21 Confirmed Cases Of Coronavirus Aboard. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired March 09, 2020 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: They're going to learn the truth. The threat shouldn't be taken likely. But all the hype and panic is exacerbated by the administration mishandling of the crisis and the president's lies. Tell the truth. And we'll all be healthier for it.

Thank you for watching tonight. "CNN TONIGHT" with D. Lemon.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Give me the right information. Right information. I got to tell you. So, I traveled this weekend, right, you didn't see me on Thursday and Friday. We were trying to get tickets on an airplane, obviously, tickets on an airplane. No trouble.

We actually took a -- we got -- we transferred from one airport to another. Seats became open. Got the seats that we wanted. Got to sit next to each other. Checked the tickets.

There were 26 empty seats on an airplane. People aren't flying like they were. People are scared. Hotel rooms, empty. We were in Miami. We saw cruise ships going out. For the life of me, Chris, I can't understand why anybody would get on a cruise ship right now but they're doing it. You want to do it, that's your business. I would not get on a cruise ship.

But the president is saying, you know, folks are staying home. They're going to, you know, stay home and spend money. Maybe they'll do it later on.

But I got to tell you, restaurants we went out to, there were empty seats at the restaurant. Usually, this time of year, Miami is pretty busy. I got to say I didn't see a lot of folks out and about, as many as I usually see when I go down to Miami. But people are scared. They're not traveling as much. They're not going and about as much as they are.

CUOMO: Fear is a choice. Danger is real.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: I know and trust Tony Fauci. I know and trust, as you do and everybody else in America, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

LEMON: By the way, you elevated him. You called him chief doctor. He is the chief doctor of everything now. He didn't say our chief medical correspondent. You said chief doctor.

CUOMO: That's what he is.

LEMON: He is a chief doctor.

CUOMO: You know, these titles are always too --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Yes. I'm not -- I'm not disputing that. Just saying.

CUOMO: You know, there is a reason they wanted him to be surgeon general.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: So, look, now is not the time to be hyper ambitious, especially if you are at risk. You know, the older people if you check one of the boxes of the sensitivity, I don't like coming from a place of fear. I do not do it in my own life to the extent I can control it. But sometimes caution, discretion, is the better part of valor.

And right now, it's better to see how this goes and be careful. But we got to be even with how we do this. Because we don't want to tank the economy out of fear.

LEMON: No.

CUOMO: And not spending and not going out and doing things. That's why you need real information. I believe if they don't dance and they better tell us whether this president was tested and make sure he's OK because we need him at 100 percent right now. That you get the reality done, we'll deal with it.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: We always had. This country has been through with hell of a lot of tougher times than coronavirus.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: But when you fake the funk, people know it. And now, they don't know what to believe. And that can spread faster than any virus.

LEMON: Well, listen. I think the chances of the president having the, you know, coronavirus I think is pretty slim to none because he's --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I hope so.

LEMON: -- it's secondary, right? If he had -- if he had direct contact with the person who actually came down with coronavirus, then I would be concerned. But the American people have a right to know about the president and -- and his health. So, they should tell us. But the chances are, pretty slim to none, that the president especially --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I hope you are right.

LEMON: -- especially if the folks he was in direct contact with, if they haven't come down with the symptoms by now, then -- listen. I'm not a doctor, I'm speculating here. But I would think that the president is fine.

CUOMO: No, no, no, you're saying it the right way.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: Sanjay said it the right way.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: It's not like a game of tag --

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: -- where I'm it, I have it, I touch Don, now he has it. It's not the way it works.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: If you are not exhibiting symptoms, the chance of transmission is totally different.

LEMON: And let's hope they're all -- they're all OK.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

LEMON: We want all of them, Matt Gaetz, all of them, let's hope that they're all fine.

CUOMO: Look, I'm getting heat because I went after Bernie Sanders tonight trying to make sure he is being vigilant about this.

LEMON: I would -- listen. Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, President Trump, they would not be out there shaking hands --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: They all check the boxes.

LEMON: -- right now. I would not be out there giving rallies --

CUOMO: They're on their 70s. LEMON: I just wouldn't be.

CUOMO: A couple of them own that they have some health, you know, compromise --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: The president has got a little bit of weight on him. And he's -- you know, Bernie Sanders had a heart attack. They're all older. And they're among the age of people --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: One of them is going to be president for the next four years.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: I mean --

LEMON: I got to go.

CUOMO: I think they got to be careful.

LEMON: I got some important information I need to give but thank you, sir. Nice job. Nice job with the chief doctor.

CUOMO: Chief Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

LEMON: Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

CUOMO: Love you, D. Lemon.

LEMON: See you soon. You as well.

This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

We have some breaking news I want to tell you. I am going to give you a lot of numbers but I want you to pay attention because it shows you the severity of this and just how quickly it can spread. OK? So just listen, take a seat and listen to these numbers.

At least 722 people in this country, 722 in this country, have tested positive for coronavirus. Twenty-six people have died. That, as of now, as I'm speaking. The virus is spreading around the world. Italy, completely locked down, as of today.

[22:05:00]

The country has at least 9,172 cases of coronavirus so far. More than any other European country, 60 million people quarantined. OK?

And just to give you an idea of how fast this virus can spread. On February 27th, that was just 11 days ago, 650 people had tested positive for coronavirus in Italy, 650 people. And now, 9,172, at least, have corona -- cases of coronavirus so far. So right now, in this country, 722 people have tested positive. Where

will we be 11 days from now? That, as the president tonight is floating the idea of a payroll tax cut and other help for the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to be asking tomorrow, we're seeing the Senate. We're going to be meeting with House Republicans Mitch McConnell, everybody, and discussing a possible payroll tax cut or relief, substantial relief. Very substantial relief. That's a big -- that's a big number.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Plenty of economists are questioning whether incentives like that will help in this case since the more people who stay home, the less spending at restaurants or on travel. That's what I was trying to get across to you when I was talking to Chris just moments ago.

And speaking of staying home, the SEC, on the night of the stock market's worst one-day point drop in history, is asking employees in D.C. to work from home because one employee may have the virus and has been referred for testing.

But think about this. When that press conference began, the nationwide total was 698 cases. When it ended, about 45 minutes later, the total was up to 707 in less than an hour.

And listen to the vice president's response when CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked him whether the president has been tested for the coronavirus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You just said that you have not been tested. You said you don't know if the president has been tested. But today, we learned that the president has interacted with two lawmakers who have interacted with someone who is positive for coronavirus. So why not get tested?

MICHAEL PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I -- I just simply don't know what the White House physician has recommended to the president but I promise you we'll get you that information.

COLLINS: So when -- when you think you could let us know if the president has been tested?

PENCE: We'll let you tonight (Inaudible), But look. This is, obviously, the White House physician is -- their directive is to see to the health and wellbeing of the President of the United States. And we'll get you a very direct answer on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You heard the vice president there saying we'll let you know tonight. And we'll get you a very direct answer on that. And this just in, they did let us know. We heard the president, President Trump, has not received coronavirus testing per a spokeswoman.

The president has not received coronavirus testing per a spokeswoman. Why is that question so important? Well, you heard Kaitlan Collins. What she said there. Said the president has been in connect with people who were in proximity to somebody who tested positive for the virus.

And we are learning tonight that several members of Congress are self- quarantining after coming into contact with someone at CPAC a week and a half ago. Someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

Congressman Mark Meadows, the president's newly named chief of staff, tested negative. But he is staying home until 14 -- until the 14-day isolation period expires this Wednesday.

One official telling CNN that he hasn't scheduled to -- he wasn't scheduled to start his White House job this week. But two more congressmen have been in contact with the president. Here's Congressman Matt Gaetz today, exiting the presidential limo. The beast, as they call it, and boarding Air Force One with the president.

Gaetz learned after takeoff that he had been in contact with the infected person at CPAC. He then quarantined himself sitting in a section of the plane alone. Though, you've got to wonder whether a doctor would call that quarantine. Just sitting in a different section of the same plane with the president on board.

And sources telling CNN that Gaetz spent the weekend with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Including being the president's guest at an intimate dinner with the president of Brazil.

Yes, that is the same Matt Gaetz, remember, we talked about it last week. I showed you the pictures. He wore a gas mask on the house floor last week. And in between then and now, lost a constituent to the virus.

[22:10:00]

Right before that dinner, the president said this about whether he was concerned that the virus was getting close to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not concerned at all. No, I'm not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Another congressman who will self-quarantine and that is Doug Collins. The top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. He has shown here that shaking hands with the president last week at the CDC in Atlanta.

Also, self-quarantined, is Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Paul Gosar, who both had contact at CPAC with the person infected. That person also shook hands with CPAC's chairman Matt Schlapp, who was later shown shaking hands with the president as well. Congressman Louie Gohmert has been told that he has also -- he was

also in proximity of the person at CPAC. He is choosing not to self- quarantine, though Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says tonight he would advise Gohmert to consult a doctor. All that at CPAC.

Well, you remember now ex-acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, FORMER ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I think this is going to be what brings down the president. That's what this is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That's not what this is all about. Not at all. The coronavirus doesn't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican. Democratic Congresswoman Julia Brownley of California says she has learned that someone she met with last week has tested positive for coronavirus. She and her staff are working remotely.

Like I said, this virus doesn't care if you are a Democrat or Republican. We're all in this together. And what we need are the facts. Let's not forget it was just three days ago that the administration was trying to tell you everything is fine. Nothing to see here. Buy stocks. The virus is contained.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: What I am pleased to report is that the 14 deaths so far that are completely tragic and very sad in this country, shows that this is being contained because the president took action. And a lot of you criticized him for doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, when Kellyanne Conway said that Friday morning, 231 cases of coronavirus had been reported in this country. Now, there are 722. Sources telling CNN the president has privately warned that his coronavirus-response team shouldn't stoke fears or panic. And it's true that fear and panic won't help anybody.

This is a time when we need to know our president is marshaling all the resources of the federal government to keep us safe. That we're getting accurate information. Do we know that? Don't think that we do.

I'm going to bring in CNN White House Correspondent, John Harwood.

John, good evening. Thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

LEMON: So, the president came out and spoke. I'm wondering, you know, he -- the president has not been tested for coronavirus. He came out tonight. What is the White House saying about that now?

HARWOOD: Well, that's -- statement you just referred to a few moments ago from Stephanie Grisham says the president has not received COVID- 19 testing because he's had neither prolonged, close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patient, nor does he have any symptoms.

So, after an initial hesitation, they were not prepared for that question. At the briefing tonight. They have confirmed the president has not been tested and, of course, everyone hopes that the president has not been contracted the virus. And happy to hear that he doesn't have any symptoms.

LEMON: So, they have no concern. You have all these people who are self-quarantining and who had direct contact. And he was in close confines with them. But there doesn't appear to be any concern at the White House, right?

HARWOOD: Well, I think the president was trying to signal concern tonight by going to that briefing. It hadn't been on his schedule. His tone was a little more chastened than it has been in some previous appearances that he's made.

But he focused, mainly, on a reaction to the stock market drop. Proposing economic steps. He did not address the fact that his incoming chief of staff is in self-quarantine. The Matt Gaetz issue, the Matt Schlapp issue, the CPAC conference attendee who has tested positive.

And he certainly did not do what his former homeland security advisor Tom Bossert did in an op-ed this afternoon. He said this is like a fire that threatens to burn out of control. He proposed very aggressive interventions, including long school closures in affected communities.

We didn't hear anything like that from the president tonight. And, in fact, you had Vice President Pence echoing Kellyanne Conway in that bite you just played a moment ago, again, flattering the president's response. Praising him for what he had done so far. Not really signaling a fuel pivot to a different frame of mind in the administration on this crisis.

[22:15:08]

LEMON: OK. Let's talk more about what you said. You mentioned the financial part of it. The president left the briefing pretty quickly after proposing this payroll tax cut. An hourly wage relief. Do we know if Congress will go along with these plans?

HARWOOD: It is not clear at all that they will. First of all, House Democrats have ruled out the payroll tax cut as not well targeted for this purpose. They are proposing more well-targeted stimulus assistance for wage workers who don't have protection if they can't go to work. And for affected businesses that might have trouble repaying their debts. Particularly, small businesses. There's some help for them in the emergency spending bill that passed last week. But you've also got Republicans in the Senate who are very wary about

stimulus in this case. And so, there is a lot of persuasion that's going to have to go on. The House Democrats are going to propose a package.

Speaker Pelosi met with her committee chairs tonight. But not at all clear what, if anything, is going to get enact and how big a package and how quickly.

LEMON: Can I ask you a question? You said the president appeared, in your estimation, pretty chastened in that press briefing. What's behind it? What do you think?

HARWOOD: Well, look, the fact that he predicted a few days ago -- ten days ago, he said there were 15 cases and it would get close to zero in a few days. By Sunday night, there were 550 cases. Now, there's more than 700. The number of deaths is rising.

Wall Street plummeted today. And it had a very rough week last week as well. And the president's hearing from a lot of people about a rising threat of recession in this country.

Mark Zandi, the independent economist told me today, it is now likely that we have a recession in 2020 while President Trump is running for re-election. That is a very difficult circumstance for an incumbent president.

So, anyone, any president in that circumstance would say, hey, we've got to do something different. We heard that message on the economic front tonight. Not so much on the public health front. But we'll see what tomorrow brings.

LEMON: Thank you, John. I appreciate that.

HARWOOD: You bet.

LEMON: As this virus spread across the country and around the world, we all have lots of questions. Questions like how long is an infected person sick? If you catch the virus and recover, do you have immunity? Our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to answer your questions. He's next.

[22:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The number of known coronavirus cases in the U.S. now at least, at least, 722 with 26 confirmed deaths. This is a chart that shows the total number of cases in the United States. Starting with one on January 22nd and dramatically ballooning to where it is today.

Some answers now from the most critical coronavirus questions from CNN's very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

LEMON: Or as my colleague Chris calls him, the chief doctor. I think that's what he called you.

GUPTA: I like that.

LEMON: Yes, I like that, too. You'll take it. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Doctor, thank you so much.

The government tonight putting out new guidelines for preventing the spread of coronavirus. Let's start with tips at home. What are they telling us to do?

GUPTA: Well, you know, there are some pretty basic tips. And you know, Dr. Fauci talked about them being basic tips. Clean hands at the door. You create habits and reminders to avoid touching the face. We touch our face way more than we realize. Be really good about disinfecting surfaces. Increase ventilation in the home.

Again, these are all common sense sort of things. I think these ones are a bit more interesting. Have healthy people conduct themselves as if they might be a significant risk to a person with an underlying condition.

So, you know, you think of yourself maybe carrying the virus even if you're not sick. And so, if you are going to be around somebody who is vulnerable because of their age or their medical conditions, be careful.

And speaking of which, provide a protected space in the home for vulnerable people. They need to be able to find a space where they can be at least six feet apart from other people. And if somebody does get sick, have only one-person care for them.

These are logical suggestions. You know, and I think they're going to -- make sense to most people. But I think the difference now is they're written out. These types of suggestions. Both at the home, the school, your workplace, restaurants, are going to be written out for people to have for every individual in the country.

LEMON: Yes. You heard the news that I reported just a short while ago that the president has not been tested. Should the president be tested after he had close contact with Congressman Doug Collins, Matt Gaetz, both of whom interacted with someone who had the virus at that CPAC convention?

GUPTA: You know, I'm not entirely sure about that. I will say that it was important that we know what was going on with the president. I mean, he's the president. So, we should know this and I was a little surprised they didn't know at that press conference, considering how much it was in the news.

But, Don, it does raise one of these questions. So, somebody tests positive. They have interactions with other people who haven't, necessarily tested positive and don't have symptoms. And then those people, the congressmen, in this case, had interactions with the president.

So, the president is now second generation and we're not clear that the people in between have the coronavirus. They might. You know, one could make the argument that the president doesn't need to be tested, just like anybody else who may have contact with somebody who had contact with someone who was diagnosed with the infection. Doesn't necessarily need to be tested either.

Like, if you had contact with me and I had contact with somebody, you may not need to be tested. Part of the issue, Don, the issue that we've talked about for weeks now is we don't have enough tests. So, we do need to be judicious about who gets tested here. Now the president is obviously a different story.

LEMON: Right. He is the president.

GUPTA: But from a medical standpoint, you could make the argument he doesn't need to be tested.

LEMON: Yes, I just feel like it's sort of secondary. I'm with you on that. I see where you are going with that and I'm with you on that.

[22:25:04]

Let's get to some of these questions. OK. These are viewer questions.

GUPTA: Yes.

LEMON: OK. So here, this is one. And it's from Facebook. It says why does it have to be -- wait a minute, am I with the right one here? This is from Twitter, sorry. This is from twitter. It says how long is someone sick with the virus? We hear reports with the number of cases and number of deaths. But for those who don't die, how long are they sick?

GUPTA: Important question. And it depends on the severity of the illness. But let me just say this, quickly, that the -- you know, when people have had more severe illnesses and recovered, that recovery can be up to six weeks.

LEMON: Wow.

GUPTA: So, we got to keep that in mind, especially when it comes to hospitalizations and medical care. It's not -- you know, it's not a quick sort of peak. The amount of care patients might need could take a long time.

LEMON: All right. So, are you contagious? You have to be quarantined at all time?

GUPTA: So, you can be -- you can be -- as long as you're still having symptoms, you could still be contagious. You could still be shedding the virus. So, people oftentimes need to be isolated during that time as well.

LEMON: OK. This one is from Facebook. It says why does it take 14 -- a 14-day incubation period? And do we know at what point it becomes infectious during that time? GUPTA: Yes. So, virus gets into your body, starts to replicate. But it

may take some time. In this case, up to 14 days, the incubation period, before someone would start to develop symptoms. The virus is replicating but you're not really feeling it. And it can replicate for that period of time before someone develops symptoms. Fourteen days.

You can be contagious right away. Even before you have symptoms. That's part of the concern. Likely, the virus probably was in your body for a bit and had to divide enough to actually start getting into your nasal cavity, where you start shedding virus.

But the -- I think the most salient point is even without symptoms, you could be contagious. Not as likely to be contagious, according to Dr. Fauci, as someone who is visibly sick, coughing, and sneezing. But it is possible to spread the virus without yourself knowing you have it.

LEMON: OK. The people most affected by the coronavirus are the elderly and people with underlying conditions. So why are so many schools closing?

GUPTA: Yes. So first of all, young people tend to be fairly protected from this virus. We're not entirely sure why. They can become infected. They can carry the virus. But they're not really getting much serious illness.

But the reason that they might close schools and that's, you know, one of those questions the United States, they will have to deal with, is -- is really because you could still have the virus in your system. You could go home. You could spread it to parents, grandparents. You could become sort of a vector for the virus.

And schools, especially for little kids, tend to be these places where viruses spread easily. So, lots of kids, even though they may not be sick, can go home and start spreading it to people who may be more vulnerable.

During H1N1, I'll tell you quickly, Don, 700 schools closed across the nation. Fifty of them in New York City. It was unclear after that if it really made a difference. And I'm sure that if mass school closings are being considered, they'll go back and look at that data from H1N1 to see if it makes sense.

LEMON: OK. So, the guidelines released by the government tonight don't say anything about closing schools. If students are exposed to the virus, I mean, should they?

GUPTA: You know, I think you'd have to make the case it'll make a big difference. Again, in this particular -- with this particular outbreak, this particular pandemic now, as we're calling it, it's -- because kids are protected, they should be pretty safe from they, themselves, getting sick.

So, it's really about them protecting themselves from getting the virus and then spreading it to others. And there is the guidance on the screen. I mean, for faculty, really, practice good hygiene. That's an obvious one. Really learn how to handwash properly. Rearrange activities because it's human-to-human transmission. Closer than six feet. That's when you can start to really spread. Food, carefully.

And then obviously, this is a big one. Stay home if you are feeling sick. If you see somebody who's sick, avoid them as well. We should always be doing that even, you know, just with regular seasonal flu. But now, obviously, more than ever.

LEMON: All right. This is, I got a -- I got a couple quick questions for you before I go to the break.

GUPTA: Sure.

LEMON: These are my questions that some I got from members or people on the street. OK. So, if I go to the doctor and the doctor says I have the flu but didn't test me for corona, does that mean that I don't have the coronavirus and that I have the flu? Or he doesn't know?

GUPTA: You are unlikely to get both at the same time. Now, it's not that -- if you get the flu, it's not that you can't necessarily, get coronavirus later. But you are unlikely to have both infections at the same time.

LEMON: But what if he didn't test me for coronavirus? Could I have the coronavirus? Will it show up as the flu even if he didn't test me for the coronavirus or no?

GUPTA: No. I mean, if you test -- well, there's two different tests. If you test for the flu and it comes back positive, that's the flu for sure.

LEMON: OK. All right.

GUPTA: Now, is it possible you could get the coronavirus later on?

LEMON: Got it.

GUPTA: It's possible. Having the flu doesn't protect you from getting the coronavirus later on.

[22:30:01]

LEMON: All right. And the other thing is, and this is for me because I use hand sanitizer a lot, can you become like -- can you use it too much to where it doesn't become effective anymore?

GUPTA: Not really for the individual, there is a concern that you may start to develop, you know, basically a sort of like antibiotic resistance, the equivalent of that with hand sanitizer. You are killing the bacteria on your hands and bad bacteria could start to proliferate instead. So, you know, I think you got to use it in appropriate amount. Soap and water they still say is better, for that reason. But in terms of protecting you against coronavirus, the hand sanitizer seems to work well. LEMON: All right. The first question, you answered two in one. The

second one was for me. All right. Thank you. Stand by, Dr. Gupta. Remember, CNN's got a new podcast with more coronavirus answers for you. Join Dr. Sanjay Gupta for coronavirus fact versus fiction, listen whenever you -- where ever you get your favorite podcast. A lot of people are worried about what happens to schools if coronavirus is reported in their communities. We are going to tell you how some of these schools are preparing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:35:00]

LEMON: The coronavirus pandemic having a direct impact on schools. Some school districts and universities across the country. Here's CNN's Athena Jones with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Social distancing is the priority at schools across the country. As they try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In Washington State, one of the epicenters of the outbreak in in the U.S., the University of Washington has suspended classes for the rest of the quarter. Asking instructors to conduct classes and exams remotely. With plans to resume normal class operations on March 30th, pending public health guidance.

Several universities are taking similar steps. Cancelling in-person classes, at least temporarily, including Stanford University and northeastern University Seattle and San Francisco bay area campuses. On the East Coast, Princeton, Hofstra, Fordham, Barnard College and Columbia University are all temporarily suspending in-person classes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It became more real.

JONES: Columbia University's president explaining the move came after a member of our community was exposed to covid-19 and is now under quarantine. The quarantined person is not a confirm case of covid-19, the schools said.

KENNEDI WADE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Whenever it was away like in a different country or before it came to America, it was like, oh, this is out of ours. This is like beyond us. But now, it's here and I feel like everyone is going to be more aware. And spreading like just awareness and taking more caution.

JONES: Students taking the news in stride.

JOSEPHINE EWING, BARNARD STUDENT: I'm not super worried or anything if only because like the death rate for people that are under 60 is quite low. So, I'm not -- I just don't want to be responsible for like getting anybody else sick, I guess.

JONES: College stamp campuses where students and staff live and work and study in close quarters can be conducive to contagion. One reason Columbia graduate student Conor Allerton supports the precautionary steps being taken.

CONOR ALLERTON, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: As a large community with maybe certain people who are at more risk than others, I think it's important to just take precautions. I think they have the capacity to do online classes and alternatives like that. But I think, you know, if I were in their shoes, I would probably do the same just to be safe.

JONES: Another concern, public schools. Fulton County, Georgia, is closing all schools temporarily after an employee tested positive for the virus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They sent an e-mail to all the 6th grade teachers saying that somebody in the district got the coronavirus.

JONES: Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento County, California, also cancelled classes and activities for the week due to virus concerns.

BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR, 2020 U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a time to listen to your body.

JONES: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio saying there would be a high bar for closing the city's public schools, but there could be specific, targeted closures. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo putting it this way.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): For all schools, we're going to set a policy that if a student tests positive in a school, that school is closed for an initial 24-hour period.

JONES: Meanwhile, public schools in Scarsdale in hard-hit Westchester County north of New York City will be closed until March 18th after a faculty member at the middle school tested positive for the virus. Athena Jones, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Markets plummeting today with the Dow's largest daily point loss ever. We're going to tell you what you need to know for your bottom line.

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[22:40:00]

LEMON: Wall Street is rattled by the coronavirus outbreak. The DOW Jones cratering more than 2,000 points today. Its worst day in over a decade. President Trump says he is concerned about the virus's impact on the economy. And will meet with Congress tomorrow.

Let's discuss now. CNN Business Anchor, Mr. Richard Quest, and political commentator Catherine Rampell. Ms. Catherine Rampell, (inaudible). Good evening to both of you. Boy. What a day. What a day. The DOW had its worst day since 2008 when we were in the midst of a global financial crisis, Richard. What happened today? RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: What happened today is the

chickens came home to roost. I can use all sorts of analogies, right (inaudible) till late. The markets were very unhappy. Coronavirus, they are deeply worried about economic growth and the effect. The uncertainty. The level of uncertainty is so intense around the world on this.

And then, on top of that, there is this very nasty little spat between the Russians and the Saudis over the price of oil. And the Saudis, basically, said we are going to turn on the taps. We're going to flood the world with oil. The price cratered and that might sound great at first, blush, but it's not. Oil markets need to be orderly, as Steve Mnuchin said this evening, the treasury secretary. And they're not. And investors simply capitulated.

LEMON: But the price catered because of the coronavirus, right?

QUEST: Coronavirus. Imagine a house on fire and the Saudis went to pour gasoline on top of it.

LEMON: Yes. Do you see signs of a recession?

QUEST: Yes.

LEMON: Well, you can't just say yes. Come on.

QUEST: I mean, you know, you cannot have this level of disruption and dislocation and economic noise and chaos without, eventually, having this downward spiral that leads to recession. There will be a recession in Europe. There will be a recession in parts of Asia. China is de facto on the verge of recession. The U.S. might skirt it but it will feel like a recession even if it isn't the technical two- quarters.

LEMON: You have gone all the way down the alphabet. We thought we would see -- start with the c-word correction before we would see recession.

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, we did have a stock market correction. We've absolutely had that by now. That's just a 10 percent drop from the recent peak, which we had already a while ago.

LEMON: The president said that his going to -- his administration is going to meet with Congress, Catherine, to propose a payroll tax cut relief for hourly workers. How exactly would that help? Or would that even help at this point?

RAMPELL: Well, Trump said a few things tonight are on the table. He mentioned specifically a payroll tax cut, which a lot of economists I have spoken with had said may not give you a huge bang for the buck partly because it gets released in sort of dribs and drabs. Right, it's based on how much you get in your paycheck each week.

[22:45:12]

If you are not working, because you're sick or because people are afraid to come to your place of business because you work at a restaurant or whatever and they've cut back hours, it's not going to help you, right? Or if -- if you are in -- if you are a gig worker or something like that, you know, the way that you pay your taxes is a little bit different.

So, it's unlikely to have a huge bang for the buck in that sense. There are more targeted things that are also on the table. Things like having paid sick leave for hourly workers who might not otherwise have access to it, so that they feel safe that they can stay home if they're symptomatic or if they worry that they've been exposed. That they're not going to miss out on their paycheck, effectively, and be unable to pay their rent.

So, there are other things on the table that are more likely to be a bit more targeted. Trump also -- Trump and some of his advisers have also talked about targeted programs for the hospitality industry. For airlines that have been suffering. And you could imagine that that would have a major effect. Of course, that's a little bit complicated itself because Trump, himself, is in the hospitality industry and the optics of that might not be great.

And then there are other things that I've heard economists float like, you know, having some sort of federally-subsidized sales tax holiday at the state level. So there are other things that are -- that are being floated. But Trump and his advisers seem most fixated on a payroll tax cut.

LEMON: It's interesting to me how it's like a one-two punch, right? You have the stock market that's being hit and then you have, as you say, gig workers are, just sort of regular, everyday Americans that are being hit because of coronavirus, right? You don't have -- you have your kids, who may have -- who are out of school. Right? And you can't --

RAMPELL: You got to stay home from work.

LEMON: Exactly. You see where I'm going with this? Because then you have the people who are in the stock market and they may be wealthier people. But then you have people at home who are average, everyday Americans, and they're being hit as well. So you have this one-two punch all happening at the same time.

QUEST: Which is why this was so serious from day one. And that anybody who dealt with health -- health pandemics, epidemics, realized that the economic of -- you know, look, most people in this country are not -- well, not most -- just about everybody in this country is not going to get the virus. They may get caught up in a self-quarantine or whatever. But they are most definitely --

LEMON: Going to be affected by it. Yes.

QUEST: Of course. Of course. Whether it's because of interest rates. Because of the stock market, their 401K. When did you last look at your 401K?

LEMON: Not looking. QUEST: Exactly. That's the best thing not to do until -- best thing to

do until all is over. No. This is really serious economic stuff. If there is a recession, and it's more likely but not definite, it will be short and sharp depending on the administration's response.

LEMON: So if there is a recession, we have to go, though. But, quickly, if there is a recession, don't, at this point, because -- because this administration's juicy economy so much with it, we have fewer tools to deal with it, because of?

RAMPELL: Well, certainly, the fed has fewer tools available because interest rates are already low and that interest rates are not a particularly well-targeted tool to begin with. We are dealing with something like that starts at as a supply shop, which effectively this was. Whether or not the -- whether the fiscal tools are effective, you know, it remains to be seen.

They're still really dealing with a second-order consequence of the public health crisis itself. I think what we are learning is that when you prioritize stock markets ahead of public health, you end up helping neither, right? And what we really need to do is deal with the public health issue. And try to mitigate those secondary order effects that come from economic disruptions. But really, it's a health issue.

LEMON: Thank you both. I appreciate it. A cruise ship with confirmed cases of coronavirus on board docking tonight in California. But the passengers aren't free yet. I'm going to speak to a man on that ship right after this.

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[22:50:00]

LEMON: Tonight the Grand Princess cruise ship is docked in Oakland, California. All passengers needing immediate medical attention have been taken off the ship. Here's the announcement passengers heard from the ship's captain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you know, this is an evacuation process will take place in the coming days. As we move into this next phase, I want you to know that my offices, crew and I will be with you through this process. And you will continue to be taken care of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Joining me now by phone is Neil Kran, a passenger on the grand princess cruise ship. Neil, good evening to you.

(ON THE PHONE)

NEIL KRAN, PASSENGER ON THE GRAND PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you for talking to us. Listen, you are still on the ship. In Oakland. What's it been like on board since you arrived in port? KRAN: Well, you know, it's very frustrating. But seeing, you know,

other people being take an off. Obviously people in need of, you know, medical services first. So it's frustrating to still be on the ship. And we have not gotten good word on when we will get off the ship. They had us prepared to go today. But so far they haven't followed through on that. And I don't know what's going to happen tonight, or maybe tomorrow.

Right now, I look outside and I notice, there's a lineup of ambulances and people being loaded onto that. So I don't know if those are people who have minor medical issues or what. But they're still dealing with the passengers with in need of medical care.

What was very frustrating is a good part of the afternoon, a couple of hundred Canadians were off loaded. They were given priority after the first medical emergency people. Obviously the Canadian government has their acts together long before our federal or state government didn't.

(CROSSTALK)

[22:55:13]

LEMON: Let me step in, Neil, before we run out of time. So you don't know where -- you have no plans, they haven't given you and plans or what's happening next. Or where you're going? Right? Or when you are getting off. How soon are you getting off?

KRAN: We don't know exactly when we are getting off. We live in northern California. So what we heard is we will be transferred to Travis Air Force base.

LEMON: And you have no idea about quarantine, how much longer you're going to be quarantined?

KRAN: They said 14 days. We don't know for sure.

LEMON: OK. Have you been tested for coronavirus?

KRAN: We haven't been tested for anything.

LEMON: You have not. OK.

KRAN: No.

LEMON: All right. You weren't feeling well at the end of last week. Do you feel that you received a proper medical attention?

KRAN: No, I never did. I requested some, but you know, it passed really quickly. So, I'm not concerned about it. You know, it's probably a minor nothing. But the medical services team was totally overwhelmed with passengers in, you know, dire straits. And part of the holdup settings is we could have come into port on Thursday and they could have loaded many more medical personnel on board to screen people. The delay just unconscionable getting of the port and --

LEMON: Do you feel better now?

KRAN: Oh, yes. Totally.

LEMON: You feel better. All right, Neil. Well, keep us up to date and we wish you all the very the best. You and your fellow passengers. Thank you so much for checking in with us, OK?

KRAN: OK. Thank you.

LEMON: Neil Kran on board the ship now. He's hoping to be let off soon, 14 days in quarantine. Well, the markets in free fall. More than 700 confirmed cases and six members of Congress including the president's incoming chief of staff is self-quarantining tonight. What you need to know about coronavirus. That's next.

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