Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
White House Recommends Wearing Face Masks Amid Outbreak; Governor Cuomo Updates NY Coronavirus Response; Japan Reports 314 New Coronavirus Cases. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 04, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:26]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.
I'm Fredericka Whitfield.
We begin with a shift in the White House's response to the coronavirus outbreak. After weeks of saying Americans should not wear medical masks in public, the administration is now asking Americans to do just that.
While President Trump is telling Americans to cover their faces to prevent asymptomatic spread of the disease, he isn't ready to follow those same guidelines himself telling reporters yesterday he will not wear a mask and encouraging everyone, it's still their option.
The move follows some recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control. It's something the President was not convinced was needed at the beginning of the weekend. Even now he is stressing this recommendation is only voluntary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll take a look at it for a period of time, not forever. I mean, you know, we want our country back. We're not going to be wearing masks forever but it could be for a short period of time.
So with the masks, it's going to be really voluntary. You can do it. You don't have to do it. I'm choosing not to do it but some people may want to do it and that's ok. It may be good, probably will.
They're making a recommendation. It's only a recommendation. It's voluntary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. That was the President of the United States.
Meantime we want to go to New York now with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo after the biggest single day jump in deaths. GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): New Jersey has a serious problem in New
Jersey and a growing problem. Then Michigan, then California, then Massachusetts.
Total number of hospitalized is down a blip, but we believe that's not statistically meaningful. You have the number of ICU cases are up. The number of intubations are up. The number of discharges are also up.
And this is interesting. Two-thirds of the people who have been hospitalized have been discharged, ok. Two-thirds of the people who have been hospitalized have been discharged.
That's what we've been saying all along. Most people won't be hospitalized. People who are hospitalized, will come in, be treated and leave. That's two-thirds. One-third of that number has a serious condition which will require continued hospitalization.
We're tracking the growth of the number of infections by hospital. And we can see just where the numbers are increasing.
We've been talking about hitting the apex. The apex is the point where the number of infections on a daily basis is at the high point. And that is the ultimate challenge for the health care system.
Can we handle that number of cases at the high point of the curve? I call it the battle of the mountain top because that's what it's going to be. That's going to be the number one point of engagement of the enemy.
By the numbers we're not yet at the apex. We're getting closer. Depending on whose model you look at they'll say, four, five, six, seven days, some people go out 14 days. But our reading of the projections is we're somewhere in the seven-day range -- four, five, six, seven, eight-day range.
Nobody can give you a specific number, which makes it very frustrating to plan when they can't give you a specific number or a specific date, but we're in that range.
So we're not yet at the apex. Part of me would like to be at the apex and just let's do it. But there's part of me that says it's good that we're not at the apex because we're not yet ready for the apex either.
We're not yet ready for the high point, we're still working on the capacity of the system. The more time we have to improve the capacity of the system the better. And the capacity of the health care system -- bed, staff, equipment.
[11:04:58]
CUOMO: We're going to be doing a conference call with all the hospitals today to coordinate equipment deployment.
Watching the spread of the rate of infections is interesting. This chart is what we've been talking about. But you can see it here. The upstate number is the top bar. Rest of New York has been fairly
constant -- 4 percent, 5 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent. Westchester, Rockland -- 8 percent, 6 percent, 6 percent, 7 percent, 7, 7, 7.
Long Island is the area that is growing. And you see Long Island goes from 16 percent to 17 percent to 18 percent to 19 to 20 to 22 percent. New York City is actually dropping, as the number of cases in New York City -- in Long Island increases as a percentage of cases within the state. For us, this is about tracking the virus, tracking the spread of the virus and then deploying as the numbers suggest.
In terms of beds the 2,500-bed facility at Javits is going to make a major difference. That has to work. The White House agreed to make that a COVID-positive facility. Remember, originally the Javits Center, which is a state convention center, we worked with the federal government, they constructed a 2,500 bed facility. It was supposed to be non-COVID.
I spoke to the President, transferred that with his intervention to a COVID facility. The federal government will staff that and the federal government will equip that. That is a big deal because that 2,500-bed facility will relieve a lot of pressure on the downstate system. That's a significant number of beds. And that facility now has to make that transition quickly.
And that's what we're focused on. It's going to be very staff- intensive, very equipment-intensive. But the theory there is to, best we can, relieve the entire hospital system downstate by bringing those COVID patients to Javits and from the intake to the treatment.
And it's going to be very difficult to run that large a facility. But if that works and if that works well, that changes the numbers dramatically. So that's a top focus for us.
I spoke to the White House today on planning the logistical operation to get that up and get that running ASAP. And that's the top operational priority.
In terms of staffing, we have 85,000 volunteers, 22,000 out of state volunteers. How amazing is that -- 85,000 volunteers.
I'm also signing an executive order to allow medical students who were slated to graduate to begin practicing. We need doctors, nurses. So we're going to expedite that.
On ventilators, remember we ordered 17,000 ventilators. To give you an idea of how many 17,000 is, the federal stockpile was about 10,000 ventilators for the nation. We ordered 17,000 just for the state of New York. And when we ordered the ventilators, we were paying for the ventilators.
So trust me, you know, the situation -- financial situation of the state we were not looking to spend a penny that we didn't have to spend. And we placed that order for the ventilators and we were paying for that order. order never came through. And this goes back to the China situation.
We had signed documents; we placed the order. Governor Baker talks about this in Massachusetts. But then you get a call that says we can't fill that order, because you had all that demand going in.
[11:09:49]
CUOMO: So what do we do? We find what equipment we have; we use it the best we can. If you ask hospitals today what equipment -- what ventilators do you have that are unused and available that they don't need in the short term, and take 20 percent of that number of available ventilators, that's 500 ventilators. 500 ventilators are -- is a significant number now.
China is remarkably the repository for all of these orders -- ventilators, PPE, it all goes back to China which long term we have to figure out why we wound up in this situation where we don't have the manufacturing capacity in this country.
I understand supply chain issues. I understand cost of manufacturing, but this is a public health reason as we've all learned the hard way why we need the capacity in this country to do this.
But anyway, it all comes back to China. So New York has been shopping in China. We're not really China experts here, international relations is not what we do on a daily basis. I've been to China before when I was HUD secretary, did a trade mission with China so I have basic understanding.
But we went to the Asia society to help us navigate China. I asked the White House to help us navigate China. I spoke to the ambassador and we got really good news today. That the Chinese government is going to facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators that will come into JFK today.
And I want to thank Jo Tsai and Clara Tsai and Jack Ma from Alibaba and the Nets (ph), but I'm not stating a preference, for their donation. That's going to be very helpful and I want to thank Ambassador Huang (ph) very much for his help in making all of this happen, because this is a big deal and it's going to make a significant difference for us.
Also, the state of Oregon contacted us and is going to send 140 ventilators, which is I tell you just astonishing and unexpected. And I want to thank Governor Brown. I want to thank all of the people in the state of Oregon for their thoughtfulness.
Again, this was unsolicited. But the 140 ventilators will make a difference. And I was thinking about it, on behalf of New York and what it means for Oregon.
First it was a kind gesture. I know Governor Brown and she is a kind person. But it's also smart from the point of view of Oregon. Why? Because we're all in the same battle here. And the battle is stopping the spread of the virus, right. Look at what they did in China. It was in the Wuhan Province. First order of business was contain the virus in Wuhan. Why? Because you want to contain the enemy. That's always the first step.
Oregon -- we're dealing with it now, we don't stop the spread in New York, it continues. And if you look at the projections, it could get to Oregon, that could have a significant problem towards May. Our problem is now.
So it's also smart from Oregon's self-interest. They see the fire spreading. Stop the fire where it is before it gets to my home. That was the Wuhan Province.
Somebody sent me a great quote from FDR who had such a beautiful way of taking complicated issues and communicating it in common sense language. And FDR was dealing with trying to get the lend-lease program approved and accepted by the public. Why would this country help another country fight its war? And that was the lend-lease program.
[11:14:55]
CUOMO: And his point was, it's a common enemy, and we want to contain the enemy. And that other country's fight is actually our fight. And if we don't stop the spread, then it's going to burn down our own country.
But this is how he does it, right because the concept is right. But how does he explain that?
Suppose my neighbor's home catches fire, and I have a length of garden hose 400 or 500 feet away. If you can take my garden hose and connect it with his hydrant, I may help him put out his fire.
Now, what do I do? I don't say to him before that operation, neighbor, my garden hose cost me $15, you have to pay me $15 for it. What is the transaction that goes on? I don't want the $15. I want my garden hose back after the fire is over.
All right. If it goes through the fire all right, intact, without any damage to it, he gives it back to me and thanks me very much for the use of it. But suppose it gets smashed up, holes in it during the fire, we don't have to do too much formality about it, but I say to him, I was glad to lend you that hose. I see I can't use it anymore, it's all smashed up.
He says, how many feet of it were there? I tell him, there were 150 feet of it. He says, all right, I will replace it. Now, if I get a nice garden hose back, I'm in pretty good shape.
State of Oregon has lent us 140 ventilators. It was kind, it was smart, stop the virus here, it's better for the state of Oregon, better for the nation. Their curve comes after ours. We will return their 140 ventilators and there's never been a discussion, but frankly, I know New Yorkers, and I know New Yorkers' generosity, and we will return it double fold. Because that's who we are, and that's what we believe. So stop the fire in New York -- kind, generous, also smart.
Personal opinion, look, I want this all to be over. It's only gone on for 30 days since our first case. It feels like an entire lifetime. I think we all feel the same. This stresses this country, this state in a way nothing else has, frankly, in my lifetime.
It stresses us on every level. The economy is stressed. The social fabric is stressed. The social systems are stressed. Transportation is stressed. It's right across the board.
But the most difficult level is the human level. It is for me anyway. And it's every day and it's everywhere. My brother catches the virus, that is stressful. My mother's worried about my brother, and she's concerned.
We have a birthday party yesterday for Stephanie. We're standing around a cake, everybody is six feet from each other in this bizarre -- what's supposed to be just a fun, usual celebration of a birthday.
My daughters' cousin has a tragedy. And that's just emotionally very painful. They can't hug each other and hold each other. They can't even grieve together through these cyber chats -- I mean this is so emotionally taxing. You can't even begin to -- you can't even quantify the effect on society and the effect on individuals and the burden we're dealing with.
So yes, I want it over. If there was anything I could do to accelerate getting it over, I would. In some ways I want to get to that apex. I want to get on the other side of that apex and let's just slide down that mountain.
On the other hand, we have to be ready for the fight and we have to handle that fight. And that's where we are.
[11:19:52]
CUOMO: So what do we do? You have to get through it. You have to get through it. There is no simple answer here. You're not going to wish this away. You have to get through it. And you have to get through it intelligently -- saving as many lives as you can.
And that's hard work. And that's perseverance. And that's mutuality. And that's community. And that's finding your better self. And that's finding your inner strength and dealing with a situation that is almost unmanageable on every level, because you are out of control. And this is a painful, disorienting experience.
But we find our best self, our strongest self, this day will end, and we will get through it and we will get to the other side of the mountain, and we will be the better for it. But we have to do what we have to do between now and then. And that's just what we're doing here.
Questions? Comments?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the 17,000 ventilators you previously said that 2,500 were committed. Are you saying that we didn't get any of them now?
CUOMO: No, we have -- we received some, about 2,500 but, you know, we had ordered 17,000. And when I say ordered 17,000 it wasn't -- we had paperwork. We had contracts and then they just never appeared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, on the issue of data you're now reporting 3,500 deaths in the state of New York. New York City is reporting about 1,800. Can we now assume that more than 1,000 people have died outside of New York City or is there some discrepancy in the data?
CUOMO: No, you can -- that's the statewide versus the city wide is what you're looking at.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But can we assume that more than a thousand died outside the city (INAUDIBLE) --
CUOMO: Do you have the numbers -- Jim, of where?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to go back and double check. We keep it by hospital by hospital basis. So we can break that down and give you a regional breakdown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were talking about kind of growing concern in Long Island. Should people in Long Island anticipate that there's --
CUOMO: You look at the numbers again. That's why I keep saying -- can you put back the bar chart, please? Look for me, I'm not a medical doctor, and even a medical doctor -- you follow the data, you look at the numbers.
You look at the numbers, and we've been saying for the past few days, watch Long Island because it is like a fire spreading. And at one point the fire, it doesn't max out in one place, but it consumes where it is and then it's moving out.
You look at where it's moving, you see that Long Island number is growing. I mean it's been growing for the past ten days, right. And it's been growing steadily.
So interestingly, it's not moving north. It's moving more east than it is north. And that's what those numbers say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And just to press on the data once again. Is there a reason the state is not breaking it down by age, by gender, by race? New York City is doing that and some other places are doing that.
Can we get that sort of data, because people are concerned about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could do that, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can break that down and you will provide that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So Jesse, yesterday we launched COVID- 19tracker.health.ny.gov that breaks it down by county. In the following days we're going to add age range and we're going to add deaths by county and put some of these information that you guys are asking for so you get more precise information in real time and it'll be updated twice a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me it's -- excuse me one second. We get it by hospital because those hospitals are just dots on a map. So if you're looking for where it's moving, which is our number one concern, and then deploying equipment like right ahead of the fire, that's what we're doing. But we can run the data however they have it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any indication that the spread on Long Island is because New York City residents have sort of fled out east or are seeking treatment there?
CUOMO: I don't think we know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When are the ventilators from Oregon expected to arrive and with those additional from China and from Oregon, how many days do you think we have left --
CUOMO: Look, we have -- I love that expression, you go to war with what you have, not what you need, right. We're not at the apex. So we're still in the stage where we have the luxury, if you will, of gathering as much as we can, so the 1,000 ventilators from China and the 140 from Oregon and we're still shopping.
And all those other devices that we talked about splitting -- you know, splitting -- theoretically, splitting means every ventilator can help two people. It doubles the number of ventilators, theoretically.
[11:24:56]
CUOMO: Now the medical professionals -- I feel the doctor moving-- splitting is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But that's -- splitting. BiPAP machines -- we have 9,000 BiPAP machines. They're not a ventilator, they can't replace a ventilators but they can replace a ventilator for a person who doesn't need a full ventilator.
So we're still gathering equipment because we're not at the apex. But then when we hit the apex, you have what you have. I talk to the White House several times a day. You know, the federal government says the stockpile is about 10,000 -- moves a little bit. But let's say it's 10,000. That's for the nation. That's for the nation. So there's no place, there's no repository that is going to have everything that we need.
By the way, even if we had total access to China, I don't think -- I think they have so distributed so much product that they don't have it. So at one point you are where you are, and then you have to do the best with what you have, right. And we're not there yet. But we're getting close.
And then we have all those backup measures. And we're going to have to make do with all of that -- the splitting and the BiPAP and the anesthesia machines and the available units and shifting units. And that's where you're going to be. You go to war with what you have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many days before you run out? You said six days a few days ago, you said, you know, we're going through them at a rate of 300 -- is that still the case?
CUOMO: That's still the case. But look, you don't know what the number is at the apex, so nobody can tell you that. Tell me what -- tell me what the inflow is on the apex and I'll tell you what we need. We don't know the inflow at the apex, nobody can tell you that.
Nobody can tell you the number that it stops at. You're still going up the mountain, I say to them five times a day, what's the number at the top of the mountain? They say, who knows. Nobody can tell you the number at the top of the mountain, so nobody can answer that question.
Hopefully it starts to peak as soon as possible. You know, I'd like the apex to be tomorrow, right, so nobody can answer that specifically because you just don't know what the number is at the top.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- 110,000 beds for coronavirus patients? That was a prediction earlier.
CUOMO: The -- you know, Jesse -- it depends on where it stops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at what 15,000 -- 16,000 at this point, that seems like a long way to go, right?
CUOMO: Well, you are looking at -- you are looking at a system that is now at 75,000 beds. We are at 75,000 beds, right. We had 53,000. We mandated an increase of 50 percent. That takes us to about 75,000 and change. And then we added 2,500 at Javits. We added z the other temporary facilities. So we probably are up close to must be 80,000 beds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. But the question is if you've 16,000 -- 17,000 people hospitalized with corona, are you actually going to need that? Are you going to need --
CUOMO: I don't know. But I think Jesse -- what it did is it flipped. Nobody expected the need of equipment that we have. Nobody diagnosed or suggested PPE shortages. You know, so you have to adjust to -- we were focused on beds early on, and we scrambled on the beds. But now it turns out it's PPE and masks and ventilators.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were sued on Thursday by the NRA. Do you expect more legal challenges to come challenging your executive order, you know, keeping people home, but also your anti-gathering orders?
CUOMO: I think I've been sued by the NRA must be a dozen times. I didn't even know I was sued this time. You become sort of lawsuit immune. I wish I could become immune to this virus the way I've become immune to NRA lawsuits.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So do you still expect legal challenges though to these executive orders from, you know --
(CROSSTALK) CUOMO: I expect -- you know, I expect yes. As I said the other day, you know, it's a slow day if I don't get sued five times, right. The state is a great target.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the status of the volunteer health care workers? Have any of them been sent out to different hospitals? If so how many and what sort of the vetting process for that?
[11:29:57]
CUOMO: James -- Jim will answer. But remember, we collect the universe. Then it has to be vetted and people basically hired by individual hospitals to meet their needs and they have to be comfortable that that person meets those needs. But Jim -- do you mind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll take the second question first. We have a vetting process, internally about 175 people vet the respective volunteers. We check for licensing and we check for disciplinary problems mostly.
Then those get put into the portal. Often the hospitals will also do their own vet as well to make sure. We have -- we've had about two dozen hospitals already connect with several thousand employees. Every hospital that has had a need has been met in the portal so far, and we expect that to grow on a daily basis as we continue to manage this process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor -- can you update us on what the response has been since you put out the call for New York state companies to start manufacturing some of the equipment that is so desperately needed for the frontline workers?
CUOMO: Thank you. We have some companies that have come forward to manufacture, Empire State Development Eric Gertler is working with them. Again, it's all timing, you know. When we're talking about being several days from the apex and our need is one week, even if you want to take the longest projection, two weeks. to say to a company I need you to make a million gowns and I need them here in two weeks is hard.
But there are companies that are interested. They have come forward. And we're working with them.
Jesse -- back to your point. The ten-day shift in this bar chart is dramatic. I mean look, New York City went from 75 percent of the cases in the state down to 65. And that is almost all growth in Long Island from 15 percent of the cases to 22. So the shift is undeniable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In another New York City suburb, Rockland County officials have been asking why there has not been a containment zone set up in around some of the communities in Monsey, New York. Can you explain the rational to not contain those communities if they are hot spots?
CUOMO: Have you heard that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't heard about that. But I know --
CUOMO: Nobody has asked me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. But I think, Jesse -- also, when you talk about the containment zone like what we did in Westchester, that was about ending gatherings, that was about shutting down houses of worship and places where a lot of people were packed into one place and closing schools. We have now done that statewide.
So we'll certainly reach out to people in Rockland County after this and find out what more they want us to do. Of course, if there's more measures, we're all ears at all time. But when you talk about that containment zone, what we did essentially in Rochelle, we've now done statewide.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One other --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And -- to answer your other question -- Jesse, the deaths in New York City, it's 2,624. So statewide -- outside of New York it's still under a thousand. It's 941.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2,624?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CUOMO: That was impressive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What policy issues did you want to get done that weren't done here (INAUDIBLE) and do you maintain that the legislative session is effectively over at this point?
CUOMO: Marijuana, gig economy were two of the more complicated initiatives we wanted to work through that we didn't get a chance to do. Off the top of my head, unless Rob and Melissa remember any others.
Is the session effectively over? You know, it's up to the legislature, but I think it's fair to say it's effectively over. They have a number of people who are infected, and they did a phenomenal job working through all those policy issues and all the budget issues. So I think it's effectively over.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Let's do -- anyone who hasn't -- everybody has asked a question. Go ahead?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you please explain why it appears that the child -- an extender on the Child Victim's Act was not included in the budget. Can you please explain why you didn't push for that? Why an extender was not in the budget?
CUOMO: You know, we didn't -- obviously this was such an abbreviated session. We didn't get to everything. I don't think we even seriously considered -- was there any conversation about the extension?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, there wasn't any conversation about the extension. But obviously, if it's something that bubbles up we can always revisit it. The legislature did, as you all know, pass a resolution to be able to vote remotely so -- during this time of crisis. So if there's something that we need to revisit and they're not able to come back, it's always on the table.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why wasn't there any discussion over it? The bill sponsor said that that is now -- that door is shut for victims now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know that that's true because we signed the bill in July and I think there was a one-year window. So the door is not shut. And the bill sponsor hasn't called me so I'm open -- I'm all ears.
CUOMO: Yes, it hasn't expired, has it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
CUOMO: What's that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's August.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are concerns that that will extend for such a period that it will effectively close the filing period.
[11:35:00]
CUOMO: Well, yes, except it's technically not closed, it goes until August so if they wanted to take an action, they could. But it was not -- look, there are bill sponsors that sponsor -- you know, how many bills do they sponsor? Hundreds. And then there are priorities that are brought to the table. I never had a conversation about that bill with either of the leaders.
Let's take one more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump said yesterday that he had sent more ventilators to New York as of yesterday. Have you received more from the federal government? How many more have you received?
CUOMO: Yes. How many more did we receive, do you remember?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll find out. We'll find out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok.
CUOMO: We'll find out. But the Javits Center is going to be the main federal assistance. That is 2,500 beds, their staff, their equipment. That will be a significant relief valve for much of down state if we get that up and running. And that's their priority.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: I'm sorry? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arthur Ashe, I believe -- (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: Arthur Ashe Stadium?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Flushing?
CUOMO: Flushing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overflow beds for non-COVID beds at this point but we'll double check.
CUOMO: Non-COVID bed overflow if we need it -- if we need it. The beds, when we first started, the main concern was having enough beds. We were focused on beds. It has now shifted to equipment and staff.
Thank you guys. Have a good weekend.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: All right. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo there with a few glimmers of hope there saying two thirds of the people hospitalized have been discharged. And while he believes there may be an apex in the range of seven days or so, he says some hopeful numbers, New York City is actually dropping in terms of some of the numbers of cases.
In the interim he says the conversion of the Javits Center from treating non-coronavirus cases to now treating coronavirus cases and that will be managed by the federal government, which will be staffed and equipped by the federal government. 2,500-bed facility. He says that will relieve a lot of pressure. It will be a significant relief valve for down state New York.
Let me bring in the guests here. Athena Jones, reporting there in New York. Kristen Holmes is live at the White House for us and Dr. Amy Phillips also with us.
Let me begin with you -- Athena because the governor is trying to be hopeful here saying that also Oregon has lent some assistance by sending some 140 ventilators. And he says, you know, that will be, you know, returned in double once the need has been fulfilled there in New York. So tell me more about some of the highlights coming from the Governor and what people can look forward to.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I thought that was interesting -- Fredricka, as you mentioned. The fact that they are getting some help on the ventilator front. We know that they need thousands -- they said they need thousands of ventilators before they reach this apex point -- a point at which by the way, it doesn't mean that everything is going to be wonderful after the apex is reached. There will still be a large number of cases. There will still be people flooding hospital.
The whole idea of reaching the apex is just that you won't be adding huge numbers of new cases every day. And to that point, they announced at this press conference that just ended that New York state now has over 113,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and yesterday saw the biggest jump in new cases. The biggest number of new cases at almost 11,000. So that's a clear sign that this is still raging here.
But on the supplies front which we've heard state and local officials talking about since the beginning of this, we did hear some good news as you mentioned. Governor Cuomo talked about having ordered 17,000 ventilators to try to prepare and saying that that order simply wasn't filled. They do have about 500 unused ventilators across the state of New York and the Governor announced yesterday that he had signed an executive order to allow the state to take ventilators and also other equipment, personal protective equipment from institutions that don't need them right now and move them to places where they are needed. So they're doing a lot of things to prepare for this.
China is apparently sending another 1,000 ventilators. Those are expected to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport today. And those 140 ventilators that Oregon is lending to the state of New York. And Governor Cuomo said look, that's smart of Oregon, it's kind of Oregon. The bottom line here is we're all in this together.
And that's what we're hearing more and more. We're hearing the Governor of New York, the Mayor of New York City saying we need help from other states. We need help from the federal government. This should be an all-hands-on-deck sort of thing, kind of like a war-time footing is what you're hearing people say. And so that is why there's been so much emphasis on getting these supplies.
[11:39:53]
JONES: As you mentioned, Governor Cuomo saying that New York hasn't yet reached the apex. There are different models saying when that apex will be reached. It could be four, five, six, seven, eight days away but he also said we're glad we're not there yet because we're not ready.
They're still getting ready adding that and we know we all have got another important update here as well. We heard early on that New York state had about 53,000 hospital beds and would need a lot more than that in the event of this epidemic. And we know from the Governor just now that they have added, they're almost -- he said around 80,000 beds.
So they've made an order to hospitals to increase their capacity by 50 percent. That has happened. They've added new beds at places like the Javits Center behind me, which will be accepting patients with COVID- 19 starting on Monday.
And so on the beds front, they're looking better but still there's a big focus not only on beds but on supplies and on staff -- all to help make sure that New York, the epicenter of this crisis in America is able to deal with this -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Right. And also mentioning the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the place of the U.S. Open Tennis tournament that will potentially become a non-COVID-19 overflow facility if needed.
Dr. Amy Compton Phillips, CNN medical analyst and chief clinical officer and executive vice president of Providence Health also with me. So Dr. Phillips -- when the Governor says, you know, this seven day range of this apex, not there yet and not yet ready for the high point -- can New York get ready with the assistance of China sending in equipment, Oregon sending equipment, and now a U.S. Army-led facility there at the Javits Center?
DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, they absolutely can get ready, but exactly as you were talking about, it's an all-in approach. And the way I think about it is, you know, normally health care has pretty predictable peaks and lulls during the year. It's like having waves on a beach, right.
What happens with COVID is because everybody gets sick all at once, it's like a tsunami coming in and the crest of the wave is enormous. But that crest of the wave hits different parts of the country and different cities at different times.
And so as we think about how to move forward with this, if we can make sure that resources are deployed to wherever the wave is cresting at that moment. So initially it was Seattle and Portland and L.A., and it looks like we may have started hitting our crest and now if we have a little additional resources and like China has additional resources, we can redeploy those resources, whether they're ventilators or people or PPE to places where the wave is cresting next like New York City.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kristen Holmes at the White House -- you know, what's interesting here, Kristen, is you know, Governor Cuomo talked about receiving, you know, assistance from China. The President underscored that if there's going to be any more production of anything, namely the N 95 masks, other kinds of masks, that it will be for this country. And, you know, discouragement of 3M, for example, of any more exports.
What does this message say when you've got the New York governor who says China just now, you know, lent some assist while the President is saying, you know, he wants to refrain from any kind of exports or assisting other countries during this pandemic in terms of equipment?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the New York governor is saying that we're desperate and we're going to do anything we can to get the citizens of New York what exactly it is that they need. And this isn't the first time that we have heard a governor in the United States say this.
Just yesterday we heard the governor of Massachusetts, Governor Baker, he brought in the Patriots. Bob Kraft, a plane -- they lent them a plane, they got a million masks from China. Why did they do that? Well, they did that because an order of masks, that was three million, got taken from them at the port of New York, which they believe was by the federal government.
This is a desperate situation. You're seeing these governors doing anything they can. And by the way, it's not just governors. It's also these private hospitals, companies, clinics, nursing homes -- everyone is trying to get their hands on this incredibly critical and short supplied gear, whether it's ventilators or personal protective equipment. I want to raise one of the things that Governor Cuomo talked about. He said that at the beginning of this, he ordered 17,000 ventilators from the national stockpile. How many did he get -- 2,500. Now we know that there's about 10,000 left in the national stockpile. President Trump has said they're going to hold onto those for when it gets really bad.
We also note that the stockpile is nearly depleted. So what you're seeing here is states in crisis. These governors are looking around. They're not getting the assistance that they need right now from the federal government.
[11:44:45]
HOLMES: We have heard these governors on air, in press conferences begging President Trump and the administration to take hold of the supply chain. They believe that he should enact DPA, which is the Defense Production Act, which would mean the federal government would essentially allocate all the supplies to the states in order of who needs it the most.
Right now it is being described to me by several people that I've talked to who are trying to be in this bidding war as the "wild, wild west". Everyone is trying to get the same amount of supplies, the same supplies as we watch the coronavirus cases here in the U.S. raise.
So you're starting to see these situations where, as Governor Cuomo said, he's working with the state of Oregon to essentially borrow some for now while their curve is low so that he can give them back when their curve goes up. But this is just more of these relationships that are building because there is so much desperation and such a limited supply of these critical items.
WHITFIELD: Dr. Phillips -- do you believe there will be enough -- that enough can be produced in a short amount of time to meet the need?
DR. PHILLIPS: I do think that enough can be produced by makers both abroad and here in the U.S. I'm so impressed by how much private industry has really flipped the switch to go towards making what we need. So while we have to have the raw materials, it's pretty essential to get those, I think that as makers have started coming online, that we are doing an incredible job.
That said, the ramp up time is not immediate. You don't flip the switch and immediately get the gowns and the masks from where they're being produced to where they're needed.
WHITFIELD: Right. It may take weeks.
DR. PHILLIPS: And so I think that -- it can take many weeks, honestly. But in two weeks I think we're going to have a production line that is vastly improved from where we are right now.
That said, New York needs things this week, which means we probably need to redeploy things to where they're needed while we get that production ramped up. WHITFIELD: Right. If that apex, as the Governor was saying, could be
three, four, perhaps even seven days then the need is critical, the need is now.
All right. Dr. Amy Compton Philips, Kristen Holmes, Athena -- thanks to all of you ladies, appreciate it.
All right. Still ahead, an infection control specialist is now sounding the alarm on coronavirus cases overseas warning drastic changes are needed to prevent Tokyo from becoming the next New York City.
We're live, next.
[11:47:25]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Japan reported 314 new cases of coronavirus on Friday and six new deaths. A Japanese doctor who sounded the alarm about a failed quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship warned Tokyo could become the next New York without drastic changes to its coronavirus strategy.
CNN's Will Ripley joining me now from Tokyo. So Will -- you know, saying Tokyo could be the next New York is a pretty strong statement. What more can you tell us on that?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What this doctor says, Fred -- is that Tokyo's infection rate is where New York was just a matter of weeks ago. Last week around this time it was 40 people a day becoming infected. Today the number shot to 118, nearly triple.
Tokyo is trying to flatten the curve. The exact opposite appears to be happening and, frankly, this city is not prepared if indeed, a large- scale pandemic is coming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: This is what doctors call a mild case of novel coronavirus.
Your cough sounds very painful.
Ise Watanabe struggles to breathe as he speaks to us from his Tokyo hospital room. Watanabe is 40, a non-smoker, in good health. When he asked for a coronavirus test he says he was turned down.
How long did it take before they actually allowed you to get tested for coronavirus?
Five days you had to wait for that test?
Watanabe says he infected at least two people that he knows of during that time. Is that a problem?
KENTARO IWATA, INFECTION CONTROL SPECIALIST, KOBE UNIVERSITY: It is a huge problem.
RIPLEY: Kobe University infection control specialist Kentaro Iwata is worried about a spike in cases in the Japanese capital.
IWATA: The beginning of the first of the infection in Spain, France, Italy and New York City was already like Tokyo right now.
RIPLEY: Iwata fears government warnings about the danger of spreading the virus may have reached many people too late. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are pleading with the public, asking people to stay home, avoid travel and practice social distancing.
The government still has not declared a state of emergency or called for a lockdown of Tokyo.
They have imposed tough new travel restrictions, banning foreigners from more than 70 countries including the U.S. and asking everyone who arrives in Japan to self-quarantine for 14 days.
IWATA: Japan needs to have the courage to change when we are aware we are on the wrong path.
RIPLEY: What happens if Tokyo doesn't change the plan?
IWATA: We might see the next New York City in Tokyo.
RIPLEY: Watanabe says the Japanese government is not acting quickly enough, a claim the health ministry denies saying, "We believe appropriate measures have been taken."
"There's a real lack of good information," he says. "Your life is in your hands. Stay home. Please, stay home. Don't go out."
He worries about the tens of millions of Japanese over 65. He knows he'll recover, many in Japan's aging society won't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:54:48]
RIPLEY: This is one of the most densely populated cities in the world -- Fred. And they now have 817 patients in hospital beds. They have maybe 900 beds available for tomorrow, less than 45 beds available tomorrow here in Tokyo. The number shot up by 118 today.
Japan's strategy has slowed the spread of this virus. They bought themselves some time because they were really focusing on contact tracing. They have been doing this widespread testing. They've only tested 4,000 people in this city.
And now they're in a situation where they're up against time and they could run out of beds as soon as tomorrow and this is just the very beginning of what could be coming -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: So Will -- are they talking at all about makeshift, you know, hospital sites or any kind of emergency, you know, plan?
RIPLEY: Japan has a policy right now of putting all patients, including those with mild symptoms in the hospital. Unlike in the U.S. and a lot of other countries where they self-isolate at home. So what they're trying to do now is move some of those mild symptom cases out of hospital beds and get them to possibly hotels. They're trying to negotiate that.
They might even use the Olympic Athletes' Village potentially but this is all in the very, very early stages. It's almost like they've been caught by surprise about this without a clear plan.
I was talking to one doctor who is getting ready to start a coronavirus duty here in Tokyo next week. He said he's scared for his own safety because they have very limited PPE, personal protective equipment. They have masks and gloves and stuff, but not necessarily what they're going to need.
And so the rest of the world has been going through this. Japan could just be at the very beginning stages, and that's really alarming for a lot of people here.
WHITFIELD: Sure. Well, hey, talk to a lot of the athletes who were wondering when Tokyo, when they were going to make a decision about the Olympics. So they felt like that was a very delayed response. Maybe this is in step with that same approach.
Will Ripley -- thank you so much. Appreciate that.
All right. CNN viewers and readers from around the world have asked more than 90,000 questions about coronavirus on cnn.com. And at 2:30 Eastern today, right here on CNN, a panel of experts will join me to answer some of your questions. Go to cnn.com to submit your questions on health, family life, your money, all of it. Again, that's at 2:30 Eastern today right here on CNN.
All right. Still ahead -- new recommendations on wearing a face mask sparking some confusion. When should you wear one? And what you need to know if you don't have one and you need to improvise. That's next.
[11:57:16]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
