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American Morning

Anthrax Scare Continues

Aired October 16, 2001 - 09:07   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: New York Mayor Giuliani says people should be cautious but should not panic regarding the reports about anthrax. Giuliani says from a statistical viewpoint, the mail is safe. Still, he urges people to use caution if they come across a suspicious package.

I spoke with him earlier this morning about the affects of the anthrax scare on New York and the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, MAYOR OF NEW YORK: People react to this very differently and some people that are taking it in their stride. And I would urge as many people as possible to take it within their stride and to listen carefully to the facts rather than over -- become overly emotional about it.

Listen to the facts: This is treatable, detectable, curable and it is happening, although the cases get a great deal of attention as you would expect they would, this is happening in a minuscule number of cases. So believe me, everybody in New York and everybody in the United States faces more risk of something else happening today than anything having to do with this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: The mayor went on to say the city had received about a hundred calls about suspicious mail by midday yesterday. We also learned that dozens of people called law enforcement officials claiming they had been exposed to anthrax. All that's being sorted out right now.

The anthrax scare stretches from major media outlets in New York to the halls of power in Washington. Officials are now waiting for more test results on a tainted letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

CNN congressional correspondent Kate Snow is following that story.

When are they, Kate, likely to get the second set of results back?

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're waiting for results. They've sent the letter to an Army facility, Paula, and we understand we may be getting those results later this morning. We know the U.S. Capitol Police expected to brief an hour from now, so they may have those results at that time.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Capitol itself behind me is surrounded by office buildings here and the one office building where this letter was received yesterday is called the Hart Office Building. Let me show you what people are getting this morning as they enter that building. It's a public safety notice. It's telling everyone that eight floors in the Hart Office Building have been shut down in one particular corner. Now that corner is where Senator Tom Daschle's office is. That area was closed down yesterday. Police were posted outside.

For anyone who wants to be tested for exposure to anthrax, there is also a room set up this morning in that building where they can go.

One senate office telling CNN this morning that they got to their office in that very area that's been cordoned off. They happen to get in. They were not stopped by Capitol Police so now they have to go and get tested for anthrax. Part of the concern in that part of the building is simply that the air conditioning system links all of those offices and could potentially have spread the threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D), MAJORITY LEADER: It is possible that through the ventilation system some of the anthrax bacteria could have been disseminated to other parts of the office. So in order to absolutely ensure that there was no dissemination, we are taking every precaution necessary, but people are being tested. People are being monitored and we'll make that determination on -- I guess on an hour- to-hour basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now only one person came in direct contact with this letter, the woman who opened the letter herself, and Senator Daschle telling us she is doing fine. She's doing very well. About 50 others were in the office at the time. They all, yesterday, were tested for exposure to anthrax. They were also given Cipro, an antibiotic, preventatively, just in case.

Mail into the U.S. Capitol building and into the surrounding office buildings has been suspended, and a spokesman for the U.S. Capitol Police tells us this morning that mail will continue to be on hold throughout today -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Kate, thanks so much for that update.

The letter sent to Senator Daschle's office and an anthrax- tainted letter sent to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw were both postmarked in Trenton, New Jersey.

CNN's Maria Hinojosa is at the main post office where those letters were processed. It is located just outside Trenton in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.

You got to believe that the folks who work there can't be too happy about this -- good morning, Maria.

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

In fact, two postal employees have been tested for anthrax even though preliminary tests of this site show no trace of anthrax. But postal employees here are concerned because they know that two letters that were laced with anthrax did pass through this processing site, and no one yet knows how many postal employees may have had contact with those letters.

The postal employees have been told by the health officials that the threat of contracting anthrax just by touching the outside part of a letter that may have had anthrax inside is essentially extremely remote. One employee, a maintenance worker, has shown signs, symptoms of something like poison ivy. Another female letter carrier has had the flu for several weeks and when she was given medication she didn't respond to it, but once she was given Cipro, she was able to get those symptoms under control. At this point, only postal workers that are having any kinds of symptoms are being tested.

Now on September 18 at this site there were 246,000 letters that came through this site. Postal inspectors are busy trying to trace those anthrax-laced letters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ESPOSITO, U.S. POSTAL INSPECTOR: It's safe to say that through the automated equipment that's available at the Trenton P&DC, we can pretty much pinpoint when the item was handled at our postmarking equipment and from that point determine when it was brought into the facility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HINOJOSA: Paula, this is an essential area for processing postal mail from all around this area so we have been told that this site will be remaining open to the public and trying to function as normally as possible.

ZAHN: OK, Maria, thank you very much.

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