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New Day Sunday

The Coronavirus Pandemic; Five U.S. States Tell Residents To Stay Home; Pressure Mounts For Trump To Use Defense Production Act; Vice President Pence And His Wife Test Negative For Coronavirus; NFL Stadium Will Become Testing Site; Health Providers Cannot Test Everyone Due To Supply Shortage; Americans Stuck In Peru Seek Help After Country Shuts Borders; Keeping Children Busy And Learning During The Outbreak; Media's Role In The Age Of Coronavirus And Social Distancing; WHO Issues New Guidance For Pregnant Women As Crisis Grows. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired March 22, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:19]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. We're so grateful to have you here. I'm Christi Paul.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker in for Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: We have some developments for you in this surging pandemic and this race now to save American lives. Medical experts are warning critical medical supplies are running out or running dangerously low across the U.S. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases now more than 25,000 nationwide, 323 people have died.

WALKER: New Jersey now makes it five states that have ordered Americans to stay home. California's Governor Gavin Newsom is not holding back telling young people in his state that they need to do their part.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Be a good neighbor. Be a good citizen. Those young people that are still out there on the beaches, thinking this is a party, time to grow up, time to wake up, time to recognize it's not just about the old folks. It's about your impact on their lives. Don't be selfish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And a really positive sign there's some U.S. private companies stepping up now agreeing to begin making some important medical supplies like the much-needed protection masks. And for now, President Trump has resisted pleas to use the Defense Production Act that's to mandate instead of only asking companies to get to work.

WALKER: And expect questions later about that when the White House's coronavirus task force holds another briefing. And in a bid to stem the economic fallout of this fast-spreading virus, senators on Capitol Hill will get back to work this afternoon on its far-reaching economic stimulus bill.

CNN's Sarah Westwood has the latest now from the White House. Good morning to you, Sarah.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, Amara and Christi.

Yes. President Trump resisting that mounting pressure from medical professionals to execute on the Defense Production Act. These are sweeping powers that the president has that Trump signed earlier this week, but he still has not conducted his administration, not conducted that full inventory of the medical supplies across the nation nor has the administration yet identified which companies should make which products in the event that the president does activate and follow through on the Defense Production Act.

But the president said yesterday when asked about whether he will be using this legislation, whether he will be executing it, right now he doesn't feel he specifically needs to because he sees U.S. companies stepping up and voluntarily making these products that medical professionals, that doctors need. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have talked about the act, sir, but you have not compelled any companies. Why not?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because we have so many companies making so many products -- every product that you mentioned plus ventilators and everything else. We have car companies without having to use the act. If we don't have to use -- specifically we have the act to use in case we need it. But we have so many things being made right now by so many. They've just stepped up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: For example, General Motors announced this week that it will be partnering with a ventilator company to make more needed ventilators for hospitals for people who could grow gravely ill from the coronavirus.

The president said yesterday that Hanes, the clothing company, would be making fabrics for masks as well, but still there are those dire shortages doctors warning across the country that should the outbreak get worse, they do not have enough personal protective equipment, they do not have enough respirators and ventilators for the expected number of people to get sick. Those are certainly questions that President Trump, the vice president and other members of the task force are likely to face at that briefing at the White House later this afternoon.

PAUL: Sarah, I want to ask you as well about Vice President Mike Pence and his wife. We understand they were both tested for coronavirus. They both tested negative, which is the good news, but what more can you tell us about it?

WESTWOOD: Well, Vice President Pence said that technically he did not believe he needed to be tested, but out of abundance of caution because of his role in the task force and proximity to President Trump, he and his wife were going to get that test.

Now that came after this week the White House announced that a staffer in the vice president's office had tested positive for the coronavirus, had said yesterday that that staffer reported doing well and had not been in the office for awhile. And in fact had not had direct contact with the vice president. So the good news there that Pence and his wife both tested negative for the virus.

PAUL: Definitely. All right. Sarah Westwood, appreciate it so much. As always thank you.

WALKER: All right. Let's turn now to CNN's Cristina Alesci joining us now from New York. And, Cristina, health officials there they are changing their protocols, their strategies when it comes to testing.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm on the west side of midtown Manhattan where the city is actually setting up a drive-thru testing site.

[06:05:01]

This is designed to expand testing. And just to give you some context here when the mayor of New York announced this initiative, he said we're going to curb this epidemic -- if we're going to curb this epidemic, we need fast and expansive testing for those most at risk for serious illness.

So the testing facility will operate by appointment only. And it's going to follow some of the protocols that we have hearing about testing people with moderate to severe symptoms.

And just to give you guys some context here. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has called New York City the epicenter of this outbreak because New York State has the highest number of cases as far as states go and within New York state. New York City accounts for about 80 percent of those cases.

If you look at the latest number, now those numbers are always moving, obviously, but that's why they are doing this testing. But you're right in terms of the tone that we have been hearing from some big cities and some governors that perhaps the focus should be shifted from testing to really protecting those who are ill and saving the personal protective equipment that's needed to really treat the very severely ill patients as opposed to using that equipment to test people for it

So we're going to have to see how it plays out, but no doubt about it, testing is happening in New York City and it's happening at an even greater pace. Back to you guys.

WALKER: All right. Cristina Alesci, appreciate you. Thank you very much for that.

PAUL: Thanks, Cristina.

California is among a handful of states that have urged non-essential workers just stay home, stay put. This, of course, their effort to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus and alleviate some of the stress on the health care system.

WALKER: CNN's Paul Vercammen is at Lake Hollywood getting a sense of what life is like for families since the order went into effect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The stay at home order is in full effect in California. And here in Los Angeles, in talking to people in and around Lake Hollywood, they said they just need to get out of the house and they're trying to absorb that rule of stay six feet away from everybody else. But you talk to a family such as the Grunigs (ph) and they were telling us after awhile you have kids and you just go stir crazy. So you get out and about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, you have to get out. At least we're in nature and staying away from people, separated. It makes us feel better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting a little exercise is kind of keeping me up and not sitting around all day. And just talking a hike and spending good family time and not like just sitting around stressing about this crisis and all the bad things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: So people are out and about. We talked to the Los Angeles police department about the stay at home order and they say, let's just for instance say that 12 people were together at some park or somewhere around here. They would first get a warning. They would try to work things out voluntarily. If these people don't disperse, then a supervisor would come by. And if they still don't disperse down the road they could get a citation. And that would be brought to the city attorney. But authorities saying the last thing they want is to be heavy handed at this time.

Reporting from Hollywood, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Paul, thank you so much.

So the NFL stadium, listen to this, the stadium just outside Washington is soon going to be a COVID-19 testing site. State and local health officials in Maryland are creating this pilot program for screenings at the stadium and they hope to have it up and running as soon as this week. WALKER: Now the team is providing the space in the parking lot outside the stadium where Maryland National Guard troops set up 10 tents and hand washing stations. Any screenings at the stadium would have to be made by appointment.

All right. Still to come, as we start to see testing sites expand, health care providers are more concerned about the shortage of supplies in an effort to conserve they are being told not to test everyone, even if they show symptoms. We're going to hear from an emergency room doctor, next.

PAUL: Also Americans are stuck right now in Peru. Take a look at the pictures we're getting here as we speak with a mother who says she is desperate to get a flight out of that country, get back to her children. The Peruvian president however is getting ready to completely close its borders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:39]

PAUL: All right. It's a very tough scenario right now in hospitals everywhere. Given the shortage of medical resources and health care centers across the country, health providers are urged to avoid testing patients that don't exhibit chronic symptoms.

WALKER: So our next guest shared that half of his patients had a fever or cough, which doesn't require testing, but he says if the U.S. had the capabilities that they have in South Korea, he would have tested all of those patients.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR: I just worked the night shift last night. Six out of my 18 patients all should have been tested for the coronavirus. And I could only test one of them.

I cannot test the patients I need to test so I just told them all it could be that. It might be something else, and send them home, and told them to self-isolate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Dr. Rob Davidson is with us now. He's an emergency room doctor and executive director of the committee to protect health care. Doctor Davidson, thank you so much for being here.

I mean, you sound pretty frustrated in that video. I know you said six should have been tested. You were only able to test one. Is that simply because there aren't enough tests or is it something beyond that?

DAVIDSON: Yes, that's basically what it is. There aren't enough tests. Now that was middle of last week.

Our capabilities are increasing. We still have limitations within our state and really that's handed down from the CDC and it's based upon the availability of tests.

[06:15:04]

And so typically, if we see someone who we think exhibits the symptoms that could be from COVID-19, unless they are critically ill or at least sick enough to be admitted or have just a few other conditions like immunocompromised status or third trimester pregnancy or if they're a health care or a first line -- first responder we just have to tell them this might be it. It probably is it. And go home and isolate until three days after you're not feeling sick anymore. You know I think that -- yes, go ahead.

WALKER: And that makes me shake my head. I'm sorry for cutting you off, Dr. Davidson. But doesn't that present a health risk? I mean, if you know you have the coronavirus, even though you might be exhibiting mild symptoms that might urge you to actually stay home and take stronger precautions.

DAVIDSON: Yes, that's absolutely correct. And I hear a lot of people saying, well, let's not keep beating that because this is something in the past and we have to go forward. But the problem is it's still there for this lack of testing.

Despite what we keep hearing from the task force every week or every day that the tests are coming, the tests are there, the reality on the ground still is that we can't get these people with minimal symptoms tested. We know that a significant number of people will carry this virus and pass it along without symptoms and so when that's the case, we can't possibly isolate the correct people to keep them from spreading this to everyone else. And when we have a federal government that will not institute a shelter in place so that we can keep people apart, we're just going to keep seeing these numbers going up and up.

PAUL: So the danger I know isn't just about COVID-19 at the end of the day. Pediatric doctor Cornelia Griggs told CNN yesterday her fear is that hospitals are going to be overwhelmed. They're not only going to be with patients with COVID-19 who die, but there will be, and I'm quoting here what she said, "All causes of death because hospitals and medical teams won't be able to handle the influx of sick patients." How realistic is that?

DAVIDSON: That's 100 percent correct. If we get overwhelmed with COVID-19 patient, we still have our baseline number of people having heart attacks, having stroke, requiring appendectomies, and if our system is overwhelmed, if we in a small rural hospital get full and our ambulance service is running 24/7 transferring people to other facilities, they can't respond to those calls in a timely fashion.

We are somewhat compromising our ability. Plus if we have health care workers getting sick coming offline now you have staff working overtime. Yes. I think the entire thing could really spiral out of control very quickly like it has in Italy.

WALKER: And that's why it's so head shaking that we're talking about shortages when it comes to personal protective equipment for our frontline doctors like you, Dr. Davidson. And first off, how are you doing when it comes to supplies like masks and ventilators and gloves and things of that sort? And also, how do you feel about this updated CDC guidelines? I have a lot of physician friends who seemed quite outraged when they read the CDC saying, look, you can use homemade masks like bandannas or scarves as a last resort.

DAVIDSON: Yes. We're currently in conservation mode here in our hospital saving masks, using them for an entire shift. Doing it safely. If they are soiled or moist we have to discard them and get a new one. We're about a week behind New York as far as the way our cases have been tracking. So we're still very much preparing but, yes, I honestly went through my house looking for bandannas over the end of the last week.

They are not recommending it they are saying as a last resort, but they are also noting that this is not actual protection. So it is actually enraging for those of us who want to be here, who feel a duty to our community, to our fellow staff members, but recognize we're putting ourselves and our staff members in harm's way.

PAUL: Also in this video that you posted showed your frustration with how this has been handled. Let's listen to what you had to say here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIDSON: Meanwhile, President Trump this morning tweeted about what a great job he's doing. Please, President Trump, stop taking victory laps in the middle of a national emergency. So many more people are going to die. Many more than would have had to have died because of your inaction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Dr. Davidson, if you could sit down one-on-one with President Trump and with his team, what would you want them to hear?

DAVIDSON: I just want them to honestly have this not be about him, not be about his numbers and how people perceive him, and let's make it about the American people. Recognize that those of us on the frontlines, I heard him ask the question that what do say people are scared. And he attacked the reporter. People are scared. People I work with are maybe not scared, but we are concerned.

[06:20:00]

We're concerned about what could come to pass and what will come to pass in so many places that get overwhelmed. My patients are scared. They come in just wanting guidance and all we can give them is some acetaminophen and tell them to go home and come back if they're having a hard time breathing or getting a lot more sick.

WALKER: It must be just so incredibly frustrating for you. Dr. Rob Davidson, appreciate you joining us. And thank you for the work that you do.

DAVIDSON: Thank you. PAUL: Thanks to all of you. Yes. Thank you.

WALKER: Desperate to come home. Several Americans stuck in Peru are looking for a way to get out before the border there is completely shut down. We're going to speak with one American looking for a way to get back to the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Several Americans are stuck in Peru after the Peruvian president initially closed the country's borders on March 15th.

PAUL: Now as that boarder is set to permanently close today Mehndi Jager and her husband are stuck there.

[06:25:06]

Take a look at some of the pictures she sent us. They are desperate too, as you can imagine, to get home to their kids. Well, she's with us now.

Mehndi, I want to say thank you so much for taking time to be with us today. Help us understand how long have you been there and how are you doing?

MEHNDI JAGER, STUCK IN PERU DUE TO CORONAVIRUS: So we came to Peru on March 9th, the flight here. And so now it has been, Monday will be two weeks. We were supposed to return home last Wednesday the 18th and that flight got cancelled.

How are we doing? I would say we go through highs and lows for sure. And I'm so thankful that my husband is here with me because he definitely keeps me grounded. But sometimes I'm doing well. And I'm chasing down the leads to get home. And then other times I'm crying on the floor. So --

WALKER: I'm so sorry. Can you tell us a little bit more about -- well, first of all how many children do you have? What are you telling them? And tell us about your efforts in trying to get back home? Who have you contacted? Who have you talked to? What are you hearing?

JAGER: Sure. So our sweet babies, we have an 8-year-old son and we have a 4-year-old daughter. And they are doing great. Thank goodness they are with both my parents and my husband's parents. And they are very happy.

We've painted the picture to them that we are still enjoying our vacation. There's no need for them to be upset or worried about anything. So when we Skype with them or talk with them, they are excited. They want to know what we're doing on our vacation and what presents we're going to bring home to them.

And then as far as our efforts, we have reached out to the embassy here in Peru. And we've gotten nowhere with that. And then as a result of local news coverage for our city back home we were put in touch with two of our state senators. So I have spoken with them and tried to chase down every lead with them. And I'd like to say that that has been productive of something, but so far it has not gotten (INAUDIBLE).

PAUL: The state department tweeted out, "The U.S. embassy in Lima is coordinated closely with the Peruvian government to arrange charter aircraft. A flight of 264 Americans citizens departed Lima for Washington, D.C." March 20th which was Friday. "And over 175 U.S. citizens departed today," I think that was yesterday from Miami. "Please stay attuned to U.S. Embassy messaging as we continue to arrange for more flights over the coming days."

Here's the thing. The president there, Vizcarra, has ordered all airports and borders closed as of today. So what is your plan? Can you go to the airport?

JAGER: We tried. We certainly can go to the airport. Whether or not we can get in is the question.

Yesterday we heard a rumor that there might have been a flight yesterday. So we decided to pack up everything and rush to the airport. And our taxi got us there and we're telling him where to go. And he couldn't even drop us off because the actual physical gates for the airport are closed. You can't even enter into the parking lot.

So literally we waited in the street. There was a mob of people and we just waited there in the street that someone would come to the gates and tell us something. Unfortunately no Americans ever got called up in the time we were there.

We waited, I think, two or three hours yesterday. And no Americans were ever called forward. (INAUDIBLE) were called forward and, I think, Colombians as well. They were allowed inside and into the airport.

WALKER: It must be frustrating and frightening for you, Mehndi. I guess, what next then? And how many other Americans do you know of that are stuck, stranded there with you in Peru?

JAGER: So there is a Facebook group Americans stranded in Peru. And last time I checked, there were around 900 members of that. Now that does also include family and friends of the actual (INAUDIBLE). That's not an accurate number.

But there is also a Google doc going around that everyone is signing up (INAUDIBLE) on that it's over 2,000. I looked at this morning.

As far as our future plans we are living on fate right now. Taking it hour by hour, moment by moment. I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of organization especially on the embassy side, the U.S. government side.

[06:30:02]

I understand that this is totally unforeseen. But surely Americans (INAUDIBLE), but surely Americans have been evacuated from countries in the past. And I think there should have been policy and procedure for something like this. So when that happens, what are we supposed to do, where are we supposed to go, how are we supposed to get the information (ph). That's truly disappointing in this time (INAUDIBLE), especially when we really have crumbs to live on here.

WALKER: Well, Mehndi Jager, we're going to leave it there, but we're going to stay in touch with you and follow your story. And we do hope that you will be reunited with your children very soon. Thank you so much for talking with us.

PAUL: Take good care.

JAGER: Thank you.

WALKER: Nearly 54 million students in the U.S. are learning from home due to the coronavirus outbreak, and, boy, is it a challenge for parents.

PAUL: Coming, how you can keep your kids busy and learning during a quarantine and keep your sanity. There are things you can do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

PAUL: All right. Parents, we are starting week two of official home schooling to some degree, because we found ourselves wearing more hats than usual this week, if that's even possible, right? Only working from home, of course, and then navigating your child through this school lessons.

WALKER: Yes. Our next guest wrote, it takes only a matter of weeks away from school for students to fall disastrously behind schedule on their learning and, realistically, it takes probably only a matter of hours away from school for them to affect their parents' productivity. That is so true.

Joining us now is Ashley Fetters, Staff Writer for The Atlantic. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm sure a lot of parents are perking up their ears wanting to listen to this one here, because, well, first off, I think a lot of parents are now realizing, if they did it before, how invaluable teachers and nannies and daycare workers are, right? We have a new appreciation for them.

But what's your best advice for parents who are feeling like they are running out of ways to keep their children busy in a good way, constantly learning?

ASHLEY FETTERS, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Sure, yes, good morning.

Well, as many parents first discovered this week, it's now up to them to keep their kids learning and make sure they don't have this sort of backslide or learning lost that sometimes happens over a long summer break. And, of course, they have to do that at the same time, that keep some semblance of a functional workday for themselves. So I spoke to some childhood learning experts this week about ways parents can do both. Really, little kids, of course, toddlers, preschoolers, they're going to be the hardest to find the activities for. And like they need a lot of social interaction to keep their language development growing.

Fortunately, they don't require much new way of state of the art technology. For example, parent can take breaks to read books to their kids throughout the day with interactive questions built in, for example, can you show me where the bird is on this page, what color is that bird, this bird is yellow, how many birds do you see, things like that.

Another great way to keep smaller kids developing their language skills is talk to them kind of in the same way about things that they see on a walk or things that they see in pictures on your phone. Let's say, yes, who's this, that's grandma, right? Like what did we do the last time that we visited grandma? Keeping kids engaged on one subject and especially kind of having them remember things and talk about them, it helps them not just develop language skills but also helps develop autobiographical memory and (INAUDIBLE).

PAUL: I loved hearing that taking walks and seeing what they identify with this kind of a field trip and that visual aids can be pictures of your families. I mean, that was such a great way to really engage with these kids and ask them details and see what they come up with.

About older -- in regards to older kids though, how do you make basic math fun and memorable for them?

FETTERS: Sure. Older kids, like you said, fortunately, they can look after themselves a little bit more, be a little less under foot. Parents kind of need their kids to be able to be left alone while they themselves get some work done.

One thing that I came across that I loved is they can send kids on investigations or give them essentially reporting assignments, like how many windows or doors or shelves are in our house or in our building, and what is the average number per room or per apartment or go find out how many kinds of wildlife live in our yard, things like that, are always kind of fun for kids.

Another fun activity I heard about this week was having them figure out how to pitch a tent or build like a play fort using only materials in a specific room or things that they found in the house. And, of course, it's really temping, I know, to always kind of plop down kids in front of an iPad or a T.V. screen.

But one of my favorite strategies here is to just tell kids like, okay, we're going to watch this movie but we're going it on Friday, so between now and then, you're going to read the box and then we're going to talk about how they are different and like what things you noticed that got left out or got adapted, so that this movie wasn't -- didn't take us the whole day to watch.

WALKER: Well, Christie's kids are older, so they understand that. Like, look, there's a reward for you at the end of the week. My daughter is not even two yet. And so she just likes to throw tantrums if I don't turn on the T.V. for her, which rare that I do. But this week, I have been so weak. And I just said, okay, T.V., here we go. I mean, is there a hard and fast rule on how much T.V. is too much T.V.?

FETTERS: Boy, not that I have on hand. I think probably for every child, it's going to be -- you'll notice when they start to get fussy about getting their screen time and when it's turned into something a little bit unhealthy.

[06:40:00]

But what I will say is I know there are wonderful audio books that you can use as an alternative. Places like Audible have really robust selections for kids of all ages. So as an alternative, learn -- I'm sorry, listen to reading is reading too. It improves vocabulary and it counts as reading in a lot of ways. I think that's a good alternative.

PAUL: Your article was so fascinating and it was just chalk-full of such good information. Ashley Fetters, we so appreciate you being here. Thank you.

WALKER: Thank you.

FETTERS: Thank you for having me.

PAUL: Sure.

So the coronavirus pandemic in this era of social distancing is putting a new focus on the role of media and technology in our daily lives. There's social media challenges that encourage us obviously to stay home, find creative ways to keep occupied, but there are also those things that distract us. Movie studios making new releases more easily accessible, musicians moving their concerts to live streams.

WALKER: Yes. But social media -- yes. And social media also playing a more grim role serving as a platform for doctors and nurses to sound the alarm about their concerns.

Joining us now to discuss is CNN Chief Media Correspondent and Anchor of Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter.

Brian, good morning to you. Thanks for joining us. Let's start with the way the doctors and nurses and healthcare workers are using social media as a platform to get out information to air their frustrations.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The difference of this happening now versus two decades or three decades ago is that these frontline heroes are able to call for help via social media. We are seeing that happen every single day from E.R. doctors and nurses all the way to the heads of hospitals writing letters and posting messages. There's been a hash tag #getmeppe, encouraging, desperately demanding the need for more personal protective equipment, for example.

We are also seeing a lot of surprising groups respond to the call for help. Just in the past 24 hours, we have seen Apple and Facebook donate masks. It turns out Facebook had bought lots and lots of masks because they were worried about wildfires in California, so now they are donating those masks. We have seen television shows, like Grey's Anatomy, donate the masks that they usually wear pretend to be doctors on television. And we've seen Hollywood custom designers say they are going to start sewing masks.

So at least these messages are able to get out and we're able to see a lot of creative responses to what is a desperate situation.

PAUL: I know, Brian, that social media is where people go a lot of times to get the latest news. We've had this conversation so much with you about the legitimacy of what's out there regarding presidential campaigns, but is there anything being done to be certain that the news people are getting is accurate online?

STELTER: Actually, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube deserve a lot of credit for taking this problem seriously right now. Unlike in the political sphere with political ads, where Facebook is just allowed people to lie in political, these social networking companies have been really strong about promoting accurate information, health resources and then downplaying or removing misinformation and hoaxes.

Some things do slip through, but these companies are trying hard to be on the right side of history, because they know the gravity of the situation. And I think they deserve some credit for that. It is in moments like this you can see the real values companies have and I think they are trying to look to that right now.

But it's a day-by-day situation, as it is, of course. The real irony of this is that we are all in this together, but we are all distant from each other. We're all removed from each other, but we are all connected at the same time. And some of these social companies that have been really anti-social lately, they've actually had a chance to step up and help people in this situation.

PAUL: Yes. Sometimes I think this is a little bit of a reset for all of us to kind of reprioritize what's going on in our lives. Brian Stelter, thank you so much, sir. You're going to see more of him today at 11:00, Reliable Sources right here on CNN.

WALKER: Great talking to you, Brian, Thank you.

Coming up, why humans, not bats, are likely to blame for coronavirus, and some new guidance for women who are pregnant during this pandemic, what you can do to keep yourself and your little one safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. We have updated numbers for you regarding the number of coronavirus cases here in the U.S., and the number is going up. According to CNN health tally, 26,039 cases in the United States have been reported. 326 people have

died thus far. PAUL: I know the numbers are frightening every day that we wake up. And we know it's just a matter of weeks that our lives have changed so dramatically here in the U.S. And I know we're all wondering where did this virus come from and what more can we learn about it.

WALKER: Scientists are not sure yet, but they have seen similar viruses in horseshoe bats. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: We live in extraordinary times, true well before coronavirus, the amazon aflame, Australia's skies clogged with forest fire smoke that seemed to swallow a way of life. And now a pandemic tearing up daily norms, which may also have been caused by human choices and behavior.

Did this coronavirus originate in bats? Scientists can't yet be sure. But they have seen similar in Chinese horseshoe bats, not these one being tested in South Africa. Yet even if that's the case, bats have dealt with many viruses for years.

[06:50:00]

They have a high metabolism and temperature when they fly and that often keeps these infections in check. That's until they or where they live comes under stress.

ANDREW CUNNINGHAM, PROFESSOR OF WILDLIFE EPIDEMIOLOGY, ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON: We believe that the impact of stress on bats would be much the same as it would be on other mammals, including people, and that is that it would allow any infections to increase and to be excreted and be shed. You can think of it as people get stressed and they are infected with a cold or a virus, they obviously will get a cold sore. So that's the virus being expressed. And this can happen in bats too.

It's easy to point a finger at the host species, but, actually, it's the way we interact with them due to habitat encroachment into increased hunting.

WALSH: Experts point to shipping bats near other animals in so-called wet markets in China. This one in Wuhan believed to be the epicenter where stressed animals transfer disease easily to each other and then maybe humans.

Well, there's a term for this that you're going to have to get familiar with. It's changed our lives. It's called zoonotic transfer or spillover.

CUNNINGHAM: The underlying causes of zoonotic spillover from bats or from other wild species is almost always -- in fact, I think it's always been shown to be human behavior. Human activities are causing this.

WALSH: In the past, people infected by animals in remote places would die or recover before they could spread it. Today, they can get on a plane to a different city that night.

KATE JONES, CHAIR OF ECOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: We've got so many humans, so that any kind of spillover that might have happened in the past is magnified by the fact that there's so many of us, and we're so well connected. So it's not okay to transform a forest into agriculture without understanding what that impact has on climate, carbon storage, disease emergence, flood risk and flood defenses on climate resilience. You can't do those things in isolation without thinking about all the things that that ecosystem provides to humans.

WALSH: A cost we are quickly realizing now.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Now, as the spread of COVID-19 continues to grow, many are asking what does this mean for pregnant women like me. Right now, the World Health Organization says there is no evidence that pregnant women are at higher risk.

PAUL: But considering this virus can be transmitted symptomatically, they advise all women with an epidemiologic history of contact should be carefully monitored. So you need to be carefully monitored, Amara, and I know you are.

WALKER: Yes, I am heeding those warnings.

PAUL: Yes. So, listen, there are more recommendations if you're expecting. We want to bring in CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard to talk to us about that. Hi, Jacqueline.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Hi. You're right, there are more recommendations that pregnant women should definitely take precautions. Like you said, the World Health Organization just this week said that there is no evidence of risk of more severe illness among pregnant women, but definitely still take precautions.

And it's recommended to follow the same recommendations that have been made for the rest of us. And those include washing your hands frequently, definitely maintain social distancing, avoid touching your face. If you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth or nose.

And then for pregnant women, one thing that is really important, don't stress, don't panic. Now is the time to really stay calm and really focus on your self-care and prenatal care.

WALKER: And just quickly, Jacqueline, I mean, do we know if pregnant mothers have passed on coronavirus to their baby?

HOWARD: That's a question that keeps coming up. Right now, there is no evidence of that, so that's good to know. But what we have seen with other respiratory illnesses is that in some other cases, a respiratory illness could cause some more severe illness or problems. So as we learn more about this virus, the current understanding of it

could change. But right now, there's no evidence of it being passed on. And it's also important to know there's no evidence of it being transmitted in breast milk. So if you just had a baby and you're breastfeeding, there's no evidence of that as well.

But, again, we still don't know that much about this virus. We're still learning a lot about it, and so our understanding of it could change.

WALKER: Yes. My OB-GYN was just telling a few days ago that we still need to be careful just because, as pregnant women, our immune systems are weaker than the average. So precautions, we need to take.

Jacqueline Howard, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

PAUL: Thanks. Jacqueline. I'm so glad you're well, Amara.

WALKER: Thank you.

PAUL: So glad you're well.

WALKER: I am too.

PAUL: I know.

[06:55:00]

And as parents, there are people -- there kids who are having birthdays during this coronavirus. And now, you're saying, I can't get my kid a birthday, right? We were faced with that. We've found that out, not from my kid but she was supposed to go to another party. So I have to give big kudos because I want to give you an idea here, parents. Big kudos to Luke and Alisa Hamilton. Their daughter, Sophia's birthday party was canceled, of course.

So she got this idea, take a look at this, her parents did. Their soccer coach, Adam, taught the girls a game from England called heads and volleys. It always ends with one player in the goal and the other players have to try to kick the ball aiming for the player's tush. They drove their kids around 75 miles have ended up being at the end of the day to each one of the teammate's homes and each teammate got one shot to kick it where it counts with the ball. 3 out of 11 made contact, and here is one of them.

Kind of -- there it is. It's kind of in slow motion. But that is Sophia. We want to wish her a happy, happy, birthday, Sophia. We hope that it just went beautifully for you. Incredibly -- that's my daughter. Because my daughter was one of them and that's her victory dance, because she did -- she was able to kick her where it counted.

WALKER: That was awesome.

PAUL: But it was a great way -- you kept your social distancing, six feet away --

WALKER: So creative.

PAUL: -- and everybody still got to have fun.

WALKER: Creative and safe.

PAUL: So, parents, if that's what you're looking for, I'm sure that you can make your own version of that in some way, shape or form.

WALKER: Happy birthday.

PAUL: Happy birthday.

WALKER: Stay with us. The next hour of NEW DAY starts after the break.

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