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U.S Stock Markets Plunging Due To Oil Prices And Coronavirus Scare; Lockdown For Italy; Grand Princess Docks In Oakland, California; Four Congressmen Self-Quarantine; Trump Expected To Join Coronavirus Task Force Briefing; How To Protect Yourself As The Pandemic Spreads. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired March 09, 2020 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Vanessa Yurkevich in Detroit, Michigan before the Michigan primary. Thank you so much. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter @jaketapper. Tweet @TheLeadCNN. Our coverage continues on CNN right now. Thanks for watching.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're following breaking news on the coronavirus pandemic. Concern about the economic impact, helping fuel a record drop on Wall Street, with the Dow plummeting more than 2,000 points.
Also right now, we're awaiting a White House coronavirus briefing from Vice President Mike Pence and his task force as the administration faces growing criticism of its handling of this pandemic.
We're also watching events unfold right now in Oakland, California, where the "Grand Princess" cruise ship has just docked with at least 21 infected people on board. More than 3,500 people are on board the ship.
And this just coming in, Italy's prime minister has just announced that the entire country, 60 million people, the entire country of Italy right now is on lockdown as the coronavirus continues to spread.
We'll talk about the breaking news with the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. Our correspondents and analysts are also standing by. First, let's go to CNN's business editor-at-large, Richard Quest who is following the dramatic developments for us.
Richard, we're seeing a global market meltdown on Wall Street. There was a pause in trading, but give us some historic perspective context on what's going on.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: In terms of -- thanks Wolf. In terms of number of points fallen, it was the largest single day. It was also the first time that the 7 percent circuit breaker was used as you can see on the chart there, this morning, just shortly after trading began.
And the market traded within a range until the end of the day when there was a bit more selling. But there's no doubt about it, the mood today has changed. And the reason is not only do we have a worsening coronavirus situation in the United States and in Europe, but also you have a price war over oil between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The details don't really concern us, but Saudi Arabia is pumping more oil than the market can even want or demand. And as a result, we're seeing prices fall dramatically.
The economy tonight, Wolf, in the United States, the core question, when I asked economist after economist, will the U.S. go into recession, they say it's still not probable, but it's getting more likely, 50/50.
BLITZER: Well, that's a serious issue. Of course, as well, it could affect all of us. How do you expect governments will respond around the world? Will the airline and cruise industries, for example, need help simply to survive?
QUEST: Yes is the short answer. Maybe not so much the airlines. The cruise industry, absolutely. Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Cunard, all the major cruise lines, they fell -- Carnival -- they fell up to 25 percent in a single day.
When the State Department is telling people not to take cruises, that industry is going to need some form of relief from the administration. Likewise the airlines if this get much worse.
Overall, macro economically, Wolf, how governments react now will depend on whether we get a recession and a global recession. Each government has been asked, begged to now get engaged in some form of fiscal stimulus, start spending to avoid the worst.
BLITZER: Richard quest reporting for us. Richard, thank you.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases here in the United States has climbed to more than 650 with 26 deaths now being reported. Our national correspondent Erica Hill is joining us. Erica, we're seeing more school closings, more events being canceled, more people being told work from home, don't go to your office. What's the latest?
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORESPONDENT: Absolutely. And I can tell you here in New York City, where there are 19 confirmed cases, the mayor is actually making his way down here to Union Square because he wants to make sure the message gets out to folks in terms of what they need to know about this virus, all of this unfolding as that cruise ship is finally making its way back into port in California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILL (voice-over): The "Grand Princess" finally arriving in California this afternoon. Thousands of passengers waiting days for this moment after 21 people on board tested positive for the coronavirus.
JUSTINE GRIFFIN, BRITISH PASSENGER ABOARD THE GRAND PRINCESS: We're getting information more from the news than we are from the ship.
ARCHIE DILL, CALIFORNIA PASSENGER ABOARD THE GRAND PRINCESS: It's not quite prison, but it's a lot like that.
[17:05:00]
HILL (voice-over): Disembarkment is expected to take days. Once on land, most of the 2,500 passengers will be transported to military bases for a 14-day quarantine. The 1,100 crew members will remain on board.
In Washington State, a major focus on the Seattle area nursing home which has been linked to at least 19 coronavirus-related deaths. Across the country, college campuses are moving classes online as businesses encourage employees to work from home.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE of ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You should be doing what some people are calling social distancing, which really means stay out of crowds, don't do travel. Above all, don't go near a cruise ship. Don't go on a cruise ship.
HILL (voice-over): As the number of confirmed cases passes 600 in the U.S., local and state governments are working on how best to contain the virus.
ANDREW CUOMO, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: If it continues to spread, we're going to have to take drastic containment measures which means you basically shut down everything, which is what China did.
HILL (voice-over): In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing the state will begin to producing hand sanitizer for government agencies and schools in the wake of a shortage there and warning schools in some areas could be closed for weeks.
The head of the port authority of New York and New Jersey, who is also in charge of the area's airports, is in isolation after testing positive. And now New York City's transit authority is recommending people with underlying health issues avoid the subway.
BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: This is a time to listen to your body. So if you're starting to get sick, stay home. Do everybody a favor and stay home. It makes a crucial difference in this equation.
HILL (voice-over): There are now more than 100 countries and territories with confirmed cases according to the CDC. In Italy, numbers spiked over the weekend. Since Sunday, at least 97 people have died and more than 9,100 have tested positive for the virus.
The prime minister, following China's lead, putting some 16 million under lockdown. Empty streets and store shelves illustrating a stark new normal, from Milan to Main Street.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL (on camera): And Wolf, I should point out, we're just learning that the vast majority of the deaths from coronavirus, some 82 percent are actually for patients ages 70 up. Now, when it comes to controlling this, the head of the WHO is saying today that he believes this would be a pandemic that could in fact be controlled, but he stresses it's going to involve both containment and mitigation.
And he says this is going to depend on what the countries do, because what they do inside their own borders will have an impact far beyond, Wolf.
BLITZER: Certainly will. All right, Erica Hill reporting. Thank you very much.
As the White House scrambles to deal with all of this, there is deep concern right now that the president himself could possibly, possibly have been exposed to the virus. We're standing by, by the way, for a White House briefing.
The Vice President Mike Pence and his task force, they will be going into the briefing room, making statements, updating us and then answering reporters' questions.
Let's go to our White House Correspondent, Boris Sanchez, who is working this part of the story for us. Boris, some lawmakers, several of them now, four at least, are in self-quarantine.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Four Republican lawmakers now under self-quarantine. Two of them actually coming into close contact with President Trump in recent days. I asked the White House for comment on this but they have yet to respond.
Further, the White House so far has just told the public that there's no reason to panic, that everything is fine, and that President Trump is healthy. Some of those comments have irked experts that are meant to lead the charge to the response to this virus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Tonight, the White House facing questions about how close President Trump may have come into contact with the coronavirus, as three Republican lawmakers are now under self- quarantine after a person attending CPAC tested positive for the virus.
Congressman Matt Gaetz who mocked growing fears of the virus by tweeting a photo of himself wearing a gas mask last week, announcing he came into contact with a patient during the conservative conference. Gaetz flew with President Trump on Air Force One earlier today as he returned to Washington from Mar-a-Lago.
Also in self-quarantine, Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Paul Gosar and Doug Collins. Collins visited the CDC alongside Trump on Friday.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I'm not concerned at all.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham saying there was no indication Trump came into contact with the infected person at CPAC though tensions are rising at the White House amid brutal losses in the stock market and increasing alarm over the novel coronavirus. As the number of U.S. cases skyrockets, sources telling CNN there's a
growing rift between the White House and national health agencies on messaging. CDC officials privately accusing the White House of downplaying the growing crisis, with experts repeatedly forced to clarify Trump's incorrect or misleading claims.
[17:10:02]
Sources say that behind closed doors, Trump has warned top officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and HHS Secretary Alex Azar, to avoid making statements that would stoke fear or panic, with Trump privately blaming a pessimistic outlook for plunging stock prices. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the administration's top expert on infectious diseases, says he'll stick to the facts.
FAUCI: I can only speak for myself, Allison. As you know, every time I have come in front of this camera with CNN "New Day" or any other place, I tell you exactly what I feel based on the data. I give you my honest opinion of what we should be doing, my honest evaluation, the same way as I'm doing it today, but you know, I can't speak for everyone who is involved in this.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Even as Secretary Azar claims --
ALEZ AZAR, SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Make no mistake, this is a very serious health problem. Nobody is trying to minimize that.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): That message undercut moments later by President Trump, downplaying the number of coronavirus deaths compared to the flu, also blaming the media and Democrats for inflaming the coronavirus situation and saying instability in oil markets is good for the consumer. Gasoline prices coming down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (on camera): Now, Wolf, back to Congressman Matt Gaetz, sources indicate that he spent at least part of the weekend at Mar-a- Lago with President Trump, even having dinner on Saturday night. Gaetz's office has said that this self-quarantine is out of an abundance of caution that he's shown. No symptoms so far. We'll of course keep you posted, Wolf, if the White House finally answers our questions.
BLITZER: Yes. Let's hope he's okay. All right, Boris Sanchez, thanks very much. Let's get some more on all of this. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is joining us. Governor, I know you have a lot going on. Thank you so much for spending a few moments with us.
Can you give us an update, governor, right now, the latest numbers in New York State? How many coronavirus cases are you currently tracking?
CUOMO: Thanks, Wolf, good to be with you. We have about 142 cases. We had a significant jump. So it would put us right up at the top in the country. We have one big cluster in Westchester County, which is outside of New York City and then we have some in New York City and throughout the rest of the state. BLITZER: Are health officials in New York able to test anyone who
comes in and says he or she needs a test?
CUOMO: Yes, that's a great question, Wolf. And the testing capacity is still an issue. You look at the countries that have dealt with this well. You look at what China wound up doing. They did multiples of the tests that we're doing.
They were very aggressive on the testing and then they tracked down every test. We are not yet where we should be in terms of testing. It's one of my issues with the federal government and working with them to get the private labs in.
Get the private labs using what's called automated testing so you get the volume up because China was doing thousands and thousands of tests per day. We're nowhere near that level yet.
BLITZER: As you know, the CDC or the Centers for Disease Control, they've been working to try to ramp up testing capacity. Has capacity improved in the state of New York in recent days? And when are you being told you'll have full capacity?
CUOMO: Yes. It has been getting better. But in my opinion not at a fast enough rate. And we shouldn't have started in this position anyway. I mean, you know, we saw China happening. It was no secret. We knew someone was going to get on an airplane in China and come to the United States.
That we're saying that China actually had faster testing capacity than we have is not acceptable to me. You have state laboratories, we have a big state lab in New York, but then we need the private sector labs that have approved testing from the CDC.
Quest has come in, some other private sector companies that do business on a nationwide basis, but we're going to need multiples of what we have now. Every report says, Wolf, and yours just said it earlier, what's going to happen? It depends on what we do. Government matters here.
What government says, the message we send, and how well we actually administer. And if we don't get this testing capacity up quickly, we're going to be behind the eight ball. And then when people start to see the testing numbers, they're going to be shocked, because the numbers are going to be very high.
Just because we're not testing doesn't mean the virus isn't spreading. And then you'll see these big numbers. That will add to the fear that people feel. And then we'll have to actually communicate the facts of this situation because we already have, I believe, anxiety well in excess of what the facts would merit.
[17:15:05]
BLITZER: You know, in Japan, all elementary, middle schools, high schools, for millions of kids, they've been shut down for the entire month. In Italy, by the way, just moments ago, the prime minister announced
that 60 million, all Italians, all the people of Italy are now on lock down for the time being.
You've ordered schools in New York to close for 24 hours if someone at the school test positive for coronavirus. Is that enough time? How worried are you that what's happening for example in Japan or Italy or South Korea could happen here in the United States?
CUOMO: Well, what we do, Wolf, is we calibrate our response to the facts at the time. So where we have a cluster and we see rapid growth, we're much more aggressive in closing schools, gatherings, et cetera.
We have a general rule that any school that has a child that tests positive must close for 24 hours so we can come in and assess the situation and make a determination as to long term closure, et cetera.
But again, the trajectory of this disease will depend upon what we do. If we get that testing capacity up quickly and we actually track down those cases, we can reduce the spread, just reduce the spread.
If we don't, you'll see it spread more and then you have to take more dramatic actions, closing down schools, et cetera. We don't want to get there. Nobody wants to get there, because that would really have a negative impact on the economy, on top of everything else.
But you could get there if you don't stop the spread and that requires additional testing capacity and investigation. You know, every time you find a positive, you then have to run down that case. It's a whole detective investigation. And then contact all those people. So it's a massive logistical operation.
BLITZER: It certainly is. And we appreciate, Governor Cuomo, the time you spent with us. I know you got a lot going on and presumably by all accounts, it's only going to get more intense. Thanks so much for joining us.
CUOMO: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. And stay with us. Once again, we're awaiting a briefing by the Vice President Mike Pence and the White House coronavirus task force. You're looking at a picture from the White House briefing room. We'll go there, part of the White House as soon as it begins. We'll be right back.
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BLITZER: As we wait for the White House coronavirus briefing to begin, you're looking at live pictures coming in from the White House briefing room, I want to bring in our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, the CDC is under fire right now for its early response to this pandemic. What's the latest?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right. The CDC, I've been covering them for decades now. They are one of the most respected public health institutions in the world, but they are getting criticism for how they've handled this recent novel coronavirus outbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, respected as a world leader in handling outbreaks of deadly diseases. But now with the novel coronavirus, this venerated agency under fire.
IRWIN REDLENER, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It's been actually incredibly disappointing.
COHEN (voice-over): Delays in lab testing. A letter from a congressman about data removed from the CDC's website. A lack of data about medical treatments being done for coronavirus patients.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have confidence in the CDC?
TRUMP: They're fantastic people. These are fantastic people.
COHEN (voice-over): But not everyone agrees. Dr. Irwin Redlener is Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and a special consultant to the Clinton administration.
REDLENER: This issue of incredible incompetence in getting reliable test out gives it a -- may be a barely passing grade, you know, in the D level if I had to grade them.
COHEN (voice-over): That's been the biggest problem. While South Korea has managed to test nearly 200,000 people, some of them through this drive-through, delays in getting tests out in the U.S. mean fewer than 6,000 people have been tested. The CDC admits the testing rollout was not as smooth as it would have liked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you admit the CDC did have problems with the testing?
TRUMP: We did learn shortly after we distributed the first batch of our tests to some of the state health labs that there was an issue with one component of the test.
COHEN (voice-over): And now, many public health labs across the country are testing for coronavirus, but still, some experts say the delay caused irreparable damage.
REDLENER: The tardiness in developing accurate tests has really been a setback in terms of our ability to understand how prevalent coronavirus is and to institute appropriate controls to keep the spread at an absolute minimum.
COHEN (voice-over): Also, concerns that while hundreds of people in the U.S. have tested positive for coronavirus, CDC has published only one report about how a patient was treated, making it more difficult for doctors to learn from one another. REDLENER: Doctors need to know how to handle it and we need to be --
it's unusual times now, so it's an emergency, it's a crisis. We need to be fast tracking our ability to learn the experiences that doctors are having with the disease. It's kind of, you know, it's an emergency. We're just not acting like that.
COHEN (voice-over): So now, one of the world's leading public health agency is trying to recover from a somewhat rocky start at handling this new outbreak.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (on camera): Now, just minutes ago, the CDC did send us a response to our questions.
[17:25:00]
Let's take a look. About the issue of whether or not they were sharing published data or whether they were publishing data about the clinical histories of patients.
The CDC said, "We answer direct calls from clinicians every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. CDC's website also has guidance for health care providers on patients' care, testing, infection control. This guidance is updated as we learn more about this virus."
They also said as far as the testing issues go, that there has not been a backlog of testing except for shipping delays, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Elizabeth Cohen with the very latest. Thanks for that report. I want to bring in Kaitlan Collins, our White House correspondent.
Kaitlan, you are there in the briefing room, we're standing by for the vice president of the United States to show up with the coronavirus task force, but you have some news that you've detected.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. That was on the schedule, supposed to be the vice president and the coronavirus task force, but we should note they just took the vice presidential seal off the lectern and put the presidential seal on there.
Obviously, hinting that the president is likely going to be making an appearance in here in just a few minutes, which would be notable because it would be the first time we've heard from the president today. Otherwise, he has stayed away from reporters and the cameras as he attended that fundraiser in Orlando.
He just returned here a short while ago when of course, that stunning news broke that a lawmaker who was on the plane with the president is now going to self-quarantine because they were told they did come in contact with that person who attended that conservative political conference outside Washington in recent days.
And now of course, a person from that event has now tested positive for coronavirus. So we're waiting to see what their reaction to that is, but also what the president himself has to say, Wolf.
Because if you looked at his twitter feed today, you cans see there were over two dozen tweets where he was continuing to downplay the latest developments as this is really gaining a foothold in the nation.
And of course, even hinting at one point that he believed it could be good for gas prices, certainly not the message you are hearing from health officials across the nation.
BLITZER: All right. So, we'll hear from the president of the United States. I assume we'll hear from the vice president and other members of the coronavirus task force. We'll have live coverage of that in a few moments.
Good to know that the president will be making a statement as well. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us right now. Sanjay, what do you want to hear in the next few minutes from the president, the vice president, and the other experts?
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there's obviously been a lot of concern about -- still about this testing and, you know, I feel a little bit like a broken record talking about this, but you know, a million tests were supposed to be made available by the end of this past week.
Now, we're hearing 75,000 tests are available. They're still ramping up, which is good news, obviously, and we hear that 50 states, their local health departments are able to test, but 75,000 tests is not enough when you hear Anthony Fauci talk about millions and millions of tests are necessary.
And they're necessary now, you know. I mean, every day matters when you're dealing with an outbreak because the numbers do grow. Some predict that these numbers may double every six or seven days in terms of the number of people infected.
Also, Wolf, just quickly, you know, something you and I talked about last week, I still think is a bit of an open question. How are we prepared to deal with the increased number of patients that are likely going to be seeking care?
There are all kinds of different models, some of them come from the federal government, sort of predicting how many people might need hospitalization, how many people might need to be in an ICU, how many people might need to be on breathing machines.
We know all those numbers and we ought to know what we have in terms of resources in the country right now, and they don't reconcile. It doesn't seem like there's enough to meet that demand. So, that's a basic preparedness question, Wolf. And that's something I would be curious to see if they talk about.
BLITZER: Yes, it's an important issue indeed. Dr. James Phillips is with us, assistant professor at George Washington University Hospital. You specialize in emergency medicine. When someone shows up in the emergency room at GW Hospital and has problems, just came back, let's say, from South Korea, and doesn't test positive for the regular flu, do you automatically do a coronavirus test?
JAMES PHILLIPS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Yes, it's an interesting question. So, what we do when patients come in is we develop what we call a different differential diagnosis, and that is, what do we think are the most likely things you're suffering from, from a diagnosis standpoint, based on your symptoms.
And certainly these symptoms that we're seeing from COVID-19 overlap with the flu, but also other colds and pneumonias and things like that. So the individual doctor will send some testing and with us not having any COVDID testing of any ease of access right now, we are relying on testing for other things --.
BLITZER: Let's say someone tests negative for the regular flu, but just came back from a nonstop flight from Korea, maybe stopped in Thailand and flew to the Washington Dulles Airport and goes to the G.W. emergency room, won't they do a coronavirus test for that person as opposed to just sending that person home and say, self-isolate?
[17:29:59]
PHILLIPS: Yes. So, the reason why we test people right now is, it starts with the CDC guidelines. But what we need to add to that is physician gestalt and experience. We can -- we're smart enough to be able to look through the haze of the fog of war, they've been to this country or that country.
The airport in South Korea is concerning, just like being out in the streets of South Korea. And so, ordering tests for people who are in high risk areas, presenting with real symptoms, is something that needs to be done, and we need to have access to that.
BLITZER: Because one of the problems is that there still, still was not enough of these tests available to do a test for somebody like that. Standby, we have some more information on that.
Kaitlan, you're at the White House, are you getting any indication when the President, the vice president, the Coronavirus Task Force will actually be heading out?
COLLINS: Wolf, it was supposed to be any minute now, but they just came over to the speaker here in the room, said it's actually going to be at 6:00, it's about another half hour before we're going to have this briefing get started. They still haven't confirmed this with the President, but that seal is still there, so we will likely be hearing from him soon.
Clearly, they want a little bit more time before the President does came out -- and come out and make this appearance that he was not initially scheduled to make. And this comes, of course, as we should also note today, the White House is really focused on the economic aspect of all of this, not just the healthcare aspect. And we were told by sources, the President was going to be briefed, essentially by aides, and presented with options that they believe can help blunt the fallout that you're seeing from this outbreak across not only the United States, but the entire world.
So whether or not the President is going to make any announcements on that front is still something that's to be determined. We know he was really presented with a wide range of options, and that's been something he's focused on over the last several days rather than other aspects. So it's still going to be determined when they get in here whether or not they have any announcements on that front.
BLITZER: And, you know, Gloria, this is an important moment right now. A lot of people are worried right now. And as someone who spent seven years as a White House correspondent, I know when they put the presidential seal on the lectern that means the president will be speaking, not the vice president, the president will be speaking.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I was asking some people today. Don't you think this is the time that a president should speak to the country? Because you have this crisis with coronavirus, you have an economic crisis with Wall Street having its worst tumble ever. And you put those two together, and it's combustible.
And this is when you want to hear from a president saying this is what we're going to do, this is how we are handling this. And up until now, he has put the vice president in charge while he was in Florida over the weekend. And so I'm just wondering whether the President who believes he is his own best spokesman believes that this is the time he and only he can calm the country. We'll have to see what he does.
BLITZER: Standby, everybody standby. Once again, we expect to hear directly from the President of the United States fairly soon right at the top of the hour. We're now told the President will be coming into the White House briefing room making the statement. We assume he'll be joined by the vice president and the Coronavirus Task Force. They'll speak, answer reporters questions. Our live coverage continues right after this.
[17:33:05]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: All right. Once again, we're waiting the start of today's White House Coronavirus Task Force. The briefing, we're now told, and you can see from the presidential seal on that lectern, the President is now expected to walk in, make a statement. Let's see if he answers reporters' questions together with the vice president and other members of the Coronavirus Task Force.
Our political and medical experts are here to discuss all of today's dramatic developments. And, Chris Cillizza, is -- one of the most dramatic developments is that four members of Congress, and I'll name them, Matt Gaetz of Florida, representative for Republicans, Doug Collins, Paul Gosar of Arizona and Senator Ted Cruz, they all came into contact with someone at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, here in Washington last week, who came down with the coronavirus, they all came, and now all four of them are in what's being described as self-quarantine.
But what's significant is that Matt Gaetz, the Republican congressman from Florida, was aboard Air Force One today in the past few hours, with the President on the flight from Florida back to Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington.
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS EDITOR AT LARGE: And rode in the Beast, the car that the President, the armored vehicle that the President travels in, with the President. I defer to the two doctors in terms of exposure and what that all means. Again to be clear, Matt Gaetz was exposed to someone who had it in his self-quarantine, Matt Gaetz himself, we know nothing of that situation.
But, you know, I do think -- this is Matt Gaetz of the wearing the gas mask on the House floor to vote for the money appropriated to help deal with the corona virus, $8 billion. This is Donald Trump who has repeatedly dismissed it and said, well, it might get worse but it might not. If you watched any of his press conference on Friday night after touring the CDC, some of the things he said they called Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington State, a snake. He referenced that he really knows a lot about this.
[17:40:00]
And everyone who he talks to says, how do you know so much, all the doctors he talks to. It's a laugh to keep from crying situation in some ways because some of the things he is saying, it's not just not presidential, it is concerning that this is the person who is in charge.
I know Mike Pence is out with the task force, with presence still of the President, who is in charge of directing the way in which we respond to something like this. And I think he's very much focused on the political end of it, and there are political consequences. The economy goes down. The Dow Jones goes down to 1,000 points.
But the more important thing is, as we've heard from everyone who's a medical expertise is, containment, and sort of figuring out how to best deal with people who have it, and keep more people from getting it.
BLITZER: So, Sanjay, Matt Gaetz, the Congressman. He was in the presidential limousine with the President, driving to the airport in Florida, then aboard Air Force One. I've been on Air Force One. I don't know if you have but it's, you know, it's a big plane. But there's -- it's relatively tight quarters on Air Force One, how concerned should the President be right now that he was in contact with someone who was in contact with another individual who actually came down with coronavirus?
GUPTA: Well, you know, I think it'd be a much bigger concern, obviously, if Matt Gaetz was diagnosed as actually carrying the coronavirus, there's obviously a concern that he was potentially at risk because he came in direct contact with this other person. So now, we're talking about second generation spread potentially. But we don't know, in fact, if he has it. I mean, he's met -- I'm talking about Matt Gaetz, whether or not he's at risk clearly. But it's, I think, a big difference as to whether or not he actually is diagnosed with the virus versus not.
This is this is new territory to some extent, Wolf. This is a novel coronavirus. We're getting a lot of knowledge about how it transmits. We know it can be transmissible to some extent even by somebody who is not showing symptoms. So I think it'll be curious to see if they do -- are doing testing, doing some sort of regular testing on these people in quarantine and figuring out if any of them are positive, including the congressman who was in close proximity to the President.
But right now, I don't know that there's more that you can say about that or that you would do anything differently based on what I'm hearing so far.
BLITZER: Yes, interesting. Dr. Phillips, I want you to weigh in as well. But we're going to take another quick break. Once again, we're waiting for the President of United States and the vice president, the Corona Virus Task Force to go into the White House briefing room. We'll see what the President has to say about his encounter with Representative Matt Gaetz aboard Air Force One.
The President, as all of us know, a longtime germaphobe. He's got serious issues. We'll see how we reacted when he was told aboard Air Force One that Matt Gates was going into self-quarantine. We'll be right.
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[17:42:22]
BLITZER: Once again, we're waiting for the briefing to begin over at the White House, the vice president, the Corona Task Force are expected to show up. And now we see the President of United States will come in as well. The presidential seal is on the lectern in there now. That means the President will make a statement. We'll see if he sticks around and answers reporters' questions We'll have live coverage of that coming up.
Also tonight, as the coronavirus pandemic spreads illness and fear many American, they have questions that they want answered about how to protect themselves and what happens if they become infected. Brian Todd has been looking into this for us.
Brian, a lot of it -- there's a lot of information and misinformation out there. Give us the facts.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf. There's a lot of guidance out there from public health officials on what we should be doing and not doing. There's also a lot of hysteria. So we talked to public health experts who have monitored this crisis, and who have been in charge of public health during other crises to boil it down to the basics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TODD (voice-over): During this pandemic, public health experts say when we're out in public, we should all become germophobes for a while.
ERIC FEIGL-DING, PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: What we have to focus on is make sure whatever you touch is as hygienic as possible.
TODD: So what are the simple steps most of us should be taking as a matter of habit, washing your hands for one, but it has to be done the right way.
CHRIS MEEKINS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, HHS: Washing your hands for 20 seconds, most people do it less than five to 10.
TODD: Experts also say proper hand washing is even more nuanced.
FEIGL-DING: Scrub in between your fingers, and especially under your fingernails, because under the fingernails are some of the dirtiest parts of your finger. It's really the in-between, the crevices of the fingers and under your rings, actually a lot of germs can hide.
And after 20 seconds of the scrubbing under the fingers, you rinse out. And when you -- after you dry it, make sure you turn it off, because this was dirty, with a paper towel.
TODD: We're advised to use a paper cloth when we touch door handles use our elbows or the backs of our hands to touch elevator buttons.
What about shaking hands? Experts say fist bumping is a good alternative, but we can't always avoid shaking hands.
MEEKINS: So it's just important after you do that, because you don't know if they may have the flu, they may have a cold, to wash your hands after that or use hand sanitizers and let the hand sanitizer dry.
TODD: And as for that now hard to get hand sanitizer.
FEIGL-DING: I think hand sanitizers are really useful when you're out and about, running around meeting people. But I don't think they should be the end on (inaudible) because in many ways soap is far superior. The properties of the soap actually helps break up the virus particle itself.
[17:50:07]
TODD: And a cardinal rule of personal hygiene during an outbreak.
MEEKINS: Not touching your face, not touching your eyes if you haven't washed your hands recently.
TODD: If you've got to travel, experts say, those few inches of space right around you are critical.
FEIGL-DING: Whenever you get into a cab, plane or train, sometimes it might be helpful to wipe down the area around you.
TODD: What about those short excursions many of us take socially.
MEEKINS: At an average restaurant, so we'd be bringing our Clorox wipes with us taking them out, rubbing the table off.
FEIGL-DING: I think if it's a lower end restaurant, I would be very careful. And I would wipe around the areas in which you're using your utensils and knives, because that is really, really a point of infection.
TODD: The consistent advice is that in public, we should be careful but not afraid.
FEIGL-DING: I don't think anyone should be paranoid. I think people should be mindful of what they touch and more importantly, remember to clean their hands after you've touched anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (on-camera): Now, what about self-quarantining for those of us who might need to do that. Public health experts say for many of us who share a home with other people, you should seclude yourself from those other people. If you don't have your own room, one should be setup for you if that's possible. And if you can, avoid sharing a bathroom. Experts say you've got to avoid contact with other people in your home for a couple of weeks, and don't even pet your dog or cat. Wolf.
BLITZER: Excellent, excellent advice, Brian Todd, reporting for us. Thank you very much. Our political and medical experts are still with us.
Kaitlan Collins, you're over at the White House getting ready for this briefing. And as you reported, the presidential seal is now on the lectern, so we expect the President to make an opening statement. We'll see if he sticks around and answers reporters' questions.
But set the scene for us right now, because there's a lot -- there are a lot of new developments that unfolded in the past couple hours.
COLLINS: Yes, Wolf. We haven't heard from the President since Saturday night, so this is going to be the first time for him to comment on all of these developments that have happened. Some just here in the last few hours, including about these number of Republican lawmakers who are now choosing to self-quarantine after they were told that they did, in fact, come in contact with that person who attended a political conference in recent days outside Washington, and is now tested positive for coronavirus.
Of course, two of those lawmakers have interacted with the President extensively. One of them that rode, of course, Matt Gaetz of Florida, who wrote on Air Force One with the President today, was in the Beast with him, spent the weekend at the President's Mar-a-Lago Club.
But also Doug Collins of Georgia who shook hands with the President, we have a photo of him actually shaking hands with Trump on the tarmac in Georgia on Friday. And then went to the CDC with the President for that visit, where they were in a lab talking about mitigating the spread of this virus. And so the question now is going to be, of course, how the President feels about this.
Wolf, our sources who had been speaking with the President when he was at in Palm Beach over the weekend said that he did not seem to be taking it too seriously. They were a little surprised that he wasn't taking any extra precautions. Of course, he is someone who is self- described as a germaphobe, but they said really largely was just business as usual for the President.
It would have looked like his average weekend if there wasn't an epidemic spreading across the country where he made remarks at a fundraiser. He went golfing with Major League Baseball players, and even hosted the Brazilian president for dinner with a bunch of his friends there as well, in between a few briefings that he did receive from the vice president while there.
So we're waiting to say what it is that the President has to say about those members of Congress that he's come in contact with, who came in contact with someone who has coronavirus.
BLITZER: Yes, that's important to hear what the president say about that, and a whole bunch of other questions as well.
The breaking news continues next, the White House coronavirus briefing beginning in just a few minutes, we're told, with the President of United States now expected to speak.
[17:53:43]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
BLITZER: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer here in the Situation Room, and we're following breaking news.
We're expecting President Trump to join a briefing by the Coronavirus Task Force any minute now. It's expected to begin as the death toll from the virus has just jumped once again here in the United States to 26.
Also breaking right now, historic losses on Wall Street as the coronavirus fears collide with a crash in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrials plunging more than 2,000 points, it's the worst one day point drop on record.
And we're also monitoring a cruise ship that just dock in Oakland, California with at least 21 people infected with the virus, 3,500 people are on board that ship right now.
Let's go to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, she's over at the White House briefing room. Kaitlan, set the scene for us. The President, we expect momentarily, to walk into the briefing room.
COLLINS: Yes, Wolf. He wasn't supposed to come to this briefing. It certainly wasn't on his schedule. Instead, we were expecting to see the vice president and other members of the Coronavirus Task Force.
But just a few moments ago, they came in. They swapped out the seal and now there's the presidential seal on this lectern as we are now expecting to see the President any minute now.
