And friends and certainly our prayers go out to all of them in the days and weeks ahead. I would ask all georgians to continue to pray for these families and those in the local communities that have been affected by these tragic events that we are all facing in this very unique time. As you all know, life has drastically changed over the past weeks in our state, across our country and across the world. Our children are now at home, many georgians are working remotely. Our public gatherings are few and far between. And thats for a very good reason. Some Health Care Facilities are ramping up their capacity as they see more and more patients and are providing critical treatments to those in need. Leaders at the local level are working hard to make the right calls at the right time to keep our citizens safe. I will tell you there are no easy answers, and the guidance continues to change as we fight to stop the spread of covid19. Moving forward, we must remain dynamic in response. We have to stay united in the fight and georgians deserve to have the facts to make the right decisions. They need as much information as possible to keep loved ones safe. Yesterdayn there were 197 cases yesterday, there were 197 cases of covid19, with three confirmed deaths. Today, there are 287 cases of covid19 spending 36 counties. That includes glenn, lawrence, and peach, that previously had no cases. We are investigating confirmed cases and longterm care facilities, which you all know presents a unique challenge. So far, the department of health, state lab has conducted 508 tests for covid19, with 113 positive results. State officials have deployed mobile testing sites in georgia and theres more that are on the way. The commercial labs have conducted over 1300 tests for covid19, with 174 positive results. Due to the volume, some of the commercial tests are taking longer than the standard 48 hours. To get the results back. And im certainly urging those labs to continue in a timely fashion as we go forward. This morning, i was encouraged by the news from the white house that Vaccine Development and antiviral therapies are moving along quicker than expected. Certainly applaud the trump administrations leadership in removing unnecessary red tape and outdated rules to deliver Real Solutions for American Families in this crisis. Even with these developments, we must start to prioritize covid19 for the most vulnerable populations, as well the people responsible for care and safety. This will conserve medical supplies like masks, covers, and gowns, which are becoming increasingly difficult to find due to overuse and hoarding. Health officials on the state and National Level urge the publics cooperation with this. Georgias elderly, those with chronic Underlying Health conditions, those who live in longterm care facilities or nursing come facilities, and those serving on the front lines as a health care worker, first responder, longterm care facility staffer, or law enforcement, need those tests. The best way to serve the public is protect those who are protecting us. As many of you know, i recently declared a public state of emergency in our state, and authorized geomet to work with the National Guard to activate up to 2000 troops in the response efforts as needed. On monday, the georgia General Assembly convened for a special session to ratify the Public Health state of emergency. Im grateful to the house and senate for taking swift action so we can deploy all necessary resources to help our fellow georgians in this time of need. We also continue to update the appropriation chairman in both houses on how we plan to use the budget. Unlike other states of emergency, this declaration allows the department of health to direct specific Health Care Action in these extraordinary circumstances. We are moving forward using the advice of Health Officials and emergency Health Officials at all levels of government. We have learned of supply shortages at specific hospitals. I want you to know we have taken immediate action, working with officials to secure more tests and critically needed materials from the national stockpile. We are coordinating supply delivery to Health Care Facilities in need and we are grateful for all of those who have offered up their inventory to help others. Your sacrifice is literally saving lives. Earlier today, the centers for medicare and Medicaid Services issued new guidance to the American Health care workforce, asking for a delay in elective procedures to conserve supplies and to free up medical staff. The department of Public Health and Emergency Management agency and i urge all Health Facilities to follow this guidance, as well. Theres no doubt that, without a question, we will need these resources in the days and weeks ahead. As the number of cases continues to rise, communities across georgia, hospital bed space continues to remain a serious issue for us all. State agencies are working to determine existing capacity and run the numbers on potential needs. This work is ongoing and we will continue to provide updates as this situation changes. Fortunately, we continue to receive offers from the private sector, including Great Companies like walmart, the motor speedway, ups, and others, to name a few, to utilize real estate and other resources should the need arise. We are grateful for that offer. They have almost completed installation of a new patient isolation zone that will be ready for emergency housing units. Hard labor at creek state park is still an asset with seven trailers onsite if patients of covid19 have no alternative housing during the recovery. We have one person there to date. In accordance with Public Health state of emergency that i declared, all elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools closed yesterday, on march 18. That will go through march 31. In many circumstances, Online Learning will continue in the University System of georgia and the Technical College system of have movedf georgia online for the duration of this semester. On a casebycase basis, School Officials are working to accommodate students that require in person experience to complete their coursework. As you can imagine, many of these individuals are needed on the frontline of this health care fight. I wanted to also address something thats sadly also true. Misinformation is rampant in times of crisis. I want to thank all of the georgians who alerted my office to scams. We are working hard to keep people apprised of what we discover, and i encourage people to continue to rely on official sources for information. If you see something suspicious, or hear about it, let us know. Part of our response includes a new covid19 hotline for all georgians. On average, our team has been receiving 700800 calls each day to share Public Health information and to connect people with the resources we have available for assistance. Id like to give you that number now. 18444422681. Again, thats 18444422681. Right now, we have 209 passengers from the grand princess cruise ship remaining at the air force base reserve. Officials are making plans to get people home to their states when they can be safely returned. As you know, we had up to 487 people there at one time. As you can imagine, as a husband and father of three girls, i understand the concerns and fears by people across our great state. Despite all of the unknowns, we are working to prepare for and respond to any scenario. Our top ird is the safety of our citizens in every corner of the state. As we work to keep communities safe, we are certainly mindful of all of our Small Businesses affected by this crisis. They are the lifeblood of local communities and employee millions of hardworking georgians. As a Small Business person for over three decades, i have known the stress and strain this pandemic has caused on georgia entrepreneurs and job creators. Im proud to report that yesterday, the u. S. Small Business Administration processed georgias paperwork to allow Small Business owners to apply for Economic Injury loans. This application is now available online. To stop the spread of coronavirus, we must follow the guidance that we have been receiving from state and help organizations, as well as leaders. Regularly wash your hands. Practice social distancing. Go at all costs, and protect the elderly and chronically ill and get them to stay at home, especially if you are sick. If you are experiencing symptoms consistent with covid19, i want to urge you to call your doctor or urgent care clinic. Do not show up at an emergency room or your Doctors Office unannounced. I would ask you to remain calm, act responsibly, and help us urge your fellow georgians to follow the recommendations that we are giving. Right now, i am not mandating business closures, shutting down public events, or forcing people into quarantine. I am, however, leaning on the advice of medical professionals and scientists, as well as urging local officials to do what is in their interest and the interest of their communities to keep their communities safe and stop the spread of coronavirus. We are all in this fight together and together we will emerge stronger than ever. I would like you to all continue to pray for our men and women in law enforcement, our first responders, and the Health Care Providers across the state who are doing everything in their power to keep us out of harms way and saved lives around our state. To all the Business Owners who stepped up to offer assistance, who had to make tough decisions for the greater good, the future may seem uncertain. But know that we stand with you. With that, im going to run through some questions that weve received from the media and at the conclusion, i will see if we have any more that have come to us during my remarks. The first are for the thoughts about a statewide mandatory quarantine. At this point, i do not plan to issue a statewide mandatory quarantine. I continue to call on locals to take the appropriate action for their communities. I can tell you that ive been in touch with Community Leaders and many of the hotspots we have seen around the state asking what they need, if they needed me to act. They are telling me their communities are stepping up, theyre following the guidelines and the advice given them and that is making a difference. They are saying do not do this at this time. The second question is, would there be a no payment policy for government run utilities to help the population not pay or discountowned utilities . I will tell you that some companies have enacted these policies to help disruption due to nonpayment, but it depends on that company. The third question is, when are you going to mandate the shutdown of bars, restaurants, and city shutdowns like San Francisco to prevent the spread . And why the delay . At this time, i do not plan on forcing businesses to close. If the circumstances change, i will take the appropriate action. For now, i believe most georgians are heeding the advice of medical providers. Our decisions will continue to be based on the facts and the expert advice that were getting from Healthcare Providers and the department of Public Health. The next question is how can we help healthcare workers who have children . Parents can search for childcare on the department of early care and learning website. Www. Qualityrated. Org. Thats www. Qualityrated. Org. I want to commend amy jacobs and for this greatal work that theyve been doing. Parents can search by location to see what is open nearby or they can call 1877allgakids. Thats 1877allgakids and speak to a childcare expert. As of this morning, 916 childcare programs are open and over 1100 are now closed in georgia. Yesterday we put out a press release, applauding the ymca of Metro Atlanta for offering childcare for healthcare workers. This is quite an amazing thing that has been put together. I will let you know that the y is already at capacity. We are directing parents for more assistance. The state is now reporting 10 deaths. Which counties are they from . This is another question. The counties are as follows early county one, Fayette County one, darted county for, floyd, fulton have two each, and cobb county has one. The next question is many people are upset a state senator was showing symptoms and went to the state capital when he was showing symptoms of covid19. Can the governor speak to the decision and what precautions he might be taking . I would just say that this is a good example of why we need people to follow our advice, follow the advice of medical providers. Stay home if you are sick. If there is any doubt, stay home. Weve had this happen in many places around the state with sick individuals attending funerals, which is creating one of the hotspots we have around the state. And this is a good example that we can learn from. The next question, is the governor suspending the state certificate and give nurses and to give Nurse Practitioners freer rein to respond to the crisis . I will tell you at this time we are reviewing both of these proposals with our legal team and we will keep the public updated if we decide to move forward with that. The next question is how many doctors and nurses have tested positive for the virus so far . We do not track positive cases by profession. The next question is how can private labs apply to the state for reimbursement . At this time, the state lab is conducting its own tests and private labs are conducting independently. As we mentioned, we are asking to save the tests for the Frontline Health care workers, the elderly, the medically fragile, and the other folks that are priority. And this is coming from the cdc, so that we can test the people on the front lines of keeping a us safe in hospitals and medical facilities. I would caution georgians that want to get tested, if theyre trying to do that through a private site, to make sure you are vetting the private side. If you have questions, call the 1800 number for advice on whether you should be tested and if youre going to do that, where that would be available to the private sector. The next question is will the state place orders such as curfew or shelterinplace . As i mentioned, that is not under consideration at this time. I want to urge georgians to follow the directions we have given. Avoid large gatherings. Practice social distancing. And make sure that you stay home if you are sick. Continue to wash your hands and wipe down surfaces that other people may be exposed to. The next question, how will the new drugs approved by the fda be distributed . As you can imagine, we are working very closely with our federal counterparts on this. We will keep you updated on plans for distribution when this becomes a reality. The next question is a number of businesses in my area are asking if the governor do something about tomorrows sales tax deadline, march 20. The march 20 is the deadline for businesses to pay their february sales tax. Ill tell you that our Economic Impact committee is actively researching this option and many others. But at this time, there are no plans to delay the payments for tomorrow. The next question is restaurants in my area want to know if the governor has the power to waive rules on alcohol sales coming out of the door . They have a large amount of alcohol they cannot sell with the closure of dine in sales and they also need the cash flow. I will tell you that we are continuing to work with the Hospitality Industry to look into this possibility and other things they are trying to work on to help them in this great time of need. As you can imagine, that is an manytry in our state, with others, that have been severely affected by these happenings. The next question is does the governor have a message to houses of worship . While many in atlanta are not meeting, we are seeing a significant number of churches and religious Organizations Holding services in rural georgia. I would urge people to please consider moving those Services Online. We have seen several instances around the state where members of congregations have been affected, and before they know it, they are spreading it in their local community. I know firsthand what a tough call that is. My church has experienced the same, moving from not electing to do that last sunday, but moving to completely online this sunday. I know many people have differing opinions on that. Im sympathetic to it. But i will tell you there are realworld solutions, problems, that have happened out of infected people going to the services and helping spread and create hotspots around this state. So i would ask those religious leaders to pray deeply and consider holding those Services Online or delaying those services. The next question is im interested in hearing the latest on the regional test cites the state is working with fema to set up. Are those close to being ready . Yes, they are. Those lists are underway. Well be announcing that as soon as we can, but i can tell you that those facilities are being stood up right now. There was some soft testing that began yesterday to make sure that we had the process and procedures down and we will share that information with the public as soon as it becomes available. The next question is what is my message to georgians worried about making ends meet because theyve been laid off for lost hours at work because of the crisis . I can tell you that here in georgia, we work with the labor commissioner mark butler and his department to issue guidance and help people in this difficult time. I know from my call today with the president and Vice President and the nations governors that they are continuing to follow this issue very closely, especially in industries that have been adversely affected when you think about the state of georgia, airline, hospitality, the Convention Center businesses, and Small Businesses that have made the tough choice to shut down or have been forced to do so. The next question is how concerned is the governor about the situation in albany . I can tell you that im very concerned. There were two funerals that have led to multiple cases and possibly four deaths. This situation could not be more serious. I want to urge the Community Leaders, the business people, faith leaders, to have a conversation to educate the public to why its important to do the right thing immediately. Social distancing, stayathome, if you could have attended one of those funeral services, and many, many other things. I will tell you late last night, i was on the phone with the chairman down there, doing great work to work with the local community to raise awareness. I asked him specifically if there was anything he needed me to do, action he needed me to take. He mentioned a few things, which we have already deployed the department of health resources. We are working on the additional quarantine site that they feel like they will need to be made available. So we have the team already on the ground. And we are on top of that situation. But we need the communitys help to stop that. The next question is do you expect the number of cases to go way up over the next couple of weeks . Absolutely i do. I believe, as i said early on, when we did not have many results the more we test, the more we will find. We certainly saw that today. I think that will continue. Our team is working 24 7 on this in our state and comparing that to other states and cities around the country so we can gauge how that situation continues to move and we will do so, and continue to based our decisions on that data and the advice of our medical community. The next question is how close are we to capacity on icu beds and ventilators, statewide . I will tell you that the Coronavirus Task force has taken an inventory on resources to see what we have available now and also to think through the needs in a week, the next two weeks, and potentially further out. Weve got a great team and theres many people working on that issue. Weve had great cooperation with the medical community. Especially the hospitals around the state, and we have folks looking at procurement and other things to help us solve that problem. For those of you that follow the call with the president , the Vice President today, ive asked them to consider keeping the Federal Medical Facility that was stood up to support the Cruise Ship Passengers that we have been housing. Ive asked them to consider leaving that facility to help us with the search that we are starting to see. And i believe that we will see in our Metro Atlanta hospitals. Georgians said no, that we are going down every note and cranny to find resources that will make that Space Available to the hospital. I will tell you our hospitals continue to do some incredibly creative things, and theres a lot of people working on this issue. The last question i got, and i , could thever governor talk about the state revenue picture and what this means for the end of the current year budget and the upcoming budget in 2021 . We continue to monitor that, that is something that the state economist, the opb, our budget two chairman from the house and Senate Appropriations committee, and many, many other people are continuing to work on. We realize this will be a tough environment. We dont know what the federal government is going to do from a disaster funding. I throughout an issue today from the president and the Vice President. There were other government governors on that call that supported the idea, as i did. In the made and are process of making our congressional allegation aware of the issue. But i know that is something the president and the Vice President are taken very seriously. Theres been great conversations. Weve had Conference Calls with them weekly or biweekly that have lasted, some of them as long as an hour and a half, hour and 45 minutes. Anay, i know it was at least hour and 15 minutes. I answered questions from whatever governor wanted to ask it. They are considering those and they are hearing from the governors who, like the local communities, are on the front lines of this battle, and i appreciate that, but we continue to monitor that very carefully. Any otherif we have questions that have come in. At this time, we dont have any other questions. To theng to turn it over doctor. They, like our team, and local communities and folks on the front lines much the health care with our emergency responders, e. M. T. s, and law enforcement, people at the National Guard that have been delivering supplies, literally working 24 7 on this issue, i want to thank dr. Toomey and her team, all those hardworking georgians that are literally deployed all across our state, supporting the local communities. I want to thank her for what shes doing and ill turn it over to the doctor. Thank you, dr. Toomey. Dr. Toomey thank you, governor. I received many questions. Some of them duplicates so i wont repeat the questions, but ill augment some of the answers where appropriate. We had a lot of questions about testing. I think this is a continual question about our testing and how were doing it, why is it limited . We have, right now, newly purchased 500 test specimen collection kits. This is to be distinguished from the tests thats done in the lab. You need a specimen collection kit in order to collect the specimen to send it to the lab. Our Public Health laboratory has over 200 the capacity to test over 200 of these specimens, but you need to have these swab kits to do the to secure the specimen. So, we have 200 now. 500 now. We will distribute them across the state. And in addition to these 500, well be getting additional large number of test kits as well as testing to be done by a private laboratory to be done at the newly stood up kind of i call them swat sites across the state. I want to talk a little bit about that because theres some confusion about who can be tested and also how it works. The high capacity sites were selected precisely because there are so areas of the state disproportionately affected. Metro area and bartow and rome area have many, many cases. And as the governor noted, some of these cases actually emerged out of church services, who were particularly sensitive to this issue because of the way weve seen spread in these areas. Cherokee area is a testing site, not because because of the actual Central Location to serve both rome, bartow, as well as the greater metro area. And we are hoping well be able to do over 100 specimen collections a day, if not more, once these are ramped up. Were hoping that will be done will be set up as early as tomorrow and certainly working in progress by next week. The second site we have one of these high capacity sites will be albany. And as the governor noted, albany is one of our areas, hot spots around the state. We recognize we have to work very diligently with the hospital there, as well as the broader medical community to ensure we have the capacity to follow up individuals at high risk. We have limited testing statewide, even at these high capacity test sites to the individuals who are most at risk for infection. That is the elderly, thats over 60 years old, those with Chronic Health conditions, and those are symptomatic individuals, not just people who have these conditions who actually have symptoms already, but also health care workers. Health care workers are our first responders. Theyre on the front line. They need to make sure we are healthy and safe and in order to provide the care we need. Also, e. M. S. And other first responders, police, fire. These will be our prioritized people to be seen at all our test sites statewide, not just at these highcapacity state sites. We have worked with the private sector, both hospitals, as well as private sector physicians, Community Health centers and others, to get these guidelines out and arrange a mechanism to actually have referrals into these sites. And so its a simple process to make this referral. We should be able to have the capacity statewide to take these referrals for providers and part of this is because weve been asked by providers to do this. Many, many primary care providers and pediatricians, family practitioners, others across the state, dont have the capacity within their offices, dont have the equipment, dont have these specimen collection kits to do this testing. We want to be able to allow them to do this testing and we will be working in partnership with them. So, this response is literally a publicprivate partnership. The Health Care System partnership, with providers at the local level, hospitals across the state, and Public Health across the state. So, we have all hands on deck, all of us, whether youre in the private sector, hospital sector, or Public Health. Theres a lot of questions, too, about why are our tests why have our numbers gone up so dramatically . Part of that, as governor noted, were doing more testing. But also, its not unexpected. We are seeing community transmission. Particularly in some of these hot spot areas. And so, in some ways, the message were trying to get out to everyone is that testing is important. But the most important thing the georgia public can do right now is follow these guidelines to stay home, dont go out if youre sick. Honor the social distancing request. Help your elderly, that they dont have to go out and secure groceries or get themselves exposed. Make sure that you protect your neighbors as well as yourself. As i said so many times, our response to this epidemic is going to require all of us working together, not just to protect ourselves and our family, but also the whole community. So, its going to take this collective effort of working together to ensure that we can combat this virus. And i believe thats most of the other questions i had. I also received a question about the quarantine in the Georgia House and senate. And i just wanted to say that decision was made, certainly in consultation with me, but also that recommendation was not any different than we would make to a church, to a school, to any other situation where there is the potential for widespread transmission, widespread exposure to this virus. And its the right thing to do. Were so concerned that we want to stop transmission wherever possible. And so this was not done just because they were legislators. This was done because this is what we need to do in every situation where this kind of exposure may occur. And i think that answers most of the others other questions that i had. Thank you very much. I want to, again, thank everyone for joining us. I want you to know that were going to continue to keep fighting every day. We need your help, as dr. Toomey said. Well continue to keep you updated as we have new developments and, please, just continue to practice the things that were asking. Have a great evening. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] follow they to federal response to the coronavirus out break at cspan. Org coronavirus. Track the spread in the u. S. And around the world with interactive charts. Watch briefings and hearings with specialists anytime unfiltered at cspan. Org coro navirus. Cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up this morning, dr. Joshua, from don john hopkins, discusses the latest developments. Then richie torres, member of the city council who tested positive for the coronavirus, text about his experience and new york citys response to the outbreak. Be sure to watch cspans washington journal live at 7 00 eastern. Join the discussion. Tv,his weekend on book saturday night at 8 00 eastern, Cyntonia Brown mann and her book , free sent toya. Womengrown woman who were teaching me that my body was a commodity and it was completely acceptable to expect things in return for my companionship for sex and things of that nature. I was told that my entire existence revolved around pleasing a man in some form. I was 13. And then sunday, michael with his book, the American Dream is not dead. No matter what specific flavor of the American Dream youre interested in, no matter what your definition is, everyones definition involves a large economic component. And sunday at 9 00 on afterwards, her book, the firsts. Heyou let your experiences, let that unfold pretty openly. I dont think people tried to hide the fact. In fact, it was a badge of honor to not be involved in politics, and to let your newness to it and your fresh opinions and how things should be done, even when they didnt work out in your favor. Cspan two. K tv on changed sincehas suzanne began cspan began 41 years ago. Already we have brought you primary election coverage, the president ial impeachment coverage, and now the federal response to the coronavirus you can watch all of the programming online, on television, or listen on our free radio app, and be part of our National Conversations for cspans daily washington journal program. Cspan, created by private industry, americas Cable Television companies, as a public service, and brought to you by your Cable Television provider. Now, louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards holding a briefing with reporters on the Coronavirus Response in his state. He presented an update on cases and announced two new debts on from the outbreak. From bratton bruce, this is 40 minutes. Gov. Edwards i thank you all for coming out this afternoon. I appreciate those of you who are here and those of you who are watching online. I am joined by secretary walters from the department of family also buyren services and following my remarks, they will deliver some prepared remarks as well. I am also joined today by dr. Here to answerbe questions if that becomes necessary. I justi came out, learned about to know deaths that we have had in louisiana because of the coronavirus. The total death count is now 10 in the