Transcripts For CNNW CNN Global Town Hall Coronavirus Facts And Fears With Facebook And... 20200315

For the deadly coronavirus. That test negative. A relief. Weve only just learned this afternoon that the president was even tested. He told reporters at a White House Press briefing trump had short but nonetheless significant contact with at least two people know who this week were confirmed to be infected with the virus. The official word coming from the president s personal physician when we go live to the white house in a moment. We want to update you on the numbers. Take a look. Nearly 2,800 people in the United States not as fortunate as the president tonight. That is the current and quickly rising number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus. 57 people so far are dead. This just in to cnn the leaders of teaneck, new jersey, asking everyone in the township, everyone, to selfquarantine. 25 people are infected in burgeon county where teaneck is located. That number more than doubled overnight. This Public Health emergency prompting the governor of georgia to actiontive activate troops. They will help quarantine in homes and bring medical equipment where its needed, as well. Also the georgia president ial primary put on hold for at least two months. Election Officials Say its to ensure the safety of voters and people who work at the polls. Overseas right now, there are some surreal images of nobody, nobody visiting the tourist sites of rome, no one in the streets and restaurants of madrid. Cafes and nightclubs in paris are also closed. France, spain, and italy in total lockdown. People ordered to stay home except when absolutely necessary. Lets get over to the white house right now. Cnns Kristen Holmes is there with the news that President Trump fortunately has tested negative for the coronavirus. What are you learning . Reporter well, thats right. You know, you mentioned this, that we had no idea President Trump was taking the test. Wed asked multiple times if he would because of this extended contact with not only people who later tested positive for coronavirus but with lawmakers who also had extended contact with people who then later tested positive for coronavirus and were blown off by the president multiple times asking this question. He said he didnt need to, he didnt have any symptoms. Now yesterday, he kind of waffled, he went back and said he would probably take the test. But there was still no real clear indication. Well, today he said he took the test. This is the note that we just received, just a little bit ago from the white house doctor. It says essentially last night after an indepth discussion with the president regarding covid19 testing, he elected to proceed. This evening, i received confirmation that the test is negative. And you have to remember this is coming at a time when there were serious questions as to whether or not the president was taking this virus seriously and whether or not there were proper safety protocols in place to protect the president and the Vice President. Remember, weve asked President Trump on multiple occasions, are you going to stop having those rallies, he said no. Of course, they have since canceled them. We asked if he was going to change any of his own habits, was he going to stop shaking hands. He said, no, thats just part of his daily life. We saw him yesterday on national tv shaking almost every Health Officials hand, despite the fact that the same officials were the ones saying do not shake hands, practice social distancing. But President Trump here clearly turning over a new page. Seems to be taking very seriously. Want you to hear what he said now about shaking hands and talking and being close to people. People come up to me, they shake hands, they put their hand out. Its sort of a natural reflex. Were all getting out of it. All of us have that problem. Somebody comes up to you, they put their hand out, you probably tend to shake it. And were all getting out of that. Shaking hands is not a great thing to be doing right now, i agree. But people put their hand out, sometimes ill put the hand out. You dont think about it. People are thinking about it more and more. We have to think about it. Its important. No, we all have to get away getting away from shaking hands is a good thing. Reporter and you know, it wasnt just the shaking hands that he talked about, actually all the members of the press corps, everyone had their temperature taken before we had any proximity to the president or Vice President. One reporter was turned away because his temperature was too high. Theyre upping the ante, putting into practice new protocols to keep President Trump safe. Kristen holmes from the white house. Thanks for that. Stay home, and dont leave unless its absolutely necessary. Thats the order from spanish and french officials as both countries work fast to contain the explosive coronavirus outbreak. In france almost everything is closed including the eiffel tower, restaurants, cafes, cinemas and clubs. Only essential places are open like supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations, and banks. In spain, the number of coronavirus cases jumped by 1,500 overnight. It brings the total number of people confirmed with the illness there to over 6,000. You can only imagine how hard doctors, nurses, and hospitals have been working to keep up with that load. Today in honor of them, a rare and powerful ovation to thank and support them. Watch this. [ applause ] [ cheers ] people across spain taking to their windows to cheer on those who are putting everything on the line to protect others. Joining us now from madrid is al goodman. Al, people in spain are banned from leaving their houses with very few exceptions. How is that being received on the ground . How are people responding to that . Reporter hi, boris. Lets start with the very latest in spain. The wife of spains Prime Minister has tested positive for coronavirus. This coming just a few hours after the Prime Minister himself made a nationwide address to explain the details of this state of emergencies thats been imposed by the government on this nation. We were out in the streets earlier this day, heres a look at what people had to say this is what spains coronavirus state of emergency looks like in madrid. A city of 6. 6 Million People told to stay home. Like the whole nation. With the restrictions, the capital is like a ghost town. This gourmet food market which would normally be packed is closed like all the other bars and restaurants in town. It does make it easy to get one of these tourist tuck tucks. Spain has the second highest number under italy. The Prime Minister wants to slow down the pace of new infections that Officials Say could overwhelm hospitals. Under the state of emergency starting late saturday, the government banned people from leaving their homes except for a few essential activities. They can still go to food stores and pharmacies, but they have to go alone. People can go to work, but driving must be only for essential activities, not for leisure. This man out shopping for food is a medical doctor and a cancer specialist. I am reasonably concerned, he says, but also reasonably optimistic that this situation could be controlled more quickly than whats being predicted. This butcher says clients are buying extra meat just in case, and there are still supplies for now. As quickly as we open, we might have to close, he says. The government says it will get worse. Many people dont know how this will play out. This couple just arrived from britain for a Birthday Celebration weekend. Now theyre out searching for food. I think the virus is spread i ing, and all cities are going to be getting worse maybe on lockdown sooner than we think. I think it will be the same all over europe very quickly. Reporter but the spanish Prime Minister says not so fast. It will take weeks he says, but spaniards working together will stop the virus. The Prime Minister addressing the nation on friday about this, boris, said that the number of cases could rise to over 10,000 just in the coming week. Back to you. Al goodman reporting from madrid, thank you so much. We have experts to chat with. Former assistant secretary at the department of Homeland Security juliette kayem, and dr. Annie moin, an Infectious Disease expert and hunter. We got an update a moment ago. It is now 58 dead, 2,816 cases in the United States. Its likely much more than that. But theres been a lack of testing so that number no question is going to continue to rise. Doctor, i want to begin with you. Youve seen the scenes in paris, in madrid. Is it time for the United States to approach a similar lockdown as a more serious option to consider . I think that we all have to take this very, very seriously. And if the American People arent going to take it seriously, then we have to be helping them to move toward this very, very serious social distancing. People need to really stay at home, stay in small stay away from large groups. To avoid being in places where virus can spread. Unfortunately what weve seen is large play dates, lots of people going out to restaurants, lots of people out in bars. These are all of the scenarios that we want to try to avoid. People really need to take responsibility if they can, stay home. Thats for the common good. Its good for everybody. And we have to not just think about ourselves. And i think that this is one of the issues that we really are are having trouble communicating which is its true that children, young adults may not have the same kind of serious outcomes as we are worried about for older people. But there are still able to pass the virus. And in fact many of the young people in their 20s and 30s do have serious disease. So this isnt something to take lightly. Everybody needs to take it seriously. Juliette, we keep talking about where other countries are heading quickly with near or total lockdowns. I have a hard time imagining that Something Like that could be installed in the United States. How do you even enforce people staying in their homes but anything for essential travel . I mean, you have mechanisms of the state to do so. We dont want to get there certainly. You obviously have Law Enforcement mechanisms. I think the way to conceive of it in the United States is there will be broad shutdowns, so you know, airport travel, anything thats regulated by the federal government, say rail travel, even interstate highways if it comes to that. I dont think it will come to that, but those are the options we played through in the past. Then what you might see is very localized, the equivalents of a quarantine or a lockdown under either local rules or generally state rules. Its governors have tremendous powers when it comes this. So its just important to you know, they have an authority to either isolate an area or contain it. We dont want to get to that station. As the doctor was saying, i dont get whats going on. I get these texts from my girlfriends like were having a play date. I dont know what else to say but even from the Homeland Security perspective, you know, were in for the long haul. You are home. Thats what it means. Except for limited, limited engagements or walks or whatever else. Yeah. And juliette, staying with you, we saw georgia authorize the callup of as many as 2,000 National Guard troops yes to help some of those aboard the diamond princess cruise ship. Its not lost on anybody that those troops, those guard members and ones in other states could soon be asked to help keep the peace elsewhere. Thats right. To be clear, theyre not being asked to keep the peace. Theres a complicated series of laws. They are serving under the governor as the state under the state guard. Weve had plans for this. People should not be get too anxious. Whenever state capacity gets limited and sort of everyone sort of stretched, you want the guard to serve and support in things like traffic control, crowd control, supply chain. Thats the state side. The federal government has a large military, as well, which also has worked with civilian authorities to provide assets and manpower, womanpower to be able to do things liking what if we need tent hospitals, what if we need Triage Centers that need to be built very quickly. So i think people just need its different. I recognize that. But this is stuff thats been practiced and trained, pursuant to the laws that protect us and protect our rights. So its its different, but its actually something that we envisioned because we knew in a pandemic state and locals would be overwhelmed relatively quickly as were seeing. Yeah. As were seeing just a few miles from here in new rochelle. Doctor, President Trump is expanding the Coronavirus Travel ban. It starts on monday night. You cant fly here from the United Kingdom or ireland unless youre an american. But germs, they dont really know any boundary or citizenship. Is this too little too late . The virus is already here. So how does this make us safer . Well, the cat is out of the bag, genies out of the bottle. Here we are. We have the virus spreading in this country now. A travel ban is really not going to be all that effective at this point. Its like having a strainer. You know, it might take out the larger chunks, but youre not going to be getting any of the finer pieces. And truly at this point, i think we need to be focusing on things like social distancing, making sure that the people who are here or coming here that are staying in away from small groups, no large gatherings, all the things we keep saying. I think the travel ban is a little too little, too late at this point. Juliette, we keep going back to rudy gobert. This nba player, he tested positive for coronavirus. Within a few hours, the entire nba season was suspended. Im wondering from you, what if a Police Officer tests positive in major city and an entire department is then forced into quarantine . Who is then in charge of protecting people . So this is once again, its no solace but the potential loss of a work force in terms of Public Safety and Public Health has been envisioned. Obviously we want to protect our First Responders. The idea that it might all hands on deck in either Public Health or Public Safety i think is not true. Some of them in particular will get sick, as we know. Many of them have kids, and if the kids are home also weve seen in the past in other disasters some of them wont show up. Its a small percentage. And so what we see going on now i think is a very, very serious especially Police Departments focus on two things on sort of work force health, making sure people are healthy and that they are taking their temperatures. And secondly, and this goes back to us dont bother them right now. In other words, another point of social distancing is take the burden off of Public Safety and Public Health, dont get in your car, dont get on a bike, dont do all the things that often cause First Responders to have to respond. And let them focus for a couple of weeks. I mean, this is why it was important to cancel these big, you know, like the marathon here or a concert. Those are big burdens on Public Safety and Public Health, as well. So we have it in us to also make sure that theyre ready to protect us and sort of just stay put. Yeah. Still plenty more questions to answer. Unfortunately, thats all we have time for. Juliette, doctor, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Have a good saturday night. Thank you. Of course. Coming up, Washington State reporting three new deaths along with more than 600 total cases. Well take a closer look at the nursing home now at the center of the outbreak there. Out here there are no half measures. No shortcuts. No faking it. 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Get published now, call for your free publisher kit today take a look at this. This is a picture, man lipes for a cdc coronavirus screening at Chicagos Ohare International airport. One woman, katherine rogers, telling cnn shes been in line since 4 30 p. M. Local time after she landed in chicago from paris. When she eventually gets to her screening, apparently its going to entail a temperature check, questions about coronavirus symptoms, and a form about her past travel in the last 14 days. She tells us that airport workers have been handing out water and snacks to passengers there in what is obviously a very tedious and frightening time. The death toll from the coronavirus in Washington State, meantime, has jumped to 40 after Health Officials reported three new fatalities just today. Two of those latest deaths are from the nursing home thats been at the epicenter of the outbreak across the state. Right now 642 cases have been confirmed. Cnns ryan young joins us from seattle. Ryan, whats the situation like where you are . Are people heeding these warnings . Reporter yeah, boris, good to talk to you. You can understand with the numbers that we have here, its quite different than everywhere else. When you hear those numbers, especially when you think about 40 people have died from this virus, when you are Walking Around town, its what everyone is talking about. And the impact is wide ranging. Were seeing it all over the place. If a business is open, people are talking about it. You see workers wiping down surfaces all over the place, trying to keep it clean. Then you also hear stories of spread throughout the community, whether it be a mall worker or someone whos a student whos also caught it. This is starting to terrify some of the people here. Others, though are trying to go on about their day. Weve been driving through some of the centers throughout town and have seen, of course, less people. But then theres also the kind of the bumping that people want to do because they want to get out. In fact, listen to this Business Owner talk about the impact its had on his business. It can be pretty scary. We dont know where were going to be in 30 days, 60 days. A lot worse than people are saying, the governments saying. That can be a little intimidating. Reporter boris, when you think about the Life Care Center where those employees were there with all those sick people, the employees have been tested. 95 of them, 47 of them have now been tested positive for the covid. You know people are sort of worried about the situation throughout the area. On top of that, schools been closed for six weeks. Theyre going to be setting up food banks for students over the next few days to make sure they get fed, as well, because theres also that Ripple Effect throughout the area. Theres also been shut down, no gatherings of more than 250 people. So when you see all these conversations happening across the country about what could happen next, youre really seeing the impact here in this major American City where people are concerned. A lot of folks going around with masks, a lot of the transportation buses that are going by us are empty. The great places around here for tourism have also been pretty. Shelter in place. Weve seen one or two folks trying to get out to enjoy the day, but that has slowed down to a crawl throughout this afternoon. Yeah, so important for our viewers to keep in mind that what were seeing now in Washington State were going to see inevitably in other places. Ryan young, thank you for your perspective from on the ground there in seattle. Some more news to bring you. The chairwoman of the Republican National committee is selfquarantining at home tonight as she awaits results of a coronavirus test. Rana mcdaniels spokesman said she was tested after experiencing flulike symptoms, though she tested negative for the flu. Mcdaniel met with President Trump in orlando on monday. Out of an abundance of caution, the rnc will be reaching out to everyone that mcdonnell came into contact with in mcdaniel came into contact with in recent days. During a National Crisis, americans turn to the president to lead them through a tumultuous time. President Harry Trumans motto was the buck stops here. President trumps no, i dont take responsibility at all. You see . When i needed to jumpstart sales. Build attendance for an event. Help people find their way. Fastsigns designed new directional signage, and got them back on track. Get started at fastsigns. Com and got them back on track. Oive been saving it for you, but youre at home scrolling the internet for travel deals. Join travelocity and savings come to you hurry, the swan is lonely travelocity. Wander wisely. Pure gold, well help transition 6 square feet of farmland to organic. Every 6pack. 6 square feet can go organic. Every 6pack. 6 square feet can go organic. Tv sports announcer yeah, thats my man there. Tv sports announcer time out. Lets go to a commercial. Nooooooo not another commercial when you bundle your home, auto and Life Insurance with allstate you could save 25 . In fact, the more you bundle the more you can save. Put the other game on if its important to you allstate can protect it. Home auto and Life Insurance you could save 25 . If its important to you allstate can protect it. What . Bundle and save with allstate. Click or call for a quote today. You may have caught this the president was soaking in the praise at the rose garden for his leadership during the global pandemic. Thank you, mr. President. It is this day should be an inspiration to every american because thanks to your leadership from early on, not only are we bringing a whole of government approach to confronting the coronavirus, were bringing an all of america approach. We have to reflect on those comments from Vice President mike pence. And that kind of leadership that hes talking about, especially considering the president s own words on coronavirus over the last few weeks. Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. One of my people came up to me and said, mr. President , they tried to beat you on russia, russia, russia. That didnt work out too well. They tried the impeachment hoax. And this is their new hoax. I like this stuff, i really get it. People are surprised that i understand it. Every one of these doctors said, how do you know so much about this . Maybe i have a natural ability. Maybe i should have done that instead of running for president. The kind of leadership trump was accepting praise for would have presumably led to a focus on testing kits. Theres a shortage of them now instead of talking about a democrat hoax. The u. S. Is still fighting a dangerous uphill battle to find out the scope of that problem. The system does not is not really geared to what we need right now. What you are asking for. That is a failing. A failing, yes it is a failing. Lets admit it. A failing, lets admit it. We dont have enough tests. Simply saying that something is true doesnt make it so. Its not just coming from democrats or the media, you can ask a staunch defender of the president , senator james langford. Listen. Anybody that wants a test can get a test. Its not consistent right now. Thats obviously the goal, to get testing for everybody who wants testing, to get it in multiple locations. Thats not accurate right now. Should he stop saying that . Yeah. People should not say if you want a test you can go get a test right now. Well, the president is quick to accept credit for what appears to be like a solution, like that National Rollout of a google website that google never agreed to. Dont ask him to take the blame that most still cant get tested in this country. Dr. Fauci said earlier this week that the lag in testing was, in fact, failing. Do you take responsibility for that, and when can you guarantee that every single american who needs a test will be able to have a test . Whats the date of that . Yeah, no, i dont take responsibility at all. Remember that famous sign that president harry truman kept on his desk . The buck stops here. Apparently its no longer in the oval office. Not to worry. Throughout this process, mr. President , youve put the health of america first. Yeah. Outside of calling the response to coronavirus a hoax when it resulted in a pandemic, assuring everyone could get tested when they clearly and still cannot, and announcing a National Scale website in a partnership with google that does not exist, the president has you covered. I want to bring in cnn president ial historian tim nefdali. Tim, were in a National Crisis right now. A lot of people at this point, in different times in history, at this point in a crisis they turn to the president for leadership. When he says things that arent true, it strains credibility, and it hurts the public, does it not . I think its its a time we thought of this as a war. And were going to war against a virus. And imagine what kind of credibility and reassurance you want from your commander in chief when youre in a war, its wartime. Its so important for the president to establish trust because people are going to die. We dont know how many, but already were seeing every day people are dying. The president needs to understand that at moments like this he is our principal source of inspiration and reassurance and information traditionally. If he violates that covenant, that agreement with the American People, it only increases panic. Thats why this is a president ial moment. President s have lots of responsibilities. But their greatest responsibility comes at a moment of national peril. And we are in such a moment. And the president is failing. Im curious because you mention those moments that weve alluded to. Who do you think in history the president can learn from at a time like this . Who can he draw inspiration, guidance from historically . Franklin roosevelt. You know, when Franklin Roosevelt heard the new deal, it was quite different from the new deal that would become later on. Franklin roosevelt was at heart a prague mattist. What he understood from the get go is what the American People needed was reassurance in their institutions and also in themselves. And so even though he hadnt figured out completely what to do about the economic crisis that he inherited, he knew that above all americans needed reassurance. Thats why president s try theyre not supposed to stumble over their speeches. Theyre not supposed to spread information which later proves to be false. And theyre not supposed to spread false hopes. They can talk about winning ultimately and be optimistic about the future. But they have to be clear to the American People that between now and that future we are in for tough, tough times. And it could get worse. Thats necessary from a president. This president is uncomfortable because hes so defensive. He doesnt want to admit error by anyone including himself. And that kind of attitude is selfdefeating when were in the middle a National Crisis as we are right now. Im curious about previous examples perhaps in history where a president , an administration was caught flat footed responding to something. The way that this administration clearly has been. Has there been an example in history where early on there may have been an underestimating of how big a calamity, how a krieg a crisis was on their hands but they came through and were able to avoid disaster . One of my favorite examples is the cuban missile crisis. President john f. Kennedy was convinced that the soviets would under no circumstances put missiles in cuba and then drew a line to make clear to the soviets that under no circumstance would he accept or countenance the placement of official of offensive Nuclear Weapons on the island of cuba, weapons. He did that thinking they would never do it. And then they crossed that line, and he was faced with a horrific problem. And we came very close we certainly danced on the threshold of nuclear war. He was caught flat footed by that particular crisis. There have been other examples. In korea, harry truman did not fully control what was going on in korea, allowed the commander in chief to go far too close to the border with china. There had been indications the chinese might respond by invading, and they did. So there american president s have made mistakes. But heres the key what you want is a president who can say, a, the situation has changed, this is what were going to do. And b, can say so with not only confidence but the trust of the American People. If a president sets a tradition of lying, theres no Political Capital for them to draw on when the countrys truly in a crisis. That is the predicament that president kennedy never faced but President Trump faces today. We also have to talk about the way that people have responded on the street. Im sure youve seen the videos on social media of shelves emptied, people getting in fights over toilet paper, and other things. What does that response tell you . Well, were humans, and we we panic. What does it tell me . It tells me that perhaps folks dont fully understand that theres no age limit to this disease. That even if youre in a even if youre in a band of people who are likely to survive, you can still spread it to those who are not necessarily as fortunate as you are because of the age at which this pandemic is occurring. I think, again, the president is the only person to do this. We have governors who are working hard to do this and mayors who are doing it, and other civic leaders. But this is the time to talk about us as a communitiy. Thats why Community Spread should be a threat that everyone is concerned about, and no one wants to be responsible for that. No one wants to be the person whose irresponsibility made this worse. The president has a chance to make that point clear to people. You know, when he shook the hands of those around him yesterday, he was sending the wrong message. When he was dancing around the issue of getting tested, he was sending the wrong message. He has a chance once again to send the right message which is, americans, were all at risk, we owe it to each other to be cautious, prudent, and safe. Then well stay healthy. Id shake your hand not a doctor if you want to be one at this point no, im the kind of doctor that would put people to sleep. Im a teaching doctor. Thank you so much, tim. We appreciate that. And this just in to cnn another nba player testing positive for coronavirus. It is reportedly a member of the detroit pistons, though the player is not being named right now. The pistons planed the utah jazz last saturday. As we know, two players on the jazz, rudy gobert, donovan mitchell, tested positive. In light of the news, nba suspending its season after the first diagnosis. Coming up, a surreal scene at the white house as members of the press corps get their temperatures taken before a briefing with the president. Is this our new normal . Well be right back. 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One urgent goal is to make widespread Testing Available for people who think they may have coronavirus. Yesterday during his rose garden press conference, the president made a false claim about how thats going to happen. Google is helping to develop a website. Its going to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby, convenient location. The truth is googles not publishing a nationalscale website related to coronavirus testing any time soon. Somehow the white house conflated actual facts about a small Pilot Program in california that is slowly being rolled out into a nationwide effort involving google. Cnns chief media correspondent Brian Seltzer joins us to tell us what happened. This was a very misleading statement there the president , and his aides have doubled down on the statement today. They are lying to the public about what this website will do and when it will be available nationwide. It is a really important pilot happening in the San Francisco bay area. Googles parent company, alphab alphabet, is in charge of it. This is expected to start on sunday or monday, but it will not be nationwide. It will not be available soon enough for some of the people who need it. Thats whats misleading about the white houses statements. There was another surprise today after days of sort of disdaining, refusing the need for testing, we find out that President Trump actually did take a coronavirus test himself. His press secretary saying the results were negative fortunately. There was an unexpected consequence for reporters today at the white house. Mandatory temperature checks. How did all of that go down . Reporter and some reporters at the white house told me they were relieved to see this implemented. They wanted to make sure that the people around them in very close quarters are healthy and are safe and are not running a fever. I think the question when it comes to these steps the white house is taking is they are the right steps oftentimes several days or weeks late. So these temperature checks make sense, they should be done at the white house. But they probably should have been done a week or two ago. Its the sense of a delayed response that is so disturbing and is why so Many Americans are concerned right now. And all we can do in the press is to keep calling it out and questioning why more isnt being done quicker. Look, the president apparently took a coronavirus test on friday night and received the results by saturday evening. Less than 24 hours. Lets hope all those americans who are scared and struggling and sick right now can get responses just as quickly as the president did. Yeah. Finally, we all are bearing witness to the world undergoing radical change as a result of this pandemic. Elections postponed, Major League Sports canceled, schools shutting down. I want to talk to you about the cultural changes, broadway going dark. Reporter yes. Daytime talk shows, latenight comics taping shows without any audiences. Heres a clip. Watch. We at nbc decided it would be smarter to not have an audience in order to do our part to help decrease the spread of the coronavirus. [ applause ] as you may have noticed, none of you are here right now. Only people in the audience right now give me a shot of this only people in the audience now are members of my staff. Its good to have moments of levity in a crisis. Reporter we need it. Now the shows have stopped production altogether. Thats going to have an impact. Reporter yes, it absolutely is. Its like comfort food for america. But all of the latenight shows, daytime talk shows, they have all suspended production. Most of the major movie releases have been postponed. In fact, today we somehow movie theaters start to close in particular spots around the country. As you mentioned, broadway has gone dark. Most concerts and other performances have been canceled. The one Silver Lining is that we all are in the streaming video age. So weve seen symphonies and operas and other Companies Announce streaming performances. Disney, for example, releasing frozen 2 tomorrow instead of waiting a few months to release it. We are all at least able to be connected virtually. Look, im coming to you from my home. I know im dressed up all fancy, but im coming to you from one of my bedrooms in my home. Were going to see a lot of this in the weeks to come. Its a good thing, not a bad thing. Its a good thing that we can be connected virtually. Its not social distancing were doing, were physically distancing ourselves, but we can all be social, we can all be connected through Technology Even as we see Television Shows canceled, all of these movies delayed, there are ways for us to keep in touch. Thats going to be so important in the weeks to come. Yeah, definitely. Theres also more opportunities to watch cnn and brian stelzer, brian, thank you so much. Dont forget to watch brians show, reliable sources, tomorrow morning at 11 00 a. M. Maybe live in the studio, maybe live at home. Were still figuring that out. Coming up, were answering some of your questions about the coronavirus crisis. First, eerie emptiness from soccer stadiums in buenos aires to churches in italy, theaters in india, and airports in jerusalem. The coronavirus putting so much of the world on hold. [ singing indistinctly ] ladies, my friends and i are having a debate. I have a back rash. Alright. Whoa, mara. I laugh like this. [ laughs obnoxiously ] its just not my scene. I couldnt help but over do you like insurance . I love insurance. Did you know you can save money bundling home and auto with progressive, and renters can bundle, too . I know, right . [ laughs ] [ singing continues ] whyd you stop . I was listening. 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All day. All conditions. All year round. Kubota. Together we do more. Right now in the u. S. There are more than 2,800 cases of coronavirus along with 58 deaths. Dr. Anne is back with us to answer some of your questions. But were learning that a japanese man onboard the diamond princess cruise ship has tested positive for the virus for a second time. He was diagnosed positive on february 14th. He was hospitalized, found negative on march 2nd, went home and today athad a high temperature, was retested and found to be positive again. Doctor, whats your reaction to that news . Well, i think this is likely indication of relapse in a patient. We did see this in the sars epidemic, that there were many patients treated with steroids and other things and few weeks later did have relapse. So this is not unheard of when it comes to a viral infection. I want to get to those viewer questions, too. Come monday kids are going to have no school in some areas. The vast majority of them are closed. Youve made the point previously young people need to understand they can get sick. This is not a snow day. The question here is can i take my child to an outdoor park, for example, can they go to a friends house . I think that the key here is we need to keep kids as far away from large groups of kids as we possibly can. The issue here is not that kids are necessarily going to be as ill as the adults that we worry about. Kids do not get as sick, but they can drive infection. And they can spread it to older people. They can spread it to their grandparents. They can spread it to their sister who has an immune deficiency or to the neighbor who is undergoing chemotherapy. So its really important that everybody stay as far away from large groups as possible. Its a very complicated and difficult situation, and theres no one prescribed answer for each group except we do not want to have large groups of people together, children, adults, anybody. Yeah, and doctor i wanted to fit this in, too, because you have a really Important Message for everyone watching when it comes to what we need to do to protect the health care system. It could get burtoned the way weve seen in italy, for example. Exactly. This is very key point. We need to do everything we can to protect our Health Care Workers. They are our most precious resource. If the Health Care Workers get sick then the Health System will collapse. And this illness is long. Sov even if youre just thinkin about Health Care Workers getting ill wrg theyre going to be ill for 2 to 3 weeks and that takes them out of the system. And our ppe stockage is very low. If you dont need to go to the doctor you should cancel the appointment if its not something critical. Health systems should be thinking about, well, if there are elective surgeries can we cancel them . Can we minimize just nonessential visits . I think this is the key. Of course you need to stay healthy. So if its something important to your health you need to do it. But things not urgent or not seriously important, you should talk to your doctor and make the decision with your doctor do i need to come in right now. I think this is very important this moment. This is one we get all the time one important to answer. People want to know about food. Not only can i eat at a restaurant, but is it safe to get take out, and can i get fast food . So, when it comes to eating at a restaurant, ideally that is not a good idea. Its very hard to control whats around you. If you must go out be in a place that is not crowded, stay as far away from other people. Be mindful of the fact that servers will be touching your food, the glass that gets handed to you will be touched by someone. You have to think about every single step of the way. So my recommendation to people if they dont need to go out, dont go out. In terms of takeout, its a good question. My suggestion is that takeout is better than going to a restaurant. When you get the food just wipe down the containers that youll get. I would try and remove the packaging as soon as possible, wipe your hands, dont touch your face after touching your food or the containers. I think that these are the steps that you can make that will make a very big difference in terms of minimizing risk. And i know this all seems very extreme, but the point is we want to reduce the spread of the virus. Its just really important to reduce the spread, to lower what we like to call flattening the curve so we dont put too much burden on the Health System. So this is one of these things i know it feels like everybody is being separated and were isolating people but were doing this as a community. Thank you so much for your expertise. Invaluable on a night like today. And that does it for me. Thank you so much for joining us. Up next its the cnn global townhall, coronavirus facts and fears with facebook. 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Leanfire supplements from force factor contain ingredients clinically shown to help increase energy, burn fat, and double your weight loss. Dont struggle to fit in. Unleash your potential, with leanfire. Available at retailers nationwide. Hey. Welcome to the cnn facebook global town hall being seen around the world on cnn, cnn international, cnn espanol, and cnn. Com, hln and facebook. Com. These next two hours are all about getting you the facts and answering your questions. You can send them to us now. Go to cnns Facebook Page and leave a comment on the top. Post your question. You can also go to cnns Instagram Page and leave a question in our story. Were going to be taking questions live from across the country and around the world. What we wont do is take questions from people in the studio. As you can see this time last week, these seats were filled. Tonight they sit empty because Health Officials are warning against large gatherings. Its an example, one of many, of how rapidly we are all adapting and will have to adapt and how the coronavirus is changing our lives at work, at home, at school, how we travel, how we entertain. Nearly every element of our daily life has been altered or will soon be. One thing that will not stop is the continued reporting on it. While the seats may be empty, the town hall will go on. Were going to talk to experts and answer questions youve been submitting to us, so many of them through facebook and instagram who were going to partner with tonight on this. Were going to check in with reporters around the globe about what theyre seeing right now and how thats different from country to country and how that might inform what comes next here. Its a big difference from last week to tonight. We started last weeks town hall with a bit of a reality check of what we know and dont know. We want to do the same thing again with dr. Gupta. Whats the biggest thing we dont know right now and the one important thing we do know. Unfortunately, the thing we dont know still especially when it comes to the United States is just the extent of how widespread this coronavirus is. Because we dont have the tests. We dont know how big this really is. Weve been saying this for weeks now. It remains a consistent concern, i know one were going to talk about tonight. Just in terms of what we do know people are hearing about the social distancing mechanisms and how much lives are going to change like you mentioned. What we know from pandemics past is that these can work. Pretty awful pandemics in the past have been mitigated and even stopped because of the social distancing. Were going to explain why that is tonight. Yeah. Lets take a look at where we are right now. Grim announcement just moments ago from the world health organization. The w. H. O. Has now declared this outbreak is a pandemic. Here is what were seeing in the u. S. Right now, a dramatic rise in the number of cases in just a week and a half. There are now more than 1,500 confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus in the u. S. Across at least 46 states. One week ago at our last town hall, there were just 205 cases in 17 states. And those are just the cases we know about. The virus shows no sign of slowing down, and despite assurances from the administration current testing is inadequate. The system does not is not really geared to what we need right now, what you are asking for. That is a failing. New york state now has the largest number of cases in the country. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has set up a onemile containment zone in new rochell where schools and houses of worship will be closed for at least two weeks. The National Guard have been sent in to help clean public spaces within the zone. It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the country. And this is literally a matter of life and death. All across the country large gatherings are being limited, events cancelled, schools closed. In just one week, the virus spread to 20 more countries across the globe. There are more than 25,000 new cases, more than 1,000 new deaths. Bottom line, its going to get worse. According to the new York State Department of health, there are now 148 cases in west chester county, one of the biggest case clusters in the United States with the community of new rochelle at the center of the outbreak today became the countrys first containment zone. Erica hill is there now. The National Guard has been called in. What are they doing . Whats the role theyre going to be playing there . Reporter they are here, anderson, largely for logistical can and operational purposes. I spoke with the mayor and thats what they want to stress. They are not here to keep anybody out of that containment zone. It is not on lockdown. It is not a quarantine zone. People are free to move in and out, but houses of worship and schools are closed. Part of what they will be doing is helping to get food to people. The mayor told me there are thousands of children within this School District who are food insecure and they are very much concerned about them over the next few weeks as the schools are closed through march 25th. Anderson, theyll be delivering food to those children and their families. Just to be clear, theyre not imposing any kind of a lockdown or policing . No, youre right. Theyre not. You can drive in and out. I was driving around earlier today just to see what was open. No one stopped me. There wasnt a large National Guard or police presence. Again, theyre not here for a lockdown. The area is not under a full quarantine. One thing, i was over there earlier today. Its worth pointing out there was one case over there last week on march 6th and now over 148 cases. What i keep hearing is we dont really know how many cases there are. Is there more testing there where you are now . There is more testing that is going to start happening here. So, theres a satellite testing facility thats been set up in new rochelle and thats going to happen tomorrow. That is by appointment only. Preference in those appointments is being given to people who have been under quarantine. But the mayor told me theyve been doing informational robo calls throughout the community and today that call stressed to folks they cannot just show up at that drivethru testing site. They will not be able to get a test. They have to go through their doctor. But he said this will facilitate the testing being done sooner. Earlier they had to take the swap here and send it up north to albany. This way they can do it and get the results quicker. We have virus related breaking news right now, comes from canada. Prime minister Justin Trudeaus wife has tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus. Shes said to be feeling well and will remain in isolation. Prime minister trudeau has no symptoms but will be in isolation for 14 days. According to the statement hes not being tested at this time. Europe, this week the director said the epicenter, europe is the new china. Thats quote, the worse known outbreak right now is in italy. Two weeks ago, italy had 400 confirmed cases. Last week, 3,000 and about 100 people died. This week according to the italian government, more than 15,000 people and tested positive and more than a thousand dead. Cnns ben wedemen. Explain this nationwide lock down. What is it like for people . Can they leave their apartment . If so, when . Whats life like in a lockdown . Its fairly eerie here in balonia. Now you go out in the main square just up the street from where we are, its empty. Theres some police there. But by and large, it just is completely transformed ordinary life in this city. Now, you can go out. You can go out for a jog or a walk, walk your dog, take your children for a walk. But you have to keep a distance from other people. You cannot kids cannot go out and play a game of soccer, for instance. No Public Assembly is allowed. Shops some shops are open. You can go buy go to the supermarket. You can go to a Fresh Produce store. You can go to the pharmacy, even Computer Repair shops are open. But everything else, anderson, is closed. Also closed in rome today, it was announced that churches would be closed, even for individuals going in for private prayer. This is the first time that has happened ever. Not during world war ii, not during the black plague, not even the sack of rome in 55 a. D. Anderson . Ben, i had a question. I was watching reports about the medical system and just the pressure on the medical system. So important because were worried about that happening obviously here in the United States. How are things now . How do you describe that pressure . Are they able to take care of patients . The pressure is intense. You know, you talk to doctors, they talk about a wave of patients, a tsunami of patients, a bomb hitting the National Health service. Keep in mind as you know, sanjay, the outbreak is focused in northern italy. Thats the richest part of the country. It has the best Public Health system in europe by far. And they are struggling. They have added hundreds of new intensive care units, but nonetheless, they are being overwhelmed. You know, the doctors are working long shifts. When they put on these allencompassing hazmat suits, they are sweating pounds of sweat through their shift. And it is we heard for instance the Prime Minister conte warning the numbers are going to continue to rise. The italian media is reporting he warned in a closed door cabinet session that the number of cases in italy could hit 100,000. At the moment today the latest figures were 15,000 and the worry is that this Health System which is good. Ive been in it myself. Ive been treated by it. It is excellent. But the numbers are something nobody was prepared for. We understand that china is going to donate 20,000 medical suits, 10,000 ventilators. So, its desperately in need of help and it is struggling at the moment to deal with the number of patients. I know a lot of doctors here are looking at whats happening there with great concern. Ben wedeman, i appreciate your reporting from you and your team. Stay safe. In china, possible good news. Health officials there are claiming they are seeing a decline in the number of new cases. Two weeks ago, 78,000 new cases. A week ago 80,000 cases. 3,000 deaths. Today nearly 81,000 cases, death toll climbing to nearly 3,200. Cnns david culvert joins us now in shanghai. What are officials in china attributing to what theyre saying is this leveling off of new cases . Anderson, its interesting listening to ben reporting there in italy and the fact that where this started they are now sending help out to the world, to the epicenter of all of this in china is under control to such an extent they feel like they can help other countries like italy. It is a significant turnaround especially when you look at the daily number of reported cases. Were talking about Single Digits now. Just go back a few weeks, we were talking about in the hundreds, even in the thousands. What we need to stress though is that it did not start out this way. Early on, go back seven weeks, they had allegations of cover up, allegations of underreporting, really only 200 tests a day for a city population of 11 million. What changed was when the Central Government stepped in. They pushed out the local government. They said were taking control. It became a militarylike operation. They began ramping up production of face masks. Our daily lives changed drastically. I looked on social media and see folks in the states and europe and its jarring to see people out in Fitness Centers, still going out in social settings because here it was just about overnight where churches were closed, Fitness Centers were closed, restaurants were closed. Everything came to a halt. And it has not been perfect, but the numbers are showing that it seems to have been at least effective for now. Ive got to say its just remarkable that china now donating equipment to places like italy. People are going to hear this david and gives them hope maybe here in the United States that were going to come through this and hopefully get back to a normal way of life. What do you think . Having been over there for so long, should we be hopeful based on what youre seeing in china . Sanjay, i feel the anxiety from my family and friends. I see it coming in my instagram and facebook messages. People are flooding me, people just wanting to cling on to something positive. I get that. We are seeing signs of coming back to life here. Just today the parks are reopening in shanghai, restaurants have given the all clear to have as many people as they need to partywise to come in and book a table. Tourist attractions are starting to reopen. Shanghai disney opens shops, opening some restaurants, not yet the park, but little by little its coming back online. Sanjay, you used a word in your Facebook Live a couple of hours ago that stood out to me. Its humility. While people are getting back to this new normal, theyre doing so with this sense of humility, humility of knowing what they do not know and that is still a lot. Theyre very cautious as to the social settings. So, even though things seem to be under control, theyre very wary of who theyre in touch with, how close theyre getting to people. Sanitizing is still an hourly thing if not an every half hour people are doing it. So, theyre incredibly mindful of this new way of life. And i go back to how we were acting seven weeks ago and sanjay im surprised you havent blocked my emails yet because youve guided me through a lot of this. Your advice is something weve stuck to quite religiously here. We dont step out of our hotel without having a Strategic Plan of action. Every day is planned to the minute as far as where were going to go, where were going to eat, who were going to be in touch with. And if we can avoid that exposure we do it. Its about taking these risk assessments. Its been extraordinary. Joining us now, dr. Anthony fauci, director of the National Institute of allergies and Infectious Diseases. He testified before congress today. We very much appreciate you being here given how busy you are fighting this pandemic. You are the front line and we appreciate it. We have a lot of questions all around the world for you. Before we get to that, i want to get some facts on the table. I dont want to put you in a difficult spot given youre working with the Coronavirus Task force and the administration. There is misinformation out there. And i want to separate facts from what is true and whats not true. The president has said over the last two weeks a number of things. I dont want to put you on the spot. But he has said that the virus is very well under control in this country. Is that true or false . Well, i dont want to say true false. I can just tell you whats going on. Were having an acceleration of cases as you just delineated with sanjay. Its obvious whats going on. When you look at outbreaks of this sort, you have this for a while and then it does that. You just described the very unfortunate situation in italy which went up like this. What we hope to do with both containment and mitigation is to get this peak to actually flatten out. I dont think were at all going to get away with not a lot more cases. We will have a lot more cases. The question is are we going to blunt that peak . And the things were doing by preventing infections from coming outside in with the travel restrictions which are totally appropriate and i think are very helpful as well as doing containment and mitigation from within, the things that youve described that people are doing according to the recommendations and guidelines of the cdc. So, thats the hope. But its going to go up. As i said today at the hearing, its definitely going to get worse before it gets better. In a public in a pandemic, facts can save lives. Misinformation can cost lives. Who should people watching tonight, who should people listen to in the government for factual information they can use . I mean, the Coronavirus Task force didnt have a briefing today. You were testifying today. You have given out factual information. Is it the Coronavirus Task force . Is it the president . Who should we listen to . I think you look at the Scientific Data and the Scientific Data are almost presented by people in Public Health, scientists, physician, and others. So, i mean, ive been trying as best as i can to be out there as often as i can. You can hear from my voice that thats been a lot. And thats what were trying to do. Were trying to get information, policy, and guidelines out that are based on fundamental facts, evidence, and data. Dr. Fauci, i want to echo what anderson said as well. Thank you for your service. People may not notice dr. Fauci is 79 years old and you have the energy many of us emulate. Let me ask one more question about this testing. Dr. Fauci, there was a test. It was being distributed around the world. W. H. O. Was using this test. I believe it was created in germany and berlin and it was being used and yet we did not use it in this country even as a stop gap measure, even as we prepared to make our own test. And as a result we got behind. Thats a problem. And im just wondering was that a mistake . Should we have used that test . Why didnt we . Well, you know, sanjay, im not sure that it was a mistake. But certainly, you know, if you look back monday morning quarterback would have been nice to have had a back up. But what the cdc has done over many, many years when we have things like this is to develop their own test which is really a good test and to roll it out in a way that we call a Public Health directive where they give it to departments of Public Health, you have a physician patient relationship. They come in, order the test, get the test. It was not designed for the kind of mass distribution that we need now that weve seen in other countries. Thats behind us. Looking forward, were going very much in that direction, sanjay, very much so. I think really within a relatively short period of time, you know, a week or even less were going to see the ratcheting up of the availability of test. Rather than go back and play monday morning quarterback, lets direct where were going. One more question before we get a break and well get questions from people around the world. Ive been talking to a number of doctors just off the record, phone conversations not on air. Working front lines in hospitals. And everything they are saying to me is you need to be shouting this from the mountain tops. You need to be raising as many red flags as possible because what we are seeing is truly worrisome. What we see in italy where doctors are putting out guidelines about catastrophe medicine, who should actually get treatment if you only have so many ventilators and who get the ventilator and who gets put in the hallway and not treated. And those are incredibly difficult decisions. What is the situation in hospitals . How concerned are you about doctors getting sick . I know doctors who have already feel like theyre coming down with this thing. I talked to one today. Both he and his wife feel that. What is how concerned are you about the front line and it holding . Well, you know, very good question. Of course i have concerns about things and i think just harkening back to what i said a moment ago. If we get into that really, really sharp peak where italy was and is right now, so unfortunate because so many of my friends and colleagues are right there in those cities doing that, then we might have the same problem. What we were trying very hard to do by the containment and mitigation, by the travel bans, by the travel restrictions is to never let it get that high. If we can keep it down to a little hump, there will be pain. There will be suffering. There will be some death. But the system might not get overwhelmed. If we fail in blunting it and it goes way, way up, then were going to have problems that are very serious. I hope we never get there. And the reason were putting a fullcourt press on containment mitigation restrictions is were trying to avoid that peak that occurs in other countries. Were going pick this up in a moment after a quick break. Our cnn town hall continues in a moment. At visionworks we guarantee you will see great and look great. Guaranteed we say that too youve gotta use these because we dont mean it. Buy any pair at regular price, get one free. Really visionworks. See the difference. You cant claim that because its inanimate people ask me what sort of person should become a celebrity accountant. And, i tell them, nobody should. Hey, buddy. Whats the damage . I bought it the waterfall . Nope a new volkswagen. A volkswagen . i think were having a breakthrough here welcome to caesars palace. Thank you. [ natural drums and [ music begins to build ]] [ drums beat faster ] unlimited coffee for 8. 99 a month. Panera, your cup is always full. Sweetheart, do my forearms look bigger . They look the same. Ive been spinning faster recently. I think theyre getting bigger. Feel them. Yeah, they kinda feel bigger. Yeah, cool. Sorry. Its okay. Switch to progressive and you could save hundreds. You know. Like the sign says. Switch to progressive and you could save hundreds. Where you can find games, news and highlights. All in one place, right on your tv. The new xfinity sports zone. Use your voice to search every stat and score. Follow the teams you love. And get notifications when the games about to start, with the xfinity sports zone, everybody wins. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Say xfinity sports zone into your voice remote today. Were back with the cnn facebook global town hall. Dr. Anthony fauci a member of the White House Task force is with us along with dr. Sanjay gupta. The United States military Academy West Point Just Announced its delaying the return of cadets from spring break. Thats the latest closure of a long string lately and certainly not the last. Dr. Fauci, this is Paul Robinson in hanover, new hampshire. Paul, go ahead with your question. Seem to have a problem getting paul, go ahead with your question. Okay. Sorry. You cut out. So, my question is if you think youre infected, youre symptomatic, fever, cough, headache so you selfquarantine, how soon before you can return to social situations . Is it safe to say that when youre no longer symptomatic then youre no longer potentially shedding the virus . Dr. Fauci . No, thats not correct at all. Thats a very good question. You can get infected, become symptomatic, resolve the symptoms, feel well and still shed virus. You can go back to your normal life when you have two consecutive tests for the coronavirus that are negative separated by 24 hours. Thats an excellent question. Just because you feel better or feel well does not mean that youre not shedding virus. And dr. Fauci, how certain are scientists about this 15day quarantine period, that ive seen online some reports and cases in china where people may have had it for more than 15 days or been asymptomatic but carried the virus and may be infecting people past 15 days. You know, its pretty certain about that anderson. Okay. If you look more as we get more and more data, the median incubation period is 5 to 5. 2 days. But the brackets and the range are pretty tight between 2 and 14 days. Whenever you have biology, theres always going to be the out of the way exception. But for the most part i think the operating definition of 2 to 14 with the median about 5 is accurate. Dr. Fauci, we have a text question from Stephanie Beecher from columbus, georgia. She came to us online from her. She says what supplies should i get in case my community locks down from coronavirus outbreak . Well, you know, people in their homes even beyond coronavirus should always particularly people who require medications should have some degree of stocking up of things in case theres any kind of disaster, natural disaster. Specifically for coronavirus if youre going to be confined to a place where you cant have access to things, i think the standard things. You know, bottled water, making sure that if youre on medications which i have to emphasize is one of the most important things. Make sure you have your medications thatll take you through a period longer than what you usually do to get refills and things like that. But canned foods, water, particularly water that you have that available to you. One of the things dr. Fauci that kept coming up, we asked people to get extra medications. People kept saying my insurance doesnt cover me getting extra medications. I can only get a certain number of days worth. Is that something thats being addressed . That seems like a practical certain for people trying to stock up. Yeah, thats a great question, sanjay. As a matter of fact, the other day i mistakenly asked for a refill because i got the date wrong and they said i cant give it to you. I wasnt trying to stock up. I made a mistake and they said the insurance wouldnt pay for it. I think thats something we should look at. Were looking at relieving a lot of regulations and other things to make it easier for people to cope with this. You know, i dont want to be saying it absolutely should be done, but really somebody should look at that. I have the same situation. I ended up just paying cash for a twomonth supply. Im lucky i was able to do that. It would be great if the Insurance Companies gave a break on that. Another question. This is from Stephanie Robinson in massachusetts. Shes a professor at harvard law school. Stephanie, whats your question . Well, im wondering if you can be a bit more specific about what constitutes a preexisting Health Condition that would have someone be at greater risk regarding the severity, of course, and the possibility of fatality of covid19. For example, asthma. We know we have 25 Million People or more impacted by this disease. Is this the type of disease that were talking about would have cosmic complications. Yeah. I mean, asthma, obviously there are different degrees of asthma. If someone who whenever they get an upper respiratory condition really dramatically exacerbates their asthma are at higher risk. The classic ones, chronic congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes, and anybody who is on any immunosuppressant regimen be that for cancer, auto immune diseases. And elderly plus that is even at more at risk. And if you look at the serious complications and ultimately the case fatality rate is very heavily weighted to those individuals. Dr. Fauci, youve worked a lot on hiv over the years. If somebody is hiv positive but undetectable and otherwise healthy is that a factor they should take into account, that makes them a greater risk . You know, obviously weve been taking care of thousands of patients with hiv for the years. Today if somebody has a normal or close to normal cd 4 count has got undetectable viral load on any retroviral therapies, they could be at slightly higher risk, but i dont think its anywhere near a risk of somebody who has a compromised pulmonary function, compromised diabetes and things like that. Ingrid in maryland wants to know if airplanes have such superior air Filtration Systems as reported, how come were advised not to travel by plane . Thats a good question. I think we need to look at every aspect of it. As we say, the cdcs got some guidelines about low, intermediate, high kinds of mitigation that you might do. If it isnt Public Transportation involved, again we need to seriously look at it. Everything needs to be on the table, anderson, right now. This is a serious situation. Can i just ask again again i pointed out youre 79 years old. I hope that was okay i told people your age. Are you traveling on planes . Are you youre a busy guy. Are you out there . You know, im not out there, anderson. I havent even been confronted with that possibility. Ive been completely locked in and responding right here. Ive cancelled virtually everything i was going to be doing purely because im literally locked into this 19 hours a day. Anywhere from the department down to the white house to the kinds of response being in the media. So im not going anywhere for a number of reasons. And also many of the things i would have done have been canceled anyway. Would you, though, get on a plane . Would i get on a plane right now now . Yeah. It depends on on what the issue is. If i had to do something absolutely important as you know, sanjay, im a Pretty Healthy guy for 79. Yeah, so i might take a second thought. I wouldnt do anything thats unnecessary. I certainly wouldnt get on a plane for a pleasure trip. It would have to be something really urgent. My job is the Public Health. If it had to do with the Public Health and i need today do something for the Public Health, i might do that because im quite healthy. If it was just for fun, no way i would do it. The next questioner has emily mitchell, salt lake city. Emily, whats your question . Hi, anderson. Thanks for having me. My question is regarding the mail. Im a stayathome mom and i do a lot of online shopping, so im curious how long coronavirus lives on surfaces and how we should be handling the mail. Weve got a ton of these, dr. Fauci. Mail, also money and currency. There was a paper either submitted or already published from one of our people who looked at the detection of viable virus on a variety of substances, stainless steel, polypropylene, cardboard, cloth and things like that. You know, for the most part of the titration of it and is probably measured in a couple of hours. I would think something that goes through the mail by the time it gets to you, thats it. And even if it is on there, would it be high enough of a concentration to actually be transmitted . So although its important. I dont want to downplay the recommendations of wiping down the kinds of things you could easily wipe down, you know, doorknobs, screens and things like that. I think if you start thinking about money and mail and things like that you could almost sort of immobilize yourself, which i dont think is a good idea. Dr. Fauci, we really appreciate your time. I know your work is extraordinary and we really appreciate you dedicating all your efforts and giving us some time tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Good to be with you guys. We have more information on our cnn Facebook Page. Also our facebook global town howl continues in just a moment. Up next more on the coronavirus testing. Well talk with a doctor part of a team that could create a new test. Well be right back. This is also hals heart. And his relief, knowing hes covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield. This is hals heart. And its beating better than ever. This is what medicare from Blue Cross Blue Shield does for hal. And with easy access to quality healthcare, imagine what we can do for you. This is the benefit of blue. And welcome back to our cnn facebook global town hall. Joining us here is dr. Lina wynn, an Emergency Room Physician from baltimore, maryland. Shes also going to answer viewer questions in a moment. One of the overriding issues is testing for the coronavirus. Even when tests are available, it can take days for the results. The university of Nebraska Medical Center is working on a test that delivers faster results. She joins us now. Welcome. This is obviously a very important issue. Youve been able to with your colleagues develop a test that can give results back within hours, typically its taking days. Just curious how did you do it . Why was there a need to do it by this university . Yeah, thank you. Its a pleasure to join in this discussion. So, really here at the university of Nebraska Medical Center, we take on an Important Role in leading our efforts nationally for biocontainment care. So, when we heard this outbreak was emerging in the early weeks of the outbreak, we knew that it was the time was then to begin developing our capability to support Laboratory Testing for individuals who might come under our care. So, this process began very early for us here as we prepared to receive americans who were being brought back home first from china and then from the cruise ship off the coast of japan. So, our ability to do this testing really relied on the global sharing of knowledge of the virus as it became available from the very early days of the outbreak. And we as part of the Global Scientific Community were able to utilize that knowledge to develop our inhouse testing capability and be prepared for the time when we would receive americans from abroad and now to be able to diagnose our own patients and Community Members here at our own institutions. Get results . If somebody comes to you and needs the test, how quickly can you get them results . It takes about four to six hours for us to give a result. If somebody comes into our Emergency Department and we collect a sample, its about four to six hours from then. It takes days even now for most people getting these tests. Was it a really difficult thing to figure out how to speed up this process . I mean without getting too much in the weeds, was it really tough . Yeah, sure. So, really the biggest difference in that turn around time to getting the result is having the ability to do that testing here in our own clinical laboratory. So, its certainly, you know, a big effort to bring up the test and validate it and have that assurance that its an accurate test. But we were able to stand up that ability here in our own laboratory. So, the big difference in that turn around time is really that that sample is just going next door to our own lab. It sounds like what youre saying then is that the other tests have to be mailed to whatever lab, then ultimately mailed back s. That the big difference then in terms of why your test is so much quicker . Is this something that other that others doctors can do as well . That would obviously help a lot of people nationwide. Absolutely. So, theres a tremendous effort happening right now in Clinical Laboratories across the country at other particularly large Academic Medical Centers to bring this type of inhouse testing capability for covid19 to their patients and communities. It is a difficult process and requires several steps to get through Regulatory Approval to perform that testing. But that effort is going on in force across the country. Doctor, thank you so much for your teams effort. Really appreciate you coming on tonight. Thanks. I wish you the best. Keep doing what youre doing. Dr. Wynn, the idea of any kind of solution to make something faster would be a great thing. I mean, it is i think still very concerning for a lot of doctors and patients than just the lack of testing nationwide. Sure. Definitely. And the need for point of care testing, having that testing result back immediately is so important because you can imagine theyre waiting two to three days for a test. What are you supposed to do . And they might interact with other people in that interim phase. Thats exactly right. And i think patients get worried and it makes a lot of sense and is critical for clinical Decision Making to have the test at the time that you need and for everyone that you need it for. Weve got questions from a lot of folks for you. This is a question from scott in ontario, canada. Scott. Thank you for having me. My question is is it reasonable to expect covid19 to die down during the summer months, or is that Wishful Thinking . Something the president said this may just disappear. I wish that were the case, but at this point we just dont know. Its possible. But i dont know that we know for certain either way. Possibly because other viruses in the past have done this . Including other coronaviruses. The sars did have its peak late in march, early april as the weather started to get warmer. But we dont know and i dont think we can count on this either. Thats why all the measures were taking in terms of prevention are so important. Theres no vaccine, no treatment. So, what we have is the ability to try to prevent and reduce the rate of transmission. If it did go away in warmer weather which would be extraordinary and lets hope for that, would it then it wouldnt be disappearing from the earth. It would would it still be out there and then come roaring back in Colder Weather . Thats exactly right and it could be more prevalent in other parts of the world that have different seasonal patterns to ours. Influenza decreased but came back when there was Colder Weather again. So, we cannot count on warm weather to get rid of covid19. Another thing worth pointing out we may develop some of whats called heard immunity. As were exposed to this we may develop immunity which we may have protection next time it does come back, even before a vaccine. This is a question from lisa bristow in delaware. Lisa, whats your question . Go ahead. Hi, everyone. Thank you for having me. I am a 33yearold female with an underlying Health Condition for which the medication i use is immunosuppressant. Im also currently 27 weeks pregnant. Given that i fall into a higher risk category, when dangers if any, does coronavirus pose to my unborn child . Its a really good question and its something that i think about a lot myself because im 37 weeks pregnant now. And the data about pregnancy and covid19 is just not there. We have some limited cases in china that look at pregnant women. And so far it does look like unlike with influenza where pregnant women are one of the highest risk categories, covid19 doesnt impact pregnant women quite the same way. But that said, pregnancy is a medically vulnerable state and for the person who just asked the question, she also has an immune condition as well. That makes her really vulnerable. And i think just taking extra precautions is a good idea. And also breastfeeding. If you give birth and youre breastfeeding and you are infected does that put the infant at risk . The one study that has looked at Breast Feeding so far found there isnt virus in the breast milk. In fact there may be antibodies there. But its such a limited study. Pregnant women should take precautions just like older individuals and others who are vulnerable. Being pregnant, part of the reason your immune system is diminished is because you dont want your immune system to attack the unborn child. Thats part of the reason youre a little bit more susceptible. Lisa is also on immunosuppressants so she definitely has to be careful. Weve got another question online from joseph in kentucky. He writes does normal laundry washing remove the covid19 virus from your clothes, linens, towels, et cetera. Yes it does, but be careful of whats lining your laundry hamper. Because you may be throwing things into a basket but never washing the basket. Use a disposable liner or something that could be laundered too because otherwise you could get the virus out of what youre washing but you put it back in the same basket, it could transfer that way. Thats right. This is justin minion in irvine, california with a question. Justin. Hi anderson. Hi sanjay. Thanks for having me. Tonight i have a question regarding face masks. Ive heard two different sides of the story. One that the masks are ineffective. And other that doctors and nurses across the country are in desperate need of these same face masks. Specifically in regards to the n95 respirators, are these masks effective in preventing the virus . And for maeramericans across th country who now have these masks, what can they do and where can we go from here . We dont recommend for everyday people, not Health Care Workers, to get masks because we do have a limited supply of these masks and we need for Health Care Workers who are treating patients to have them. Surgical masks, they protect other people from you if youre sick because youre coughing and sneezing into the mask but they dont protect you from having the infection. And so my strong advice to people is do not horde surgical masks. Do not horde n95 masks because thats what doctors need. Also if you have a mask, the few times i have worn one not in this case. For stories. You end up adjusting it all the time and touching your face. Adjust your glasses and if it doesnt fit right. If the mask is contaminated and youre touching it. Theres studies on this that your risk of becoming infected goes up. When you are wearing a mask. He makes a good point. Theres different masks. Theres surgical masks and the n95 mask. The surgical mask you can look at it it wont stop viral particles from outside or going underneath. The n95 mask is a fitted mask. Its a tough mask to wear. Youd have a hard time walking a block. Its not the kind of mask you can wear in your daily life. If were in the hospital working with patients known to have these infections, these are different masks. The surgical masks people are wearing, the Healthy People its not really providing the benefit they hope for. Im also sick of seeing celebrities with their masks on on private planes instagraming photo of yourselves. From wisconsin, he sent in a video question. I should mention max is 16 years old and his mom gave him permission. Take a look. Since all the cleaning supplies and Hand Sanitizer is sold out everywhere can you make your own, and can you make your own mask . There it is. I know. Ive heard so many stories of people looking for any product that they can use to clean their house and Hand Sanitizers people going all over the place and not getting them. Do not make your own Hand Sanitizer because theres something even more effective, which is soap and water. Its much more effective in cleaning your hands but also cleaning surfaces, too. Soap and water is more effective than any cleaning thing. So use soap and water. You can also use dilute bleach, use alcohol in your house if you dont have specific cleaning supplies, but do not make your own Hand Sanitizer. And dont go out there and try to become your own chemist. Dont use vodka and other recipes because those are not effective and actually could be dangerous. I would just say its interesting to me people jean rel know how to wash their hands. Its something weve been taught since we were kids and i think people dont do it right. And its been a great opportunity to educate people about that. The interlacing of your hands, making sure you get the back of your hands. People often forget to wash their thumbs, get underneath their nails. And ive seen more people trying to do this diligent yethan i ever have before. And 20 seconds. I just remember you saying that years ago and it always stuck in my mind. I gave you a head start. Im very simple. I need basic instructions. We have another submission online. Janice from willow springs. She writes if we have no medicine cure for covid19 what are hospitals doing for patients admitted for it . Thats a good question. And the answer its symptomatic treatment. Its supporting patients through this time when there isnt anything else. Its not that theres a cure. Theres no antiviral medication yet. Those are undergoing testing. But at the moment the best thing we can do is support patients. So if they have pneumonia, if theyre not able to breathe on their own in hospitals they can get ventilation and supportive treatment to get them through that period. Not everyone whos hospitalized would end up on a ventilator, but a significant number of people will, and thats a critical. You can only get that its crit criminal they were there for that. Thats right. It appears about 80 of people who get the Novel Coronavirus will have mild symptoms and will not require hospital care. 15 will require some type of hospital or more acute care. 5 may require intensive care. 5 of the 15 . 5 total. So 20 of people will require hospital care. The vast majority of that 20 wont require ventilation but a significant percentage will. But theyll need monitoring because patients may not know, right so initially they may actually be quite well, but at some point may may not do as well. Then they can receive that higher level of care if they should need it. This gets back to what we were talking about earlier. We have some modeling to predict just how many patients are doing medicare care at all, and this really gets back at this issue i think is at the core of this that we started. We dont have enough of these resources right now for a moderate pandemic. They say you need 200,000 icu beds. We have about 100,000 icu beds. Now, hopefully not Everyone Needs it at the same time, which is why this flattening of the curve becomes so important. You can stagger when people actually need the medical care, and helpfully that will not put such a toll on the medical system. We have more straight ahead. Reports from across the country, around the world. Were also going to be taking more questions from the audience, our global audience as the cnn facebook town hall continues. Chocolate would be good snacking should be sweet and simple. The delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar. Glucerna. Everyday progress while helping you manage your blood sugar. I feel guilty. Im having all this fun without you. Join travelocity and get the travel you deserve. Im in paradise and i dont care who knows it travelocity. Wander wisely. Peshould become at scelebrity accountant. And, i tell them, nobody should. But, i just dont think you need a separate private plane. But i, but i want it hey, buddy. Whats the damage . I bought it the waterfall . Nope a new volkswagen. A volkswagen . i think were having a breakthrough here. Welcome to caesars palace. Thank you. For everything that i give, i get so much in return. Join our family of home instead caregivers and help make a world of difference. Home instead senior care. Apply today. Home instead senior care. Nefrom maybelline new york. Ra the look of a lash lift without the salon hassle. Doublecurved lifting brush. Long, lifted volume. New falsies lash lift mascara. Only from maybelline new york. Every breath makes you feel closer to nature. And every sip makes nature feel closer to you. Michelob ultra pure gold. Beer in its organic form. No. Uh uh, no way. Come on. No. No. N. Ni ni, no no only discover has no annual fee on any card. Welcome back. Coming up on the top of the hour. This is cnn facebook global town hall. Im Anderson Cooper along with dr. Sanjay gupta. Send your questions to us. Go to cnn facebook. Were talking about all aspects of the story tonight. Its a world increasingly isolated especially after last nights president ial announcement of a travel ban affecting many european countries. Just for perspective theyve seen plenty of cases to at least 460 today, no deaths the prior two weeks, thankfully. The crisis clearly growing there as is the travel ban