Hello, welcome. Im Anderson Cooper in new york. Hey, anderson. I am dr. Sanjay gupta, and this is the cnn global town hall coronavirus facts and fears. Tonight cdc director Robert Redfield will be joining us to answer your questions about coronavirus. Also about what needs to happen before the country can reopen. Multiple sources tell cnn the white house is looking at a date as early as may 1st, though it may be later. Just this evening President Trump told our jim acosta during the coronavirus daily News Conference there will not be mass coronavirus testing for all americans as the country goes back to work. Quoting the president , were talking about 325 Million People. Thats not going to happen as you can imagine. Talk to dr. Redfield about that. Joining us nba hall of famer Magic Johnson about why the pandemic appears to be affecting africanamerican disproportionately. And rick warren about faith and hope heading into the easter weekend. Youll see our social media scroll, tweet us our questions with cnntownhall and leave a comment on the cnn facebook page. A lot of you have sent in video questions. Well get to as many as we can. We have reports from across the country and around the world how those at home and abroad are fighting the virus. We want to start though with this country and where we are in this fight against the virus. The death count increases dramatically every day according to Johns Hopkins university, 1,661 people died today, total dead 16,478. Its hard to believe. At least 460,437 people infected in the United States alone. Health Officials Say this week will be the deadliest of the pandemic yet and what we do in the coming days and weeks may define how we live for the foreseeable future. The United States just had its deadliest day yet from coronavirus. Theres been a shift in a key models predictions for the death toll. The states governor says there are signs that social distancing is working. The cdc is urging americans to keep it up or risk losing any progress that we are making. There are now more than 450,000 cases of the coronavirus in the u. S. More than 16,000 people have died because of the virus. This is going to be our pearl harbor moment, our 9 11 moment only its not going to be localized. Its going to be happening all over the country. More than 97 of the country continues some form of social distancing efforts. With new evidence that it is working. Updated models show the death toll in the u. S. Might not be as high as the white house initially feared. The numbers are going to be much, much, much, much lower than what had been predicted by the models. Still the White House Task force warns of new hotspots around the country. Washington, d. C. , baltimore, philadelphia and houston may be next. Despite some positive trends, new york had its highest number of deaths so far this week. Officials warn now is not the time to ease up. What we do affects the number of cases. Our behavior affects the number of cases. Were generating the cases. There are encouraging signs here and around the world. After 76 days of lockdown, wuhan has reopened. Several European Countries may follow later this month. But for the u. S. , there is no clear timetable on when it may be safe to go back to some sense of normalcy. We are doing a very good job on mitigation on the physical separation. Weve got to continue in many respects to redouble our efforts after mitigation of physical separation in order to keep those numbers down. That is the message from Health Officials this week. Selfdistancing is working, but we need to keep working particularly as i said earlier during what many Health Officials believe will be the deadliest week of the pandemic. Sanjay we talk every week about what weve learned and still need to find out about the virus. What do you think weve learned this week . One of the mostly common questions were getting, anderson, when are things going to return to some sense of normalcy. People are stir crazy, theyre home bound. By the way, how are you doing, anderson . Are you doing okay with the stayathome orders . Yeah. Im able to work, which is a great blessing and i feel very lucky to do that and privileged to do that. So it at least gives me something to focus on each day as otherwise, yeah, be going kind of stir crazy. You know, its interesting, people look at the numbers. Were going to talk a lot about this tonight. The reason i ask is because keep in mind between the time someone is exposed with this virus to the time they develop symptoms, on average about five days, between symptoms and if they have to go to the hospital small percentage will its about another ten days after that and about another week, sadly, if someone dies. The point is this, these numbers are giving us a snapshot of how things were two to three weeks ago. How we behave now is going to determine what things look like two to three weeks from now. As weve always said, anderson, every single town hall, we all have to behave like we have the virus. And how we behave now, how i behave now directly affects you and how you behave directly affects me. That hasnt changed and i hope we dont take our foot off the pedal with regard to what seems to be working so well so far. We are still all in this together. Lets get our reporters around the globe starting with erica hill reporting from the epicenter of the pandemic, new york. Where are other hot spots emerging . Reporter so, this week the task force dr. Birx, actually, noted that there were concerns about houston, washington, d. C. , baltimore and philadelphia as potential hot spots. The mayor of baltimore just a short time ago on cnn saying they are ready. Theyve been preparing. They dont feel theyre a hot spot yet and theyre hoping and praying that doesnt happen. Officials from philadelphia actually pushing back a little bit on that classification. The mayor saying theyre grateful for the attention, especially if it means more ppe, more equipment, perhaps staff to help their overloaded medical staff. And the Health Commissioner for philadelphia saying he doesnt say that theyre out of the woods, but that he likes what hes seen over the last couple of days and he thinks that they are actually in a better place and hes a little bit more optimistic these days. Erica, you know, people heard about this outbreak within the Cook County Jail in chicago. What have you heard about that . Reporter the numbers are staggering, and i think its the numbers that really grab everyones attention. So 400 positive cases, 251 of those are detainees. We know at least one detainee has died. 22 are hospitalized, and theres been a lot of concerns about jails and prisons around the country, the cook county board president saying that jails, in their words, are like petri dishes. Also there are a lot of questions about schools tonight. Moments ago floridas governor said that he might start reopening schools on a countybycounty basis. On the flip side in california, local authorities are predicting some events may not resume until this fall. Reporter youre right. In Santa Clara County they said good luck seeing sports before thanksgiving if youre lucky. Just trying to temper everybodys expectations. When it comes to florida, the governor there said a short time ago he may consider opening county by county. In his words, the virus doesnt really threaten children and no one under 25 has died. Of course that is not true. We know from the figures people under 25 have died. And its not just children who will be in school but adults of all ages who will be there as staff and teachers. We should point out everything is different around the country. But as you hear this in florida, in missouri this afternoon, governor there saying schools are closed through the end of the academic year. We know in connecticut theyre closed at least through may 20th and it could go beyond. Erica hill, thank you. China has begun reopening its country including the source of the virus, wuhan. For more lets go to david culver in shanghai. So last night you showed us the app the Chinese Government uses to track people in the country. Its incredibly detailed and personal and invasive. Can you explain how you signed up for the app . How is it used . Reporter yeah, let me walk you through that, anderson. Ive been getting a lot of questions. This is the qr code, a bar code equivalent that i have. Its really specific to me. And everyone whos registered for one has something just like that. You have to use it to get into places like hotels, restaurants, shopping malls. Its your golden key, essentially. Let me show you going back to when we arrived here in shanghai. I dont think i fully realized it at the time. Thats what i was signing up for as well as every Single Person that got off the train. You go through a line, they monitor your temperature. Youre met with folks in hazmat suits. They ask if youre chinese your id card, if youre foreigner like me your passport. Its linked to not only your passport number, but also your cell phone number so they can continue to track you. And i can show you how its used if you are headed into, for example, a space like a hotel. As soon as you walk in, theyve set up tables that naturally have the temperature screening, they have the hand sanitizer. And then they ask to see your app. You open it up in realtime because people have been screen shotting them. They figured out a work around to avoid that. You have to push a button and show it time stamped. They check it, verify it and let you in. Incredibly invasive. I dont know if it can happen in other parts of the world. Though it is their way of tracing and tracking. Have they done a test on you and did they do a nasal swab test on you and you passed that and, therefore, every time they check your temperature they assume you havent got infected . How do they know youre not infected . Reporter thats a good question. Incredibly, i have not been tested even though i was actually in wuhan just ahead of the lockdown and did 14 days of quarantine and have subsequently been here in shanghai. Ive not been tested. Thats not part of this. The idea here they can determine whether or not youve been around somebody who is a confirmed case. Thats using some of the geolocation tracking on a cell phone. And they can specify if youre on a train, one end of the carriage or in a separate car from a confirmed case. Depending on how far you were or how close you are to that confirmed case, they can then change your bar code, your qr to a yellow or red and you can then go into selfisolation or governor quarantine. Thats incredible that they can i mean, thats a level of surveillance which obviously does not exist here. And probably i think could not exist. I think david probably would agree with that. Hes lived in both places, china and here. Its interesting because a lot of people do look to china, david, to sort of get an idea of how things are going to transpire here. So to that, what are the latest numbers the Chinese Government has released on the virus . Ive seen sometimes its trending upward, but the government feels confident enough, i read, for shanghai schools to reopen now . Reporter that was a significant announcement that was made just this he can would. Shanghai schools, youre talking about a city hereof 24plus Million People. So its the largest city. It was set at the end of april, april 27th, that they have decided to start this phased reopening of schools. Theyre going to do it in batches, sanjay. Theyll essentially let those who are seniors go back first, and then entering may theyll start to allow universities to apply to reopen, and some of the other students to then resume classes. But as far as the numbers are concerned, were looking at more than 81,000 cases total. All of this, of course, according to the National Health commission or the Chinese Government, its met with heavy skepticism because they list the total of deaths at 3,300. And as we start to see the numbers really skyrocket in europe and in the u. S. , that is met with increasing skepticism. I think folks simply cant believe it is adding up to that. But they also stress the recovery number of some 77,000. So that leaves roughly 1100 active cases. David culver, thanks very much, appreciate it. Fascinating to see that. Sanjay, i should point out i coughed a couple times. I dont have any symptoms. I think its a little asthma thing late at night or during the evening. Just want to say that. All right. Into your elbow. I couldnt see you i did, the back of my hand. Okay. Im going to go to london now for the latest on the European Countries attempts. Also with the update on the condition of british Prime Minister Boris Johnson who was rushed to intensive care monday after his coronavirus condition worsened. Hes supposed to be doing better right now, right krchristian . The government said hes doing well enough to be moved from icu back to a hospital ward. Obviously theres been no contact. None of the government Officials Say theyve spoken to him nor obviously have there been any pictures. So, were just taking their daily word for it. But it seems that he has at least been removed from the icu. On the other hand, very, very sadly, a doctor who had posted a few days ago a letter pleading with the Prime Minister to make sure frontline medical workers get the gear they need, the ppe gear, he died. The reports are that he has just died. So thats really very sad. And really, its the story of the entire crisis, isnt it, is the front line workers who simply do not have what they need to be properly prepared and properly armed soldiers in this war. So thats really a very difficult thing for everybody to, you know, to deal with. And they are the most exposed because you see these health care workers. They cannot social distance, physically distance in hospitals. Thats where the virus is really circulating. You know, krissiane, a lot of people following germany. Ive been following germany closely. The Health Minister there said theres a possible gradual return after easter if people follow the current restrictions. Is that what youre hearing, and how is that being received over there . Yeah, well, look, you know, its not just germany. Its actually denmark, its norway, its several other countries who have said that they are seeing the curve is flattened,that theyve reached their peak, and that certain countries have said weve got it under control, like norway said we have it under control. And we are going to start opening schools. You just heard david talk about schools in shanghai. Its obviously schools because of young kids that are the experimental first to break out of this lockdown. So, theyre going to start doing that in norway on april 20th. And in germany, perhaps if they could, sometime after easter. But theyre also looking very carefully because they dont want to open up and then suddenly see a spike. So, i asked the norwegian Prime Minister, whats your plan b . They say theyre going to monitor it very, very carefully and really react very, very fast if theres any sort of deterioration after even a partial opening. Here in great britain, thats not the case at all. Britain was slower than the rest of europe. United states has been slower than the whole lot put together. So, you can see how this is progressing. But they do you know, theyre watching it very, very carefully. And some say they do have it under control. As youve been talking about, germany was big on testing, waive and give it up wasnt it . It was huge on testing. That really helped them. Thanks very much as always. Were going to take a break. When we return, cdc director dr. Robert redfield going to join us to answer your questions. I just love hitting the open road and telling people that Liberty Mutual customizes your insurance, so you only pay for what you need [squawks] only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Hey you, yeah you. 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Im curious in terms of a time line for reopening the government and lifting social distancing restrictions, obviously thats up to the president. But just from a medical standpoint what are some of the things that need to be in place before, you know, from a science standpoint that would be recommended . Yeah, thank you very much. Obviously its really, really important to get our nation back to work. One of the critical things clearly has been the aggressive social distancing that weve done. And i want to take a second to thank all americans that have really been vigilant in putting that into action. I think were seeing the consequences of that when we see our mortality rate is really a lot lower than what would have been predicted. And it really shows this mitigation works. Clearly as we move to reopen, and i think were coming to the peak. As we sit here today, were able to see the other side of the curve, and well see this outbreak continue to decline over the weeks ahead. We need a couple things. One is we need to understand the extent of the transmission of the virus. And its going to be very different in different parts of the nation. So, its not going to be one size fits all. Its going to be using the data that we have from surveillance to really understand where it is the most important places for us to begin to reopen. We really have to have that Public Health infrastructure augmented. And we at cdc are working hard to get that so that when we open up the government we open it up for good. We are able to maintain our aggressive Public Health response of early case identification, isolation, and Contact Tracing so that we dont get back into this wide Scale Community transmission where we end up with these significant mitigation steps which weve been through. We need to really make sure our Health Facilities are prepared. And finally weve got to build within the community the sense of confidence that its the time to get back. Its the time to go back to work. Its time to open up some of the businesses. So, those are really the four most critical elements that were working and planning on now with the anticipation of beginning to reopen our nation one region at a time and get us all back to work and get prepared for next year which will be another challenging time. But i want to be able to have it so we respond to it next year with the fundamentals of Public Health, of early case identification, isolation, and Contact Tracing, we dont have to go to the serious mitigation steps were taking to get us under control. So, thats crucial. Last time i talked to dr. Fauci, a t lo of states dont have the Contact Tracing in place that would be necessary. Yeah, were really were in the process of working to augment the capacity, as you know, that cdc provides, a significant portion of the funding for all of our state, local, territorial and Tribal Health departments across the entire nation. And i think its really true. We have to be direct and honest about it. Over the last 10, 20, 30 years, weve underinvested in Public Health in this nation. Were in the position now of preparing a significant expansion of local Public Health capacity so we can operationalize this. The cdc has well over 500 people in the 50 states that are there. Were planning to expand that substantially to have a Public Health Response Team that can facilitate when diagnosis are made, that aggressive Contact Tracing thats going to be so important when we begin to open up to make sure that we open up for good. Right, got it. And just to emphasize that point, dr. Redfield, i have heard in order to do adequate Contact Tracing, you would need and this is a quote an army of some 300,000 people around the country at the Community Level to actually do this effectively. 300,000 people. Thats a lot. Are we anywhere close to that . Yeah, sanjay, i dont think thats the estimates that we have right now. I think if we were trying to do this in the midst of a massive transmission period, it may be more substantial. I do think its going to take a substantial enhancement, but i dont think thats quite the magnitude that we think at this moment in time. Obviously were going to as the going back to work starts in different areas, were going to be operationalizing this and learning along the way. But it is going to take a deep commitment to the principles of Public Health and having the work force to actually execute that. And were working to get that accomplished as we speak. In massachusetts, i think theyre doing a Sample Program i think they hired about 1,000 people to do Contact Tracing right now with the Public Health departments. My understanding for Contact Tracing, they leave it up to the person who is positive whether its for this virus or something else, to Contact People they may have encountered. For actual Contact Tracing, thats not good enough, is it . No, i think were going to were going to have, i think, a very robust Public Health supervised Contact Tracing. Again, remember, sanjay, its going to depend upon the extent of the infections we have as we begin to open up. I think were going to see a substantial decline in the number of new infections were seeing across this country as we open up. Obviously those jurisdictions that are late and still increasing are not going to be the first ones that we open up. So more recently you can see philadelphia, baltimore, washington. But you can look at other jurisdictions now that are way down on the down curve. And well be looking at this data to do very strategic, very surgical opening up with those Public Health assets to make sure its successful. Dr. Redfield, i think americans have heard so many different numbers over the past couple of months. I think when you and i spoke in february there were some models suggesting that a million to 2 Million People could lose their lives to this virus. Weve heard 100,000 to 240,000 more recently from the white house. The university of washington model now saying 60,000. Its really all over the map, so to speak, dr. Redfield. Do you believe that the numbers have come down that significantly to 60,000 from where you and i spoke back in february . You know, sanjay, thats what the tribute to the American Public is. Ive said this before. As you know, we have one of the most powerful weapons against this virus. Were not defenseless. And that weapon was the social distance and is the social distancing. This virus has a very significant weakness. It cant swim 7 feet. If we can just maximize that social distancing, we can limit this virus ability. Many people didnt predict and the modelers didnt predict for sure that the majority of American People would embrace that social distancing. And what ive said, when all of us try to do behavior modification, whether its what we eat, exercise, and you know, whether cigarette smoking, whatever it is for our own health, were not very good at that. But i can tell you, ive been really unbelievably amazed and gratified by the commitment of the American People. When their behavior modification wasnt for their own health, their behavior modification was to protect a life of somebody else. Yeah. And weve really seen the American Public go into protect the vulnerable. And thats why these numbers are down. And the American Public should take credit for that. Dr. Redfield, the president said today there would not be mass testing for all americans as the country goes back to work. Ive talked to a lot of scientists and epidemiologists who say there has to be widespread testing and also pretty immediate results in order to give people confidence that the person in the cubicle next to them, you know, the cough they have, its just a regular cough and its not coronavirus. So, doesnt there have to be really widespread testing and immediate testing in addition to Antibody Testing . I think there has to be continued expansion in testing, which is continued. But i think its important, sanjay, you know, one of the things that was really critical that we really werent blind even before we had widescale testing the cdc and the Public Health system of this nation has really developed a variety of Surveillance Systems for respiratory viruses, particularly flu. So, if you look at our influenzalike viral reporting system and you go back and look at it, you can really learn a lot about what is going on with this coronavirus. So if we have continued flulike illness, then obviously very expansive testing is going to be necessary. If we have very limited flulike illness, then i would argue its that case identification, the isolation and the Contact Tracing and showing that we can really eliminate these clusters, which is going to get the confidence of the American People. Clearly, as we also do the serology testing, well get an understanding of the full extent of the infection of the population. But i think it will really depend on the extent of respiratory illness thats going on at the time. I think were going to see a marked decline in respiratory illness, and were going to get back to the basics of Public Health, contact case identification, Contact Tracing, isolation, and thats whats going to drive the American Public to see that theres not significant circulation of this virus in their community. And while they get that confidence, then they will be able to embrace that confidence in the action thats they choose to take as we get back to work. Dr. Redfield, wed like to get to some of the viewer questions as well. Scott robinson in medina, new york, sent in this video. Take a look. I think a lot of people are wondering if its safer to stay in the hardhit area and follow the strict guidelines or to leave if you can and isolate for a twoweek period since you might have become exposed to the virus along the way. Would leaving even be permissible as essential travel . Could you hear that, dr. Redfield . Sanjay, could you repeat could you repeat it a little . Im having a little ear phone problem. No problem. Basically the question was should you say, as things stand now, is it better to stay in a hard hit area and strictly follow the guidelines or to try and leave if you can and isolate for a couple of weeks knowing that you might pickup the virus while traveling . Well, i think its really important to embrace these guidelines, the 30 days we put out to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Clearly when it comes to those areas and i didnt quite hear the whole question. But if its related to people traveling from an area that we had suggested they should isolate 14 days, for example, in new york connecticut area, new jersey area, we do think its really important for those individuals to isolate for 14 days unless theyre in a Critical Infrastructure job that they need to do, and weve recently issued guidelines there how those individuals, if theyre asymptomatic, if they dont have a temperature and theyre in a Critical Infrastructure job, you know, whether its First Responders or whether its really in the Grocery Store or in the food industry, these individuals can go back as long as they wear a mask and monitor themselves for illness. If they do get ill, they go home for 14 days. Im not sure i quite heard the question. Im having ear piece problem. I tried to do the best i could. No problem. Ricky from georgia says, whats the racial breakdown of covid19 cases and deaths . What percentage of each racial group has been affected, black, white, asian, et cetera . Yeah, i think this is really an important question. As we get firmer on all the data and it gets more complete, to look at how this virus is affecting not just different geographic areas, but obviously different demographic, where its age as we know, or if its individuals that have comorbidities or if its based on race. We have seen in our nation, and i think we talked about this before, sanjay, the Health Care Disparity that exists in this country. Clearly this virus, for most individuals who get it, theyre going to recover. Over 98. 5, 99 of people are going to recover. The group that has the challenge, that has significant comorbidities gets in hospitalizations, intensive care, and even death are those that have significant comorbidities. Medical comorbidities. The most important ones are diabetes, hypertension, Reactive Airway disease like asthma, obesity. So if this virus, then if theres Health Disparities already in a population where there may be a greater proportion of diabetics or hypertension, or asthma and reactive air disease, or obesity, these individuals are greater risk. The data that we have now clearly does show that minority populations appear to be having a greater risk for complications. I want to emphasize, this virus, in our view, does not discriminate who it infects. It can affect all of us. But where there is a difference in its ability to cause significant mortality and morbidity, and that is going to be in excess in individuals that have Health Disparities for those preconditions that i mentioned, diabetes, hypertension, and asthma Reactive Airway disease, obesity. We are digging deep to get into the data with complete data sets. We dont want to come out with partial data sets that are not complete so that we would come up with a different interpretation. But i can tell you cdc is working together with the states and territories to have complete data sets so we can get a better handle on exactly what that difference is. To that point, the federal government hasnt released national data. Weve seen statistics from some states and cities and weve seen thats how weve seen the disproportionate impact of African Americans, and its shocking. Louisiana 70 of covid19 victims are African Americans. They makeup only 33 of the population. Can you give a specific date when the cdc is going to release more complete demographic information . Because from what i understand, none of it has come from the cdc yet. Yeah, as i said, were working very hard to get this data complete. You know, were subject to the data to come in and get reported to us from the different states and territories. This is an important issue. Were looking at it critically to get out really that national data. And i can tell you as soon as we get that data in a manner which we think is rigorous and complete, were going to release that to the American Public. Lets see if we can get to another viewer question here. This is from Brenda Barrette and it reads this, dr. Redfield. It says, President Trump is promoting hydroxychloroquine as a preemptive drug against coronavirus. If there is a huge uptick of that medication, will there be enough for those of us who need severe arthritis. E lupus and how worried are you . You know, sanjay, i think you know this as well as i. I went through the early days of my career taking care of men and women that were trying to live life with hiv. Clearly we have the ability as physicians to use approved drugs for nonapproved indications. Related to high droks urea, my position is this is a decision between the physician and the patient. Clearly there is some Laboratory Data that shows activity. As you know, that Laboratory Data doesnt necessarily translate to clinical benefit. Theres a number of Clinical Trials that are ongoing that i think will be rigorous and answer that question definitively. But in the meantime, this is going to be a personal decision that a physician and a patient will make about whether they choose to use hydroxyurea for an offlabel indication. I think we just have to see can i just ask, dr. Redfield, because i hear that quite a bit. Im a physician and people ask me. Frankly, i dont know because there isnt data and i would typically say no. You know, i want data. Youre a doctor. Its a decision between doctor and patient. Would you recommend it to a patient . Yeah, im not going to recommend it and not going to not recommend it. I think, you know, sanjay, you and i are very similar. Were probably similar to my friend dr. Fauci. I mean, you know, were very comfortable in responding when we have data that is compelling. And i think this is where the studies are going to give it. Cdc is an organization, as you know, you and i have talked about it before. Were not an opinion organization. Were a sciencebased, datadriven organization. So i do think this is going to be an independent decision of the Health Care Providers and patients that at this stage, this moment in time, were not recommending it, but were not not recommending it. Were recommending for the physician and patient to have that discussion. Is there a danger i mean, you worked i know a lot, did a lot of really important work in hiv aids. Isnt there a danger with a drug like azt. A lot of gay men tried azt thinking and wanted it rushed into use and fought for that. And it ended up killing a lot of people, didnt it . I mean, isnt there a danger in rushing something without the science . Yeah, i think thats a great analogy. Its something that i lived through. Its something that we saw. And i think if people look back in retrospect, a lot of that mono therapy azt decision was premature. I mean, that Clinical Trial had disproportional dropout rates, as you know, between the two arms, suggestive that people figured out what arm they were in. It didnt have significant pneumocystis prophylaxis which is the primary end point. This is why i think from a scientific point of view, from a datadriven point of view, the way to do this is to do the appropriate trials and get the answer. Dr. Redfield, we appreciate your time and all your efforts on peoples behalf. Thank you very much. Thank you both, anderson and sanjay. Thanks, god bless. Byebye. Up next well talk with a california man who has recovered from the virus and whose plasma is now being used to treat some pandemic patients. Well be right back. Burst pipe in denmark. If you look close. Jamie, are there any interesting photos from your trip . Ouch, okay. Huh, boring, boring, you dont need to see that. Oh, here we go. Can you believe my client steig had never heard of a home and auto bundle or that renters could bundle . Wait, youre a lawyer . Only licensed in stockholm. What is happening . Jamie anyway, game show, kumite, cinderella story. You know karate . No, alan, i practice muay thai, completely different skillset. Thats why working together ist more important than ever. At t is committed to keeping you connected. So you can keep your patients cared for. Your customers served. Your students inspired. And your employees closer than ever. Our network is resilient. Our people are strong. Our job is to keep your business connected. Its what weve always done. Its what well always do. Welcome back to our cnn global town hall. Sanjay, we were talking ahead of the cdc. I wonder what you made of his comments. Obviously hes in a position of trying to focus on the science when obviously theres other considerations on the task force. Look, that last point that he was being asked about, would you recommend this medication, i think its such a crucial point. Its one of the questions that we get so much. You heard his answer. I wouldnt recommend it, but i wouldnt not recommend it as well. Which, you know, it obviously doesnt offer a lot of clarity to people. I think theres a lot of doctors who are and Health Care Professionals trying to decide right now whether to give that medication. I think the answer is we dont know. And as you pointed out, that was an important example you gave. There can be real concerns about side effects here. Theres been three cardiology associations came out and said they urged a lot of caution with hydroxychloroquine. So i think we just have to keep asking about that. People want a treatment, but we dont have the evidence yet. Much of the conversation about lifting restrictions around the Country Centers around treatments, therapies and ultimately obviously a vaccine. In that regard i want to bring in jason garcia, fully recovered coronavirus patient. His plasma is being used to treat covid19. Some patients currently battling the disease. Jason, great to have you here. You experienced some of these challenges thank you. Falling ill with the virus. And then see it turn into something hopefully potentially saving other peoples lives, thats got to be an extraordinary feeling. Yeah, it is. I cant you know, you described it perfectly. Thats just exactly how i felt. I understand as well, jason, you were actually the first plasma donor on the west coast. A lot of people are hearing about this idea of convalescent plasma now. Can you talk us through the process . How would it work . Yeah. So, its essentially youre given blood. They take the blood, it goes through a machine, they separate it out, put the blood back in. They collect the plasma which has the antibodies and a special protein. Since i fought it off, i recovered successfully, we use antibodies can help other patients who quite havent had the immune response and arent responding well to the disease. Theyll use my plasma, which has essentially antibodies to help assist in the fight. Jason, i know other people who have had this who want to do this as well. Was it painful at all, just for others considering volunteering for Something Like this . Not at all. I mean, if youre comfortable giving blood, donating blood, its easy. Its that simple. There is an extra iv involved because not only drawing blood out, theyre putting blood back into your system. Youre hooked up to a machine. It takes 45, 50 minutes. So its really, its really if youre donating blood, donated blood before, its as simple as that and you can possibly save a life and help. I know that i mean, youre not a scientist, jason. Im sure youve talked to the doctors about this whole process. Theres lots of different types of potential treatments out there. Do you have any sense of how hopeful they are, you are about the fact that this might actually work . I think everyones being positive about it. Theyre hopeful. I mean, i know theres history on convalescent plasma therapy. The unknown is we dont know how well patients are going to respond with this virus with convalescent plasma therapy. But i think thats kind of what theyre doing the initial trials. So, hopefully it is something that can get us by in the meantime until a vaccine gets made. Jason garcia, we appreciate what youre doing. And i hope a lot of other folks will be able to follow your lead. Thank you so much. Reminder at the bottom of your screen, youll see our social media scroll that shows the questions people are asking. Tweet us your questions with the cntownhall. You can also leave a comment on the cnn facebook page. Back now with sanjay and want to bring in our cnn medical analyst and clinical assistant professor of diseases at nyu medical school and bellevue hospital. Dr. Gounder, according to the red cross, plasma is used when new diseases or infections develop quickly and there are no treatments or vaccines developed. Are you hopeful it can bridge the gap until there is a vaccine . Anderson, this is an approach used really since the turn of the 20th century to treat anything from measles to most recently weve tried it with ebola. Its had varying success. So it seems to work better for diseases like measles and influenza. Did not work so well for ebola. I think one major limiting issue is this really does depend on people donating blood. And the amount of convalescent serum that you get from any one person is not a huge amount. And so if youre talking about treating thousands of people across the country, i do have very serious concerns. Even if it works, which we have yet to definitively prove, that we can scale this up in a meaningful way. Doctor, i want to ask you about what we heard from dr. Redfield. The other issue sanjay, you can weigh in on this as well is testing. Obviously the president has said, look, there is not going to be everybody in the country tested. But at the same time, every epidemiologist ive talked to says testing is, i think the governor has called it the bridge, others have called it the lock to open up the economy, and Contact Tracing, really none of which is in place at the level that all the epidemiologists ive talked to thus far seem to think it needs to be state by state. Sanjay, what do you think . I agree. Im anxious to see what celine thinks about this as well. I think its pretty clear we dont have the testing is really ramped up, but you have to apply it uniformly and in places as we go through this curve. One of the things thats going to be so crucial in saying, hey, look, we are now capable of reopening the country, is to be able to test and then trace as we were talking about earlier. And hopefully treat. Well see if we have a treatment. I think its worth pointing out celine, tell me what you think with flu, in any given year, i think they will say 29, 39 million, whatever Million People will get the flu. Maybe fewer than 100,000 tests have been performed. So they extrapolate a lot of data. They look at a lot of other clues and things like that. Do you think that sort of thing is likely to happen with this Novel Coronavirus as well . Well, sanjay, thats what we call the influenzalike illness, ili surveillance. Yes, that is precisely what we do, and thats partly how weve been picking up the fact that there is probably coronavirus transmission occurring in other parts of the country that just dont have the testing capacity. The problem with that is you still cant differentiate who among those people has the flu, who has the coronavirus. I think going back to the testing question, for example, youre asking about convalescent serum. How can you possibly know who to get that serum from if they havent been tested . If youre talking about trying to scale that up as a real therapy, youre going to have to do mass testing to figure out who might be a donor. A lot of questions. Anne in florida sent in this one. Take a look. We are selfisolating in our homes to avoid catching or spreading the virus. Many people will remain healthy using this strategy. When the time comes that we can once again resume normal activity we will have no immunity to the virus, which will not miraculously disappear. What mitigation strategies will prevent us from becoming the next wave of victims . Yeah, look, thats a really important point. I mean, when we think about this curve and getting through this, theres a good chance according to some of the models including the university of washington model, which everyone is focusing on, that 95 of the country will still not be immune to this virus, and its still circulating out there. This is real concern and gets back to the same issue. As we come through the curve, can we address this by testing people and making sure we can trace their contact, isolate the person if they come back positive, trace their contact, and maybe have a therapeutic . But until we have a vaccine i think this point is a very good one. The only thing that can happen like happened in 1918 is that lots and lots of people become infected, and people get sick and it overwhelms the health care system, all the things weve been talking about. That is not a good scenario. Thats why as we come through the curve we really have to make sure we have these strategies in place. Susan scott in arizona sent in this video. Lets listen. Whats the protocol about keeping cloth maskings clean and virusfree . Ive heard all kinds of crazy thing from microwaving to leaving them out in the sun. Do they need to be washed after everyday use, and if so, how . Dr. Gounder . Right, so i think a couple of things. One, when you remove the mask when you come home, remove it from the ties behind your ear, dont pull it off from your face that way because you have to assume that the exterior of the mask could be contaminated with virus. So thats number one. Number two, cloth masks are great its great to just wash them. So just have your washing machine open when you come home, toss it directly into the wash. Maybe if you have a couple of them you dont have to wash every day to run a load of those when you have other things to wash. Sanjay, i love your tutorial. Youve done the hand washing, bring back the groceries. We asked you to do a quick tutorial about how to make your own mask. Lets take a look. I want to show you how to make a mask here. Take a bandanna like this and it folds. Remember you dont want to take a hospital workers mask. So im showing you this. You should wear a mask if you go in public but only if you feel you cant social distance. You dont need to wear this for example if youre going on a walk by yourself. And also remember that youre doing this to try and prevent yourself from putting the virus into the air. Everyone has to behave like they have the virus. This isnt necessarily to protect you, its to protect others from you. Heres a pro tip, dont use small hair bands like this. Find big hair bands. Put one on either end. Do this. This is going to be a key move right here. Fold one end and really tuck it inside the other. Get in there like this. This is not going to be a fashion statement. There you go. There is my bandanna. It does the job. It keeps me from spreading the virus. You take it off, pretend that the bandanna is contaminated. This is one my daughter made me. You have to learn to tie behind the head. Preferably someone would do this for you. When youre taking it off, dont touch the front of the mask. Take it off, put it in the laundry. Ive got a lot of questions about gators. A lot of people continuously adjust them. Be careful if you use one of these. Most of all, stay home as much as possible. Go out if you have to and wear a mask if youre going to be in a place where you cant socially distance. Stay safe, everybody. Sanjay, we all know the maskmaking abilities in your home really belong to your daughter. Sure. Sanjay sent me a picture today of the mask that his daughter made for me. I am so excited to receive this mask. Is it i love it. Its like very like kids pajamas from the 70s of cowboys. Its the coolest thing. Im sure i had those pajamas as a kid. I have to tell you, anderson, my daughter thought a lot about this particular mask for you. Its awesome. She loves you. She watches you all the time. She wanted to make you this mask. Theres a whole story behind it which ill share you when i send you the mask. She made bandannas on the side. I will wear this mask everywhere. Good for your. You know what . Youll help protect people around you as well. So well all feel good about that. And ill look stylish at the same time. This next question comes from sanjay, one of your podcast listeners, 9yearold Declan Watson in houston sent in a video. Lets watch. How do we respond to people that are disrespecting the quarantine and inviting us over to parties or meetups . Thank you. Wow, one of the most sophisticated 9yearolds i think ive ever seen. Thank you for the question and its something i talk about with my family all the time. I think as dr. Redfield is even saying, if you dont think about abiding about these stayathome policies for yourself, think about people you love. If you go out and youre at a mass gathering and you come home and you potentially bring the virus home you could infect the people you love. Hopefully thats inspiration enough regardless of your age. Thats what i tell my kids and hopefully thats something you can tell your friends as well. Dr. Gounder, thank you so much. I really appreciate all your expertise. And to all those who sent us questions. And we have a lot more ahead in our global town hall. Im going speak to Magic Johnson and his experience living and thriving with hiv, and also the disproportionate percentage of African Americans dying from covid19. Well talk to a doctor with the World Health Organization, answering your questions. And well talk with pastor rick warren about faith and the virus as easter weekend approaches. Stay with us. Do it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. 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And defer your first payment up to 120 days we do things differently and aother money managers, dont understand why. Because our way works great for us but not for your clients. Thats why were a fiduciary, obligated to put clients first. So, what do you provide . Cookie cutter portfolios . Nope. We tailor portfolios to our clients needs. But you do sell investments that earn you high commissions, right . We dont have those. So, whats in it for you . Our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. At Fisher Investments were clearly different. Welcome back again to cnn global town hall coronavirus facts and fears. We heard the director of the cdc dr. Redfield saying that the u. S. Is coming to the peak of the pandemic. In just the last hour 35 more deaths then u. S. Currently there are 16,513 deaths total, 462,135 cases. This hour we have special guests to join us to answer viewer questions. Pastor rick warren is going to answer questions from viewers in need of a spiritual message. And also guidance how to balance Church Service with social distancing. Also a top leader from the World Health Organization will be joining us to answer your questions about prevention and the transmission of this disease. But we start this hour with one of the most famous athletes the United States has ever produced, a man who also knows firsthand about living with the virus that can kill and can speak to the way this virus is hitting the Africanamerican Community in disproportionate numbers. Very pleased joining us now is former Los Angeles Laker Magic Johnson. Magic, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for having me, both of you, and thank you for helping so many people, educating them. Its very important. Youre a hero to me personally. Your bravery back in 1991 announcing to the world that youre hiv positive, it opened a lot of peoples eyes. It saved a lot of peoples lives who got tested because you had or people took greater precautions because of you. Thanks to medicine hiv is now a chronic condition, you are thriving as are people who have access to medication and they are living lives just like everybody else. These viruses are obviously very different, corona and hiv in a whole lot of ways, but you lived through one pandemic. Im wondering when this Current Crisis started, did it have a different resonance for you having had the experience of living through the hiv aids pandemic . Well, i think, you know, when you think about hiv and aids, first of all id like to thank all the doctors for educating me about hiv and aids at that time. Elizabeth glazier, who was dying, really helped me mentally and physically. She told me a lot of drugs were coming down the pipeline, and she was bl right. Those drugs have prolonged my life for almost 30 years. But when i think about this virus its completely different. But we must now in the black community educate ourselves better because we thought and a lot of people were saying it, and these are black people saying it, that, you know, blacks couldnt get this virus, coronavirus, and they were absolutely wrong. Too much misinformation going out into our community. And if we look at the numbers, africanamericans are leading in terms of dying from the coronavirus, also those who are in the hospital most of them are africanamerican, so weve got to do a better job as africanamericans to social distancing, stay at home, make sure we educate our loved ones and our family members about this virus and do what were supposed to do to keep safe and healthy. And then when you add that up to, you know, we dont have access to health care and Quality Health care, and then so much of us so many of us are uninsured so that also creates a problem, too, just like it did with hiv and aids and the same thing with the coronavirus. Yeah, its also for, you know, people of color are treated differently often too often in hospitals in terms of being given pain medication in some cases than other people. I mean, there are longstanding inequalities and disparities in treatment, access to treatment, access to testing and those have existed for a long time, and that also has ripple effects in the current pandemic. Well, when you think about first of all africanamericans we deal with a lot of Health Issues already. So we talk about hiv and aids, but obesity, when you think about diabetes, high blood pressure, so all these things we already deal with, and then you add coronavirus on top of that. Thats a tough situation for most africanamericans and minorities, period. And then the lack of access to health care, thats just an unbeatable combination, and so we must get better. Hopefully there will be Affordable Health care for all people, not just minorities but for everybody. And if the prices can come down, then i think youre going to see africanamericans be a lot healthier. You know, theres another thing, too, to add into that mix, magic, which is that a disproportionate number of front line workers, people in food service, logistics, transportation, whatever it might be are also africanamerican. They are more at risk. They do their jobs, theyre more at risk. So what i mean thats not Something Likely to change soon. What would be your message then to make sure these structural inequalities andersons talking about dont continue with this particular pandemic . Well, first of all, you know, those jobs especially if you havent gotten a good education, thats really been our problem, and so we have those jobs, were hardworking people, we want to take care of our family. But at the same time we understand that the hospitality sector, the restaurant sector is driven a lot by minorities and especially africanamericans, and thats why the unemployment number you think about 17 million americans are unemployed now. A lot of them are africanamericans because they are in those sectors, but i dont want you know, we cant just say its because theyre in those sectors. We as African Americans, we got to do a better job, and then we got to make sure our kids can educate themselves so they can have jobs in other sectors so we wont be talking about this hopefully in the next five years. You know, i was talking to some people about this today. One of the things i think this pandemic has done is it shows inequality exists in society, its like an xray that preexisting problems in society, it magnifies them and brings them more to the light, these racial disparities, homelessness, things like that. Right. But it also is its an extraordinary opportunity to start to see each other differently. You know, the idea whos important in our society. We think its celebrities, we think people make a lot of money, but right now all those celebrities and all those people who make a lot of money, were all depending on people who are not making money, who are delivering boxes of goods, who are working in an amazon fulfillment center, who are driving the bus, who are, you know, who are saving our lives because theyre keeping this entire system going. It it wasnt for truck drivers, ups delivery folks, these are people who they dont get a lot of acknowledgement in regular times and things are not flipped, so they are keeping us alive. Yes, they are, and so we got to thank them. Look, i employ a lot of those people and i want to thank them because right now people who work for me are in hospitals right now. I can tell you in new jersey and newark, new beth israel, my team is working almost around the clock to feed the doctors and nurses and also all the other patients, not just the coronavirus patient, but all the other patients who are also at that hospital and have dietary needs, special meals to keep them going. So i want to thank them, and then i have also another team of people who work in the School System because in those same neighborhoods that were talking about, were feeding those School Children twice a day meals so that they can have meals that they normally if school was out now because of this virus, if we dont feed them, they wouldnt eat all day. So we want to continue to feed these young people, and thats what were doing. So i want to thank my team. Theres a lot of people, Grocery Store workers who are still working to feed all of us to make sure we have a meal. Also the doctors, nurses, First Responders, the police, the fire. All of these people we want to thank them because theyre still working while were sitting at home. But last but not least, you know, theres been inequalities and injustice going on for a long time, especially when you think about minorities. And so you have to change first of all in city hall, on the state level, on the local level and then at the federal level. And if things dont change there, then nothings going to change in urban america. So until someone says, hey, were going to make sure that africanamericans and latinos and others have a level playing field, that the same opportunities that others have, minorities are going to have. Until those things change, were still going to have a lack of health care. Were still going to be behind the 8 ball when you think about africanamericans. And magic, i want to ask you something that anderson brought up earlier. And im just curious how you think through this, when you think about hiv aids in the beginning there werent any proven therapies, no proven medications. And yet there was a real need for them, a real clamoring for them understandably because people were dying. This is a different sort of pandemic as anderson mentioned, but some of those same tones seem to be here as well. We want to rush through this because people are dying, lets just try anything. And obviously theres concerns, there could be side effects, there can be real concerns. How do you think about that, magic . When i first announced hiv almost 30 years ago there was one drug, act at that time. And now theres over 30 drugs, right . And so now people can really live a healthy life because of those drugs, and i think here with this coronavirus hopefully we can find some drugs that will prolong life and that we got to make sure first, though, every american can get a test, can get tested because right now theres a shortage of tests so people want to get tested, but they cant find a test kit. So thats also a problem, too. So the reason my life, im still living is because early detection, i had a test i had a physical. It came up that i had hiv, and that saved my life. And so people want to get tested. Until they get tested people wont be comfortable because thats going to tell them whether they had this virus or not. Let me add some followup on what sanjay was saying, were talking about azt as you mentioned in 91 when you announced you were positive as you said that was the only thing that was out there, and a lot of activists had, you know, fought to get that drug brought quickly onto the market so that they could use it. There wasnt, you know, the amount of testing that there would normally be because it was such a desperate situation, and it turned out azt alone was not effective and had actually really hurt a lot of people and probably resulted in people dying. Were you back i dont know if you i dont want to ask too many personal questions but was azt something you tried or attempted to because i know a lot of people who survived said they chose not to try azt and feel like that kept them alive at least long enough to get the cocktail of which azt was also involved with. Anderson, youre spot on. I tried it in the beginning, and then the cocktail came right behind it. And they were testing the cocktail when i first announced in 1991. And so i came along at the right time because that drug came right after that. And between me working out, keeping a positive attitude as well as taking the cocktail, thats what made me live for now almost 30 years. And, look, i dont want to belabor this point, but there is a real push of some of these medications to release them earlier than you normally would. We dont have the data on it yet, magic, and im not trying to put you on the spot. But how do you think this should be balanced, this desire for medicines because people are getting really sick and dying from this virus versus the need for evidence . Just given that you went through this yourself. Well, you know, listen, right now this virus is so new and nobody has a cure or a drug that can help people, it doesnt seem like that anyway. And so until we come up with some drugs that can prolong life and also help people beat the virus were going to continue to have people passing away dying and thats unfortunate because here we are the biggest and Strongest Company im sorry, country in the world and we should have drugs that can help people through this virus. And i hope that the doctors and scientists can find a cure or drug that can help people beat this virus. So im hoping that that happens soon. One of the things i was thinking about i was thinking about you a lot today, and you i put myself in your shoes in 1991 to come out and sat down in front of, you know, a room full of reporters with all the prejudice and, you know, bigotry and misinformation about hiv aids at the time and announce what you did and said what you did. The fear that you and your wife must have felt in those days where, you know, there wasnt the cocktail, there wasnt drugs that now its a chronic condition youre thriving, youre as healthy as anybody else as long as you keep taking the medicine and anybody who has access to medicine, you know, is as healthy as anybody else. Theres people who have fear tonight sitting for different reasons, economic reasons but also fear of getting this virus, fear of losing a loved one. How do you deal with that fear . In 1991, in 1992, there wasnt a lot of reason to hope. Yeah, i think that first of all the first thing we did we just prayed a lot. God really blessed me. But the one thing also i continue to have a positive attitude. I continue to work out. And then also i took my meds. So i followed the advice of my doctor who was dr. Ho at that time, and still is, i think right now is similar to what happened with hiv and aids. When i announced it was a white gay mans disease. Right . Everybody was saying its going through white gay men, and people were wrong because blacks thought they couldnt get hiv and aids. Its the same thing as the coronavirus. It reminds me going back 30 years, and we were all wrong. And the numbers switched from a white gay mans disease to a minority disease, right . Which it is today hiv and aids. More minorities get hiv and aids than any other group of people. And the same thing here that misinformation went out in our community and said, oh, blacks cant get coronavirus, and everybodys been wrong about that, whoever has been saying that in the black community. So thats why we see these numbers so high because, you know, people went out there spreading that word that blacks couldnt get it, and now we see that not only can we get the coronavirus, but we can die from the coronavirus. So in our community we got to do a better job of making sure Everybody Knows that they can get this virus, and its deadly. It also just seems to me but, i dont want to belabor this, you know, but when we dont see each other, when we dont see our brothers and sisters who are disadvantaged or who are living a different life than we are, when we dont interact or see each other, thats when you dont end up having testing you know, emphasis on testing in the black community. Weve seen this with hiv aids. Then doctors dont think about, well, how do i reach out to this population in a different way perhaps so that they so that we bring that population in, when we dont see each other as a society and that filters down to who gets medical care and who doesnt, and thats wrong and that needs to change. See, anderson, the problem is people want us to drive to suburban america to get that test. Why cant you have that testing done right in urban america, right in the inner cities . And then we want doctors who look like us and thats important too so they can deliver that message to us of, hey, this is what youre up against, and thats an easier message to accept when its a doctor of color that can explain to us how its going to effect not only us but our family members and our community. So a lot of times what happens is we dont get the information because its only over here, right . Over in suburban america and not in urban america. And then when we get it, we usually give out the wrong information, right . And so im here today to tell all minorities this virus you can get it and you can die from it. And you can die from it. So make sure you do everything youre supposed to do, stay at home. Ive been hearing theyve been having car parties around the country. You cant do that. Youve got to stay at home with yourself and your family and make sure you keep yourself a safe distance from everybody else. Thats very important. And here in california i drove up here in my mask. I got gloves, i got mask, im staying safe, my wife is staying safe. So we urge everybody get your mask, get your gloves and stay safe. Stay at home, watch your tv shows, watch old nba games. Ive been watching nba tv and old classic games and binging out on all my tv shows as well. You were a lot of those nba classic games as well, magic, as well. So youre seeing yourself i imagine. Quickly, do you think the misinformation spread is worse now . Theres social media, all these digital platforms. Compared to 30 years ago where there was misinformation about who hiv aids affected, here it was thought to be primarily an older white persons disease, this coronavirus. Is it harder, do you think, to get good information now . No, it should be easier with social media and with cellphones you know thats where people are living on their cellphone and on their ipads and laptops and so on. So we should be able to get the information out better, but what happens is you have some people given the wrong information because they havent been educated enough. And those people have a following, you know, and a big following. So if somebody says, hey, we cant get it as black people and they have millions of people who listen to them then theyre going to go tell other people what that leader or what that guy or what that woman said, and thats wrong. So im here today to correct that, that you cant get it. And look at all the numbers that cnn has shown us every single day. Youve shown us the numbers where africanamericans lead in every category. So weve got to get the right message out to the urban community. Weve got to ask you one question, magic, about sports. Youre also part owner of the l. A. Dodgers. Right now there are no sports, no live sports, no basketball, no hockey, no golf, nothing. How do you think sports is going to come back from this, and do you think theres going to be a right time for that to happen . It definitely will be a right time. I know commissioner adam silver has done a wonderful job with the nba. He wants to make sure that the players will be safe before they come back as well as be safe for all the employees who work at those arenas. And so i think sports will come back. Its just a matter of when will we make sure that this virus has not affected effected this level and not effecting the whole country anymore. And when those numbers drop and it stabilizes i think sports will come back. And then the dodgers and mlb, theyre talking about coming back maybe in may. And i hope that happens, but first the players have to be safe, and then the numbers have to be stabilized for that to happen as well. But, look, america and all of us to live in this great country that we live in, we need sports especially in a time like this. But only if everybody is safe. Now, the key is i think sports will come back probably without fans first. The key is when will fans be allowed to come back, and thats going to be the key. Let me ask you about that. Lebron james who i know you said is the greatest athlete in the world, also an l. A. Laker. He recently said he doesnt know how we can imagine a sporting event with no fans. Do you think fanless games is a viable option not only to nba but other leagues as well . Well, i think that lebron is right. Its hard to play without fans, but i think once you have one game without fans, say the nba comes back without fans once you play one game you adjust to not having fans there. But i think also, too, weve all played our whole life on the playgrounds and pickup games without fans being there. So basketball players know how to adjust, trust me. And i think also, too, those guys want to see whos the world champion. Listen, if they have a chance to go back, if theyre healthy, if they all get tested and they go back and they know they can be healthy and nothing can happen to them, they will go back to crown a champion because they want to see whos the best team in the nba because im looking forward to seeing if the lakers going to win the championship. Im looking forward to doing that. Magic johnson, its always great to talk to you and i appreciate you being with us. My pleasure, thank you for having me. Everybody out there please stay safe and do what youre supposed to do and let these numbers go down so we can get back to our life. Magic johnson, thank you. Our global town hall continues. A doctor from the World Health Organization will answer your questions and hear pastor rick warren talking about faith during this time. These days, its anything but business as usual. Thats why working together is more important than ever. At t is committed to keeping you connected. 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At the bottom of your screen is our social media scroll showing the questions people are asking. In the past couple of days have seen President Trump making accusations to the World Health Organization response to pandemic. The organization has responded by detailing a timeline of their response to the pandemic. And the head of the group telling President Trump, please, quote, dont politicize this virus. He added theyd do an after action report as they do with all disease outbreaks so they can identify the strength and weakness of their response. Tonight on the global town hall we want to focus on the science and health of answering your questions. We want to introduce the dr. Maria van kerkhove who has been with us before. She is the technical lead for covid19 response at the w. H. O. Thanks for being with us. I want to get to viewer questions in a moment, but first im wondering for your assessment in the fight against the virus in this moment both here in the u. S. And around the world. So thanks for having me. Good morning, good evening. Yeah, our assessment our focus is 100 on saving as many lives as we can. Were seeing an incredibly resilient global population right now fighting really hard against this. Were seeing governments put everything they can against this to try to minimize infections, save lives and minimize the Public Health economic impacts. Were seeing some good signs in the number of countries which we talked about before. Were seeing reductions in cases across asia, several countries in asia are now seeing some reintroductions. And so theyve put in place again the Public Health measures that worked the first time. Were seeing still some increases in outbreaks in case numbers across europe, across north america. And so were seeing a good fight happening there, and we want that to continue. What we are really worried about is how this virus will behave across africa and some lower income countries, in latin america, in some island countries. So its a bit of a mixed bag here in terms of what were seeing globally in terms of its epidemiology. But the human spirit were seeing, the solidarity across the globe, the unity and bringing people together is really inspiring. Doctor, i think for the last three months for me, i know longer for you ive followed these numbers and models on a daily basis, and it can get a little confusing to really understand looking at the models where this is really going. When you look at the numbers of cases and deaths around the world and all these changing curves, first of all does it make sense to you these models, and what stands out to you . What should we be paying attention to . So what we do when we look at the numbers is we look at the cases being reported, the cases being identified and we look at the growth rate. We look at how quickly are those numbers being identified and how quickly are numbers doubling . We call that the doubling time. Thats a really important number. And right now across europe the doubling time is 3 to 4 days, and thats very fast. That means that the case numbers can grow very, very fast which can overwhelm systems. What were also looking at is not only what those numbers are, its where those numbers are coming from. What is the surveillance strategy of a country . How are countries looking . What is the testing strategy of the countries so we can put those numbers into context. The other thing that is very important is how on a downward side of the curve, how fast is that happening, and how is that happening. Were all looking at these numbers going up but just as important is how these numbers come down. We look at the percent positive through the tests. Thats something thats really important, how many tests are done and how many are positive. If youre seeing countries that have a 30 positivity rate, that means theres a lot of cases that are out there. If youre seeing countries that have a 1 positivity rate, that means theyre actually capturing more of their cases. Models are models. Models are wonderful for scenarios, and they help us think about the what ifs, what may happen if we dont do put in interventions. But models are models. What our goal is to make sure the realities of those numbers, which can sometimes be very scary, dont become realities. What have you seen in terms of societies getting back to some sense of normalcy and obviously until theres a vaccine theres still going to be doubt and fears and concern and the potential to slip back into the pandemic, but what works in terms of getting a country or society out of this and back to normal, what is Governor Cuomo refers to testing as the bridge. Is it testing . What is it that allows a place to get back, that helps a place get back . Yeah, this is very hot topic at the moment because theres a lot of countries that have implemented these stringent Movement Restrictions and a lot of stay at home orders and this is global. So we get a lot of questions how to get out of this. Testing is part of that strategy, but its one measure as part of a whole comprehensive package of things. One is you have to have testing in place. You to have public measures where there is a workforce that can find cases. It gets back to the fundamentals of Public Health. What is the work force that can go on and do Contact Tracing . Do you have a sense how many people can do that because we heard Different Things tonight on the show. I mean is it thousands of people, hundreds of people . It depends on the area were talking about. If youre talking about globally, yeah, its huge numbers of people. But this is where countries need to be creative. You dont need medical professionals to actually do Contact Tracing. It would be great if you did, but we have a lot of medical professionals needed in hospitals to care for patients. But theres other people that can help do this, and weve heard some creative stories of using teachers to help or using university students, but Everybody Needs to be trained and Everybody Needs to do it in the proper way and be protected, but it would be helpful to think at the lowest administrative level that you can and break down the problem into smaller areas to see what you need where, you know, depending on that geographic area. But you have to have those systems in place before you can start. You need to have your bed capacity lowered higher but not as filled. You need to have beds in place once you do lift these measures should you have an increase in cases again you have a plan to actually care for those individuals. You need to have your workplaces in order, so once Companies Start to get people back to work you need to have a plan should you find a case what are you going to do . So there are a number of measures that need to be put in place. And where weve seen this done successfully, the lifting of these measures has happened in a slow and staggered approach. The entire country doesnt lift all at once. Its done maybe piecemeal, maybe in an area where theres lower incidents, lower circulation. You start to lift some of these measures a little bit at a time. You open up your factories and you have part of your work force go back, not all of your work force go back. Its going to take some time. It cant be done all at once because its very dangerous that you could have a resurgence very quickly. But having testing in place is one of the key factors. Weve got a lot of viewer questions for as well for you, doctor. Lets get one from kim who sent in this, which reads does ones blood type play a factor in being able to combat the virus once contracted . Yeah, so thanks. Id heard that. Id heard that question one other time. With this respiratory virus and with other coronaviruses, no, it doesnt. All of us are susceptible to this virus. Its a new virus, which means we havent had a chance to build immunity. So, no, everyone is susceptible to this virus. Charles in renten, washington, sent in this video. In the absence of a vaccine are massive infections necessary to create the herd immunity necessary to flatten the curve . So, thank you. I didnt hear the whole thing but he asked about herd immunity. Or he said are massive infections in the absence of a vaccine are massive infections necessary to develop herd immunity . And maybe explain what herd immunity is for folks. So herd immunity is when you have a large proportion of the population infected which means they would have some level of immunity and therefore the virus has nowhere to go. It has nowhere to infect to pass this to someone. What we want to happen is we want to prevent as many infections as possible, full stop. The goal is never to let this go. We want to prevent as many infections as we can, and thereby reducing the number of people who would advance to severe disease, critical disease and die, and at the same time accelerate the development of vaccines as fast as we can. Recently we had more than 130 developer scientists, Companies Come together to say they would be willing to work with us, to work globally to advance vaccine. And that is something we will push and the whole world is waiting for. Along those lines, doctor, one of the questions we always get i think weve talked about it before and i wonder if you know more now than before, but if you get this virus, if you get the infection are you for certain immune to it if youre exposed again . So, you know, nothing is for certain. Were still weeks in were now in our fourth month of this outbreak and were learning something new every day. The studies are still being done, so theres nothing for certain yet. Weve seen some preliminary results some preliminary studies, prepublished results where some people will develop an immune response. We dont know if that conifers confers immunity, which means theyre totally protected. If we look at other coronaviruses, if we look at mers coronavirus, we would see people who would have an antibody response for maybe ten months, maybe a year. And so we dont know even there we didnt know if that conferred protection. So for this particular virus the answer is we dont know yet, but those studies are being done. We need to really better understand how the body responds to it. Theres been more than 300,000 people who have recovered from this, so we need to look at them and see what level of antibodies they have and if that actually means there is protection. Dr. Maria van verdikerkhove, appreciate your time. Thank you very much. Thank you. Up next well both talk with pastor rick warren about faith. Whats up, everybody, urge everybody to stay at home, protect yourself. Two hands . Stay inside. Stay strong. Well get through this like everybody else. This is a time for all of us to come together as a world. Not just america. Its all of us collectively. Like a great team. I know were going get through this together. Were going to be all right. Were going to be all right, babe. I promise you that. 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And we are monitoring our system 24 7 to ensure that we have a fast reliable network, keep the customers connected, and making sure people are staying safe. And were still on the road. Solving Critical Issues as they arise. Go to xfinity. Com prepare. Thank you. This is cnns global town hall. Were going to get answers to more good questions ahead. Easter sunday is only a couple of days away. And normally churches across the country would be packed but not in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic. With us now is evangelical pastor rick warren. Pastor, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it. Hi, anderson, hi, sanjay, good to see you guys. Lets begin with your thoughts where all are in this countrys history and in this pandemic. Well, i first heard about the covid19 pandemic in january but the saddleback campuses, our church is actually in four continents. And hong kong actually went to Online Services about 8 weeks ago and we distributed about 150,000 masks in hong kong in january and february. So it was kind of like the canary in the mine that we heard early on was going to happen. And as the news and the panic about covid19 began to spread i started getting calls, texts, emails, social media messages from pastors and priests all around the world asking the exact same question. Is easter going to be canceled this year. And my answer was the same to all of them, and it was this. You know, as shepherds, we are called to protect gods flock, not just feed it and lead it. And if you really love your congregation tell them to stay at home on easter, and thats going to curtail assembling, but its not going curtail the celebration. Easter will be curtailed but it wont be canceled. Nothing could actually cancel a resurrecti resurrection. It happened 2,000 years ago. Every time we use the date, even our birthdays, were using the resurrection as the focal point. But we ive tried to help these pastors around the world. We have quite a Large Network of about a million pastors. On monday i did a global pastors prayer gathering. And with leaders from all the continents and over a million pastors around the world tuned into that. As we were preparing them for the first easter in 2,000 years where christians arent actually meeting. But theres a lot of other ways. Easter will certainly be celebrated. And one of the things i reminded them i said, you guys, were not the first christians to stay at home in fear on resurrection day because thats actually what happened at the very first easter. Peter and john and all those other guys who were the disciples had that same experience in the first easter. John chapter 20 19 said that night, that easter night said the disciples were huddled in a home with the door locked for fear of the authorities. Now, they werent afraid of the virus but they were afraid the same group of people who had crucified christ might come after them. And so congratulations, youre celebrating the way the first easter was celebrated in a home with the door locked for fear. The second thing i would tell them is there was no mega church at the first easter. Jesus just showed up in their home to everybodys surprise and i have no doubt hell do that again in ten of millions of homes this easter. And saturday was a day of silence as well before. Thats exactly right. You know, im curious. In your world, pastor, and in my world as a doctor, the human touch is so important, the laying on of hands. Right. In medicine. Right. How are you going to observe i know youre going to do this via technology, but how important is it the human touch . How much is it going to impact your congregation . Well, theres no doubt about it, human touch is extremely important. In fact, everywhere jesus went, he gave a look, a word, a and a touch. A look, a word and a touch. He would look people in the eye which said you matter to me, give them a word of encouragement and he would give them a touch, pat on the back, a hug, a squeeze. And, you know, doctor, that preemies that arent touched get failure to thrive syndrome. We are made to be touched. But right now in our current restrictions on public gatherings and on the lack of touch that we have, we need to remember that jesus never intended for his church to just be merely an event that people go to. Its a family that were supposed to belong to. And god wanted a family thats why he created the universe. And while worship is the first purpose of the church, its not the only one. Jesus outlined four other purposes including fellowship, creating authentic community, discipleship, hoping people grow their souls, helping people spiritually mature, mission reconciling disconnected people to a half weeks, we have fed 30,000 households in two and a half weeks, just our church alone. So we have started we have about 550 ministries in the community. You dont have to have a big assembly to keep doing. In fact, i i train pastors. And ive had over a million pastors in 197 nations take purposedriven training. We tell them heres how you spell church. C, care and comfort. Anxious. H, help and heal the hurting. U, uplift the tired and discouraged. C, care for peoples souls and spiritual growth. And, h, heal the sick. All of those can keep on being done. People dont relation that the church basically invented healthcare. We invented the hospital. Not government. Not business. Christianity spread, if you know history, because of two plagues in the roman empire that, when people began to flee the urban areas of the roman empire because of the plagues in the 2nd century and the 3rd, christians moved in to take care of the sick. You talk about feeding. It is, at a time like this, you really see how churches, fo food banks, Community Organizations are filling that need for filling people. Literally, feeding feeding people. I, also, wanted to ask you. You and i were talking about this right before we came on air. Sure. My my brother died by suicide. You you lost a son to suicide. You know what you know what grief is like. Theres a lot of folks who have lost loved ones, and who are scared, tonight, of losing loved ones or who have lost loved ones and may be watching. Im just wondering what do you say to people in what is now the worst time of their life, in which the future seems so distant and its hard to imagine ever even smiling again. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for letting me talk about that because thats important. Theres going to be a lot of grief. People are going to lose loved ones who die. But theyre also going to lose jobs. There is the grief of not being able to go to graduation. The grief of not being able to watch a baby be born. People are losing out in all kinds of different ways right now. And so there is going to be this tsunami of grief behind, even after we pass the top of the curve and start to flatten it and it lowers, weve got to deal with the grief of lost opportunities and lost times of life. Were not very good at grieving. But grief is actually a good thing. Grief is the way we get through the transitions of life. There is no Growth Without change. There is no change without loss. And theres no loss without pain and without grief. There is no time limit. There is no shelf life on grief. Everybody grieves differently. And to force people, are you over it, if you lose a loved one, its like losing part of your arm. The rest of your life, youre going to know its not there. People go, are you over it . No, you dont get over it. You get through it, but you dont get over it. And after my son died, kay and i had no idea that we would end up spending the next the last seven years helping a lot of wellknown people in grief. Because nobody knows how to deal with it. You dont suppress it. You dont repress it. You confess it to god and you express it. Feelings are meant to be felt. The only reason we have feelings is because were made in the image of god. God is an emotional god. The bible says god gets angry. The bible says god gets sad. The bible says god gets jealous. The bible says god gets impatient. The bible says god gets frustrated. We are made in his image, so feelings are simply meant to be felt. And if you stuff them, its kind of like shaking up a can of koch a coke and putting it in your refrigerator. Its one day going to explode. So after the threat of the virus subsides, with the next wave of the emotional fallout. Im trying to deal with all of the this is saddleback 34th national or International Disaster that weve been in the 40 years ive been a pastor. Poignantly, this easter would have been saddlebacks 40th birthday. Kay and i started this church 40 years ago with just the two of us. Now, theres 180,000 names on the roll and were in four continents. What we have to do is teach people how to deal with grief. Let me ask you a question i think comes up from a lot of people who are in the middle of a pandemic. Its selfexistential to some people. Pastor warren, id like to know where is god in a pandemic . Why does god allow such a harmful thing to happen . Sure. Very good questions. And there are actually two. The first one is where is god in a crisis . The answer is hes in the hearts of his people. All those people you see out there helping others, thats god in the hearts of those people. I dont know why. But in a situation, as i said, ive been through now 34 of these national pandemics or international crises. Dr. Bob redfield, we traveled together around the world in different pandemics, including the aids pandemic, which saddleback has been very involved in for decades. Some people turn to god. Some people turn away from god. It just reveals whats inside of us. But there is two questions. The first question is where is god . People say where was god when my son died . Hes the same place he was when his son died on the cross. He was grieving the inhumanity of humanity to each other. He was grieving. The bible says god weeps. But you also see god in the good n ness of people. When katrina hit, i took 4,000 volunteers to to new orleans. And and we worked there for three or four years. We paid our church paid the salaries of 400 small africanamerican churches where they totally lost their buildings. Where was god . It was in the hearts and generosity of our people. The other question, though, is why does god allow this . When people ask why does god allow something wrong in the world . What they are expecting is heaven on earth. This is not heaven. This is earth. In heaven, everythings done perfectly. There is no sadness, no sorrow, no sickness, no stress. None of thats true here on earth. Thats why were to pray in the lords prayer, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Because on on earth, its rarely done. In heaven, its done perfectly, completely, and all the time. And so we shouldnt expect heaven on earth. The god could get rid of evil real simple, take away our choice. Our greatest gift is our freedom of choice. Its also our greatest curse. And i hurt people, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. Pastor rick warren, its always good to talk to you. Its really good. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us tonight. Thank you. Wish you well and peace in the days ahead. Up next, something to cheer your spirit. A message of hope ahead. According to her family, she spends too much time on the internet. According to the census, you can complete the census online in no time at all. Shape your future. Start here. Complete the census at 2020census. Gov. Shape your future. Start here. We cant offer much during this time of crisis, but we can offer what we have. So from all of us working early mornings on the farm, long days in the plant, or late nights stocking shelves doing all we can to get you the milk you need. We hope it makes your breakfast a little brighter. Your snacks more nutritious. And reminds you when it comes to caring, there is no expiration date. Milk. Love whats real. Your cells. Trillions of them. 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