Commission, why you put it together, who sits on it, and then we can talk about your recommendations. Good morning. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. This was an unprecedented, historic crisis we were all facing a couple months ago and our president kay james looked at the debate as it was developing and really became concerned that there was this dichotomy between people who are arguing from a Health Perspective and others arguing from an economic perspective. At this point its a little hard to remember how separated people were in terms of Everybody Needs to stay home or people go back to work. We felt like it was important to lift our heads up and look over the horizon and say whats it going to take to talk about this issue about lives and livelihoods. She put the commission together and it was a fantastic experience and great group of people of 17 experts from all across the country in all different areas and walks of life. We wanted it to be something the National Coronavirus recovery commission, something that represented all different aspects of society. We had people obviously from the Health Care Sector, we had people who represented Small Business and looking at the economic issue, but we also brought in people who had expertise in education, civil society, disaster management, all these different components that made up the things that people were concerned about with this crisis. All conservatives . Oh, no. No. It was a bipartisan panel. Your five phase plan that you came up with includes return to a more normal level of business activity, continue with cdc guidelines to slow the rate of new cases, increase availability of diagnostic tests, reestablish more International Travel and reduce trade and reduce future risks of pandemics. Can you drill in to the first one, return to a more normal level of business activity, can you do that when dr. Anthony fauci says were still in the first wave of this pandemic . Well, whatever wave that were currently in, and i think it is i think dr. Faucis point is important particularly as we see people going out into very large gatherings that the pandemic is still with us. We are still in the midst of it. Whats different now than a couple months ago is that as this started, we didnt know anything about it. So we were having to really build from the bottom up and ground zero and what we are very fortunate to have now is a whole lot more information. Americans always rise to these occasions with ingenuity and resourcefulness and pulling together and the science has progressed dramatically and so has the data. What we know now is that this virus did not affect everyone and every place evenly. There were specific places that were hit harder, everyone knows that new york city really, really had a tough time of this and is still not completely out of the woods. One of the things that i dont feel weve talked about enough is that who was hit hardest. Everyone does know that elderly people with comorbidities were much more at risk but i dont know if anyone still fully understand how much more hardly hit than everyone else people in Nursing Homes and other tightly living together kinds of situations were. Particularly the Nursing Homes. So as we move forward at this point, knowing these different data points, we can be much more strategic and focused in how we approach the virus. You also write continue with cdc guidelines to slow the rate of new cases. Im wondering what your opinion then is of President Trump holding this rally in an arena that seats 19,000 people in tulsa, oklahoma, on saturday, when the cdc says we should avoid large gatherings . Well, i think across the board, regardless of what event is being planned or what a person wants to be trying to decide about their vacation or going back to work, we do have very specific guidelines from the cdc about how people can protect themselves. You can wear a plamask. Follow all the basic Public Health recommendations weve become familiar with in terms of washing your hands and not and respecting social distancing. I went out yesterday to a store, for example, where, you know, weve got the markings on the floor now of how to stand six feet apart. Protecting people behind cash registers with barriers. So weve come a long way in terms of being able to go outside and be together in gatherings with other people and yet still protect ourselves and protect other people which what is wearing the masks is all about. Why did the commission, those people that sit on the commission and you believe that one of the keys here is increasing the availability of diagnostic tests. What did you find . Well, you have to be able to know who has it and where it is. So from the start, thats been a challenge. So being able to see where the virus is. We have made a lot of progress on that too as well. So thats something that people could feel much more confident about as were moving forward. What states have met these recommendations that you have put out and are able to move forward with reopening without risking more cases . Im so glad you asked that question for two reasons. One, because i think if theres anything that has really been drimpb home throughout this crisis is the wisdom of having a federalist approach in our country and being able to make decisions at smaller levels than just the federal government. Making the decision about their own states. And frankly, not just the governors, but localities and communities need to be tracking the data in their own communities. We like to say whats going on with Nursing Homes should not necessarily affect playgrounds in montana. These are two very different scenarios. So to answer your question, the heritage foundation, we are tracking that question and if you go to heritage. Org, we have a couple different maps that people can click on to see their specific zip codes and whats going on in their community. Robert is in st. Louis, missouri. Your question or comment about coronavirus pandemic and how the state and federal government have responded . Im calling about the concern of how the coronavirus is doing. Also about the book. I dont think its going to be awhile. I think its going to be quite awhile before we come back. Thank you so much for that question. Good to talk with you this morning. I think we need to be realistic about the fact that its not over yet. We need to be smart and we need to be targeted. Just because were still facing this crisis doesnt mean we dont have some tools to help ourselves get back to work. One of the things that with found out through this whole process is that you really cant separate lives and livelihoods. Having over 30 Million People out of work has been devastating not just for the economy, but also for peoples health. And at one point we found that over a Million People in the Health Care Sector had filed nor unemployment because we shut down all other health care other than focusing on coronavirus. But it turned out our Health Care System was not overwhelmed by this. And we found that other markers of health, of bad healtho outcomes were going up. For years we have had Public Health messages going to people to know what the signs and symptoms are of heart attack and stroke and some other things in saying as soon as you feel these symptoms gorks to the hospital. And yet people became so fearful of going to the hospital that there are bad squout comes for people who no longer feel comfortable following those guidelines we open youup the entire health care provision. We need to get people back to work . Coleman, republican. Joe biden campaigning about the horrible unemployment that trump has caused. And so weve got agendadriven position that do affect how america comes back from the coronavirus. It was over a Million People gathered together. I was there. There were 40,000 chinese at that convention. Is thats provable. There was coronavirus there. It was the flu. I got it. Everybody got the flu. No one was put down. So we have a proven situation that this is fair. These are Healthy People and had a normal event at the convention and people need to talk about that. They want the this panic to continue to keep the economy shut down. Lets draw it into a fine focus. One of the challenges that with had in con fronting this virus was the fact that we didnt know how it affected different people differently. So we now know that vast majority of cases present as a challenge for young people. So this is why we feel confident in telling people that you can open schools back up. But on the other hand, we do not that when people are over 65 and have simultaneous other Health Challenges at the same time, it is very challenge iing for them. And so thats really important for people to be able to make an assessment of their own risk as we move forward. Because youre going to find there are people. Theres asymptomatic people who have it and have no symptoms or have a mild case. But there are some people in the older age ranges who really struggle with this. The other thing is that doctors are starting to learn more about how to treat this in the people who have a bad indication. Thats also helping. Go ahead with your question or comment. Caller i was calling to say everyone is overlooking that the Republicans Department tell us about this at first. He put it out saying it was a hoax. Its his fault for lying to us. It could have been wearing gloves. You get to coughing and that stuff is in the air. Another thing about this recovery, all they are thinking about is money. When you set up the go back to a job, you sign the paper saying you cant sue it you get sick from the virus. People are dying every day. They have certain states telling people not to tell how many people are dying. Its out. Wake up, america. We need to get him out. I think one of the challenge chas as we look back at the time line of how america mobilized to confront this virus was that in early january as this was starting to be a global threat, our cdc reached out to the chinese and asked if we could send some scientists over to wuhan to be there and aeroact with the scientist and have a better sense. They rejected our efforts to do that. So uhuh think the biggest challenge that we faced was this was a novel virus. We havent had one that reacted in exactly the way this one did. So as we get down the road, well look back and try to do an after action of who could have responded differently. I think thats always important in a pandemic. Frankly, the last part of the Coronavirus Commission report, which you can find object line at coronaviruscommission. Com, the last part there looks at how we can do better moving forward and one of the recommendations is to have a time when we look at the government response and how we can better coordinate across different agencies within the government. How would your commission respond or tell the government to respond to this head looib in usa today. Almost half of the country reports leap in cases. States include florida, arizona, 55 , texas, 41 . As well as oklahoma where the president is going to have his rally. How do you think governments should respond . I think it is important that were looking at it at a community by Community Pet spect perspective. Because we do the to continue to focus on both lives and livelihoods. Its super important to get people back to work in the places where it is possible to do that. And given the fact that we do know some facts about how this is spread and how people can protect themselves, as i mentioned earlier, the fact that businesses are moving forward by putting up barriers for cashiers and pop respecting social distancing, wearing the masks. Theres been a lot of conversation about masks and a lot of disinformation out there. But the commission has really looked into all the different elements and arguments related to the mask. We came out firmly on the side of encouraging people to follow the guidance and to wear the masks. That does make a difference on the macroon the larger level in helping to slow the spread. Cliff in hawaii, independent. Good morning. Caller good morning. How is that . Hi, cliff. Caller hello. We have sunshine, which kills the viruss here in hawaii. However, the government continues to extend the deadline coming from the u. S. We have at the same time, the messages are so politicized. What would you recommend to get the politics out of the messages that you convey and as we all know, john bolton was in charge of the Health Agents prior. And had streamlined it and defunding the Health Organization quite a bit. What can you recommend to not only increase financing into the Health Organizations, but to have a nationalized, believable, unpoliticized message to all of us. Should we hear in hawaii, we have sunshine, which is awesome. Im going to have her respond to your question. Theres a lot thats awesome in hawaii. So i think that people should be able to feel confidence. There was an early story about the elimination of one of the divisions reacting to pandemics and the truth behind that was that there was a reorganization and frankly wharks were seeing is that there are a lot of resources being brought to bare. A lot of different elements of the federal government that are coordinating to respond. So one of the recommendations from the commission is to look at how the different elements of the federal government are coordina coordinated moving forward to ensure that we do have really clear lines of authority and a clear plan of how to coordinate moving forward. I will say i agree with you about the tenor of the conversation that this shouldnt be something thats politicized. And thats one reason i encourage people to stay focused on the data. Its why we put out the map on our website so people can take a look at whats happening in their own community, try to separate out a lot of the political rhetoric and focus on the lives and livelihood in their own communities. Watching in los angeles, democratic caller, youre next. Caller good morning. Im concerned about the federal response because its been utterly lacking. Here in los angeles we have about 2800 deaths. I dont see the federal response mobilizing in a way that would let our kids go back to school in the fall. And i cant believe that i heard on the station that you would strongly recommend sending our kids back in the fall. Its baffling to me that we are not mobilizing in a way that reactive. I have cancer myself. Its chronic. It will never go away. This virus petrifies me. I cant leave my house anymore. The medicine i take is so strong that if i were to catch this virus, i would be dead. To just brush off saying that people who are young are likely to not get this virus, excuse me, chemo brain, to say that people are young wont get this virus wont affect them as much. Theres millions of people just like me all over this country who are suffering from a chronic illness. And. The a way out of their houses and a way back into society. I think its reprehensible theres no federal response to the virus in a way thats meaningful. People are dying. Were already home. My sister is a nurse. He said they are already starting to close back up. Okay. Thank you for your question. To express my concern and im sorry to hear about your personal situation. And actually, thats exactly the reason i started earlier in the segment with talking about how very, very important it is to focus on the people who are specifically at risk. A cancer survivor, my husband is as well. Focusing on the people in a higher risk category, obviously you are in as well. As weing our conversation move forward, this is something that is with us. First off, you have to be concerned about whats going on in your community. You are Community Leaders need to make the decision as opposed to the federal government, who is a long way away from your situation geographically, but also the specific needs of your situation. Your community has to mobilize for your situation. Your communities got to mobilize for that. But also as we look at this, one of the things were finding froh looking at the data is if you have this focus that says were going to respond with lockdown across the entire country or whatever the specific recommendation is, there becomes this diffused focus across a e large area and a large population, when we know its the high risk groups that need particular attention, that need particular Public Health approaches. Ation anded to protect their environment looking at i dont know what your Health Care Provider situation is like, but going back to the nursing home example, we have to be careful of those people. We have to make sure their environment is protected. That their Health Care Workers get priority on testing. And sodo every to do everything that we can to avoid having a delusion of focus on the people who are at high risk. California, jason, a republican. I just wanted to say that everybody i think should just get along. Well move on to dennison. Caller good morning. I have had some questions and comments. E been number one, ive been listeningn to alld ma of the other people. Many, many good arguments have been made forit com the situati. But when it comes to the and coronavirus itself, and all of h the deaths, yes, it is very amazing and very discouraging, but this is what i have to say. All of the attention seems to be given in the media on m all of e deaths that are happening and then at the same time in the media, the media is also very discussing all of the deaths ofall ve the black polic which is true. To be thats all very bad. Its injusticece and needs to b corrected. But this is what i have to say. Why if deaths have become so cae america that it gets a all of this attention kl because deathl is so bad, then why are we not shutting down all of the killing of the babies and everything like this. Abortions in a day across america and nobody says anything about it. When it comes to black lives cks matter,r, i think that the black babies that are aborted are jus as important as the white ones that are being aborted. Im going to leave it there. T well go on to bernie in new york, independent. Your question or comment about the response to the coronaviruse pandemic. Caller im just wondering if the organizations considered the recommendation of the president to inject this into the public in order to prevent the virus taking effect. Lyto, bu im not sure exactly which treatment that he was referring to there, but what i canan tell you as i mentioned earlier, one of the things that were really optimistic about is the dly in t fact that the science is advancing really rapidly in terms of experimenting with what different modalities and kinds ofof treatments work to help people. We have been working with a panel of physicians to talk with working on the. Commission so that we wanted to ensure that we were getting the highest quality medical input as we looked at the progression of the pandemic. And i can tell you there was an announcement just this last week a new thereve for sdovrd theion inflammation the that goes along with coronavirus. Real focus on an oth lookinger at how this virus gs a presentst differently than oth viruss and other kinds of thinga that affect your lungs. So we feel very optimistic about the progress thats being made on that front. George in baltimore, maryland, republican. Go ahead. Hello. The i just wanted to i have been reading some of the latest studies being done by nih. They did a study for Health Care Workers to determine i had r. Questions that i called about the rna, specifically they are testing for. Im concerned that the testing g based on i conversations with nurses from Johns Hopkins and the studying i have been doing is that the rna that they are testing for is not that 19 specific. And it came out that more than type f the people sick with thd severely sick with covid19 did not have the type of rna that es the most accurate test is testing for. I would recommend confirming that the numbers are based on accurate testing. Because a lot of people are saying they are not even using the tests at the hospital because its not accurate. S to take that from the specific studies to the more global question of the science thatsso the virus,s onead. Of the Biggest Challenges we have had. Having it be a novel virus and o having to look at different ways that it presented in different people and differentus communities. So one of the recommendations that we made is to really focus in on the science and the exciting thing about america is were doing the same thing again with this virus. Nts in d ramping up across the private sector and having different experiments in different sectors because as you point out, you cant put all your eggs in one basket with one approach. So having the American Private sector really build up in the scientific area and continue to dig in as we move forward is going to be essential to comingl out to a place where we know more about this virus. I feel very confident that well get there. Coexec you can find their work if you go to coronaviruscommission. Com. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of the Supreme Court and Public Policy events. You can watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming on television, online, or listen on our free radio app. And be part of the National Conversation through cspans Daily Journal program. Or through our social media feeds. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television companies. As a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. David johns is joining us from new york. Executive director of the National Black justice coalition. Unded our its intentional and unapologetic in the intersections of racialar equit and lgbt equality