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W.H.O. Says Europe Experiencing Critical Shortages of Medical Supplies; Italy Remains on Lockdown as Virus Spreads; France Imposes 15-Day Lockdown as Police Enforce Restrictions; British Prime Minister Lays Out Strategy to Combat Coronavirus Spread; Trump Says Virus Not Under Control in U.S. or Anywhere; Distributors Racing to Keep Up with U.S. Grocery Demand Spike; New York Governor Calling for National Restrictions; New York Governor Updates Coronavirus Response. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired March 17, 2020 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: Live, from CNN Atlanta, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Hi, welcome to the show. I'm Robyn Curnow here in Atlanta. So in the last few moments, the World Health Organization has just

said that Europe is facing critical shortages of medical supplies. Now, that lack of masks, respirators and other supplies comes even as the group

calls Europe the epicenter of the pandemic.

We will be across the continent and across the world over the next two hours, from London, where Parliament will hear from the head of NHS and

chief medical adviser to Paris as France ramps up $50 billion in bailout money to rescue small businesses. Plus, we'll also be live in Italy, which

is the hardest hit of all of the European nations.

And today the European Union is planning to say do not enter. The EU is set to close its borders to all nonessential travel. The World Health

Organization says the virus has taken the lives of more than 7,000 people worldwide. Italy, of course, remains on lockdown after reporting at least

3,200 new cases of the virus on Monday. And we've just learned the UEFA European championship tournament has been postponed until next year. That's

according to a post from Norway's football federation.

So for the past three hours, France has been under official lockdown. President Emmanuel Macron has ordered his fellow citizens to stay at home

for the next 15 days. If they don't, police have to have the power to enforce restrictions on movements. There is little good news for small

businesses struggling to stay afloat. The French government says it plans to spend $50 billion to help them.

Catherine Norris-Trent is a reporter for France24, is in Paris. But first I want to go to our Barbie Nadeau in Rome. How are you doing there, Barbie?

It's been a long few weeks already and certainly the latest death toll numbers again cause for concern.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it is concerning here and I think people are really starting to feel the tension. You know, we've seen

scuffles kind of break out, angry people if you get too close. You know, we got told off because we didn't have our masks on when we were trying to

interview people earlier. These are the types of things that are the new normal here under lockdown.

We're, you know, going into our second full week of total lockdown after you know the first closing public events and then schools and all the sorts

of things we're seeing elsewhere, especially in the United States.

You know, and people want to see the results. They want to see the numbers start to go down. But, Robyn, you know we're almost at 28,000 cases. And

we're more than 3,000 new cases yesterday. And the authorities say it may take two weeks before we hit the peak, stabilizing we see that daily number

go down and that's going to become increasingly frustrating.

Now seeing the rest of the world go under lockdown too, I don't think it is any comfort for those that are already here in Italy. You know, I think

everybody is ready to see the light at the end of this tunnel and it doesn't look like it is going to be anytime soon -- Robyn.

OK, thanks so much for that. Thanks, Barbie, your reporting has been great. Keep safe.

So let's go now to Catherine France. What it's like there at the moment? Particularly it's a few hours into a lockdown where you are.

CATHERINE NORRIS-TRENT, SENIOR REPORTER, FRANCE24: Well, the reality, Robyn, of live in lockdown is just really dawning on the French people and

Parisians. It's only been a few hours now since they've no longer had the right to go out and about on the streets, leading their daily lives with

the few exceptions.

They are allowed if they have official paperwork with them to go out and buy essential food, goods or medicines or go and see a doctor, or travel to

work if they can't work from home at a distance.

But police are on the streets, checking people's paperwork, asking them what they're doing and if they can prove they have the right to be out on

the streets. We've seen that this morning here along the Champs-Elysee Avenue. Police patrolling, stopping everyone on foot, on bikes, and in

cars, asking them to prove they have the right to be out.

Now as of tomorrow, if you don't have the right paperwork, you could be hit with a fine. So the state taking this very seriously indeed. In France, the

interior minister says these are the strictest measures in place in Europe and that he's deployed 100,000 police officers to check that the people

aren't out and about when they shouldn't be. There are also troops been sent towards Paris from eastern France as well.

[10:05:00]

So really this is stepped up another notch now because the French authorities clearly feel that in recent days, many members of the public

haven't been taking the advice to stay at home seriously. So now they're enforcing it.

CURNOW: Extraordinary scenes, isn't it, to be checking papers in Paris like that. Stay with us, Catherine. I just want to go back to Barbie for a

moment. Barbie, I know there has been real concern about the front-line workers, the Italian health workers, have you any sense of how they're

holding up?

NADEAU: You know, we hear very few stories directly from those people. Because they're working 24 hours a day, really, you know, taking very few

rests. They're obviously in self-isolation when they're not on shift and the healthcare system is under extreme stress.

You know we've seen a number you know of sort of field hospitals coming into play in north of the country. And we're seeing that even in Rome where

people are getting ready. You know, we haven't had the numbers they have had up in the north, but they're prepared here for the worst as well and

the healthcare workers are the heroes of this situation -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, they certainly are, particularly now that we're knowing that there had been a warning from the EU that there is a lack of masks,

respirators and other supplies across Europe. Catherine, Barbie, thanks so much to you both.

So the U.K. has ramped up its response to the virus in the last few days. The government has issued new guidelines on social distancing, working from

home and ending nonessential travel. But Londoners, are they ready to change their habits? Phil Black takes a closer look -- Phil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every Londoner knows the city's underground, the tube, is a filthy breeding ground for disease, even on a

good day. But the growing coronavirus threat isn't keeping people away. No social distancing down here, it's hot, crowded and far too intimate. But

even as many Brits calmly carry on with their lives, they're also scared and confused and they blame the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't think they're doing enough. Because there's still people going out. They're still people going to school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I just feel frightened, you know. Because I don't -- just don't think they're telling us enough.

BLACK: The British government waited longer than others around the world to make the hard decisions which keep people away from each other, insisting

the science supported holding off. While at the same time Prime Minister Boris Johnson made grave predictions about what's likely to come.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.

BLACK: A message shared and mocked widely online for sounding a little too similar to Shrek's Lord Farquaad.

LORD FARQUAAD, SHREK, DREAMWORKS: Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make.

BLACK (on camera): So there's a perception the government isn't acting fast enough and there has also been the clumsy handling of some very important

information. The government's plan to very soon ask everyone in the country over the age of 70 to stay in their homes for months was made public when

it was briefed to one journalist without any detail about how it is going to work or what it is going to mean for people's lives.

(voice-over): Now the government is trying to fix its messaging and ramp up its social distancing policies. The first of what they promise will be

daily briefings advise people to stop socializing in public places and work from home. But while the U.S. and other European countries are mandating

bars, restaurants, theaters, close down, the British government is only asking people to stay away from them.

JOHNSON: If you ask, well, why are we doing this now, why now? Why not earlier or later? Why bring in this very draconian measure? The answer is

that we are asking people to do something that is difficult and disruptive of their lives. And the right moment as we always said is to do it when it

is most effective.

BLACK: There are now tougher isolation instructions too. If one person in a home has a high temperature or a continuous cough, everyone who lives there

is being told to stay in for 14 days. Only patients in hospitals are being tested.

There's no longer any effort to trace contacts and spread in the wider population. For the moment, schools aren't being told to close. Not that

long ago, the British government's core message was please wash your hands. Now it is moving some way to match other countries far less concerned about

how stopping coronavirus will impact people's social lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Phil for that. While we continuing to connect you to the latest developments across the world, take a look at this map, our

reporters are fanned out around the globe to bring you the latest information you need to know.

So in the next hour, though, we do expect to hear from the U.S. Vice President, Mike Pence. He's heading the country's coronavirus task force.

Monday marked a sobering shift in tone, though, from President Trump, admitting the virus is not under control and that they're aiming for a

best-case scenario.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:10:02]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you're talking about the virus, no, that's in the under control for any place in the world. I think

I read -- I think I read -- no, I didn't. I was talking about what we're doing is under control, but I'm not talking about the virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: The White House is also laying out new guidelines telling people to avoid groups of ten or more, stay away from restaurants and bars and older

Americans to stay home. Those social distancing measures falling far short of quarantine measures and travel restrictions many health officials have

been pushing for. But at least a dozen cities and state leaders are taking their suggestions as orders, we know. The U.S. has a jump of nearly 1,000

cases in the last 24 hours.

Well, Brynn Gingras is standing by live in New York for more on all of that. But first I want to take you to our Vanessa Yurkevich live from a

distributor in New York that sells to the supermarket chain Whole Foods. Vanessa, what are the businesses preparing for here? Particularly when it

comes to supply chain issues.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Robyn. Well, the small businesses here in the United States are going to be suffering the most as

it comes to this virus. Many of them looking at their bank accounts and at their employees wondering what's next. We visited with two of them, just a

short ways away from where we're standing here in New Jersey to ask them how they're coping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY BIRNBAUM, OWNER, EPIC AND THE LIGHTBULB STORE: It's scary. It really is. I wouldn't want anybody to be in this position. OK.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Larry Birnbaum says he's losing $100,000 a month.

BIRNBAUM I've never seen anything like this where just everything grinds to a halt.

YURKEVICH: The factories in China, where he gets his wholesale lightbulbs, are closed because of coronavirus.

(on camera): What percentage of your business comes from China?

BIRNBAUM: 95 percent.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): President Trump announced low interest, small business loans.

TRUMP: These low interest loans will help small businesses.

YURKEVICH: As part of a $50 billion economic aid package.

(on camera): Would that be of interest to you?

BIRNBAUM: Possibly, but, again, you just said the magic word, interest. So I'm paying interest on that loan, and I'm paying interest on the credit

line loan, and it just depletes everything.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): The National Retail Federation revised its initial assessment of the virus' impact, saying it's, quote, expected to have a

longer and larger impact on imports and major U.S. retail container ports than previously believed.

And a global slowdown will affect small and midsized companies more acutely. Birnbaum worries about his nine employees.

BIRNBAUM: I will take out of my savings and pay them, you know. Until the day that there is nothing else to go.

YURKEVICH: Two miles away is MDR supply, another wholesale business with 35 employees. Down to their last reserves.

(on camera): How long before this gets sent out?

RON MALKENSON, OWNER, MDR SUPPLY AND ASK WHOLESALE: 45 to 60 days is how long this product will last. Yes.

YURKEVICH: And then what happens after that?

MALKENSON: We hopefully get more product or we're in trouble.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Ron Malkenson sells to construction companies and contractors. He's ordering as much additional product as he can before it's

too late. To the tune of $70,000 and climbing.

MALKENSON: I'm ordering ahead of myself, having to stretch myself and just order from as many different vendors as I can, knowing that in the future I

may not be able to get goods for a period of time.

YURKEVICH: Malkenson is hopeful coronavirus won't mean an end to his business. Birnbaum is not as sure.

BIRNBAUM: There is no light like this at the end of the tunnel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: Small businesses around the country right now here in the United States are feeling that pinch. They are struggling because a lot of these

supply chains are cut off. Today we're standing in front of food distributor, this is a key element of the food supply chain here in the

United States. They are seeing a 50 percent increase in demand, but they say that they can meet it.

They're just asking people to be patient. They're trying to get more drivers, more trucks online, as you see behind me trying to meet this

incredible demand that America's grocery stores are now seeing as people are looking to stock up on food, Robyn, during the very uncertain times.

CURNOW: They certainly are. Thanks for that report, Vanessa, appreciate it.

So let's now go to Brynn. Brynn, you are there in New York and no doubt such a busy city, streets are silent and shops also closing.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. I mean, typically it's an even busier city today, Robyn, being St. Patrick's Day. It's huge

celebration here in New York and certainly that is undoubtedly different this year.

[10:15:00]

There are a lot of restrictions in place, not just here, but really across the United States and whether you're in San Francisco, and it is a shelter

in place order or in the tristate area and other states where its businesses are closed and bars are closed. The message really to Americans

at this point is all the same. They really want you, officials to stay home so that we can really battle this pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS (voice-over): Times Square nearly empty, just one snapshot of the new normal as Americans adjust to life during the coronavirus pandemic.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: You have to think of this in a war time world view. You have to think of this as something where you

want to see a massive mobilization to save lives.

GINGRAS: In New Jersey, the governor activating the National Guard and urging residents to stay home after 8:00 p.m.

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): While this may be painful, the alternative is a lot more painful.

GINGRAS: Nearly 7 million residents in California's Bay Area ordered to shelter in place.

MAYOR LONDON BREED, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: These measure will be disruptive to day to day life, but there is no need to panic.

GINGRAS: State by state, public places like theaters and gyms are closing, and many bars and restaurants empty, now only offer offering take-out or

delivery services. Public schools are now closed or closing for 37 million children according to education week. But many of those schools are still

providing students with grab and go lunches, helping those who need it most.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no questions asked, you show up, we're trying to be here for the entire community.

GINGRAS: Officials assuring resident these changes are temporary.

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): Trust me, it weighs heavily on all of us. But we know that for the sake of our public health we've got to be aggressive.

GINGRAS: Cities expanding their testing capabilities with more drive through and pop-up sites. Meantime, the Trump administration rolled out new

recommendations.

TRUMP: Avoid gathering in groups of more than ten people, avoid discretionary travel. And avoid eating and drinking in bars, restaurants,

and public food courts.

GINGRAS: Regardless of those new guidelines, Arizona, Florida and Illinois will hold primary elections today, but in Ohio, the health director closing

polls despite a judge's decision to keep them open.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): These individuals are conflicted. We should not force them to make this choice. A choice between their health and they're

constitutional rights and their duties as American citizens.

GINGRAS: President Trump admitting the impact of the coronavirus will be here for some time.

TRUMP: We'll see what happens, but they think August, could be July, could be longer than that.

GINGRAS: New York's Governor calling on the Trump administration to launch national restrictions.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): This has to be a national effort. The federal government should come up, step in, and say this is what we are going to

do. This is what we do on schools. This is what we do on businesses. Here are the rules and then the states can adjust the rules to their particular

circumstances.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And when it comes to retail, it's different really where you are in the United States. But primarily retail has remained open. Actually,

behind me is the flagship store of Macys, it opened at 10:00 this morning Eastern time and many people were walking inside. So that shut down has not

happened yet.

Although there are governors like the one here in New York who are really urging these type of stores to shut down. Nationwide there are companies

who are shutting down stores like Nordstrom and Footlocker and Nike and Tumi. So a lot of stores are taking their own action. But of course, this

is just the beginning, Robyn. We will probably see more to come.

CURNOW: Yes, I think just the beginning is definitely the case here. Ladies, thanks to you both. Brynn and Vanessa appreciate both of your

reporting. Thanks so much.

And you can join Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper for a third CNN global town hall, "CORONAVIRUS FACTS AND FEARS." It's happening on Thursday

night in the U.S., that's live on Friday 6:00 a.m. Abu Dhabi time, 10:00 a.m. in London. You ought to tune in for that.

Also still ahead, U.S. stocks are looking to stabilize after the worst down on Wall Street in decades. A live report from Wall Street next.

Also, take a look at this. Stranded in the Caribbean for days, a British cruise ship carrying at least five passengers with coronavirus has now been

given permission to dock in Cuba. We're live in Havana.

And another major postponement set to happen in football. Euro 2020 moved to, yes, 2021.

[10:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: -- an update folks, lets listen in.

CUOMO: -- and the 180-day requirement is waved for two weeks. At the end of two weeks, we may renew that period of time. But all schools have the same

period. Why?

Because once again, you need uniformity. You don't want a business having some employees in one school district that is open and one school district

is closed. So in all of this disruption and all this change, try to keep it as uniform as possible and the rules as uniform as possible so to the

extent businesses can operate, people can live their lives, keep it uniform.

My phone has been ringing off the hook with a number of local officials saying people are very, very upset. Who is upset about the gym being

closed. Who is upset about their restaurant is closed. Who is upset about the bar is closed. Actually I've had the highest number of calls being

complaints about bars being closed. I don't know if that is statistically representative of anything, but that's just anecdotal. Some people are

upset about schools being closed.

I said to the local officials and I want to say to the people of the state of New York, if you are upset by what we have done, be upset at me. County

executive did not do this. The village mayor did not do this. The city mayor did not make these decisions. I made these decisions. These were all

state ordered rules. It's not your local elected official.

I made them because I believe they are in the best interest of the state. I know they caused disruption. I know people are upset. I know businesses

will be hurt by this. I don't feel good about that. I feel very bad about that, because I know we're going to have to then deal with that issue as

soon as this immediate public health issue is over.

But my judgment is do whatever is necessary to contain this virus. And then we will manage the consequences afterwards. The old expression the buck

stops on my desk, the buck stops on my desk. Your local mayor did not close your restaurants, your bars, your gyms or your schools. I did. I did. I

assume full responsibility.

Again, these rules statewide rules because we don't want people shopping among different jurisdictions. You close the bars in New York City, but you

keep them open in Nassau, all you see is a flood of cars going to the bars in Nassau. So the uniformity is important.

It's also important that no local government puts any rules in place without first checking with the Department of Health, so that the

Department of Health can make sure they're consistent with all other rules that we are about to put in place.

Mitigation is continuing and is ramping up. There are many rumors out there, part of the fear, the anxiety, people spread rumors. Well, maybe

you're going to quarantine New York City. We hear New York City is going to quarantine itself. That is not true.

[10:25:00]

That cannot happen. It cannot happen legally. No city in the state can quarantine itself without state approval. And I have no interest whatsoever

and no plan whatsoever to quarantine any city.

Well, you contained New Rochelle. We did a containment zone on New Rochelle, which was actually misunderstood. Nobody was contained in New

Rochelle. There was no cordon around New Rochelle. You could come and go in New Rochelle as you wanted. The containment referred to the virus. All we

did in New Rochelle was close the schools and close places of large gatherings. So nobody was contained within New Rochelle. And nobody is

going to be contained in any city in the state. So that's a deep breath moment.

And the last part of the strategy is dealing with the healthcare system. And this is where we are now going to shift our emphasis. And I want people

to understand what we're going to have to do with the healthcare system. Because that is now our top priority.

And, remember, what we have been saying all along, there is a curve -- everyone has talked about the curve. Everyone has talked about the height

and the speed of the curve and flattening the curve. I've said that curve is going to turn into a wave, and the wave is going to crash on the

hospital system. I said that from day one.

Because that's what the numbers would dictate. And this is about numbers. And this is about facts. This is not about prophecies or science fiction

movies. We have months and months of data as to how this virus operates.

You can go back to China, that's now five, six months of experience. So just project from what you know, you don't have to guess. We have 53,000

hospital beds in the state of New York. We have 3,000 ICU beds. Right now the hospitalization rate is running between 15 and 19 percent. From our

sample of the tests we take. We have 19.5 million people in the state of New York.

We have spent much time with many experts, projecting what the virus could actually do. Going back, getting the China numbers, the South Korea

numbers, the Italy numbers, looking at our rate of spread because we're trying to determine what is the apex of that curve, what is the consequence

so we can match it to the capacity of the healthcare system. Match it to the capacity of the healthcare system. That is the entire exercise.

The quote/unquote experts -- and by the way, there are no phenomenal experts in this area, they're all using the same data that the virus has

shown over the past few months in other countries, but they're extrapolating from that data. The expected peak is around 45 days. That can

be plus or minus depending what we do.

The -- they are expecting as many as 55,000 to 110,000 hospital beds will be needed at that point. That, my friends, is the problem that we have been

talking about since we began this exercise. You take the 55,000 to 110,000 hospital beds, you compare it to a capacity of 53,000 beds, and you

understand the challenge.

As many as 18,000 to 30,000 -- 37,000 ICU beds, OK. An ICU bed is different than a hospital bed, an ICU bed has additional equipment, most notably

ventilators. And that's why you hear on the news ventilators are very hard to get globally. Why ventilators?

Because we're all talking about acutely ill, mainly senior citizens who have an underlying illness. They have emphysema. They have -- they're

battling cancer. They have heart disease.

[10:30:00]

And then they get pneumonia on top of that. That's the coronavirus. They need to be intubated, and then they need an ICU bed, and that's the

challenge. And that is -- remains the challenge and the numbers are daunting.

What are we doing? Everything we can. First, flatten the curve. Continue to flatten the curve so you reduce that peak demand. We announced dramatic

closings yesterday to reduce the density. It's possible we will be doing more dramatic closings. Not today. But I'm talking to the other governors

in the other states. Showing that expected flow into the hospitals, it's clear we can't manage that flow.

How can you reduce the flow? You reduce the spread. How do you reduce the spread? You close down more interaction among people. How do you close down

more interaction? Well, yesterday, we closed the bars, the gyms, et cetera, you would continue to close down things such as businesses.

Italy got to the point, where the only things they left open were grocery stores and pharmacies. Those are essential services, but they closed down

everything else. We're not there yet. But I am telling you, we have to get down that rate of spread. Because whatever we do on the hospital side, we

cannot accommodate the numbers that demand on the hospital system.

So, again, we just enacted rules yesterday. We're not enacting any other rules today. But it is very possible because the numbers, as you'll see in

a moment, are still going up. Whatever rules we come up with will be statewide rules. Hopefully it could be done with our surrounding states.

Because the best way to do this is uniformity, no shopping, among states, among cities, among counties, everybody lives with the same rules. So we

don't have people on the road going back and forth trying to game the system.

At the same time that you're trying to reduce the numbers coming into the hospitals, you're trying to increase the capacity of the hospitals. How do

you do that? The hospital surge capacity. What is the surge capacity? Getting the existing hospitals to hold more people. Right now there are

rules and regulations about how many people can be in a hospital, how many people per room, how many square feet per bed, et cetera. That's with

normal operating conditions. These are not normal operating conditions.

We're examining the entire hospital system. What is the maximum capacity per hospital? If the Department of Health waves their spatial rules, how

many people can you get into hospitals? There is a meeting today with all the hospital administrators that have asked Michael Dowling and Ken Raske

to run. Michael Dowling is a former deputy secretary for Health and Human Services, former health commissioner. Michael Dowling worked for my

father's health commissioner, I've known him 30 years, he's extraordinary.

Ken Raske the same, represents all the hospitals, sitting down with the hospitals. Saying change your headset, this is not about how you normally

do business. Frankly, forget the economic. What's the maximum number of people we can get into your hospital and what do you need to do that? And

what equipment do you need to do that?

And what staff do you need to do that? We are going back to retired staff. And we're asking them to contact us at this website,

health.ny.gov/assistance to get former nurses, former doctors to sign up to be on call. We're also going to medical schools, nursing schools, to try to

get additional medical personnel. And then we're talking about temporary construction of medical facilities.

[10:35:00]

Obviously, when you're talking about 45 days, you have a limited capacity of what you can actually get done, but I'm working with governments and

organizations all across the state right now. How do we set up temporary hospital facilities, even if they're not intensive care units, you can take

people who are in the hospital beds, move them into a temporary medical care facility, and then back fill the bed.

We're also working with FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Guard and the building trades, unions, to help us on this issue.

The numbers total people tested to date, we're up to 10,000 people. Which is obviously exponentially higher than it was and it is continuing to grow.

Positive cases up to 1,300. New positive 432. Number of counties with cases continues to grow. Clinton county, Rensselaer county have been added to

that.

Our cases are, again, number one in the nation. Our number of deaths are now up to 12, 264 out of the cases are hospitalized. That's a

hospitalization rate of 19 percent. That's higher than the normative hospitalization rate, which is at about 15 percent. But the 19 percent is

higher. Again, keep this all-in focus with what we know, the facts we know of what this disease does and what the impact is, which is the Johns

Hopkins study, which has tracked every case since China.

Couple of other points, and then we'll take your questions, we have -- we'll open today in Nassau county a drive through testing office. We opened

one in New Rochelle and worked very well. We'll open Nassau today.

We're going to open a Suffolk drive through testing office and we are going to open a Staten Island drive through testing office. We're going to send

up the paid family leave bill to the legislature today. I believe we have a three-way agreement on that. It will have a provision to cover all people

who are quarantined. And we will be doing that also. We'll also be opening a Rockland drive through testing facility.

Two other points, one, this is an extraordinary time in this nation's history. It will go down in the history books as one of those moments of

true crisis and confusion and chaos. I lived through 9/11. I remember the fear and the panic that existed in 9/11 where a single moment your whole

concept of life and society can be shaken.

Where you need to see government perform at its best. You need to see people at their best. Everybody is afraid. Everybody is nervous. How you

respond, how you act, this is a character test for all of us individually. It is a character test for us collectively as a society. What did you do at

that moment when all around you lost their head? Right, Roger Kipling. That is this moment.

What does government do in this moment? It steps up, it performs, it does what it is supposed to do. It does it better than it has ever done it

before. What does government not do? It does not engage in politics or partisanship. Even if you are in the midst of an election season. Even if

you are in a moment of time in history where you have hyper partisanship, which we now have.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, it is essential that the federal government works with this state and that this state works with the

federal government. We cannot do this on our own. I built airports, I built bridges, we have made this government do things that it's never done

before.

[10:40:00]

This government has done somersaults. It's performed better than ever before. I am telling you, this government cannot meet this crisis without

the resources and capacity of the federal government. I spoke to the President this morning again. He is ready, willing and able to help, I've

been speaking with members of his staff late last night, early this morning.

We need their help, especially on the hospital capacity issue. We need FEMA. FEMA has tremendous resources. When I was at HUD, I worked with FEMA,

I know what they can do. I know what the Army Corps of Engineers can do. They have the capacity that we simply do not have.

I said to the President, who is a New Yorker, who I've known for many, many years, I put my hand out in partnership. I want to work together, 100

percent. I need your help. I want your help. And New Yorkers will do everything they can to be good partners with the federal government. I

think the President was 100 percent sincere in saying that he wanted to work together in partnership in a spirit of cooperation. I can tell you the

actions he has taken evidence that.

His team has been on it. I know a team when they're on it. I know a team when they're not on it. His team is on it. They've been responsive late at

night, early in the morning, and they have thus far been doing everything that they can do. And I want to say thank you and I want to say that I

appreciate it. And they will have nothing but cooperation and partnership from the state of New York.

And we're not Democrats and we're not Republicans, we are Americans at the end of the day. That's who we are. And that's who we are when we are at our

best. So this hypersensitivity about politics, and reading every comment, and wanting to pit one against the other, there is no time for this. The

President is doing the right thing in offering to step up with New York. And I appreciate it. And New York will do the right thing in return.

Also, on a personal level, this is -- we use the word disruption, such a clinical antiseptic word. It is a period of disruption. Life is turned

upside down. It is just turned upside down.

Remember the snow globes when you were a kid and you shook the globe and the snow went all over and the whole picture changed as soon as you picked

up and shook that snow globe. Somebody picked up our country and just shook it and turned it upside down and it is all chaotic and things are flying

all over and there is new information and there is mixed information and people don't know what to do.

And businesses are closing and the rules change every minute. And can I go out. Can I not go out. How do I get the virus, how do I not get the virus?

And now I'm at home. And I'm stuck at home, and the kids are at home.

And then there is a whole component to this, don't touch anyone. Don't hug. Don't kiss. We're human beings. That interaction is so important to us.

That emotional affirmation is so important to us . Ad now you have all these weighty decisions. Should I go out, should I not go out, is this safe

for my kids? Is this not safe for my kids? I'm stuck in my house.

I've used my experience just as a metaphor to communicate and relate, having the kids in the house, sounds great, having the kids in the house.

Yeah, the kids are in the house!

I remember when my kids were young, I was divorced, my kids were three girls, 6, 7 and 8 years old. 6 and 7 and 8 years old in a small apartment

in Manhattan, that's a lot of fun and then that gets old very fast. Right. Claustrophobia sets in.

[10:45:00]

Sets in for the kids but set in for me. What I would do then is I would go to my mother and father's apartment, which was also in Manhattan, because

it was to get out of my apartment. And I would go to my mother and father's apartment. They had a little apartment in Manhattan, and my mother was

magic with the girls. And she would play with them and she could play with them all day, my mother. My mother is pure sugar. She's just pure love, my

mother.

But I would be there for a couple of hours and I'd be sitting there with my father, we would sit on the couch and watch a ball game. And after a couple

of hours, now the kids are running around and the kids are picking up this and picking up this and picking up his picture frame and they're -- put

that down, put that down, don't touch that, don't touch this.

After a couple of hours my father would say, I think you have to go to work now, pal. And I would say, no, dad, I don't have to go to work. No, no, I

think you have to work now, pal. Having all the kids in that tight environment, that's very stressful.

That's why yesterday we said all the fees on all the parks are waved. Get out of the house, go to a state park. We have beautiful state parks. By the

way, traffic is down. Put the kids in a car, go to a state park, go to a county park, go to a city park, Shirley Chisholm Park in Brooklyn is

beautiful. It is open. It is air, the weather is getting better. Spend the time with the kids.

There is also tension among families. I mentioned my mother who is numerically a senior citizen, although not in her reality. I wanted her to

stay home. I want her to be isolated. She's my mom. I want her protected. One of my siblings said I want to take mom to my house and we're going to

have a party at my house and I want her to see the kids, et cetera. I said that's a mistake. You shouldn't do that.

You should let mom stay home. I'm more protective. The sibling was saying I want to take mom, she wants to get out of the apartment, expose her to the

kids. I said you don't know, what you need is one kid, all day long, all I hear about is somebody coming up to me and saying I didn't know. But my

daughter was with this person, blah, blah, blah. So I can even see the tensions in the families. And that's real too.

(CNN U.S. NEWSROOM)