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W.H.O. Says Europe Hit with Critical Shortage of Medical Supplies; U.K. Prime Minister Says We are Taking Action Unprecedented in Peace Time: Spain's Death Toll is Now Above 500; Italy Has More Than 2,500 Deaths and 31,500+ Cases; France Bans All Non-Essential Outings; White House Congress Weigh $1 Trillion Stimulus Package; U.S. Health Care System Stretched as More Workers Get Sick; Lockdown in San Francisco Enters Day Two; Philippines Declares State of Calamity as Virus Spreads; Athletes Get Conflicting Messages about 2020 Olympics. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired March 18, 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]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Well, the world is now evoking memories of the Second World War. Hello and welcome to the show, I'm Lynda Kinkade in for
Becky Anderson. Good to have you with us.
Well, right now a war time footing is how many world leaders including the U.S. President now is describing the state of the world. France is calling
its healthcare workers the first soldiers on the front line. With more than 200,000 people now infected worldwide, governments the world over are
throwing everything they can against this coronavirus pandemic.
The World Health Organization says Europe now has another major problem. Coping with a critical shortage of medical supplies. Now a top German
health agency is calling for more ventilators saying we're only two weeks behind Italy. That country's healthcare system is on the brink and Pope
Francis is blaming Italian tax evaders at least in part.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is calling the outbreak a national emergency. And he faced U.K. lawmakers a short time ago under a bazooka of
economic stimulus worth about $400 billion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Do not underestimate, Mr. Speaker, the value to people of the measures that we've already have announced that
will support business and keep jobs going, make sure those businesses continue in existence. That must be the first step.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the U.K. is part of a growing list of European governments forced to unleash huge rescue packages. We're going to have more on that in
a moment. But right now the virus has spread to more than 150 countries. Our reporters are right across the globe to bring you the latest
information that you need to know.
First up, I'd like to go to our Barbie Nadeau who is in Rome with us. Also Scott McLean is in Spain where the death toll is now more than 500. Well
Barbie, I want to start you, because the number of confirmed cases and deaths in Italy is certainly alarming. Over 30,000 cases, over 2,500
deaths. But some people are saying family members who have all the symptoms of the coronavirus who are in hot spots in the north of the country haven't
been tested. They were tested before they passed away. They haven't been tested posthumously. Just explain for us how people are dealing with it,
especially given the ban on funerals.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it takes an emotional toll on these families to see their family members die and not be able to bury them, not
to be able to practice their Catholic faith. This is a very devout country. You know, we're getting more and more statistics on these deaths. One we
just got from a study is the average length of time between symptoms and death for a lot of these people who have died is just eight days.
Which does beg the question, if they should have been tested sooner or if they should have been under care sooner. And those are questions that are
being asked all across the country, especially in parts of Italy where we haven't seen the higher numbers.
Here in Rome, we've got about 600 cases. But a lot of people are asking are there more? Are there people that are asymptomatic and spreading the virus
and as this lockdown goes further, everyone becomes more and more nervous. And you feel the tension.
We're in front of a grocery store here, people lined up to go in. It's very tense. You just don't know if the person next to you is carrying the virus.
And if you're vulnerable, if you have pre-existing health conditions, how that puts you at risk. And I think as this lockdown go on, we're going to
see more and more of that incredible tension just on the rise here -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes. I want to come back to you on that in just a moment, Barbie. But I do want to go to Scott McLean in Spain. Because this country now has
the second highest number of cases in Europe. And it's rapidly rising and authorities there certainly are trying to take this seriously now.
Essentially telling people, 46 million people in the country to stay in your home -- and I know you're at a military pharmaceutical company. Just
explain what's happening there.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, so this is a sterile military production facility, which is why I'm wearing the hat and the gown right
now. It is normally producing a wide variety of drugs for Spanish troops abroad. Now, though, it is only producing just two. Paracetamol -- what
Americans might call Tylenol -- and hand sanitizing gel, we know that that has been in short supply.
So this here is part of the process, these big silver vats you can see there is part of the process to create this hand sanitizer gel. And then it
ends up being in these big jugs here, probably about five liters or so, that are then shipped off to hospitals.
[10:05:03]
Obviously, Spain is preparing for the worst, you mentioned war time footing, and that's exactly what this seems to be. They don't know how long
this is going to go on for, and so they are preparing for the absolute worst. And so, once they get it in these jugs, then it comes to this area
where it is prepared to be shipped off all across the country.
The paracetamol, they are also producing from scratch from the original ingredients, they put it in blister packs. We saw a different part of the
facility earlier that was doing that. They put it in these boxes and then it eventually it gets shipped out to hospitals around the country.
This virus, this pandemic, though, Lynda, has taken a massive toll on Spain's economy. The Prime Minister announced just yesterday measures
equaling about $200 billion in bailout, 100 billion of that is a line of credit meant for companies to ensure that they don't go under during this
time. The Prime Minister is also ensuring that anyone who has a house will not lose it during this epidemic.
And when it comes to staying in their houses, obviously, the military is doing this, producing these types of drugs, but they are also patrolling
the streets. They are also sanitizing and cleaning train stations and bus stations. The Prime Minister said earlier in the Spanish Parliament that
until there is a vaccine, all of us are the vaccine, meaning you have to do your part, you have to stay in your home.
KINKADE: Exactly, that's some good advice there. Scott, thanks so much.
I want to go back to Barbie Nadeau. Because we have been hearing these stories constantly, Barbie, about cases where doctors have to decide who to
treat and who not to treat and how to prioritize. What are authorities doing there about the concerns over the lack of beds and ventilators?
NADEAU: Well, you know, we just had a call today that from the government asking any doctor or nurse who has retired in the last few years to come
back into service. They asked all the private hospitals to now open their doors and that I think really underscores the level of concern about the
over -- the stress on the system. And, you know, they're out of -- they're running out of ICU beds. We've got field hospitals in play. They're running
out of respirators. You know, they've got -- they're asking people to donate blood.
You know, this really is a crisis, critical situation, Lynda, and they're not expecting us to see a turn in the numbers until at least March 26th.
That means we could see this curve continue to go up before we get any good news and see if this lockdown that we're all under is making any difference
at all -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Many weeks ahead of them. All right, Barbie Nadeau for us in Rome and thanks also to Scott McLean in Madrid. Thanks so much.
I want to go to France now where you need a certificate just to leave your home to buy groceries. CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now live from Paris. So
we are at war is how we heard the French President describe this fight against the pandemic. And we certainly are seeing these drastic measures
being taken now where pretty much people need some sort of form to leave their homes. Just explain what it is.
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Lynda. But the same thing had happened in Italy, people were meant as they left their homes to
have a piece of paper saying why they were leaving to be able to explain that they're going to the supermarket, that they're going to the pharmacy.
Here in France, a bunch of people, of course as you would imagine, have been caught off guard, fined for not having that piece of paper they need
to have filled out before they leave their home to do those essential bits of shopping or to go and see the medical representative that they're meant
to be seeing that day.
So pretty strict conditions, but which we see here, what is so interesting about what is happening throughout Europe right now, Lynda, is that we are
seeing the crisis play out in a sort of passion and very similar way, a few days apart. The latest figures from France here, more than a thousand dead
announced yesterday over the previous 24-hour period, reaching levels that we were seeing in Italy about nine days ago.
All the countries in Europe have so far gone from sanitary crisis to medical one to psychological one as people realize they'll be locked away
and really having to change their day to day lives and their habits. Often cut off from family and friends and then it became an economic crisis that
is looming. I think that's very much what is happening here in Europe, where we have countries like Italy and Spain who are a little bit ahead of
France and then a political one. Where the European Union having to reaffirm yesterday its commitment to the single market in the face of a
crisis that is bringing barriers up between countries for medical and sanitary reasons, Lynda.
So an extraordinary crisis here in Europe as country after country locks down and faces these new problems and questions and uncertainties.
KINKADE: All right, Melissa Bell for us in Paris. We'll touch base with you again very soon. Thanks so much.
Well, the world's longest international border between the United States and Canada is set to close to nonessential traffic. Now that's according to
U.S. President Trump who made the announcement just a short time ago. Mr. Trump says the decision was a mutual one and that trade will not be
affected.
[10:10:00]
Well governments right around the world are working to inject economic stimulus to try and ease the pandemic's impact. Here in the United States,
officials are weighing a whopping trillion-dollar package. Now that figure includes sending cash directly to millions of Americans as the Treasury
Secretary explained Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We're looking at sending checks to Americans immediately. Americans need cash now and the President wants to
get cash now. And I mean now in the next two weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: And now in the next two weeks. If this loan from a source that Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, warned Republicans that without
urgent action, the unemployment rate could surge to 20 percent.
So helping us sort through this plan is CNN business anchor Julia Chatterley. Who joins us now from New York. That's a pretty dire warning
that 20 percent unemployment rate from the Treasury Secretary, Julia. Especially considering right now that rate is between 3 percent and 4
percent.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Yes, ignore that. I think that's the message. This is the kind of comment that a treasury
secretary makes when he's trying to scare Congress into taking action. Having said that, and just to put a number on that 20 percent, we're
talking around 32 million Americans. I don't think that that's so crazy. We are talking about millions and millions of people.
The restaurant industry, you're talking 4 million people around, perhaps a little bit more here. That is an industry sector that's literally switched
off overnight, no one is going into restaurants.
Then you mirror that to other sectors. And these are jobs that won't be kept on for one-week, two-weeks it's sudden and it's hitting every
different sector in the country. So to see that kind of alarm from the treasury on the one hand is worrying, to me it's also good. Because this is
a war situation. This is that desperate in my mind. So if that means it galvanizes greater support, it's good.
Talking about $1 trillion stimulus plan, though for me is not enough. And I can give you a really simple calculation of why I'm saying that. We have a
$20 trillion economy in the United States. We're talking about a two to three-month potential stock. So we're talking a quarter of the year, a
quarter of $20 trillion, $5 trillion, is half of that personnel, employees, half of 5 million -- sorry, half of 5 trillion, $2.5 trillion. That's why
I'm saying $1 trillion isn't enough and the people that I speak to that are very senior in business, very senior in policymaking, I think are all
coming to grips with that realization.
What you're showing on your screen is the response from countries like the United Kingdom, from Spain, from Germany, is a proportion of GDP. These are
the countries that are getting it. The United States isn't yet waking up. This is a crisis that needs monumental scale response and the United States
needs to do more.
KINKADE: And clearly, like, obviously we're hearing about people already lining up for unemployment benefits this early in this pandemic. And this
isn't just going to affect the restaurant industry or hospitality and tourism. This is going to be across the board, right, from supply chains.
CHATTERLEY: Absolutely right. This has a backup effect. These are the workers that are just on the front lines. The restaurant industry, the
tourism industry, the airline industry. We're seeing a quake going on in the energy markets too, the short-term employees in the oil and gas.
Moody's estimated that was 27 million people. Right on the front lines here, and it's happening immediately. Because the economy is literally been
switched off.
So if you mapped that to what Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is saying, that's kind of approaching your 20 percent unemployment and it's instant. It's
such a dramatic crisis that we're talking about here and it's global. We're seeing it from Lego shutting stores, Volkswagen in Europe down in tools.
It's happening in countries all around the world, and it is happening all at once.
It's -- you know, I'm pretty optimistic generally, and I'm pretty reticent to have this degree of alarm and I'm telling you that this is -- this
requires things like we have never seen before. And nothing like the financial crisis because this is global. It requires way more from
governments at this moment.
KINKADE: You're talking about how unusual this is, and it certainly is unprecedented. But we are hearing from so many economists, some giving a
positive spin on it saying we'll recover from this within months, others saying it's going to be like the 2008 recession, some are comparing it to
9/11. What is it going to be like? You look at, you know, in the past, at previous downturns, what is this most similar to?
[10:15:00]
CHATTERLEY: It's a great question. This is like nothing we have seen before. Because this isn't just the developed market under pressure, but
emerging markets, China, kind of OK. This is a health crisis that has taken over the globe. It's creating an economic crisis that's global. And the
risk is that that then filters down to the financial crisis -- to a financial crisis.
What you're seeing is global central banks, including the Federal Reserve, trying to make sure that the functioning of the financial system is OK.
What we need now is governments to step up to protect workers, to protect industry. Because we can't grind to a halt for two to three months all at
once. And the first question you ask is what about the pickup? The pickup depends on the support, the speed of support right now, and that the
economy is in a stable situation to kick back in, we hope, in two to three months' time, which is why governments need to act now.
KINKADE: Julia, so much more to discuss, so little time right now. Julia Chatterley, good to have you from New York. Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, it certainly all sounds very bad and indeed the coronavirus pandemic has altered life as we know it the world over. But the worst of
times have brought out the best in many of us. Here's CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These may feel like dark days with headlines of contagion, fear, and hoarding, but human sunshine
still exists. Random acts of corona kindness are everywhere.
Like a front porch in Columbus, Ohio where a young brother and sister put on a concert for a 78-year-old neighbor who had shut herself off from the
virus and the world. Dressed in their best, the 6- and 9- year-old delighted their audience of one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE 78-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOR: Yay, bravo.
SAVIDGE: In Italy, where so many have died and so many more are isolated, they sing to each other from balconies. At night, voices echo through the
streets with canine accompaniment.
In Spain, where they're also suffering, to say thank you to doctors and nurses battling to save lives, people step outside and applaud everywhere.
In Houston, at Irma's Southwest restaurant, now ordered closed, a couple left something behind -- a $9,400 tip. "To pay your guys over the next few
weeks," the anonymous note said.
JANET MONTEZ, ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER, IRMA'S SOUTHWEST: This is beyond. I mean, I don't even have words for it. I just really don't.
LOUIS GALVAN, OWNER IRMA'S SOUTHWEST: We have to let our staff know that we may be off work for 15 to 30 days, depending on how long that is. But
the gift we got today should help soften the blow.
SAVIDGE: At a Cleveland watering hole, also closing, a customer added a little something extra to his less-than-$30.00 bill -- $2,500 for the
staff.
When the NBA stopped the games, Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star Kevin Love started thinking about the arena staff without work. He donated
$100,000 from his foundation to them, hoping others would follow his lead in their towns. They did.
Teachers may not be rich like athletes but they have a wealth of knowledge. And on Facebook, many are sharing it to answer questions and help others
learn.
Elsewhere, the elderly are on the minds of many. People offer to grocery shop for those who cannot or may not want to leave their homes. Stores have
begun allowing older customers their own exclusive shopping hours to limit exposure to crowds.
And when coronavirus concerns prevented her from going into a North Carolina nursing home to show her grandfather something, a young woman
stood at his window, simply pointing to the engagement ring.
The virus forcing us apart seems also to be bringing us together -- closer than we've been in a long while.
Martin Savidge, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Good to see some hope in all of this. Well for more on the facts and fears surrounding the coronavirus, you can join Dr. Gupta and Anderson
Cooper in their third CNN Global Town Hall. That's live Friday 6:00 a.m. Abu Dhabi time, 10:00 a.m. in Hong Kong.
It's clear many more people are going to get sick, but will hospitals have the tools to make them well. We're going to look at what see as a dangerous
shortage of supplies.
Plus, the Philippines declares a state of calamity. As the World Health Organization warned several Asian nations now is the time for aggressive
action.
And to train or not to train. Olympic athletes are frustrated as they try to figure out what is going on with the 2020 games.
[10:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: That was New York's governor there, putting it in pretty blunt terms. The cases are coming and the U.S. healthcare system is not ready.
Now there are growing concerns across the United States that hospitals are not equipped for this pandemic and that key medical equipment like
ventilators will be in short supply.
In Washington state, where the country's first cases appeared, officials say they're having to get creative and look, quote, beyond the usual places
for the equipment they need.
Well as senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to talk more about this, and obviously we're hearing now for some time that there is not
enough ventilators. Doctors are complaining, hospitals are worried about it. Talk to us about that, but also about those on the front line and how
challenging it is right now for them to treat patients in this sort of an environment.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, and those two things are connected. So when you are a doctor or a nurse trying to take
care of people with coronavirus, you are facing possibly a shortage of ventilators, possibly or currently a shortage of protective gear. These are
the heroes who are fighting this fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): Doctors, nurses, healthcare workers on the frontline of the battle against the novel coronavirus, and they're already getting
sick. An emergency physician in New Jersey in critical condition with the virus. A healthcare provider at Johns Hopkins has tested positive. In
Philadelphia at St. Christopher's Children's Hospital, a doctor was exposed to coronavirus and the trauma unit had to be shut down.
At rallies outside hospitals, the nation's largest nursing union speaking up.
ROCHELLE PARDUE-OKIMOTO, REGISTERED NURSE, NATIONAL NURSES UNITED: This is a public health crisis and we need our hospital leadership to get it
together. We need to focus on our patients. We need to protect our nurses. We need to continue to be able to come to work and care for our community.
COHEN: Even just giving a coronavirus test to a patient can be dangerous for a doctor or a nurse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a swab that's put in the back of the nose all the way to the back of the throat. When you put that in, it's highly likely
a person coughs or sneezes so you're at risk.
[10:25:00]
COHEN: Doctors and nurses are especially worried since protective gear, masks, gloves, eye shields are in short supply. This hospital in Albany,
Georgia went through five months' worth of protective gear in six days.
At Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, they're limiting the number of doctors and nurses who have face-to-face contact with patients who might be
infected.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, INFECTIOUS DISEASE PHYSICIAN, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: There are stories that people are asymptomatic and can transmit
and so the more we are limiting healthcare interaction with patients, the less likely that people might be exposed.
COHEN: And it's not just infections with coronavirus that's causing problems. Doctors and nurses having to work harder because many of their
colleagues have to stay home because they might be infected.
At this hospital in Western Massachusetts, 160 employees have been quarantined. At Mass General, many workers there also told not to come to
work.
WALENSKY: It is a depleted workforce in the hospital just at a time when we have patients really knocking down the door.
COHEN: But doctors and nurses carry on.
WALENSKY: We're tired. We're working a lot. But I would say there is no prouder time to be in medicine and to see what's going on, on the
frontlines.
COHEN: They're the heroes in this outbreak and they need to be protected so they can stay healthy, and so they can take care of the rest of us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Now we can't emphasize enough how important it is that healthcare workers stay healthy for their sake and also because they need to take care
of us. But also and this was crucially important during the SARS outbreak, if healthcare workers become infected, they might unknowingly pass the
virus on to the frail patients who they're caring for and that can really be a disaster. Again, we saw that with SARS, that there were these
outbreaks within hospitals that really got kind of out of control. We don't want that to happen here.
KINKADE: I'm already hearing from people worried about going to hospitals for this very reason. That they could actually pick it up going there for
some other issue. We keep obviously being told, stay away from crowds, minimize interaction with people, wash your hands for 20 seconds, my
daughter is singing ABCs every time she washes her hands.
COHEN: Good time, that's great. Twice.
KINKADE: Yes. Is it enough? What else can be done?
COHEN: I think we can think through some of the specifics of what is being called social distancing. And I think sometimes people are thinking, oh
well, I'm not with a group of 20, I'm not even with a group of 15, that's OK. Think about it, every time you meet up with someone, you're meeting up
with all the people who that person has met up with. So this is exponential, it is not linear.
And so really what you can do is try to contain your social interaction to the people in your immediate family or whoever lives with you. You might
think, oh, it is just one person, but that one person may have met with many other people. And I don't think anyone wants to be completely
prescriptive about this. Like you know, OK, you can have one friend over, but not two friends over. I don't think anyone is trying to get that
specific really at this juncture in most places. In some places they are. In most places in the U.S., they're not trying to get that specific.
But we're all smart and we all took math in school. And we all know what can happen. It is really a numbers game. You meet up with that one person,
you meeting up with the people who they've met with.
KINKADE: Exactly. Elizabeth Cohen, some good advice there, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
KINKADE: Well, still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, San Francisco is under lockdown and in a desperate attempt to control this pandemic. We're going
to go live there to see how people are obeying or not obeying those orders.
Plus, the World Health Organization is wanting Southeast Asian nations to ramp up their efforts to battle the virus. We're going to speak to a doctor
there facing a potential outbreak.
[10:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Well, on every continent, the coronavirus pandemic is testing all of us. Hong Kong seemed to have had the outbreak contained, but Wednesday,
they recorded their largest one day increase in cases in recent weeks. Almost all of the 14 new cases had had history of travel abroad.
Altogether there are more than 200,000 cases worldwide, but the public health officials hope that closed borders and social distancing can help
flatten the curve and save lives.
Well, the crisis is worsening here in the United States, with all 50 states now confirming cases of the so-called COVID-19. Some 6,000 infections have
been reported and more than 110 people have died of the virus here. Well the White House has assured Americans that financial help is on the way.
But cities and states now have the daunting task of deciding what drastic measures to take on their own. CNN's Brynn Gingras reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As businesses continue to close in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans are looking
for help.
PHIL MURPHY, NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: The unemployment requests, first-time requests for benefits that are coming in literally this week as we sit here
are overwhelming.
GINGRAS: The White House promising they're working on a solution, which could include sending checks to people who need it.
MNUCHIN: Americans need cash now, and the President wants to get cash now. And I mean now in the next two weeks.
GINGRAS: Overnight, the Office of Management and Budget asking Congress for $45.8 billion in emergency funding, the same day Treasury Secretary
Steve Mnuchin announced this stimulus plan.
MNUCHIN: We've put a proposal on the table that would inject a trillion dollars into the economy.
GINGRAS: The streets of San Francisco nearly deserted with about 8 million Northern Californians being asked to shelter in place. And for the more
than 6 million children who attend California's public schools, the governor giving this harsh reality.
GAVIN NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I would plan and assume that it's unlikely that many of these schools, few if any, will open before the
summer break.
GINGRAS: In New York City, the mayor warning drastic measures could be coming there, as well.
BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK MAYOR: I think New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the possibility of a shelter in place order.
GINGRAS: New York's governor says that can't be done without his approval, suggesting the focus should be on making sure the state's healthcare system
has enough resources.
CUOMO: That's why I went to President Trump and said, look, I'll work to flatten the curve.
We need the Army Corps of Engineers in here. We need FEMA in here. I need extra medical equipment. And we can only do that if we work together.
GINGRAS: For now, President Trump hoping to avoid a national shutdown.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We think of everything. It's a very big step. It's something we talked about, but we haven't decided to
do that.
[10:35:00]
GINGRAS: Hotel chains like Marriott and MGM Resorts beginning to furlough employees. And with airports nearly empty, airlines like United reducing
even more flights and asking for a $50 billion bailout.
MNUCHIN: This is worse than 9/11. For the airline industry, this is -- they are almost ground to a halt.
GINGRAS: Shoppers still overloading stores to stock up on supplies. The FDA asking Americans to only purchase what they need for the upcoming week.
The nation's top infectious disease doctor issuing this plea to young Americans.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: Don't get the attitude, well, I'm young, I'm invulnerable. We
can't do this without the young people cooperating. Please cooperate with us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, as you just saw in Brynn's report, nearly 8 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area are entering day two of life under shelter in
place orders. Now, they can still leave their homes for essential activities like exercise. Shopping for food and picking up prescriptions.
But even outdoors people are urged to keep a distance from others.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta says the responsibility to keep the public safe rests on everyone's shoulders. He spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The good news part of this is that it is within our control, I think, to totally change the fate
here or at least alter the fate of what's happening here. Maybe not totally change it but have an impact on where this thing goes. It's within all of
us. How I behave, Jake, affects your health. How you behave affects my health. Never I think have we been so dependent on each other, at least not
in my lifetime, and we should rise to that occasion, I think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Dr. Sanjay Gupta there. Well our correspondent Dan Simon joins me now from San Francisco. So these orders shelter in place at home are meant
to last three weeks. It looks pretty quiet where you are right now. Are people obeying these orders?
DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Lynda, I think, you know, for the most part, when you drive around some of the high-volume
shopping areas, most of those streets are deserted and you talked to people on the streets and they do seem to be complying.
That said, there are a lot of exemptions that come with this order, you talked about some of them. For instance, people can go to the grocery store
and pick a few things. They can go to the gas station. They can go to the bank. You saw somebody just jog right next to me here. So, yes, people are
allowed to leave their homes. So this notion of a shelter in place doesn't fully capture the essence of what is happening. There might be a little bit
of a problem with that term. I think people think of themselves, OK, shelter in place, I can't leave my home at all. But there are plenty of
exemptions. And, Lynda, I just you to listen now to some of the things we're hearing from people on the streets. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is kind of creepy in a way. Because usually it would be bustling with activity and it is such a beautiful day. But nobody
is out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people are going to go stir crazy. I'm on day two and I'm needing to get outside and walk around. So, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to work. My kids aren't going to school, my wife isn't going to work. We're thinking about getting out of the city.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we have to figure out how our merchants are going to survive this, particularly our retail merchants.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Well, there is a lot of angst in terms of how this is going to affect the local economy. What it's going to do to local stores. We are in
Fisherman's Wharf. This is a popular area for tourists. And it is early yet, but normally, you know, this afternoon you would see a lot of people
on these sidewalks here. But based on what we saw yesterday, when this order first went into effect, this street was bare, just really nobody
here. And ultimately how that's going to impact an area like Fisherman's Wharf, how it's going to impact the rest of the city, really remains to be
seen. This shelter in place order goes through April 7th. So, look we're on day two and this is going to last for a few more weeks -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, no doubt some people will go stir crazy. Dan Simon, we'll check in with you again later. Thanks so much.
Well, this is CNN. We will be back with much more news right after this. First, the latest in our global energy challenge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice-over): In the heart of Saudi Arabia's most prolific oil field, I'm taking you to the far
corner of the Hawiyah Gas Plant where a pilot program is capturing carbon emissions.
One cannot miss the industrial lingo -- compressor, suction drum, removal filter, CO2 to pipeline and pressure gauges galore. All used in the name of
carbon capture utilization and storage, or CCUS.
Facilities manager Ahmed Harbi takes me up top to take in a wider view of what they launched five years ago. Instead of spewing emissions from this
tower, it is captured, compressed in this loud chamber, and then sent 85 kilometers to the mega oil field.
[10:40:05]
AHMED HARBI FACILITY MANAGER, SAUDI ARAMCO: Well, this filter system right now is taking around 45 million standard cubic feet per day of CO2. You
know, this equates to almost 800,000 tons per year.
DEFTERIOS: According to the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States, that is the equivalent of removing nearly 170,000 cars from the
road each year.
(on camera): The acronym CCUS covers a broad spectrum. From capturing the carbon to storing it, but also utilization, put it into products like
cement and fertilizer in the early stages of this development.
(voice-over): The chief technology officer of Aramco illustrates the process with this model at a carbon capture forum in Riyadh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, up to a third of our research funds are spent on sustainability technologies like this.
DEFTERIOS: After an hour-long drive, I arrive to this oil well at the end of the long journey for the compressed CO2 where it is injected into the
reservoir. Field engineers explain how compressed carbon boosts efficiency of oil production. And how the remainder is stored under the surface.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We focus a lot on the subsurface, to ensure the lowest energy required to produce each barrel. And that's through technologies
that have cost, but in the long-term pay back.
DEFTERIOS: This Aramco facility is one of less than 20 large scale projects around the world. The International Energy Agency says they are
capturing 16 million tons a year. And adds to help hit climate targets, 1 billion tons or a gigaton is required. It is why some in the hydrocarbon
industry say financial incentives are needed for this to take off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So like many other technologies, solar energy, for example, today is where it is. Because of recognition by governments that
this was an important tool and an important technology.
DEFTERIOS: If that is the industry can seriously multiply what are today's pilot programs into a global standard.
John Defterios, in the Hawiyah field, Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade, good to have you with us.
Well the World Health Organization has issued a in new warning to Southeast Asian countries. Now is time to take aggressive measures to stem the spread
of the deadly novel coronavirus. Cases are starting to surge right across the region, including in the Philippines where authorities have declared a
state of calamity for the next six months. Now the move will make a quick response fund available and allow the government to call in support from
law enforcement. As of today, according to Johns Hopkins University, more than 200 infections have been confirmed there.
[10:45:00]
Dr. Saturnino Javier is medical director at the Makati Medical Center just outside Manila and he joins us now via Skype. Good to have you with us.
DR. SATURNINO JAVIER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, MAKATI MEDICAL CENTER (via Skype): Thank you, good evening.
KINKADE: So the Filipino President Duterte is telling people they can only leave their home right now for essential items necessary for survival. So
this lockdown is going to continue for a month. I'm wondering how hospitals are doing right now. Obviously, this is just the start of the outbreak
there.
JAVIER: Well the hospital workers are not covered but the (INAUDIBLE) are free to move in and out of the area to get into our places of work. Most of
the hospitals in Metro Manila somehow have started some degree of preparedness for this outbreak. But I don't think you can really be ready
for something like this.
We have tried to learn from our colleagues in South Korea, China, and even Italy in how they have prepared for this. From January of this year, we
have tried to limit our plans by way of our pandemic response teams and try to prepare ourselves for what's ahead.
KINKADE: And I want to focus on what is ahead, because there is a lot of concern about how hospitals will cope. Especially considering that the
Duterte government slashed the health budget. Although has since added some funds to cover protective gear for health workers. What do you expect will
happen if it gets worse there?
JAVIER: Well, it's been a joint response by most private organizations. And many of the private hospitals have come from a private hospital. But we
try to extend our help to every sector of society, whether it's from government or nongovernment and many of the private hospitals have joined
hands to respond to this outbreak.
Many of the cases, in fact, are being picked up not only in the government hospitals, but mostly by the private hospital facilities. So this is our
way of coping and trying to extend the hands of the government in responding to this outbreak.
KINKADE: And how is the hospital system going to cope with supplies in terms of ventilators, masks, et cetera. Because I understand even for
testing that China is now trying to send some supplies to the Philippines?
JAVIER: Well, this really is going to be a challenge and fortunately right now we're still able to cope with the demand of this ventilators and
everything. But worst-case scenario we will just have to make do with what we have and try to coordinate with other hospital systems in the area to
maximize utilization of facilities and equipment. We certainly hope that with this efforts of collaborating with every hospital in the area we'll be
able to respond as much as we can.
KINKADE: Given the President has outlined this six months of calamity, in your opinion what is the worst-case scenario?
JAVIER: Sorry. The worst -- I'm sorry. The worst-case scenario is that we'll have more cases of this and I really hope we don't go the way that
Italy did. And which is why many of the hospitals like mine will try to respond in like three to five steps ahead of what is going to be expected
of this.
So we try to start containment measures as we can, isolation measures, social distancing and we try to stockpile many of our materials and our
equipment. But it can only go as far as we can cope with the numbers that have come our way. Up to this point, the numbers are not yet that
voluminous and horrendous as what they have in other countries. But we certainly hope that we can expect to respond in the best way possible if
the worst-case scenario comes.
KINKADE: So it is great that hospitals are preparing for that worst-case scenario. We were seeing pictures of empty grocery store shelves in the
Philippines. (INAUDIBLE) nonessential work, schools have been shut down. Basically because it seems that the government decided that social distance
was failing, right.
JAVIER: Well, yes, and which is why as early as two days ago they tried to lockdown. They called it enhance quarantine, basically it is a form of
lockdown. It started in Metro Manila. They have now expanded to entire island zone. We hope learning from how our foreign counterparts did it, the
social distancing will be a way to really contain this problem. Metro Manila is very populated.
[10:50:00]
The entire country is populated and we certainly cannot take any lapses by way of containing this in the metropolitan Manila area.
KINKADE: All right, Dr. Saturnino Javier, good to get you on the show to share that perspective from the Philippines, thanks so much.
JAVIER: Thank you so much.
KINKADE: Well, when we come back, are the Olympics on or are they off? Athletes are growing frustrated at some of the mixed messages. We're going
to have a live report on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Olympic athletes are expressing frustration over mixed messages about the 2020 Tokyo games. And on Wednesday Japan's Deputy Prime Minister
said the games would not make sense if countries cannot send athletes. And the President of Spain's Olympic committee called for the Olympics to be
postponed until this crisis is over.
The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday said there was no need it make a decision yet, and it urged athletes to keep training despite
lockdowns that make it difficult.
Let's bring in CNN's Christina Macfarlane who joins us now live. So, Christina, major sporting events have been canceled pretty much left, right
and center and we keep hearing this debate about the Olympics. Will it or won't it go ahead. And it seems some athletes are trying to say let's
postpone it.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, and that's very important at this stage, Lynda. Because when we've seen major sports leagues across the
globe taking extraordinary measures to postpone or cancel events, Olympic organizers right now are looking increasingly out of step. And at worst
willfully negligent.
That announcement that you mentioned yesterday, they said effectively things should just carry on as normal and that there are no good solutions
right now. But athletes themselves are beginning to call the IOC irresponsible and you can understand why. Because the IOC are effectively
saying to them that they have to carry on as normal with their training at a time when around the globe we've got gyms, swimming pools, tracks all
being closed down for public health reasons.
They say -- the athletes -- that this is now affecting their own health and that it's creating a kind of unequal conditions for athletes and an unequal
playing field. Because in some countries they can train, in other countries they can't.
There was one prominent Olympic athlete who broke her silence on this last night. Katarina Johnson Thompson, who is a British heptathlon world
champion. She said that the IOC's advice encourages athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympics as best they can while the Olympics only four
months away, but it is enforcing the government -- the governments are enforcing isolation at home with tracks, gyms and public spaces closed. She
said I feel under pressure to train and keep the same routine, which is impossible.
And another athlete worth mentioning is the 2016 Olympic champion, Katerina Stefanidi, who said, this is not how things will be in four months' time.
This is about how things are now. The IOC wants us to keep risking our health, our family's health and the public health to train every day.
[10:55:00]
You're putting us in danger right now. Today, not in four months' time.
And we should mention, Lynda, that both of these athletes have qualified for Tokyo 2020. But 43 percent of athletes have not yet done so. They still
need to hold those qualifying events which around the globe we're seeing being put on hold right now. So it is going to be down to the independent
sports federations, how they proceed with this. How will they select athletes if they cannot compete their way into the games. And again, all of
this really creates an unfair situation for the athlete.
KINKADE: All right, we'll wait and see if they make a decision on whether to postpone or cancel soon. We will speak to you again shortly, no doubt.
Christina Macfarlane for us, thanks so much.
We have much more news ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Atlanta, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
KINKADE: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade, good to have you with us --
[11:00:00]
END
