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Global Leaders Liken Health Crisis to Wartime; Treasury Secretary: Outbreak Worse than 9/11 for Airline Industry; New York Governor Cuomo Coronavirus News Conference. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 18, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Great to have you with us.
Echoing other leaders, U.S. president Donald Trump is likening this crisis to a war against an invisible enemy. He and his counterparts around the
world now face one of the most substantial challenges in modern history.
Some countries have been better able to manage the pandemic's impact than others but none are likely to escape it unscathed. Asia started as the
hardest hit continent but it has moved to Europe where cases continue to surge. Our Christiane Amanpour has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST (voice-over): The coronavirus pandemic is nearing 200,000 cases worldwide. Governments across every continent
continue to impose travel restrictions, close borders and call for social distancing.
They hope it will stem the spread of the virus amid concerns that too many people are not taking these precautions seriously enough. In the United
States, a surge in infections as the death toll passes 100 and all 50 states now report cases.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: How you behave affects my health. Never I think have we been so dependent on each other, at least
not in my lifetime.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): The Pentagon pledged to make masks and respirators available and the Trump administration is pledging a $1 trillion stimulus
package to support the ailing economy.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to go big, go solid. The country is very strong. We've never been so strong. And that's
what we're going to be doing.
With this invisible enemy, we don't want airlines going out of business, we don't want people losing their jobs or not having money to live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For those in difficulty due to coronavirus --
AMANPOUR (voice-over): European countries are preparing trillions of dollars in rescue packages and in some cases pledging that no company will
be allowed to fail as a result of this disease.
Airlines have slashed more flights and global markets remain jittery as businesses big and small suspend operations. With nations in lockdown,
struggling to supply hospitals, tend to the sick and even stock supermarkets, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison announced a human
biosecurity emergency.
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Stop hoarding. I can't be more blunt about it. Stop it. It is not sensible. It is not helpful. And I have
got to say it's been one of the most disappointing things I have seen in Australian behavior in response to this crisis.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Behavior in too many parts of the world as grocery lines continue to lengthen and people prepare to hunker down for weeks, if
not months -- Christiane Amanpour, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Let's take a close look at how two countries in Europe are dealing with this. Scott McLean is in Madrid and Clarissa Ward is in
London.
Scott, the cases certainly across Spain are rising. It is now the worst-hit country in Europe after Italy. You are at a military pharmaceutical
production area. Just explain what's happening there.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Lynda. We have been given access to this sterile, why I have the hat and gown, military production facility
that normally would make a wide range of pharmaceuticals for Spanish troops abroad.
It's now being asked to make hand sanitizer and paracetamol, what Americans might know as Tylenol or acetaminophen. It's being put in the blister packs
and then it'll get shipped to hospitals across the country.
This is used to treat fevers, aches and pains, common symptoms of the coronavirus. So obviously the Spanish government thinking they may need
more, some of the pallets with the 5-liter jugs of hand sanitizer to go to the hospitals.
The Spanish government does not know or the Spanish military I should say does not have the capacity for surgical face masks and Spain took in a
shipment of half a million from China.
The government here has also told any private companies that have stocks of masks or surgical gowns or gloves they must to turn them over to the
government to be distributed to the hospitals.
But just in the last couple of days we have seen truckloads, you know, totaling hundreds of thousands of these masks to be seized by authorities.
This on top of the economic crisis that's obviously facing this country.
The prime minister said that he is announcing a $200 billion aid package to help the economy. That's the largest injection of cash into the Spanish
economy in this country's history.
The prime minister today also spoke to a largely empty Spanish parliament today because of the precautions they're taking. He said that, look, until
there's a vaccine for this, all of us have to be that vaccine.
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MCLEAN: Meaning that people need to do their part and stay home.
KINKADE: Yes. Exactly. People need to listen to that advice.
I want to go to Clarissa Ward because we are hearing that the E.U. has agreed to shut all the borders now for nonessential travel, allowing only
food and medical supplies and in some cases people to help with the crisis.
How unusual is this and how is it meant to work?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, I think the expression you keep hearing over and over again at the moment is
wartime footing. Essentially, Europe has not seen draconian actions, restrictions of movement placed on the citizens since the last world war.
So certainly we are entering unchartered territory here. Ironically, in the U.K., things have been a little bit different. We have seen the government
of Boris Johnson, the prime minister, announce some more enhanced recommendations, stricter recommendations, telling people particularly in
London to avoid restaurants, pubs, cafes, things of that nature.
But haven't seen what we are seeing in France, what we're seeing in other European countries like Spain where Scott is, literally saying you cannot
go out on to the streets. You cannot be open as a restaurant or a pub or a bar or a cafe.
What that's led to is sort of mixed messaging, whereby you will see an area like the one I'm standing in right now, Lynda, which you probably recognize
as Piccadilly Circus. This is normally the most crowded spot in Central London. You can get a sense, there are still some people here. But really,
just a handful.
This would normally be absolutely heaving with not just tourists but ordinary Londoners. This really is the very center of London, a part of the
city people pass through every single day. No question that it's dramatically quieter here, Lynda.
But in other parts, you will still see people out in cafes, people out in restaurants, people walking around. So it's been a little confusing, I
think, for British citizens to get a good sense of what the recommendations really are. Also schools remain open, unlike more than 100 other countries
worldwide.
We are expecting to hear from the British prime minister Boris Johnson in under two hours. And word on the street is to see some of those even
tougher conditions mandatory orders rather than recommendations, Lynda.
KINKADE: All right. Clarissa, stand by for us. I want to go back to Scott in Madrid, where the situation is quite dire.
You mentioned some of the stimulus measures that are being taken and we have heard that the country's trying to deal with the potential economic
fallout from this by moving to freeze mortgages. Just take us through some of the measures they're considering.
MCLEAN: Sure. So Lynda, the prime minister made clear that, because of this coronavirus pandemic, no one in Spain should lose their home. So
they're taking measures to ensure that that doesn't happen.
For businesses, they have extended a $100 billion line of credit to Spanish businesses to make sure they don't go under either.
And a most interesting thing I think the prime minister announced is rule changes to ensure that, given low stock prices, given perhaps financial
troubles for some Spanish companies, they have changed the rules to ensure that foreign buyers don't come in and take over many Spanish companies.
So the goal here being, if you're a Spanish company, the government wants you to remain a Spanish company and not get bought out by a larger company
from the United States or China or somewhere like that.
KINKADE: All right, Scott McLean in Madrid.
I want to go back to Clarissa Ward in London. You did mention Boris Johnson earlier. It is head-spinning how much that attitude changed from this "keep
calm and carry on" attitude and then this dire report hit and we are certainly seeing some more extreme measures by the U.K. government.
WARD: That's right, Lynda. I think the schools is the most prominent example of that. And just in the last few hours we have actually seen
Scotland and Wales announce to go ahead and close the schools as of Friday, when school will break out for the Easter holidays and they don't plan to
reopen.
It remains to be seen whether England and Northern Ireland will follow suit. The Republic of Ireland also has already made the decision to close
its schools. There was a sense here before, Lynda, the sort of prevailing ideology was that the government was going to try to stagger these
restrictions or stagger these measures in such a way whereby they would be sustainable for the population.
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WARD: There's a real fear of the government that people won't be able to sustain and keep up with this kind of self quarantine isolation for
potentially months on end.
But the question is, has that been a reckless gamble?
We may not even really know the answer, Lynda, because, of course, the U.K., unlike many other countries, is not testing everyone or not testing
as many people as possible even. They're really only testing people who are actually being hospitalized with cases of very likely coronavirus.
Those are the specific people that they're focused on in terms of testing. So it's a mixed picture, a muddy picture and it'll be very interesting to
see what the prime minister has to say in just under a couple of hours from now, Lynda.
KINKADE: Certainly will be. We'll be tuning in for that. Clarissa Ward and Scott McLean, good to have you both with us. Thank you.
Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson, as we were just discussing, is taking unprecedented measures in what is this unprecedented peacetime and
he faced a group of U.K. lawmakers a short time ago armed with about $400 billion in economic stimulus to protect the British economy.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: We underestimate the value to people of the measures that we have already 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: The U.K. is part of a growing list of European governments forced to unleash huge rescue packages as the outbreak escalates. Across the U.K.,
people are rushing to pharmacies to stock up on things like hand sanitizer, soap and anti-viral products.
But what they're finding is largely empty shelves. CNN's Nina dos Santos looks at how one U.K. pharmacy chain is trying to keep its stores fully
stocked.
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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR (voice-over): The sign has become familiar around the world and so have the empty shelves. As the U.K. steps
up its effort to fight COVID-19, the country's largest pharmacy chain, Boots, finds itself on the front lines of supplying a panicked public
trying to hoard supplies.
And this is what they're after. We had to travel three hours north of London to find it, deep in Boots headquarters.
DOS SANTOS: With the government continuing to urge people to wash their hands, demand for products like these has soared. Boots says that hand soap
sales have increased by nearly 1,000 percent.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Other items like this paracetamol and vitamins are also selling fast which means Boots has to turn these truckloads around
quickly, as soon as they reach the warehouse. The supplies aren't the problem, Boots says. It's getting them to where they're needed that
presents the challenge.
That means calling up seasonal workers and hiring more delivery drivers. Still, at this shop just a few miles away, the aisles of painkillers are
empty, thermometers gone and hand sanitizer, don't ask.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Undoubtedly what we're seeing at the moment is unprecedented. I've never seen it in my career and many of my colleagues
have never seen it.
TRACEY CLEMENTS, BOOTS U.K. AND IRELAND: Clearly people are very anxious.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Tracy Clements is Boots' top operations executive. As such, it's her job to keep the firm's 2.5 thousand stores
stocked.
DOS SANTOS: Why is hand sanitizer something that even on shelves of Boots is missing?
CLEMENTS: I think it has to be worth saying. The increases in volume of sales are like nothing we've ever seen before.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Like other retailers, Boots now limits how much any customer can buy. But as soon as the shelves are replenished, they're
cleared, leaving shoppers disappointed and Boots staff facing their frustration.
CLEMENTS: So customers may find that we have it for a part of the day but not the whole of the day. But we continue to try to procure as much as
possible.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): To increase provisions, the company is bringing on new brands and is in talks with fresh suppliers.
CLEMENTS: We're learning every hour. And that's what we need to do actually. We need to accept ,that in this type of situation, there is --
you can't be perfect, you have to make decisions that you believe are right.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Boots has more than 170 years of history on its side, supplying Britons through two world wars and the Spanish flu. But for
all retailers and pharmacies, coronavirus is a learning curve. And for customers, too -- Nina dos Santos, CNN, Nottingham, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: So far the number of coronavirus cases in South America is relatively low but the number is rising and, in Brazil, officials say
confirmed cases have shot up almost by 300. There are now more than 8,000 suspected cases. The health ministry says those under investigation, the
country has confirmed the first death.
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KINKADE: Officials say that that patient was just 62 years of age and suffered from hypertension and diabetes. Shasta Darlington has more on the
mixed messages from the top of Brazil's government.
Shasta, Brazil's president initially dismissed the global concerns over this pandemic, calling all the measures governments were taking around the
world as "hysteria" and now Brazil and certainly the major cities are in a state of emergency.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Lynda. We are seeing contradictions and coming from the top. We have just
seen the president Bolsonaro seeking support for a nationwide state of emergency to free up funds to put towards the health ministry, to help
families forced to stay home from work, this kind of thing.
But he continues to call measures to mitigate the spread of the virus "hysteria." He said that it's ridiculous to cancel football games. He's
called Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo state governments, accused them of encouraging hysteria.
So he's doing one thing and saying another thing and especially because many members of his inner circle have tested positive for coronavirus. And
this was after visiting U.S. president Donald Trump in Florida about 10 days ago.
Upon returning, Bolsonaro's press secretary was positive. Bolsonaro himself was negative but his medical team said to go into self isolation and
monitor his health because, again, several members of his inner circle now tested positive.
And instead what we saw him doing this Sunday is going out in the middle of a pro government march to greet supporters, slapping them on the back,
shaking hands, doing some fist pumps, really sending this message that it's -- this is all to be laughed off.
As you mentioned, this is a country that, as of yesterday, with 290 confirmed cases of coronavirus, its first death and we are expecting those
numbers to shoot up this afternoon at the daily press conference and in coming days.
Schools are being closed in some half of the states around the country. But again, when you keep on seeing these mixed messages coming from President
Bolsonaro, people aren't sure how to react -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Shasta Darlington, we'll speak again soon. Thanks so much.
We want to bring you up to speed with some other stories we are following this hour. The U.S. using an encrypted app to encourage Iranians to share
information about how the coronavirus is devastating their country.
The U.S. State Department says it's a way to make what they're hearing public because they don't trust Iran's regime. For more on the story, head
to cnn.com for Kylie Atwood's article.
Police have arrested renowned Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif and three other who raised the alarm over the spread of the virus in Egypt's
overcrowded prisons. The women protested outside the prime minister's office, demanding authorities to secure the country's jails. Human Rights
Watch says Egypt should release the prisoners to contain the spread of COVID-19.
A virus like that is obviously so new and so rare it is causing confusion and panic around the world. Here at CNN, we are committed to answering all
of your questions and separating the fact from fiction. So as always, head over to cnn.com for all the live updates.
Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, we are waiting to hear from the Trump administration. The president said he has some very important news from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We're going to bring that to you live.
As people prepare for the worst by stocking up, pharmacy shelves are being wiped out quickly. We'll tell you how one pharmacy is coping, next.
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KINKADE: Well, welcome back. It is hard to overstate the economic implications at play right now. Let's take a look at U.S. stocks. You can
see right now the Dow Jones down almost 6 percent, SNP 500 down over 5.5 percent, Nasdaq down 4.5 percent.
With the plummeting stock market, a source is telling CNN that the White House Treasury Secretary is warning Congress that unemployment in the
United States could hit 20 percent. That would double the peak of the 2008 financial crisis. The U.S. Treasury Secretary said the airline industry
hasn't faced anything like this in recent memory.
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STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I think as you know this is worse than 9/11. For the airline industry, this is -- they're almost ground to a
halt. The president wants to make sure that although we don't want people to travel unless it's critical, we want to maintain for critical travel the
right for domestic travel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: With us now is Roger Dow, the president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association and he attended Tuesday's industry meeting with vice
president Mike Pence.
Good to have you with us.
ROGER DOW, U.S. TRAVEL ASSOCIATION: Hello. How are you?
KINKADE: Pretty well considering the circumstances.
DOW: Considering.
KINKADE: I want to get your take on because some economists I guess the ones that are quite optimistic saying that the crisis is like 9/11 and we
will recover quickly but we have heard from the CEO of United Airlines who has written to Congress and says this is going to be far worse than 9/11
and they want a bailout.
How bad could it get?
DOW: It could get very bad. We are looking in the travel industry alone $355 billion worth of loss right now, another $800 billion to the U.S.
economy; 4.6 million travel industry workers are going to be out of work and I agree very much of the importance of keeping airlines going.
But keep in perspective they represent 15 percent of the travel industry. It is not just the airlines but the hotels, the theme parks, the convention
centers, everything that makes up travel and tourism is important that we keep going.
KINKADE: Absolutely. And that 4.6 million number you mentioned, talking about jobs here. And if that were to happen, that would double the
unemployment rate in the U.S. You've run those numbers obviously by the administration.
What was their response?
How are they going to help the industry, especially given that we already have a record deficit?
DOW: Right. We met yesterday seven members from the hotel industry, two from the theme park industry and we met with President Trump, Vice
President Pence and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. And we presented those numbers and they understand them very clearly.
The president was totally committed to, in his words, we're going to attack in this in a big way, a major way and we are going to do everything we need
to do for workers. And that was our whole thing.
We have got to make sure that we have the workers, not sitting around and collecting unemployment, not collecting. We have to make sure they're paid.
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DOW: And most important that the businesses can keep the lights on so, as this passes, they put everyone back to work full-time. People don't want to
lose employees. They're so important, so well trained to do what they do.
KINKADE: Roger, we are awaiting a press conference from President Trump and U.S. Vice President Pence with the latest on the coronavirus and how
they are going to, as you say, tackle this head on.
Did they give you any indication of what they're willing to offer the industry right now, given that this is an industry that will probably be
hardest hit?
DOW: It will be hardest hit. We are labor intensive. If you think of running a factory, 20, 30 people, a hotel the same size is 200 or 300
people.
The other thing is you think about the travel industry but so many things are affected. When people don't make a trip, they don't make the sales
deal, they're not selling the products if they're not at a convention.
So we talked to the administration and they're talking in terms of close to $1 trillion . It's very important. We talked in the hotel business alone
$150 billion. The other parts of the travel industry, $100 billion.
While that sounds like a lot of money, compared to being able to stem the tide and bring it back and keep Americans working, it's a very wise
investment.
KINKADE: It's just to be clear, you are talking about $1 trillion . We have already heard reports of the trillion-dollar stimulus package that is
being discussed.
Are you talking about that or saying there's another trillion ?
DOW: No. We are talking -- that's within that -- Secretary Mnuchin's been very forthright and while we were meeting with the president yesterday, he
was meeting with the Senate. And the most important thing that this happens fast. We have got to get rid of the bureaucracy.
As the president said yesterday, finally we are seeing both sides work together but it's got to move fast. Any bureaucracy, these people are out
of work today. And tomorrow and next week they won't pay the mortgages. And that's not good.
KINKADE: Certainly isn't. We are hearing of entire countries on lockdown, telling people not to travel, not internationally certainly but not even
domestically.
In terms of when this pandemic ends, which eventually it will, do you fear that people will still be worried of flying?
And what sort of mechanism is needed long term to encourage people to take back to the skies?
DOW: I think it's very important to get people back flying, traveling as quickly as possible. The media is very good at telling what is going on,
sometimes not as good as we'd like, calling the all clear. So I think it's going to be very important to do something as the industry to get people
flying again.
I would love to see doctors and health experts get on planes and ships and say they're very comfortable with what they see and the cleanliness and the
air is handled. Anything to do to shorten the recovery time because it is probably $17 billion a month, to bring it back faster.
That's just so good for the U.S. economy and workers. But we have got to do something to really let people know it is safe because fear is something
that you can't control. And right now Americans are concerned and they have fear.
KINKADE: The other thing that is important to note is many businesses who -- which involve a lot of travel, I'm talking weekly travel, are figuring
out ways to do business without that travel.
Does the industry fear that that could become the new normal?
It keeps costs lower for those businesses minus the spending on planes and hotels and, of course, with reduced emissions.
DOW: I think that's been the case that people have predicted for years but as technology has advanced, face to face travel, face to face meetings have
improved. The meeting yesterday with the president, vice president and Wilbur Ross, if we'd done that over the Internet it would not be as
effective. You have to understand and talk one another.
So I'm not concerned. It will come back but the important thing is to get it back quickly, after, at the right time.
KINKADE: Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, good to get your perspective today and all the very best.
DOW: Thank you. Good job you're doing, Lynda. Thank you.
KINKADE: Thank you.
For more on the facts and fears around coronavirus join Dr. Gupta and Anderson Cooper live Friday 6:00 am Abu Dhabi time and 10:00 am In Hong
Kong.
We are watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD, waiting to hear from the White House and the coronavirus task force. We'll bring you that as soon as
it happens. We'll take a quick break now. We'll be right back. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
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KINKADE: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is giving a briefing. Let's listen in.
ANDREW CUOMO (D), GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: I met with the president yesterday. It was an open and honest conversation. We have always had very
good dialogue. Even when we don't agree, we've always had a very good dialogue.
But the president and I agreed yesterday, look, we're fighting the same war. And this is a war. And we're in the same trench. And I have your back,
you have my back and we are going to do everything we can for the people of the state of New York.
And the president agreed to that and I agreed to that and his actions demonstrate that he is doing that. I've had a number of conversations with
White House staff, who are working on this. I had a conversation with the Secretary of the Army, the president sent the Army Corps of Engineers here
this afternoon. I'll be meeting with them this afternoon.
I spoke to the president this morning about specific actions the president is going to take. I can tell you he is fully engaged on trying to help New
York, he's being very creative and very energetic and I thank him for his partnership.
As I said, the Secretary of Defense can be helpful, the Army Corps of Engineers can be helpful and FEMA can be very helpful and we're speaking
with all of them and we are working with all of them as we speak and we have been around the clock and all through the night.
So Commissioner Zucker looks a little tired today, that's why. Young people have no stamina, I like to say.
The president, I spoke to this morning, he is going to be making arrangements to send up this hospital ship called the U.S.S. Comfort. It
has about 1,000 rooms on it. It has operating rooms. And the president is going to dispatch the Comfort to us. It will be in New York City harbor.
This will be -- it's an extraordinary step, obviously. But it will -- it is literally a floating hospital which will add capacity and the president
said that he would dispatch that immediately.
The president also spoke about the mobile hospitals that the federal government has and where we could set up mobile hospitals, where they come
in with a mobile hospital that has a capacity of 200 people, 250 people.
I told the president that we would do everything we need to do to expedite siting of those facilities and talking about a couple locations now. But
that is also specific and concrete help and something that we can get done within the 45 days.
At the same time, as I said, we are proceeding on all these tracks simultaneously. Then city reduction, we have taken a number of dramatic
steps but I think they are necessary steps. You have seen the curve.
We can't handle the number of cases in the health care system at that current rate of spread. We have to get it down. We have taken dramatic
steps. I have said, and I'm going to repeat today, I'm asking all businesses voluntarily, if it is at all possible, work from home and have
your people work from home.
We also have already announced a mandatory requirement that all schools are closed statewide, a mandatory requirement that no more than 50 percent of
any government's employees can show up for work.
[11:35:00]
CUOMO: Essential personnel, yes, but no more than 50 percent of city, local governments.
We also have a mandatory requirement, as you know, of a tri-state agreement. Pleased to announce that Pennsylvania is going to be joining our
state coalition. And that's very exciting because none of these measures work unless you have a large enough geographic basis.
Makes no sense for a county to try to put its own rule into effect or a city to put its own rule into effect because people will just move. If I
can't go to a bar in Queens, I'll drive to Nassau and go to a bar. If I can't go to a restaurant in Albany, I'll go to Schenectady.
So the geographic footprint by definition is essential for these to work and, frankly, even if I come up with a rule for the entire state, people
will drive to New Jersey or Connecticut or Pennsylvania. And that's why the first-ever we have this statewide coalition.
And I want to thank Connecticut governor Ned Lamont and New Jersey governor Phil Murphy very much and Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolfe, who have been
great colleagues and I thank them very much.
Again, I'm asking all businesses to work from home. But today we are announcing a mandatory statewide requirement, that no business can have
more than 50 percent of their workforce report to work outside of their home.
No more than 50 percent of the workforce can report for work outside of the home. That is a mandatory requirement. I'm going to do that for executive
order and that is statewide. That will exempt essential services, meaning food, food delivery, pharmacies, health care, shipping, supplies. Society
has to function, et cetera.
People stay at home, people still need to be able to order food, et cetera. They need to be able to shop. So you have to keep those essential services
running.
I understand that this is a burden to businesses. I get it. I understand the impact on the economy. But in truth, we're past that point as a nation.
There is going to be an impact on the economy, not just here in New York but all across the country and we're going to have to deal with that
crisis.
But let's deal with one crisis at a time and let's deal with the crisis at hand and the crisis at hand is a public health crisis. Once we get past
that, then we'll deal with the economic crisis. An old Italian expression that basically says, rough translation, a rich person is a person who has
their health. Everything else you can figure out.
And that's true for society also. Let's maintain the public health. We'll figure out the economy afterwards.
We have consulted with a number of business organizations and I want to thank them for their cooperation and their receptivity. The Business
Council, the Retail Council, ABNY, the Partnership for New York City, they're the main business groups in this state. They understand the concern
and the crisis that we're dealing with.
And they're helping communicate the message and I thank them for their understanding and for their civic consciousness in this matter.
You can see from the number of cases why we are taking these actions. We are responding to science and data. There's no politics here. The health
commissioner and health officials advise us of what we should be doing. The number of cases is way up. The number of cases is up because we are taking
more tests.
But the numbers are going up. Hence, the increased actions to reduce the spread, the density reduction. You see total positive cases, 2,300; new
positive cases 1,000. You see the number of counties that now have cases spreading just as you see it spreading across the United States of America.
This is just a metaphor for the entire country. You see our number of tests has gone way up. We have now tested over 14,000 people. That's a dramatic
increase. And, again, that's why you see the number of positive cases going up.
[11:40:00]
CUOMO: We have the highest number of cases in the United States, again, by a significant margin. We're now about double the next state. I don't know
how much of that is due to our increased testing but we are a more dense environment. We have more people than Washington State.
So science would dictate, mathematics would dictate that you'll have a higher rate of spread. Current hospitalizations of 549; again, that is the
number we watch because that's the number that are flowing into the health care system. That's the rate of cases flowing into the health care system,
23 percent. We had 20 percent yesterday. We had 14 percent last week.
So the number of hospitalizations is going up and, again, this is all about the capacity of the health care system. And it always has been.
Again, perspective, perspective, perspective. I understand the anxiety. I understand the fear. You look at the pictures on television, empty grocery
shelves. It's easy to get caught up in the emotion. But you also have to remember the facts of the situation.
Right?
And the facts are still very clear. We know what this virus does. We know who it is. We know where it lives. We know what it does to people. It's
been tracked since China; 200,000 cases have been tracked, 8,000 people have passed away, 80,000 have recovered, 113 are still pending.
We even know what it's done in the state of New York. Of the numbers we have seen in New York since it started, 108 people have already recovered
and been discharged from the hospital.
The first case we had in New York, which was the health care worker and her husband who returned from Iran and tested positive, she never went into a
hospital. She was at home quarantined. She has now been recovering at home. She actually took a second coronavirus test and tested negative.
OK?
So 39-year-old female came home, was at home, was on quarantine, recovered. Two weeks later, tests negative, which means she has resolved the virus in
her body.
Right?
And now tests negative. And as we have said, 80 percent of the people, that's what will happen. She was never hospitalized. And she resolved two
weeks later. That's what people have to keep in mind.
And look. This is a health issue. It's a public health crisis. But more than that, I'm telling you, worse than the virus is the fear that we're
dealing with and the rumors and how they spread and I'm going to be quarantined. I'm going to be locked out, they're not going to allow me to
leave my house. I'd better stock up on groceries.
That's not going to happen. It's a deep breath. We know what is going to happen here. People will get ill. They will resolve. People who are
vulnerable, we have to be careful. But the panic and the fear is wholly disconnected from the reality.
The only way I know to communicate it is just what I experience in my own life. And I get those calls every day. And people are just disconnected
from the reality of the situation. One of my sisters called me yesterday. I have to have my daughter tested for coronavirus.
Why?
She has a fever. She's sick. She has flu-like symptoms.
I said, has she been exposed to someone positive?
No. Not that we know of.
Did she travel to a hot spot?
No.
I said, then there's no test and there's no reason for a test. Leave her home. Help her. Be careful that she doesn't infect you. But that's it. And
flu-like symptoms.
[11:45:00]
CUOMO: And a couple of weeks she'll feel better and she'll get on with it. One thing I said to my sister is, don't let her go near Mom. It's my
mother. My mother's in a different situation, again, senior citizen. But senior citizens, compromised immune system, underlying illness. I said
don't let her go near Mom; otherwise, treat her as if she has the flu.
Well, what do I do?
What's self quarantine?
Self quarantine is what we used to do when somebody had the flu.
Right?
My father would say, go in the room, stay there until you feel better.
Right?
That's -- crude self quarantine. Don't get infected. Stay away. Throw things away. Use hand sanitizer, et cetera. That's the reality of the
situation. I get the drama. I get the anxiety. But all in moderation and all in connection with the facts.
Questions, comments?
QUESTION: Details, essential services, does that include building supplies, stores like Home Depot, Curtis Lumber?
When does this order take effect?
Then for the doctor, obviously, health care workers are exposed, they'll get sick and resolve. If you've been 14 days and you are resolved, do you
get to return to the health care workforce?
So I guess, Governor, start, maybe.
CUOMO: Jimmy (ph), I'll answer your question but I forgot one thing. I want to show you the ventilator. Our main scramble now is for ventilators.
And everybody says, what are the ventilators?
This is a respiratory illness. We need ventilators which will actually -- the ventilators actually help people breathe. This is the machine that you
often see in hospitals. It's commonplace in hospitals. It's just the number that we need is much higher.
And any manufacturers of ventilators, this is a national need. Every state across the country needs it. I'm talking to governors across the state. GE
makes them. Phillips makes them. But this is the number one device that we need because we can create more beds.
But it's literally the supply of ventilators and countries are trying to get the devices. So that is the main challenge.
The question on, after 14 days if you test negative, can you go back to work?
QUESTION: So she can be (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: Is she?
QUESTION: I don't know.
Are you -- building supply stores and when does this take effect?
CUOMO: We're going to have a full list of essential services. I believe -- I don't want to get into any specific business right now -- but we'll list
all the essential services.
QUESTION: Governor, do you have any timetable how long the restrictions are going to last, for parents, small businesses, trying to plan?
CUOMO: The -- no. But all of the restrictions are statewide. They will track the trajectory of the disease.
If we get that spread down, Jesse (ph), if we slow the spread and we can handle it in the health care system, we'll relax them as soon as possible.
Past data, China, South Korea, shows that if you take more dramatic actions sooner, you actually reduce the spread and you recover faster. So more
dramatic on the front side, the faster you get out of it.
I've also spoken with elected officials all across the state. I have told them that this 50 percent mandatory requirement was going to be in place.
And we have heard nothing but support. I want to thank all my -- the local officials and thank them for their cooperation.
QUESTION: Governor --
QUESTION: Speaking of dramatic action, what about shelter in place?
Can you explain why you're resistant to that and why that's no longer on the table for you?
CUOMO: Shelter in place, first, would have to be done -- I don't believe any policy works unless the geographic footprint is large enough. I'm from
Queens, New York. If you tell me shelter in place and I'm living in Queens, I'll go stay with my sister in Westchester and I'll go out and have a good
time.
Right?
So it can't just be New York City. It would have to be Long Island, Rockland, Westchester, the rest of the state.
Also, shelter in place.
[11:50:00]
CUOMO: You close down your health care system. You close down your food system. You close down your transportation system.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE). But in the bay area, certainly essential services - -
CUOMO: Well, it depends on how you do it. And you close down businesses. Close down all businesses when you do shelter in place. So that doesn't
make sense to me because people have to eat, travel, et cetera.
What this -- doing it this way, all workforce 50 percent except essential services, we'll see if that slows the spread. If it doesn't slow the
spread, then we will reduce the number of workers even further. That 50 percent can be calibrated.
Now you could get to a point where you -- you could get to 100 percent of workers stay home besides essential services. That's what Italy wound up
doing. And we're at 50 percent now. But I would never shut down food, transportation, essential services.
QUESTION: Governor?
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: -- revenue forecast as you know, worst-case scenario, $7 billion hit the state is facing.
Will that require a cut in spending as you had initially proposed in the budget?
Will this mean for spending for schools, for instance?
CUOMO: That's something we will have to work out in the budget. But as I said, you know, the original estimates we did were before any of this. And
they are, any reasonable person would say, too high. So we'll have to do a budget on the best projections that we can do and then we go from there.
QUESTION: Does that mean then is it time to look at raising revenue?
You were reluctant to do that in your proposed budget. Now (INAUDIBLE) you have to raise taxes?
CUOMO: Look. You have businesses closing. You have people out of work. I don't think now's the time to tell people we're going to raise your taxes.
QUESTION: Governor, (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE).
QUESTION: And what are you hoping (INAUDIBLE)?
CUOMO: Army Corps of Engineers, let's say federal writ large, OK, because you have DOD, FEMA, Army Corps of Engineers, additional hospital beds. The
mobile hospitals, helping to retro fit existing buildings. Those are all within the purview of the federal government.
QUESTION: Governor, is the media considered an essential service?
I know it's a tough question to be asking but then do we fall under the 50 percent umbrella?
CUOMO: That is a very good question. We have to ponder that. I think -- are they an essential service?
Depends who you would ask.
I personally consider it an essential service. But I don't know if that's a global definition.
QUESTION: Doctor, are you investigating a cluster in Verona Park (ph), Brooklyn?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard about that and we are looking into that.
QUESTION: Do you -- it is a cluster?
You believe it's a result of (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there's two possibilities. A lot of testing that's going on or potentially one or multiple individuals that have been
infected. So that's something that's new on the radar and we're investigating it today.
QUESTION: Governor, Westchester was the epicenter and it's moved now to New York City.
When you talk about expanding the capability of hospitals, is Westchester an area to look at perhaps opening some new temporary facility?
And can you describe where those might be at this point?
CUOMO: Definitely. Our planning will track-- again, it is science, data. We'll track where the cases are. So wherever you have a cluster of cases,
that's where you want to add to the capacity. You look at how many beds you now have, how many beds you may need and that's where you add to the
capacity.
New York City is the natural area for us to increase because of the density. Westchester was an anomaly, that whole New Rochelle situation. And
look. We responded to it dramatically and I want to thank the Westchester County executive George Latimer, who did a great job.
But we'll increase the capacity in Westchester, that cluster, and New York City. We also have a cluster in Nassau now. So wherever we see these
clusters pop up.
QUESTION: Governor, does the 50 percent rule of five is just New York City (INAUDIBLE)
neighboring governors?
CUOMO: I have not spoken to them about it at this time to a point where we have an agreement. Our numbers are somewhat worse. We don't yet have
agreement with Connecticut, New Jersey or Pennsylvania.
But again, on this mandate, this one is not really geographically specific because a business can't pick up today and move to New Jersey to get around
the mandate.
QUESTION: Governor, (INAUDIBLE) looking to move on the state budget?
CUOMO: April 1. If they want to do it sooner, great.
[11:55:00]
CUOMO: But the date is April 1. I'm going to be here. Government is functioning. Government is here. Police officers are doing their job.
Nurses are doing their job. Correction officers are doing their job. A lot of people are putting themselves in harm's way.
You have great public service heroes, those nurses who are at the testing stations, drawing blood. God bless them. This is public service. We'll be
here. We'll be doing our job. If they want to do the budget early, fine. Otherwise the date is April 1.
QUESTION: What will you discuss at the D.A's (ph) then later today?
Are you meeting with them?
CUOMO: I met with the district attorney and criminal justice experts, talking about bail reform.
QUESTION: Governor, can you give us a --
CUOMO: This morning. I had that meeting this morning.
QUESTION: Can you give us an update on New Rochelle?
And is there any evidence the containment zone is (INAUDIBLE)?
CUOMO: You want to speak to that, Doctor?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are still tracking cases in that area, in the whole Westchester County but we do believe that the effectiveness of the
decreasing numbers is happening with that.
CUOMO: Yes. But certain things are inarguable. It is inarguable. But to the extent you reduce density, you reduce the transfer of the virus. That
is inarguable. So closing schools, closing gatherings, that is inarguable.
QUESTION: Governor, (INAUDIBLE) bills expected to be voted on today and passed, do you expect to sign that today?
And --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: As soon as they pass the bill, I'll sign it.
QUESTION: When would people start benefiting from that?
CUOMO: The quarantine bill goes into effect immediately. Right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The quarantine bill goes into effect immediately. The larger paid sick bill we'll actually hold on and do in the budget and
that'll come into effect in 180 days.
QUESTION: Will people be getting checks from their employer as potentially next week or -- ?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In they're in mandatory quarantine or in precautionary quarantine, it goes into effect immediately.
QUESTION: Governor, why that bill?
Because obviously what was introduced yesterday had the statewide system taking effect later.
What led you to split it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're giving the message and we believe that's necessary immediately for the quarantine provision but as this other part
of the bill does not go into effect for 180 days, it is not necessary to give a message of necessity.
CUOMO: Bernadette (ph)?
QUESTION: Do you have a plan in place for law enforcement physically, the NYPD and state police?
But is the NYPD being provided with extra protective gear?
And also do you have a plan in place should any of these officers, et cetera, get ill?
CUOMO: Every --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: -- every police department has been advised to expect people to get ill. I mean, you know, you're talking about a public facing position in
this environment. So reality would dictate you'll expect a number of people to get ill.
I have mandated that New York City and all local governments have masks provided to their police departments.
QUESTION: Right.
Do you have any plans, should, you know, NYPD need to cut hours or as we saw in Philadelphia, they relaxed certain -- they told officers to stop
detaining people for certain crimes.
CUOMO: I'll leave that to the local police departments unless there's a situation that requires state action. But right now we're leaving it to the
local police departments.
QUESTION: Governor, could you expand on the discussions on bail reform with the D.A.s and the criminal justice expert?
CUOMO: We talked and we spoke to the issue. There's a divergence of opinion. I said to them that I'm very proud of what we did on bail reform,
I think we made a significant difference. Obviously there's people who have different opinions on what needs to be done now. And it was just a general
conversation without a conclusion.
It will be concluded in the budget.
Let's take one more question and then we'll get you to work.
QUESTION: You mentioned that 180 people have been released from the hospital. Maybe this is a question for Dr. Zucker (ph).
Are those people out of the woods?
Can you get coronavirus twice?
Or have they built up an immunity?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you do build up an immunity to all viruses, sometimes the immunity lasts for years, sometimes for your lifetime. And
they are out of the woods. I mean, if they've recovered, that's a positive finding.
CUOMO: Doctor, you gave --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: -- the conversation I had with my sister.
If you take your daughter to get a coronavirus test and she tests positive, what do you think happens?
They send you home and they say chicken soup and take care of yourself and if it gets worse and you need hospitalization, call me. So getting the test
and getting the result, all it really does is inform us to isolate that person so that person doesn't transfer it. But there's no medicine that you
get for the coronavirus.
Right?
It's just like a flu. The body has to develop its own immunity to that virus.
[12:00:00]
END
