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1,000 Cases and At Least 31 Deaths in U.S.; Biden Set to Win Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Idaho. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 11, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:25]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Becky Anderson for you.

We start in the United States, where cases of coronavirus have now topped 1,000. At least 31 deaths have been reported. Washington state has the highest number of infected at more than 270, followed by New York, as the number of cases grows by the hour. There is a growing effort to curb the number of infections.

At least 18 states have declared a state of emergency. CNN's Erica Hill reports, more schools are closing, more events being canceled, and more people being told to work from home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just north of New York City, Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing new containment measures.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the country, and this is literally a matter of life and death.

HILL: A one-mile containment radius in New Rochelle around the center of that outbreak. Schools and houses of worship closed through March 25th.

At a Seattle area nursing home where 19 deaths have been linked to the coronavirus, more than half of the residents have now tested positive. And in Oakland, California, disembarkation and medical testing under way for hundreds of passengers from the Grand Princess, many of whom will go into quarantine for the next two weeks.

On board the massive ship, confusion and frustration.

CAPT. JOHN HARRY SMITH, GRAND PRINCESS SHIP: We have not been receiving timely, nor accurate information from the government agencies who have developed and are managing the disembarkation plan, making it virtually impossible for me to prepare you and guide you on their processes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had us doing a walk-around on the deck where we had to maintain six feet of distance from everyone, and they kept telling us, you know, six feet, six feet! And then to exit the boat, they have us standing, you know, next to each other.

HILL: As the number of confirmed cases rises, some communities working to limit interaction.

In San Jose, slap shots silenced. Santa Clara County, home to the NHL Sharks, banning gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Across the U.S., some schools and colleges moving classes online, canceling events or simply closing.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: As a nation, we can't be doing the kinds of things we were doing a few months ago, that it doesn't matter if you're in the state that has no cases or one case, you have to start taking seriously what you can do now that if and when the infections will come -- and they will come.

HILL: As for who can be tested and where, confusion remains.

ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Just because I as a person say, oh, I'd like to be tested for the novel coronavirus, I should be going to a clinic or some facility and walking in and saying , give me my test, please -- that's not how diagnostic testing works in the United States or frankly anywhere in the world.

REPORTER: On Friday, they said anyone who wants to get tested can get tested.

AZAR: We've always declared, if their doctor or public health physician believes they should be tested. It needs to always be clinically indicated to receive a test. So it's a false premise. Go to your doctor, if you -- first, actually, don't go to your doctor. Call your doctor's office if you believe you may have the novel coronavirus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, that was CNN's Erica Hill reporting from New York.

"The New York Times" reporting that delays in testing set back the U.S. coronavirus response. A new report explaining that a Seattle doctor studying the flu hypothesized that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in Washington state for weeks before anyone realized it.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining us now from CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

And why this state or sense, at least, of confusion, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, there's confusion because there's been disagreement about whether labs could test for this, that could test for it but that weren't certified to test for it. So, in a nutshell, this "New York Times" reporting saying that this lab in Seattle that tests for the flu all the time, that's what they do. They wanted to test for coronavirus, but federal authorities here in the United States said, nope, you're not certified today do that, so you can't do that.

And actually, they pretty much defied what the government said and did go out and do some testing for coronavirus, and they found out that there was a young man, a high school student, who was positive, and they kept him from spending the day at school and contaminating his classmates and teachers.

[04:05:15]

So they really, you know, did a great thing there, and the government still said, no, you're not supposed to be testing for this. Eventually, the government relented. They found the -- the Seattle doctors found that they were finding more and more cases of coronavirus. But imagine if they had been able to do that testing full scale as they wanted to back on February 10th, February 10th. They would have discovered these cases much earlier.

ANDERSON: Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top official at the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases, very much part of the Trump administration's effort to contain this, has said -- and I quote him here -- "you have to start taking seriously the steps to avoid getting infected."

Is this what is being done? Are people heeding his words at this point?

COHEN: You know, I think some people are heeding his words. I've certainly spoken with people who are over age 60 or have underlying conditions, and they are canceling plane flights. They aren't going to those family parties that might have large numbers of people.

But on the other hand, actually, if we look at some reporting that my colleague, Martin Savidge, has done in Florida, which has a lot of people who are retired, they are getting together. He showed a baseball game and a dance class, all sorts of things that, really, people that age should not be doing right now because it brings them together in large groups. So, you know, I think this is probably true in other countries as well.

I can only tell you here in the U.S. some people are taking it very seriously and others think, yes, it's overblown, I'm not going to worry about this.

ANDERSON: You have to start taking seriously what you can do now to prepare for when the infections come, he said, and they will come. What is the sense of how much or the scope of this going forward, how much worse this could get in the U.S.? Is it clear?

COHEN: I mean, it's not entirely clear, but infectious disease experts tell me, Becky, this is going to get much worse before it gets better. We haven't even -- we've just begun to test in the United States. I mean, it is in a matter of thousands, not in tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands like in South Korea, so we haven't even discovered what's out there, let alone what this will grow into, because of course, this will -- you know, infections grow as the outbreak grows, so there will be many more cases reported before things start to get better. I think that's for sure.

ANDERSON: You and I -- you and I have been speaking now for weeks as we have been reporting on the incidents of this internationally, Elizabeth. A number of times, we have sought to sift fact from fiction. Top tips, once again, at this point? It is so important that we ensure that people understand the facts and what they can do to protect themselves.

COHEN: Well, first, you can do all the basic things that your mother always told you to do -- wash your hands. You should be sneezing or coughing into your inner elbow, not into your hand, because if you do that into your hand and then shake someone's hand, obviously, that is not good. You know, all those basic hygiene things.

But again, in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control is telling people 60 and over and people, even younger people who have underlying -- severe underlying medical conditions like certain kinds of pulmonary issues or immune problems or diabetes that is not well controlled, that they should stay at home as much as possible.

That's pretty stunning advice. I don't know that that's ever been given out before in any kind of an outbreak in modern history. But you know, if you are of that age, if you have those conditions, you are supposed to stay at home as much as possible.

ANDERSON: Elizabeth Cohen at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

ANDERSON: Well, numerous passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship have landed in the U.S. state of Georgia. They will soon begin a 14-day quarantine after possibly being exposed to the coronavirus.

Before arriving at Dobbins Air Base, passengers were screened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and by the CDC. The passengers are not showing any symptoms and are being quarantined as a precaution. There have been 21 confirmed cases from the Grand Princess.

Well, turning now to Super Tuesday round two in the United States. CNN projects that Joe Biden won Democratic primaries in at least four states.

For the very latest, CNN's Phil Mattingly joining me now from Washington.

[04:10:03]

And it is, it seems, a great day to be Joe Biden, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, for the second Super Tuesday, Super Tuesday II feeling just as super for the former vice president. I'll explain to you why.

You mentioned, he has won, at least according to CNN projections, four states. Those states include Michigan, include Missouri, Mississippi, and Idaho. And to explain why this matters so much -- it's not just the fact that he won those states, it's how he won those states.

The state of Michigan, by far the biggest delegate haul of the night, 125 delegates at stake, Joe Biden crushing Bernie Sanders by 15 points. But it's how he did it.

Take a look at the map right here, and you see a lot of dark blue. That means Joe Biden won literally every single county in the state of Michigan as it currently stands. Why does that matter? Well, Becky, take a look back at what happened in 2016, where Bernie Sanders stunned Hillary Clinton by pulling out a narrow victory.

And look at all the light blue. That was Bernie Sanders in 2016. Flash you back into Super Tuesday 2.0, all Joe Biden. And this is something that occurred throughout the country last night in the states that were held.

Take a look at Mississippi, clearly a Biden state, a higher nonwhite community, black community voters. This was Biden's strength throughout the course of the south, once again, winning every single county in the state. Bernie Sanders falling below 15 percent, which means Joe Biden is racking up the majority, if not all of the 36 delegates at stake there.

Another big delegate haul coming from the state of Missouri. Take another look at this. All dark blue. Bernie Sanders did not win a single county in the state of Missouri as things currently stand.

Look back to 2016. He lost this state, but look at all the light blue. He made this extremely close. This time around, not so much.

And, Becky, what this all leads to is basically this. There are two states outstanding still, Washington state and North Dakota, Bernie Sanders leading in both states. You see the light blue. But not enough to carry major delegates from those states. And that means Joe Biden, with a substantial delegate lead heading into the remainder of this process, 779 pledged delegates by CNN's projections, Bernie Sanders about 140 delegates behind.

And the way this race has shifted over the course of just the last ten days, since the South Carolina primary, through Super Tuesday, now to Super Tuesday 2.0, Joe Biden has a commanding lead. And there are very real questions about what Bernie Sanders will actually do next.

For the first time in at least as long as I can remember, Bernie Sanders not speaking on a primary night, not saying anything at all. The only thing we've heard from his campaign is that he does expect to attend the debate this weekend, a CNN debate, but in terms of paths forward, there are serious, serious limits.

And the thing to keep an eye on going forward, the next Super Tuesday that's coming up, you have Ohio, you have Illinois, you have Arizona. Once you look at those states, you understand that Joe Biden's path really at this point in time only gets more clear, better for his campaign.

The biggest hurdles of the night or of the current campaign were expected to be Michigan, were expected to be places in the northwest, in the western part of the country. Joe Biden's coalition, what he's put together between African-American voters, between the suburbs, which Democrats took advantage of in 2018, and over the course of the last 24 hours on Super Tuesday, white, working-class voters as well in Michigan, is the type of coalition that wins.

And, Becky, he has certainly shown over the course of the last ten days, he is winning, he is winning big. And right now, he is by far the favorite in the Democratic race and looks firmly on his way to winning the Democratic nomination over the course of the next several weeks.

ANDERSON: Phil, Joe Biden urging Bernie Sanders to get behind him, hinting it's time for Sanders to quit. Is it time to shut this primary down, cancel the rest of the debates?

MATTINGLY: I think everybody wants to see the debates, so I don't know about that. No, look, it's a question Sanders and his team clearly have to try and figure out right now. And I think the reason why is this.

Look, if you look at the delegates right now, 779-639, the number, the key number here is 1,991. You say Joe Biden's a long way away from that, 140 delegates really doesn't seem like that much. But when you understand what happens in terms of the delegate rules, how this works going forward, there are not a lot of opportunities for Bernie Sanders to pick up significant delegate hauls throughout the course of the rest of this process.

So, what his team has to look at now is a couple things -- one, the math, two, what they want to accomplish going forward, and three, what kind of, perhaps, leverage they want with the Biden campaign going forward as the Biden campaign tries to formulate their general election plan, should they get there. So I don't have the answer to that. I would love the answer to that at some point.

But I think the reality is that unlike ten days ago, eleven days ago, when Joe Biden's campaign seemed dead in the water, it is now the Sanders campaign that has to answer those questions. It is now the Sanders campaign that has to have the tough conversations as to how long they actually want to go in this process, given how strong Joe Biden actually is.

ANDERSON: Yes, Phil Mattingly at the wall for you. Thank you, Phil.

So, Joe Biden expected to win primaries next week in Florida and Arizona. When he addressed supporters on Tuesday night, it wasn't so much a triumphant victory speech, but rather, an attempt to unify the Democratic Party with an eye on that general election.

[04:15:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In just the past week, so many of my incredibly capable competitors have endorsed me -- Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Mike Bloomberg, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris. Together, together we're bringing this party together. That's what we have to do.

Tonight, we are a step closer to restoring decency, dignity, and honor to the White House. That's our ultimate goal.

JILL BIDEN, WIFE OF JOE BIDEN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And as Phil suggested, Bernie Sanders flew back to his home in Burlington, Vermont, instead of making a public address. A top adviser to Sanders noted how crucial Tuesday's performance was, adding, it didn't happen.

American universities and schools taking bold measures to protect students and faculty from the coronavirus. We're going to take a look at what they are doing to keep the outbreak from spreading.

And Uber drivers may leave drivers and passengers at the curb. Ahead, the company's plan to deal with the coronavirus.

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[04:20:32]

ANDERSON: Several of America's most prestigious universities are telling students to leave campus. Harvard University and many others are moving to remote, online classes, due to this coronavirus outbreak.

And it is asking students to move out of their dormitories by March 15th. Harvard says it wants to de-densify the campus.

Athena Jones has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Social distancing is the priority at schools across the country as they try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

In Washington state, one of the epicenters of the outbreak in the U.S., the University of Washington has suspended classes for the rest of the quarter, asking instructors to conduct classes and exams remotely, with plans to resume normal class operations on March 30th, pending public health guidance.

Several universities are taking similar steps, canceling in-person classes, at least temporarily, including Stanford University and Northeastern University-Seattle and San Francisco Bay Area campuses. On the East Coast: Princeton, Hofstra, Fordham, Barnard College and Columbia University are all temporarily suspending in-person classes.

KENNEDI WADE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It became more real. JONES: Columbia University's president explaining the move came after

a member of our community was exposed to COVID-19 and is now under quarantine. The quarantined person is not a confirmed case of COVID- 19, the school said.

WADE: Whenever it was away, like in a different country or before it came to America, it was like, oh, this is out of our, this is like beyond us. But now it's here and I feel everyone's going to be more aware and spreading just awareness and taking more caution.

JONES: Students taking the news in stride.

JOSEPHINE EWING, BARNARD COLLEGE STUDENT: I'm not super worried or anything. It's only because like the death rate for people that are under 60 is quite low, so I'm not -- I just don't want to be responsible for getting anybody else sick, I guess.

JONES: College campuses where students and staff live, work and study in close quarters can be conducive to contagion. One reason Columbia graduate student Connor Allerton supports the precautionary steps being taken.

CONOR ALLERTON, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: As a large community with maybe certain people who are more at risk than others, I think it's important to just take precautions. I think they have the capacity to do online classes and alternatives like that. But I think, you know, if I were in their shoes, I would probably do the same, just be safe.

JONES: Another concern, public schools. Fulton County, Georgia, is closing all schools temporarily after an employee tested positive for the virus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They sent out an email to all of the sixth grade teachers saying that somebody in the district got the coronavirus.

JONES: Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento County, California, also canceled classes and activities for the week due to virus concerns.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: This is a time to listen to your body.

JONES: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio saying there would be a high bar for closing the city's public schools, but there could be specific, targeted closures.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo putting it this way.

CUOMO: For all schools, we're going to set a policy that if a student tests positive in a school, that school is closed for an initial 24- hour period.

JONES: Meanwhile, public schools in Scarsdale and hard-hit Westchester County, north of New York City, will be closed until March 18th after a faculty member at the middle school tested positive for the virus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That was CNN's Athena Jones reporting there from New York.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, is recommending all of its north American employees work from home through April 10th. Alphabet employs about 120,000 full-time workers. And while many companies are asking employees in certain cities to work from home, Alphabet among the first to ask workers across the continent to do it. Now, Google is also canceling its biggest event of the year, the annual developer conference that was scheduled for mid-May.

And Uber says it's considering suspending the accounts of riders and drivers who have contracted the coronavirus or have been exposed to it. Companies said drivers who are diagnosed with the virus are asked to self-isolate or receive financial assistance for up to 14 days. People using Uber Eats can also request the food be left at the door. The company is providing disinfectants to drivers to keep their cars clean.

Well, we want to make sure you know what's fact and what is fiction about this coronavirus.

[04:25:01]

Do subscribe and listen to our podcast. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, will make sense of the headlines for you. He speaks with experts and he'll give you all the information you need to stay safe and healthy.

Well, as the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. goes up rapidly, U.S. President Trump is planning measures to prop up the economy as markets take a hit over fears of a pandemic.

Plus, Wall Street's rally didn't extend to U.S. futures. Why investors remain nervous. That is just ahead.

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