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CNN 10
Corona Virus` Impact on the Gig Economy; The Importance of Flattening the Curve; A Wildlife Center`s Work to Rehabilitate Animals
Aired March 17, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, my name is Carl Azuz and you`ve found CNN 10. Your 10 minute down the middle explanation of world events. We`ve
spent the past few days really focused on COVID-19. That`s the technical term for the new coronavirus that broke out last December in China and has
spread around the world since then.
This disease has sickened tens of thousands of people worldwide and caused several thousand deaths though the vast majority of people who catch it
will recover. Once again on Monday, the U.S. stock market took a dive. The Dow Jones Industrial average of 30 significant stocks closed down
nearly 3,000 points or almost 13 percent. That was its worst one day point drop ever and its worse one day percentage drop since 1987.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the coronavirus outbreak in America could last until July or August and he advised people to avoid groups of
more than 10. Beyond the markets and the closures, cancellations and quarantines we`ve reported on, side effects or trickle down effects from
the virus are now becoming clearer.
One place that`s happening is in America`s gig economy. This has been a growing part of the country`s economic make up. It`s when people work
based on the gigs or temporary jobs they get. Uber drivers are excellent examples of this.
The advantage for workers is that they can often work whenever and however long they want and some people use these jobs for extra income to make
money over the weekend or on their time off from another job. But the downside for gig workers is that they`re often not considered full time
employees by the companies they work for. So they may not benefits like guaranteed salaries or health care that full time workers often do and with
more Americans staying home, traveling less and not being able to go to concerts and sporting events many gig workers are feeling the pinch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the number of cases of coronavirus rises worldwide, gig workers like couriers or ride-share drivers are particularly
vulnerable. First, their health.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re still trying to get our arms around the exact world spread of this virus but we`ve really seen a number of Uber, less
taxi drivers getting infected. One of the things we know is droplet contact is an important one meaning when you cough or sneeze you release
(inaudible) or droplets. People come into contact with those droplets with their hands and then they`re touching their face. That`s a mode of
transmission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m fully aware that I`m more exposed to this than most other members of the public. Simply because I`m spending my entire day
with complete strangers in very close proximity without any significant protections.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it`s not their contact with people that put them uniquely at risk. Gig workers don`t get full benefits like full time
employees. Things like subsidized health care, paid time off. That`s why Edan Alva (ph) and other members of the group Gig Workers Rise are trying
to force companies like Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Amazon and others to give them full benefits.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When people don`t get paid sick days, it means they do not take care of themselves. Which means they postpone going to the
doctors, that they end up working rather than staying at home. If I don`t work I can`t pay my bills period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now months into this international health crisis, the companies are starting to change their policies. Both Uber and Lyft now
offer payments to drivers who have been diagnosed with coronavirus or have been quarantined by public health officials.
Uber says that its already begun to pay out some drivers but right now with testing not easily available, actually getting the diagnosis that you have
coronavirus can be hard if not impossible. And on top of that, the companies haven`t set how much they`ll pay out drivers who do test positive
or are quarantined.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When people, if they get in coughing I roll the windows down in the back a little bit and kind of circulate the air around
the car. I`m not going to walk around here with a mask on scaring people off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Lorraine Hanks (ph), coronavirus is no scarier than anything else she might be exposed to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Corona is not the only virus that can get you sick from other people. So I`m concerned about every virus and I`m very
precautious. So I have my little - - my 81 proof alcohol. You know, it kills everything. It kills everything in a chemical lab. It will kill
everything in this car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both Uber and Lyft are encouraging their drivers now to disinfect their cars regularly and both companies are offering supplies for
them to do it. But for a gig worker, cleaning their cars cost time and time equals money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live without safety net. As result, you start your day and you think to yourself is today going to be the day where something
bad happens and my financial life is going to be completely derailed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every country facing a new epidemic asks how big is this going to get and how fast? When a virus spreads, the number of people
who are infected can quickly rise. This sharp increase can overload the health care system with sick patients who need intensive care.
One solution is to increase the health care system`s capacity whether that`s by building hospitals, training additional doctors or buying more
equipment. But that takes time and resources which countries don`t always have during an epidemic. Another option is to slow the spread of the
virus, something experts call flattening the curve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you look at the curves of outbreaks, you know, they go big peaks and they come down. What we need to do is flatten that down,
that would have less people infected that would ultimately have less deaths.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is done by relying on people in the community to use protective measures to help slow the spread of the virus. What kind of
protective measures? We`re talking about the basics. Washing your hands. Sneezing into a tissue or your elbow. Avoiding large gatherings and
staying home if you`re sick. Closing schools and cancelling events can also help slow the transmission of the virus in areas where there`s
community spread.
The goal is not necessarily to reduce the overall number of cases although that is often a positive side effect. But rather to spread the cases out
over an extended period of time. This means the health care system will be able to treat critical patients as they come in and better cope with the
strain that outbreaks place on the medical system. So even if you`re not in a high risk group by practicing simple public health measures, you`ll be
helping save others lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. In what U.S. state would you find Arabia Mountain, Elijah Mountain and Panola Mountain? Georgia, New Hampshire,
North Carolina or Utah. You`d find all three of these locations in the "Peach State" of Georgia.
We talked a lot about coronavirus patients. Now we`re shifting our focus to animal patients. The kind that are not sick with coronavirus. All three
of those mountains we mentioned are less than 20 miles southeast of Atlanta, Georgia and they`re all in the neighborhood of a wildlife
rehabilitation center that`s been helping injured and orphaned animals since 2006.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: AWARE is a non-profit, wildlife rehabilitation center, like a hospital for injured and orphaned native wildlife. We are
responsible for feeding them, medicating them. They might need swim time or other physical therapy to get their strength back. We just try to get
them ready for release back into the wild.
We had about 1,300 patients in the last year. The most animals that have to come into care are coming in from human impact and the number one reason
is being hit by a car. People throw food waste out the window. It brings small animals to the side of the road and then larger animals come and they
get hit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cats, as much as we love them, they are kind of hurting the wildlife. They`re responsible for 5 billion deaths every year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put out rat poison to deal with mice and rats that gets into the food chain and hurts hawks and owls and foxes. We do
occasionally go out and do rescues ourselves. We usually give the public instructions on how to safely bring animals into us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The goose showed up in the backyard and its foot was ensnarled in fishing line and it was having trouble walking. They loaned
us an air propelled net, covered the goose. We picked it up. They operated on it. We brought it home the same day and released it back. It
was special because we knew because of us this goose was going to live. We can`t save them all but I think its important that we help those that we
can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: For 10 out of 10, who let the penguins out? The short answer is the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois. The facility is closed to visitors to
help prevent the spread of coronavirus so its resident rock hopper penguins were allowed to leave their habitat there and explore. This one named
Wellington made a beeline to the fish. Yes, they may look bigger than he normally eats. No, you can`t pick him up and take him home.
We knew we might get a "Welling ton" of requests from people fishing for answers about "pen qquin" they can "rock hop" on over there and flip
Wellington to pet status but you "Antactican`t" just do that even though we can enjoy making his field trip while se stay home from ours. Hey,
speaking of staying home. We know the students of Bishop Brady High School are home today but we appreciate you watching remotely from in and around
Concord, New Hampshire and we`re grateful to all of our viewers worldwide. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.
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