1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,066 AMNA NAWAZ: As we mentioned earlier, the president is talking tonight about the outbreak of the 2 00:00:04,066 --> 00:00:06,200 coronavirus, known as COVID-19. 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:10,333 In fact, he's speaking in the Briefing Room right now about what the federal government's 4 00:00:10,333 --> 00:00:14,733 doing and how it's preparing in case the outbreak gets worse in the United States. 5 00:00:14,733 --> 00:00:16,800 Here's some of what he said: 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,066 DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I have just received another briefing from 7 00:00:19,066 --> 00:00:24,066 a great group of talented people on the virus that is going around to various parts of the 8 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:30,833 world. 9 00:00:30,833 --> 00:00:34,966 We have, through some very good early decisions, decisions that were actually ridiculed at 10 00:00:37,033 --> 00:00:40,033 the beginning -- we closed up our borders to flights coming in from certain areas, areas 11 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:47,366 that were hit by the coronavirus and hit pretty hard. 12 00:00:49,300 --> 00:00:51,166 And we did it very early. A lot of people thought we shouldn't have done it that early. 13 00:00:51,166 --> 00:00:54,466 And we did. And it turned out to be a very good thing. 14 00:00:54,466 --> 00:00:59,433 And the number one priority from our standpoint is the health and safety of the American people, 15 00:01:00,933 --> 00:01:02,866 and that's the way I viewed it when I made that decision. 16 00:01:02,866 --> 00:01:07,166 AMNA NAWAZ: The state of preparations has become the source of concern and criticism 17 00:01:08,566 --> 00:01:10,800 between parties and among some public health officials. 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,100 As we saw with the president and lawmakers, it's also increasingly a political issue, 19 00:01:15,100 --> 00:01:17,166 too. 20 00:01:17,166 --> 00:01:19,200 For more on all of this, I'm joined here in the studio by our White House correspondent, 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:24,166 Yamiche Alcindor, and from New York via Skype by Dr. Thomas Frieden. He's a former director 22 00:01:26,166 --> 00:01:28,700 of the CDC, former commissioner of the New York City Health Department, and he is currently 23 00:01:28,700 --> 00:01:32,800 president and CEO the nonprofit group Resolve to Save Lives. 24 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,700 Yamiche, here in the studio, I'd love to get your take on what we just heard from the president. 25 00:01:36,700 --> 00:01:40,033 He is still talking, of course, but there he was hailing the government's response, 26 00:01:40,033 --> 00:01:43,533 saying, we did the right thing early. He was just given a briefing. 27 00:01:43,533 --> 00:01:47,733 What do we know about how he's been hearing about the coronavirus and how he's been communicating 28 00:01:47,733 --> 00:01:49,866 about it so far? 29 00:01:49,866 --> 00:01:52,166 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, the president is seeking really to calm Americans tonight. 30 00:01:52,166 --> 00:01:57,033 After the CDC came out last night and said it's not a matter of if, but when the coronavirus 31 00:01:57,033 --> 00:02:01,000 gets to the United States, there was a lot of panic. I was on Amazon. There's masks already 32 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,700 selling out. So people are feeling very, very scared. 33 00:02:03,700 --> 00:02:07,033 And the president here is trying to be a calmer in chief. He's trying to say, we are ready. 34 00:02:07,033 --> 00:02:11,800 At the briefing just now, he said, our number one priority is health and safety of Americans. 35 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,800 He has also been saying that he wants $2.5 billion to fight this virus. Democrats today 36 00:02:18,733 --> 00:02:21,233 said, actually, we should do $8.5 billion. Instead of getting into a fight, the president 37 00:02:21,233 --> 00:02:23,966 said from the Briefing Room, if you're offering that money, we will work with you. We will 38 00:02:23,966 --> 00:02:26,000 take that extra money. 39 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,233 So the president here is really trying to calm a lot of people here. He's gotten some 40 00:02:29,233 --> 00:02:33,733 backlash for saying that we're -- that the risk is low to Americans, because the CDC 41 00:02:33,733 --> 00:02:35,833 is saying, actually, this is could be a pandemic. 42 00:02:35,833 --> 00:02:39,366 But, that being said, the president is trying, I think, his best here to try to calm people. 43 00:02:39,366 --> 00:02:42,433 AMNA NAWAZ: Dr. Frieden, I want to get your take on both what we heard from the president 44 00:02:42,433 --> 00:02:44,966 and what Yamiche was just reporting. 45 00:02:44,966 --> 00:02:48,633 President Trump has been saying, this response so far from the U.S. government has been a 46 00:02:48,633 --> 00:02:52,866 success. That's the word he continues to use. Just assess for me what you have seen in terms 47 00:02:52,866 --> 00:02:56,733 of this administration's response. Are they doing everything they should be at this point? 48 00:02:56,733 --> 00:02:59,033 DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, Former Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Well, 49 00:02:59,033 --> 00:03:04,000 first off, the risk today in the United States is low. That's correct. And the things that 50 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,200 have been done by the CDC and others are appropriate. 51 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:14,200 But the big picture is very different. A pandemic is inevitable. That has become clear in the 52 00:03:16,166 --> 00:03:20,666 last few days. There have been hundreds of people to leave China with the virus who haven't 53 00:03:21,833 --> 00:03:24,566 been diagnosed in countries all over. 54 00:03:24,566 --> 00:03:29,566 We have Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Korea with lots of cases. And this is going to spread. 55 00:03:34,233 --> 00:03:39,233 We are in the calm before the storm. It's going to get worse before it gets better. 56 00:03:41,233 --> 00:03:44,166 And thinking that we can somehow pull up the drawbridges and not have anyone in this country 57 00:03:44,166 --> 00:03:46,200 get it, that's a dangerous delusion. 58 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,933 AMNA NAWAZ: So, Dr. Frieden, talk to me about some of these figures you're hearing in terms 59 00:03:49,933 --> 00:03:54,033 of what the government's prepared to spend. We know the president asked for that $2.5 60 00:03:54,033 --> 00:03:57,300 billion. Democrats are asking for $8.5 billion. 61 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:01,000 Based on what the U.S. has done in the past, is this what we should be spending? Is that 62 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:02,633 appropriate in terms of a response? 63 00:04:02,633 --> 00:04:06,100 DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN: There's a fundamental question. For how long? 64 00:04:06,100 --> 00:04:11,100 If that's a one-year figure, that's one thing. But, for Ebola, what we found is, it was essential 65 00:04:13,033 --> 00:04:16,400 to have a five-year allocation, so we could really address it in a comprehensive way and 66 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,933 get to the root of reducing the risk going forward. 67 00:04:20,933 --> 00:04:25,933 Ebola was $5.4 billion supplemental over five years. This is a much bigger risk than Ebola. 68 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:33,200 I said and others said there was no chance Ebola would spread widely in the U.S. It just 69 00:04:34,366 --> 00:04:36,966 wasn't in the cards. And it didn't happen. 70 00:04:36,966 --> 00:04:41,966 This could definitely spread quite widely in this country. We don't know how far it 71 00:04:44,466 --> 00:04:47,100 will spread. We don't know how severe it will be, whether it will be mild, moderate or severe. 72 00:04:47,966 --> 00:04:50,100 But a pandemic is coming. 73 00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:53,066 AMNA NAWAZ: We know the president has also been communicating about the health and wellness, 74 00:04:53,066 --> 00:04:57,366 the recovery of some of those Americans who both contracted it, were confirmed cases back 75 00:04:57,366 --> 00:05:01,700 here, and also were moved back to the U.S. after being diagnosed overseas. 76 00:05:01,700 --> 00:05:04,400 Here's what President Trump had to say about them. 77 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:09,400 DONALD TRUMP: As the disease spreads, if it spreads, as most of you know, the level that 78 00:05:15,733 --> 00:05:20,100 we have had in our country is very low. And those people are getting better. 79 00:05:20,100 --> 00:05:25,100 Or we think that, in almost all cases, they're better or getting -- we have a total of 15. 80 00:05:27,133 --> 00:05:31,233 We took in some from Japan. You heard about that, because they're American citizens and 81 00:05:32,666 --> 00:05:37,033 they're in quarantine. And they're getting better too. 82 00:05:38,233 --> 00:05:40,200 But we felt we had an obligation to do that. 83 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:42,933 AMNA NAWAZ: Yamiche, we have been hearing from the president things are getting better, 84 00:05:42,933 --> 00:05:44,966 the patients are getting better. 85 00:05:44,966 --> 00:05:47,300 That stands in contrast to what some public health officials are saying. 86 00:05:47,300 --> 00:05:49,400 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's true. 87 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:51,600 The president has been getting backlash. People are thinking that he's trying to downplay 88 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,533 this for his own political benefit. He just now said that Vice President Pence is going 89 00:05:55,533 --> 00:06:00,233 to be the czar, the coronavirus czar, putting him now in charge of this. 90 00:06:00,233 --> 00:06:03,500 But the president also said that this is going to get better in April, that, once it gets 91 00:06:03,500 --> 00:06:06,433 warm, things are going to get better. Now, that's usually true, experts say, when it 92 00:06:06,433 --> 00:06:08,933 comes to flu. But the coronavirus is different. 93 00:06:08,933 --> 00:06:12,966 This is a disease that people are still learning about. So, in some ways, the president is 94 00:06:12,966 --> 00:06:16,833 getting a lot of backlash for making claims that aren't exactly accurate at this point. 95 00:06:16,833 --> 00:06:21,700 And he's also, some people think, really trying to just make it seem as though maybe Democrats 96 00:06:21,700 --> 00:06:26,700 and other people who are his political opponents are trying to create some sort of hysteria 97 00:06:27,900 --> 00:06:29,933 to scare people, and to also make him look bad. 98 00:06:29,933 --> 00:06:32,700 So the president has been someone who has looked at his own political benefit, even 99 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:36,800 in times of crisis, as presidents some -- often do in these in these cases. 100 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,533 AMNA NAWAZ: Well, Dr. Frieden, let's talk about that little bit of news that Yamiche 101 00:06:39,533 --> 00:06:41,566 just brought us, the appointment of a czar. 102 00:06:41,566 --> 00:06:45,800 We know the president was reluctant to do that. He pulled together a task force from 103 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,800 various agencies, including HHS and DHS. Does that -- is that right now the appropriate 104 00:06:53,266 --> 00:06:56,900 response? And, also, can you tell us, specifically, at that federal level, what concrete steps 105 00:06:58,366 --> 00:07:00,500 should they be taking right now that you don't believe they are? 106 00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:05,366 DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN: The first and foremost thing is to get the supplemental through Congress 107 00:07:05,366 --> 00:07:08,200 at a high enough level that we can protect America. 108 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,733 That means supporting state and local health departments. That means working with hospitals. 109 00:07:12,733 --> 00:07:17,066 That means investing in a vaccine, even though we aren't sure it will work. 110 00:07:17,066 --> 00:07:22,066 And, crucially, that means reducing the risks around the world. It costs about $1 per person 111 00:07:24,500 --> 00:07:28,033 per year to upgrade those early warning systems and rapid response systems in countries all 112 00:07:30,100 --> 00:07:33,700 around the world that will help tamp down this pandemic and protect us from future pandemics. 113 00:07:36,166 --> 00:07:40,600 But that's a lot of money. That's billions of dollars over multiple years. And a supplemental 114 00:07:42,633 --> 00:07:44,700 is the best chance to get a running start on that and keep Americans safer. 115 00:07:44,700 --> 00:07:48,566 AMNA NAWAZ: Dr. Frieden, you said it's going to get worse before it gets better. I think 116 00:07:48,566 --> 00:07:50,566 that will worry a lot of people. 117 00:07:50,566 --> 00:07:54,066 When you talk about what that will look like here in the United States, what can you tell 118 00:07:54,066 --> 00:07:59,066 us in terms of schools or hospitals and in communities? What should people be ready for? 119 00:08:00,566 --> 00:08:02,600 And what can they be doing right now to get ready? 120 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,466 DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN: Well, first and foremost, we have to admit there's a lot we don't know 121 00:08:06,466 --> 00:08:09,000 about this virus. 122 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,933 It just burst onto our awareness two months ago, and we're learning more every day, sometimes 123 00:08:13,533 --> 00:08:15,600 every hour. 124 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,700 But what we know is that it's spreading widely. We know that many people have left China with 125 00:08:21,666 --> 00:08:25,633 the infection and not been diagnosed elsewhere. We're going to see more countries affected. 126 00:08:26,766 --> 00:08:28,766 We're going to see more clusters. 127 00:08:28,766 --> 00:08:31,966 It's spreading quite readily in some health care facilities. It's spreading quite readily 128 00:08:31,966 --> 00:08:36,100 in some communities, churches. So, we will see a lot of it. 129 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:41,100 What we're not sure of is how severe is going to be. The initial reports of a new pathogen 130 00:08:43,133 --> 00:08:47,133 are often -- say it's really deadly, because you're seeing the most severely ill people. 131 00:08:48,533 --> 00:08:50,766 But as we learn more, we may find it's not so deadly. 132 00:08:50,766 --> 00:08:55,766 When the 2009 flu pandemic hit, initially, from Mexico, it looked to be very deadly. 133 00:08:57,733 --> 00:09:00,566 And soon, we found it was quite dangerous for younger people, but overall it wasn't 134 00:09:00,566 --> 00:09:04,466 a terribly bad virus. It was a new one, but not a particularly bad one. 135 00:09:04,466 --> 00:09:08,833 So we don't know if this is going to be a mild, moderate or a severe pandemic, but it 136 00:09:08,833 --> 00:09:13,833 will be a pandemic. That means, for most people, there's certain simple things you can do. 137 00:09:15,833 --> 00:09:18,933 Wash your hands often. Cover your cough. When you -- cover your mouth when you cough or 138 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:21,400 sneeze. 139 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,033 Be sure to not get others sick if you're sick. That means staying home if you're sick. You 140 00:09:27,033 --> 00:09:30,600 may want to be careful and have a few months of medicine if you have diabetes or high blood 141 00:09:32,533 --> 00:09:36,233 pressure, not in a panic buying way, but in a sensible way, so that if there are supply 142 00:09:37,433 --> 00:09:39,500 chain interruptions, you would be ready. 143 00:09:39,500 --> 00:09:42,733 And think about what you do if schools had to close. We don't know that that would be 144 00:09:42,733 --> 00:09:47,633 necessary. It may or may not be. In different communities, there may be different approaches, 145 00:09:47,633 --> 00:09:49,766 but that's a possibility. 146 00:09:49,766 --> 00:09:53,033 So it's worth thinking about and planning about what you would do in your life to be 147 00:09:53,033 --> 00:09:55,033 ready. 148 00:09:55,033 --> 00:09:57,533 AMNA NAWAZ: Yamiche, this has moved from the if to the when phase now. 149 00:09:57,533 --> 00:10:00,833 What is the confidence level like? People will be looking to the president for leadership 150 00:10:00,833 --> 00:10:03,966 on this. Are they confident that they will be able to handle this? 151 00:10:03,966 --> 00:10:08,533 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The president and Vice President Pence just now are saying that they're confident 152 00:10:08,533 --> 00:10:13,533 in this. They're saying that Vice President Pence, because he was a leader in Indiana, 153 00:10:14,666 --> 00:10:16,733 that that's a good health system. 154 00:10:16,733 --> 00:10:18,633 He's been praising President Trump from the podium, saying that he's doing a good job. 155 00:10:18,633 --> 00:10:23,633 Secretary Azar, who's in charge of Health and Human Services, he is also saying that 156 00:10:25,633 --> 00:10:28,100 people are basically ready for this, and that there's only a few cases, maybe one case, 157 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:30,166 in the last couple weeks here. 158 00:10:30,166 --> 00:10:33,666 But it's still very, very early. So, they're still trying to figure out kind of how many 159 00:10:33,666 --> 00:10:37,166 cases there are. It's still -- people are still trying to figure out what's going on 160 00:10:37,166 --> 00:10:39,300 here. 161 00:10:39,300 --> 00:10:41,300 But the president is trying to at least look confident and trying to reassure people that 162 00:10:41,300 --> 00:10:45,000 they are ready for this and that, when this hits the United States, that they're going 163 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,533 to have all the resources ready. And it seems as though we're seeing bipartisan support, 164 00:10:48,533 --> 00:10:50,633 bipartisan working together. 165 00:10:50,633 --> 00:10:55,000 So the leaders in this country seem to think that this is a moment for people not to be 166 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:56,900 arguing, but to be focusing on how to do this. 167 00:10:56,900 --> 00:10:59,666 AMNA NAWAZ: And that is good news, indeed, a lot we don't know right now. 168 00:10:59,666 --> 00:11:03,666 Yamiche Alcindor, our White House correspondent, thanks to you. And to Thomas Frieden over 169 00:11:03,666 --> 00:11:05,400 in New York, thanks for being with us.