NBC’S COURTNEY KUBE IN FRONT OF THE USNS COMFORT IN NORFOLK,
VIRGINIA.
VIRGINIA. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
MIKA?
MIKA? >>> JOINING US NOW, WE HAVE THE
GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY, PHIL
MURPHY.
MURPHY. OBVIOUSLY, WITH THE PROXIMITY TO
NEW YORK CITY, THERE’S A LOT OF
INTERCONNECTIVITY OF THE PROBLEM
THAT IS CERTAINLY HITTING THE
EPICENTER OF THIS CRISIS, WHICH
IS NEW YORK CITY.
GOVERNOR, HOW IS NEW JERSEY
DOING AND WHAT DO YOU NEED?
>> LISTEN, WE’RE IN A TOUGH SPOT
BUT WE EXPECTED IT.
WE MAY BE ON DIFFERENT SIDES OF
THE HUDSON BUT WE’RE IN THE SAME
BOAT AS NEW YORK, 4,400 POSITIVE
TESTS AS OF YESTERDAY, 62
PRECIOUS LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST.
WE’RE AGGRESSIVELY TESTING.
WE NEED, REALLY, MORE BEDS.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS
WORKING WITH US QUITE WELL IN
THAT RESPECT.
THAT RESPECT. MORE EQUIPMENT, MORE PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. WE’RE WAY SHORT THERE.
AND WE’RE TRYING TO EXPAND OUR
HEROIC HEALTH CARE WORKER
WORKFORCE.
WORKFORCE. ALL OF THAT AT THE SAME TIME IS
TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN
TO BREAK THE BACK OF THIS CURVE,
FLATTEN IT.
FLATTEN IT. STAY AT HOME.
SOCIAL DISTANCING, ET CETERA.
>> GOVERNOR, JONATHAN LAMIER.
I BELIEVE NEW JERSEY HAS THE
SECOND MOST CASES OF THE
CORONAVIRUS ACROSS THE NATION,
SURPASSING CALIFORNIA AND
WASHINGTON, BUT WELL BEHIND NEW
YORK.
YORK. ANDREW CUOMO, ACROSS THE RIVER,
NEARLY ON A DAILY BASIS IS
POUNDING THE GST GOVERNMENT
SAYING THEY NEED VENTILATORS.
THE HOSPITALS IN HIS STATE ARE
FALLING FAR SHORT OF WHAT THEY
NEED.
NEED. WHERE ARE YOU?
CAN YOU UPDATE US ON NEW
JERSEY’S STATUS IN TERMS OF
VENTILATORS?
VENTILATORS? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT CAN HELP YOU WITH?
>> WE WERE ON WITH THE FEMA
ADMINISTRATOR LAST NIGHT, ON
WITH VICE PRESIDENT PENCE
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. WE’LL BE ON WITH HIM AND THE
PRESIDENT AGAIN TODAY.
WE ARE SHORT PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING IN ADDITION
TO THAT VENTILATORS.
WE ARE TURNING OVER EVERY STONE
WE CAN IN OUR OWN RIGHT IN
KNOWLEDGE, AROUND THE COUNTRY,
AROUND THE WORLD.
WE GOT TWO ALLOCATIONS OUT OF
THE FEDERAL STOCKPILE.
WE NEED MORE.
THAT’S PROBABLY OUR NUMBER ONE
PRIORITY RIGHT NOW.
WE’RE WAY SHORT.
WE HAVE NOT SEEN OUR SURGE.
ALL THE NUMBERS ARE GOING UP, AS
WE EXPECTED, BY THE WAY.
WE TOLD FOLKS THIS WAS GOING TO
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. IT IS HAPPENING.
PARTLY BECAUSE OF COMMUNITY
SPREAD.
SPREAD. PARTLY FAR MORE SO BECAUSE WE’RE
TESTING MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVELY.
AND THE MORE DATA WE HAVE, IN
MANY RESPECTS, THE BETTER WE CAN
MANAGE THIS.
MANAGE THIS. WE STILL, AS I SAID, LOST 62
PRECIOUS LIVES.
PRECIOUS LIVES. THAT NUMBER, SADLY, WILL ALSO GO
UP.
UP. >> WEDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY’S
WILLIE GEIST IS WITH US AND HAS
A QUESTION, GOVERNOR.
WILLIE?
WILLIE? >> GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING, GOVERNOR.
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT A
NURSING HOME IN WOODBRIDGE, NEW
JERSEY, WHERE REPORTS ARE THAT
EVERYONE, ALL THE SENIORS IN
THAT FACILITY HAVE CONTRACTED
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. WHAT MORE CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
THAT SPECIFIC CASE AND MORE
BROADLY ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING
IN SENIOR LIVING FACILITIES
ACROSS THE STATE?
>> YEAH, WILLIE, GOOD TO HAVE
SOME JERSEY BLOOD THERE AT THE
DESK.
DESK. SO, THANKS FOR THE QUESTION.
ST. JOE’S, LAST I HEARD, I DON’T
THINK IT’S EVERYBODY, BUT A
SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF BOTH THE
FOLKS WHO ARE THERE AS WELL AS
EMPLOYEES HAVE TESTED POSITIVE.
WE’RE IN THE PROCESS OF, SADLY
BECAUSE ST. JOE’S HAS SERVED
FOLKS PARTICULARLY END OF LIFE
AT WOODBRIDGE FOR DECADES, BUT
WE’RE IN THE PROCESS OF SHUTTING
IT DOWN AND MOVING THE FOLKS
INTO PROTECTIVE COHORTS AT OTHER
FACILITIES.
FACILITIES. WE’VE GOT ABOUT 375 LONG-TERM
CARE, NURSING FACILITIES IN THE
STATE.
STATE. LAST I GOT, WE HAD HIGH TEAMS OF
INFECTIONS OF CORONAVIRUS AT
THOSE LOCATIONS.
THOSE LOCATIONS. THAT NUMBER WILL LIKELY
CERTAINLY ALSO GO UP.
AS IT RELATES TO ST. JOE’S,
WE’RE SHUTTING IT DOWN AND WE’RE
DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET
OUT AHEAD OF IT AT THE OTHER
FACILITIES UP AND DOWN THE
STATE.
STATE. WE SAW THE TRAGEDY IN
WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON. WE DON’T WANT TO RELIVE THAT IN
NEW JERSEY.
NEW JERSEY. >> GOVERNOR, GIVEN WHAT YOU’VE
SEEN IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
YOU’VE SAID PUBLICLY IT’S LIKELY
COMING FOR NEW JERSEY, THAT
YOU’RE THE NEXT STEP ON THIS
AWFUL PATH THAT WE’RE HEADED
DOWN.
DOWN. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES HAS BEEN SAYING HE WOULD
LIKE TO SEE AMERICA BACK OPEN
FOR BUSINESS BY EASTER, WHICH IS
TWO WEEKS FROM SUNDAY.
DO YOU SEE THAT AS PLAUSIBLE IN
YOUR STATE?
YOUR STATE? >> LISTEN, I WOULD BE THE
HAPPIEST GUY IN NEW JERSEY IF
NOT AMERICA IF THAT WERE THE
CASE TWO WEEKS FROM SUNDAY.
I WILL JUST SAY WE’VE BEEN AT
THIS SINCE JANUARY.
I FORMED THE FIRST WHOLE OF
GOVERNMENT TASK FORCE ON THIS ON
FEBRUARY 2nd, ON SUPER BOWL
SUNDAY, IN FACT.
WE’VE BEEN BASING OUR DECISIONS
ON DATA, SCIENCE, MEDICINE,
HEALTH INPUTS.
HEALTH INPUTS. AGAIN, I’LL BE THE HAPPIEST GUY
AROUND.
AROUND. THAT’S NOT WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. WE’RE LOOKING AT THIS CONTINUING
TO GO UP.
TO GO UP. WE’VE GOT TO BREAK THE BACK OF
THE VIRUS FIRST, THEN OPEN THE
ECONOMY.
ECONOMY. >> SO IF YOU’RE FOLLOWING THE
SCIENCE AND THE NUMBERS, AS YOU
HAVE SAID, IN NEW JERSEY IS
GOING UP.
GOING UP. OBVIOUSLY, TESTING IS GOING UP.
YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF REALLY BAD
SITUATIONS ON YOUR HANDS,
PROXIMITY TO NEW YORK CITY, THE
NURSING HOME WHERE EVERYONE HAS
TESTED POSITIVE.
TESTED POSITIVE. THE NUMBERS ARE HEADED IN A VERY
BAD DIRECTION AS OF NOW IF BY
EASTER DAY THE NUMBERS ARE STILL
HEADING IN A BAD DIRECTION, AND
THE PRESIDENT WANTS TO REOPEN
BUSINESS, WILL YOU LISTEN TO HIM
OR WILL YOU DO SOMETHING
DIFFERENTLY?
DIFFERENTLY? >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. AGAIN, THE NUMBERS ARE GOING UP,
AS WE HAD PROJECTED AND WE HAVE
BEEN TELLING OUR RESIDENTS THIS
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
THIS IS NOT UNEXPECTED.
NOW, LISTEN, I’VE GOT TO -- THE
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS HERE IS TO
FLATTEN THE CURVE, BREAK THE
BACK OF THE VIRUS, MAKE SURE
THAT THE NUMBERS ARE GOING DOWN
MEANINGFULLY, AND THEN I THINK
WE CAN RESPONSIBLY OPEN SOCIETY
AND THE ECONOMY.
IF THOSE NUMBERS ARE NOT AT THAT
POINT, BY THE WAY, BY EASTER, BY
NEXT SUNDAY, THE SUNDAY AFTER
EASTER, WHATEVER IT IS.
IF THE NUMBERS AREN’T TELLING US
THAT WE’RE MEANINGFULLY GOING IN
THE RIGHT DIRECTION, WE WON’T BE
ABLE TO OPEN UP THE STATE
RESPONSIBLY AT THAT POINT.
THERE’S NOTHING THAT WOULD MAKE
ME HAPPIER BUT WE CAN’T.
IF WE GO TOO EARLY I’M FEARFUL
WE WILL THROW GASOLINE ON THE
FIRE AND HAVE A MUCH BIGGER
CHALLENGE ON OUR HANDS AND THE
CHALLENGE IS PRETTY DARN BIG TO
BEGIN WITH.
BEGIN WITH. >> GOVERNOR, A LOT OF FOCUS ON,
OBVIOUSLY, DONALD TRUMP’S
PERFORMANCE, PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES. SO, OBVIOUSLY, THERE WILL BE.
IT SEEMS THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS
FIGURED OUT A WAY TO WORK WITH
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS, WHETHER
IT’S GOVERNOR CUOMO OR GOVERNOR
NEWSOM.
NEWSOM. HE ALSO HAD KIND WORDS FOR YOU A
FEW DAYS AGO.
HOW ARE YOU ALL WORKING OUT YOUR
RELATIONSHIP RIGHT NOW IN THE
MIDST OF THIS CRISIS?
>> LISTEN, I THINK AS BEST WE
CAN.
CAN. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NONE OF
US HAVE EVER LIVED THROUGH
BEFORE.
BEFORE. I DON’T GET TO WAKE UP EVERY
MORNING AND SAY LISTEN, TODAY
I’M GOING TO PICK PRESIDENT X OR
Y.
Y. THE PRESIDENT IS DONALD TRUMP,
THE VICE PRESIDENT IS MIKE
PENCE.
PENCE. WE HAVE A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP
IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION.
OUR ASKS REMAIN SIGNIFICANT.
WE HAVE A FRACTION OF THE
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
THAT WE NEED.
WE’RE TRYING ON OUR OWN TO FIND
THAT, BUT WE NEED OUR FEDERAL
PARTNERS TO BE WITH US IN THAT
REGARD.
REGARD. WE ARE WORKING VERY WELL WITH
FEMA, BUT THE ARMY CORPS OF
ENGINEERS BUILDING FOUR FIELD
HOSPITALS, THAT WAS A DECISION
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF TOOK, AND
I’M GRATEFUL FOR IT.
WE ARE EXPANDING OUR HEALTH CARE
WORKFORCE.
WORKFORCE. THAT’S LARGELY ON US, BUT WE’VE
GOT A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP.
WE HAVE NO CHOICE.
AND I THINK WE’RE ALL SORT OF AT
THE END OF THE DAY, WE’RE ALL IN
THIS TOGETHER.
THIS TOGETHER. >> GOVERNOR PHIL MURPHY, THANK
YOU VERY MUCH.
>> AND COMING UP, OUR NEXT GUEST
WROTE AN ARTICLE THAT WAS SHARED
WIDELY ACROSS OUR NEWSROOM.
THE ATLANTIC’S ED YONG EXPLAINS