>>> WELCOME BACK. MY NEXT GUEST HAS AN UNUSUAL
JOB, HUNTING VIRUSES.
HES CHASED EBOLA IN AFRICA AND
NOW HIS FOCUS IS THE CORONAVIRUS
AND THE DANGER IT POSES AS IT
SPREADS AROUND THE WORLD.
NBC NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR DR.
JOSEPH FARE JOINS ME NOW.
WELCOME TO "MEET THE PRESS."
YOU WERE TELLING ME YOU SPENT A
LOT OF TIME IN THE LAB WHERE
THEY DISCOVERED THIS VIRUS IN
CHINA.
CHINA.
SIMPLE QUESTION, HOW CONCERNED SHOULD AMERICANS BE RIGHT NOW?
>> RIGHT NOW WITH THE DATA WE
HAVE AND I EMPHASIZE THE DATA WE
HAVE BECAUSE WE HAVENT ROLLED
OUT BROAD TESTING NATIONALLY
YET, YOUR AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL
AMERICAN DOESNT NEED TO BE THAT
CONCERNED RIGHT NOW OF CATCHING
THIS VIRUS.
THIS VIRUS. HOWEVER, COMMUNITY-BASED
HOWEVER, COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSMISSION IN ONE STATE MEANS
THAT THERE IS PROBABLY
COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSMISSION IN
OTHER STATES.
OTHER STATES. ONCE WE ROLL OUT THAT TESTING
AND LOWER THE CRITERIA FOR BEING
TESTED FOR COVID-19 WELL
PROBABLY SEE MORE CASES THAN WE
THOUGHT WAS HERE PREVIOUSLY.
>> THERE WAS A REPORT IN
WASHINGTON STATE WHERE WE HAD
THE FIRST DEATH WITH NO APPARENT
CONNECTION TO ANYBODY THATS
BEEN TRAVELING, THEY THINK ITS
POSSIBLE THERE HAVE BEEN
HUNDREDS OF CASES THAT WERE
MISSED.
MISSED.
IS THIS MOST LIKELY THE SCENARIO HERE THAT MAYBE HAS PLAYED OUTIO
HERE THAT MAYBE HAS PLAYED OUT ON THE WEST COAST, THAT IT MAY
HAVE GOTTEN HERE BEFORE WE KNEW
IT?
IT?
>> ITS DIFFICULT TO SAY NUMBERS
BUT YES, DEFINITELY, IT WAS
PROBABLY HERE BEFORE WE KNEW IT
BECAUSE WE HAD A VERY STRICT
TESTING CRITERIA THAT YOU HAD TO HAVE DOCUMENTED TRAVEL TO CHINAO
HAVE DOCUMENTED TRAVEL TO CHINA OR ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE
TRANSMISSION OCCURRED.
TRANSMISSION OCCURRED. USUALLY EVERY TIME WE LOOK FOR A
VIRUS WE CAN FINDING IT
SOMEWHERE.
SOMEWHERE.
HAVING FOUND THAT ONE CASE, THERE MAY BE OTHERS THAT HAVE
THE VIRUS AS WELL.
THEY MAY BE ASYMPTOMATIC OR IN
THE LOW RISK GROUP AND DIDNT
MEET THE CDC TESTING CRITERIA
WHICH HAS BEEN LOWERED SO A LOT
MORE PEOPLE CAN GET TESTED NOW.
>> TELL ME WHAT PIECES OF
INFORMATION YOUD LIKE TO KNOW
NOW THAT WOULD MAKE YOU FEEL
MORE CONFIDENT TO KNOW WHERE
WERE HEADED, WHERE THIS VIRUS
IS HEADED?
IS HEADED? >> REALLY IT ALL COMES DOWN TO
THE DIAGNOSTICS.
THE DIAGNOSTICS.
WE NEED TO START TESTING ANYONE
THAT IS NEGATIVE FOR FLU AND
NEGATIVE FOR YOUR AVERAGE COMMON
COLD FOR CORONAVIRUS.
ONCE WE GET THAT DIAGNOSTIC
TESTING UP AND RUNNING
NATIONALLY, WE GET A LOT MORE
MAJOR CITIES, ET CETERA, TESTED, I THINK WELL SEE MORE CASES AND,
I THINK WELL SEE MORE CASES AND THAT WILL GIVE US A MUCH BETTER
INDICATION OF WHERE WE HAVE
COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSMISSION AND
HOW MANY ACTUAL CASES WE HAVE IN
THE COUNTRY.
THE COUNTRY. >> WE WERE TALKING EARLIER AND I
WAS ASKING YOU THE LIKELIHOOD
THAT THIS IS ONE OF THESE ISSUES
WHERE ONE OF THOSE VIRUSES WILL
GO DOERRMANT IN THE SUMMER AND
BACK IN THE FALL.
>> THIS IS A NEW VIRUS TO
SCIENCE.
SCIENCE.
ITS NOT A NEW VIRUS, ITS A NEW VIRUS TO SCIENCE.US, ITS A NEW
VIRUS TO SCIENCE. WE WERENT FAMILIAR WITH THIS
VIRUS BEFORE.
VIRUS BEFORE. WE DO HAVE COLD AND FLU SEASONS
WHICH DO TEND TO DIMINISH IN THE
SUMMER MONTHS.
SUMMER MONTHS. WE DONT YET KNOW IF THIS IS
GOING TO BE THE CASE.
YOU CAN STILL GET FLU IN THE
SUMMER AND GET A COLD IN THE
SUMMER.
SUMMER.
IT IS LIKELY CASES MIGHT DIP
DURING THOSE SUMMER MONTHS, BUT
IT IS LIKELY ALSO THAT IT WILL
STICK AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME
BECAUSE WERE NOT GOING TO HAVE
A VACCINE, PRESUMPTIVELY WE WOEKT HAVE PRESUMPTIVELY WE
WOEKT HAVE WONT HAVE A EVACUATIONVACCINE B
END OF SUMMER.
>> SPEAK TO SCHOOL
SUPERINTENDENTS, TO PEOPLE THAT
HAVE TO DECIDE DO I HAVE A
BASKETBALL GAME TONIGHT AT THE
HIGH SCHOOL.
HIGH SCHOOL. YOU KNOW, WHEN SHOULD YOU MAKE
THOSE CALLS?
THOSE CALLS?
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE TO
THESE LEADERS WHO HAVE TO MAKE
THIS DECISION?
>> YEAH.
RIGHT NOW, AND AGAIN I EMPHASIZE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS COULDSIZE
RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS COULD CHANGE QUICKLY AND ILL GO BACK
TO DIAGNOSTICS.
TO DIAGNOSTICS. IF WE HAVE DIAGNOSED
COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSMISSION IN
AN AREA WHERE YOUR SCHOOL IS OR
YOURE A SUPERINTENDENT OF A
SCHOOL WHERE YOU HAVE A
DOCUMENTED CASE OF COVID-19,
THATS THE TIME YOU WANT TO
START THINKING ABOUT CANCELLING
MASS GATHERING EVENTS SUCH AS
BASKETBALL GAMES AND ACTUALLY
CLOSING SCHOOLS.
CLOSING SCHOOLS. JAPAN HAS JUST CLOSED ALL THEIR
SCHOOLS FOR ONE MONTH AT LEAST.
THOSE ARE THE TIMES.
IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE FIRST
DIAGNOSIS AND THE DATA THAT WE
HAVE.
HAVE.
WE TRY TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS BASED ON DATA, NOT JUST BECAUSE
SOMEONE HAS A COUGH OR A SNEEZE
BECAUSE WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF
COLD AND FLU SEASON AND IT MIGHT
JUST BE THAT.
>> DR. FAIR, I APPRECIATE YOU
HELPING US OUT IN UNDERSTANDING
THIS A LITTLE BETTER WITH A
LITTLE SIGN SCIENTIFIC