MARIA: WELCOME BACK. THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC STATES
ACROSS AMERICA ORDERING
RESIDENTS TO STAY HOME.
THIS AS MORE THAN 46,000
COVID-19 CASES ARE CONFIRMED
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
NEARLY 600 PEOPLE HAVE DIED IN
THE UNITED STATES.
JOINING ME RIGHT NOW, THE WHITE
HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE
COORDINATOR, AMBASSADOR
COORDINATOR, AMBASSADOR DR. DEBORAH BIRX.
DR. BIRX, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR JOINING ME THIS MORNING.
>> THANK YOU.
MARIA: WE HAVE ENJOYED YOUR
COMMENTARY ON THAT TASK FORCE
AND I WAS WATCHING YOU YESTERDAY
AND I WAS REALLY STRUCK BY SO
MUCH, SO MANY OF THE THINGS YOU
WERE SAYING, IN PARTICULAR THAT
YOU WERE APPEALING TO AMERICANS
TO HELP IN THIS FIGHT.
YOU SAID, LOOK, I HAVEN’T SEEN
MY GRANDKIDS IN A COUPLE OF
WEEKS.
WEEKS. MY DAUGHTER AS WELL.
AND YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW IT’S
HARD.
HARD. HOW ARE WE DOING?
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE
LISTENED TO YOUR GUIDANCE,
LISTENED TO THE PRESIDENT’S
GUIDELINES.
GUIDELINES. HOW IS AMERICA DOING AND HOW
WOULD YOU SAY THE PLAN IS
WORKING SO FAR?
DO YOU HAVE ANY DATA TO SHOW IF
THIS IS WORKING?
>> WELL, WE HEAR FROM YOU AND WE
HEAR FROM COMMUNITIES AROUND THE
UNITED STATES AND FROM MAYORS
AND GOVERNORS WHERE IT IS
WORKING AND WHERE IT IS WORKING
WELL.
WELL. I JUST WANT TO REALLY APPLAUD
ALL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE
TAKEN THIS SERIOUSLY AND
UNDERSTAND THAT ALTHOUGH YOU MAY
NOT BE AT THE GREATEST RISK,
YOU’RE PROTECTING OTHERS WHO MAY
BE AND THAT’S WHY WE HAVE TO BE
IN THIS IN SOME SOLIDARITY.
IT’S BEEN EXCITING TO WATCH
MAYORS, AND GOVERNORS AND THE
PRESIDENT WORKING TOGETHER TO
ENSURE THAT AMERICA’S HEALTH IS
PROTECTED.
PROTECTED. MARIA: WHEN ARE YOU EXPECTING
THIS TO PEAK OUT, DR. BIRX?
I MEAN, IN TERMS OF WHEN YOU
FEEL THAT THE VIRUS IS LESS OF A
WORRY?
WORRY? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT GOING
OUT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
MONTHS?
MONTHS? >> SO THIS WOULD BE LIKE ME
ASKING YOU WHAT’S GOING TO
HAPPEN IN THE STOCK MARKET AND
WHEN IT IS GOING TO PEAK AND
WHEN IS IT GOING TO GO OVER
30,000 AGAIN.
30,000 AGAIN. THESE ARE --
MARIA: FAIR POINT.
>> TRENDS AND DATA, LIKE YOU
LOOK AT TRENDS AND DATA, IT’S
THE SAME -- WE APPROACH IT IN
THE SAME WAY THAT MANY ECONOMIC
GROUPS APPROACH THEIR DATA.
THE BETTER YOUR DATA, THE MORE
GRANULAR THE DATA, THE MORE
SPECIFIC THE DATA, THE MORE
DIRECT YOU CAN REALLY PREDICT.
WE’RE LOOKING AT THE ITALY DATA.
I THINK WE’RE ENCOURAGED OVER
THE LAST FEW DAYS TO WATCH THE
NUMBER OF DEATHS STARTING TO
DECLINE.
DECLINE. THAT WILL BE OUR FIRST
INDICATOR, THAT WHAT WE PUT IN
PLACE AND WHAT THEY PUT IN PLACE
IN ITALY THREE WEEKS AGO IS
STARTING TO HAVE -- OR TWO WEEKS
AGO, IS STARTING TO HAVE AN
IMPACT NOW.
IMPACT NOW. BECAUSE DEATHS ARE A MEASURE OF
WHAT YOU DID TWO AND THREE WEEKS
AGO, NOT WHAT YOU DID NOW.
SO THAT’S BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT
TO US.
TO US. MARIA: VICE PRESIDENT MIKE
PENCE SAID THAT PEOPLE WITH NO
SYMPTOMS WILL BE ABLE TO GO BACK
TO WORK IF THEY WEAR MASKS.
WHEN CAN EMPLOYEES EXPECT TO GET
THEIR JOB -- GET TO THEIR JOBS
AGAIN?
AGAIN? >> SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE
THAT FIRST LINE RESPONDERS AND
OUR HEALTHCARE INDIVIDUALS THAT
HAVE SMALL EXPOSURE, OUR
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS
ARE ABLE TO GO BACK TO WORK AND
WEAR A MASK FOR THE 14 DAYS AND
THEN IF THEY DEVELOP ANY
SYMPTOMS TO SELF CAR QUARANTINE.
THIS IS REALLY TO ENSURE THAT
THE CONSIDER IT L CALL ELEMENTS
CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF AMERICA
KEEP GOING.
KEEP GOING. AT THE SAME TIME WE EXPECT THE
REST OF AMERICA TO REALLY FOLLOW
THE PRESIDENTIAL GUIDELINES.
MARIA: AND TELL US WHAT YOU
HAVE LEARNED SO FAR IN PLACES
LIKE ITALY.
LIKE ITALY. WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN CHINA?
I MEAN, THE CHINESE ARE SAYING
THAT THERE ARE NO NEW CASES BUT
IT’S HARD TO KNOW IF THAT’S
TRUE.
TRUE. I MEAN, SHOULD WE BELIEVE THAT?
>> WELL, CERTAINLY WE’RE RELYING
VERY MUCH ON SOUTH KOREA AND
EUROPE.
EUROPE. YOU KNOW, I THINK MANY OF YOU
KNOW I WORKED AROUND THE GLOBE,
WORKED WITH EPIDEMICS AND
PANDEMICS AROUND THE GLOBE AND
THE SOLIDARITY AMONG MINISTERS
OF HEALTH TO SHARE DATA IS
REALLY QUITE EXTRAORDINARY, EVEN
IN THE MIDST OF THEIR VERY
DIFFICULT TIME, SPAIN, ITALY,
FRANCE AND SOUTH KOREA CONTINUE
TO GIVE US INFORMATION BECAUSE
WE’RE ABOUT TWO OR THREE WEEKS
BEHIND THEM AND WE WANT TO
REALLY LEARN WHAT THEIR BEST
PRACTICES WERE AND GET THEM IN
PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES AS
QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
THE WORLD HAS NEVER CONFRONTED A
NEW VIRUS LIKE THIS IN THIS
DEPTH OF SPREAD LIKE THIS SINCE
ABOUT THE 1918, 1919 TIMEFRAME.
AND SO WE’RE ALL LEARNING IN THE
21st CENTURY HOW TO APPROACH
THIS EPIDEMIC IN NEW WAYS AND
UNDERSTAND HOW TO BE MORE
EFFECTIVE, TO REALLY LASER FOCUS
OUR INTERVENTIONS IN NEW WAYS.
MARIA: IT’S REALLY
EXTRAORDINARY.
EXTRAORDINARY. ANOTHER THING YOU TALKED ABOUT
YESTERDAY, WHICH WAS VERY
IMPORTANT, WAS HOW LONG THE
VIRUS STAYS ON SURFACES.
TELL US ABOUT THAT.
AND WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND
ABOUT THINGS LIKE CARDBOARD AND
METAL AND GETTING OUR MAIL AND
MONEY, IF THE VIRUS IS ON ANY OF
THOSE THINGS.
THOSE THINGS. BRINGING IT INTO YOUR HOUSE.
>> SO THE DATA IS ON RNA VIRUS,
IT’S ON THE RNA COMPONENT.
SO WE’RE REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE
OUT IS THAT VIABLE VIRUS, HOW
MUCH IS IT VIABLE, HOW
INFECTIOUS IS IT AND THAT’S
STILL AN OUTSTANDING QUESTION.
BUT WE CAN MEASURE RNA ON
SURFACES AND THE DEGRADATION OF
RNA WHAVMENT DO I MEAN BY THAT.
WHETHER THE RNA IS ACTUALLY
PRESENT IN FULL LENGTH OR IS IN
PIECES.
PIECES. CARDBOARD AND PAPER, THE
DEGRADATION TIMES ARE MUCH
HIGHER.
HIGHER. IT IS THE METAL SURFACES THAT
WE’RE MOST CONCERNED ABOUT AND
THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU TOUCH
DURING THE DAY, HARD PLASTIC AND
METALS, DOORKNOBS, HOLDING ONTO
THE HANDRAILS IN SUBWAYS AND SO
THAT’S WHY WE’RE VERY CONCERNED
IN METRO AREAS THAT HAVE SUBWAYS
AND OTHER ELEMENTS LIKE THAT, OR
WHEN YOU HAVE TO TOUCH A KEY
PAD.
PAD. THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO
KNOW WHERE OUR HANDS ARE AT ALL
TIMES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE
WASHING THEM IF WE HAVE TOUCHED
ANY OF THOSE SURFACES OR USING
HAND SANITIZER.
HAND SANITIZER. MARIA: BECAUSE IT STAYS FOR A
COUPLE OF HOURS OR DAYS ON
METAL?
METAL? >> THIS IS A REALLY CRITICAL
QUESTION.
QUESTION. THERE ARE FRAGMENTS OF RNA THAT
STAY POSSIBLY FOR DAYS.
I DON’T KNOW AT THIS POINT HOW
LONG THE INFECTIOUS VIRUS IS
THERE BUT I THINK IF WE STILL
FIND RNA AT THREE DAYS, WE
SHOULD ASSUME THAT AT LEAST UP
TO 24 HOURS THERE COULD BE
INFECTIOUS VIRUS THERE.
SO THIS IS -- I KNOW IT SOUNDS
LIKE AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION BUT
WE REALLY NEED -- THIS IS WHY WE
ASKED EVERY AMERICAN TO FOLLOW
THE GUIDELINES AND CRITICALLY
KNOW WHERE YOUR HANDS ARE AT ALL
TIMES.
TIMES. MARIA: DR. DEBORAH BIRX, GREAT
TO HAVE YOU THIS MORNING.
PLEASE COME BACK SOON AND THANK
YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS