>>> WE HAVE TO REALIZE THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A BREAK-THROUGH
INNOVATION IN TESTING.
WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DETECT
ANTIGEN RATHER THAN CONSTANTLY
TRYING TO DETECT THE ACTUAL LIVE
VIRUS OR THE VIRAL PARTICLES,
ITSELF.
ITSELF. AND TO REALLY MOVE INTO ANTIGEN
TESTING AND I KNOW CORPORATIONS
AND DIAGNOSTICS ARE WORKING ON
THAT NOW.
THAT NOW. WE HAVE TO HAVE A BREAK THROUGH
THIS RNA TESTING WILL CARRY US
CERTAINLY THROUGH THE SPRING AND
SUMMER, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE A
HUGE TECHNOLOGY BREAK THROUGH.
>> DR. DEBRA BIRX, THE WHITE
HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE
COORDINATOR ON THE BREAK THROUGH
STILL NEEDED WHEN IT COMES TO
CORONAVIRUS TESTING.
CORONAVIRUS TESTING. >> IT’S VERY INTERESTING THAT
AGAIN ON MARCH 6th DONALD TRUMP
SAID ANYBODY WHO WANTS TESTING
CAN GET TESTING.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> ALL THIS TIME LATER.
>> BOLD FACED LIE.
>> SHE’S STILL TELLING THE
TRUTH, DR. BIRX, JUST LIKE DR.
FAUCI, TALKING ABOUT WE NEED
MORE TESTING.
MORE TESTING. BY THE WAY, THAT’S NOT THE BE
ALL END ALL, THAT’S JUST THE
START OF THE PROCESS.
>> DR. ANTHONY FAUCI SAID IN AN
INTERVIEW WITH POLITICO ON
SATURDAY THAT THE U.S. SHOULD AT
LEAST DOUBLE CORONAVIRUS TESTING
IN THE COMING WEEKS BEFORE
RE-OPENING THE ECONOMY.
THE "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTS
THAT SOME PHYSICAL COMPONENTS OF
TEST KITS LIKE NASAL SWABS ARE
LARGELY IMPORTED AND HARD TO
COME BY.
COME BY. HEALTHCARE WORKERS ARE STILL
LIKING THE NECESSARY PROTECTIVE
GEAR TO ADMINISTER TESTS ON A
WIDE SCALE BASIS AND LABS HAVE
BEEN SLOW TO ADD PEOPLE AND
EQUIPMENT TO PROCESS THE GROWING
NUMBER OF TESTS.
GOVERNORS, PUBLIC HEALTH
OFFICIALS AND HOSPITAL
EXECUTIVES TELL THE "TIME’S"
THEY ARE STILL OPERATING IN A
KIND OF WILD WEST ECONOMY THAT
HAS LEFT THEM SCRAMBLING AND
COMPETING WITH ONE ANOTHER TO
PROCURE THE EQUIPMENT AND OTHER
MATERIALS THEY NEED.
AND SO STATES ARE LEFT WITH THAT
KIND OF UNCERTAINLY AS THEY TRY
AND FIGURE OUT HOW AND WHEN TO
RE-OPEN THEIR COMMISSION.
ONE GROUP IS OFFERING A WAY
FORWARD.
FORWARD. THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR DISASTER
PREPAREDNESS AT COLOMBIA
UNIVERSITY’S EARTH INSTITUTE.
IT’S OUT THIS MORNING WITH A
PHASED PLAN TO SAFELY RE-OPEN
LOCAL AMERICAN BUSINESSES WHILE
STILL PROTECTING THE HEALTH AND
SAFETY OF WORKERS AND CUSTOMERS.
JOINING US NOW AUTHOR OF THE
REPORT AND DIRECTOR OF COLOMBIA
UNIVERSITY’S NATIONAL CENTER FOR
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, DR. IRWIN
REDLINGER.
REDLINGER. >> DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
WITH BEING WITH US.
TELL US WHAT THE PLAN LOOKS
LIKE.
LIKE. CATCH US UP.
>> SO HERE’S THE MAIN POINT.
I LISTED NINE DIFFERENT
BUSINESSES THAT CAN OPEN.
EVERY SINGLE ONE IS DEPENDENT
UPON US HAVING THE ABILITY TO
TEST RAPIDLY AND TO TEST
BROADLY.
BROADLY. SO DR. FAUCI IS 100% CORRECT AND
SO IS DR. BIRX IN THIS CASE AND
THERE IS A PLAN FOR LET’S SAY
YOU WANT TO OPEN YOUR LOCAL
BARBER SHOP OR RESTAURANT.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT
EVERYBODY THAT WORKS THERE IS
ACTUALLY NEGATIVE FOR THE
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. IF WE DON’T DO THAT, ALL OF THE
PLANS TO RE-OPEN BUSINESSES HAVE
A SERIOUS DANGEROUS FLAW.
AND WE WATCHED WITH SOME
ASTONISHMENT THAT IS GOVERNOR OF
GEORGIA DECIDED TO BASICALLY GO
FOR IT.
FOR IT. I THINK THAT PRESENTS A REAL AND
PRESENT DANGER TO THE HEALTH OF
THE PUBLIC IN GEORGIA AND I WANT
TO CAUTION GOVERNORS THAT THEY
REALLY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT
WE, FIRST OF ALL, EVERYBODY
UNDERSTANDS WE NEED TO OPEN UP
BUSINESS.
BUSINESS. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.
BUT WE HAVE NOW A KIND OF A
PITCHED BATTLE BETWEEN PUBLIC
HEALTH EXPERTS AND THE PEOPLE
THAT WANT TO FOCUS ON REOPENING
THE ECONOMY.
THE ECONOMY. BUT THERE IS A MIDDLE WAY.
THAT IS DEPENDENT UPON TESTING
NUMBER ONE, AND ALSO THE ABILITY
TO DO CONTACT TRACING.
SOMEBODY GETS POSITIVE.
WE’LL FIGURE OUT WHO THEY HAVE
BEEN IN TOUCH WITH AND SCREEN
THOSE PEOPLE AS WELL, JOE.
>> SO, DOCTOR, ARE YOU MOVING
CLOSER TO A POINTED WHERE YOU
HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE RESULTS
OF THE TESTING, WHERE A COUPLE
WEEKS AGO, THE FDA, ITSELF,
CONCERNED BY THE INCONSISTENCY
BY SOME OF THE RESULT, SOME OF
THE TESTS IN THEIR WORDS IN
EFFECT JUMPED.
EFFECT JUMPED. DO YOU THINK WE’RE MOVING BEYOND
THAT PHASE?
THAT PHASE? >> Reporter: WELL, FIRST OF ALL,
I USED TO BE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT
WHERE WE WERE GOING WITH
TESTING.
TESTING. BUT WE’VE HAD NOW MORE THAN TWO
MONTHS OF CONSTANT
MISREPRESENTATIONS OF THE TRUTH,
MESSAGES THAT MAKE NO SENSE
WHATSOEVER, BUT FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE ABOUT WHAT WENT WRONG.
WE ARE NOW IN THE CATCH-UP
PHASE.
PHASE. IT’S REALLY REALLY DIFFICULT,
JOE, BECAUSE MANY OF THE TESTS
HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND HAVE
GOTTEN EMERGENCY APPROVAL LET’S
SAY.
SAY. ACTUALLY HAVE LOTS OF FALSE
NEGATIVES AND FALSE POSITIVES.
I THINK WE’RE FAR FROM THE
TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION TO THE
TESTING DELEMA.
TESTING DELEMA. WHICH IS AMAZING THAT THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA IS HAVING SO
MUCH TROUBLE WITH BASIC
TECHNOLOGY THAT IS SO CRITICAL
TO THE PUBLIC SELF.
THIS IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE.
YOU KNOW, SOME DAY THERE IS
GOING TO BE SOME KIND OF HOT
WASH OR YOU KNOW POST MORE THEM
ON
ON -- POSTMORTEM ON WHAT WE WENT
THROUGH WE ARE NOT READY FOR
ACCURATE TESTING DONE QUICKLY.
IT’S INEXPLICABLE.
IT’S INEXPLICABLE. YEAH.
YEAH. >> LIKE YOU SAID, IT’S
INEXPLICABLE.
INEXPLICABLE. IT’S INCOMPREHENSIBLE IN A
COUNTRY AS SCIENTIFICALLY
ADVANCED AND MEDICALLY ADVANCED
AS WE ARE, THIS PRESIDENT AND
THE WHITE HOUSE STUMBLES OVER
THE BAKES OF TESTING.
HEY, DOCTOR, AP’S JONATHAN LE
MERE HAS A QUESTION.
>> SURE, HI, JONATHAN.
>> HEY, DOCTOR, JUST IN THE LAST
FEW DAYS, MICHAEL BLOOMBERG IN
SORT OF HIS FIRST STEP BACK ON
THE PUBLIC STAGE AFTER SHIS
FAILED PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, IT
WAS ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNOR CUOMO,
BLOOMBERG WOULD BE FUNDING A
CONTACT TRACING EFFORT IN THE
NEW YORK CITY AREA EXPANDING
SLIGHTLY TO THE NEIGHBORING
STATES.
STATES. CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> THE GOVERNOR SAID IT’S AN
EXPENSIVE AND COMPLICATED
PROCEDURE.
PROCEDURE. CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS, WHY
IT’S SO IMPORTANT AND IS IT SO
NECESSARY.
NECESSARY. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> IN AREAS LIKE NEW YORK THAT
HAVE HAD SUCH COMMUNITY SPREAD?
>> SURE, JONATHAN.
SO, IT’S, FIRST OF ALL, IT’S
BASICALLY INEVITABLE WE WILL GET
AT LEAST A SECOND WAVE IF NOT A
THIRD WAVE OVER THE NEXT 12
MONTHS.
MONTHS. THE REASON IS THERE ARE OUT
THERE STILL CARRYING THE VIRUS
WEST VIRGINIA WE NEED TO BE ABLE
TO DO IS THIS THING CONTACT
TRACING.
TRACING. IS IF YOU TEST POSITIVE, PEOPLE
NEED TO KNOW WHO YOU HAVE BEEN
IN CONTACT WITH.
THAT ALSO MIGHT BE POSSIBLE.
BECAUSE THAT COULD BE THE
BEGINNING OF ANOTHER UPSURGE.
THE PROBLEM IS, WE HAVE ABOUT
2,200 TO 2500 CONTACT TRACERS IN
THE UNITED STATES AND SOME
ESTIMATES, INCLUDING A STUDY
FROM THE ROCKEFELLER CENTER SAY
THEY WILL NEED BETWEEN 200 AND
300,000 PEOPLE TO DO THIS
CONTACT TRACING.
CONTACT TRACING. SO WE’RE WAY BEHIND.
IT’S GREAT THAT MIKE BLOOMBERG
IS DOING WHAT HE’S DOING.
BUT WE WILL NEED A LOT OF FOCUS
ON THAT.
ON THAT. SO FORGET THE TESTING, RIGHT.
A BIG F. AND WE CAN FIGURE OUT
HOW TO DO EFFECTIVE CONTACT
TRACING.
TRACING. MAYBE WE DON’T NEED 200,000,
MAYBE 100,000.
MAYBE 100,000. WE NEED A LOT MORE TO BE
TRAINED.
TRAINED. ONCE WE GET TESTING AND CONTACT
TRACING, WE’LL BE MAKING
PROGRESS.
PROGRESS. BLOOMBERG GOT HIS FINGER ON THE
PULSE OF WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN,
THAT’S GREAT.
THAT’S GREAT. BUT THE SCALE IS ENORMOUS.
THIS IS THE OTHER THING WE ARE
GETTING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, A
COMPLETE IGNORANT
COMPLETE IGNORANT MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT IS
WE’LL NEED TO GET THIS UNDER
CONTROL, JONATHAN.
CONTROL, JONATHAN. >> DR. IRWIN REDLINGER, THANK
YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING ON THIS
MORNING.
MORNING. IT’S GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU.
>>> UP NEXT.
>> THANK YOU.
>> WE JUST HEARD AN OUTLINE FOR
RE-OPENING.
RE-OPENING. HOW DHAUZ APPLY TO ONE OF THE