SAVANNAH. >> ALL RIGHT.
TOM, WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT
THAT VERY THING WITH OUR DOCTORS
NOW, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT DR.
JOHN TORRES JOINS US AT HOME AND
NBC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR WITH US.
HE’S A VIROLOGIST, ON THE FRONT
LINES OF AFRICA’S EBOLA CRISIS.
BEFORE WE GET INTO THIS COUNTY
BY COUNTY IDEA, I DO WANT TO ASK
YOU ABOUT THE PRESIDENT’S REMARK
ON FOX NEWS.
HE SAID I DON’T BELIEVE YOU NEED
40,000 OR 30,000 VENTILATORS.
YOU GO INTO MAJOR HOSPITALS,
SOMETIMES THEY HAVE TWO
VENTILATORS.
VENTILATORS. NOW THEY ARE SAYING CAN WE ORDER
30,000 VENTILATORS.
30,000 VENTILATORS. DR. TORRES, WHY WOULD WE NEED SO
MANY VENTILATORS?
MANY VENTILATORS? DOES THE PRESIDENT HAVE A POINT
THERE?
THERE? >> THAT’S THE PLAN NUMBER ONE
YOU DO WHEN THERE’S ANY KIND OF
DISASTER, YOU MAKE SURE YOU HAVE
ENOUGH EQUIPMENT THAT YOU CAN
SUPPLY THE PATIENTS YOU’RE
GOOGLE TO HAVEGOING
TO HAVE.
TO HAVE. WE KNOW PATIENTS ARE CROPPING UP
ESPECIALLY IN HOTBED AREAS.
IF YOU ONLY HAVE THREE OR FOUR
VENTILATORS AND ALL OF A SUDDEN
YOU NEED 20, YOU’RE BEHIND THE
EIGHT BALL.
EIGHT BALL. IF YOU HAVE THOSE SUPPLIED
ALREADY, YOU CAN START SAVINGS
LIVES RIGHT AWAY.
THEY ARE TRYING DIFFERENT TRICKS
TO GET THOSE VENTILATORS TO WORK
BETTER ON DIFFERENT PATIENTS.
HAVING THAT SUPPLY IS CRUCIALLY
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. IF YOU DON’T USE IT, YOU DON’T
USE IT.
USE IT. AT LEAST YOU HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. DR. TORRES, REAL QUICKLY, DON’T
THESE COVID-19 PATIENTS ON
AVERAGE SPEND A LOT LONGER ON
THE VENTILATORS THAN THE
AVERAGE?
AVERAGE? >> THEY DO.
TYPICALLY PATIENTS ARE ON A
VENTILATOR FOR A FEW DAYS, WEEKS
OR SO.
OR SO. THESE COVID ARE ON FOR WEEKS.
IF THEY ARE ON THAT VENTILATOR,
THEY ARE TAKING THAT VENTILATOR,
YOU CAN’T USE IT ON NEW
PATIENTS.
PATIENTS. YOU’RE GOING TO NEED NEW
VENTILATORS FOR THOSE COMING IN.
THAT’S SOMETHING YOU CAN’T
PREDICT SO YOU’RE PLANNING FOR
WORSE CASE, MODERATE CASE
SCENARIO.
SCENARIO. >> LET’S TALK ABOUT THE WHITE
HOUSE LETTER TO KBRNSGOVERNORS
SUGGESTING THERE COULD BE COUNTY
BY COUNTY GUIDANCE TO ASSESS THE
RISK OF LOW, HIGH, OR MEDIUM AND
SUGGEST SOCIAL DISTANCING
PRACTICES ACCORDINGLY.
PRACTICES ACCORDINGLY. COULD THAT WORK?
WOULD THAT BE EFFECTIVE?
>> IT CAN ONLY WORK IF YOU HAVE
THE DATA AND THE DATA IS BASED
ON THE TESTING AND YOU’RE TILL
SEEING WE DON’T HAVE TESTING
EVERYWHERE.
EVERYWHERE. IF YOU DON’T HAVE DIAGNOSTIC
TESTING IN EACH AND EVERY ONE OF
THE COUNTIES AND EVERYONE ABLE
TO GET THE TEST, THERE IS NO
DATA THAT COULD WORK.
IF THERE IS DATA, YOU COULD DO
THAT.
THAT. HOWEVER, THAT BEING SAID, WHAT’S
GOING TO STOP YOU FROM GOING TO
ONE COUNTY TO THE NEXT COUNTY,
WHICH MAY BE HIGH RISK TO LOW
RISK.
RISK. THERE’S NO WAY TO ENFORCE THAT.
SO I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THE
GOVERNORS IGNORE THESE
GUIDELINES AND STICK WITH THEIR
OWN GUIDELINES THEY ARE DOING
RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS
APPROXIMATELY 50% OR MORE OF THE
STATES ARE ON A COMMERCIAL
SHUTDOWN AND STICKING TO
NONESSENTIAL OR ESSENTIAL
SERVICES.
SERVICES. >> DR. FAIR, YOU LIVE IN NEW
ORLEANS.
ORLEANS. WE KNOW THAT LOUISIANA IS
GETTING HIT HARD AND PERHAPS
GETTING HIT HARD EVEN MORE SO.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT MAP THAT
SHOWS UP AND SHOWS NEW YORK CITY
AS THE EPICENTER WITH THE MOST
CASES, IS IT A TAD MISLEADING?
NEW YORK, OF COURSE, HAS MORE
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. IF YOU START LOOKING AT, FOR
EXAMPLE, PERCENTAGE OF CASES PER
CAPITA, WHERE DO YOU START
SEEING THERE ARE OTHER REGIONS
THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THIS
SIGNIFICANTLY?
SIGNIFICANTLY? >> EVERY MAJOR URBAN HUB, SO NEW
ORLEANS, CHICAGO, DETROIT, WE’RE
STARTING TO SEE THOSE AS
EMERGING HOT SPOTS AND IT’S NOT
UNEXPECTED.
UNEXPECTED. THE WAY WE WORK IN THIS COUNTRY
IS WE TRAVEL.
EVERYBODY HAS FAMILY IN ANOTHER
STATE.
STATE. A LOT OF PEOPLE GO HOME TO THEIR
HOME AREAS WHEN THEY ARE NOT
WORKING IN TIMES OF CRISIS.
SO YOU’RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF
TRANSFER BETWEEN PLACES.
AGAIN, WITHOUT THAT TESTING IN
EVERY PLACE, WE’RE FOR THE GOING
TO KNOW WHO HAS THE MOST CASES.
WE REFERRED TO IT EARLIER ABOUT
MARDI GRAS.
MARDI GRAS. IT WAS OBVIOUSLY SPREADING
DURING THAT TIME.
AS THE INDIVIDUAL SAID EARLIER
YOU WEREN’T ONLY PASSING BEADS,
YOU WERE PROBABLY PASSING
CORONAVIRUS, TOO.
CORONAVIRUS, TOO. NEW ORLEANS IS DEFINITELY OF
MAJOR CONCERN RIGHT NOW, AS ARE
OTHER CITIES, AND THAT’S GOING
TO SPREAD OUT TO THE COUNTRY
SIDE AS WELL.
IT’S COMING.
IT’S COMING. NATURAL HUMAN BEHAVIOR, IF
YOU’RE IN A MAJOR SUBURBAN CITY
UNDERGOING A CRISIS YOU’RE GOING
TO WANT TO GET TO YOUR FAMILY IN
THE COUNTRY SIDE.
WE CAN’T CALL ANYWHERE LOW RISK
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. >> DR. TORRES, WE’VE HEARD THE
STORIES FROM THE FRONT LINES OF
DOCTORS, PARTICULARLY IN THE NEW
YORK AREA, LACK OF RESOURCES,
LACK OF THAT PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT, IS THAT SOMETHING
THAT’S A PROBLEM NATIONWIDE?
>> IT SEEMS LIKE IT’S A PROBLEM
NATIONWIDE.
NATIONWIDE. DOCTOR FRIENDS I TALKED TO IN
OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE
SAYING THE SAME THING.
THEY ARE HEARING THERE’S A LOT
OF SUPPLY, A UNIQUE SITUATION.
THEY ARE HAVING TO REUSE MASKS
AND REUSE PPE.
THE BIG CONCERN FOR THEM IS THE
FACT THEY MIGHT GET INFECTED.
IF THEY DO GET INFECTED, GET IT
FOR THEIR FAMILIES, PASS IT TO
THE PATIENTS, MIGHT NOT BE THERE
TO TAKE CARE OF THEM.
THEY SAY IT’S GETTING BETTER,
MUCH BETTER THAN IT WAS A WEEK
AGO BUT STILL NOT WHERE THEY ARE