CHRIS
CHRIS POLLONE, NBC NEWS. AND AS WE'VE MENTIONED, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE U.S.
ARE TRAVELING THIS WEEK AGAINST
CDC RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WHAT EFFECT WILL IGNORING
CDC GUIDELINES HAVE IN
THE COMING WEEKS?
AND IF YOU HAVE TRAVELED, WHAT
DO YOU NEED TO DO WHEN YOU GET
HOME?
FOR THAT WE TURN TO NINE HEALTH
EXPERT DR. PIKOLI TO ANSWER
SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS.
SO DR. CALLIE, LET'S LET'S JUST
BE HONEST.
WHAT WOULD THE IMPACT BE?
A BILLION PEOPLE TRAVELING THIS
WEEK INCUE.
I'M REALLY WORRIED THAT OUR
DECISIONS OVER THIS PAST
WEEKEND AND THIS HAVE REALLY
SET A SERIES OF EVENTS INTO
MOTION THAT ARE GOING TO RESULT
IN A LOT OF SUFFERING.
AND AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THREE
MILLION PEOPLE TRAVELING IN AND
OUT OF THE AIRPORTS.
THAT MEANS ABOUT TWO WEEKS FROM
THANKSGIVING WE ARE GOING TO
SEE A DRAMATIC SURGE IN CASES
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS
AND MILLIONS OF INFECTED CASES
BECAUSE THOSE THREE MILLION
PEOPLE INTERACTED ABOUT THREE
TO FOUR WEEKS FROM NOW WE'RE
GOING TO SEE OUR HOSPITALS ISUE
USE REALLY EXCEED THEIR
CAPACITY.
WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO GET
SOME HINTS THAT SOME STATES ARE
HAVING THOSE TYPES
OF OCCURRENCES HAPPEN.
AND YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL REALLY
HAPPENING IN THE SETTING
OF ALREADY BEING IN A SITUATION
WHERE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH
TESTING.
WE'RE BUSTING AT THE SEAMS EVEN
FOR THE TESTING.
WE CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE CONTACT
TRACING IN PLACE.
SO IT HAS ME REALLY WORRIED
THAT THE DECISIONS THAT WE'VE
MADE ARE GOING TO HAVE AN
IMPACT.
THE WORST PART OF IT IS WE'RE
SO CLOSE TO THE FINISH LINE
WITH THE VACCINE THAT IF YOU
JUST HANG IN THERE A LITTLE BIT
LONGER WE CAN AVOID ALL
THE SUFFERING AND DEATH.
ISN'T THAT THE TRUTH?
I MEAN GOODNESS AND WHEN WE
THINK ABOUT THESE SURGES AFTER
THE FOURTH OF JULY, LABOR DAY,
HALLOWEEN, IT'S NOTHING IN
COMPARISON TO THE HOLIDAYS.
YOU'VE ALSO GOT CHRISTMAS AND
HANUKKAH COMING UP.
YEAH.
AND YOU KNOW SOME OF THE MODELS
ARE PREDICTING CALM.
YOU'RE GONNA GET TWO THOUSAND
AMERICANS DYING EVERY SINGLE
DAY.
AND EXACTLY AS YOU SAID AFTER
EVERY HOLIDAY WE'VE SEEN IT GET
A LITTLE BIT WORSE AND THIS
TIME WE'VE GOT MANY HOLIDAYS
COMING TOGETHER AND RECORDS
BEING BROKEN FOR THE MOST
AMOUNT OF TRAVEL SINCE
THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
SO CONTACT THEM WE'VE EVER HAD
BEFORE.
SO EVERYONE THINKS THEY'RE
THE SMARTEST AND THEY'RE DOING
IT THE RIGHT WAY.
BUT LET'S LOOK FOR THOSE THAT
DID TRAVEL.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
YOU KNOW WHAT COULD YOU REALLY
DO TO BE SAFE WHEN YOU GET HOME
?
SO YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TRY TO
MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF YOUR
TRAVEL BY DECREASING YOUR
EXPOSURES WHEN YOU RETURN.
SO SPECIFICALLY YOU SHOULD TRY
TO QUARANTINE FOR 14 DAYS.
AND THAT'S IF YOU DON'T HAVE
ACCESS TO TESTING.
BUT JUST EARLIER TODAY ADMIRAL
JURAJ SAID IN AN INTERVIEW TO
CNN THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO USE
TESTING TO TRY TO REDUCE THAT
QUARANTINE TIME TO 10 DAYS.
SO IF YOU COME BACK AND YOU GET
TESTED AT DAY FIVE TO DAY SEVEN
AND YOU TEST NEGATIVE, THEN
PERHAPS YOU CAN RELEASE HERSELF
FROM QUARANTINE.
BUT IF YOU HAVE TRAVELED
I REALLY DO URGE YOU TO THINK
ABOUT USING THOSE MEASURES TO
TRY TO AT LEAST MITIGATE
THE IMPACTS OF THE TRAVEL.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU MENTIONED
THAT DON'T GET DON'T GET OFF
THE PLANE OR WHATEVER AND GO
STRAIGHT TO A TESTING SITE,
WAIT A FEW DAYS THEN GET THAT
TEST.
SO YOU KNOW, HERE IS
THANKSGIVING COMING UP IN TWO
DAYS.
HOW ARE YOU CELEBRATING, YOU
KNOW, THIS YEAR?
NORMALLY I GO TO FAMILIES AND
THEN I GO TO FRIENDS.
BUT OF COURSE THIS YEAR BECAUSE
OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES IT'S
IMMEDIATE FAMILY ONLY WHICH YOU
KNOW, I'M NOT TOO DISAPPOINTED
ABOUT.
BUT I WILL SAY THAT I'M ALREADY
STARTING TO PLAN NEXT YEAR'S
THANKSGIVING WHEN WE'RE ALL
GOING TO BE VACCINATED.
AND WHAT I'VE GOT PLANNED IS
THAT WE'RE GOING TO MOVE OUT
ALL THE DESKS FROM THE NEWSROOM
PUT IN A LARGE TABLE SO THAT
THE ENTIRE NBCNEWS FAMILY CAN
CELEBRATE TOGETHER BECAUSE ONE
OF THE THINGS THAT I'M MOST
GRATEFUL FOR THIS YEAR, KIM,
HAS BEEN JUST THE OPPORTUNITY
TO HELP EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY
DURING THIS PANDEMIC.
IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
FOR ME AND OF COURSE
THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH
YOU AND TOM DANIEL CATHY JUST
SOME MOST WONDERFUL COLLEAGUES
TO BE PART OF THIS FAMILY.
THE BEST PRODUCERS KNOWN IN
THE BUSINESS.
AND SO IT'S JUST BEEN DESPITE
EVERYTHING IT'S BEEN A YEAR
THAT I REALLY HAVE A LOT TO
GIVE THANKS FOR.
YOU MADE ME CRY.
THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
WE A LITTLE BOATS.
MYSELF.
WE REALLY WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE
WOULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT YOUR
ADVICE BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE'RE
WE'RE JUST REPORTING NEWS AND
WE NEED AN EXPERT SO THANK YOU.
THANK YOU.
AND JUST THAT THOUGHT OF US ALL
BEING TOGETHER WE ALL MISSED
OUR WORK FAMILIES AND ALL
OF OUR FAMILIES.
IT WILL HAPPEN