>>> THE NUMBER OF CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS CASES HERE IN THE
U.S. IS RISING.
RIGHT NOW THERE ARE A TOTAL OF
606 CASES ACROSS 34 STATES AND
D.C.
D.C. SEVERAL UNIVERSITIES HAVE CLOSED
CAMPUSES OR STARTED ONLINE ONLY.
ANDREW CUOMO CONFIRMED THE HEAD
OF THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW
YORK AND NEW JERSEY RICK COTTON
HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. AT THE SAME PRESS CONFERENCE,
GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCED A NEW
STATE PROGRAM TO MAKE HAND
SANITIZERS FOR SCHOOLS AND
PRISONS IN AN EFFORT TO COMBAT
PRICE GOUGING AND SHORTAGES.
NEW YORK WILL USE PRISON LABOR
TO PRODUCE IT.
JOINING ME NOW, GOVERNOR ANDREW
CUOMO.
CUOMO. GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THE CURRENT
STATUS OF NEW YORK.
>> THANKS, KATY.
WELL, WE’RE BASICALLY WHERE
EVERY OTHER STATE IS RIGHT NOW.
WE’RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO
REDUCE THE SPREAD.
IT IS INEVITABLE AS YOU
SUGGESTED THAT THE SPREAD IS
GOING TO CONTINUE.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT.
DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO REDUCE
THE SPREAD.
THE SPREAD. THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOING.
IT’S A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED
IN A PLACE LIKE NEW YORK WHERE
YOU HAVE THAT DENSITY.
AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, MAKE
SURE PEOPLE ARE GETTING THE
RIGHT INFORMATION AND THEY’RE
NOT OVERREACTING.
NOT OVERREACTING. A SITUATION LIKE THIS, KATY, YOU
HAVE THE UNDERLYING ISSUE, WHICH
IS HERE IS THE CORONAVIRUS.
YOU THEN HAVE THE PUBLIC
RESPONSE TO IT.
AND THE FEAR AND THE ANXIETY AND
THE HYSTERIA THAT COMPONENTSUNDS
PROBLEM.
PROBLEM. I DON’T BELIEVE THE FACTS IN
THIS SITUATION MERIT THE LEVEL
OF ANXIETY THAT WE’RE SEEING.
WE TRY TO BALANCE BOTH.
>> DEFINE HISTERIA IN YOUR
TERMS.
TERMS. >> WELL, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE
VERY, VERY ANXIOUS.
THERE’S A LOT OF FEAR.
THIS VIRUS IS NOT AS DANGEROUS
AS MANY OF THE VIRUSES WE’VE
SEEN BEFORE.
SEEN BEFORE. RIGHT, H1N1 WAS COMPLICATED.
EBOLA WAS FRIGHTENING.
>> BUT IS IT LIKE BUYING TOO
MUCH TOILET PAPER, WEARING MASKS
AROUND?
AROUND? PEOPLE ARE GOING TO CVS AND
GETTING ALL OF THE HAND
SANITIZER THEY CAN GET.
DO YOU THINK -- THEY’RE WORRIED
ABOUT GETTING ON THE SUBWAY
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. IS THAT HYSTERICAL OR ARE THOSE
FEARS WARRANTED?
FEARS WARRANTED? >> WELL, I THINK THE ANXIETY IS
UNDUALLY HIGH.
UNDUALLY HIGH. IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, AND
WE HAVE THE NUMBERS, JOHNS
HOBBKINS HAS BEEN TRACING THE
111,000 CORONAVIRUS CASES FROM
69U CHINA.
69U CHINA. FROM CHINA.
FROM CHINA. WE KNOW THE MORTALITY RATE AND
WHO IS AFFECTED.
IT DOESN’T MERIT THIS KIND OF
ANXIETY.
ANXIETY. IT’S NOT GREAT.
CERTAINLY, WE DON’T WANT TO LOSE
ANYONE.
ANYONE. BUT IT DOESN’T MERIT THE
HYSTERIA.
HYSTERIA. I THINK PART OF IT IS THEY’RE
GETTING CONFLICTING MESSAGES,
MIXED MESSAGES.
MIXED MESSAGES. AND WHEN PEOPLE GET ANXIOUS,
IT’S NOT A RATIONAL, INTELLIGENT
RESPONSE.
RESPONSE. AND WE NEED EVERYBODY TO WORK
WITH US.
WITH US. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE’RE
DOING WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO
REDUCE THE SPREAD, TESTING,
TESTING, TESTING, TESTING.
I’M PUSHING FOR MORE BECAUSE YOU
WANT TO FIND THOSE PEOPLE WHO
ARE POSITIVE, INVESTIGATE DOWN
THAT LINE, ISOLATE AS MANY
POSITIVE PEOPLE AS YOU CAN, SO
YOU REDUCE THE SPREAD.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO REDUCE THE
SPREAD?
SPREAD? BECAUSE YOU WANT TO PROTECT THE
VULNERABLE POPULATION FROM THIS
DISEASE, WHICH ARE SENIOR
CITIZENS, PEOPLE WITH
COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS AND
AN UNDERLYING ILLNESS.
THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE REALLY AT
RISK.
RISK. >> ARE YOU PRIORITIZING HEALTH
CARE WORKERS AT SENIOR CITIZENS
FACILITIES, HEALTH CARE WORKERS
OR ANY WORKERS AT PLACES THAT
HOLD THE MORE VULNERABLE
POPULATION?
POPULATION? >> YES.
>> YES. MY FEAR, AS GOVERNOR, ARE THE
SENIOR CITIZEN CONGREGGAT FA
CEMENTS.
CEMENTS. NURSING HOMES, SENIOR CITIZEN
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS, ET CETERA.
THAT’S MY PERSONAL FEAR AS
GOVERNOR.
GOVERNOR. AS AN INDIVIDUAL, MY FAMILY, I’M
WORRIED ABOUT MY MOTHER, WHO IS
AN ELDERLY PERSON.
DON’T TELL HER I SAID THAT.
SHE DOESN’T ACT THAT WAY.
SHE DOESN’T BELIEVE SHE IS.
BUT THAT’S MY CONCERN
PERSONALLY.
PERSONALLY. BECAUSE THAT IS THE VULNERABLE
POPULATION.
POPULATION. AND WITH THE NURSING HOMES WE
PUT OUT NEW PROTOCOLS.
WE HAVE A CLUSTER IN
WESTCHESTER, WHICH IS A VERY
HIGH DENSITY CLUSTER.
AND WE SAID IN THOSE NURSING
HOMES, NO VISITORS.
NO PEOPLE FROM THE OUTSIDE.
BECAUSE THAT’S REALLY THE SITE
OF THE VULNERABLE POPULATION.
>> WHAT ABOUT SCHOOLS?
ARE YOU CONSIDERING CLOSING
THEM?
THEM? WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO CLOSE THEM?
>> WE CLOSE THEM ON A
CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.
CASE-BY-CASE BASIS. YOU HAVE THE ENTIRE STATE, WHICH
IS A MICROCOSM OF THE COUNTRY.
YOU HAVE HIGHER NUMBERS IN
CERTAIN AREAS, LOWER IN OTHERS.
IF THE NUMBERS ARE LOW, GOD
BLESS.
BLESS. IF THE NUMBERS ARE HIGH, TAKE
ACTION.
ACTION. AS I MENTION THE BEFORE WHERE WE
HAVE A CLUSTER IN WESTCHESTER
THAT HAS MORE CASES THAN NEW
YORK CITY.
YORK CITY. SO HOW DO YOU HANDLE THAT
HOTBED, THAT HOT SPOT, AS THEY
CALL IT?
CALL IT? CLOSING SCHOOLS, CLOSING
GATHERINGS, ET CETERA.
EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS WHERE YOU
HAVE HIGHER DENSITY OF CASES.