KEEP TRYING AND KEEP THIS VIRUS IN CHECK.
IN CHECK. SAVANNAH, BACK TO YOU.
>> ALL RIGHT.
TOM COSTELLO, THANK YOU.
WE ARE JOINED NOW BY THE
NATION’S TOP DOCTOR, THE U.S.
SURGEON GENERAL, DR. JEROME
ADAMS.
ADAMS. DR. ADAMS, GOOD MORNING TO YOU,
SIR.
SIR. >> GOOD MORNING, SAVANNAH.
HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
>> I’M FEELING WELL ENOUGH.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS IN
ASKING.
ASKING. I WANT TO ASK YOU, DO YOU FEEL
LIKE PEOPLE ARE GETTING THE
MESSAGE HERE?
MESSAGE HERE? WE STILL SEE PEOPLE OUT AND
ABOUT.
ABOUT. YOU HAD THREE STATES HOLDING
VOTES YESTERDAY.
VOTES YESTERDAY. DO YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE SENSING
THE URGENCY?
THE URGENCY? >> WELL, I THINK WE’RE STARTING
TO TURN A CORNER AND PEOPLE
REALLY ARE.
REALLY ARE. IT’S BECAUSE IT’S STARTING TO
AFFECT PEOPLE WHO THEY SEE AND
KNOW.
KNOW. I HAVE A 15 AND 14-YEAR-OLD SON
AT HOME, AND THEY DON’T CARE
WHAT DAD SAYS EVEN IF DAD IS
SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED
STATES.
STATES. THEY KNOW KEVIN DURANT HAS IT
AND THEY ARE TAKING IT
SERIOUSLY.
SERIOUSLY. WE WANT THEM TO KNOW, LOOK,
CHANCES ARE YOU DON’T HAVE
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. IF YOU DO YOU’LL RECOVER BASED
ON KOREA DATA, 99.3 PEOPLE
RECOVER.
RECOVER. WHAT WE DON’T WANT TO DO IS HAVE
YOU OR OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE
SPREADING IT TO PEOPLE WHO ARE
AT HIGHER RISK.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. THESE NEW CDC GUIDELINES
ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK ADVISE NO
GATHERINGS OF MORE THAN 10
PEOPLE FOR THE NEXT 15 DAYS.
YOU’VE SAID WE CAN DO ANYTHING
FOR 15 DAYS.
BUT GIVE IT TO US STRAIGHT.
ISN’T THIS GOING TO BE LONGER
THAN 15 DAYS?
HOW LONG DO YOU THINK PEOPLE
SHOULD EXPECT TO BE AT HOME
ESSENTIALLY?
ESSENTIALLY? >> WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT IS
OUR 15 DAYS TO STOP THE SPREAD
INITIATIVE.
INITIATIVE. WE’RE TELLING PEOPLE THAT WE
REALLY WANT THEM TO AVOID
GATHERINGS OF 10 OR MORE.
WE WANT THEM TO AVOID ANY
UNNECESSARY TRAVEL.
UNNECESSARY TRAVEL. WE WANT THEM TO WORK FROM HOME
IF AT ALL POSSIBLE OR NOT GO IN.
THE REASON WHY WE FRAMED IT THAT
WAY, OUR NUMBERS FROM ITALY ARE
TWO TO THREE WEEKS AGO.
WE HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE RIGHT
NOW AS A NATION.
DO WE WANT TO GO THE WAY OF
ITALY AND SEE OUR NUMBERS
INCREASE RAPIDLY OR THE WAY OF
SOUTH KOREA AND CHINA WHO
AGGRESSIVELY LEANED INTO
MITIGATION MEASURES AND WERE
ABLE TO LEVEL OFF THEIR PEAK AND
ANNOUNCING SIGNIFICANTLY
ANNOUNCING SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED NUMBER OF CASES.
WE REALLY FEEL LIKE IF WE CAN
GET AMERICA TO ALL PITCH IN FOR
THE NEXT 15 DAYS, WE CAN FLATTEN
THE CURVE, WHICH IS A TERM
YOU’VE BEEN HEARING A LOT, NOT
OVERWHELM OUR HEALTH SYSTEMS AND
GET THROUGH IT.
>> 15 GOING TO BE ENOUGH?
>> 15 DAYS WON’T BE ENOUGH TO
GET ALL THE WAY THROUGH BUT WE
REALLY NEED TO BEND INTO IT NOW
SO WE CAN BEND THE CURVE IN 15
DAYS.
DAYS. AT THAT POINT WE’LL REASSESS.
>> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT A NEW
STUDY PUBLISHED YESTERDAY IN THE
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE.
IT FOUND THE VIRUS WAS SOMEWHAT
AIRBORNE.
AIRBORNE. IT CAN STAY SUSPENDED IN THE AIR
FOR A HALF HOUR BEFORE ASCENDING
AND SETTLING ON SURFACES.
I DON’T HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS IS
DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE WORLD
HEALTH ORGANIZATION SAID, THAT
IT’S NOT SUSPENDED IN THE AIR.
WHAT’S YOUR INFORMATION ON THIS
ISSUE?
ISSUE? >> THIS IS A NEW VIRUS.
WE LEARN MORE ABOUT IT EVERY
DAY.
DAY. I TALK TO TONY FAUCI MANY TIMES
A DAY.
A DAY. THEY STILL BELIEVE THE PRIMARY
MODE OF TRANSMISSION FOR
CORONAVIRUS IS BY DROPLET.
AGAIN, SOCIAL DISTANCING IS
GOING TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE
THING YOU CAN DO.
WHEN YOU TALK BUTABOUT SURFACES,
THAT’S WHY WE EMPHASIZE WASHING
HANDS AND CLEANING SURFACES.
IF WE DO THREE THINGS, CLEANING
SURFACES, WASHING HANDS AND
STAYING 6 FEET AWAY FROM PEOPLE,
THAT’S HOW WE WILL MOST PROTECT
OURSELF FROM THIS DISEASE.
>> DOCTOR, LET’S TALK ABOUT
TESTING.
TESTING. I DON’T THINK THERE’S MUCH
DISPUTE CDC WAS SLOW TO GET
TESTING GOING.
TESTING GOING. THERE HAVE BEEN DELAYS.
EVEN NOW WE SEE LINES OF PEOPLE
TRYING TO GET THE TEST, EVEN
THOUGH THEY ARE WIDESPREAD.
WE’VE ONLY TESTED 59,000 PEOPLE
IN THE COUNTRY WHEN SOUTH KOREA
WAS DOING 10,000 PER DAY.
THE QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE
STATUS NOW OF TESTING?
ARE THERE ENOUGH TESTS OUT
THERE, AND ARE THEY BEING
PROCESSED IN A TIMELY MANNER?
>> FAIR QUESTION, SAVANNAH.
I REALLY FEEL LIKE WE’VE TURNED
THE CORNER ON TESTING THIS WEEK.
IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO
KNOW THE CDC STOOD UP A TEST FOR
THIS IN A WEEK.
BUT THE CDC WAS NEVER EQUIPPED,
STAFFED, OR INTENDED TO PROVIDE
TESTING FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE.
OF PEOPLE. WE WERE ALWAYS GOING TO RELY ON
THE COMMERCIAL MARKET AND
PRIVATE INDUSTRY.
PRIVATE INDUSTRY. NOW WITH THE FDA APPROVAL --
EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION FOR
A HIGH-SPEED TEST LAST WEEK,
YOU’RE SEEING TESTING INCREASE.
WHAT AMERICAN PEOPLE REALLY CARE
ABOUT IS CAN I GET A TEST IN MY
COMMUNITY.
COMMUNITY. YOU’RE STARTING TO SEE THAT.
THE SMALL RURAL COMMUNITY I GREW
UP IN OFFERED DRIVE-THROUGH
TESTING THIS WEEK.
WE’RE STARTING TO SEE MORE AND
MORE PEOPLE GET TESTING.
HERE IS MY POINT, CHANGE YOUR
APPROACH TO MITIGATION MEASURES
BASED ON POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE
TEST.
TEST. YOU CAN TEST NEGATIVE AND BE IN
THE INCUBATION PERIOD AND SPREAD
THE VIRUS.
THE VIRUS. IF YOU’RE SICK, STAY AT HOME.
WE SHOULD BE ACTING AS IF WE
HAVE THE VIRUS, AS TONY FAUCI
SAYS, SO WE CAN PROTECT ONE
ANOTHER.
ANOTHER. >> REAL QUICKLY BECAUSE I’M
ALMOST OUT OF TIME.
I WANT TO DRILL DOWN ON THE
REASON WE’RE TRYING TO FLATTEN
OUT IS SO THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
CAN MANAGE THE SICK.
ARE YOU CONFIDENT ENOUGH WE HAVE
ENOUGH RESPIRATORS AND
VENTILATORS TO PROTECT PATIENTS
AND PROTECT FRONTLINE HELPERS.
>> GREAT QUESTIONING.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT MODELING,
AGAIN, YOU’VE GOT CURVES THAT
LOOK LIKE ITALY AND CURVES THAT
LOOK LIKE SOUTH KOREA.
THE BEST WAY NOT TO RUN OUT OF
VENTILATORS AND PPE IS TO DRIVE
DOWN DEMAND SO YOU DON’T NEED
THEM.
THEM. THAT’S WHY WE’RE LEANING INTO
THE NEXT 15 DAYS.
I WANT AMERICANS TO KNOW WE HAVE
A NATIONAL STRATEGIC STOCKPILE
WORKING WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
TO INCREASE PRODUCTION.
THAT’S ON THE SUPPLY SIDE.
IF OUR CURVE GOES THE WAY OF
ITALY, THERE’S EVERY CHANCE WE
COULD RUN OUT OF DEVICES.
THAT’S WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO
LEAN INTO MITIGATION MEASURES
NOW, FLATTEN THE CURVE.
>> SOME SUGGEST INVOKING THE
DEFENSE PROTECTION ACT TO RAMP
UP VENTILATORS AND RESPIRATORS
JUST TO MAKE SURE.
MAYBE WE’LL NEVER GET THERE BUT
WOULDN’T WE RATHER BE PREPARED
NOW?
NOW? >> EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE.
THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT
HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH
INDUSTRY ON A DAILY BASIS TRYING
TO RAMP UP THAT PRODUCTION RIGHT
NOW AS SURGEON GENERAL, MY JOB
IS TO TALK TO THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN DO
IS DRIVE DOWN DEMAND BY STAYING
AT HOME, WASHING YOUR HANDS,
SOCIAL DISTANCING.
SOCIAL DISTANCING. >> DR. ADAMS, I GOT THE MESSAGE.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
WE APPRECIATE IT.
I KNOW IT’S A BUSY TIME.
>> ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT.
YOU CAN STILL GO OUT AND GIVE
BLOOD.
BLOOD. WE’RE WORRIED ABOUT POTENTIAL
BLOOD SHORTAGE IN THE FUTURE.
SOCIAL DISTANCING DOESN’T HAVE
TO MEAN SOCIAL DISENGAGEMENT.
>> I’M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT.