>> ALL RIGHT. SOME PROMISING NEWS OUT OF
WASHINGTON STATE.
WASHINGTON STATE. MR. COSTELLO, THANK YOU, SIR.
THE SURGEON GENERAL RECENTLY
WARNED ABOUT OTHER MAJOR CITIES
THAT ARE EMERGING CORONAVIRUS
HOT SPOTS.
HOT SPOTS. ONE OF THOSE CITIES IS CHICAGO.
THIS MORNING WE’RE JOINED BY
CHICAGO MAYOR LIGHTFOOT.
MAYOR, GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> I’D LIKE TO START WITH THE
SITUATION ON THE GROUND THERE.
MONDAY YOU HAD ROUGHLY 2,160
CASES.
CASES. ON TUESDAY YOU WERE UP TO ABOUT
2600 CASES WITH 26 DEATHS.
WHAT ARE YOU SEEING ON THE
GROUND RIGHT NOW IN CHICAGO, AND
WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED?
>> WELL, OUR PRIMARY FOCUS OVER
THESE PAST FEW WEEKS HAS BEEN
MAKING SURE OUR HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM CAN SUSTAIN THE SURGE
THAT WE’RE EXPECTING.
WE ARE SEEING A CONTINUED
INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CASES,
WHICH WE EXPECTED BASED UPON OUR
MODELING.
MODELING. BUT WHAT WE’RE ALSO SEEING IS A
LENGTHENING OF TIME BETWEEN THE
DOUBLING OF CASES.
IT’S TOO SOON TO MAKE ANY REAL
PREDICTIONS BUT IT SEEMS LIKE
WE’RE STARTING A TREND IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION.
RIGHT DIRECTION. THE TRUTH IS, ON OUR MODELING,
WE DON’T BELIEVE WE’RE GOING TO
REACH THE PEAK OF THIS VIRUS
UNTIL MID TO LATE APRIL.
THERE’S A LOT MORE WORK TO BE
DONE.
DONE. AS YOU KNOW, WE’VE TAKEN SOME
FAIRLY DRASTIC STEPS, CANCELED A
LOT OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES,
ISSUED A STAY-AT-HOME ORDER,
CLOSED OUR SCHOOLS, ALL THESE
THINGS WE KNOW ARE NECESSARY TO
REALLY SAVE LIVES.
AND WE’VE LAUNCHED HERE A LOCAL
CAMPAIGN CALLED STAY HOME, SAVE
LIVES, WHICH PEOPLE ARE HAVING
FUN WITH, WHICH IS GREAT.
PRIMARILY WHAT WE’RE FOCUSING ON
IS THAT OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
HAS ENOUGH ICU BEDS, WE’VE GOT
THE VENTS WE NEED AND TRACKING
THE INCREASE.
THE INCREASE. THERE’S A SLOW UPTICK BUT IT’S
PRETTY STEADY OVER THE LAST
COUPLE OF WEEKS REGARDING ICU
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND THE NUMBER
OF HOSPITALIZATIONS RELATED TO
COVID-19.
COVID-19. WE’RE WORKING TO EXPAND OUR
CAPACITY.
CAPACITY. IT’S BEEN REPORTED, AS YOU KNOW,
THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO PUT 3,000
HOSPITAL BEDS IN ONE OF OUR
LARGE CONVENTION SPACES HERE.
WE’VE OPENED UP HOTEL SPACE FOR
THOSE WHO NEED TO STEP DOWN TO
QUARANTINE, ISOLATE.
QUARANTINE, ISOLATE. YESTERDAY WE ANNOUNCED A HOTEL
THAT IS PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON
GIVING OUR FIRST RESPONDERS
RESPITE.
RESPITE. SO WE’RE LOOKING AT ALL THE KEY
COMPONENTS OF THIS ECOSYSTEM AND
MAKING SURE WE ARE DOING
EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO
STRENGTHEN THE SYSTEM BUT ALSO
PROTECT THE WORKERS.
>> I WANT TO GET YOUR TAKE ON
THE ASSERTION WE HEARD FROM THE
PRESIDENT YESTERDAY THAT
GOVERNORS WERE SLOW TO RESPOND,
THE GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, THE
GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY AS WELL.
WHAT ABOUT CHICAGO?
WHAT ABOUT THE STATE OF
ILLINOIS?
ILLINOIS? COULD YOU GUYS HAVE DONE MORE
SOONER AS THE PRESIDENT
ASSERTED?
ASSERTED? >> YOU KNOW, LOOK, I WILL TELL
YOU THAT I DON’T PAY A LOT OF
ATTENTION TO THE THINGS THAT
COME OUT OF THE PRESIDENT’S
MOUTH IN HIS DAILY BRIEFINGS.
MANY OF THEM ARE NOT BASED ON
FACT OR SCIENCE AND THEY ARE
JUST WILDLY WRONG.
THAT’S WRONG IN THIS CASE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE GOVERNORS IN
THE STATES WHERE THE VIRUS FIRST
HIT IN THIS COUNTRY, THOSE
GOVERNORS, INCLUDING MINE, WERE
VERY PROACTIVE, PREAGGRESSIVE IN
MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE DOING
EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD TO KEEP
PEOPLE SAFE.
PEOPLE SAFE. SO THE PRESIDENT IS JUST WRONG
ABOUT THAT.
ABOUT THAT. I HAVE, I WILL TELL YOU, BEEN
DISTURBED BY THE STATES THAT
STILL DON’T HAVE A UNIVERSAL
STAY-AT-HOME ORDER.
STAY-AT-HOME ORDER. LUCKILY THEY DON’T BORDER OURS
BUT IT’S CONCERNING.
WE KNOW THAT STAYING HOME SAVES
LIVES.
LIVES. NO ONE SHOULD BE RELUCTANT TO
IMPLEMENT THOSE KIND OF
SAFEGUARDS BECAUSE ULTIMATELY IT
IS ABOUT SAVING LIVES.
THIS IS A DISEASE THAT DOESN’T
DISCRIMINATE.
DISCRIMINATE. IT DOESN’T RECOGNIZE GEOGRAPHIC
BORDERS.
BORDERS. WHAT HAPPENS IN ONE STATE WILL
ABSOLUTELY HAVE A RIPPLE EFFECT
ON THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.
ANYBODY WHO THINKS THAT THEY CAN
CONTINUE THE STATUS QUO, NOT
IMPLEMENT AGGRESSIVE
IMPLEMENT AGGRESSIVE STAY-AT-HOME MEASURES IS FOOLING
THEMSELVES.
THEMSELVES. >> MAYOR LIGHTFOOT, I WISH WE
HAD MORE TIME.
THERE’S THAT COOL PSA YOU
LAUNCHED WHERE YOU’RE PAYING
BASKETBALL AND YOU’RE BAKING,
AND YOU LAUNCHED THIS PSA WITH
THE INTENT OF ENCOURAGING OTHER
FOLKS TO STAY AT HOME.
IT’S HILARIOUS.
IT’S HILARIOUS. THIS IS PART OF IT.
I ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO CHECK OUT
THE MAYOR OF CHICAGO, THE