DR. INGLESBY FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR
EXPERTISE ON THIS.
MUCH APPRECIATE IT.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME,
CHUCK.
CHUCK. >>> JOINING ME ARE TWO STATE
OFFICIALS CENTRAL TO MAKING
DECISIONS HOW THEIR STATE SHOULD
REOPEN
REOPEN DR. SCOTT HARRIS IS FROM ALABAMA
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND DR.
JANAY CALDOON.
JANAY CALDOON. THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.
I WANT TO START WITH YOU, DR.
HARRIS, SINCE ALABAMA IS DOING A
LITTLE MORE OPENING RIGHT NOW
THAN MICHIGAN, ALTHOUGH COMPARED
TO SOME OF YOUR SOUTHERN
NEIGHBORS, I WOULD ARGUE YOU
GUYS ARE BEING A BIT MORE
CAUTIOUS THAN OTHERS
BUT TELL ME THE METRICS YOU USED
THAT GAVE YOU THE CONFIDENCE TO
GIVE YOU PHASED-IN REOPENINGS.
>> SURE.
>> SURE. WE HAVE FOLLOWED A NUMBER OF
METRICS LIKE MOST STATES HAVE
INCLUDING THE WHITE HOUSE FOR
REOPENING THE GATING CRITERIA
I’M SURE YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT
MANY TIMES ON THIS SHOW.
WE ARE CERTAINLY PART OF THE
THINGS WE HAVE CONSIDERED.
WE ARE NOT FULLY SATISFIED THOSE
IN TERMS OF CASES PER DAY, BUT
WE FELT PRETTY GOOD ABOUT OUR
SURVEILLANCE NUMBERS AND WE FELT
VERY GOOD ABOUT OUR HOSPITAL
CAPACITY
CAPACITY WHAT OUR GOVERNOR CHOSE TO DO IS
TO MAKE A VERY MEASURED STEP, A
VERY GRADUAL REOPENING OF
CERTAIN TYPES OF BUSINESSES.
WE DID NOT PROCEED TO A FULL
PHASED REOPENING LIKE IN THE
WHITE HOUSE PLAN
THINGS LIKE ENTERTAINMENT VENUES
AND GYMS AND IN-PERSON PERSON,
WE HAVE NOT CHOSEN TO DO THAT SO
FAR.
FAR. WE THINK THIS IS A GRADUAL FIRST
STEP.
STEP. >> WHAT DATA ARE YOU MISSING,
DR. HARRIS, YOU WISH YOU HAD BUT
WHETHER IT’S CAPACITY OR OTHER
REASONS YOU DON’T HAVE
>> THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS.
I THINK, CLEARLY, WE WOULD LIKE
TO MAKE SURE WE ARE TESTING TO
THE LEVEL WE WOULD LIKE.
WE PROBABLY HAVE A TOTAL AMOUNT
OF LABORATORY BENCH CAPACITY TO
DO THE NUMBER OF TESTS THAT WE
WOULD LIKE TO DO, BUT THOSE
TESTS ARE REALLY UNEVENLY
DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE
STATE.
STATE. IF YOU’RE IN A BIGGER MORE
URBANIZED PART OF OUR STATE LIKE
JEFFERSON COUNTY WHERE
BIRMINGHAM IS LOCATED OR MADISON
COUNTY, WHERE HUNTSVILLE IS
LOCATED, YOU CAN PROBABLY HAVE
REALLY GOOD ACCESS TO TESTING
WHENEVER YOU’D LIKE.
IN SOME OF OUR MORE REAL PARTS
OF THE STATE, WE ARE ABLE TO GET
TESTING DONE BUT THERE ARE
DEFINITELY BARRIERS THERE FOR
PEOPLE TO ATTAIN THAT
PARTICULARLY IF THEY HAVE TO
FIND TRANSPORTATION OR THEY
DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO A HEALTH
CARE PROVIDER.
CARE PROVIDER. WE HAVE ALSO BEEN SURPRISED TO
FIND WE HAVE NOT NECESSARILY
GOTTEN NEGATIVE TESTS.
IT’S HARD TO COME UP WITH A
DENOMINATOR SO WE NOT PERCENT OF
POSITIVE TESTS WE HAVE
WE REACHED OUT TO THE LABS THAT
REPORT TO US BUT MANY ARE OUT OF
STATE AND DIFFICULT TO GET ALL
OF THAT INFORMATION.
>> DR. CALDOON, LET ME ASK THE
QUESTION SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN YOUR
STATE THAT MAKES YOU
UNCOMFORTABLE ADVISING THE
GOVERNOR TO BEGIN EVEN A PARTIAL
PHASE ONE REOPENING?
>> YES
>> YES HERE IN THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN, WE HAVE OVER 43,000
CASES AND OVER 4,000 DEATHS.
WE ARE ACTUALLY THIRD IN THE
COUNTRY WHEN IT COMES TO THE
NUMBER OF DEATHS
WHILE WE HAVE SEEN SIGNIFICANTLY
IMPROVEMENT IN THE PAST COUPLE
OF WEEKS BUT OVER CAPACITY IN
THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE STATE
SEVERAL WEEKS AGO BUT PART OF
THE STATE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE
IN THE RISE OF CASES AND WE KNOW
THEIR HOSPITAL CAPACITY SO NOT
WHAT IT SHOULD BE.
WE HAVE TO GET OUR TESTING UP AS
I KNOW PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
ARE WORKING ON
WHILE WE ARE CAUTIOUSLY
OPTIMISTIC, WE STILL THINK WE
NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL.
>> ALL RIGHT
BUT DR. CALKDOON, WHAT ARE YOU
SAYING TO THOSE IN THE STATE
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN IS HIT HARD,
YES.
YES. ARE YOU NOT COMFORTABLE HAVING
SORT OF A LET’S ISOLATE PARTS OF
THE STATE, TOUGHER STAY-AT-HOME
MEASURES FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
AND LET’S LOOSEN THINGS UP IN
MORE RURAL PARTS OF THE STATE?
WHY ARE YOU NOT THERE YET?
>> WE ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THIS
DATA ON A DAILY BASIS
REGIONALLY
REGIONALLY AGAIN, WE ARE STILL SEEING, FOR
EXAMPLE, ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF
THE STATE THAT THERE ARE
INCREASES IN THE RATES OF RISE
OF CASES
OF CASES WE HAVE SEVERAL OUTBREAKS THERE.
WE KNOW IN SOME OF OUR RURAL
AREAS THE NUMBER OF HOSPITAL
BEDS IS NOT WHAT IT SHOULD BE.
MANY RURAL HOSPITALS IN THE AREA
ARE AT CAPACITY.
EVERY PART OF THE STATE IS
DIFFERENT.
DIFFERENT. IN THE SOUTHEAST EVEN THOUGH
SEEING A DECREASE IN THE RATES
OF RISE, WE SEEING MANY CASES
AND MANY DEATHS EVERY DAY.
WE WILL BE WORKING ON DIALING UP
AS FAR AS HOW REOPENING THE
ECONOMY.
ECONOMY. THE GOVERNOR HAS ACTUALLY
ALREADY STARTED THAT SO WE HAVE
TO IT IN A INCREMENTAL
DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH.
DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH. >> I IMAGINE BOTH OF YOU ARE
FEELING PRESSURE, WHETHER IT’S
PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY
TIRED OF THE QUARANTINE,
PRESSURE FROM FRIENDS OF YOURS
WHO MAYBE RUN BUSINESSES, OR
FULL-ON POLITICAL PRESSURE
DR. KHALDUN, HOW HAVE YOU
HANDLED IT
HANDLED IT HOW HAVE YOU HANDLED THE PUBLIC
BLOW-BACK AND HOW DO YOU STRIKE
THAT BALANCE IN YOUR OWN HEAD
WHERE YOU’RE GIVING FULL-ON
MEDICAL ADVICE VERSUS LET ME
GIVE YOU THE BEST MEDICAL ADVICE
I CAN FOR THE POLICY YOU WANT TO
IMPLEMENT?
IMPLEMENT? >> YOU KNOW, THIS IS CERTAINLY
NOT PERSONAL
NOT PERSONAL PEOPLE HIRE ME TO GIVE MENTAL
AND PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE AND
THAT IS WHAT I DO.
I TAKE YOU TO THE GOVERNOR AND
OTHER FOLKS IN THE GOVERNOR’S
OFFICE ON A REGULAR BASIS TO
TELL THEM THE FACTS.
THESE ARE THE NUMBER OF TESTS
THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING,
THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
THIS IS WHAT IS GOING ON WITH
OUR HOSPITALS.
OUR HOSPITALS. AND, AGAIN, IF WE DON’T DO WELL
WITH THESE SOCIALLY DISTANCING
MEASURES, MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE
AND THAT IS JUST THE FACT.
>> DR. HARRIS, HOW MUCH HAVE YOU
FELT THAT PRESSURE
>> OBVIOUSLY, IT’S SIGNIFICANT
AS YOU KNOW.
THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, MANY
ALABAMANS THAT DON’T HAVE THE
OPTION OF MAKING A LIVING, YOU
KNOW, UNDER CERTAIN HEALTH
ORDERS
ORDERS WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO STRIKE
THE RIGHT BALANCE THERE.
I THINK OUR GOVERNOR HAS DONE A
GREAT JOB OF TRYING TO BALANCE
THE HEALTH OF THE ECONOMY WITH
THE HEALTH OF EVERYBODY FROM
ALABAMA.
ALABAMA. MY JOB IS PUBLIC HEALTH IS TO
GIVE HER THE BEST HEALTH
INFORMATION I CAN.
WE PRESENT THE DATA ON JUST AS
DR. KHALDUN ON HOW MANY CASES WE
HAVE AND WHAT OUR DEATHS LOOK
LIKE
LIKE I THINK ALABAMA HAS BEEN A
LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT
YOU KNOW, EVERY STATE IS
DIFFERENT.
DIFFERENT. 51 DIFFERENT PLANS FOR
REOPENING, I GUESS, BECAUSE WE
ARE ALL TRYING TO LOOK AT THE
DATA AND MAKE OUR OWN DECISIONS
WITH THE BEST INFORMATION THAT
WE HAVE ABOUT HOW TO PROCEED
BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE
CERTAINLY WANTING TO MAINTAIN
THEIR LIVELIHOOD AND THEIR
BUSINESSES AND WE HAVE TO
BALANCE THAT WITH KEEPING
EVERYONE SAFE AND HEALTHY AS
MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
>> DR. HARRIS, ARE YOU CONCERNED
THAT CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN MORE
AGGRESSIVE
AGGRESSIVE SENATOR DOUG JONES IN ALABAMA
HAS ENCOURAGED ALABAMIANS TO BE
CAREFUL TRAVELING TO GEORGIA.
>> WE LOOK AT THAT VERY CLOSELY.
CERTAINLY SOME GOOD ASPECTS
ABOUT HAVING, YOU KNOW, EVERY
STATE HAVING ITS OWN PLAN
BECAUSE EVERY STATE IS A LITTLE
BIT DIFFERENT BUT, CLEARLY, ALL
STATES AFFECT THE OTHERS
WE ARE WATCHING THAT VERY
CAREFULLY.
CAREFULLY. WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN ALABAMA, I
THINK, IS, AGAIN, HAVE THIS SORT
OF MEASURED APPROACH AND I THINK
WHAT I’VE HEARD MANY STATES SAY
AND WHAT OUR GOVERNOR HAS
CERTAINLY SAID IS THAT THESE
AREN’T STEPS FORWARD THAT ARE
JUST GOING TO RATCHET FORWARD
AND NEVER COME BACK.
THESE ARE GRADUAL STEPS AND WE
CERTAINLY WILL CONSIDER DIALING
THINGS BACK IF WE SEE AN
INCREASE IN CASES.
I THINK THAT IS THE APPROACH
PROBABLY ALL STATES WOULD WANT
TO TAKE.
TO TAKE. WE SEE WHERE WE ARE AFTER
CHANGES ARE MADE AND THEN MAKE
CHANGES, IF NECESSARY.
>> THANK YOU BOTH, DOCTORS, FOR
SHARING YOUR EXPERTISE IN THE
SORT OF THE REGIONAL
OBSERVATIONS THAT YOU BOTH CAN
SHARE WITH THE COUNTRY