6 FEET AWAY FROM EACH OTHER NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE.
SAVANNAH.
SAVANNAH. >> ALL RIGHT.
MIGUEL ALMAGUER, THANK YOU SO
MUCH.
MUCH. WE’RE JOINED NOW BY DR. DEBRA
BIRKS.
BIRKS. THE WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS
COORDINATOR.
COORDINATOR. GOOD TO SEE YOU.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT THE
PRESIDENT SAID IN HIS PRESS
CONFERENCE YESTERDAY.
CONFERENCE YESTERDAY. YOU WERE RIGHT THERE.
HE TALKED AT LENGTH ABOUT EASING
SOCIAL DISTANCING SOONER RATHER
THAN LATER.
THAN LATER. SAID WEEKS NOT MONTHS.
IS THAT ADVISABLE?
>> I THINK WE’RE LOOKING VERY
CLOSELY AROUND THE WORLD ABOUT
SPECIFICALLY ITALY RIGHT NOW
BECAUSE THEY ARE REACHING THEIR
TWO WEEKS OF CLEAR SOCIAL
DISTANCING AND LOOKING AT THE
IMPACT.
IMPACT. WE ARE SEEING THE NUMBER OF
DEATHS STARTING TO DECLINE.
SO WE’RE IN A SPACE WHERE PEOPLE
HAVE MADE GENERALIZED
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANY DECADES
ON HOW TO CONFRONT AN EPIDEMIC.
NOW WE’RE CONFRONTING A REAL
EPIDEMIC AND WE HAVE TO BE
WILLING TO ADJUST OUR PLANS AS
WE SEE IMPACT.
>> DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE WEEKS
NOT MONTHS THAT SOCIAL
DISTANCING WILL BE REQUIRED?
>> I THINK THE QUESTION IS
REALLY CAN WE BE LASER FOCUSED
RATHER THAN GENERIC ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. IN OTHER WORDS, CAN WE USE OUR
DATA IN A LASER FOCUSED,
GRANULAR WAY TO LOOK AT WHAT’S
HAPPENING ON THE GROUND AND
ADJUST OUR HEALTH MESSAGES BASED
ON WHAT IS NEEDED BY THE NUMBER
OF CASES AND THE WORK THAT WE’RE
DOING WITH THE COMMUNITIES.
>> CAN YOU DO THAT?
IS IT REALLY FEASIBLE TO ISOLATE
THOSE HOT SPOTS AND PREVENT THE
VIRUS FROM SPREADING?
>> I THINK THAT IS THE QUESTION
THAT WE’RE ALL LOOKING AT VERY
CAREFULLY NOW.
CAREFULLY NOW. SO WE’RE COMING FROM MODELS.
AGAIN, WE’VE NEVER REALLY
CONFRONTED THIS TYPE OF EPIDEMIC
BEFORE THAT HIT DURING A FLU
SEASON TO REALLY DISSECT OUT
WHAT WAS FLU, WHAT WAS COVID,
AND UNDERSTAND WHO WAS AT RISK
AND HOW THEY WERE AT RISK.
SO WE’RE GETTING CRITICAL
INFORMATION FROM THE FRONT
LINES.
LINES. WE KNOW IN METRO AREAS AND ALL
THE AREAS THAT HAVE RISING
NUMBER OF CASES, LINES ARE
CLEAR, SENT OUT A WEEK AGO.
THIS IS MY PLEA TO EVERY
AMERICAN.
AMERICAN. PLEASE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE
PRESIDENTIAL GUIDE LINES.
>> ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT THE
PRESIDENT WILL LISTEN TO YOU, TO
DR. FAUCI, TO DR. ADAMS, THE
SURGEON GENERAL, IF YOU WERE TO
SAY, LOOK, WE KNOW IT IS A HARD
PILL TO SWALLOW, SO TO SPEAK FOR
THE ECONOMY, BUT TO SAVE LIVES
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE THIS
LOCKDOWN.
LOCKDOWN. ARE YOU CONFIDENT HE WOULD
LISTEN TO THAT ADVICE AND TAKE
THAT ADVICE?
THAT ADVICE? >> I AM CONFIDENT THE PRESIDENT
HAS LISTENED TO AND SEE THAT THE
PRESIDENT OVER THESE WEEKS HAS
BEEN VERY FOCUSED ON WHAT THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE NEED BOTH
ECONOMICALLY AND HEALTHWISE.
I THINK IT’S INCUMBENT ON EVERY
HEALTH OFFICIAL TO BE LOOKING AT
THEIR DATA IN A GRANULAR WAY,
WHO IS AT RISK, WHO IS AT RISK
OF HOSPITALIZATION, MORTALITY.
HOW DO WE STOP THE SPREAD AND
REALLY MOVE TO A 21st CENTURY
SUPER COMPUTING APPROACH MORE
THAN A GENERIC SLIDE RULE
APPROACH.
APPROACH. >> BUT IN THE MEANTIME, TIME IS
NOT ON OUR SIDE, AS WE ARE
LOOKING AT THAT DATA AND
CERTAINLY SUCH AN APPROACH WOULD
BE PREFERABLE.
BE PREFERABLE. YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THE
SOCIAL DISTANCING, RIGHT?
I HAVE SEEN ONE ESTIMATE THAT
SAYS IF YOU DON’T FLATTEN THE
CURVE, WE COULD HAVE 2 MILLION
DEATHS.
DEATHS. >> THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
THAT’S WHY THE PRESIDENT AND THE
VICE PRESIDENT YESTERDAY KEPT
COMING BACK TO WHAT WE NEED TO
BE DOING RIGHT NOW.
WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS DOING IS
LOOKING FOR THE FUTURE AND
LOOKING WHAT WE CAN DO IN THE
FUTURE.
FUTURE. NOT LOOKING TO CHANGE WHAT WE’RE
DOING NOW.
DOING NOW. PLEASE, HE’S MADE IT CLEAR AND
THE VICE PRESIDENT, CONTINUE TO
FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES OF SOCIAL
DISTANCING.
DISTANCING. ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS ABOUT
KNOWING WHERE YOUR HANDS ARE AND
WASHING YOUR HANDS.
>> LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS PHRASE
THAT’S BEEN SAID BY THE
PRESIDENT AND LOTS OF PEOPLE
THAT WE CAN’T HAVE THE CURE BE
WORSE THAN THE DISEASE, MEANING
YOU CAN’T HAVE SOCIAL DISTANCING
AND ECONOMIC LOCKDOWN, SHUTDOWN
OF AMERICA, BE WORSE THAN WHAT
TRANSPIRES WHEN YOU HAVE THE
VIRUS.
VIRUS. THERE’S A DOCTOR WRITING IN THE
"NEW YORK TIMES" OVER THE
WEEKEND, DR. DAVID KATZ, THE
PUBLIC HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF
THIS NEAR MELTDOWN OF NORMAL
LIFE WILL BE LONG LASTING AND
CALAMITOUS, POSSIBLY GRAVER THAN
THE DIRECT TOLL OF THE VIRUS
ITSELF.
ITSELF. THE STOCK MARKET WILL BOUNCE
BACK.
BACK. LIKELY RESULT WILL BE PUBLIC
HEALTH SCOURGES OF THE FIRST
ORDER.
ORDER. HE IS ARGUING THAT WHAT DOCTORS
SUCH AS YOURSELF ARE ADVISING
RIGHT NOW IS WORSE THAN THE
SPREAD OF THE VIRUS.
DO YOU AGREE?
>> I THINK WE’RE FACTORING ALL
OF THOSE ELEMENTS IN, AND I
THINK THERE IS -- THERE’S A FINE
LINE AND A PLACE TO GO THAT
BALANCES THE NEEDS OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE BOTH TODAY AND
TOMORROW WITH THE REALITY OF THE
EPIDEMIC.
EPIDEMIC. THAT’S GOING TO REQUIRE REALLY
PRECISION, GRANULAR DATA AND
THAT’S WHAT WE’RE COLLECTING NOW
IN ORDER TO SEE THAT AND
UNDERSTAND THAT.
UNDERSTAND THAT. TO EVERYONE IN NEW YORK, YOU ARE
IN A VERY DIFFICULT PLACE.
IF ANY CITY SHOULD BE ADHERING
TO THE PRESIDENTIAL GUIDELINES,
YOUR GOVERNOR AND MAYOR, IT’S
NEW YORK AND THE NEW YORK METRO
AREA RIGHT NOW.
>> RIGHT NOW NEW YORK IS GETTING
POSITIVE RATES BACK AT A RATE
THREE TIMES THAN WHAT WE’RE
SEEING IN OTHER PARTS OF THE
COUNTRY, CORRECT?
COUNTRY, CORRECT? >> THE REASON THIS IS IS BECAUSE
WE HAD A BACKLOG.
IT’S DIFFICULT AT THIS MOMENT TO
DETERMINE THE TEST POSITIVE DATA
BECAUSE WE’RE RUNNING TESTS --
WE GOT THE HIGH THROUGH PUT
EIGHT DAYS AGO.
THERE WAS A BACKLOG.
MANY OF THE POSITIVES YOU’RE
SEEING IN THIS SURGE ARE PEOPLE
WHOSE TEST CAME IN THREE OR FOUR
DAYS AGO.
DAYS AGO. WE’RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO MOVE
THROUGH THAT BACKLOG SOON.
>> DR. BIRX, BEFORE I LET YOU
GO, THE SURGEON GENERAL WAS ON
THE SHOW.
THE SHOW. HE SAID VERY BLUNT AND SAID HE
WANTED TO TELL AMERICANS IT’S
GOING TO GET BAD THIS WEEK.
DO YOU AGREE?
IN WHAT WAY?
WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE EXPECT?
>> THE CASES YOU’RE SEEING RIGHT
NOW HOSPITALIZED, AND THIS IS A
VERY IMPORTANT POINT FOR THE
AMERICAN PUBLIC, WHAT WE’RE
SEEING IN HOSPITALS NOW ARE
PEOPLE WHO MOST LIKELY GOT
EXPOSED AND SICK MORE THAN TWO
WEEKS AGO.
WEEKS AGO. SO YOU’RE SEEING WHAT’S
OCCURRING TWO AND THREE WEEKS
AGO.
AGO. THE THINGS WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE
OVER THE LAST EIGHT DAYS AND
WHAT THE MAYOR AND GOVERNOR HAS
DONE OVER THE LAST SEVEN DAYS,
YOU WON’T SEE THE IMPACT OF THAT
FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER SEVEN OR
FOURTEEN DAYS.
FOURTEEN DAYS. THAT’S WHY YOU CAN’T ALWAYS JUST
LOOK AT THE HOSPITAL RATES TO
DETERMINE WHETHER YOU’RE HAVING
AN IMPACT EPIDEMIOLOGICALLY.