[Anderson Cooper, Cnn:] Good evening. Just a day after he said that anyone who needed to get tested for coronavirus now could, Vice President Pence today acknowledged that at least for now, and perhaps the foreseeable future, this might not be possible.
[Mike Pence, Vice President Of The United States:] We don't have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate will be the demand going forward.
[Cooper:] The vice president is now in Tacoma, Washington, where he and Washington Governor Jay Inslee are about to talk to reporters. We're going to be monitoring that news conference, bring you any late developments. In Washington, the death toll due to the coronavirus rose from 10 to 11. Nationwide in total, 12 people have died so far. The number of infected has risen as well. There are now at least 226 people who have tested positive with the virus in 19 states. Those numbers really don't tell the entire story because of how few Americans have actually been tested. We'll talk more than shortly. However, testing has begun on passengers aboard that cruise ship off the coast of California, you see it there. Authorities are using Coast Guard helicopters to fly testing kits out to the ship and then ferry them back to a lab. California's governor says the ship will not be allowed to dock in San Francisco until the results are in. And in other developments, the economic side effects are growing. The International Air Transport Association today raising its estimate of what this could cost the airlines. Last week, the prediction was $30 billion globally in lost ticket sales. Well, now, it's $113 billion, nearly four times higher. One airline executive today called the travel slump a, quote, gut punch. Another said, and I quote, we can discount prices tomorrow and it would not do any good. To some extent, that's because people and organizations are simply taking precautions and basing their decisions on good and timely information from government officials. However, some of what we're seeing across the board is driven by the opposite, by what people do not know, or what they're confused or unclear about, and that is certainly not unusual in a crisis. What is different this time is that on top of all of that, there is also, and we have to say it, the misleading or outright bogus information, if you can even call it information at times, coming from the president of the United States. Last night in the program, that key difference, that distinction prompted a pretty remarkable statement from a guest, a Democrat no doubt, but remarkable, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Listen.
[Sen. Chris Murphy:] It'd be better if the president didn't make statements about the coronavirus. It would be better if he remained silent and he let medical experts carry the message.
[Cooper:] I mean, just think about that. It would be better, he said, if the president remained silent. The reason he said because his misinformation might overshadow the truth. His own medical and health experts are trying to get out there. His own coronavirus task force. Now, you might think look, that's absurd or that's just political, but then you have to start to listen to what the president has actually been saying day after day. Just last night on Fox News, less than an hour after Senator Murphy's remarks, this is him talking to Sean Hannity. And he took estimate with the latest estimate from the World Health Organization of how deadly the virus may be. Listen.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] Well, I think the 3.4 percent is really a false number. Now this is just my hunch, and but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this, because a lot of people will have this, and it's very mild. They'll get better very rapidly. They don't even see a doctor. They don't even call a doctor. You never hear about those people. So you can't put them down in the category of the overall population in terms of this corona flu and or virus. So you just can't do that. So if, you know, we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better, just by sitting around and even going to work, some of them go to work, but they get better.
[Cooper:] OK. So, there is a lot to unpack in that long rambling sentence, and frankly, there is a lot to be concerned about. I'm not being flip here. Keeping them honest, first of all, the president, you don't hear about those people who do well with it, who don't die from it, who get over it. Actually you do. We talk about that all the time. More than 80 percent in some cases it seems of people who get this or will get this will be perfectly fine. It will be like for them like a flu perhaps, a little bit more serious. The president, though, says he is choosing a hunch. He is using a hunch instead of the global listening to the global authority on public health, the World Health Organization, and the president will not explicitly telling people with the virus to go into work. He is suggesting it might not be the worst thing in the world. In fact, people do it and they get better. And that goes completely against the message that his own Coronavirus Task Force with some great people on it is actually putting out, because the person going to work who is infected, that person can infect others at work. That's what the president doesn't seem to pick up on. He says that person feels fine. They get better. The person infected may feel fine, may be asymptomatic, may not show signs of having the virus. And that person may get better, even if they do have some aches and pains or fever or cough. The president said all that, but several others may get the virus as well from that person who goes to work. And then they may spread the virus on and so on and so on. Now, to be clear, experts do say that the World Health Organization estimate could end up on the high side. And the reason is that that 3.4 percent figure fatality rate, it's a percentage of the total known infected people around the world. And so with so few tests here and elsewhere, knowing the actual number of infected people, not just the people that have died, but the actual number, the true top number of people who are infected, that's impossible right now because there is not enough tests, not enough people have been tested. So, by saying what the president is saying there, if you think about it, that the 3.4 percent based on a hunch, that's a high number that the deaths, the fatality rate is going to be lower may well end up being true. But by saying that, the president isn't just saying it may be less deadly, he is also actually acknowledging that there are a lot more people currently infected than we think, which is the exact opposite about what he has been saying about cases here in America. Remember back, a couple of days ago he was saying well, there is 15 cases and they're getting over it and it may be done. This is one of the many statements that the president has made which are not based on any actual fact, like this one.
[Trump:] It's going to disappear. One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear, and from our shores, you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We'll see what happens. Nobody really knows.
[Cooper:] So the president, as you know, has suggested a vaccine is just around the corner when every expert will tell you, people on his own task force will tell you it will take a year, a year and a half, and that's rushed. He suggested early on that the small number of cases at that point might quickly drop to nothing and contradicted immediately by his own experts. Late today the commanding general of the army's bio-warfare out of Washington said while the virus may let up during the warmer months, and it might, we don't know. Others have. Swine flu did, the way seasonal flu does, a second wave could hit by wintertime, according to this general. He said the country needs to be prepared for that, to which we might add prepare and armed with facts, not just hunches. To that end, I'll be hosting a CNN global town hall with Dr. Sanjay Gupta tonight at 10:00. Joining us will be Dr. Anthony Fauci and other leading medical experts, frontline doctors and patients as well, folks who currently have the virus and are quarantined. It gets under way at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It's a two-hour special. We think it's worth you watching. Joining us right now is CNN's Jim Acosta. He's at the White House. The White House acknowledging there is not enough kits for people to get tested, a day after he said anyone who need it could get tested with the doctor's recommendation. I mean, what's with the contradicting statements? Is it just, you know, they now realize how many kits could be needed? They were trying to paint a rosy picture? What do we know?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] It was a pretty candid assessment from the vice president earlier today, Anderson, no question about it when he said they don't have enough kits right now to deal with the problem. I did talk to the vice president spokeswoman Katie Miller who called me after the vice president made those remarks and said, listen, they still feel like they're going to meet the administration's goal of having a million tests distributed by the end of the week. But when I asked what about moving forward, she acknowledged they still need to ramp up production of those tests in order to meet future demand. And there does not appear to be a plan at this point as to how to get to where they need to be. I will tell you, Anderson, talking to people close to this Coronavirus Task Force, I talked to one source earlier today who said that there are times when the president is simply engaging in wishful thinking, and it's important to know what the president was saying at a town hall in Pennsylvania earlier tonight, that everything is going to work out, and everybody should be calm about what's happening right now. That sounds like wishful thinking.
[Cooper:] When the president goes on Fox and suggests that many people have coronavirus, some go to work and they get better, sounds like it's no big deal, he didn't say you should go to work, but he said people go to work, they get better.
[Acosta:] Right.
[Cooper:] Because he has a hunch that the numbers being put out by the WHO are wrong or false number, he didn't use the word "fake" but it is pretty much the same thing, what's the reaction of the White House to that?
[Acosta:] Right now, the White House reaction is not very much. I will tell you that the Trump campaign put out an email earlier this afternoon saying, well, there are some scientists who agree with the president. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is one of the president's top experts on this has said that the mortality rate is closer to 2 percent. And so, the president is obviously not on the same page as Dr. Fauci. One other thing we should point out, Anderson, when the president talks about people being able to go to work with the coronavirus, that is in direct contrast with what the CDC is saying. The CDC is putting out guidance saying do not go to work if you have the coronavirus. And in addition to that, Anderson, the White House has sent out an email to federal employees saying if you're showing flu-like symptoms, please stay home out of an abundance of caution. And so, the president is talking about people going to work while the White House is warning its own workers, federal employees to stay home if they're sick Anderson.
[Cooper:] Yes, Jim Acosta, thanks very much. Members of Congress were briefed today by members of the Coronavirus Task Force. Not everyone was satisfied by what they heard. Shortly before airtime, I spoke with Congressman David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island. Congressman, the closed door coronavirus briefing on the Hill today, I know you asked Anthony Fauci a question about the president. What happened then?
[Rep. David Cicilline:] Well, I actually was asking about the statements the president had been made where he was attempting to blame President Obama for the problem with the tests. And the secretary interrupted and went let Dr. Fauci answer the question. And this is really a particularly serious problem. At a moment where we have a public health crisis, an epidemic, getting trustworthy, reliable information from the president is important. And so, you know, when the president first described this as a hoax and then said just as recently as yesterday, you'd be better you get better if you go to work, as well as challenging the mortality rates, that undermines the credibility of the president when he speaks about other issues related to this virus. So, the president needs to understand, let the professionals, let the doctors and scientists and medical experts lead this effort. You know, he tends to look at things through the lens of, is this good for me politically? This is not about him. This is about the health and safety of the American people, and every decision should be made to make sure we get accurate information to the American people so we can keep them safe.
[Cooper:] What was Secretary Azar's excuse for not letting Dr. Fauci answer the question?
[Cicilline:] I you know, it's a good question. Dr. Fauci has a lot of credibility in the caucus and in a bipartisan way, people really respect him. I wanted to hear from him. I think Secretary Azar did not want him to answer my question. And I made it very clear that Secretary Azar was not in charge of deciding who would answer the question that a member of Congress was asking, and it was kind of unpleasant exchange. But it was just an example of why it matters so much that the scientists and public health professionals, not only provide the information to the American people, but really lead the response. This isn't this shouldn't be politicized in any way. We passed a massive piece of appropriations funding to really address this crisis in a bipartisan way. And now the president needs to step aside and let the scientists and doctors and medical experts give the best advice to the American people.
[Cooper:] It's interesting that the president, I mean you know, just last night the president was saying he has a hunch that the more than 3 percent fatality rate is high. What's interesting about that is and again, we don't really know what the ultimate fatality rate is going to be because we don't know how many people have the virus and or are currently infected. We know how many have been currently diagnosed. But even if the president if the president is saying he doesn't believe the 3 percent, that means he is saying essentially he believes there are far more people who are currently infected with the virus than he has let on or that we know, because that's the only way that fatality number would actually go down.
[Cicilline:] That's right. And it's just another reason to make very clear that in a moment such as this, where you're confronting a serious epidemic with potentially, you know, deadly consequences for people who are affected who are in high-risk categories, you don't make hunches. You don't give suggestions that people do certain things or not do certain things. You leave it up for the Center for Disease Control, the NIH, the medical expertise, some of the best experts in the world, you know, are in those things. And the president saying things which contradict the advice that they're giving to the American people and it creates confusion. This is not a time to try to minimize the seriousness of this public health crisis because you think it's politically damaging to you. Let the experts who have both the experience and training to provide good information to the American people do. So, get out of their way. Congress worked in a bipartisan way to make certain they had the resources necessary to respond fully to this epidemic. The president, if you remember, made a proposal of $2.5 billion. Half of that was going to come from other accounts that are addressing current public health crisis like Ebola. Instead, we provided $8.3 billion of new funding for hospitals, for health organizations to accelerate the development of vaccine, to make sure that the equipment is available, masks and protective gear. So, we've provided the resources. The president now needs to let the experts do their work and stop confusing the American people by making statements that have no basis in fact.
[Cooper:] I talked to Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut last night. He said it would be better if the president didn't make statements about the coronavirus, which is an extraordinary statement to make, the idea that the president of the United States should not talk about the coronavirus. But do you agree with him in this case?
[Cicilline:] Well, certainly, if he is going to give misinformation. Look, my mother is 80 years old. She has chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease. She is very vulnerable to this virus, and she is terrified. And she has a right, as do every other American to get accurate information from the president of the United States. And if he can't do that, he should stop speaking about it and let the health professionals and experts do it.
[Cooper:] The vice president acknowledged today that there are not enough testing kits in the U.S., and I know we're going to talk more about that coming up tonight. But do you get any sense from officials today when more will be available?
[Cicilline:] Well, the representation that was made at the briefing today is that 75,000 were being shipped immediately, and that by the end of the week, which means tomorrow, I guess, up to a million would be available. So, you know, I hope that's true. There's lots of reasons to question whether that's actually going to happen. But that was the representation that was made yesterday at the briefing. But this is a real challenge. Not only making sure that people have access to the tests, that they're free or affordable, and second of all, that the results come back in a timely manner. I think there are a lot of challenges in that in terms of that capacity.
[Cooper:] Yes, Congressman Cicilline, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
[Cicilline:] Thanks for having me.
[Cooper:] Well, much more on the subject. Next, our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us along with a former CDC disease detective to talk about more about testing, prevention and some of the other questions people may have about what they can do to stay healthy. And later, another big shake-up in the Democratic presidential primary. Senator Elizabeth Warren, she is now out. The question now is, who will she and her voters support?