[Whitfield:] Welcome back. This breaking news. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in self-quarantine at home, this after a doctor who gave her a routine vaccination later tested positive for the coronavirus. CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen is with us right now. Fred, what do you know?
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Hi, there, Fredricka. Well, this was literally announced just a couple of minutes ago, and essentially what they said is that Angela Merkel got this, what they call a routine vaccination on Friday afternoon. And then that doctor who gave for the vaccination then later tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, once they found this out, they say that Angela Merkel immediately decided to go into self-quarantine or home quarantine as they call it here in Germany. They say she's going to continue to do her full workload at least as much as she is going to be able to. And this is key, they also said that she is going to be continuously tested for possible coronavirus because they believe at this early stage, having just been in contact with this doctor on Friday, tests might be inconclusive or not reliable, so they're continuously going to test her while she's in self-quarantine. They didn't announce how long the self-quarantine measures are going to be. But certainly it seems as though they are going to be for the foreseeable future. And Fredricka, this is really big and fast news that happened here because Angela Merkel put this message out literally just moments after she went on German TV to address the nation and tell Germans that there are going to be stricter measures to try and come to terms with the coronavirus here in this country. Gatherings of more than two people have been banned. Restaurants are going to have to close except for takeout and other measures were announced as well. Because the numbers here in Germany have really been spiking over the past week and especially over the past couple of days, and now it seems as though the German Chancellor herself might be affected as she certainly was in contact with a person who contracted the coronavirus and is now currently in self-quarantine Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] Wow. Well pronouncements of a new normal globally and of course with that also comes now shocking, surprising information that country leaders are not in any way immune to this and are also susceptible. All right, thank you so much, Fred Pleitgen. Appreciate that. All right, in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now predicting that 40 to 80 percent of people in his state will inevitably get the coronavirus. This as he pleads with the Federal government to nationalize efforts to acquire medical supplies.
[Cuomo:] We don't have half enough hospital beds. We don't have a third enough ICU beds Intensive Care Unit beds with ventilators. So we need tremendous capacity added immediately, and we did our part. The President called out the Army Corps of Engineers. I have applaud him for it. He signed what's called the Declaration of Disaster for New York with FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency. I applaud him for that. Now, let's get to work. You know, we have all the paperwork done. Let's put the shovel in the ground and let's do it tomorrow.
[Whitfield:] CNN Correspondent, Evan McMorris-Santoro joining me right now. So Evan, Governor Cuomo also responded directly to President Trump's tweets this morning that governors should stop blaming the Federal government for their shortcomings. How did Cuomo respond?
[Evan Mcmorris-santoro, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, look, the President tweeted at Governor Pritzker of Illinois who is a Democrat and Governor Cuomo is a Democrat. Anyone who knows Governor Cuomo knows he is not one to shy away from a partisan fight with a Republican President, especially this one. But in this particular case, he said he had bigger fish to fry.
[Cuomo:] Look, everybody has their own style in life, right? I am working cooperatively with the President. This is not a time for politics. This is not a time for venting personal feelings. My feelings are wholly irrelevant. I have one job, I have one mission. That's to help the people in the State of New York, I said to the President, I put my hand out in partnership. If you can help my people, if you can help this country, God bless you. I will do everything I can to do it with you. Forget this Democrat-Republican, we're all Americans.
[Mcmorris-santoro:] Now, Fred, I can imagine people who have been watching your show today and have come to this segment and seen this conversation might be pulling their hair out of their heads. Certainly those in New York who are dealing with a very serious issue. I mean, this idea of a partisan fight in the middle of this just doesn't really wash with a lot of people who are paying attention to what's going on right now, and Governor Cuomo, the main focus of his press conference, what he is trying to talk about today is the sheer volume of the crisis here in New York. All right, 15,000 more than 15,000 cases in this state and the Governor is trying to ramp up hospital capacity as quickly as he can to try and alleviate that problem. So today, he announced he is adding beds that he can add with his own governor powers in terms of like asking hospitals to increase capacity by up to 50 percent or at least 50 percent and hopefully up to a hundred percent. He is turning other locations like rehab centers and nursing homes into hospitals. And he has used Federal government help to build large new temporary hospitals here in New York City, and around the state, more than a thousand beds here in New York City. The Javits Center, just down the street from CNN Headquarters here in Manhattan. So what we're talking about is a very serious problem, and a very massive problem that requires a massive solution, and when we talk about more hospital beds, we're also talking about the need for more medical equipment and that is at the basis of today's little partisan spat, which is really the idea that hospitals need equipment, basic equipment, like masks and ventilators and gowns and all sorts of stuff. And the governor of New York said it's hard to get it. The Governor of Illinois says it's hard to get it. The President says it's up to you guys to get it. And that is the kind of frustration that the Governor has, and I think a lot of our viewers that are watching this probably have, too.
[Whitfield:] Yes, a lot of the governors in unison are all saying now they need assistance from the Federal government. They don't want to fight with each other in order to get the same kind of resources that everybody wants in order to protect its citizens, all of the American people. All right. Thank you so much, Evan. We'll check back with you appreciate it. All right. Meanwhile, investors are bracing for yet another wild week on Wall Street and with dire economic forecasts on the horizon, it is hard to know what to do now with your money. CNN Chief Business Correspondent, Christine Romans has more.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Chief Business Correspondent:] Hi, Fredricka, coronavirus panic gripping the market. Investors are worried action from Central Banks and governments just won't be enough to save the economy. Last week, stocks tumbled to new lows. Investors around the world sold nearly every asset class in a grab for cash. Wall Street also got a small preview of what's to come. First time, filings for unemployment claims spiked 33 percent to 281,000. That's the highest level since 2017. It's the biggest percentage jump since 1992. Meaning a jump that large never even happened during the Great Recession and it is just beginning. On Thursday, we'll see just how bad the numbers got last week. Oxford economics says anecdotal reports from states suggest claims could quickly climb above a million that would dwarf the previous record of 695,000 jobless claims set back in 1982. In New York, I'm Christine Romans.
[Whitfield:] Thank you so much, Christine. All right, up next, world renowned opera singer Placido Domingo has tested positive for the coronavirus. What we're learning about his condition straight ahead.