CDC: Not "If" But "When" Coronavirus Spreads in U.S.; IOC Tokyo 2020 Preps Continue As Planned.
ROMANS: Investors hoping for markets to stabilize after two days of historic declines but it's all red arrows again over night. Taking a look at futures right now, you can see Asia closed lower. European shares opened down. Big losses again for Frankfurt. And Wall Street, futures also learning lower here. They have been really wobbling all over the place but leaning lower. Markets plummeted for the second day in a row as coronavirus fears rattled investors around the world. Look at this, the Dow fell another 879 points. That's more than 3 percent. It makes it the worst two-day drop in history. The Dow is now off more than 8 percent from its recent high, putting it close to what we call a correction, that's when it falls 10 percent. About $1.7 trillion wiped off the S&P's value in just two days. Look at entertainment and leisure stocks. American Airlines down 9 percent. People worried about spending money in group activities and travel. Still, White House economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, doubled down on the U.S. response.</s>LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: We have contained this. We have contained this, I won't say airtight, but pretty close to airtight.</s>ROMANS: A day before that, he told long-term investors they should buy this. If they did, they would be losing money today. Important to note, the rush into the safety of bonds pushed down the ten-year note to a record low, reflecting deep concerns about global slowing economic growth.</s>JARRETT: It looks like the president is choosing happy facts over talk about the coronavirus. Remember yesterday when President Trump had this to say.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're fortunate, so far and w think it's going to remain that way. I think it's a problem that's going to go away.</s>JARRETT: Turns out his own government disagrees with him. One of the top officials at the Centers for Disease Control warned it is not a question of if but when novel coronavirus will spread in this country. Other crucial unknowns, when, how many Americans are going to get sick? The president also insisted a vaccine is close but most experts say it is roughly a year away.</s>ROMANS: Publicly, the president projecting optimism but sources tell CNN privately, he is frustrated by some of the ways his administration is handling the outbreak. On Capitol Hill, even some Republicans raising concerns about the lack of alarm.</s>SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): You're supposed to keep us safe. And American people deserve some straight answers on the coronavirus. And I'm not getting 'em from you.</s>CHAD WOLF, ACTING DHS SECRETARY: I disagree.</s>KENNEDY: That's all I have, Madam Chair.</s>ROMANS: In contrast to the administration's low-key response, San Francisco has declared a state of emergency. As of now, there are at least 57 coronavirus cases in the</s>U.S. JARRETT: Meanwhile, coronavirus is not stopping preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, at least for now. CNN's Will Ripley is live in Tokyo. Will, what is the game plan here?</s>WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tokyo 2020 organizers are telling CNN, Laura, that the Olympics are scheduled to go on, as planned. But there are new questions because a senior member of the International Olympic committee, Dick Pound, gave an interview where he said they might have to make a decision by the end of May whether to keep the games here on schedule, or postpone them, or even potentially move them to a new location, which would be an absolute nightmare for Japanese officials. I lived here for four years. I have seen the blood, sweat, tears, and tens of millions of dollars that have gone to this country's most important sporting event in decades. They haven't had to cancel the Summer Olympics since World War II. But some people are saying this is a new war. This is a public health crisis. And given the Japanese government faced so much criticism for the way it handled the Diamond Princess, what many consider a failed quarantine, think about their credibility when you have hundreds of thousands of people coming from 200-plus countries, all staying in close quarters here in Tokyo for a few weeks and then going back out to their home countries. If they don't get this under control, the potential public health crisis and outbreak is huge. But Tokyo 2020 is saying this, and I'll read your portion of their statement to us, to CNN. They said: Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organizations which carefully monitor any incidents of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that maybe necessary with all relevant organizations. The rest is speculation. They don't want speculation. They want people to feel safe when they come here. To give you a sense, Laura, of how seriously Japan is taking this. This is a country with a salary-man culture. People expected to come in the office and sit in the office for very long hors, Monday through Friday, Monday through Saturday. Japan is actually advising people, and this is a tectonic shift, they are telling people they should work from home, because they're trying to avoid that public gatherings. They're encouraging social They say the next one to three weeks are going to be critical on the ground here because, frankly, they don't know how many people might have the virus right now and could, unknowingly potentially, spread it to others.</s>JARRETT: Sure because it takes so long, in some cases, for you to actually show symptoms even though you do have the virus. Will, thank you so much for being there for us. See you soon. And we will be right back.