NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio considering 'shelter-in-place' amid coronavirus pandemic
Former New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly shares his thoughts on de Blasio's and Cuomo's coronavirus response.
This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," March 18, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Billy.
You're right. It could have been a lot worse, about, ooh, I don't know, 700 points worse, because at our worst levels of the day, we were off well over 2,000 points, stocks plunging.
And that triggered trading curbs again, so-called circuit breakers put it for the fourth time in less than two weeks. That's when they try to cool things off by stopping trading for about 15 minutes just to let cooler heads prevail.
Well, good luck with that, the Dow diving today on fears that whatever they're coming up with might not be enough, then again, optimism that this very hour, it might be happening, and soon. We're going to be talking to Senator Lindsey Graham about that.
The major averages right now, even with today's comeback from our worst levels, are down about a third from their all-time highs reached last month.
Washington continues to talk up a now well in excess of a trillion dollars. Man, oh, man, these are surreal times.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World."
The president is meeting this hour with nurses on COVID-19 and the response the nation has implemented. When he makes those remarks, and we get the tape in our hot little hands, we will play it back for you.
In the meantime, all this as the country continues to shut down businesses and people seem to disappear from cities in New York and Chicago, in San Francisco, and even the Las Vegas Strip shut down today for the first time since after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. That was then. What the heck is going on now?
We are grinding lower, but how much lower? And where do we go from here?
Let's get the read from Jackie DeAngelis, who is following all of this very, very closely -- Jackie.
JACKIE DEANGELIS, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Neil.
Well, the fourth trading halt, as you mentioned, implemented in less than two weeks. That was as the S&P fell more than 7 percent during today's trading session, part of the volatility coming from uncertainty surrounding the virus, but the other part of these knee-jerk massive moves come from not just straight buying and selling of the market, but short-selling and then covering, which exacerbates those swings.
It's one reason that some are warning the markets could shut down or implement new rules, though the Treasury secretary said that's not going to happen. But the economy itself, more door-closing, as you said, today's casinos, bars restaurants closing in Las Vegas, this in addition to the malls and retailers who said yesterday that they are going dark, Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks, Bloomingdale's, then Target and Best Buy reducing store hours as well.
That will help those stores restock and clean. This is all coming as government officials are trying to put plans in place to contain the virus and stem the damages to business at the same time, more borders closed across Europe and North America, the U.S. and Canada agreeing to close their border, except for essential travel.
The administration pressuring Congress to pass a $1 trillion package that would allow for paid sick leave, payroll tax cuts, expanded loans, unemployment insurance, as well as the cash checks that have been discussed.
And as Detroit's Big Three automakers instituted factory shutdowns, the president looking to invoke laws that would allow private companies to help deal with this pandemic as well, Neil.
CAVUTO: Jackie, thank you very, very much.
Well, as stocks keep going down, those potential COVID-19 bailouts keep piling up.
John Roberts at the White House with the latest on what they are cooking up.
Hey, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're cooking up all sorts of things here, Neil.
And one of the big headlines coming out of the White House today, the president, after being urged by Democrats to do it and many other people as well -- but that's not the only reason -- today decided to invoke what's called the Defense Production Act.
This is an act that's normally put in place to build tanks and ships and submarines and guns and things like that. Instead, it is going to be used, as Chuck Schumer there on the Senate floor implored the president to do earlier today, produce things like personal protective equipment, those respirator masks, as well as desperately needed ventilators.
The president say, for now, he's only going to sign an order to activate the act, but that it will be used. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A thing like this has never been requested, and it's never -- we have never had even think in terms of these numbers, but we need millions of masks. And all of that will be ordered.
We need respirators. We need -- ventilators is a big thing, because it's a complex piece of equipment. So we have a lot of ventilators, but we're going to be ordering more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That financial stimulus now soaring north of $1.3 trillion, Larry Kudlow saying just a short time ago on FOX News, if it takes more than that, we will do more than that.
What about those checks that are going to go out to individual taxpayers? We are told by the Treasury Department that they will come out in two tranches, two tranches of $250 billion apiece. That's $500 billion, a half- a-trillion dollars just in checks.
The first tranche will be on April the 6th. The second tranche will be on May the 18th. We still do not know the size of the individual checks. I asked the president earlier today. Here's what he told me:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What size will the checks be that will be sent out?
TRUMP: Hasn't been determined yet, but it will shortly be determined. And people want to go big, as opposed -- everybody seems to want to go big. And they want to get to the recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Neil, we were talking to Larry Kudlow in the driveway just a short time ago, asking him sort of, these plans that are put in place, what's the window of businesses being closed that those plans are planning for?
And he seemed to indicate it was six weeks to a couple of months, maybe the summer to the end of the year in certain circumstances. But he said, if we need to do more, we will.
He went so far as to say, with small businesses, we may have to cover their revenues. And he suggested, because interest rates are so low, borrowing is cheap. He said it's almost a bottomless pit. So maybe we will find out where the bottom of that pit really is -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Yes. Don't tempt fate.
John, I'm curious. The president dismissed at his briefing today this talk that this could drag on for a year-and-a-half.
What do you know about that, what they're maybe, on the Q.T., talking about?
ROBERTS: Well, these are projections for pandemics.
CAVUTO: Right.
ROBERTS: And if you look at the projection for a flu pandemic, the window is typically 12 to 18 months.
But the way that things are being ramped up now, and with the social distancing and the shuttering of certain businesses that we're seeing now, they're hoping to really shrink that window down to a matter of months, a few months, as opposed to 12 to 18 months.
But don't forget, we won't really beat this thing until we get a vaccine. And that's probably still a year to 18 months away, Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, thank you, my friend very much.
Want to bring Senator Lindsey Graham into all of this, the senator a close confidant of the president as well.
Senator, what is your sense you're getting from the White House and from many of your colleagues about how this is sorting out or not sorting out?
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Go big.
The bottom line is, I have been on the Hill all day. I haven't seen this kind of spirit since 9/11. Everybody is looking at each other as an ally, not a foe.
People in America, you begin to see the best of the country, the young lady on the show before delivering food to elderly people, allowing seniors to shop ahead of everybody else in grocery stores. It's going to take that kind of spirit to defeat this.
But here's the problem. Eighty percent of the work force is going to be impacted by the containment policies. The money we're spending to deal with health care is going to pale in comparison with the money we spend to stabilize the economy.
If you have been laid off today in South Carolina from a bar or a restaurant or a hotel, I'm looking to make sure that we have wage replacement, that we replace your income as much as possible, so that you don't have your life turned upside down.
That's the number one goal of phase three for me.
CAVUTO: So, Senator, obviously, money in people's hands is always a good thing, especially for the people who need it.
But is it your sense that the problem here is the virus itself and that people who are hunkered down in their homes, afraid to go out because of this...
GRAHAM: Yes.
CAVUTO: ... they might -- they might use that in other means and pay bills -- I get that -- but that it won't have the desired effect on the economy? Or is that even part of the rationale here?
GRAHAM: Well, it's my rationale. I want to stimulate the economy, but it's impossible to stimulate it when it's locked down.
If I gave you your paycheck, that would be enough to get you through until we can find a way to fully deal with the virus. Your paycheck, plus $1,000, doesn't do you any good.
Instead of getting a government check, I want you to get your paycheck as much as possible. So, here's what happens.
CAVUTO: No, I get that.
Do you wonder, though, if this drags on a while, though, that people are going to be frozen in place, regardless of what stimulus is coming their way?
GRAHAM: Oh, definitely. You can't stimulate it.
CAVUTO: Yes.
GRAHAM: We're buying containment.
Everything I have just talked to you about is the price of containment.
CAVUTO: OK.
GRAHAM: Shutting every bar and restaurant down in South Carolina is the cost of containment.
We either pay now as a country or we pay later. And what do we do until we turn the corner? And what would turning the corner look like?
CAVUTO: Got it.
GRAHAM: A week where you had less infections than the week prior, when therapies are in place to reduce the mortality rate.
CAVUTO: When the arc is turning.
Senator, I'm so -- apologize for stepping on you.
GRAHAM: It's all right.
CAVUTO: The president is speaking right now.
We're going to go to that.
GRAHAM: Yes, let -- yes, go ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Verma, Dr. Robert Redfield, and Dr. Deborah Birx. Thank you all very much for being here. Thank you very much.
We're using the full power of government in response to the Chinese virus. I declared a state of national emergency that will make up to $50 billion in disaster relief funds available, which we can use to assist hospitals -- which, as you know, we need.
I asked states to set up emergency operation centers and hospitals to activate emergency plans. And they've been fully notified. We're urging hospitals to cancel all elective medical procedures.
My emergency declaration allowed us to waive regulations to give nurses and doctors maximum flexibility to respond to the virus and to protect our frontline professionals that we've authorized through telehealth nationwide, which is really becoming big stuff -- telehealth. It makes it a lot easier for patients, and it really has been working out amazingly well.
We empowered states to authorize tests developed in their state. And we are working with the private sector to rapidly expand testing capacity. We have literally rebuilt that whole system. It was an obsolete system, and it's been rebuilt. And a lot of good things are happening.
We've ordered 500 million N95 masks to drive private production. American manufacturers are repurposing factories. One major manufacturer has already doubled capacity, and we've asked construction companies to donate unused masks. And they have actually, quite a few of them -- the construction companies. Who would think that? But they're going to be donating unused masks. And the Defense Department is making millions of masks available for health care workers.
And we're asking every American to make major changes to reduce social interactions over the next two weeks. As we all know, we must make shared sacrifices, and that's what we're doing as a country. It's been amazing to see the way the country has come together. There's tremendous spirit. And even Republicans and Democrats are getting together -- for the most part, but they're getting together. So that's a good thing to see.
I thought maybe I'd go around the room and we'll just say your name and who you're representing. And it's great to have you. Thank you very much. Please.
DEBBIE HATMAKER, AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION: I'm Dr. Debbie Hatmaker. I'm the Chief Nursing Officer for the American Nurses Association.
TRUMP: Great. Thank you, Debbie.
SUZANNE MIYAMOTO, CEO, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSING: I'm Dr. Suzanne Miyamoto. I'm the CEO of the American Academy of Nursing.
DAVID HEBERT, CEO, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS: I'm David Hebert. I'm the CEO of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Thank you for having us.
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
DR. DEBORAH TRAUTMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES OF NURSING: Hi, Mr. President. I'm Dr. Deborah Trautman. I'm the President and CEO for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
TRUMP: Great. Wow.
THERESA DAVIS, American Association of Critical Care Nurses: Hello. I am Theresa Davis and I'm the Clinical Operations Director of an eICU, but I am representing the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
TRUMP: Thank you very much. Great.
RON KRAUS, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, EMERGENCY NURSES ASSOCIATION: Hi, I'm Ron Kraus. I'm the 2021 National President for the Emergency Nurses Association.
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
ROBYN BEGLEY, CEO, AMERICAN ORGANIZATION FOR NURSING LEADERS: Hello, Mr. President. I'm Robyn Begley, the CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leaders and the CNO for the American Hospital Association.
TRUMP: That's great. Thank you very much.
I know who he is. Mike, do you have anything to say?
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, just -- Mr. President, I just want to join you in welcoming these great healers to the White House. The President spoke today to the leaders of physician organizations from around the country. We garnered from them recommendations about how we can further support those of you that are coming alongside Americans that are impacted by coronavirus.
And as the President said, we are absolutely committed to bringing the full resources of the federal government, the full resources of the American economy to work with states across the country, to be there for Americans struggling with coronavirus.
But at the same level of priority, the President has made it clear that we are to make sure that the men and women who are serving those patients, and -- the nurses, the nurse practitioners, the emergency room nurses so well represented here and around the country -- are in the forefront of the President's mind.
And as he said, we've taken decisive steps. We've enabled the expansion, availability of N95 masks. And Congress has worked a bipartisan way to make those more available. We're working on gowns and gloves and all of the personal protective equipment that all of you rely on every day.
And I look forward to the discussion today about how we might be most helpful. But I hope you will carry back the gratitude of your President and of our entire team on the White House Coronavirus Task Force for the work that all of your members are doing every single day. They are the hands and feet of American compassion, and every American is grateful to our nurses.
TRUMP: Thank you, Mike. And just for the media: FEMA is fully engaged. They're -- they're working with them very closely. They're going around, they're seeing many of the states. They're engaged all over the country. But some areas have far greater problems than others. Some areas don't have very much of a problem at all, as you know. But FEMA is very much engaged. They're fully engaged as of about two hours ago.
And tomorrow, we're having a -- what I think will be a very interesting news conference, and I think you know what that's all about. So, we'll see.
The FDA will be -- they've been working very, very hard, and I appreciate what they're doing. And I think we have some very interesting things that will be brought up tomorrow at the news conference. It'll be set up, I think, at around 11:00 or so, but we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Thank you very much, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, they never know when to leave, but they do save time talking over one another. So there is that.
Senator Lindsey Graham was kind enough to stay with us.
And, as we were listening to the president, the Senate has gone ahead and passed, as Lindsey Graham suspected it would, this coronavirus response...
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Yes.
CAVUTO: ... that measures include sick leave for workers, as well as free testing.
Now, that latter part is of interest to me. I know you had yourself tested for the coronavirus because...
GRAHAM: Yes.
CAVUTO: ... of an official you ran into, I believe at Mar-a-Lago, sir, who...
GRAHAM: Right.
CAVUTO: ... who had it. And I guess it came back negative. So there's all good there?
GRAHAM: Yes, another test I failed. And I'm glad I failed this one. It was the...
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: That's a good one to fail.
GRAHAM: Yes, well, it's the Australian ambassador I met.
But let me just tell you a couple things. What the president talked about is efforts to ramp up the ability to contain the virus. God bless the doctors and nurses on the front line of the fight.
But what I'm looking at trying to accomplish here this week is to create a revenue stream, an income stream for everybody who's lost their job, not a one-time payment, but income that you can count on.
You know what the maximum benefit for unemployment insurance is in South Carolina per week?
CAVUTO: I don't.
GRAHAM: Three hundred and twenty-six dollars. That's not enough.
So there's bipartisan support to have the federal government to put more money into the unemployment insurance system. What I'm talking about is three-quarters of your salary up to $80,000 as a general idea.
There seems to be a lot of Republican and Democratic support for that. Marco Rubio and Susan Collins have a great idea. If you're a bar owner or business owner, and you have had to shut down, you can go to the Small Business Administration, and get a loan to pay your employees up to $80,000 per employee, and we will forgive that loan for the first six weeks, to keep the paychecks coming.
Between those two ideas, we're trying to stabilize people's income.
CAVUTO: You know, what's interesting in the middle of all this -- and it can't be helped -- but we're looking at a possible recession, Goldman Sachs says in the very quarter we're in, Senator...
GRAHAM: Yes.
CAVUTO: ... and that it could linger for a while.
GRAHAM: Right.
CAVUTO: Even Secretary Mnuchin, even though the president corrected him, said, if this whole measure were not to pass or ultimately be signed by the president, unemployment could jump up to 20 percent.
What did you think of that?
GRAHAM: Well, I think the unemployment rate in this country is far more than 20 percent.
I think we have locked the whole economy down. People are not unemployed. They have been furloughed because of a medical condition.
CAVUTO: Right.
GRAHAM: Nobody's lost their job because of bad economic policy. People are out of work to contain the virus. As soon as...
CAVUTO: No, there's no doubt. You're exactly right.
But are you worried that, whatever the reasons, it's going to grind this economy to a halt for an extended time...
GRAHAM: Yes.
CAVUTO: ... and maybe for right -- through the election?
GRAHAM: Here's what I think.
I think the containment policies are aggressive and will pay dividends. I'm looking for three things, one week where the infection rate is less than the week before, when therapy saves lives, and when a vaccine is on the horizon.
When those three things happen, the economy will begin to work again. It is not -- it can't be stimulated. It is completely shut down as part of containment.
So, the number one issue for me -- and I'm a broken record here -- is, I want you to have an income stream until we can contain the virus, not a one-time payment from the government.
That income stream can come from your employer through loans to them or through increased unemployment benefit checks.
CAVUTO: You know, Senator, when you look at this and what's happening right now, the feeling seems to be that cities are emptying out.
GRAHAM: Right.
CAVUTO: And in countries like Italy, the whole country is essentially in a lockdown.
GRAHAM: Right.
CAVUTO: Everyone's quarantined inside their homes.
GRAHAM: Right.
CAVUTO: Now, I have some Italian relatives who are singing from their windows, so they're putting up with it the best they can, Senator.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: But do you think that could happen here? Should it happen here?
GRAHAM: Well, our current policy is, stay away from places where there are more than 10 people.
When you apply that rule to the economy, how many people will stay in business? Now, part of the economy is still functioning, but you had all the major car companies stop work today.
CAVUTO: Right.
GRAHAM: If you want to contain the virus, you got to keep people away from each other. To keep people away from each other...
CAVUTO: So, what did you think of kids in Florida and elsewhere who are in groups significantly larger than 10, I'd say, in some of the video that I saw, Senator, in excess of 50, having a grand time during their spring break?
GRAHAM: You're doing the country a great disservice. You're putting your parents and grandparents at risk.
We need the spirit of World War II, where everybody was in it to win it. The war on terror, 1 percent of the country has been fighting radical Islam. In the war against the coronavirus, all of us are key players, all of us soldiers in the fight.
My job is to work with the president and Congress to contain the virus to medical breakthroughs as quickly as possible, but also to stabilize an economy that's in freefall right now.
Eighty percent of the American work force is going to have a hard time getting a paycheck due to our containment policies. We need to come up with programs to replace their income, so they can get through this without losing their entire lifestyle.
CAVUTO: All right, Senator, thank you, and for your patience through that. I appreciate it.
GRAHAM: Thank you.
CAVUTO: Senator Lindsey Graham.
By the way, you were looking at Washington, now taking a look at San Francisco. It too is almost like a ghost town. They're in a kind of a quasi-lockdown, not exactly, but they're being urged to just sort of stay indoors.
New York considering the same, but there's a little bit of a battle back and forth on it.
The former police chief of that grand Big Apple is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo right now says that sheltering in place, in other words, getting locked up in your home and being very strict about allowing you to ever leave it, that's just not going to happen.
It might be an option, but it's not an option he's considering. And he would ultimately pull the trigger on that.
FOX News' own Alex Hogan with more on that, and a very much abandoned, quiet, almost ghost town New York City -- Alex.
ALEX HOGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, it's a very quiet New York City Times Square, indeed, that could get even more quiet with these new announcements coming from the governor, the governor stopping short of calling for a shelter in place.
He says that simply is not effective. Instead, he made some new announcements today, saying that every business must keep at least 50 percent of their workers at home. That does, however, exclude people in the medical field, emergency responders and, of course, people stocking food and health care products at pharmacies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Going to be an impact on the economy, not just here in New York, but all across the country.
And we're going to have to deal with that crisis. But let's deal with one crisis at a time. And let's deal with the crisis at hand. And the crisis at hand is a public health crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOGAN: Pennsylvania joining the coalition of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut taking on the containments in their states.
The four states all closing their indoor malls, amusement parks, and bowling alleys. And in Boston and throughout the state, actually, Massachusetts, they are -- they are announcing that starting on Monday, all child care facilities will close, but there will be some that do remain open for the children of doctors on the front lines who are fighting this virus.
And we are also learning from the governor of Connecticut that they are now reporting their state's first death from the virus -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Incredible. Alex, thank you very, very much.
And we did not digitally adjust what's behind Alex in New York's Times Square, the crossroads of America, the busiest crossroads in the world, if you think about it, no one there, nothing going on.
So, is a shelter in place, whatever they want to call it, really in order?
Let's ask the former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who joins us now in Battery Park City in downtown Manhattan.
Commissioner, always good to see you.
RAYMOND KELLY, FORMER NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good to see you, Neil.
CAVUTO: What do you think of that? Do you think it's necessary?
KELLY: Well, I think having the world's most important city shelter in place would be a profound decision that right now I'd certainly side with Governor Cuomo.
I hope he's talking to the medical experts. I hope he's getting the right advice. I know the mayor, Mayor de Blasio, sort of hinted that this is going to happen, but this could set back this city economically for a long, long time to come.
So it's a very important decision. Right now, I don't know if the evidence is there to warrant it.
CAVUTO: Maybe you can help me with the power structure there.
Obviously, the governor is a bigger state official than is the New York mayor. Does he have final say on this?
KELLY: Yes...
CAVUTO: OK.
KELLY: ... as in most states. The cities are the creature of the state.
CAVUTO: Got it.
KELLY: New York is a creature of Albany, so to speak.
So, the governor's decisions and the decision-making process is a lot more significant than the mayor, quite frankly.
CAVUTO: So, let me ask you.
Obviously, the impetus for this was, it seems to be working elsewhere. I mean, it's still too early to tell in Italy, where, essentially, as you know, Commissioner, the entire country is in this lockdown, very similar to a lockdown.
And, in China, I believe 16 million residents are still in a lockdown of themselves spread across the country. And the Chinese will tell you, at least in their case, that has slowed the progression and the reporting of new cases.
What did you make of that?
KELLY: I think we simply don't know. We don't know enough of the size and scope of the problem here.
I think we have to be prepared. It seems to me now that we're doing everything we reasonably can do. But we don't know so much here, that it's difficult to say. As I said before, shutting down the world's most important city, which, de facto, that's what sheltering in place means, could have economic ramifications for a long time to come.
I know the president is talking about an economic stimulus.
CAVUTO: Yes.
KELLY: But you can't just shut down business totally in New York City and expect a stimulus to work.
CAVUTO: Commissioner, I was thinking of you, because a lot of cities that have ordinances like that in effect, more like just urging you voluntarily to stay indoors or not to travel in groups larger than 10, have been reporting progress against cases here.
But it comes at a time when police then have to decide, how do we split our job now, policing that? Some of them are not going after nonviolent offenders. They're focusing on the violent ones. What happens?
KELLY: Well, the police have to monitor this very closely.
We have had roughly analogous situations with the Hurricane Sandy, obviously with 9/11, where officers from less essential jobs will be on patrol in uniform. Obviously, we have to determine the percentage of police officers who themselves contract the coronavirus.
So, it's a fluid situation. It has to be monitored on a daily basis. We have had in this city, and in other cities too, we have had some experience in this regard.
And I think the department, the police department in New York City, is prepared to handle a situation where significant numbers of police officers are affected by coronavirus.
CAVUTO: Commissioner, always a pleasure, I'm sorry under these circumstances, but I learn a lot. Thank you very, very much. The best to your family.
KELLY: Thank you, Neil.
CAVUTO: All right.
In the meantime here, you remember when General Honore was here, the raging Cajun who was handling Katrina and banged some heads to get everybody on the same page, and he was telling me, Neil, when it comes to this virus, we need to do the same thing?
Well, they are, the president, leading Democrats. I'm not saying everything's hunky-dory, but someone seemed to suggest they act that way. They are.
General Honore is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: All right, you have probably seen hoarding in stores, where people just pile on everything to get all the milk they can, the toilet paper they can, the Purell and everything else they can.
And poor older people, who really need the stuff, they're left wondering what to do.
Well, there's a mayor in New Jersey who said, you know, that is stupid. There ought to be a law. Well, now, essentially, there is.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop right now on an executive order that makes time for older folks to get all of that stuff.
Mayor, that's brilliant. And I -- my hat's off to you. What's the response you're getting?
STEVEN FULOP (D), MAYOR OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY: Thanks, Neil. I mean, it's good. We were there this morning, and they were lined up. And it was orderly. And they had an opportunity to shop in a little bit more comfortable environment, especially in this time.
So, it's working. And all of the grocery stores were cooperative, which was good as well.
CAVUTO: Can you explain, Mayor, how it works?
FULOP: Yes. So they all -- the first hour of shopping was set aside for people with -- for elder and handicapped and immune-compromised.
So, we do have a police officer up there. But we are kind of working on the honor system here. So we're in a tough time. Everybody's trying to pull together.
So, I'm sure there are some people that are taking advantage of it. But clearly designating a time for seniors makes them more comfortable coming to shop and being able to get what they need.
CAVUTO: Yes, I always think of someone who dresses up like Harvey Korman or something like that to get first dibs on that.
FULOP: Yes.
But let me just tell you that there were -- there were quite a few people that I would have asked to -- I would have liked to have been able to ask them, what exactly is your issue, you know?
CAVUTO: What time of day is it, Mayor, that they can come?
FULOP: So, it varies.
In some situations, it's 7:00 to 8:00. In some situations, it's 8:00 to 9:00. It depends when they open.
So, generally, the first hour, when the shelves are totally restocked, is designated to seniors. So, it actually works out well on multiple fronts.
CAVUTO: You know, Mayor, Republicans are praising this move, Democrats as well. We're hearing much the same kind of tone. It's not across-the-board angelic, don't get me wrong.
FULOP: No, true.
CAVUTO: But I would it's very akin to the feeling of camaraderie and mutual support and respect we had after 9/11.
How do you size it up in your community?
FULOP: Yes, I mean, look, -- yes, I mean, we're working hard. And we're working with everybody.
I mean, everybody's pulling together in this situation. And it's not about party or politics. We're trying to figure out ways to solve the problem best we can on the hyper-local level.
So if somebody has a good idea, we implement it. And it doesn't matter where it comes from.
CAVUTO: Now, you don't have any rules in effect where people are forced to shelter or any of that kind of stuff that I know Mayor de Blasio was looking at doing in New York.
I believe, in Hoboken nearby, they are looking at something like that, not quite so draconian. What do you think of measures like that?
FULOP: Yes.
Yes, I mean, so let me say, we were actually the first in the country a week ago to implement some restrictions on bars and nightclubs...
CAVUTO: Right.
FULOP: ... which now has become commonplace.
But when people ask us about the shelter-in-place situation, I keep saying that it's going to have a real significant impact on the local economy. And we're real hesitant to do that, unless it's a national or statewide or regional requirement.
So, you're going to really be hurting people that are service workers or rely on a paycheck. And if it's not done on a regional basis, it's going to have limited impact.
So we're reluctant to do it.
CAVUTO: I hope that you ignite a response like this across the country, Mayor. It's a beautiful thing you're doing. It doesn't matter whether you're Democrat or Republican.
FULOP: Thanks.
CAVUTO: You're just being a human being. That's not a bad -- that's not a bad...
(CROSSTALK)
FULOP: I appreciate it.
CAVUTO: Thank you, Mayor, very, very much.
And, again, I have often said this here, but these people who hoard stuff and all, and you are preventing people who really need it from getting it, there is, when you look at pictures of hell, there's a special corner, there's a special corner for you there when you do that.
More after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, I have been showing you cities around the country that are essentially ghost towns, but, in Vegas, where essentially the whole town is shut down, all the casinos have closed.
You know the last time that happened? Right after John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. That's how long it has been. So, Sin City has stopped. And it's not the only city that's like that.
So, beyond stocks and all of that, when people don't leave their homes, when they don't get out, when they don't do much of anything, because, well, they can't, what do we do?
We get the market watcher Gary Kaltbaum to help us with the impact of all of that.
Gary, what do you think?
GARY KALTBAUM, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Neil, industries have no revenue coming in, and something has to be done.
I have never been for bailouts, but, in this case, not by their fault. Something better get done. I tell you, I'm hearing about tranches this, tranches that, and this deal and that deal and who's going to get this
They may have to do this a dozen times going forward, or else -- because you see what markets do. And I have to tell you, I have studied every crack in the market going back to 1900. Some of these areas of the market, unprecedented. So keep fingers crossed.
I saw at the end of the day today names like Hyatt had a big move into the clothes and got some defense. So, hopefully, the markets may see the worst of anything that can happen close. I will know sooner, rather than later.
CAVUTO: All right.
KALTBAUM: But so far, you see the numbers.
CAVUTO: Gary, I'm very sorry.
I'm interrupting you to go to the Florida governor right now. Of course, they had cases there as well, Ron DeSantis speaking to reporters.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Samples had to be sent to the CDC in Atlanta. That obviously took quite a bit of time.
These labs in Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, since February 22, they have tested a total of 1,653. But if you look, just a week ago, that is a pretty significant increase to where we were a week ago.
And then during the week of March 8, private laboratories began processing COVID-19 laboratory tests. So, Quest, LabCorp, there's other CLIA-certified labs. They do have to report the results, because this is a reportable disease. So they do the testing, and then the Department of Health gets the information, the basics.
So they have been doing that. Now, obviously, we're going -- there's going to be a little lag sometimes in the information, as we see more of the drive-through testing. When that gets sent to private labs, a lot of times, the people, they're going to get a text message. And they will know certainly before the Department of Health knows what the result was.
And then, at that point, that's when the investigations would begin. But they have done on the private side 2,050 tests. So if you go back a week, 10 days ago, I think that's probably three- or four-fold increase of where we were.
I think we need to do way more tests than that. So that was one of the things. As soon as we declared the state of emergency, you had this stuff with the HHS kit. I asked Jared to get as many kits as possible. So we have now distributed 2,500 test kits, so each kit can do a number of tests.
I think the total for 2,500 kits is over 600,000 individual tests. But what I have learned on this is, like, just getting a test kit doesn't mean you can just do the test. You got to get other parts. So Department of Health and DEM have distributed 200 negative and 200 positive controls.
So that goes. That's another component to doing the test. And then we also are working on making sure all the labs have enough reagents to be able to do the test.
But probably the biggest supply issue that we're seeing -- well, I'd say there's two big supply issues. One relates really specifically to testing. The other relates to everything.
Just specific to testing is the swabs to take the sample. We put in an order probably a week-and-a-half ago for a half-a-million swabs. We have not gotten that fulfilled yet. We have also asked the federal government. We're in discussions with HHS and asked them to send.
If we have enough swabs, and we set up the drive-through sites, you can swab people. Some of the state labs and private labs here in Florida could do it, but then the rest can be sent to Quest and LabCorp. So a huge supply of swabs will let us ramp up the number of people that can be tested very, very quickly.
So I have told Jared, do whatever you can to get the swabs. Certainly, the president, that would be the one thing I would say would be helpful, that and the PPE for the health care workers. When you're doing these testing, you got to be in this special equipment, PPE, so that you don't catch the virus.
Some of this stuff's not reusable. I mean, you think like, you just -- you got to use a new one every time. And so that stuff is in short supply. So I have been talking with a lot of hospital folks, and that's one of the main supply needs they have.
But I think that's probably going to be nationwide. If you look at the last two, three weeks, this is probably the biggest rush to get medical supplies in the history of the United States. But we can't have enough PPE right now.
So, the swabs, the reagents and the PPE, if we get more of that in, we're putting the infrastructure in place. And, hopefully, we would be able to greatly expand.
And my view is, if you look at the different countries that have faced this, to me, the one that's been most successful, South Korea, because they were able to really do a lot of testing. They didn't do draconian controls on their population. They promoted social distancing.
But they were able to do the test, do the investigations, isolate the proper people. And if you look in Florida right now, we have about 50 percent of our cases are Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The rest are kind of spread out here or there. Some counties don't -- I think a majority of our counties still don't have any -- or close to -- don't have any positive tests yet. So you have community spread in Broward and very likely Dade. Obviously, we want to know how many asymptomatic people are carrying that.
And so if I have the materials, if we can get that in Florida, we would be able to expand the number of people and the categories of people who would be able to come in and get tested.
So, that's what we have been working on nonstop. And I have learned a lot about how this works. But, hopefully, we're getting in the right place on that.
The other thing I would say that hospitals have done, most of the hospitals in the state, have started to...
CAVUTO: All right, really listening Governor Ron DeSantis.
Also, the governor of Connecticut is speaking right now and thanking the president for what seems to be promising cooperation.
Let's listen into that.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): ... day care.
But we do need day care available, so that those nurses and doctors and other first responders can get to work be confident. And Beth Bye is working on that. She's trying to put together a day care right now, and child care, adjacent to or at some of our hospitals, nearby our nursing homes as well, doing everything we can to make sure that our first responders are able to keep working.
Look, we also had at the meeting housing commissioner, DSS, mental health, all the other things that get unleashed when you are confronted with a crisis like this. You look at the number of folks who are homeless. And if you're homeless, and you get infected with COVID-19, where do we put you?
Where can we find you, so you have a safe place you can be? We're trying to find additional facilities, field hospitals, other places, so that, for those in need of just intermediate care, no longer in a crisis or critical condition, they can free up beds in our hospitals and make space for others going forward.
Look, we have been in contact with all of our regional governors. Josh can tell you about some of the other things we're doing together. We just issued a declaration as regards our major malls.
We're going to be closing them down here in Connecticut, like they are in Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, again, one more place where people are likely to congregate, one more place where people might get infected. And we're doing this out of love for each and every one of those citizens of this great state.
We just put up the electronic billboards up and down our highways. It says, if you're sick, stay home. If you're over 60, stay close to home. Heal thyself.
These are the messages we're trying to share.
Look, I'm going to introduce you to Renee Coleman-Mitchell, our amazing commissioner of public health.
I just want you to know that we have been planning for this.
CAVUTO: We will continue to monitor Governor Lamont, as we will Governor DeSantis.
Across the country, governors are addressing their people, saying that we are on top of this. And it seems to be well-coordinated among parties and whatever their disposition, whatever their points of view, very similar, as I said at the outset, to the feeling of camaraderie right after 9/11.
Let's hope that stays, because we all need that -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAVUTO: All right, we got a new warning about the possible number of coronavirus cases, that they could rise substantially, a top doctor over at Columbia University predicting a case for the COVID-19 virus to go from 10 going undetected to potentially more.
The doctor joining me right now, he's independent -- I'm sorry -- I will say this right.
Dr. Shaman, I'm sorry. I have very -- trouble seeing here today.
Doctor, let me ask you a little bit about the fear that these cases grow a lot, because the flip side is, if we get more and more cases, we -- the denominator gets bigger. So, fears about the death rate growing larger are somewhat mitigated. That seems like macabre way to look at it, but how do you feel about that?
DR. JEFFREY SHAMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Well, what I think you're referring to is that, as more people get infected, they come -- they're out of the pool of susceptibles, and you're no longer going to get new infections.
CAVUTO: Right. SHAMAN: And so that the epidemic in itself is what we call self-limiting as the cycle goes through.
But the problem that we have here is that, because this is a newly emergent virus, to which nobody has natural immunity to, it's going to go through an enormous portion of the population before it settles down and goes away.
So, we're really looking at something, realistically, if we didn't have control measures in place, that would infect 50 to 70 percent of the world's population within a couple of years.
CAVUTO: So you're an epidemiologist. All right, so you know about this. You also know about the fears that now it's a global pandemic or whatever.
A lot of people hear that, Doctor, and go, whoa, whoa, whoa, how much worse can this get? What is your sense of things? I know there's no way of knowing, but what do you think? SHAMAN: Well look, I think we have to be very clear-eyed about what the worst case is in a very realistic way.
The virus that we're dealing with here, unfortunately, has the right combination of characteristics that allows it to be particularly problematic and deadly. And those are really two things, firstly, that in the majority of people, it causes only mild symptoms.
It's the type of thing that you and I would get in the winter, you get a cold, and you're like, you know, I will just take some ibuprofen, I will go to work, it's not a big deal, I will go shopping. We want to go out to a restaurant or a bar or movie theater, not a big deal, send the kids to school.
The problem is that is that it then distributes the virus out in the broader community. Now, for most viruses, that's not a problem, because they don't cause a lot of mortality at the same time.
But this one has what we would call a fat tail. There's a portion of the population, particularly the elderly and those with chronic conditions, that are at extreme risk for severe complications and mortality.
So, not only does it have this component where 80, 90 percent of people are going to be mildly infected, but those people who are not mildly affected, who have to go seek clinical care and see a doctor, many of them are winding up in the ICU and are going to die.
So the consequence of that is that, if we're looking at 50 percent under the population the world getting this, because it spreads so easily, because there's so many of these undocumented cases, let's say that's 4.2 billion people, right?
CAVUTO: We have got to be careful. I hear you.
SHAMAN: If one in seven...
CAVUTO: Doctor, we're going to come to that break. That is staggering news.
I hope you're wrong, but you have a pretty good track record.
Here comes "THE FIVE."
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