Source of the best information, the president of the United States. Later tonight, i want to tell you the great neil cotchall here. And well talk about the legality of quarantines and travel bans around the world. We begin with the latest for you. Right now in the United States, we have more than 1500 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Right now in the United States, the dow is down nearly 10 today alone. And right now, in the United States, there are 19 different states, at least, that have declared types of emergencies to address all of this. That gives you a portrait of a crisis. Now as for the markets, its the worst day on the dow since the 1987 crash which you may recall. Many referred to for years as black monday. So we are in our own territory of that, although unlike the underlying Economic Issues then, many hope that the United States can rebound from this if the Health Situation evolves. At one point this morning, if you didnt see this, the dow was falling so fast that they formally froze trading to try to forestall any panic selling. Meanwhile, the president had an idea that he worked out relatively quickly to try to address all of this. A travel ban of europeans who come here. And it is getting panned by even people who served in his own administration. Unfortunately, george, those travel restrictions and additional screening measures are going to have little to no effect at this stage when controlling the spread of the virus. I think people perhaps misunderstand that the virus is here already in large numbers. The virus is here already in large numbers. You probably know that. A lot of the question is about what are the Different Levels of precautions that can be taken. You in your own life. Your own family. How you deal with other people regularly, whether thats through a job or other activities and which you can take precautions for. Which you can curtail. Then the macro is, its policy. Its what happens in washington and capitals around the world. What are the policy choices that have to be made. In a democracy, we all talk about them, but washington tends to decide on them. That has some concerned with the president returning again today to another policy idea maybe taking whats happening inside the United States, domestic flights, and canceling them as well. Travel restrictions within the United States such as to Washington State or california . We havent discussed that yet. Is it a possibility . Yes. If somebody gets a little out of control. If an area gets too hot. Around the nation there are local officials also doing their best to find ways to have everyone just step back from the kind of contacts that are voluntary. For example, were seeing major league sports, basketball, hockey, baseball, now paused. Broadway here in new york going dark for a month. Church services on hold. Meanwhile, in other states, bans on any types of gatherings of people. Speaker pelosi taking charge of basically how you craft the Coronavirus Relief package in congress, working with trump officials, including treasure secretary steve mnuchin. Secretary mnuchin, he had some suggestions, all very reasonable. I think that none of them is would prevent us from moving forward with the bill. In a moment ill be joined by this expert panel covering the medicine, the science, the economics and the washington response to this unfolding situation in the u. S. We want to begin with a local leader facing this crisis on the ground. Seattle mayor jenny durkan out of king county where there have been over 270 coronavirus cases reported. Thank you for joining us during a busy time. Thank you, ari, for having me. People around the country are concerned while trying to avoid any type of overreaction or panic. What are you seeing right now in this city of seattle and king county area outside it which has been hit so hard, and what are you doing . I think that you framed it exactly right. People should be concerned, and leaders across this country should be taking urgent action. But urgency does not mean fear or panic, and i would encourage the markets and others to lower the temperature and increasing the action. Were doing a number of things out here in saleattle, washingt. Theres things were looking for the federal government to partner with us. This san emergency and Health Crisis, not just here in seattle but across this country. And well only resolve it if we pull our resources in places that are going to make a difference. What are the local measures youve taken . So weve taken a range. Just to set a framework, you gave the numbers of actual cases we have. But weve been really hampered by the fact that we have not had adequate testing even until today. Were starting through our private labs to get more testing, but we estimate that the actual cases we have in our community are much higher than the confirmed cases. We have some of the best researchers in america. They estimate that today we have over 1,100 cases and if we dont do measures like were taking now, by april 7th, well have 25,000 cases and 400 deaths. So the governor thats 25,000 where in that estimate . In the seattle region. In the king county region. And just to be clear, you are referring to the sort of credentialed Public Health experts that you rely on are warning you in a matter of weeks you could hit 25,000 in seattle alone . Thats right. So theyve been able to actually get the genome and done a lot of modeling. And their best modeling is based on how this virus is transmitted and the tests theyve run through the modeling. They estimate if we dont take action. Thats why the governor, standing with the three county executives, myself and other mayors, instituted a number of measures because this is a virus that goes facetoface contact. And if you limit that contact, you can limit the spread of the virus, save lives and preserve our Health Care System. So were taking a number of things to limit public gatherings and other places where people will congregate and give public real scientificbased information. And let them take measures to protect themselves. Mayor durkan, thank you very much for joining us during a busy time and for your candor. Meanwhile, theres a lot of questions about the leadership in the white house as well as the people who want to replace this president in the white house. Against the backdrop of this crisis, we heard from the two remaining leading president ial candidates in the democratic race with their views on the crisis. Protecting the health and safety of the American People is the most important job any of president. Unfortunately, this virus laid bare the severe shortcomings of the current administration. We need that information coming from credible, respected scientific voices of which we have many in our own country and all over this world. Not from politicians. I want to bring in now our panel. Dr. Lena nguyen, former Health Commissioner of boston and president of planned parenthood. She is now with George Washington school of Public Health. Gene sperling, director of the National Economic counsel in the clinton and obama administration. He helped work on crafting the obama stimulus, responding to a different set of National Problems not unlike weve seen unrolling these past few days, and Eugene Robinson from the washington post. This is unfortunately a time where each of you brings so much to bear. I can start with Gene Sperling on one of the largest market crashes since 87. I can start with Eugene Robinson in washington looking at coronavirus, reshaping the entire president ial race. But im going to start with our doctor here with me on set. What is the nature of this Public Health crisis today as americans heard the president give his view of it last night . This is the relative calm before the storm that we know is going to be coming. We just heard the mayor talk about whats going to come to seattle and this is whats going to come all over the country. Were going to see many hundreds, thousands of cases, maybe tens of thousands of cases in the coming weeks. Lets pause on what you just said. For a lot of americans, particularly, the way people are tuning in to this story. It doesnt feel like the calm. It feels like part of the storm. And again, were hearing from Health Officials with experience like yourself and the mayor we just heard from saying that doesnt mean to panic, but when you say this is a calm, when you say tens of thousands of cases, what are you getting at that this is going to get much more onerous on peoples daily lives . I think were about to see significant disruptions in a way that were just experiencing a little bit of it now. The streets feel emptier. The stores feel more crowded as people are stocking up. Were soon going to see all of these schools being closed. Work being significantly disrupted and us changing our routines but we have to because we have to protect the most vulnerable among us. And we have a very small and limited window to act. That window is in the next week or two. So im really glad that our political leaders, at least on the local and state levels are taking dramatic action that may seem like overreactions. Im hearing my neighbors and people in my community saying, why are all these things happening . It feels like a lot of communities dont have any cases yet. But its only a matter of time. Let me read to you with regard to the New York Times reporting on the capacity in the United States. We talk a lot about the Health Care System here, how expensive it is, a patchwork. This is a quote that there arent enough ventilators and icu beds if theres a significant surge of cases. The system could become overwhelmed. Do you agree with that assessment . Our own federal government estimates even if we have a moderate outbreak, not severe, were going to need 200,000 intensive care beds. The u. S. Only has 100,000 intensive care beds at any point in time and most of them are occupied. If you have all these patients coming in all at once, many of them are not going to get care. Were also going to compromise care for those who are coming in for noncoronavirus related issues. People with heart attacks and trauma who need that care. So anything we can do to, we call it, flatten the curve. Anything to reduce the rate of infection and spread it out over time, it gives the Health Care System a chance to catch up so that doctors dont have to make that choice about who gets to live and who is going to die. Really appreciate your points there. Youre obviously staying with us. Turning to Gene Sperling on what any other day would be, by far, the biggest story in American Life and certainly in president ial politics given the economys relationship there. What does it mean when we see the statistic that this was the largest single day drop since the 1987 crash . Well, theres no question it was a bloodbath in the market. Not just today but in the last couple of weeks. But, you know, what i think is important to recognize is this is not fundamentally a financial issue. The markets are responding to the real economy, to the failure to have a competent, professional, truthful government response that should have included massive just massive government effort to get widespread testing so we acknowledge uncertainty, to have the kind of medical surge so that we werent at risk of a lack of capacity to do things like Emergency Paid Sick leave. Not because Nancy Pelosis making somebody do it, but because if you dont do this compassionate thing of making sure people can stay home when theyre sick, youre going to increase the community spread. Theres nothing the government could do to make all this go away simply or have no health or economic cost. But if you had the confidence that our response was going to say, were going to have a dip. Were going to have a downturn, but its all because we have a National Strategy of testing, treatment, to handle this in a relatively short period of time and a surge of economic response to help people and communities in our country get through it, then youd see markets saying, wow, its going to be bad for a little while, but we have confidence its going to get better. When you have this complete failure of the government to help the real economy, the Real Health Care crisis, markets cant see where the bottom is and they cant see where the end is, and thats how they responded. You mentioned the market reacting or pricing into their understanding of how the u. S. Government is handling this. In your view, is todays crash partly a response to the way the president handled this last night or is it too soon to draw that link. Well, i have a little different view which is, i dont think that this is just about the president s speech. I think its about peoples growing recognition that you have a government that was out talking about this as if it was a political conspiracy. The president golfing, the Vice President who was in charge of it going to fundraisers, and now people are starting to really realize, oh, my god, im understanding the exponential growth of how this spreads, and i am realizing our government is way behind. They are looking at south korea. They are looking at other countries. And they are losing confidence. I dont think its just about the speech last night. I think it is about the entire government response and the lack of confidence. Ari, ill say this. This is a National Teaching moment or maybe just a painful reminder. Competent, professional, truthful, credible government matters. And it matters a lot. You say that and then Gene Sperling walking us through that. Our other gene is Gene Robinson. Listen to Speaker Pelosi with regard to the Congress Role in trying to craft something. Its about putting people and families first. Everybody could have a complaint about this or that. I said save it for another day. We can have an after action review about how we got into this situation. Save it for another day. Right now, we have to find our common ground, Work Together to get this done as soon as possible. Gene, what do you see coming out of washington on this, and how much is it right sized, a lot of emphasis on what they can control, which is like anybody. What do you have control over when the doctor and others have outlined some of the problems in the u. S. Health system dont relate to payroll tax credits. Exactly. You know, from the economic point of view, im a little concerned that the deal they eventually come out with, and i think theyll certainly come out with a deal. Speaker pelosi was negotiating with treasury secretary mnuchin all day basically. And so its going to be a deal im a little worried that its going to be too small bore, you know. It seems to me you saw what happened on the markets today. We need kind of a bazooka in the economic sense, i think. Far be it from me to tell Gene Sperling anything about economics, but it seems to me we need essentially a stimulus. We need help for people who are not able to work now. Restaurant workers are having their hours cut back or being laid off because people arent eating out. That sort of thing, people are not taking trips that they otherwise would take on the airlines, on amtrak, everywhere. And this ripples through the economy and i wish we had a big plan for addressing this because i think it is an emergency in that sense, as well as a health care emergency. Were running over on time, but Gene Sperling, having been name checked in your economic expertise, i give you the last word. What about a lot of the concern that these precautions are the type of thing that are harder on wage workers, people with less savings and less health care. Its fine if it is medically true that Everyone Needs to take a step back, but what about people who are literally losing what would be next months rent for that precaution. Well, precisely. And in response to the other genes comments, exactly right. You need all of the above. Theres a lot of i thought you were the other gene. Why is he the other gene . Only in my family is Gene Robinson the other gene, but i think hes right. You know, were going to need some big powerful help for economic demand, but you have to contain the uncertainty and there is this category that i think is the most winwin. And that is helping the people like gene just described who are dont have paid sick leave. They are gig workers who may not have the right type they dont get covered by Unemployment Insurance. I think the first winwin is you get a massive influx to them, and i think we need a broad emergency paid leave. We need to take most of the restrictions off Unemployment Insurance so that that waiter with less hours, the gig economy worker, the Domestic Worker can get that assistance. And i will tell you that was a point of agreement today between joe biden and bernie sanders. And that is compassionate and the right thing to do. But those are the people who are going to need the money. Theyll spend it the fastest. If you have a surge of that type of help, medicaid match, unemployment paid leave, broadly available in a way that hasnt been before, that will be a good step to what gene is talking about. But we may end up needing even more to ensure we have the economic demand because ive never seen a situation in my life where everybody, whether you have a job, whether you are financially secure, is pulling back on their spending. It doesnt matter how well off you are. You are pulling back on your spending, and your economic activity. Thats not the normal thing in just a normal recession. And that means its going to be a scary i think it will be a bit of a scary downturn and i agree with gene. In addition to the targeted help which will help the economy and help those waorkers, were probably going to need bigger mobilization to stay local governments to individuals to seniors to make sure we get through this as a country. Yeah, well, look. These are sobering assessments. Each of you with a lot of experience in the respective fields, including the intersection between health policy, managing the precautions and government. What does government do and what tradeoff does it make during a time when there are some Big Decisions ahead. I think we benefit from exactly that kind of sober information. Dr. Wen and Gene Sperling. Gene, im coming back to you later in the hour on the beat. Updates on what we were just discussing in part because the house may vote as soon as tonight on the beginning of a coronavirus aid package. We have a congressman who is also a physician to give us more on that intersection. What about the testing failures . And former solicitor general neil katyal is here. Well get into these issues, including a question you may be discussing around your dinner tables. What can the government do and what are its limits on quarantining and other measures . Im ari melber. Youre watching the beat. S20 ultra 5g powered by verizon 5g ultra wideband. 5g ultra wideband is so much faster than even my home internet. vo with ultrafast speeds. In the gaming world, if you lag youre done. With verizon 5g ultra wideband, i dont worry about lag. vo now, buy one of our newest Samsung Galaxy 5g phones and get an s20 on us. You can download a movie that normally takes 20 minutes in, like, 20 seconds. vo this is 5g built right from the network more people rely on. Oh, oh, announcer ® onceweekly ozempic® is helping many people with type 2 diabetes like james lower their blood sugar. A majority of adults who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. Heres your a1c. Oh my a1c is under 7 announcer and you may lose weight. Adults who took ozempic® lost on average up to 12 pounds. I lost almost 12 pounds oh announcer for those also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. It lowers the risk. Oh and i only have to take it once a week. Oh oh, oh, oh, ozempic® announcer ozempic® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not share needles or pens. Dont reuse needles. Do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. Stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis. Tell your doctor if you have Diabetic Retinopathy or vision changes. Taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. Common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. Some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. Onceweekly ozempic® is helping me reach my blood sugar goal. Oh, oh, oh, ozempic® announcer you may pay as little as 25 per prescription. Ask your Health Care Provider today about onceweekly ozempic®. Now turning to a different facet of digging in to this coronavirus issue. As it spreads around the nation and thinking about what governments are able to do. Consider italy which is on basically a full lockdown. How do quarantines work, and how would they happen in the United States . We have a constitution that does discuss the idea that the federal government can make any regulations that basically prevent the spread of communeicable diseases. Thats a federal law. The constitution, meanwhile, has other rights to cut against that. Keep in mind that while quarantines thus far and all of the talk you hear about limiting or even, quote, banning the large gatherings are, for the most part, voluntary. But what if they werent . Consider when you had a flu pandemic over 100 years ago. Cdc released an example of a coronavirus quarantine order that could look like mandating that infected individuals simply cooperate with Health Officials but also authorize other deterrents. A criminal fine or even up to one year in jail for violating a quarantine order. Now the United States has different rights, of course, than many other places. Consider china. A country that has basically a more authoritarian style control of government, far fewer civil liberties, no resort to the courts for a lot of citizens, but they utilize that kind of set of powers to contain the virus. The wall street journal reporting, for example, the sealing off of an entire area, wuhan province, which dispatched low levels to guard the gates of compounds and tapped data from staterun mobile carriers to track people who slipped those lockdowns and had individual goes door to door to record peoples body temperatures. Thats obviously very invasive and farther than what most americans consider the role of government. So we dont believe and were not reporting tonight that the United States is looking at things like that. Yet, the International Part of this International Pandemic is a big story. For this, we want to bring in a guest we use for so many legal questions. Former acting solicitor general neal katyal. A tough time but good evening to you, sir. Good evening. Neal, when we talk about quarantines, talk about things the government tells and advises versus mandates, how should we be thinking about this, particularly if, as i just heard experts tell me minutes ago, we are in still the calm period before a potential Health Crisis storm. Yeah, i think, ari, the constitution and the federal and state laws and localities, regulations altogether really give all these governments sweeping powers to deal with the crisis. So in a way, the law is actually not the problem here. I mean, the Supreme Court in 1900 said it was beyond question that the federal government has quarantine powers and the states and localities can impose any number of movement or crowd restrictions as well. As you noted, the federal statute says if you violate a federal quarantine, you can get fined up to 100,000, put in jail for a year and the like. So you have got that. Youve also got the power to restrict movement and travel. President trump tried that yesterday a little bit. The problem there is not, again, the law. Its the haphazard policy, closing it to europe but not to the uk and not closing it for all of europe. So those are all policy problems but in general, the law is not going to stand in the way. There will be some restrantss. If youre doing it on a discriminatory basis like San Francisco in 1900 said if you were a chinese, you had to be inoculated against the bubonic plague. They said they had to prove they were uniquely susceptible to it which they couldnt. It was just done out of racism. If we went down that path, i sure hope we dont, even with this president s proclivities, i hope we dont. If we, do there will be some Court Challenges on that front. Otherwise, there are sweeping powers for the government here. Governor inslee was speaking quite starkly this week in washington. We just heard from a mayor there, about penalties. And he made a broader point. Youre speaking to the fact theres plenty of authority for an actual, bona fide, justified Public Health emergency. But he spoke about something higher than the law. Take a listen. How far does this extend to personal events like parties, weddings, funerals, and what are the policies exactly for not abiding by the ban. The penalty is you might be killing your granddad if you dont do it, and im serious about this. What do you think about that and the way they try to instill seriousness within the law without panic . Thats 100 right, ari. Yeah, there are penalties for violating all of these different government restrictions, but at the bottom, this shouldnt be about penalties. This is about your own conscience and what youre willing to do and what youre willing to risk. And anyone, you know, were all in this together, and we all have to do everything we can to avoid the spread of the disease and flatten the curve. The law is a piece of it, but its the tiniest piece of it. Its all about our individual actions and so i think the governor got it exactly right. This is why were also very different than china. China, in addition to the movement restrictions, theyre literally tracking everyones cell phones, we chat and other things, so they can determine if anyone is moving out of their restricted areas or into their restricted areas. They can go and get them with their military. And, you know, we dont want to go down that path. And were a country of liberty and freedom but also a country in which we view ourselves as having a communeitarian response. But if it comes to that, fortunately, the government does have powers to do things like impose movement restrictions. Neal katyal with a lot of context here. Thank you. You can always go to msnbc. Com opening arguments. Well have this segment there later tonight on coronavirus and the law and neals past reporting and analysis. Meanwhile, a lot of americans finding that this hits home when you hear about people you care about if not in your community. What about famous people you know about. Tom hanks and his wife publicly announcing they have coronavirus. They got tested in australia. Also puts more pressure on why its so hard to get tested right here in the u. S. Were back on that and much more in 30 seconds. D power. 448,134 to be exact. They answered 410 questions in 8 categories about vehicle quality. And when they were done, chevy earned more j. D. Power quality awards across cars, trucks and suvs than any other brand over the last four years. So on behalf of chevrolet, i want to say thank you, real people. Youre welcome. Were gonna need a bigger room. We are back with breaking news here. And its all about responses to the coronavirus. Since we came on the air, delaware has joined the many states declaring states of emergency. The 20th state to have done so. You can see were keeping track on several of the ways you can understand this and keep it in context. As weve been saying, facts, not panic, but over 1500 cases and quite the market crash today as well. All of this putting pressure on the federal government and how donald trump is leading. Here he was today. Stay away from people and wash your hands and do all of the things were supposed to be doing a little bit anyway. But it will be it will go very quickly. Joined by congressman behr from california who also is a doctor. What is important to know here as we move forward . The president spoke last night. Issued a type of travel ban. Said some things that had to be corrected. What do you want your constituents and the rest of the viewers to know . Look, lets take this seriously. The president often undermines our own message of how serious this is. This will get worse before it gets better. That said, the vast majority of folks are going to be fine but weve got to be vigilant here. We as congress have to get our act together. There are a lot of vulnerable folks that are one paycheck away from being evicted. A lot of vulnerable folks that dont have paid family leave. Lets take politics out of this. Lets address the urgency of now. Lets put those Safety Net Services in there for the uninsured folks so they can go get tested if theyre concerned. And lets actually fix this testing problem. It would almost be better if the president didnt get on television right now because i think he is undermining the urgency of now we can do this. We can get ahead of it, but weve all got to be on the same page. Which is it at this point . Some of his critics and democrats have said hes played it down too much. Then as of last night, some are saying hes overreacting with the partial travel ban. Well, so what we know is a travel ban right now is not going to do a whole lot to mitigate things. It may slow things down a little bit, but coronavirus is now community spreading. Its throughout the United States of america. Six weeks ago, he did the china travel ban, that probably bought us a little bit of time. Unfortunately, they squandered that time. Thats when they should have been developing testing capabilities, getting equipment out to the hospitals and Public Health centers, and that just didnt happen. Theyve slow played this. Thats fine. Listen to dr. Fauci when he says, you know, this was a mistake. Weve squandered things. Now lets get our act together. Lets come together. This isnt political. This isnt partisan. Weve got to do our jobs as democrats and republicans. Reassure the public but let the doctors and scientists do what theyve got to do. Why is testing such a problem from a policy perspective . You know, were frustrated. The administration cannot answer the question why it is taking so long to get testing capabilities up and running when south korea can do 10,000 to 15,000 tests a day. I would tell the cdc to pick up the phone. Call that south Korean Company thats creating these tests. Ask them if we can get that licensing and lets start creating those tests here. This is not about ego or anything else. This is about getting the capabilities out to the front lines that are going to keep us safe and help us get ahead of this. Congressman bera, thank you so much. We want to dig as well deeper into the testing issues and how to fix them. We have a doctor in Washington State when we come back. Sterfest has something for every lobster fan like wild caught lobster, butter poached, creamy and roasted. Or try lobster sauteed with crab, shrimp and more. So hurry in and lets lobsterfest. Or get it to go at red lobster dot com nyquifor your worst cold andrful relieflu symptoms, so hurry in and lets lobsterfest. On sunday night and every night. Nyquil severe. The nightime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. How we worship, or who we love. And the 2020 census is how that great promise is kept. Because this is the count that informs where hundreds of billions in funding will go each year for things like education, healthcare, and programs that touch us all. Shape your future. Start here. Learn more at 2020census. Gov doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacistrecommendeding . Memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Saturpain happens. Aleve it. Aleve is proven stronger and longer on pain than tylenol. When pain happens, aleve it. All day strong. Actor tom hanks now is quite clearly the most famous american to contract the coronavirus. Testing positive while in australia. As the New York Times notes, though, tests there are widely available and free. A market contrast to the United States where test kits have been hard to get. A fact that the governments own science leaders admit. The system does not is not really geared to what we need right now. What you are asking for. That is a failing. A failing . Yes. It is a failing. Lets admit it. The idea of anybody getting it easily, the way people in other countries are doing it, were not set up for that. Do i think we should be . Yes. But were not. You are looking at the process are congressional oversight where people from the administration have to say under oath what the facts are. They also have private briefings, and lawmakers who received one also speaking out on what they are learning about our capabilities as a country to deal with coronavirus. I think we are all very concerned about the spread, about the lack of testing. The reality is, and we are told by the experts, that they do not yet have the tests available and cant give us a date they will be. Were not the best equipped nation in terms of testing. Thats absolutely obvious. Generally speaking, we have a serious deficiency in being prepared for testing. South korea, for example, is doing a better job. About 11,000 people have been tested thus far in the u. S. South korea tests about 10,000 people daily. Experts say several factors lead to this failing we were just discussing. We want to bring you more context. Flaws in the initial test kits sent by the cdc last month. That compromised critical early stage efforts. The Trump Administration also declining offers of a test developed by the world health organization. Instead basically, quote, going it alone. And then weeks ago Trump Administration officials blocking efforts by doctors out in Washington State to use their own tests because, and this can be a consideration, of course, but those tests were not fda approved. One of those Washington State doctors, though, joins me right now. Dr. Alex greninger from the university of Washington Medical Center in seattle. Good day to you. Explain hi, ari. Explain to us the context here and the balancing of things that in a nonemergency setting might make sense like waiting versus the situation were in. Right. So on february 4th, the fda offered an eway for the cdc. Thats an emergency use authorization. Basically it did not allow hospital labs and Clinical Labs to begin to perform testing until they also had received emergency use authorization. And the fda has a clear interest in this, and we do, too, for having accurate test chicago is ve the cdc test had one bad primer set and it took three weeks to fix that issue. It wasnt until the last week of february where we were able to both fix the cdc kit and on february 29th, the fda allowed the go ahead for Clinical Labs to perform testing. Is that how its supposes to work or do you have a criticism embedded in that history . Well, i think there are a few things that can be fixed but any country that has come in contact with this virus has been caught unaware. Its a very difficult virus. It transmits very efficiently. It has high morbidity and mortality. Everybody thats come in contact with this virus has not made peace with it. Theyve decided to fight. What would making peace involve . Well, with flu, its not peace but just like, the flu, we kind of get vaccinated but we sort of still go about economic activity, right . We dont the market hasnt dropped 10 for respiratory virus but with this particular virus, we are china, italy, you can see the response of these countries to this viruses. High morbidity. Seems theres something scarier about the newness, without minimizing the obvious pain, suffering and death and that youre saying if it were treated differently over time not at all. Im saying what tony fauci is saying. This virus is ten times more lethal than flu. This is a special virus. And thats part when youre talking about regulations around this virus and how that works, weve never seen Something Like this. So youre saying dont make peace with it no. Redouble efforts to contain absolutely. Absolutely. So let me take something for you. I wanted if you shake your head early it saves time because ill stop talking and youll give us the goods. I also did want to get in something that happened in the congress today. An exchange with congresswoman porter and the head of cdc and looking at something weve also been talking about that i dont think anyone wants to make peace with which is looking at apportioned in an Unequal Society like ours which is a huge issue in health care access. Take a look. We live in a world where 40 of americans cannot even afford a 400 unexpected expense. Dr. Redfield, will you commit to the cdc right now using that existing authority to pay for diagnostic testing free to every american regardless of insurance . Well, again, i can say were going to do everything to make sure no, not good enough. Reclaiming my time. She went back and forth. You saw the white board. Where do you as a scientist a scientific expert see all of that . Well, so im assistant director for the clinical virology lap. We performed more than 1300 tests yesterday and detected more than 100 infections here in the puget sound area. Were a National Reference lab so we get things from outside. Our job is to push that testing number to 5,000 tests per day. Were working with that every day for the next few weeks. Thats our number one goal. I do think its important that we get reimbursed for doing this work but right now, thats not really our number one consideration. And finally, i would want given where you are, to get your view of what the mayor of seattle said earlier in our broadcast that they think this could hit 25,000 cases by the first week of april in your area. Do you agree with that assessment . Yeah, i think thats consistent with what were seeing. We detected more than 100 new infections yesterday. Wow. And by context, thats by multiples many more than are confirmed across the entire country right now. Right. So our data gets reported to the state of washington. It then gets reported to other places. W we get a first look at whats coming across the pike. This virus is there. Its spreading. We have a 10 Positivity Rate when were testing. Mostly testing hospitalized patients but this is a significant threat. Doctor, thank you not only for your work but for your blunt clarity. We learned something. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Appreciate it. How is American Society shifting amidst all of this from suspending entire sports leagues, closing disneyland. What do we do and how do we do it better . An important conversation. Well be rejoined by our friend Eugene Robinson when we come back. Back the best eggs. In so many ways. Which cage free eggs taste fresher and more delicious . Only egglands best. Which organic eggs have more vitamins and less saturated fat . Only egglands best. Better taste, better nutrition, better eggs. Doctor bob, what should i take for back pain . Before you take anything, i recommend applying topical relievers first. Salonpas lidocaine patch blocks pain receptors for effective, nonaddictive relief. Salonpas lidocaine. Patch, rollon or cream. Hisamitsu. Get em while theyre hot. Applebees 25 cent boneless wings are back in your choice of three sauces. Applebees 25 cent boneless wings this new Samsung Galaxy on verizons 5g network is a big upgrade. vo this is ultra. The new Samsung Galaxy s20 ultra 5g powered by verizon 5g ultra wideband. 5g ultra wideband is so much faster than even my home internet. vo with ultrafast speeds. In the gaming world, if you lag youre done. With verizon 5g ultra wideband, i dont worry about lag. vo now, buy one of our newest Samsung Galaxy 5g phones and get an s20 on us. You can download a movie that normally takes 20 minutes in, like, 20 seconds. vo this is 5g built right from the network more people rely on. Paper prepares us please have a seat. It inspires discussions. Thank you very much for joining us today. If youll all turn to page 1, we can get started. Showcases the best ideas and motivates decisions. We reported a net revenue of 100 million. Well, how does that sound . Were in when making a big impression matters, use paper. Paper and packaging. How life unfolds. No no no no no, theres no space there maybe over here . Hot hot oven mitts oven mitts everythings stuck in the drawers im sorry oh, jeez. Hi. Kelly clarkson. Try wayfair oh, ok. Its going to help you, with all of. This yeah, here you go. Thank you oh, i like that one [ laugh ] thats a lot of storage perfect. Youre welcome i love it. How did you do all this . Wayfair speaking of dinner, whatre we eating, guys . Shouldnt you pay less when now you can. Data . Because Xfinity Mobile gives you more flexible data. You can choose to share data between lines, mix with unlimited, or switch it up at any time. All on the most reliable wireless network. Which means you can save money without compromising on coverage. Get more flexible data, the most reliable network, and more savings. Plus, get 300 off when you buy a new Samsung Galaxy s20 ultra. Thats simple. Easy. Awesome. Call, click or visit a store today. Do you feel like everything is changing all at once right now . Could anyone have seen this coming . Well, over two weeks ago, there was a cdc doctor discussing the possibilities with report orders a media call and we saw the foreshadowing of exactly what has been transpiring this week. Disruption to everyday life may be severe. I had a conversation with my family over breakfast this morning and i told my children that while i didnt think they were at risk right now, we as a family need to be preparing for significant disruption of our lives. Significant disruption. That was weeks ago. A lot of people were saying Different Things then but not these scientists. Think about how this prediction has proven correct. Sports leagues and tournaments telling fans, do not show up. Were shutting down entirely. March madness canceled today. The nhl suspending the entire season for now. The nba cancelling in realtime just last night. So both head coaches have gone back. You see the teams heading back to the locker room. The officials now going over the scorers table. You dont see that every day. Meanwhile, think about the creation of our own culture, hollywood putting off movies that people love of the employers telling workers stay home. Maybe indefinitely. Entire School Districts saying keep your kids at home. All of this raising questions about fairness, who bears the brunt of this and what is to become of life during this pandemic west bring back Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize winner from the washington post, and facts we know are against the back drop of how life is changing. Your thoughts . Well, i think today might be the day when it really came home to people that things are going to be different for a while. And the big unknown is, we dont know how long. Just the list of things that happened today. Last night and today that you ran down. No march madness. No professional sports leagues. Major League Baseball is putting off opening day. And wont have crowds at the spring training games. Those really get your attention. And so many are working from home, as i did today. At the washington post, thats the policy now. If youre able to work from home, please do. Theres Hand Sanitizer everywhere. Were all washing our hands. And i think what we need is, what i wish we had is a better narrator than we have right now. Let me ask you, a word so overused in politics and culture. The movies being canceled. Is sacrifice. How much do people need to think about this . Even with the inequities weve covered on this very broadcast. As a time where maybe the stuff we have to put up with is sacrifice for our greater good and what we owe each other . I think thats a lot of it. Most of us dont know anyone who has been infected with the coronavirus or who has suffered from covid19. We read the stories and we see the number of cases which thankfully appear small. It is partly because we havent done the testing. And so i think there is a natural tendency to say, why am i turning my life upside down for this . And there is a very good answer. A very good answer. Weve seen what happened in china. Weve seen what happened in italy. We know what can happen if we allow our medical system to get overwhelmed. Thats what we have to worry about. Eugene, we had out the breaking news at the top of the hour but has the fitting thing to reflect on. Assal, we appreciate your words. Not only in writing but right here on msnbc. Thank you, sir, and stay safe. Thank you. Thank you for everyone watching the beat tonight. Well be back with one more thing. Well be back with one more thing. Lease the 2020 es350 for 379 a month for 36 months and well make your first months payment. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. The amount of Student Loan Debt i have im embarrassed to even say i felt like i was going to spend my whole adult life paying this off thanks to sofi, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel as of 12pm today, i am debt free we have no debt, we dont owe anybody anything, and its fantastic [ natural drums and [ music begins to build ]] [ drums beat faster ] introducing an unlimited coffee subscription for 8. 99 a month. At panera, your cup is always full. Theres my career,. My cause,. My choir. Im a work in progress. So much goes. Into who i am. Hiv medicine is one part of it. Prescription dovato is for adults who are starting hiv1 treatment and who arent resistant to either of the medicines dolutegravir or lamivudine. Dovato has 2. Medicines in. 1 pill to help you reach and then stay undetectable. So your hiv can be controlled with fewer medicines. While taking dovato. You can take dovato anytime of day,. With food. Or without. Dont take dovato if youre allergic to any of its. Ingredients or if you take dofetilide. If you have hepatitis b, it can change during treatment with dovato and become harder to treat. Your hepatitis b may get worse or become lifethreatening. If you stop taking dovato. So do not stop dovato. Without talking to your doctor. Serious side effects can occur, including allergic reactions,. Liver problems, and liver failure. Lifethreatening side effects include lactic acid buildup and severe liver problems. If you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction,. Stop taking dovato and get medical help right away. Tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems,. Including hepatitis b or c. One of the ingredients in dovato may harm your. Unborn baby. Your doctor may prescribe a different medicine. Than dovato. Your doctor should do a pregnancy test. Before starting. Dovato. Use effective birth control. While taking dovato. The most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, nausea, trouble sleeping, and tiredness. So much goes into who i am. And hope to be. Ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment with dovato is right for you. Tthe bad news . Our so will this recital. Day. Ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment with dovato depend® fitflex underwear offers your best comfort and protection guaranteed. Because, perfect or not, lifes better when youre in it. Be there with depend®. Stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. And take. It. On with rinvoq. Rinvoq a oncedaily pill can dramatically improve symptoms. Rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. And for some. Rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. Thats rinvoq relief. With ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. Rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. Your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. Tell your doctor about any infections and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. Ready to take on ra . Talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. Rinvoq. Make it your mission. Youve been watching the beat for msnbc. Stay safe, stay informed. Ill see you at 6 00 p. M. Eastern tomorrow. Keep it right here on msnbc. Good evening. Im Steve Kornacki in new york. There are spines the global outbreak is having a pro found, economic and cultural will impact on this country and on the entire world. The virus has already brought Population Centers across the world to a standstill. It has slowed comers and prompted upheaval in financial markets. In this country, President Trump announced that he is taking measures to restrict travel from