The ship where roughly 3,500 passengers are now being told to stay isolated in their cabins. A little farther north, Washington State, Major Companies like microsoft are asking employees to stay at home and work from there. The university of washington has moved all of its classes to online only until the end of the quarter, and nthen in states wih the largest outbreaks, obvious panic to prepare. Retailers are placing restrictions on the amount of Hand Sanitizer people can buy. Elizabeth cohen is our senior medical correspondent, shes outside cdc hq. We just heard the president s explanation about why he had initially canceled and then changed his mind. What are you hearing from the cdc about this employee who the white house thought might be coronavir coronavirus. Reporter so brooke, they are being very quiet about this staffer. We reached out to the cdc and many people several hours ago, and they have not returned our emails or responded to our phone calls, so we dont know anything about this. We have a lot of questions, though. This staffer that they thought might have coronavirus had he or she traveled to, for example, Washington State where theres Community Spread . In other words people are getting coronavirus unrelated to travel. They didnt travel. They dont know anyone who traveled outside of the u. S. Is that the reason why they were worried about this staffer . What symptoms did the staffer have . And i think that this really underscores something very important we all need to remember. The symptoms for coronavirus are so similar to a cold, to the flu, to many winter viruses that even at the cdc they might think that someone has it and then it turns out that they dont. Whats on the president s agenda as he is at the cdc this afternoon . Were told that hes going to be taking a tour of the cdc. It will be interesting to see, to hear what they give him, what they show him on that tour. It will be interesting to see if he goes to the lab where theyre doing coronavirus testing. Of course this lab has been the point of a lot of discussion over the past few weeks. Initially, all the testing for coronavirus across the u. S. Was done at that building behind me in a lab in that building. Now its done in many different labs across the country, but the cdc criticized for taking too long to get tests to other parts of the country. All right, elizabeth, thank you. Well talk to you again in just a little bit. But listen to this. This nurse in Northern California whos currently under quarantine and waiting to be tested is sounding off about the nations coronavirus response. She is so upset about how slow this process is that she is airing her feelings quite publicly. She wrote this statement about her experience hoping to raise awareness about her own personal concerns, and the president of her nursing union, National Nurses united, the Largest Nurses Union in the country read it out loud. As a nurse im very concerned that not enough is being done to stop the spread of the coronavirus. I know because i am currently sick in quarantine after caring for a patient who tested positive. I am awaiting permission from the federal government to allow for my testing even after my physician and county Health Professional ordered the test. The national cdc would not initiate the test. They said they would not test me because if i were wearing the recommended protective equipment, then i wouldnt have the coronavirus. What kind of sciencebased answer is that . What a ridiculous and uneducated response from the department that is in charge of the health of this country. Later they called back, and now its an issue with something called the identifier number. They claim they prioritize running samples by illness severity and that there are only so many to give out each day so i have to wait in line for the results. This is not a ticket dispenser at the deli counter. Its a Public Health emergency. Im a registered nurse and i need to know if im positive before going back to care for patients. Im appalled at the level of bureaucracy thats preventing nursing from getting tested. Delaying this test puts the whole community at risk. I have the back ing of my union. Nurses arent going to stand by and let this testing delay continue. We are going to stand together so we can make sure that we protect our patients by being protected ourselves. Again, the words of a nurse. The World Health Organization says early testing and detection are key to containing the coronavirus, theyre encouraging medical teams to be aggressive in diagnosing patients and tracing down people who came into contact with them. With a current shortage of testing kits, some Health Officials are recommending elderly patients and Health Workers should be the first priority. Dr. William schaffner is a professor in the decision of diseases in Vanderbilt Medical Center in nashville. Thank you so much for being with me. I just wanted your reaction to, you know, that nurses letter. The line that got me, this is not a ticket dispenser at a deli. Shes outraged. What do you make of that . Yeah, she certainly is, and its a very eloquent letter, and its a letter to the point. We all want more testing, and certainly of Health Care Professionals who are our front line care ggivers to patients w have coronavirus infection. So its clear all of us want more testing. Im looking for the next week, week and a half for this to open up whereby state laboratories and increasingly private laboratories will also be able to participate in testing. That will make it much more available, and well find out more about how widely distributed this coronavirus is in the United States. Well get a better picture. I want to come back to your point on potentially private entities helping out. How much longer will it take for them to manufacture these tests . And on the point about the thirdparties, if theyre able to develop this technology to make the test themselves, could they do that . And then who is to ensure that they would actually work . Well, actually, you have to apply to the food and Drug Administration to get your test approved. We have one in our own Medical Center thats in the approval queue. Its turned around fairly quickly. Were told it will take another week, week and a half, Something Like that. There are other, private testing laboratories, other academic Medical Centers who are eager to help out trying to define the extent of coronavirus in this country. And you would have confidence that they could pull that off effectively . Oh, yes, i think so. The fda will check all the validation studies and wont let individual testers go to work until their test has been validated. As we mentioned, the president will be at the cdc this afternoon. One of the things he may bring up is his request for an expedited vaccine. Is that even possible . Well, were all enthusiastic also about a vaccine being developed, but those things take time, and as we have heard from dr. Fauci, it will take at least a year and probably a bit longer, and thats working full steam ahead and assuming everything goes well. You can urge expedition, but the expedition takes time. The w. H. O. Has yet to call this a pandemic. You say it is. Tell me why that matters and then how that would change the response. Well, people dont like to use the word pandemic because its thought to evoke panic, but it is very descriptive, and its understood by people at the local level. This virus has escaped its home in china. Its now in many, many other countries. Its proceeding to be transmitted in those countries and transmitted very readily. That fulfills the definition of pandemic, and that brings it home to local people who say if its a pandemic, ive really got to prepare, so theres utility in using that word, i think. Theres also a lot of fear just in terms of travel. I cant imagine, you know, your own loved ones and friends are probably saying, doc, what do you think i should do . Should i go here, here, here . In your best capacity just as an m. D. , how would you advise people in terms of jumping on a plane or taking a cruise right now . Well, lets have a look at the data. The older you are, the more likely you are to get a severe infection, and sometimes gravely ill. So people who are, lets say over age 60 who have underlying illnesses and even people younger than that who also have underlying illnesses, they should really reconsider going to mass events where they will be facetoface with other people in enclosed circumstances for long periods of time. You avoid the infection by avoiding other people, and so older people and others should really consider their life circumstances, and that includes nonessential travel at this time. All right. Dr. William schaffner, i so appreciate you. That you think very much. My pleasure. Lets get an update now speaking of, lets get an update on the cruise ship that is still waiting to get those test results that were dropped in. Dan sigh nmon is live in San Francisco where that ship was supposed to dock. Theyre waiting for these results from 45 people aboard the grand princess, whats the story now . Reporter these results we were told were going to come out sometime this morning. Now it looks like its going to be sometime this evening. Plus theyre going to do more testing on board. Originally they said 100 passengers would be tested. They did 45 yesterday. I guess theyre going to do the rest today. For these passengers, this is a really frustrating experience. Identify be ive been getting a lot of texts from them. Theyre anxious and worried. They dont know how long theyre going to remain on this ship. Theres really no path forward at this point. It appears that theyre just waiting to see what the results are going to show from the cdc, but right now theyre just confined to their rooms, and they cant even leave the room to get something to eat, im told. If they want something they have to call room service, but the problem is the staff is just so overwhelmed, so if youre trying to reach room service, no one may pick up the phone. Its possible, at least thats what im told from one passenger who texted me a little while ago. To make something easier, they just put menus under the door. You select what you want. They gave a fivehour window in terms of when theyre going to get their meals. What ultimately is going to happen with this ship, we do not know. Originally they were told they would come in on saturday, but its possible that things may be extended, that they could be out there for some period of time. Whether its like a twoweek quarantine we dont know, i think everythings going to be dependent upon these results. Got it. Stuck on this cruise ship, and results tbd until later this evening. Thank you very much. A top Airline Executive is sounding a major alarm today saying the shock to the industry feels like 9 11. What it could mean for the wider economy, thats ahead, and the number of cases overseas is rising in a dramatic way. Italy is reporting a massive surge in deaths. 49 just over the past 24 hours, and of course this friday afternoon were keeping an eye on the 2020 race for you. Senator Bernie Sanders is scrapping a rally in mississippi opting to go to michigan instead. What this means for his battle with the former Vice President. Youre watching cnn, im brooke baldwin. We will be right back. Everything your trip needs, for everyone you love. Expedia. When i switched to geico. This is how it made me feel. It was like that feeling when you go to highfive a coworker, and you do a perfect highfive. Everyone is really excited for you because it was such a great highfive. And then. The boss comes in. And she wants one too. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. The coronavirus has people avoiding airports, canceling airline tickets. So much so that the ceo of Southwest Airlines is drawing comparisons to following the 9 11 terrorist attacks just simply out of fear of flying. 9 11 wasnt an economically driven issue for travel, it was more fear quite frankly, and i think that thats really whats manifested this time. It has a 9 11like feel. Hopefully well get this behind us very quickly. Cnn Business Editor at large, Richard Quest is with me and i mean, 9 11 was 20 years ago, and just for people maybe who were younger who dont quite remember, can you just remind people of what that did to just the Airline Economy . Okay, so aircraft were grounded for several days immediately after 9 11. There was no planes flying anywhere around in the domestic United States, and thereafter, the airlines that were flying couldnt passengers didnt want to fly, and the airlines had problems with terrorism insurance, and the government came in, had to come in, and i wont use the word bailout. I will not use that phrase. They had to support the Airline Industry or the Airline Industry would have collapsed. So there was guarantees. There was loans, there was all sorts of things that were done at the time to keep the Airline Industry flying. Were not in that i know what gary kelly means, but were not in that situation at the moment. Where are we now . Airlines are in a much better case financially. Their Balance Sheets are strong. Certainly for all the majors in the United States. Theyre making good profits. Secondly, theyve got a plan in place. I was talking to some Senior Executives at one of the large carriers. Firstly, youre reducing frequen frequency. If you have six flights from new york to london. New york to don llondon you to five. Secondly, if youve got ten flights from new york to los angeles, you drop to eight, but you up gauge. You use those bigger planes, 76s or triple 7th that youre not using flying to london or paris. What this means is an absolute i cannot overstate the logistical difficulties for the airlines at the moment, but a good information of how serious it is, lufthansa group, which owns lufthansa, austria and Swiss Airlines is cutting capacity by 56 . I think weve only seen the tip of it from the american carriers. What about the fact that airline ceos were at the white house this week, and they were asking the white house not to d discourage air travel. Is that irresponsible . No, i think everybody youve got to ask why are you traveling . Do you need to travel . I was supposed to be going tonight to brazil for a work trip. Well, we have a no essential travel policy now so im not going. But will i still go to london in two weeks time for a personal trip . Absolutely. So you make your choices. Would i go to italy . No, but a friend of mine who was meant to be flying to visit me from israel said that shes not coming. Why not . Because israel has one of the most draconian return policies in terms of quarantine. Thats the thing, its like you may be fine going, but its the returning. You dont want to be stuck. Look, the chances of me or you or anybody watching actually getting coronavirus is so small, but the chances of us getting caught up in the whole melee that surrounds it thats more problematic. You could be stranded, you could have to selfquarantine when you get home. Coming to work this morning on the subway, it was noticeably quieter. Now, it could be because its a friday, but i went down to the Stock Exchange for one of my interviews at 10 00 this morning. 10 00s normally quite busy on the new york subway. Virtually nobody. I was on the train two days ago, and you couldnt tell that anything had changed. Im curious, though, back to the point about the Airline Industry, and you were saying theyre not at all in the dire straights they were post 9 11, would Congress Need to jump in this terms of stimulus . Yes, it would have to be very targeted. There are a variety of ways in which they can do, particularly in terms of duties and taxes and fees. Theres a lot of programs that the airlines enjoy that they could do it, but i think congress will be very reluctant to do it because it does smack of corporate welfare, and if youre doing that for i mean, if the airlines are getting build out, what if marriott says ive got hotels with empty rooms, and before long youve started something. I think some help will be coming, but will it be necessary . Thats a different matter. Richard quest, thank you very much. Have a good weekend. Thank you, you too. The number of cases does continue to surge worldwide of coronavirus. We were just talking about italy. Italy there, the total number of o those who died in a single day climbs to 49. Thats just over the last 24 hours. Plus, we will talk to a mother who lives at the epicenter of the outbreak here in the United States, what she says she sees and is she faring for her family . Well ask. Look, this isnt my first rodeo. 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