democracynow--2020-03-10--Prisons Worldwide Face Coronavirus Crisis: Overcrowding, Lack of Sanitation & Labor at Slave Wages

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org , The War and Peace Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman with Juan González on this Super Tuesday Two , where people are voting in six states across the country for who could be the next president of the United States .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : We turn now to look at how coronavirus is affecting the world ’ s prisons .
As Italy went on lockdown , nearly 30 prisons across the country broke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights were suspended in response to the outbreak .
In a prison in Southern Italy , a riot left at least six incarcerated people dead and caused 50 people to escape .
Italy ’ s prisons are notoriously overcrowded and advocates are sounding the alarm that people inside have not been tested for the virus .
Meanwhile , Italy ’ s death toll continues to rise with more than 9,000 reported cases and 463 deaths .
This comes as the United Nations confirmed that coronavirus had reached Iran ’ s prisons , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soar .
Iran has temporarily freed some 70,000 prisoners in response .
On Monday , Iranian officials reported 595 new infections and 43 new deaths in just the past 24 hours , bringing the death toll to at least 237 .
AMY GOODMAN : And concerns are growing about the health of the at least one million Uyghur Muslims jailed in prison camps in Western China , where at least 13 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the region of Xinjiang .
Despite a public health crisis that has left at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ close its prison camps , where conditions are reportedly dire with rampant overcrowding , lack of sanitation .
Writing for USA Today , one human rights advocate called the Uyghurs “ sitting ducks for coronavirus , ” demanding they immediately be restored to their homes .
Back here in the United States , New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing backlash after announcing Monday that New York state would respond to the growing coronavirus outbreak by producing its own hand sanitizer made by prisoners for less than a dollar an hour .
Not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % alcohol hand sanitizer for an average of 65 cents an hour , it ’ s unclear if they will even be allowed to use it to protect themselves from infection because of the level of alcohol .
Items with alcohol are typically considered prisoner contraband .
Well , for more on these issues , we go to Houston , Texas , where we ’ re joined by Marshall Project reporter Keri Blakinger .
She is the publication ’ s first formerly incarcerated reporter .
Her latest piece is headlined When Purell is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
.
Well , why don ’ t you answer that question for us , Keri ?
Give us a lay of the land .
What is happening in the United States prisons ?
And then talk about other places as well .
KERI BLAKINGER : Hi .
Thanks for having me .
In U.S. prisons , there is a lot of problems with understaffing , including both the guards and the medical staff .
And even in the best case scenario , the medical care is not that great in prison .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that that just basic disease prevention measures are either against the rules or simply impossible .
And that ranges from it ’ s usually contraband to have any sort of alcohol-based hand sanitizer but also it ’ s not always possible to wash your hands regularly .
Sometimes your water is out .
Sometimes you ’ re just in a situation where you don ’ t have access to a sink for hours .
Sometimes if you ’ re on transport , you ’ re literally chained to the person next to you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do any sort of social distancing or to just stay clean .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Your article begins with an example of a prisoner who was punished for using hand sanitizer .
Could you explain that ?
KERI BLAKINGER : Sure .
There ’ s a woman who I ’ ve spoken to for a few stories .
Her name is Lauren Johnson .
She is now with the ACLU of Texas .
But before she became an advocate , she did time , and when she was doing time in Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to an annual gynecological checkup and came out and understandably wanted to wash her hands .
And there was a thing of hand sanitizer on the wall .
She used it and says that the guard started screaming at her and gave her a ticket and she ended up losing phone privileges and rec privileges for ten days .
And that ’ s because , again , it ’ s an alcohol-based product and you can ’ t use those in prison .
You can ’ t possess them .
The idea is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prisoners would potentially drink it or put salt in it and separate out the alcohol .
And as result of that , these products are typically banned .
AMY GOODMAN : So can you respond , Keri , to what is happening in New York State , to Governor Cuomo announcing that it ’ s prisoners who are going to make what he called “ New York Clean ” ?
Now , people know around the country the shortage of Purell right now .
Explain what that is and if the prisoners themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what it means for prisoners to be making an essential product like that , and what they are being paid ?
KERI BLAKINGER : So in New York prisons , the average pay is around 62 , 63 cents an hour .
And I think it ’ s men at Great Meadow that are going be producing this .
There ’ s a lot of prison industries that are making things like license plates and stuff .
But that means we have a lot of predominately black and brown people who are being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And if you don ’ t go to work , you typically get a ticket .
You get written up .
You face the possibility of punishment .
So I think that ’ s the sort of dynamic we need to be aware of when we are thinking of how this plays out .
But also , in the case of something like Purell or the state equivalent of Purell , it ’ s got alcohol in it .
And I see that when he announced this , Governor Cuomo said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prisons , and I have been asking the prison system since then if they were going to allow inmates to use it .
Because when I was there , when I did time in prison , you were not allowed to have alcohol-based hand sanitizer .
And from looking at the rules that they still have online , it doesn ’ t look like alcohol-based hand sanitizer is allowed .
So far the prison system has been ignoring my questions and questions from other reporters about whether they ’ re going to change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the product that they ’ re making for less than a dollar an hour .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Keri , inevitably there are going to be some incarcerated people who end up with the flu here and the coronavirus .
What has been the practice in the past when we have had , for instance , Legionnaires ’ disease or other flu outbreaks in these prisons ?
How have they dealt with the inmates ?
Have they basically put them in solitary confinement or lockdown ?
How have prison authorities dealt with these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Typically when we are talking about things like swine flu , Legionnaires ’ , mumps—mumps happens a lot in prisons—the response is to shut down visitation and to put everyone in isolation .
There are probably better responses , even within the realm of prisons and their understaffing and lack of medical care .
One possibility that I ’ ve never heard of being implemented but might be something to consider is that some prison systems charge inmates a co-pay for medical care , and I don ’ t know if waiving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But typically , prisons start with isolation and cutting off visitation .
AMY GOODMAN : Keri , can you talk about how Iran responded to the coronavirus ?
They are being hit incredibly hard right now .
A lot of the leadership has coronavirus .
But they released 70,000 prisoners .
Now , there been a push in the United States to also , particularly among huge numbers of elderly and chronically ill people in prison—can you talk about that movement and also what has happened in Italy with the uprisings in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the midst the coronavirus pandemic ?
KERI BLAKINGER : In terms of releasing people , I am not sure what that would look like here .
There ’ s different sort of ways that could work out .
You could simply try to avoid pretrial detaining people and sort of reevaluate who is really a risk and who really needs to be brought into jail in the first place .
But on the back end of the system , there ’ s also the possibility of releasing people .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boards in a lot of states , so it wouldn ’ t necessarily take any sort of legislative action .
In some states , it ’ s really just that the parole board could decide , “ Hey , we ’ re going to release people more frequently right now.
” Prisoners are also a high-needs medical population .
They have higher than average rates of things like asthma , heart disease , mental health issues , hepatitis , HIV .
So this is a high-risk population .
And the prison population as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a lot of people that might be good to consider for release .
In terms of what happened in Italy when you were talking about riots , that ’ s something we could also—need to at least be aware of here .
I ’ m not going to say like there ’ s gon na be a prison riot or something , but I will say that we have a lot of facilities and a lot of different prison systems that are very understaffed .
Obviously , we have seen what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prisons in Texas that are at 40 % staffing levels .
The federal prisons have had ongoing staffing issues .
And that ’ s not true everywhere ; there are some jails , there are some prisons that are much better staffed .
But there are a number where we have these understaffing issues , and if you have like 10 % of the officers not show up , you could have a substantial security problem .
AMY GOODMAN : Keri Blakinger , we want to thank you so much for being with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Project .
And congratulations on The Marshall Project winning the Izzy Award out of Ithaca College and the Park Center for Independent Media for all your great work , especially winning News Inside , launched by The Marshall Project , providing reporting on criminal justice issues for prisoners with articles written by current and former prisoners .
Thanks so much for being with us .
This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org .
Juan ?

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, on this Super Tuesday 2, where people are voting in six states across the country for who could be the next president of the United States.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, we turn now to look at how coronavirus is affecting the world’s prisons. As Italy went on lockdown, nearly 30 prisons across the country broke into riots Sunday and Monday after visitation rights were suspended in response to the outbreak. In a prison in southern Italy, a riot left at least six incarcerated people dead and caused 50 people to escape. Italy’s prisons are notoriously overcrowded, and advocates are sounding the alarm that people inside have not been tested for the virus.
Meanwhile, Italy’s death toll continues to rise, with more than 9,000 reported cases and 463 deaths. This comes as the United Nations confirmed that coronavirus had reached Iran’s prisons, as the number of cases there continues to soar. Iran has temporarily freed some 70,000 prisoners in response. On Monday, Iranian officials reported 595 new infections and 43 new deaths in just the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to at least 237.
AMY GOODMAN: And concerns are growing about the health of at least 1 million Uyghur Muslims jailed in prison camps in western China, where at least 13 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the region of Xinjiang. Despite a public health crisis that’s left at least 3,136 dead, China has refused to close its prison camps, where conditions are reportedly dire with rampant overcrowding, lack of sanitation. Writing for USA Today, one human rights advocate called the Uyghurs “sitting ducks for coronavirus,” demanding they immediately be restored to their homes.
Back here in the United States, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing backlash after announcing Monday New York state would respond to the growing coronavirus outbreak by producing its own hand sanitizer made by prisoners for less than a dollar an hour. Not only will prisoners be making the 75% alcohol hand sanitizer for an average of 65 cents an hour, it’s unclear if they’ll even be allowed to use it to protect themselves from infection because of the level of alcohol. Items with alcohol are typically considered prisoner contraband.
Well, for more on these issues, we go to Houston, Texas, where we’re joined by Marshall Project reporter Keri Blakinger. She is the publication’s first formerly incarcerated reporter. Her latest piece is headlined “When Purell Is Contraband, How Do You Contain Coronavirus?”
Well, why don’t you answer that question for us, Keri? Give us a lay of the land. What’s happening in the United States prisons? And then talk about other places, as well.
KERI BLAKINGER: Hi. Thanks for having me. In U.S. prisons, there is a lot of problems with understaffing, including both the guards and the medical staff. And even in the sort of best-case scenario, the medical care is not that great in prison. And then you add on top of that that just basic disease prevention measures are either against the rules or simply impossible. And that ranges from it’s usually contraband to have any sort of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, but also it’s not always possible to wash your hands regularly. Sometimes your water is out. Sometimes you’re just in a situation where you don’t have access to a sink for hours. Sometimes if you’re on transport, you’re literally chained to the person next to you. So it’s really hard to do any sort of social distancing or to just stay clean.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Your article begins with an example of a prisoner who was punished for using hand sanitizer. Could you explain that?
KERI BLAKINGER: Yeah, sure. There’s a woman who I’ve spoken to for a few stories. Her name is Lauren Johnson. She is now with the ACLU of Texas. But before she became an advocate, she did time. And when she was doing time in Texas, at one point she had gone to an annual gynecological checkup and came out and understandably wanted to wash her hands. And there was a thing of hand sanitizer on the wall. She used it and says that the guard started screaming at her and gave her a ticket, and she ended up losing phone privileges and rec privileges for 10 days. And that’s because, again, it’s an alcohol-based product, and you can’t use those in prison. You can’t possess them. The idea is that there’s a concern that prisoners would potentially drink it or put salt in it and separate out the alcohol. And as result of that, these products are typically banned.
AMY GOODMAN: So, can you respond, Keri, to what’s happening in New York state, to Governor Cuomo announcing that it’s prisoners who are going to make what he called “New York Clean”? Now, people know around the country the shortage of Purell right now. Explain what that is and if the prisoners themselves would get to use it, and what it means for prisoners to be making an essential product like that, and what they’re being paid.
KERI BLAKINGER: So, in New York prisons, the average pay is around 62, 63 cents an hour. And I think it’s men at Great Meadow that are going be producing this. You know, there’s a lot of prison industries that are making things like license plates and stuff. But that means that we have a lot of predominantly black and brown people who are being paid less than a dollar an hour. And if you don’t go to work, you typically get a ticket. You get written up. You face the possibility of punishment. So, you know, I think that’s the sort of dynamic we need to be aware of when we’re thinking of how this plays out.
But also, in the case of something like Purell or the state equivalent of Purell, it’s got alcohol in it. And I see that when he announced this, Governor Cuomo said that it would be available in schools and prisons. And I’ve been asking the prison system since then if they were going to allow inmates to use it, because when I was there, when I did time in prison, you were not allowed to have alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And from looking at the rules that they still have online, it doesn’t look like alcohol-based hand sanitizer is allowed. And, you know, so far the prison system has been ignoring my questions and questions from other reporters about whether they’re going to change that and actually allow prisoners to utilize the product that they’re making for less than a dollar an hour.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Keri, inevitably there are going to be some incarcerated people who end up with the flu here and the coronavirus. What’s been the practice in the past when we’ve had, for instance, Legionnaires’ disease or other flu outbreaks in these prisons? How have they dealt with the inmates? Have they basically put them in solitary confinement or lockdown? How have prison authorities dealt with these issues in the past?
KERI BLAKINGER: Well, typically, when we’re talking about things like swine flu, Legionnaires’, mumps — mumps happens a lot in prisons — the response is to shut down visitation and to put everyone in isolation. There are probably better responses, even within the realm of prisons and their understaffing and lack of medical care. I mean, one possibility that I’ve never heard of being implemented but might be something to consider is that some prison systems charge inmates a copay for medical care, and I don’t know if waiving that would have any sort of impact. But typically, prisons start with isolation and cutting off visitation.
AMY GOODMAN: Keri, can you talk about how Iran responded to the coronavirus? They’re being hit incredibly hard right now. A lot of the leadership has coronavirus. But they released 70,000 prisoners. Now, there’s been a push in the United States to also, particularly among huge numbers of elderly and chronically ill people in prison. Can you talk about that movement and also what’s happened in Italy with the uprisings in so many of the prisons there now in the midst the coronavirus pandemic?
KERI BLAKINGER: Well, in terms of releasing people, I’m not sure what that would look like here. There’s different sort of ways that could work out. You could simply try to avoid pretrial detaining people and sort of reevaluate who is really a risk and who really needs to be brought into jail in the first place. But on the back end of the system, there’s also the possibility of releasing people. And this is something that is largely up to parole boards in a lot of states, so it wouldn’t necessarily take any sort of legislative action. In some states, it’s really just that the parole board could decide, “Hey, we’re going to release people more frequently right now.”
And, you know, prisoners are also a high-needs medical population. They have higher than average rates of things like asthma, heart disease, mental health issues, hepatitis, HIV. So this is a high-risk population. And the prison population as a whole is aging. So there’s a lot of people that might be good to consider for release.
In terms of what happened in Italy, when you were talking about riots, I mean, that’s something we could also — need to at least be aware of here. I’m not going to say like there’s going to be a prison riot or something, but I will say that we have a lot of facilities in a lot of different prison systems that are very understaffed. Obviously, we’ve seen what happens in Mississippi. There’s prisons in Texas that are at 40% staffing levels. The federal prisons have had ongoing staffing issues. And that’s not true everywhere. There are some jails, there are some prisons that are much better staffed. But there are a number where we have these understaffing issues, and if you have like 10% of the officers not show up, like you could have a substantial security problem.
AMY GOODMAN: Keri Blakinger, we want to thank you so much for being with us, staff writer for The Marshall Project. And congratulations on The Marshall Project winning the Izzy Award out of Ithaca College and the Park Center for Independent Media for all your great work, especially winning News Inside, launched by The Marshall Project, providing reporting on criminal justice issues for prisoners with articles written by current and former prisoners. Thanks so much for being with us. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. Juan?


democracynow--2020-03-10--Italy Is Now a Red Zone: Student at Bocconi U. Describes Strict Measures Taken to Contain COVID-19

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org , The War and Peace Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman with Juan González .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : We turn now to Italy , which has announced a lockdown for the entire country of 60 million people in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus .
In an unprecedented move , Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended regional emergency coronavirus measures , including strict travel restrictions .
AMY GOODMAN : Italy is Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far as we know , with Reuters reporting some 9,172 confirmed cases and 463 deaths on Monday .
The emergency crackdown measures are the most stringent since World War II .
People will only be allowed to travel for work , medical reasons , emergencies until early next month .
All schools and universities are also closed until that time .
Major sporting events are suspended .
Passengers at Italy ’ s airports now have to justify their reasons for traveling , as will those attempting to enter Italy .
The Italian Parliament @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For more , we go to the Red Zone .
We ’ re joined in Milan , Italy , by Romy Kool , an international student , where courses are now being taught online amidst the corona outbreak .
Also with us , Thomas Bollyky , director of the global health program , Council on Foreign Relations , and Dr. Alfredo Morabia , professor of epidemiology at Queens College , City University of New York , and head of the American Journal of Public Health .
Romy , you ’ re in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ university you go to .
What is the climate ?
What does it mean to be under total lockdown ?
ROMY KOOL : Hello .
I am actually in Padua right now .
I study in Bocconi University in Milan but I went to my family once the whole chaos started about two weeks ago .
This chaos has created runs on the supermarket , pasta , rice , masks and hand sanitizer to go completely out , as well as , as you said , that all my classes and my university @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : What do you do day to day , in terms of being able to go to the store or—I assume that most restaurants have nobody eating in them , but in terms of the everyday necessities that you have to deal with ?
ROMY KOOL : Yes .
So our bars and restaurants have now created a time limit so they close at 6:00 or 8:00 p.m. at night instead of going on .
As for supermarkets , they have been open so far but now there have been stricter rules .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ normally send one person in the family , and you can get stopped on the street by police and they can ask you your reason for being out of the house .
AMY GOODMAN : Are there shortages of food , medicine ?
And what does it mean if you are sick ?
Are you allowed to go to the doctor or how do you get drugs ?
Can you go to the hospital ?
Do they encourage you to go to the hospital ?
ROMY KOOL : At first , there was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I said , pasta , rice and durable products .
When I was in Milan , it was completely sold out of everything and the supermarkets were crazy .
Now it has calmed down a little bit and everything is restocked .
But again , hand sanitizer and masks are impossible to find .
As for the hospital , if you show that you have symptoms , serious symptoms of the coronavirus , you can be tested , but otherwise , they will not test you for no reason .
And they also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to not create a very tight space and to increase the spread of the virus .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to bring Dr. Thomas Bollyky back into the conversation .
Professor Bollyky , if you can talk about the approaches that Romy is talking about in Italy , but also not only around Europe but in Africa .
What you think are the most effective policies for countries to take and how extreme is this ?
Italy on total quarantine now , not even just the north where Romy Kool is .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ extreme measure , for sure .
Quarantining 60 million people , it now seems like it would not be such a large number given that China had locked down on residential movement restrictions on 760 million people , but 60 million people under quarantine is a significant effort .
What we have found from the early studies to come out about China ’ s response and estimating which were more effective , it really does seem to be the social distancing policies , which can be done without restricting human rights .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banning of public transport , closing of schools in affected communities—those seem to be really the effective policies , and frankly , for the communities in the U.S. where we are starting to see community spread , the kind of policies we should consider .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : For instance , here in New York , a lot of the private schools and the private universities have closed , but the public universities and the public schools remain open .
Do you have any sense of what policymakers should be considering when they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : From a public health perspective , it is going to be a balance .
For affected communities , it is time to start to consider wherever possible canceling large gatherings .
We are seeing community spread .
Obviously , that is a decision that ’ s going to be made , appropriately so , at the state and local level , and they should do that .
But in places where we are seeing community spread , it is a strategy that people are looking at .
As I understand it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools is that there are a significant number of students that rely on these schools for lunch and for broader sources of support .
That ’ s its own problem that schools are the only avenue for which that is available , but is part of the reason that people are taking a more balanced approach and only , as I understand it , from the New York public school system , canceling school as a measure of last resort .
AMY GOODMAN : And the colleges like CUNY—you ’ re a professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not closed .
But also I just wanted to ask one thing about paid sick leave .
President Trump talked about different initiatives yesterday but said they are unveiling a whole array of them today .
Not clear if that will happen .
He also said a million tests would be administered by last Friday ; it ’ s estimated somewhere around 4,000 have been .
But CUNY hasn ’ t closed either .
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : Well , it ’ s important to do this progressively .
You understand we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where there are risks , people are quarantined , 15 days , three weeks , sometimes a whole city , but the progression is slowed down so that our system is not overwhelmed , OK ?
So it can be done in different ways .
AMY GOODMAN : But the issue of paid sick leave—President Trump did not mention that .
What so many people when they are told by Vice President Pence and others “ Just stay home if you are sick.
” DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : Absolutely .
The paid sick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think that ’ s where we are vulnerable .
I ’ m not so worried about the scientific aspect component of it , of our response of our medical system .
Even though it is really stretched thin because of lack of resources , but I think we can handle this .
The problem is our social vulnerability .
The fact that even if you have the resources , people don ’ t access .
And again , this woman was talking about what ’ s happening in Italy , people rushing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the distrust in science that have been fed over all those years .
If scientists had their proper role , if there were no systematic attacks against CDC , the surgeon general , the human and health services , all of those agencies that are here supposed to protect the population , we would be in a much better shape .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : I want to ask Romy Kool , many of the universities now in Italy are going to online education .
How is that working out compared to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At first , we had slides , and now we have YouTube videos being uploaded by our teachers giving lectures .
My siblings are in a high school and they actually have live lectures to allow interaction with the teacher and questions , which is one thing we have not gotten yet , but we are heading there .
AMY GOODMAN : We want to thank you all for being with us .
Romy Kool , speaking to us from Padua , from Northern Italy .
All of Italy is on lockdown .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ there .
Dr. Alfredo Morabia , head of the American Journal of Public Health .
And Thomas Bollyky , thanks for joining us , from the Council on Foreign Relations .
When we come back , prison riots in Italy , 70,000 prisoners released in Iran , New York prisoners making hand sanitizer that , well , maybe they won ’ t be able to use themselves because of its alcohol content .
We look at coronavirus in prisons and then in detention centers .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to Italy, which has announced a lockdown for the entire country of 60 million people in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus. In an unprecedented move, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended regional emergency coronavirus measures, including strict travel restrictions.
PRIME MINISTER GIUSEPPE CONTE: [translated] I am about to sign a decree that we can describe as “I stay at home.” There will not be any more zone one or zone two in the country. It will be Italy, Italy a protected zone. All movement across the country is to be avoided unless motivated by three specific circumstances: reasons of work, reasons of necessity or health reasons. … Believe me, it isn’t easy. I am completely aware of the seriousness of these measures for the whole country. But I am forced to intervene in a more determined manner.
AMY GOODMAN: Italy is Europe’s worst affected country, as far as we know, with Reuters reporting some 9,172 confirmed cases and 463 deaths on Monday. The emergency crackdown measures are the most stringent since World War II. People will only be allowed to travel for work, medical reasons, emergencies until early next month. All schools and universities are also closed until that time. Major sporting events are suspended. Passengers at Italy’s airports now have to justify their reasons for traveling, as will those attempting to enter Italy. The Italian Parliament will now convene just once a week.
For more, we go to the red zone. We’re joined in Milan, Italy, by Romy Kool, an international student, where courses are now being taught online amidst the corona outbreak. Also with us, Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program, Council on Foreign Relations, and Dr. Alfredo Morabia, professor of epidemiology at Queens College, City University of New York, and head of the American Journal of Public Health.
Romy, you’re in Milan right now. Tell us what university you go to. What is the climate? What does it mean to be under total lockdown?
ROMY KOOL: Hello. I am actually in Padua right now. I study in Bocconi University in Milan, but I went to my family once the whole chaos started about two weeks ago. This chaos has created runs on the supermarket, pasta, rice, masks and hand sanitizer to go completely out, as well as, as you said, that all my classes and my university campus has been closed.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And what do you do day to day in terms of being able to go to the store or — I mean, I assume that most restaurants have nobody eating in them, but in terms of the everyday necessities that you have to deal with?
ROMY KOOL: Yes. So, our bars and restaurants have — sorry — have now created a time limit, so they close at 6 or 8 p.m. at night instead of going on. As for supermarkets, they have been open so far, but now there have been stricter rules. So, if you go outside, you normally send one person in the family, and if you get stopped on the — you can get stopped on the street by police, and they can ask you your reason for being out of the house.
AMY GOODMAN: Are there shortages of food, medicine? And what does it mean if you’re sick? Are you allowed to go to the doctor? Or how do you get drugs? Can you go to the hospital? Do they encourage you to go to the hospital?
ROMY KOOL: Yes. So, at first, there was a lot of shortages on, like I said, pasta, rice and durable products. When I was in Milan, it was completely sold out of everything, and the supermarkets were crazy. Now it has calmed down a little bit, and everything is restocked. But again, hand sanitizer and masks are impossible to find. As for the hospital, if you show that you have symptoms, serious symptoms of the coronavirus, you can be tested, but otherwise, they will not test you for no reason. And they also prefer that people stay outside the hospitals to not create a very tight space and to increase the spread of the virus.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to bring Dr. Thomas Bollyky back into the conversation, Professor Bollyky. If you can talk about the approaches that Romy is talking about in Italy, but also, not only around Europe, but in Africa, what you think are the most effective policies for countries to take? And how extreme is this? Italy on total quarantine now, not even just the north, where Romy Kool is.
THOMAS BOLLYKY: It’s an extreme measure, for sure. Quarantining 60 million people, it now seems like it would not be such a large number, given that China had locked down on residential movement restrictions on 760 million people, but 60 million people under quarantine is a significant effort. What we have found from the early studies to come out about China’s response and estimating which were more effective, it really does seem to be the social distancing policies, which can be done without restricting human rights. So the banning of public gatherings, the banning of public transport, closing of schools in affected communities, those seem to be really the effective policies, and, frankly, for the communities in the U.S. where we are starting to see community spread, the kinds of policies we should consider.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, for instance, here in New York, a lot of the private schools and the private universities have closed, but the public universities and the public schools remain open. Do you have any sense of what policymakers should be considering when they decide on these things?
THOMAS BOLLYKY: So, from a public health perspective, it is going to be a balance. For affected communities, it is time to start to consider, wherever possible, canceling large gatherings. We are seeing community spread. Obviously, that’s a decision that’s going to be made, appropriately so, at the state and local level, and they should do that. But in places where we’re seeing community spread, it’s a strategy that people are looking at. As I understand it, the issue with the New York public schools is that there are a significant number of students that rely on these schools for lunch and for broader sources of support. That’s its own problem that schools are the only avenue for which that is available, but is part of the reason that people are taking a more balanced approach and only, as I understand it, from the New York public school system, canceling school as a measure of last resort.
AMY GOODMAN: And the colleges, like CUNY — you’re a professor Queens College, Dr. Morabia — they also are not closed. But also I just wanted to ask one thing about paid sick leave. President Trump talked about different initiatives yesterday but said they’re unveiling a whole array of them today. Not clear if that will happen. He also said a million tests would be administered by last Friday; it’s estimated somewhere around 4,000 have been. But CUNY hasn’t closed either.
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: Well, I mean, it’s important to do this progressively. You understand we have to slow down the progression. So where there are risks, people are quarantined, 15 days, three weeks, sometimes a whole city, but the progression is slowed down so that our system is not overwhelmed, OK? So it can be done in different ways.
AMY GOODMAN: But the issue of paid sick leave, President Trump did not mention that, what so many people, when they’re told by Vice President Pence and others, “Just stay home if you’re sick.”
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: Absolutely. I mean, the paid sick leave is a very important component. I think that’s where we are vulnerable. I’m not so worried about the scientific aspect component of it, of our response of our medical system, even though it’s really stretched thin because of lack of resources, but I think we can handle this. The problem is our social vulnerability, the fact that even if you have the resources, people don’t access.
And again, this woman was talking about what’s happening in Italy, people rushing on pasta and rice. It’s part of the distrust in science that have been fed over all those years. I mean, if scientists had their proper role, if there were no systematic attacks against CDC, the surgeon general, the human and health services, all those agencies that are here supposed to protect the population, we would be in much better shape.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask Romy Kool. Many of the universities now in Italy are going to online education. How is that working out compared to your in-face classes?
ROMY KOOL: Yes, at first, we had slides, and now we have YouTube videos being uploaded by our teachers giving lectures. My siblings are in a high school, and they actually have live lectures to allow interaction with the teacher and questions, which is one thing we have not gotten yet, but we’re heading there.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you all for being with us. Romy Kool, speaking to us from Padua, from northern Italy. All of Italy is on lockdown. She’s an international college student there. Dr. Alfredo Morabia, head of the American Journal of Public Health. And Thomas Bollyky, thanks for joining us, from the Council on Foreign Relations.
When we come back, prison riots in Italy, 70,000 prisoners released in Iran, New York prisoners making hand sanitizer that, well, maybe they won’t be able to use themselves because of its alcohol content. We look at coronavirus in prisons and then in detention centers. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Search for Peace” by McCoy Tyner. The groundbreaking pianist and NEA Jazz Master died Friday at the age of 81.


democracynow--2020-03-10--Coronavirus Pandemic in U.S. Fueled by Stunted CDC Budget & Lack of Access to Healthcare, Insurance

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org , The War and Peace Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And I ’ m Juan González .
Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world .
Today we spend the hour looking at the coronavirus pandemic that has now infected more than 113,000 people globally and killed more than 4,000 .
Italy is under a nationwide lockdown with all 60 million residents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and bans on public events .
This comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the virus epicenter of Wuhan for the first time since the outbreak .
China recorded just 19 new cases of the virus over the previous 24 hours , the lowest update since it began reporting national figures .
In the United States , officials report 26 deaths of people infected with coronavirus , most of them in Washington state .
The number of confirmed cases in New York has grown to 143 , making it the state with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOODMAN : Meanwhile , Wall Street suffered its worst day in more than a decade Monday .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 2,0000 points or nearly 8 % based largely on concern over the coronavirus and oil prices .
This brings losses in recent weeks to more than $ 5 trillion in stock market wealth .
President Donald Trump announced Monday he will take “ major steps ” to minimize the economic impact .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : This comes as five congressmen have self-quarantined , including Florida Republican Congressman Matt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he will self-quarantine after learning he had contact with an attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference who has been diagnosed with coronavirus .
Gaetz reportedly received the news while aboard Air Force One with Donald Trump .
Just last week , he appeared to mock the coronavirus scare , showing up in Congress wearing a gas mask as the House passed emergency funding to combat the disease .
Republican Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia also came in contact with the CPAC attendee at the end of February .
Collins joined Trump on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Control and Prevention in Atlanta last week and shook his hand .
Collins also is in self-quarantine .
Gaetz and Collins join lawmakers Senator Ted Cruz and Arizona Congressmember Paul Gosar in self-quarantine after interacting with the individual at the conference .
AMY GOODMAN : Meanwhile , more than 40 U.S. colleges have canceled in-person classes , including Columbia , Princeton , Rice University , Stanford , Hofstra , the University of Southern California , Ohio State , the University of Washington .
Meanwhile , Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whose water was shut off .
For more , we ’ re joined by two guests .
In Washington , D.C. , Thomas Bollyky is with us , director of the global health program , senior fellow at the Council on Foreign relations , author of the book Plagues and the Paradox of Progress : Why the World Is Getting Healthier in Worrisome Ways .
Here in New York , Dr. Alfredo Morabia is with us , professor of epidemiology at the Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment at Queens College @ @ @ @ @ @ @ editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Public Health .
We welcome you both of you to Democracy Now !
Thomas Bollyky , let ’ s begin with you .
Why has the U.S. mismanaged this so severely at a time when time is of critical importance , at the beginning of a pandemic ?
For example , the number of tests , the lack of testing that ’ s available in this country compared to China , compared to South Korea .
Can you explain what happened ?
THOMAS BOLLYKY : So on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what happened was that our Center for Disease Control and Prevention developed a test in real time .
That ’ s great .
In most of the former outbreaks we ’ ve seen , the CDC has led the world .
They did so under emergency use authorization from the FDA .
It became clear pretty quickly that there was something wrong with that test .
We are still investigating what was the cause of that error .
The challenge was from the FDA perspective , when they started to get requests from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the test , the FDA refused to grant that authorization for five days .
That ’ s a little ironic because the Trump administration itself has been reluctant to regulate laboratory tests overall .
It is really only during an emergency that FDA even has this role .
So we were very slow to respond .
The broader issue here is that we ’ re dealing with a path… AMY GOODMAN : And the fact is the World Health Organization had a test that the CDC rejected .
Is that right ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ BOLLYKY : That ’ s right .
So it was developed in Germany , adopted by the World Health Organization .
As you said , most countries are using it .
South Korea , as you pointed out , has done at least 190,000 of these tests .
As of last week we had just done a little under 2,000 tests .
So we ’ re greatly behind on that .
But some of it really does seem to be in the U.S. context a focus on the threat from abroad as opposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burglar was in the house .
The pathogen was spreading domestically and we had to shift tactics .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And I ’ d like to ask Dr. Alfredo Morabia , what about the status of the CDC ?
There have been numerous cutbacks in recent years to the CDC .
Talk about its preparedness for this pandemic .
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : Yeah , the CDC budget has been cut for at least 12 years now .
Following the recession in 2008 , I think that was the peak and since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % , I think .
It ’ s clear that the budget is not what it should be .
It ’ s clear that we don ’ t have a healthcare system that is as good as it could be .
But I think the problem—and this is what the Journal has been raising and our authors have been writing—is that we have a social problem that is much more important and which makes us vulnerable for the progression of the epidemic .
Because if people have access to care , have insurance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can slow down the progression .
It ’ s clear we have a pandemic .
We ’ re going to have the epidemic curve .
It ’ s going to rise until enough people are infected .
It ’ s going to disappear when maybe 40 % or 70 % of the people are infected .
So if it all occurs quickly , we are in trouble because our system is going to be overwhelmed .
It ’ s going to be a health crisis .
We have to slow it down .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ if people are insured , if people have access to care , we can deal with that , even with the limitation of the budget that CDC have had to endure over the last years .
But the question is that the lack of access for poor people that have been increasing lately—I mean , the ACA , the Affordable Care Act , had reduced to 10 % the proportion of people who are not covered with insurance in this country .
It is up again 5 % .
The fact that people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to work , will push them to go to work even if they are sick .
The fact that immigrants who are undocumented are scared to go to get healthcare , get tested , treated , vaccine when we ’ ll get it , you know ?
This— AMY GOODMAN : And explain public charge .
What President Trump has done .
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : This is about the risk of being deported for undocumented immigrants , but for the ones that are legally here , the public charge rule says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can not be admissible to get a green card .
AMY GOODMAN : Even though it ’ s legal to use welfare .
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : Exactly .
And so they won ’ t be considered for green card , and so these immigrants are also deterred from using healthcare , from going and get a test to know whether they are infected .
So what does this create ?
it creates a zone of the country , a large sector of the population in which the progression of the epidemic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like wildfire .
We can not contain it there .
And this is what makes us today very vulnerable .
And I think this should be rescinded immediately .
The public charge rule , the fact that people have to work for Medicare , the attacks on the Affordable Care Act which the Supreme Court is going to look at very soon—all these issues needs to be changed in order to be able— AMY GOODMAN : Do you see it as “ Medicare or coronavirus for all ” ?
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
In some ways , it is true .
In some ways it is true .
And this is why European countries are better prepared than us .
Universal access to healthcare is key for the protection of the whole population here .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : I wanted to ask Thomas Bollyky , this whole issue of the federal government pursuing one strategy and various states pursuing more stringent strategies—you have Oregon , Washington , California , Maryland , New York declaring states of emergency while from the White House , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is quite different .
THOMAS BOLLYKY : Yeah .
So to some degree , it is appropriate that states and localities tailor their response to what they are seeing at their communities .
That is both what their legal authorities are and that ’ s what we should see from a medical and ethical standpoint .
The challenge that we have is they are being undermined to some degree by the mixed messages that are coming out from the White House .
This is an environment where it is really important to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risks are , the importance of taking that threat seriously , and to adopting the good measures that one can have to reduce the spread of infection .
And they are not getting that support from the White House .
State and local officials need guidance on when they should be adopting social distancing policies , what are the criteria , what are the indicia they should they be looking at .
And by all reports , they ’ re not getting it from the federal government .
And that is unusual in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Do you think , Thomas Bollyky , that not only are these massive cutbacks to the CDC , but in 2018 , President Trump disbanding the White House ’ s pandemic response team within the National Security Council so that when he ’ s talking to his NSC— ” We got ta get billions for the wall ” —there isn ’ t a group pushing back in December saying , “ Wait , we ’ re looking at what ’ s happening in China and we have to have a serious uptick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic ” ?
THOMAS BOLLYKY : Yeah .
So think there are a lot of lessons that no one should take from China .
China did many draconian things .
They had censorship .
They were slow to respond to the early days of the outbreak .
There are two lessons that are important to take—three lessons really—that are important to take from China .
First is that speed matters .
Second is the disproportionate effect of the elderly .
And third is the importance to shore up medical care for when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to do that safely .
Dismantling the NSC directorate on global health reduced our ability to respond quickly .
The argument from the administration is there are other officials that were taking this on .
The secretary of Health and Human Services had the lead on this issue .
But it reduced the ability and the bench of people that really knew how to respond to an outbreak , and that ’ s really important for speed .
And at the end of the day , as my colleague was saying , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responding to an epidemic , is doing so effectively , reducing the spread and doing so in a timely way .
AMY GOODMAN : This issue of dealing with the poor—Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday that the city would restore service to thousands of households whose water was shut off .
AMY GOODMAN : So that ’ s the Detroit mayor making this announcement after the city and state of Michigan came under fire last week for declining to restore service .
Congressmember Rashida Tlaib , who represents a part of Detroit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor on Saturday , “ No disrespect , but I am still waiting to hear the plan that includes getting people ’ s water back on as this disease spreads .
Please don ’ t forget poor families .
They deserve protection and with no access to water we are putting them in jeopardy.
” This is a critical point , Dr. Morabia .
For years , activists in Detroit have been saying , “ This is an outrage you are cutting off people ’ s water .
You keep it on for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t pay their taxes , but you cut it off to the individual people.
” Now they ’ re talking about turning it back on .
Can you talk about the significance of this and once again how it highlights how different people are treated but how these health issues threaten everyone ?
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : Absolutely .
I think that this pandemic shows that the idea that reducing access to welfare to the poor in order to stimulate them to get jobs or to get the immigrants to become self-sufficient , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public expenses , this thing don ’ t work .
But in addition , they make us more vulnerable because the problem of access to care , access to hygiene , access to sanitation—you mentioned water .
We ’ re going to have access to tests now ?
And if you have a treatment by the end of the year , access to treatment .
And next year , very important , if we have a vaccine , people must have access to the vaccine , too .
All these issues are key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like a collective individual .
And this is how we have to consider ourselves .
All these anti-poor , anti-immigrant and I would say also anti-science—because there has been his tendency to deemphasize the role of science .
In reducing the budget of CDC , that is what is happening .
When they dismantled the global health security team at the National Security Council , in some ways they reduced the influence of scientists on the executive , and this has been really a very serious component of those last years of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has said on several occasions—made comparisons to the regular flu season and the number of people who die from the flu .
Could you talk about this whole issue of the mortality rate and also the rate of people with the coronavirus who are getting seriously ill or—I think it is about 10 % are seriously ill , and about 4 % to 5 % , the mortality rate—how that compares to the normal flu ?
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : This is not exactly my expertise , but I think that the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the flu because he mentioned the vaccine .
The vaccine against the flu won ’ t protect you against the coronavirus , but it would protect you against the flu and we don ’ t have to have the two .
We don ’ t want to have the two epidemics together .
So reminding people that they need to get their flu shot , even under a coronavirus epidemic , that is very important , I think .
And it will be true also next year .
There are two epidemics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we want people to be protected from both because both pandemics are likely to stress our healthcare system in an extremely strong way .
AMY GOODMAN : It was astounding to hear him say he had no idea people died of the flu .
He was trying to minimize the coronavirus by saying , you know , tens of thousands of people die a result of the flu .
Astounding because his own father , his own grandfather , Friedrich Trump , died of the flu in this country .
DR. ALFREDO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the role of the Journal , our mission , is to bring— AMY GOODMAN : Of the American Journal of Public Health .
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA : —of the American Journal of Public Health—is to bring the science , to bring the history and to support policy .
We are not watchdogs .
We ’ re not judging or giving awards or points and things like that .
What we do is this .
And already in November of 2018 , we had this issue on the 1918 flu , the great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Spanish one .
The so-called “ Spanish one ” that killed 20 million people .
But all these issues , we raised them .
And now we are stressing the fact—our authors , not myself—but our authors are stressing the fact that we have to be prepared for the vaccine .
And it won ’ t happen if we are still letting anti-vaccine ideology spread on media .
AMY GOODMAN : We have to go to break .
When we come back , our scientists are going to stay with us but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a college student in Milan .
The entire country of Italy is locked down .
Stay with us .
We will ask her about life in the red zone .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Today we spend the hour looking at the coronavirus pandemic that has now infected more than 113,000 people globally and killed more than 4,000. Italy is under a nationwide lockdown, with all 60 million residents now facing travel checks, school closures and bans on public events. This comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the virus epicenter of Wuhan for the first time since the outbreak. China recorded just 19 new cases of the virus over the previous 24 hours, the lowest update since it began reporting national figures. In the United States, officials report 26 deaths of people infected with coronavirus, most of them in Washington state. The number of confirmed cases in New York has grown to 143, making it the state with the largest number of confirmed cases.
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, Wall Street suffered its worst day in more than a decade Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 2,000 points, or nearly 8%, based largely on concern over the coronavirus and oil prices. This brings losses in recent weeks to more than $5 trillion in stock market wealth. President Donald Trump announced Monday he will take, quote, “major steps” to minimize the economic impact.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We are going to be asking tomorrow — we’re seeing the Senate. We’re going to be meeting with House Republicans, Mitch McConnell, everybody, and discussing a possible payroll tax cut or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief. That’s a big — that’s a big number. We’re also going to be talking about hourly wage earners getting help, so that they can be in a position where they’re not going to ever miss a paycheck. We’re going to be working with companies and small companies, large companies, a lot of companies, so that they don’t get penalized for something that’s not their fault. It’s not their fault. It’s not our country’s fault. This was something that we were thrown into, and we’re going to handle it, and we have been handling it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: This comes as five congressmen have self-quarantined, including Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who announced on Twitter Monday he will self-quarantine, after learning he had contact with an attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference who has been diagnosed with coronavirus. Gaetz reportedly received the news while aboard Air Force One with Donald Trump. Just last week, he appeared to mock the coronavirus scare, showing up in Congress wearing a gas mask as the House passed emergency funding to combat the disease. Republican Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia also came in contact with the CPAC attendee at the end of February. Collins joined Trump on his visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta last week and shook his hand. Collins also is in self-quarantine. Gaetz and Collins join lawmakers Senator Ted Cruz and Arizona Congressmember Paul Gosar in self-quarantine after interacting with the individual at the conference.
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, more than 40 U.S. colleges have canceled in-person classes, including Columbia, Princeton, Rice University, Stanford, Hofstra, the University of Southern California, Ohio State, the University of Washington. Meanwhile, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday the city will restore service to thousands of households whose water was shut off.
For more, we’re joined by two guests. In Washington, D.C., Thomas Bollyky is with us, director of the global health program, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign relations, author of the book Plagues and the Paradox of Progress: Why the World Is Getting Healthier in Worrisome Ways. Here in New York, Dr. Alfredo Morabia is with us, professor of epidemiology at the Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment at Queens College, City University of New York, editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Public Health.
We welcome you both of you to Democracy Now! Thomas Bollyky, let’s begin with you. Why has the U.S. mismanaged this so severely, at a time when time is of critical importance, at the beginning of a pandemic? For example, the number of tests, the lack of testing that’s available in this country, compared to China, compared to South Korea. Can you explain what happened?
THOMAS BOLLYKY: So, on the testing side, it seems that what happened was, is that our Center for Disease Control and Prevention developed a test in real time. That’s great. In most of the former outbreaks we’ve seen, the CDC has led the world. They did so under emergency use authorization from the FDA. It became clear pretty quickly that there was something wrong with that test. We’re still investigating what was the cause of that error. The challenge was, from the FDA perspective, when they started to get requests from state labs to make their own version of the test, the FDA refused to grant that authorization for five days. That’s a little ironic because the Trump administration itself has been reluctant to regulate laboratory tests overall. It’s really only during an emergency that FDA even has this role. So we were very slow to respond. The broader issue here, though, is that we’re dealing with a path —
AMY GOODMAN: And the fact is the World Health Organization had a test that the CDC rejected. Is that right? That everyone else is using.
THOMAS BOLLYKY: That’s right. So, it was developed in Germany, adopted by the World Health Organization. As you said, most countries are using it. South Korea, as you pointed out, has done at least 190,000 of these tests. As of last week, we had just done a little under 2,000 tests. So we’re greatly behind on that. But some of it really does seem to be, in the U.S. context, a focus on the threat from abroad as opposed to recognizing that, to some degree, the burglar was in the house, the pathogen was spreading domestically, and we had to shift tactics.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I’d like to ask Dr. Alfredo Morabia: What about the status of the CDC? There have been numerous cutbacks in recent years to the CDC. Talk about its preparedness for this pandemic.
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: Yeah, the CDC budget has been cut for at least 12 years now, I mean, following the recession in 2008. I think that was the peak. And since then, it has been declining about 10%, I think. It’s clear that the budget is not what it should be. It’s clear that we don’t have a healthcare system that is as good as it could be.
But I think the problem — and this is what the Journal has been raising and our authors have been writing — is that we have a social problem that is much more important and which makes us vulnerable for the progression of the epidemic, because if people have access to care, have insurance, you know, we can manage it. We can slow down the progression. It’s clear we have a pandemic. We’re going to have the epidemic curve. It’s going to rise until enough people are infected. It’s going to disappear when maybe 40 or 70% of the people are infected. So, if it all occurs quickly, we are in trouble, because our system is going to be overwhelmed. It’s going to be a health crisis. We have to slow it down. We have to stretch it.
And if people are insured, if people have access to care, we can deal with that, even with the limitation of the budget that CDC have had to endure over the last years. But the question is that the lack of access for poor people that have been increasing lately — I mean, the ACA, the Affordable Care Act, had reduced to 10% the proportion of people who are not covered with insurance in this country. It’s up again 5%. The fact that people, to have access to Medicaid, have to work, will push them to go to work even if they are sick. The fact that immigrants who are undocumented are scared to go to get healthcare, get tested, treated, vaccine when we’ll get it, you know? This —
AMY GOODMAN: And explain public charge, what President Trump has done.
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: This is about the risk of being deported for undocumented immigrants, but for the ones that are legally here, the public charge rule says that if they use welfare, they cannot be admissible to get a green card.
AMY GOODMAN: Even though it’s legal to use welfare.
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: Exactly. And so they won’t be considered for green card, and so these immigrants are also deterred from using healthcare, from going and get a test to know whether they are infected. So what does this create? It creates a zone of the country, large sector of the population, in which the progression of the epidemic and the virus can go very fast, like wildfire. We cannot contain it there. And this is what makes us today very vulnerable. And I think this should be rescinded immediately. I mean, all those — the public charge rule, the fact that people have to work for Medicare, the attacks on the Affordable Care Act, which the Supreme Court is going to look at very soon — all these issues needs to be changed in order to be able to—
AMY GOODMAN: Do you see it as “Medicare or coronavirus for all”?
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: That’s a good way of saying it. In some ways, it’s true. In some ways, it’s true. And this is why European countries are better prepared than us. Universal access to healthcare is key for the protection of the whole population here.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, I wanted to ask Thomas Bollyky, this whole issue of the federal government pursuing one strategy and various states pursuing more stringent strategies — you have Oregon, Washington, California, Maryland, New York declaring states of emergency, while from the White House we’re getting this message from President Trump that is quite different.
THOMAS BOLLYKY: Yeah. So, to some degree, it’s appropriate that states and localities tailor their response to what they’re seeing at their communities. That’s both what their legal authorities are, and that’s what we should see from a medical and ethical standpoint. The challenge that we have is they’re being undermined to some degree by the mixed messages that are coming out from the White House.
This is an environment where it’s really important to be clear to the public what the risks are, the importance of taking that threat seriously and to adopting the good measures that one can have to reduce the spread of infection. And they’re not getting that support from the White House. State and local officials need guidance on when they should be adopting social distancing policies, what are the criteria, what are the indicia they should they be looking at. And by all reports, they’re not getting it from the federal government. And that’s unusual in comparison to past outbreaks.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think, Thomas Bollyky, that not only are these massive cutbacks to the CDC, but in 2018, President Trump disbanding the White House’s pandemic response team within the National Security Council so that when he’s talking about, to his NSC, “We gotta get billions for the wall,” there isn’t a group pushing back in December saying, “Wait, we’re looking at what’s happening in China, and we have to have a serious uptick now in dealing with what could be a pandemic”?
THOMAS BOLLYKY: Yeah. So, I think there are a lot of lessons that no one should take from China. China did many draconian things. They had censorship. They were slow to respond to the early days of the outbreak. There are two lessons that are important to take — three lessons, really, that are important to take from China. First is that speed matters. Second is the disproportionate effect of the elderly. And third is the importance to shore up medical care for when the cases start to surge, and to be able to do that safely.
Dismantling the NSC directorate on global health reduced our ability to respond quickly. The argument from the administration is there are other officials that were taking this on. The secretary of health and human services had the lead on this issue. But it reduced the ability and the bench of people that really knew how to respond to an outbreak, and that’s really important for speed. And at the end of the day, as my colleague was saying, that’s the important part about responding to an epidemic, is doing so effectively, reducing the spread, and doing so in a timely way.
AMY GOODMAN: This issue of dealing with the poor, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday that the city would restore service to thousands of households whose water was shut off.
MAYOR MIKE DUGGAN: The governor and I sat down and said, “We’re going to have a solution that no resident of the city of Detroit has their water shut off for lack of funds.” … If you receive a shutoff notice — it’s come in the mail, or it’s hung on your door — you can avoid your water shutoff by paying $25. And we will keep your rates at $25 a month as long as COVID-19 remains a health threat in this community.
AMY GOODMAN: So that’s the Detroit mayor announcing — making this announcement after the city and state of Michigan came under fire last week for declining to restore service. Congressmember Rashida Tlaib, who represents a part of Detroit, tweeted the Michigan governor and lieutenant governor on Saturday, quote, “No disrespect, but I am still waiting to hear the plan that includes getting people’s water back on as this disease spreads. Please don’t forget poor families. They deserve protection and with no access to water we are putting them in jeopardy.”
This is a critical point, Dr. Morabia. I mean, for years, activists in Detroit have been saying, “This is an outrage you’re cutting off people’s water. You keep it on for the corporations even when they don’t pay their taxes, but you cut it off to the individual people.” Now they’re talking about turning it back on. Can you talk about the significance of this and once again how it highlights how different people are treated but how these health issues threaten everyone?
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that this pandemic shows that the idea that reducing access to welfare to the poor in order to stimulate them to get jobs or to get the immigrants to become self-sufficient, etc., in order to reduce public expenses, this thing don’t work. But in addition, they make us more vulnerable, because the problem of access to care, access to hygiene, access to sanitation. You mentioned water. But are we going to have access to tests now? And if we have a treatment by the end of the year, access to treatment, and next year, very important, if we have a vaccine, people must have access to the vaccine, too. And all these issues are key.
We are like a single organism, you know, like a collective individual. And this is how we have to consider ourselves. All these anti-poor, anti-immigrant and, I would say also, anti-science, because there has been his tendency to deemphasize the role of science. I mean, in reducing the budget of CDC, that’s what’s happening. When they dismantled the global health security team at the National Security Council, in some ways they reduced the influence of scientists on the executive. And this has been really a very serious component of those last years of policies, yes.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask you about — President Trump has said on several occasions, made comparisons to the regular flu season and the number of people who die from the flu. Could you talk about this whole issue of the mortality rate and also the rate of people who, with the coronavirus, are getting seriously ill or — I think it’s about 10% are seriously ill, and about 4 to 5%, the mortality rate, how that compares to the normal flu?
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: So, this is not exactly my expertise, but I think that the president had a point to raise the issue of the flu, because he mentioned the vaccine. I mean, the vaccine against the flu won’t protect you against the coronavirus, but it would protect you against the flu, and we don’t have to have the two. We don’t want to have the two epidemics together. So, reminding people that they need to get their flu shot, even under a coronavirus epidemic, that’s very important, I think. And it will be true also next year. There are two epidemics, and one is a pandemic, you know, and we want people to be protected from both, because both pandemics are likely to stress our healthcare system in an extremely strong way.
AMY GOODMAN: It was astounding to hear him say he had no idea people died of the flu. He was trying to minimize the coronavirus by saying, you know, tens of thousands of people die a result of the flu. Astounding because his own father — his own grandfather, Friedrich Trump, died of the flu in this country.
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: Yeah. But you see, Amy, the role of the Journal, our mission, is to bring —
AMY GOODMAN: Of the American Journal of Public Health.
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: Of the American Journal of Public Health — is to bring the science, to bring the history and to support policy. We’re not watchdogs. We’re not judging or giving awards or points, anything like that. What we do is this. And already, you know, in November of 2018, we had this issue on the 1918 flu, the great flu pandemic.
AMY GOODMAN: The Spanish flu.
DR. ALFREDO MORABIA: The Spanish one. I mean, the so-called Spanish one that killed 20 million people. But all these issues, we raised them. And now we are stressing the fact — our authors, not myself — but our authors are stressing the fact that we have to be prepared for the vaccine. And it won’t happen if we are still letting anti-vax ideology spread on media.
AMY GOODMAN: We have to break. And when we come back, our scientists are going to stay with us, but we’re going to go to a college student in Milan. The entire country of Italy is locked down. Stay with us. We’ll ask her about life in the red zone.


democracynow--2020-03-10--Headlines for March 10, 2020

Headlines for March 10, 2020

Coronavirus cases continue to surge worldwide .
The death toll has topped 4,000 , with over 113,000 confirmed infections .
Italy is now on nationwide lockdown .
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte : “ I am about to sign a decree that we can describe as ' I stay at home . '
There will not be anymore zone one or zone two in the country .
It will be Italy , Italy a protected zone .
All movement across the country is to be avoided unless motivated by three specific circumstances : reasons of work , reasons of necessity or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gather in and outside bars open to the public.
” That ’ s Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte .
Around 60 million people in Italy are now under the restrictions .
At least six prisoners in Italy have died as riots erupted across dozens of densely populated prisons over restrictions imposed to contain coronavirus , including limits on family visits .
In China , where cases continue to steadily decline , President Xi Jinping visited the quarantined city of Wuhan today — the epicenter of the pandemic — for the first time since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the United States , a number of major universities have moved to online classes , including Ohio State , the University of Southern California , the University of Washington , Brown , Stanford , Columbia and Barnard College .
In Detroit , officials restored water service to thousands of households as fears spread of coronavirus reaching the city .
Thousands of Detroit homes were without water because of unpaid bills .
Florida Republican Congressmember Matt Gaetz announced via Twitter Monday he will self-quarantine , after learning he had contact with an attendee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or CPAC , who has been diagnosed with coronavirus .
Gaetz reportedly received the news while aboard Air Force One with Donald Trump .
Just last week , Gaetz appeared to mock the coronavirus outbreak , showing up in Congress wearing a gas mask as the House passed emergency funding to combat the disease .
On Saturday , he announced a resident of his district had died from the disease .
He is the latest Republican lawmaker to self-quarantine after attending CPAC last month .
Georgia Congressmember Doug Collins is also in self-quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Center for Disease Control last week and shook Trump ’ s hand .
Meanwhile , Wall Street suffered its worst day in more than a decade Monday , bringing losses in recent weeks to more than $ 5 trillion in stock market wealth .
An oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia further compounded the stock market turmoil .

Coronavirus cases continue to surge worldwide. The death toll has topped 4,000, with over 113,000 confirmed infections. Italy is now on nationwide lockdown.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte: “I am about to sign a decree that we can describe as 'I stay at home.' There will not be anymore zone one or zone two in the country. It will be Italy, Italy a protected zone. All movement across the country is to be avoided unless motivated by three specific circumstances: reasons of work, reasons of necessity or health reasons. It is prohibited to gather in and outside bars open to the public.”
That’s Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Around 60 million people in Italy are now under the restrictions. At least six prisoners in Italy have died as riots erupted across dozens of densely populated prisons over restrictions imposed to contain coronavirus, including limits on family visits.
In China, where cases continue to steadily decline, President Xi Jinping visited the quarantined city of Wuhan today — the epicenter of the pandemic — for the first time since the coronavirus was identified there.
Here in the United States, a number of major universities have moved to online classes, including Ohio State, the University of Southern California, the University of Washington, Brown, Stanford, Columbia and Barnard College.
In Detroit, officials restored water service to thousands of households as fears spread of coronavirus reaching the city. Thousands of Detroit homes were without water because of unpaid bills.
Florida Republican Congressmember Matt Gaetz announced via Twitter Monday he will self-quarantine, after learning he had contact with an attendee at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, who has been diagnosed with coronavirus. Gaetz reportedly received the news while aboard Air Force One with Donald Trump. Just last week, Gaetz appeared to mock the coronavirus outbreak, showing up in Congress wearing a gas mask as the House passed emergency funding to combat the disease. On Saturday, he announced a resident of his district had died from the disease. He is the latest Republican lawmaker to self-quarantine after attending CPAC last month. Georgia Congressmember Doug Collins is also in self-quarantine. Collins joined Trump on his visit to the Center for Disease Control last week and shook Trump’s hand.
Meanwhile, Wall Street suffered its worst day in more than a decade Monday, bringing losses in recent weeks to more than $5 trillion in stock market wealth. An oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia further compounded the stock market turmoil.


democracynow--2020-03-12--Italy's "Darkest Hour": Life Grinds to a Halt Amid COVID-19 Lockdown, as Death Toll Spikes

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Nermeen Shaikh .
NERMEEN SHAIKH : We end the show in Italy , where 60 million people are under an unprecedented nationwide lockdown and the death toll has increased to at least 827 .
Rome ’ s Ciampino Airport will shut down all passenger flights starting Friday , and Rome ’ s main airport will close a terminal .
Authorities ordered all shops closed except food markets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has all but ground to a halt .
AMY GOODMAN : Among the recent dead is Roberto Stella , the head of the medical association in a northern Italian province .
Italian doctors have warned doctors across Europe to prepare for COVID-19 .
In a letter to the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine , they reveal up to 10 % of all people infected with the new coronavirus need intensive care .
For more , we go to Milan to speak with the Italian journalist Antonella Serrecchia , a reporter for The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , welcome to Democracy Now !
I know that you ’ re under the total lockdown right now , as is everyone else .
Describe what you ’ re seeing .
We haven ’ t even mentioned the prison uprisings , prisoners fearful all over Italy what will happen to them , as well .
ANTONELLA SERRECCHIA : Yeah , hi , and thank you for having me .
Yeah , I am at my place right now .
I live in the suburbs .
So , if I look out of my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much difference from normal everyday life , as it ’ s not very busy even normally .
But I am pretty sure that if you go to the city center , it would be quite shocking , because , as you said earlier , all the shops , except for pharmacies and grocery shops and some other shops that provide essential services , are closed right now .
So , I mean , the traffic , of course , is less than usual , and there are not so many people in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the riots that are happening right now in jails are also , yeah , very strictly related to the coronavirus containment measures , as it ’ s obvious that for people that also normally have maybe one or two hours of freedom , this is very heavy to bear for three weeks .
And this is why they are protesting .
NERMEEN SHAIKH : What the situation is in hospitals in Italy ?
I mean , there ’ s a massive burden on them to treat all of the people who ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests .
The University of Milan has reportedly graduated nurses early so that they can work in hospitals and alleviate the stress that doctors and nurses are under .
ANTONELLA SERRECCHIA : Yeah , you ’ re right .
Eighty-seven nurses were able to graduate one month earlier , just to go in hospitals and help .
The situation is quite bad , because even if in Lombardy we do have a good healthcare system , as — in Italy , the healthcare is managed by regions , so it ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Lombardy , we do have a pretty efficient healthcare system .
Even so , as you said , most of the — a lot of the people need intensive care , and this puts a lot of pressure on hospitals , because , in general , we do have a problem with understaffed hospitals .
We do lack professionals working in the system .
And even though in the last 10 years or so budget was higher year by year , it increased by around 1 % per year , but at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher , so this meant in the end a cut in the budget .
So the emergency right now is putting a lot of pressure on the healthcare system .
AMY GOODMAN : Antonella , we just have about 40 seconds .
Italy ’ s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 31 % , by a third , in the space of just 24 hours , to a total of 827 .
Are people living in serious fear right now ?
I mean , the idea that your entire country is on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , yes , I think people are afraid right now .
And the fact that hospitals are put on so much pressure , now they are using different criterias to admit people in hospitals .
So , it normally is first come , first served .
Right now they do evaluate as well the chance of surviving .
So — AMY GOODMAN : And are tests available , unlike in the United States , right now in Italy ?
ANTONELLA SERRECCHIA : They are .
I mean , I ’ m looking right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we run , as of yesterday , 63,000 tests , roughly .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , we ’ re going to have to leave it there , but we ’ re going to check back with you in these coming days .
Far more than the tests that have been done in the United States of America .
Antonella Serrecchia , Italian journalist at the online magazine The Vision .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Nermeen Shaikh .
A very Happy Birthday to Adriano Contreras !

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We end the show in Italy, where 60 million people are under an unprecedented nationwide lockdown and the death toll has increased to at least 827. Rome’s Ciampino Airport will shut down all passenger flights starting Friday, and Rome’s main airport will close a terminal. Authorities ordered all shops closed except food markets and pharmacies. Italy’s economy has all but ground to a halt.
AMY GOODMAN: Among the recent dead is Roberto Stella, the head of the medical association in a northern Italian province. Italian doctors have warned doctors across Europe to prepare for COVID-19. In a letter to the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, they reveal up to 10% of all people infected with the new coronavirus need intensive care. For more, we go to Milan to speak with the Italian journalist Antonella Serrecchia, a reporter for The Vision, an online magazine.
Antonella, welcome to Democracy Now! I know that you’re under the total lockdown right now, as is everyone else. Describe what you’re seeing. We haven’t even mentioned the prison uprisings, prisoners fearful all over Italy what will happen to them, as well.
ANTONELLA SERRECCHIA: Yeah, hi, and thank you for having me. Yeah, I am at my place right now. I live in the suburbs. So, if I look out of my window, I don’t see much difference from normal everyday life, as it’s not very busy even normally. But I am pretty sure that if you go to the city center, it would be quite shocking, because, as you said earlier, all the shops, except for pharmacies and grocery shops and some other shops that provide essential services, are closed right now. So, I mean, the traffic, of course, is less than usual, and there are not so many people in the streets. And as you mentioned, the riots that are happening right now in jails are also, yeah, very strictly related to the coronavirus containment measures, as it’s obvious that for people that also normally have maybe one or two hours of freedom, this is very heavy to bear for three weeks. And this is why they are protesting.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: What the situation is in hospitals in Italy? I mean, there’s a massive burden on them to treat all of the people who’ve been infected and also to carry out tests. The University of Milan has reportedly graduated nurses early so that they can work in hospitals and alleviate the stress that doctors and nurses are under.
ANTONELLA SERRECCHIA: Yeah, you’re right. Eighty-seven nurses were able to graduate one month earlier, just to go in hospitals and help. The situation is quite bad, because even if in Lombardy we do have a good healthcare system, as — in Italy, the healthcare is managed by regions, so it’s not the same in every region, but in Lombardy, we do have a pretty efficient healthcare system. Even so, as you said, most of the — a lot of the people need intensive care, and this puts a lot of pressure on hospitals, because, in general, we do have a problem with understaffed hospitals. We do lack professionals working in the system. And even though in the last 10 years or so budget was higher year by year, it increased by around 1% per year, but at the same time the inflation rate was higher, so this meant in the end a cut in the budget. So the emergency right now is putting a lot of pressure on the healthcare system.
AMY GOODMAN: Antonella, we just have about 40 seconds. Italy’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 31%, by a third, in the space of just 24 hours, to a total of 827. Are people living in serious fear right now? I mean, the idea that your entire country is on lockdown.
ANTONELLA SERRECCHIA: I mean, yes, I think people are afraid right now. And the fact that hospitals are put on so much pressure, now they are using different criterias to admit people in hospitals. So, it normally is first come, first served. Right now they do evaluate as well the chance of surviving. So —
AMY GOODMAN: And are tests available, unlike in the United States, right now in Italy?
ANTONELLA SERRECCHIA: They are. I mean, I’m looking right now at the official figures. And we run, as of yesterday, 63,000 tests, roughly.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to have to leave it there, but we’re going to check back with you in these coming days. Far more than the tests that have been done in the United States of America. Antonella Serrecchia, Italian journalist at the online magazine The Vision. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. A very Happy Birthday to Adriano Contreras!