03/05/20 03/05/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new w york, this is democracy now! >> i want to acknowledge with 53 testing cases positive, this is no longer isolated in just one partrt of our state. this is broadly shared as a burden up and down the state. amy: the death toll from the coronavirus in the united states

has reached 11. on wednesday, california recorded its first coronavirus death. the virus has also spread to new york, where governor andrew cuomo issued a directive requiring health insurance to wait cost sharing for coronavirus tests. but what if you don't t have health insnsurance? > the coronavavirus is a gret argument for medicare for all, but so are a lot of other things like all of those diabetics who can't afford their insulin, which can cost about $1000 a month. people with high blood pressure who can't afford to go to the doctor and get their blood pressure control. amy: we will host a roundtable discussion with steffie woolhandler dr., elisabeth and new york state , andor alessandra biaggi we will go to seattle, washington, the other ground zero of the coronavirus in the united states, to speak with

socialist councilmember kshama sawant. then we look at voter suppression? the long wait times plagued in polling places from texas to california throughout super tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of black and latinx voters and college students. >> talalked about the voting problems here e in texas, people waited for hours upon hours and long lines. line after line after long line. many voters in l.a. county waiting patiently to cast their ballots on super tuesday. >> a lotot of people telling us the weight is ababout three hous or so. amy: we will speak with mother jones reportrter ari berman. all that and more, coming g up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the world health organization is warning g the number of cases of covid-19 caused by coronavirus

is approaching 100,000 worldwide, with more than 3100 deaths due to the illness. most of the deaths and infections have occurred in china, where health officials reported 139 new cases and 31 new deaths wednesdsday. soututh korea confnfirmed 438 nw cases and three additional deaths wednesdsday. more than 5700 cases have been found in sououth korea. in italy, where overer 3000 cass and more than 100 deaths have bebeen reported,d, officia h hae clclosed down schools natitionwe untitil at least march 15. schools have also closed in south korea, japan, france, pakistan, iran, and elsewhere, with nearly 300 million children kept home from school worldwide. in the united states, the death toll has reached 11, with 10 of the deaths occurring in washington state. on wednesday, california recorded its first coronavirus death, an elderly man who traveled on a princess cruise

ship that departed from san francisco and traveled to mexico in february. governor gavin newsom has ordered the ship quarantined off the coast of california and is airlifting tests for passengers and crew. governor newsom made the announcement as he formally declared a state of emergency across california. >> i want to acknowledge that with 53 tested cases positive, this is no longer isolated in just one part of our state. this is broadly shared as a burden and responsibility up and down the state. global death rate from the disease caused by the new coronavirurus is 3.4%, far deadlier thahan the seasonal fl. bubut on wednesdayay night, president trump said he had a "hunch" the number was actually much lower. trump was speaking with fox news's sean hannity. pres. trump: i think 3.4% is a false number.

butthis is just my hunch, based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this -- because a lot of people will have this and it is very mild. amy: on wednesday, house lawmakers passed an $8.3 billion emergency spending package for combating coronavirus. after headlines, we'll go to two ground zero's in the united states fight against the spread of the coronavirus -- new york and seattle. billionaire michael bloomberg has ended his campaign for the democratic presidential nomination. the former republican mayor of new york repeatedly teared up wednesday as he thanked staffers in his manhattan campaign headquarters before throwing his support to joe biden. beatingalways believed donald trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it.. after yesterday's vote, it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great american joe biden. amy: bloomberg, with a net worth of about $64 billion, is the

ninth richest person on earth. he spent more than $550 million in just over three months of campaigning. he's previously committed to spending as much as $2 billion to defeat trump and could use some of his wealth to set up a superpac to pay for new attack ads against biden's main opponent, bernie sanders. meanwhile, health insurance industry stocks surged wednesday, one day after joe biden won 10 of the 14 states that voted on super tuesday. biden opposes senator sanders's medicare for all legislation, which would replace private insurance companies with a single-payer plan to cover all americans. in vermont, senator sasanders acknowledged wednesday his campaign needs to turn out more young voters if he's to win the nomination. sanders said he looks forward to debating joe biden on march 15. >> joe is running a campaign which is obviously heavily supported by the corporate establishment.

at last count, he r received funding from at leastst 60 billionaires. 60 billionaireres. our campaign has received more campaign contributions from more americans averaging $18.50 than any campaign in the history of our country at this point in time. so what does it mean? what does it mean when you have a campaign which is funded very significantly by the wealthy? dodoes anyonone seriously beliee that a president backed by the corporate world is going to brbring about the chchanges in s country that working families and the middle-class and lower income people desperately need? amy: " "the washington post" is reporting top surrogates and allies of senators elizabeth warren and bernie sanders are discussing ways for their two camps to unite and push a common agenda, with the expectation that warren will drop out of the race.

the next round of primaries is set for tuesday, march 10, when voters go to the polls in idaho, michigan, mississippi, missouri, north dakota, and washington. 9% of all pledged delegates will be up for grabs. judges at the international criminal court have authorized an investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanitity committed by taliban, afghan, and u.s. troops in afghanistan. the ruling at the hague reverses a decision by the icc last year not to open an inquiry. at the time, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo threatened to cut off visas to icc staff investigating abuses committed by u.s. troops. wednesesday's ruruling came afar the u.s.s. carried outut an airstrike on taliban fighters in helmand province, just days after the u.s. signed a deal with the taliban aimed at ending its 18-year war in afghanistan. the taliban has called for de-escalation. in syria, aid workers say russian-backed syrian airstrikes killed 15 civilians in idlib

thursday after eight missiles hit a poultry farm. elsewhere, israel's military says its warplanes bombed parts of central and southern syria, including an alleged has a lot site - -- hezboll site. in ankara, fistfight got on the floor the turkish parliament after an oppositional mark accused erdogan of disrespecting turkish soldiers who have died fighting in syria. elsewhere in turkey, an estimated 25,000 refugees and asum seekersrs, many from syria, borderssed at the with greece. on wednesday, greek right police fired tearar gas, water cannons, so-called less lethal rounds through border fence into throngs of asylum-seekers hoping to reach the european union. turkish officials say six asylum-seekers were injured after police opened fire with live ammunition, with one of them later dying from his wounds. other refugees detained by greek

police say they were stripped of their shoes and jackets and severely beaten. the greek government denied the reports, calling them fake news. european union officials gathered in brussels on wednesday for three days of emergency talks on the humanitarian crisis at the greece-turkey border. in a joint statement, eu ministers accused turkey of using migratory pressure for political purposes and offered greece more money for border policing. hundreds of people gathered outside the european council to protest, holding signs reading, "refugees welcome" and "solidarity equals safe passage to europe." this is sarah reader of the human rights group action for peace. >> we would like to see a europe that is open to anyone who wants to come here. we would like to see safe passage for anyone currently at the doors of europe trying to get in. we would like to see the eu stop criminalizing migrants and people trying to help migrants. it is completely outrageous what is happening in the mediterranean. amy: back in the united states,

a federal appeals court has ruled the trump administration's "remain in mexico" policy for asylum seekers can remain in effect for at least one more week, even though the court ruled last friday the policy violates u.s. law. wednesday's decision by the ninth circuit court of appeals to stay its decision until march 11 will give the trump administration more time to push for a review by the u.s. supreme court. some 60,000 asylum seekers have been forced to wait in mexico in dangerous and often squalid conditions while their claimss make their way through u.s. courts, which can take months or even years. if the supreme court decides to hear the trump administration's appeal, the policy could remain in effect for the foreseeable future. in climate news, a new scientific paper finds the congo and amazon tropical rainforests could soon become net emitters of carbon dioxoxide, reversingng their role as carbon sinks thaht mitigagate thehe worst effecectf the clclimate crisis. the findinings published i in te journal "nature" on wednesday show carbon dioxide absorption by tropical rainforests peaked

in the 1990's and have been falling ever since. researchers warn that without dramatic action to stabilize the climate, the forests could become a net source ofof greenhououse gas emimissions as early asas the mid-2-2030's. in brazil, at least 29 people have died and more than two dozen are missing after torrential rains in the southeastern states sparked flash floods and landslides. the latest extreme weather came after 52 people were killed and tens of thousands forced from inir homes by flooding january. local officials have blamed the disasters on accommodation of urban expansion, extreme weather due to climate change. and europe h has experienced its warmest winter ever. in alabama, tens of thousands of people effort to governor kay ivey, calling on her to halt tonight's planned execution of nathaniel woods, a condemned prisoner who has consistently maintained his innocence. woods was convicted of capital murder for the shooting deaths of three birmingham police officers in 2004.

another death row prisoner convicted in the case, kerry spencer, said in a confession he was the sole gunman in the killings. the death penalty information center says woods's case was marred by police misconduct, incompetent legal counsel, and an alabama law that allows death verdicts based on non-unanimous votes by a jury. despite that, nathaniel woods is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6:00 this evening at the holman prison in southern alabama. in a letter to governor kay ivey, martin luther king iii, son of the slain civil rights leader, wrote -- "killing this african american man, whose case appears to have been strongly mishandled by the courts, could produce an irreversible injustice. are you willing to allow a potentially innocent man to be executed?" king wrote. and in washington, d.c., supreme court justices appeared divided -- hurt -- heard oral arguments in a pivotal abortion case involving the state of louisiana. the case involves a statute requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. in 2016, the supreme court ruled

a similar law in texas unconstitutional, but since then two trump appointees -- justices brett kavanaugh and neil gorsuch -- have tilted the court further to the right. this is nancy northup, president of the center for reproductive rights, speaking at a pro-choice rally outside the supreme court wednesday. >> it remains one that has no medical benefit and remains one that would have a tremendous impact in blocking access to clinics and harming women in the state of louisiana, as it did in the state of texas. it is an underhanded law that is designed to bar access to abortion, which the constitution guarantees. amy: justice john roberts has issued a rare to u.s. lawmaker. he said in a statement, "senate majority leader chuck schumer made inappropriate and dangerous marks when he said trump appointees neil gorsuch and brett kavanaugh will "pay the --ce if they pa

send the chief justice was siding with republicans and asked what he did not issue a similar statement when president trump attacked rick better ginsberg and sonia sotomayor. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. nermeen: and i'm nermeen shaikh. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. the world health organizizations warning the number of cases of covid-19, caused by coronavirus, is approaching 100,000 woworldwide, with h more tn 3130 deaths due to the illness. most of the deaths s and infectioions have occurred in china where health officials reported 139 new caseses and 31 neww deaths wednesday. south korea confirmed 438 new cases and three additional deaths, also on wednesday. more than 5700 cases have been

found in the country. in italy, where over 3000 cases and more than 100 deaths have been reported, officials have closed down schools nationwide until at least march 15. schools have also been closed in south korea, japan, france, pakistan, iran, and elsewhere with nearly 300 million children kept home from schools worldwide. in the united states, the death toll has reached 11, with 10 of the deaths occurring in washington state. on wednesday, california recorded its first coronavirus death, an elderly man who traveled on a princess cruise ship that depaparted from san francisco and traveled to mexico in february. governor gavin newsom has ordered the ship quarantined off the coast of california and is airlifting test for passengers and crew. governor newsom made the announcement as he formally declared a state of emergency across california. >> i want to acknowledge that

with 53 tested cases positive, this is no longer isolated in just one part of our state. this is probably shared as a burden and responsibility up and down the state. nermeen: the world health orgaganization said tutuesday ye global death rate from the disease caused by the new coronavirus is 3.4%, far deadlier than the seasonal flu. but on wednesday night, president trump said he had a hunch the number was actually much lower. trump was speaking with fox news' sn n hanny. pres. trump: we h have thouousas or hundrdreds of t thousandsds f peopople that t get better r ju, you knknow, sitttting around d d even goioing to workk -- - somef ththem go toto work, but they gt better. and d then whehen you do havevea death, l like you u have had ine statee of washinington, like you had one in california -- i believe he had one in new york, all of a sudden, it seems like three or 4 4%, which i is ry h h percrcent as o oppos to o fractn

of 1%.%. then, t they don't knowow abobt easy c cases bececause thohose't go to the hospital. they don't report too t the docr or hosospital inin many cacases. i thihi that numbmber is vevery high. personally, i would say the number is way under 1%. amy: on wednesday, house lawmakers passed in a $.3 billion -- passed an $8.3 billion emergency spending package. the white house barred tv cameras and microphones from a daily briefing on coronavirus, telling journalists they were only permitted to take still photos. vice president mike pence, who heads the u.s. coronavirus task force, had this exchange with a reporter monday, though you can't exactly call it was an exchange. it was the last question asked as he was walking away from the podium. the reporter saying, can you give guidance for the uninsured? gentlemen, ladies, can the uninsured get tested?

how about answering the question? it i is a valid question. amy: up about how about answering the question?" the reporter asked. pence downplayed the threat. >> it is a good idea to stay home when you are sick. avoid close contact with people who are sick. avoid touching her eyes, nose, and mouth. cover your cough or sneeze with tissue and for the tissue in the trash. clean and disinfect frequently. wash your hands with either disinfectant or with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. amy: this comes as new york governor andrew cuomo issued a directive requiring new york health insurers to waive cost-sharing for coronavirus tests and related emergency room, urgent care and office visits for those who already have insurance. but what if you don't have insurance?

what if you don't have paid sick leave? today, we host a roundtable on whether the coronavirus is the best case for medicare for all. we are joined by four guests. here in new york, dr. steffie woolhandler is with us, professor at cuny-hunter college and d a primary care physician. lecturer at harvard medical school and the co-founder of physicians for a national health program. elisabeth benjamin is vice president of health initiatives at the community service society of new york and co-founder of the health care for all new york campaign. and new york state senator alessandra biaggi represents parts of the bronx and westchester. four of the coronavirus cases in new york are in her district. she is the lead sponsor on the healthy terminals act. thet what happens to airport workers. and in seattle, washington

kshama sawant is a socialist , city councilmember where she is a member of socialist alternative, part of a movement that defeated amazon and won her reelection last year. seattle is ground zero on the west coast for the coronavirus. dr. steffie woolhandler, let's begin with you. is the coronavirus the best case for medicare for all? >> coronavirus is a very good case for medicare for all, but it is -- as doctors, we see the case for medicare for all all the time. diabetic patients can't afford the insulin. people with chronic conditions come in late after they have complications s because they cannot afford to see their doctors. some of those p people are insured that many people have insurance but they can't afford to use it due to copayments and deductibles. we see immigrants who are afraid to seek care because of the new draconian immigration laws that put their immigration status at risk if they use public servicis

like health care. so there are plenty of caseses already for medicare for all. i think that is the reason why the majority o of exit polls shw the voters overwhelmingly support the idea of medicare for all, at least from the democratic side. nermeen: could you explain, what are the tests that are required to see if someone is infected with the virus and what kind of cost, what kinds of costs those tests would impose on patients who do not have insurance?? something likee a throat swab, something like you get for strep throat. the problem is, the person getting the test has to have a mask and be a medical worker because it can cause the person to cough and spread the virus to the present who is right in front of them trying to give the test. a, thet of the tests, cost of going to the doctor, which for most people under most circumstances mean they have to

take money out of their pocket either to pay for that whole visit or for the copayments and adductor balls. itself, of the test which i guess is going to be free for some people in new york at this point, but for most americans, most of the time, that can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. obviously, people have the cost of taking time off work. and if the doctor says to them, go home and self quarantine for a couple of weeks, that can be a disastrous financial hit for many american families. amy: w we're going to go to o bk and come back to our discussssi. we will be talking about what is happening here in new york, what for,nor cuomo has called what is happening in the new york state legislature, and then we are going to go to the other ground zero -- again, this is in the united ways. we don't know how many people have the coronavirus in the united states because of faulty tests by the cdc. very, very few people have been

tested. the range of 500. president trump said by the end of this week, more than one would beests administered, but we have not seen that happen at this point. and we're going to speak with kshama sawant, who is the city councilmember from seattle, where tens of thousands of workers have been told to stay and by amazon, by facebook, a number of people have died in the area at a nursing home. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is demococracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. as we look at the coronavirus in the united states, in the aftermath of the house passing an $8 billllion bill and in new

york, a major initiative being represented. nermeen: we are hosting a roundtable with several guests to look at the steps that have been taken to combat the spread of the coronavirus in the u.s.. let's start with new york. this is governor andrew cuomo speaking about the steps new york will take to combat the spread of the virus. >> insurance regulations that will protect people who have to pay any costs, i'm going to bill the paid sick leave that i sent to the legislature to whehere -- at a specific provision that says people who because of this situation with coronavirus have to be quarantined, should be protected . their employer should pay them for the period of quarantine and their job should be protected. nermeen: that is andrew cuomo,

new york governor. i want to ask elisabeth benjamin who is with us, vice president of health initiatives at the .ommunity services can you respond to what steps have been taken at the state level in new york, what kind of access to people have to health care who suspect they might be infected? >> i think this is an important example of where state and local government are really going to have to step up. the congressional $8.3 billion is not what we would like to see. it does not guarantee that people will actually have their cost paid for when they go for treatment. andalso, here in the state the city of new york, we have done amazing things. the first thing we did was governor cuomo said, look, if you have insurance, you don't have to pay a co-pay. there should be no cost barrier

to going to see the doctor and getting that lab test. that is fantastic. every other governor in the country should do that if they possssibly can. he is the first. quite frankly, we would like to see alex lazar do the same thing nationally. not happening on the national level. the kind of leadership is not happening. the second thing that governor cuomo has called for which we the -- should have seen at national league, paid sick leave. if you'reout, quarantined, should not have to worry about losing your job. you should not worry about having to make your rent check or pay for food. were taking care of your kids. happen.uld governor cuomo called for emergency paid sick leave. he put it in his budget proposal already. we need the legislature to say, yes, grab that idea and do it right away. do it next week. the other thing i want to say,

localities can do this, too. new york city already has paid sick leave. many other states have paid sick leave. so if you are in a state where there is paid sick leave, familiarize yourself because you might already have that benefit and we should have it nationally. we last thing i would say, are really lucky in new york city to have a public hospital system. all immigrants are welcome. they should also have no cost barriers to getting t treated. we w would like to s see that ad the country. nermrmeen:, people who don't hae insurance can get medical care for free in public hospitals in new york city? >> correct. amy: if you are undocumented? >> no barrier. toerestingly, we have a way do that. it is called the federal emergency medicaid program. for low income people, again where we need federal leadership -- they should say, federal emergency medicaid covers for all coronavirus testing and treatment. what if you are in the 14 states who chose not to extend

medicaid? well, you're in trouble because the medicaid levels are quite low. but 37 states have the expanded medicaid program. they should be saying, this will pay for all coronavirus. coronavirus is an emergency. we will pay for it. amy: i want to turn to new york state senator alessandra biaggi. you just introduced legislation called the healthy terminals act. for people who don't work in the airport but are concerned about going to the airport, i wonder how often they think about people who must be in the airport all the time? talk about what you have introduced. also, tell us what district you represent. >> i represent the 34th district which covers parts of their bronx and westchester counties. as we have read in the news recently, one of the children of a man who lives in new rochelle is currently quarantined. the child goes to sa's golden

riverdale. r, amy: and the high school was closed. clubs and also the elementary school as well. think the healthy terminals act is an attempt to really make sure the people who are on the frontline of international travel, at our airports, jfk, laguardia stuart airport come has protection. during the ebola crisis, these airport workers were only given a paper mask stop we know that is almost ridiculous because a paper mask will not prevent someone from getting ebola. amy: and fact, vice presidident pencnce said yesterday that peoe should stop using masks. they should go to health care professionals. >> that is laughable to me because airport workers, though they are on the path to making $19 an hour, they do not make enough money to be able to purchase health insurance and they make too much money to be able to qualify for medicaid.

here you have the security workers, the baggage workers, the wheelchair attendance, and the food and retail workers in our airports, the people who are doing the backbreaking work to make sure our airports function and work, are not protected under any insurance plan. hoween: can you explain many, if any, airport workers in new york and across the country are government employees, public employees? and if so, whether they have coverage? >> the airport workers under the healthy terminals act are subcontracted. they work for corporations like jetblue or american airlines. nermeen: even security personnel? >> it depends. it could be that way. allou are security, cash it depends. that is a legal answer. if you work in a certain terminal, you could work as a subcontractor for jetblue. are and many tsa

subcontractors now. >> when you think about the billions of dollars that these corporations are making and the fact that these airport workers are not protected, it is egregious. this bill is a pathway to make sure these airport workers can have an additional four dollars four cents an hour added to their wages -- four dollars for four cents an hour so they can be able to purchase health insurance and not worry about having food on their table or pay their rent or be able to make sure they can have health insurance. health care is a basic human right and this bill ensures that is the case for the specific workers. amy: i want to go back to the are 2000 was senator bernie sanders argued for a house amendment. he was a congressmember country are drug funded by public dollars to be sold at a reasonable price. the amendment passed in the house, but was deleted in the subsequent deliberations. >> much of the drug research in this country comes from taxpayer support. our amendment requires the nih abide by current law andnd ensue

that a company t that receives federally owned research were a federally owned drug provide that product to the american public on reasonable terms. this is not a new issue. during the bush administration, the nih assisted the cooperative research agreement containing "reasonable priced cost" that would protect consumers from exorbitant prices of products developed from federally funded research. the nih several y years ago a bd of and are heavy pressure from the pharmaceutical industry. amy: that was bernie sanders when he was a congressmember representing vermont. dr. steffie woolhandler, at this point, we're not talking zach the about drugs when it comes to the coronavirus. it will take about a year or at least for a vaccine to be developed, but follow up on what he was calling for and how the cost of drugs fits in with medicare for all and what it would mean. >> well, we won't have a vaccine

for a while. we may find some antiviral drugs are a little bit helpful. these can be very expensive and it is really critical they be paid for for everyone. we have been talking a lot about vulnerable populations like poor people, like immigrants, but the lack of medicare for all is forcing us to fight this epidemic with our hands find our back and that threatens everyone, including wealthy people and people with insurance. don't havebdrivers health insurance in this country. aides.home health 50% of cleaners. -- 15% of cleaners. rich people can avoid coming in contact with his epidemic just because they are rich. no matter how much money you have, can n i your way out of ts epidemic also we're going to have to conquer coronavirus together. that is the whole idea behind medicare for all. my other point is these one-off

measures are great, cuomo's rules or the a billion dollars that has been released, but one-off measures leave us fighting this epidemic with too little, too late. we need these things in place a month ago or two months ago. we need these things in place for the next epidemic and the next one after that. we need a health system that everybody who o has symptotoms n get the health care they need and get the information they need to stop spreading the virus. amy: elisabeth benjamin, you've called for a manhattan project. >> what is shocking to me in this $8.3 billion coming through congress is, one, i think when it hits the senate, they're going to basically allow pharmaceutical companies to charge whatever they want, whatever treatments, whatever vaccine they develop. i was president for a day or a week or month or through this thing, i was a, oh, my goodness, we need a manhattan project right now for the coronavirus. when we did it for the bomb, we

did not privatize it. we did not let a bunch of companies haveve a bomb. we should not let have a bunch of companies have the vaccine. companies use private to help develop thisis, but it should be government owned. we can't afford to have the kind of price gouging we see with insulin, with the epipen. we can't see that for coronavirus. amy: and the a billion dollars, what is ago? >> good question. it isn't going for paid sick leave, for health care for people to pay their bills. it is going to prop up the health care system, which is important, i agree with dr. woolhandler that is important, but it is too little, too late. real americans and real people who live here, residents of america, will not see that money. amy: before we go to seattle, one question to alessandra

biaggi. briefly yet this manhattan lawyer who comes through grand central and goes to work there every day. that is the port authority of the world. right across from port authority. he is exposed to thousands of people. he has children. in talked about schools westchester and riverdale, rather, and then what about the child who goes to college in new york and manhattan? child and also is being quarantined at the moment. amy: is the school closed? >> notot sure. at the entire family is quarantined. the neighborr who drove the lawyer to the hospital is quarantined. unfortunate, that neighbor has also tested positive for the coronavirus. as a matter percussion, malvern's will district has closed all of their schools.

i want to take one moment and step back because i think it is important to say this. while all of these precautionary matters are taking place and it is very important to follow all of the procedures the department of health at the state level has put out in the city level has put out, i want to make clear the most important thing we can do is remain calm, to continue to follow procedures -- wash her hands, don't take other people's hands. if you feel sick and feel you are worried you might have covid-19, you should call your doctor right away and get checked out. let your doctor make the decision or you that are making the decision for yourself and creating some form of a hysterical response -- which is the most important thing we can prevent i think at this momenen. nermeen: let's go to seattle, washington, which is really the ground zero, the epicenter of the coronavirus here in the u.s. amazon says in employee tested positive for the coronavirus this week and is currently in

quarantine. amazon has told all of its nearly 800,000 employees to hold "nonessential travel in the and internationally" among the outbreak. it emailed carriers a contract with the request trucking companies advise e employees to stay home if they feel sick. amazon and other companies have warned of limited same-day and next day delivery services. to talk more about the situation in seattle and in washington more broadly, we are joined by kshama sawant, a socialist councilmember in seattle, a member of socialist alternative, part of a movement that defeated amazon and won her reelection last year. she helped make seattle the first major city to win a $15 an minimum wage. hourwelcome back to democracy now! what the talk about situation is now in seattle on the ground and the decision by

gov. jay inslee to declare a state of emergency and what is happening now? >> as you correctly said, seattle and the seattle region is groround zero, new ways becae we have seen, as of last evenening, 45 diagnosed cases of coronavirus in the seattle area -- not in this seattle city, but mostly in the kirkland area which is near seattle -- and w e have 10 totality's because of that.. eight of those deaths happen, unfortunately, in one senior nursing facilityty. it does highlight thee vuvulnerability, especialllly tt is baseded by the elderly community members and those who have weakened immune systems to good that it is governor inslee has declared a state of emergency and in fact, today at 1:00 p.m. pacific time, the city council will be meeting to vote on a proclamation that

seattle's mayor jenny durkan has written in order to have urgency powers invoked in the seattle area, in order to contain the virus and deal with it. and it is important that these steps are e taken but i will tel you, honestly, if you talked ordinary people here, there's a certain emergency proclamation fatigue that they will tell you seen because we have emergency issues declarared l le homelessssness, which are relatd to the dysfunctionality of the capitalist system, and nothing is being done to follow up on it. not surprisingly, because this is mostly status quo corporate politicians were trying to look like they're doing sometething t there are very few follow-up steps. i agree with many of these steps that have been outlined by your other guests about ensuring t tt co-pays are eliminated for people to get testing and also

-- or whatever medical c care ty need. several days ago, , i sent a letter to the mayor a and the kg county executive's segment should absolutely do that immediately. and also the issue of flexible work hours and enough paid sick leave. the realitys, even ofof the union movement has s valiantly fought for and won paid sick leave, most workers who need this leave and were probably the most vulnerable toto such cases are the lowest paid workers, and theyey don't dare stay at home because they feel like they need to go to work. 45% of americans don't have even a single d dollar in savings. we absolutely need to tatake the ememergency steps, but it does bring up the question that looms large as dr. woolhandler is saying about the urgent need for medicare for all. we need to have these stopgap measures where we need to have a serious conversation about medicare for all and the need to fight for bernie sanders a

partially campaign bebecause joe biden represents the s same stas quo that i is not going to allow us to have this because they billionaire class is absolutely opposed to it. amy: kshama sawant, vice president pence is coming to seattle today. the task force, supposedly, is coming to seattle. what do you feel is most important for him to know and what are the plans for this task force coming there? you have now, what, 50,000 amazon workers have been told to stay home come to work from home. facebook as well. >> that is true. is a very advisable cautionary step to take, so tech workers are able to stay home and work. thei would really also urge political officials to think about the workers who are not going to be able to stay home and work. it is important the queuestion f delivery drivers, ride-share

drivers, the airport workers that you were talking about, public transit workers, custodial workers, hotel workers -- many of them are going to be on the front of potential exposure and many of them are very vulnerable workers. women of color. they won't dare take time off because -- like amy: and by definition, service workers comp and they have to be at work. also being paid to work at home is different from sick leave. someteffie woolhandler, are saying medicare for all is fine except the coronavirus is here now. how do you get there? >> we have an election whehere majority of people are saying they want medicare for all, so that is the first step to getting there is for people to express their will in the political arena. we will get medicare for all when we have a movement for medicare for all. and maybe what people are learning from the coronavirus,

that we do have to take care of the healthy american people togethther. we can't do it one-off and one at a time. maybe that will help move the politics toward medicare for all. nermeen: dr. woolhandler, could you talk about the fact -- i mean, the number of people who are most vulnerable to this -- the p people who are most vulnerable to this are the elderly and people who already have compromised health in one way or the other. and also the fact that children are some reason, although parents have been concerned across the country come that children under the age of five, even though their most vulnerable to the ordinary flu, somehow dosing vulnerable to this at all. >> this virus does attack older people more, and there have been ths in older people that did not have underlying conditions. something about the elderly immune puts them at additional

risk. children are probably -- based on what t we know about the flu, children are probably getting the virus and probably spreading the virus. happily, they're not getting sysymptoms. but i in terms of controlling te epidemic, we need to stop children -- amy: like typhoid mary? they are carriers. i did not mean to make it sound like -- clubs that is actually true with the seasonal flu. for years, we saw most of the deaths in older, , sicker people without they were spreading it. it turns out was seasonal flu, most was occurring among schoolchildren. nermeen: have schoolchildren been tested in the uso far? >> know it has been tested in the united states unless they actually have the symptoms of the illness for they got a note exposure like on a cruise ship or the family had exposure. we don't know this yet but i think the cautious thing to do is to keep sick children at home

as well for everyone who is sick to stay at home, for people who have an unexplained illness were seriously ill, they need to see a doctor. many people can get this illness and spread it around they got the symptoms of the common cold. for them in particular, we need to reduce the barriers t to them calling a health clinic or health professional and getting tested, if that is appropriate. i do want to tell people come if you don't have a personal doctor, then call an emergency room, call a clinic, and most of put on the will call yo phone with a health physician. amy: we will continue to follow this. go to democracynow.org to look at our coverage of this condition globally. dr. steffie woolhandler, thank you for being with us, cochair and founder of the -- of 23 thousand

doctors who advocate medicare for all. amy: new york state senator alessandra biaggi represents parts of the bronx and westchester. ground zero for the coronavirus right now. she is the author of the healthy terminals act. elisabeth benjamin, vice president of health initiatives at the community service society of new york and co-founder of the health care for all new york campaign. and kshama sawant, socialist city councilmember from seattle, washington. when we come back, voter suppression in texas and california? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeeeen: long wait times plagd polling places in texas throughout super tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of black and latinx voters and college students. many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot. at least 750 texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013, when the supreme court slashed federal oversight of texas and other southern states under the voting rights act of 1965. in one case, cnn correspondent tweeted a photo of an african-american voter who waited nearly to cast his vote seven hours at a polling site at texas southern university in houston -- one of the nation's largest historically black colleges. rogers brought his own chair with him so he could sit while waiting in line. he finally voted at 1:30 a.m., before heading off for work -- late -- to his overnight shift.

amy: there were long lines also in los angeles where election officials acknowledged albums with a brand-new $300 million voting system. bernie sanders campaign asked a federal court for an emergency order to keep polls open for an extra two hours tuesday night commencing people were denied their constitutional right to vote stop l.a. county registrar denied the request but apologized to people who waited in line proctor for hours. for more, we turn to ari berman senior writer at mother jones, a , a reporting fellow at the type media center, and author of "give us the ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in america." his latest piece is titled "here's why texans had to wait six hours to vote." why? >> door number of reasons. there were voting machines that were 20 years old and shut down but a major controlling factor in texas to the very long lines was the fact that texas c closed 650 0 polling places after the supreme court gutted the voting rights act and said states like

texas no longer had to approve it with the federal government. southern states, they closed 1688 polling plalaces. texas closeded more thanan any r ststate. the longng lines we saw inin tes were direct result o of the gutting of the voting rights act and disproportionally hurt democratic and minority voters because 70% of the polling places were closed and the 50 counties in the state with the largest growth of black andnd latino voters. in places like dallas and houston and san antonio, that is where you saw disproportionate lines. they were not the same lines and wealthy white neighborhoods that there were in black and latino neighborhoods where a lot of young people voted. amy: let's remember, texas was called for joe biden. who beat bernie sanders. it was a tightly -- it was a surprise for many that i iwhat happeneded. do you think it influence the outcome of the texas results? >> i t think the long linines ht

both candidates. there were elderly afrirican-americans had to waita long time who voted for joe biden and there were a lot of young people that voted and hurt bernie sanders but there is no doubt people left. it is unconscionable and america it should take six hours and 20 minutes to vote. there were anecdotal stories all across the state of people saying, "i can't wait that long." when you go to vote you think maybe half an hour or an hour. you can't budget five or six hours of your time. rogers, the guy who waited six hours 20 minutes to vote in texas, right after you finish voting, he had to go work a night t shift. these longng lines -- amy: mo star staining. >> it is a form of poll tax. it keeps people from being able to work and from getting to their kids or families. it is disisproportionally hurtig ,ounung people and latinos

african-americans, other people already struggling to vote in stateses like texas thatat have otother forms of voter suppressn as well. nermeen: there's another aspect of voting in america which is -- distant wishes it from a lot of countries in the world, the majority, which is voting takes place on a work day and that workday is not declared a national holiday. that is another way in which i think many people are not able to vote. the combination of having to get to work and then often having to wait hoursrs in ordeder to cast about -- a vote. >> many other countries choose to hold it -- nermeen: on the weekends. >> i it is a national holiday, polling places at every school -- many, many options. in texas, , there voting on a weekday. people are not getting time off. that are restricted voter id law. then they close 700 50 polling places and you start to see why they are s six-hour lines forr people to vote. amy: let's go to california.

>> a slightly differerent storyn californrnia. very high turnout that was unexpected. they voted on election day instead of e early. l.a.a. in particular, rolling ot new voting system. basically, crash. people could not check in partly. -- check in properly. you could vote at any polling place which theoretically is good but there were not enough polling places. at ucla, one polling place for 40,000 students. i don't think wewe saw the same intentional voter suppression in california we saw in texas, , bt no doubt a lot of things were messed up in california. we don't know how when people decided not to g go to the procs because the lines were so long. amy: who does this serve on election day? >> it will help donald trump. no matter who the nominee is, they're going to need a large turnout to be donald trump most of from young people,

african-americans, latinos, asian americans. donald trump is sitting there seeing the six-hour lines in black and latino areas and thinking, this helps me. there were no lines and what republican parts of houston, texas. the lines were in black and latino parts that no matter who they are votining for, there voting for democrats over republicans. amy: can they open more polling places before e election day? >> i hope they do. amy: and california. >> i hope they are better prepared. we saw 25% turnout in texas and the lines for this long. imagine 60% turnout. amy: can we switch to the senses and cocoronavirus? >> i am concerned about the senses. there were a already so many difficulties relating to the senses, which starts next week. now people don't want to open their doors or talk to strangers. since his workers were gogoing o be uncomfortrtable going into certain communities.

i think there have to be real contingency plans. we need to think about the fact the senses may have to take longer to complete, there might have to be a way to count people that are not opening the doors. amy: and why does the senses matter? >> it forms the b basis democray for america, for hohow political districts are drawn, how a hundred $80 billion of federal funding is spent for things like health care and roads and education. if we throughout the senses, we screw up all of american democracy. right now we are beginning the census in the midst of a massive potential pandemic. if it means it takes longer or we push back the dates a little bit, thehe most impoportant this to count evereryone in america d overcome whatever obstacles there might be. this is the latest obstacle in a long line of obstacles. amy: ari berman, thank you for being with us, senioior writer t mother jones, fellow at the type media center. his latest piece is titled "here's why texans had to wait six hours to vote."

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