response coordination center at fema. and align president trump's decision to have fema take the lead in our national coronavirus response. our nation's response through fema will be locally executed, state managed and federally supported. on testing, we want the american people to know once again testing is available in all 50 states. it is becoming increasingly available literally every hour of the day. because of the public/private partnership that the president initiated several weeks ago with major commercial labs, i'm pleased to receive a report today that tens of thousands of tests are be performed every day. with the passage of last night's legislations, a state and private labs are now provided by law to report all coronavirus testing directly to the cdc, which will give the american public and also give our researchers timely and important information. it's important for every

american to remember if you don't have symptoms, you don't need to get a test. we want to make sure that testing is available for people who are experiencing symptoms or have a depend yuen concern about having been exposed to someone with the coronavirus. dr. birx will address county level data as well as progress we made on testing. americans can expect to see how an increased number of cases as our new testing system comes online should not be a cause of concern. she'll explain the importance of taking into account our new testing system as new data arrives over the next several days. on supplies, a priority of the president has given to our task force, we continue to work with health care providers, businesses and state leadership to identify available supplies, not merely in the federal stockpile, but much more importantly, available across the private sector. we're encouraged to see companies like honeywell and 3m, that i visited a few short weeks

ago, take advantage of the changes in the law last night that allow the sale of industrial masks directly to hospitals. those companies have now greatly increased by the tens of millions their production of so-called n95 masks that will give our health care workers the protection that they need to add minister to those dealing with the symptoms or disease of coronavirus. following the signing of last night's bill, all of those masks now have liability protection in the company's industrial masks, the hospitals. it is encouraging as we called out yesterday to see construction companies all across america that are, as we speak, checking their supplies and donating those industrial masks to their local hospitals. i know i speak on behalf of the president, who spent a lot of time as a builder, we thank builders across america for partnering with our local health care officials.

on the subject of ventilators, we're working with health care providers around america and suppliers. we're encouraged to learn we've literally identified tens of thousands of ventilators that can be converted to treat patients. and we remain increasingly confident that we will have the ventilators that we need as the coronavirus makes its way across america. as we said before, we're all in this together. and before i step away and give the podium back to the president and to dr. birx, i want to call every american's attention again to the president's 15 days to slow the spread. we continue to hear one case after another, one city after another, where people are putting in to practice the principles the president outlined this monday. and make no mistake about it, that while for the american people as a whole, the risk of serious illness remains low, these guidelines should be practiced by every american in

every community, not only to lessen the spread of the coronavirus but to protect the most vulnerable among us. i think americans from their hearts are not only practicing these principles of social distancing and avoiding social gatherings of more than ten people, using drive-thrus at restaurants, to protect their own health and health of their family but they're also recognizing that no american wants to inadvertently convey the coronavirus to someone for whom the consequences could be quite serious. at the president's direction, we will continue to marshal all of the resources of government at every level. we will be reiterating that strong partnership with america's states this afternoon with america's governors pulling all of the private sector together, the innovation you just heard described. i know on this first day of spring, we'll get through this and we'll get through this together. thank you, mr. president. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. president.

so i know you're watching the data carefully. you can see the dramatic increases in the number of new cases based on our ability to test additional people. and this will continue over the next two to three days as we begin to have backlogs reduced of the testing. you all have heard the antidotes of people waiting five, six days for test results. we're moving through all of that and testing more individuals. i want to applaud frontline health care workers and doctors and testers that are really prioritizing and the american people who have prioritized those with symptoms. the number of tests positive is increasing. that is a dramatically important signature that everybody is doing their job. those with mild symptoms are staying home, self-isolating. those with serious symptoms are coming forward to getting testing. our test positive rates are now into the 10% to 11% range.

that still means 90% of the illnesses out there, even the severe ones, are not covid-19. i know many of you are looking at the state level data. still over 50% of the cases come from three states. this is why we continue to prioritize testing in those states. in addition, 50% of the cases come from ten counties. we're a very large country with very many counties and i just want to applaud the local and state governments that are implementing their emergency operation centers and plans to ensure. i want to also really thank the health care workers who have been asked to reduce all elective surgeries, medical and dental visits. this will dramatically increase the number of ventilators that are available in hospitals but also in ambulatory surgical centers that can be converted and utilized. also to the construction industry, we are deeply grateful the number as the vice president

said, the number of individuals that have come forward with their construction masks, booties, vyvex suits and masks. the president's request to make this available in the legislation changes our ability and increases our ability immediately by the 75ecause of construction use of those elements. thank you. >> thank you, doctor, very much. >> thank you, mr. president and mr. vice president. today you heard a wonderful announcement to the fda, and i want to give a shout out to steve, dr. hahn, fda where about 700 of my coofficers work, you're right, mr. president, they're tireless. they're doing things that have never been done before to bring the most prudent advances to the american people.

' want to talk about something a little different. we know you're all home practicing social distancing. but one thing we would like you to consider if you're a gen z is donating blood. as a doctor in practice taking care of wounded warriors and soldiers, i know blood donations, one donation, can save up to three lives. blood centers are open now and in need of your donation. i want americans to know blood centers are safe and taking extra precautions at this time based on cdc recommendations including spacing beds six feet apart, disinfecting surfaces between patients, temperature checking staff and encouraging donors to make appointments ahead of time so we can space them out. social distancing does not have to mean social disengagement. so give blood today. you'll feel good about it and

you'll be helping your country and your community during this crisis. and you might even save a life. >> thank you. thank you. >> mr. president? >> go ahead, jim. >> mr. president, looking to the efforts to boost the economy with the message before congress, will you guarantee the money, the tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars even that's going to go to these industries will not go to executive bonuses or more stock buybacks? >> we won't want that. some companies as you know did stock buybacks and i was never happy with that. it's very hard to tell them not to but i would tell them not to. i would say i don't like it for that reason. it turned out they could have waited a time and it would have been better if they didn't. >> you can make it a condition of the bill -- >> it takes many, many people in this case to tango. but as far as i'm concerned, the conditions like that would be

okay with me. >> mr. president, a question for you and then a question for dr. hahn. do you -- enable i guess is the best way to put it -- the defense package yesterday but you didn't pull the trigger on it. >> no, i hope we won't need that. >> you're getting a lot of calls from capitol hill and democratic leadership. what's the rational for not doing it? >> first of all, governors are supposed to be doing a lot of this work and they are doing a lot of this work. federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. we're not a shipping clerk. the governors are supposed to be -- as with testing, the governors are supposed to be doing it. we will help out and help out wherever we can. we can buy in volume and in some cases great volume. but with the masks, as an example, which are really a problem, we've helped out and right now there are millions of masks being made. but this is really for the local government's governors and people within the state, depending on the way they divide it up. they will do that. they're doing a really good job

of it. where you have a problem with ventilators we're working hard. nobody in their wildest dreams would have ever thought we would need tens of thousands of ventilators. this is something that's very unique to what happened. >> under what conditions would you put the defense production act into action? >> it if we were desperately in need of something and we frankly will know about that very shortly. we don't want to do it as it happens but before it happens. we're going to know a lot over the next two, three days. >> dr. hahn, any idea when the drug will be available to the market and are there any drugs in the pipeline that you believe could qualify for a treatment ind? >> with respect to the first question, i'm prohibited by law to disclose confidential commercial information. what i can tell you is we're working closely with a company on this and we will have additional information -- they will -- relatively soon. yes, there are drugs in the pipeline. we're looking at every one.

every one on this diais gets called every day by therapeutic options. we're looking at every single one of them. >> two questions, one on coronavirus but quickly, are you confirming the ultimate price is still alive? >> no, i'm not. this has been going out. for many years we have been trying to find austin tice. he was in syria, as you know. his mother is an incredible woman. i'm doing it for him and i'm doing it for his mother. his mother is an incredible mother who's desperate to find her son. i'm not confirming alive but if he is alive, we would like very much to get him back quickly. >> and on coronavirus, speaking of shortages of supplies, the cdc has put out guidelines for hospitals that are dealing with a shortage of masks to use them beyond their shelf life, reuse them and instead of getting new

ones and in a worse-case scenario use a bandana instead of a mask. how is that acceptable at all. >> i have not seen that but i will let the vice president answer that question. >> my pleasure, mr. president. i cannot emphasize enough the incredible progress that was made with the legislation last night. the president had me go to minnesota and meet at 3:00 a.m. the manufacturers these n95 a few weeks ago. and we learned of their production at that facility of 35 million masks a month. less than 5 million of those were qualified to be sold to hospitals. so the president worked with republican and democratic leadership. we extended the liability protection. so now all of the industrial masks manufactured as n95 are now available to hospitals. and we are seeing a dramatic increase in production. honeywell alone is repurposing a factory destined for mexico to produce another 120 million masks per year. 3m is increasing output to 420

million masks per year. we really have put a priority at the president's direction on making sure those that are providing health care services to america have the protection to keep themselves and their families safe. and with the legislation last night, with the incredible response among these great private sector companies, and as we mentioned repeatedly, with construction companies around america heeding the president's call to donate their industrial masks to hospitals -- it's happening all over america -- we know we will meet that need. >> but when will they be ready -- >> when will they be ready as we start getting them ready? >> as i mentioned, 3m is increasing their output at 24 million. in january they make 35 million per month at that facility. and we're prioritizing the distribution of those. but the other thing, and i will emphasize this with governors this afternoon, we're working

with governors to make sure the health care providers, the hospitals and the clinics in their state are placing orders now that this tremendous increase in supply, particularly with industrial mass, is now available. we're going to make sure they understand that the supply has greatly expanded thanks to a bipartisan legislation, and the accomplishment the president and the response by these companies is making more masks available. we will make sure the health care providers are purchasing those, and the federal government will also make sure that our stockpile is properly reflecting those increases as well. >> on the president's question, when will those masks be ready for -- because they need them like today. >> they're available now. the 3m facility that i was at told me in january they went to full production on 35 million masks. the legislative change means all 35 million of those that started to be produced at full capacity in january can now be sold to hospitals. that's the distinction here.

it's a very important change and it's part of the way the president has been engaging private sector, pushing to kind of regulatory reform and kind of liability reform that has greatly expanded the availability of masks. they're in the marketplace now. we're going to make it clear to governors, as we make it clear to health care providers on conference calls yesterday that those resources are now there. we vastly increased the supply of medical masks and will continue to put a priority on making sure we're calling on industry at every level, calling on major suppliers that the president met with this week, to make sure that those personal protective equipment are there. >> and that had to do with the liability to the company. they had a big problem with liability and much of it had to do with the liability to the company. >> two for you, and one for dr. hahn. the american hospital association just told nbc news that they need $100 billion in order to address shortages in

equipment and other infrastructure. you just signed two legislative packages. they say it didn't directly give money to address this issue. why not, and will you commit to the -- >> we're looking at that issue directly with them. and that's a separate issue. but we're looking at that issue very directly. very directly. we will do our best. we're working with democrats and republicans on that. we're looking at that very specifically. >> can you bottom line people, when can americans expect their lives to go back to normal? will that not happen until there's a vaccine? >> i hope very soon. we'll see. this is unchartered verto terri you know. we have ideas, and i hope very soon. we are pulling together as a nation and people for the most part are doing what they're supposed to be doing. social distancing is very interesting. a whole new term that's become somewhat of a hot term but people are listening and really doing a great job.

this country is an amazing country. i think you're up to 141 different countries right now. it's unchartered territory. could have been stopped pretty easily if everybody would have known about it a number of months before people started reading about it. >> you said -- >> excuse me, before we started reading about it, it could have been stopped in its tracks. unfortunately they didn't decide to make it public. but the whole world is suffering because of it. >> you said two days ago you did have a sense this was a pandemic that was coming. so why was the united states not prepared -- >> we were only prepared. the only thing we weren't prepared for is the media. the media has not treated it fairly. i will tell you how prepared i was, i called for a ban from people coming in from china long before anybody thought it was -- in fact, it was your net work, i believe they called me a racist because i did that. it was many of the people in the

room, they called me racist and other words because i did that, because i went so early. when you say we weren't prepared, had i let these tens of thousands of people come in from china a day, we would have had something right now that would have been -- you wouldn't have even recognized it compared to where we are. how many people have passed away? how many people have died as of this moment? you can multiply that by a factor of many, many, many. when you say i wasn't prepared, i was the first one to do the ban. now other countries are following what i did. but the media doesn't acknowledge that. they know it's true. but they don't want to write about it. >> i want to follow up on john and katelyn's questions. it's not just masks. doctors are saying now they're desperate for other protective gear, gloves, other equipment. governors are saying they don't have access to respirators and they're terrified. >> governors are supposed to get

it, states are supposed to get it but we're helping the states. for years they bought them and now all of a sudden they're coming to the federal government. we're working with the states. we're working with the governors. the relationships are great. one of the things that happened this morning, i spoke with mickey erickson of carnival cruise line and he's going to make ships available. in addition to the medical ships coming, if we need ships with lots of rooks, and they will be docked at new york and los angeles and sfwran francisco, different places. i want to thank mickey erickson at carnival cruise line. >> what about invoking the defense -- >> i've done it. if we find we need something, we will do that. you don't know what we've done. you don't know what we ordered or invoked it, what's been ordered, what's not. i can only tell you as an example, masks, nobody ever heard of the number of masks ordered. they're being made now. many are available now.

but people i think in the media probably don't know that. >> can you explain the gap for the american people in what you're saying here today about there being tens of thousands of tests available, about their being a huge amount of masks available, and what we're seeing on the ground, which is the opposite of that. people are saying they can't get tested even whether they have symptoms. people are saying doctors are telling us they don't have access to vital equipment. can you explain that gap? >> i cannot explain a gap. i'm hearing very good things on the ground and we're dealing with -- they had to ramp up. they had an obsolete system and system simultaneously not meant for this. it wasn't meant for this. nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion. nobody's ever seen anything like this before. i can tell you what we're doing is working with local governments, with state's governors, mayors on getting them to be able to get what they need. the system is starting to work

out very well. we had to break a system, like breaking an egg, because the system we had was obsolete and didn't work. it was the system we inherited. now we have something that's really been very good and certainly will be great for the future too. >> dr. hahn -- >> mr. president, there seems to be backlash among congressional republicans and your supporters about a corporate bailout. in particular senator mike brawn said this would hearken back where we're picking winners and losers and he indicated his colleagues may not be comfortable with that. what do you say to that? >> we don't want to pick winners and losers. we want everybody to benefit. we want more than anything else the workers to benefit. sometimes for the workers to benefit, you have to go through the company. they have thousands of workers, and if a company goes out of business no fault of their own, those workers are not going to be able to receive a check. so, look, our ultimate goal are the great people of this country. and we will have things worked

out. i think it's going to be -- it's a very complex formula. you understand that, very complex. but it's working out. i think it will work very well. i think we'll have pretty uniform support for it. please. >> mr. president, we're hearing the state department will put out an advisory not to travel overseas at all. are you putting in an overseas travel ban? >> we're speaking with the state department later. i can't say right now, because i haven't had the meeting yet. >> president trump, i wanted to ask dr. hahn about today's announcement if i could. dr. hahn, thank you very much. i wanted to ask ramsiniviiur, if i pronounced that correctly, are you saying it's currently approved for the virus. >> it's a drug made by gilead that's been in the press. it is currently in clinical trials here and around the world. we've also made it available by that approach that i told you called compassionate use, where a doctor could ask the fda for

that and the really positive thing about that, that gives it rapidly to a doctor and patients, but it allows us to collect the data. because what you really need to do is understand what the data and science are in order to make the appropriate decision about safety and effectiveness. >> how do you just make sure that it is safe? is there any concern at all that will will be safe considering it's not going through the normal process? and could potentially cause negative effects? dr. fauci earlier talked about we do not want to put out anything that could cause negative effects. is there any concern about this kind of thing with this drug? >> thank you for that question. i want to be clear about this, the drug is going through the normal process. we are using our internal processes at the fda to set up with the company, the protocols to actually collect the data and you're right, we need to know about the safety and effectiveness. and that's done through the clinical trial process. so it's those data that are going to inform the decisions

ultimately made by safety and efficacy. this is an unprecedented situation. this is really a significant time. one thing that with the president's leadership, the fda has done and said okay, how do we approach these extraordinary times with extraordinary measures knowing that we have a sacred trust with the american people about safety and efficacy? but still at the same time enable these treatments to get into patients. and that's what we're doing. >> mr. president, one for you and one for the doctors. how likely is it the 15-day guidance that you have put through will be extended -- >> i can only tell you that on the 14th day. we'll have to see. we'll have indications later on. >> dr. birx indicated there are three states and ten counties, if i got that right, where 50% of the cases are focused. should those areas be doing more measures than shelter in place? >> i think they are doing a lot.

i know new york's been working diligently, been very strong. i assume san francisco is one of the areas and los angeles. state of washington, obviously. that's one that needs to be up there. they're all working very hard to quarantine, or just about the equivalent of quarantine. >> what's your plan, sir, for government workers? are you moving for the government as well to start doing more teleworking? >> we are, we are using the medical term of telemedicine and it's been incredibly busy and really where people -- some people can't do it anyway. they can't get up, they can't see a doctor. but we're using this and it's been telehealth, different names. i will tell you it's been really successful and something a lot of people are getting help where they can't -- and even for a safety reason if they are positive, if they are feeling poorly, they can't do it or we don't want them transmitting anything to anybody else.

>> mr. president, if i could on china, they recorded for the first time since the outbreak many new cases over a 24-hour period. do you have any reason to disbelieve them? second to that, the national security council yesterday put out a tweet very critical of the chinese government saying the chinese communist party suppressed initial reports on the chinese virus and punished doctors and general scholars and chinese international experts to miss critical opportunities to miss a global pandemic. can you explain? >> we would have been much better if we had known about this a number of months earlier. it could have been contained to that one area of china where it started. certainly the world is paying a big price for what they did. the world is paying a very big price for not letting them come out. everybody knows that. we all know that. as far as believing what they're putting out now, i hope it's true. who knows? but i hope it's true.

>> quickly a question for you and also for the doctor, if possible. you've been talking about china quite a bit. you talked about the chinese virus, how if you heard about this on day one and had more information, possibly you could have stopped it. >> big difference. >> are you thinking about any types of repercussions for china? are you rethinking the supply lines for our manufacturing? >> i don't want to comment on that right now. >> mr. president, i have a question for you and dr. birx. american workers across the country are losing their jobs at unprecedented rates. your former economist said we could see some of the worst jobs numbers ever. is the government prepared to see the spike in unemployment? >> the worst case, senator, we will have terrible job numbers. if we can get this thing wrapped up and finished earlier, things will go very nicely. one of the things, one of the

elements that's being worked on very much on the hill is keep the jobs going, so when we do get rid of the virus, we're going to be able to just really i think go like a rocket. i think the economy will be fantastic. now, when he said that, he was using that as the ultimate bad outcome. i don't think anybody believes that's going to happen. >> members of congress are now being tested positive for coronavirus, and you have almost 2,000 that are self-quarantined. do you have any guidance for congress should they -- >> i know all of them. i don't know if they're setting like you people are setting. you actually are setting too close. really, we should probably get rid about another 75%, 80% of you. i have just two, three i like in this room. that's a great way of doing it. we will begin a new way of doing it. you're actually much too close.

you should move immediately. but, look, i know all of them. they tested positive. hopefully they're all going to get better. and it one of those things. it's congress. >> going to the hill -- >> i don't know if they're going to the hill. i know some that tested positive in quarantine. i know lindsey and many others, they didn't test but until they got the result, they put themselves in quarantine. a number of people in congress right now are in quarantine. they don't know the results. when they get the results, they will either stay there and get better. most people are getting better. most by far, the people, you get better. it doesn't mean it's not a tough one. it is a tough one. one day many people in congress have felt not perfect, or they met somebody that wasn't perfect who turned out to be positive,

and they've put themselves in quarantine. i think congress has behaved unbelievely well. >> given what's happening in the economy, do you think a trillion dollar stimulus is enough? >> we will see what happens. so much depends what's going on in this room in terms of the medical. if we can stop it in its tracks, the virus, it's plenty. if we can't, we have to go back and look. >> do you support the idea of the government taking an equity stake in certain companies? >> i do. i really do. >> which companies -- >> i'm not going to say, but i do. people are coming in for money. in some cases to fault of their own, but in some cases, where they did certain things over the course of the years, including buying back stock. they bought back stock and paid a high price for it, as it turned out. but maybe i view that as a little bit differently than

somebody who didn't or some built plants all over the united states, which there are plenty of them too. >> are the airlines bubbling or -- >> we will be helping the airplane industry. we will be helping the cruise line industry. we will probably be helping the hotel industry. where jobs are created. you don't want to lose industries like this. these are incredible industries. you can't lose them. we'll be focused on many industries. i have to say, i can't say it strongly enough, we will be helping small businesses. that's where it's complicated. a lot of small -- you know, that's the engine of the country. we will be helping small business. >> dr. hahn, these two that tested positive for coronavirus, vis-a-vis you need a $1 trillion stimulus package for the economy, do you expect this to slow down the delivery of checks for american families? and are you considering any negative action? >> there could be. i'm looking at a couple of

things. hopefully we won't need it. there's a lot of executive power. if we don't have to use it, that would be a good thing, not a bad thing. go ahead. >> mr. president, one for you and potentially one for dr. birx or adams. right now the economy has essentially grown to a halt. >> thank you for telling me. i appreciate it. what's the rest of your question? everybody in the room knows that. >> the question is how long should those worry they're not working right now or business owners who have to make critical decisions, how long should they expect the state of affairs as it stands at this moment to play out? and for the doctors behind you -- >> we'll be able to tell you that i think in the near future. we will see where we're going. you have seen numbers. you have seen the graphs. you will see numbers and we will be able to let you know. i will say the american public has been incredible for the most part. not in all cases, but for the most part. so you'll be able to see what's happening -- as we say, we had a

15-day period. you will be able to tell a lot in a week or so -- not everything, but over a period of time. >> for all of the parents that are home now, and this is for dr. birx or adams, who are caring for their children and curious about when might my kids be able to go back to school, what do you think is a realistic timeline? >> i think you know most -- all of those decisions are made at the state and local government level. each state and local government has handled it differently. that's why we put out from the president federal presidential guidance to every single person about what we think is important for the next two weeks. as we look at the data, we will be able to see if it's having an impact. i think you've all seen the modeling studies. those were driven by the modeling studies showing if you add these things together, they have a bigger impact than separately. those are part of the decision making. we had a whole group of modelers

in yesterday. they're compositing all of the data together to look at this carefully. everybody has the same questions of what the impact will be. h, a and what pieces could essentially be removed and you still have the same level of impact in decreasing the spread of the virus. the absolute key to this though is every single american looking at the president's guidelines and taking it seriously. the acts of selflessness that i am seeing are so impressive across the board. but if even 10% or 15% of the population decides what they're doing today is more important than the health and welfare of the rest of americans, they can spread the virus in a very strong way because you know the level of contagion. >> i have to say, if hydroxy chlor aquinn works, and other things they're looking at, if they work, the numbers will come down rapidly. we will see what happens. there's a real chance they might

work. in the back. >> thank you very much. what is your message for some leaders in latin america, like the president of brazil, who just on sunday was taking photos with supporters, encouraging mass demonstrations and yesterday the president said we should not be surprised if we are seeing on the next subway a crowded area with the people because he's the president and should be with the people. what do you think of that message? >> he's a friend of mine, number one. number two, we had dinner the other night and everybody said he was positive and he wasn't positive. he tested negative. i was quite happy when i heard that. but i have no message for him other than he's doing a good job in brazil. he's doing a good job in brazil and he's very popular. >> how about encouraging mass demonstrations at this moment? >> i cannot tell you about that. i have not heard that. he's doing a very good job. brazil was very troubled before he got there. the people love him and he's

popular. i think he's doing a very good job. >> mr. president, there are americans who were traveling abroad that were essentially stopped and unable to come home. we spoke to ten women -- >> where, where? >> we spoke to ten american women when morocco, for instance. all of the flights had been canceled. their hotel is shutting down. they literally have no place to stay and no way to get home. they are asking you, they're asking the administration, u.s. government for help. what can we tell them? >> you know if we have groups, we have a groups of young people in peru and we're working on taking care of that with the military. >> so military evacuation? >> not evacuation but we're trying to get them out. they got caught. they were late with their flights. we gave them a period of time. they didn't make it. but we're looking to get them out with military probably through the military. we have a group of young

people -- i think young men or young people, could be women with them also from alabama, the great state of alabama. they're in peru and we're working on that right now, trying to get them out. it's a large group, about 300. we'll work it out. jeff? >> mr. president, two policy-related questions. in your talk with the g7 leaders earlier this week, did you discuss together ending or postponing the olympics? >> yes, we did discuss it. as you know, prime minister abe was on the call. and that's a big decision for him. and we don't know what his decision is, but we will live with his decision. it's a tough situation. of they've done an incredible job. japan has done an incredible job building venues, getting them built. you have seen so many olympic venues that were a disaster over the years, cost five times more than they were supposed to and weren't ready on time. japan was the opposite. built it beautifully and built it for what it was supposed to be built for. but he got hit with the same thing the rest the world got hit

with, unexpectedly. he has told us he's not made a decision as to what to do. >> also on foreign policy, have you spoken to the leaders of saudi arabia or russia and encouraged them to stop this glut of oil that is affecting the market? >> the one thing i will tell you from the standpoint, you always get a little torn. because until we became the leading producer, i was always for the person driving the car and filling up the tank of gas, and you would have gasoline and prices were -- if they were too high, i would also raise hell with opec. and i was always somebody that likes -- i never thought i would see 22 and 24 and $28 a barrel but that's what we have. and in one way or consumer is very much helped. it's like a massive tax increase. that's bigger than any tax decrease you can give. we can give all of these big tax cuts but they're paying so

little for gasoline. but, on the other hand, it hurts a great industry and very powerful industry. so i spoke with numerous people that have a lot to do with it and we have a lot of power over the situation. we're trying to find some kind of medium ground. it's very devastating to russia because when you look, their whole economy is based on that. we have the lowest oil prices in decades, so it's very devastating to ush russia. i would say it's bad for saudi arabia. but they were in a fight on price, they were in a fight on output. at the appropriate time, i will get involved, yes. >> mr. president, forgive me if i missed it, what will the carnival cruise ships be used for? >> mickey called up and he said if you need them -- and we haven't said yes. i will call governor cuomo. i will call gavin, gavin newsom, governor from california, i will call a few of the other governors and are going to bring

it up today. we're meeting through telephone, telephonically as they say in a little while at fema. i'm going right to fema from here. >> can you increase hospital beds? >> well, places to stay. let's say places to stay if it works. maybe people won't want to. he made the offer. it was a very generous offer. he said he has some ships that would be ideally suited for what we're doing, and certainly they have a lot of rooms. they're big and have a lot of rooms. so we appreciate it from carnival. >> at what point will any american who want to test teed be able to get a test? you're talking about not needing a test if you're not showing symptoms? >> not needing the test? >> or only getting tested if you're showing symptoms -- >> you should only -- i didn't have any symptoms and i got a test but i got a test because you people were driving everybody crazy. i had no symptoms, but i had to test. my doctor told me don't get it,

you don't need it. everybody said you don't need it but i had to do it because the press was going crazy. and then after i got it, they said you shouldn't have gotten it, you had no symptoms. the whole thing. if you get it, it's no good. but i'm a unique case unfortunately. people that don't show symptoms and people that have doctors that say they shouldn't get it, i would rely on that, yes. i would rely on that. >> mr. president -- >> mr. president, thank you. mr. president, thank you. i have two questions. do you consider the term china -- >> o-a-n, very good. thank you very much. treat me nicely. >> do you consider the term chinese food racist, because it's food that originates in china? >> no, i don't think it's racist. i don't think it's racist. >> on that note, major left wing news media, even in this room, teamed up with chinese party narratives and claiming you're racist for making these claims about chinese virus.

is it alarming that major media players just who oppose you are signing with foreign states with radical cartels that work right here at the white house and are direct assets to you and your team? >> it amazes me when i read the things i read. it amazes me when i read "the wall street journal," which is also so negative. it amazes me when i read "the new york times" -- i barely read it. we don't distribute it in the white house anymore. the same thing with "the washington post." because you see, i know the truth. and people out there in the world, they really don't know the truth. they don't know what it is. they use different slogans and different concepts for me almost every week trying to catch something. last week it was all chaos. you see me, there's no chaos. i am the one telling everybody to be calm. there's no chaos at the white house. we have unbelievable professionals.

it's really, i think i came up with the term -- i hope i came up with a term, but it is fake news. it's more than fake news, it's corrupt news. they write stories without calling anybody. they write a story today, i had a couple of stories where they never call me, ever, that i know of. at least nobody tells me. they will write a story about me without even asking my opinion on something. it's totally fake. i have never seen it. there's a story in "the wall street journal" today about -- you know, about how we've been doing a phenomenal job on this. the governors, even gavin newsom, who i'm usually fighting with over fires and i think we should do a different kind of job in the forests and lots of things. we argue a lot. but gavin newsom's been very, very generous. andrew cuomo's been really generous. they're saying we're doing a great job. everybody is saying it. but you read this phony story in "the wall street journal" or "the washington post" is going wild lately.

i don't know what happened to them. i guess something happened like we don't call them back or whatever. but "the washington post," these are very dishonest media sources. they're very dishonest. and you know what, some day hopefully in five years, i won't be here and that will be fine. i will have done, i think, a great job. i don't think anyone has done as much in 3 1/2 years as i've done, and the administration. this administration has done a great job. but the press is very dishonest. >> they're more than dishonest. they're trying with state pop ganda -- >> i think they're siding with china. they're doing things they shouldn't be doing. they're siding with many others. china is the least of it. why they're doing this, you'll have to ask them. but if we had an honest media in this country, our country would be an even greater place. so, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. we are very excited about -- we're very excited about

specifically what we talked about with the chloroquine. i think it could be something really incredible. it could totally depress the -- excuse me. it could totally depress any time that we're talking about if it works. there are a lot of reasons that i have to believe, again, dr. hahn is the expert, but a lot of reasons i would have to think it could have a very positive effect or a positive effect -- maybe not very, but maybe positive. i think it's to me very, very exciting. the beauty is, i think i can say this to you, the beauty is these drugs have been out there. so the danger part of the drugs, especially chloroquin, it's been out there for years. we know it's something that can be taken safely. so it's very important. >> go ahead. >> doctor, can you give a little

more information about the process by which folks are going to be able to use these meds, that you think it would be more helpful? if you can update up on the fast tracking. >> the president asked us to expedite this. what i want to assure you because of the questions that are asked, we want to make sure this is done well and right for the american people. the president is right, it was an off-the-shelf drug. we do have a lot of information about the side effects of the drug. so that helps in terms of expediting. i want to show you we're working as quickly as we can. i do not want to speculate about a timeline. with respect to vaccines, that's in phase one trials. we expect that to proceed moving forward and working with other companies about vaccine developments. >> is it possible phase two and phase three can be fast tracked, that we might see a vaccine before that year? you said it could possibly be a year? >> this is a terrific question

and we are really trying hard at fda to partner with great industry, great academic partners to do exactly that. no promises can be made but one thing we're doing is working hard to fast track as much as possible. >> and they are. >> dr. hahn, the -- >> we're going to have other teams to meet. we will be meeting hopefully not for very long. i would like to see this get cleared up. to me this was a very important conference, because i really think there's great potential here. and a lot of people are going to be trying it soon. like literally very soon. literally in a matter of days, if not sooner in some cases. it's already being experimented with and there's been very good results. we will see what happens. but if we can be even partially right, maybe we will be fully right but even partially right on it, this whole subject becomes a much more pleasant subject. so thank you all. we are going over to fema now. so i don't know who's going, but

we're going to fema. we will be discussing with the governors and lots of other people. i think that's enough. thank you. >> and with that, good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. president trump and importantly the fda commissioner, wrapping up today's coronavirus press briefing where the president just announced that antiviral therapies -- not preventions but therapies, are being looked at by the fda to hopefully reduce the severity of the coronavirus. he said there are early signs a commonly used drug hydroxy chlor quinn, anti-malaria drug also used for arthritis, may help treat coronavirus symptoms. the president said the drug could be available almost immediately. and then the fda commissioner warned while he has great hope how quickly they can get this to come out, the situation as important as it is not to give false hope, the fda's responsibility is to ensure it's

safe and effective. the president said he will use the defense production act if necessary but the federal government is not a shipping clerk, that whether or not factories can be told to retool and reproduce needed. this as we're hearing from doctors and nurses about a lack of personal protective equipment. local hospitals and authorities are warning about a shortage of the ventilators and respiratorr, the masks needed to treat the cases. the united states surpassed 10,000 cases of coronavirus. at least 154 virus related deaths. joining me, joe scarborough and mika brzezinski and the host of "washington week in review, the former homeland security secretary jeh johnson. what again we are hearing day

after day today, most importantly on this drug for malaria that's been used and tested and been in common use, whether it can be then used, though, for this particular use, for coronavirus. it has to be tested. so you hear a much more optimistic tone, more of what you could call happy talk on this from the produesident than from the fda commissioner. as he was signing the defense production act but now not triggering it for immediate production. the two hospital ships were being mobilized but we know they're being prepared and are not properly staffed. your take on all of this, joe and mika? >> there does always seem to be an overpromise. you have, as you're going into the press conference, you hear today, for snarninstance, we he there was going to be big news from the fda. all we heard is something that doctors were telling me a week ago that anti-malaria medicine

may be available to make the coronavirus effects a little less severe. what was so striking, first of aushl all, the president was very tired today. looked very tired in the press conference. he made very clear today, again, and you talked about the, quote, the federal government is not a shipping clerk but unlike past product presidents, whether it was fdr or president bush after 9/11, this president is not going to use the white house as the command and control for a national emergency. national emergencies don't get much more extreme than this. instead what you're hearing time and again not only on the record from the president but off the record from top white house officials is that this is up to the 50 governors. this is up to the free market. the free enterprise. and what we're going to do, there's a quote that i keep hearing on and off the record

that this is a crisis that's going to be locally managed, state run and federally supported. and this federal government, led by donald trump, believes that it can only be federally supported by being there and possibly assisting governors. but also by cutting regulations. that seems right now to be the extent of it. we've got no answers in the press conference really about how quickly these drugs were going to be moved to the market. we really got no further answers on testing. and at the end, we had this really strange spectacle of the president bashing the media, basically saying they were swallowing whole chinese communist talking points. at the same time, the president was talking about bipartisanship and how impressed he's been that this country is coming together. so, obviously, an uneven performance, and i'm not so sure that it's a performance that will assure the markets today.

>> andrea, i think the key takeaway from what we just saw is that we're a country still flat-footed in the fight against a deadly virus that is spreading across the country. you go to this news conference, you want to hear the latest. you want to ask questions about the latest on testing, on supplies, like masks and ventilators, and you've got sort of long, rambling tirades from the president going all over the place talking about fantastic remedies that will be unbelievable like nothing ever seen before and none of it is imminent. none of it is now. none of it is any time soon and there are no masks, and we have the cdc website guidance giving guidance to make your own. that's where we are. >> to that point, when there was the specific question where the president and the vice president were both saying that masks are now being produced by 3m and we're going to have enough and ventilators can be retrofitted,

it's the first time i'd heard that, rather than triggering the defense protection act as pelosi and others have been saying from the hill. at the same time, when someone said, but that's not what we're hearing from the nurses, the doctors, the people you interviewed on your program today that there are such shortages that people were trying to use bandannas instead of proper masks. they're saying there's enough out there already. >> there aren't enough out there right now. >> they're making them. >> this is the one thing i've heard the federal government was actively doing, the trump administration was doing, and mike pence talked about if but they have been talking to 3m, and they have told 3m, make 35 million a month. if you can't sell them, the federal government will buy them back. but the question is how quickly can 3m turn that around? how quickly can other companies turn that around? it is, again, the most -- it was very striking. this laissez-faire approach this white house wanted to take to

this crisis. and putting it on the governors and suggesting that the free market could do it. that said, i was struck by the president was asked a question, if the government might take an equity stake. and to the horror of conservatives and republicans all across capitol hill, he said, i'm thinking about it. >> so interesting. let me bring in former surgeon general, dr. murphy. can you clear up, it seemed to me that the fda commissioner dr. steven hahn was trying to, in answer to kristen welker's questions and other questions, was trying to moderate the president's very hopeful signs that this could be done almost immediately. this not only this malaria drug but also when asked about remdesivir and the ebola drug and whether that canning u inni used. he was assuring the usual procedures will be followed while doing it as quickly and

expeditiously as possible as the president has ordered. doctor? >> thanks for that question, andrea. i think commissioner hahn was trying to level set and make sure people had accurate expectations about how quickly these drugs will be tested and made available. right now the reality is you cannot go into any hospital and expect that you'll be treated with remdesivir or hydroxychloroquine if you have covid-19 infection. there are a number of steps that have to happen between now and that reality. the drugs have to be studied and assessed for their safety and efficacy. it's helpful some of these drugs have been out there already so we have a much better sense of their safety profile but we don't know how they act in people who have covid-19 infection. so this will take some time. the good news coming out of this press conference is they're prioritizing looking into those drugs and studying them so hopefully some day soon we can know if they're useful. the other good news coming out of here is they are starting to be more forward leaning when it

comes to trying to get the production up. some of the supplies we need. there was a glaring hole here, andrea, which is that what people need to know, especially doctors, nurses and health care workers is not just how much is being made today and tomorrow but they need to know whether the needs we have are going to be met. to say 3m is going to make 35 million masks a month is one thing. but if you know the needs will be in the hundreds of millions of masks and right now today doctors who i am talking to every day are having to reuse masks, are running out of gowns and gloves and running out of ventilators and seeing their bed capacity starting to evaporate, their question is what's happening today and tomorrow and how soon are my needs going to be met? that's not clear right now from the government. >> to that very point, i want to bring in jeh johnson, the former secretary of homeland security. we know that dhs has vacancies right and left. now the president says today that fema will be in charge of

the whole of government effort. one wonder yes its why it's tak many weeks for fema to be put in charge. the question to you, is fema now up to it and as a former general counsel at the pentagon, what would be the reason to hold up on the defense protection act if dr. murthy is saying people have these shortages and supply lines are slow moving. why not retool these factories? we've heard that the auto companies, other people, elon musk, are offering to retool their factories to produce ventilators now. >> andrea, there's a tendency in a situation like this to reach for good news or to reach for big sounding legal authorities like the defense production act and declare that you're going to be invoking it or declare a level one emergency or declare that i'm bringing in fema to run things. and i'm quite sure in the depths of this crisis we'll hear about

acts of extraordinary acts of innovation and courage. but despite all the good news that we seem to have heard today at the press conference, we're still very much in the depths of this crisis. the numbers are rising exponentially. where i sit here in new york, the number of documented cases in this state is now something between 20% and 30% of the entire nation and exceeds the number in the entire united kingdom, in the entire country of japan. and so it's important to remember that we're nowhere near the end of this crisis and that the public needs to continue to observe social isolation and good hygiene and that's something that has to be managed by the public and at the local level. i rode the new york city subway this morning using surgical gloves not because donald trump told me to do that but because i heard that was good practice from doctors at the national and