'We need to recognize where there might be new hotspots': John Hopkins Doctor

Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit Medical Director Dr. Brian Garibaldi joins Yahoo Finance’s Zack Guzman to discuss the latest COVID-19 outlook as global cases surpass 6.5 million.

Video Transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: Meantime, as we noted, we've been continuing to track cases here in the US and around the world in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. People standing ready to watch for a much-feared second wave of cases. As we've been monitoring them across the globe, it might be letting up in some countries, including here in the US. But the total number of cases is now growing faster than ever worldwide when you dig into those numbers, more than 100,000 new reported cases each day. And now the number of countries reporting a rise in coronavirus cases over the past two weeks is sitting at double the amount of countries reporting a decline, according to "The New York Times" database tracker.

For more on that, though, I want to bring on our next guest. That would be Dr. Brian Garibaldi, Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit Medical Director, joins us now. And, Dr. Garibaldi, when we look at that, we'll get into the international data in a second. But I want to start with the tick higher we're seeing play out right now in Florida, as yesterday that state recorded its largest number of new cases since mid-April, a jump of more than 1,300 cases. So what do you make of that and the potential fears of a second wave?

DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI: Well, hey, Zack. Thanks for having me back on. You know, I think we have to be careful with the day-to-day changes in numbers, because there's lots of different things that affect when positive tests are reported.

And so, you know, I do think we have to be mindful of these trends and just recognize that there are, you know, about a third of the country is is on the rise. About a third of the country is kind of staying flat. And about a third of the country, thankfully, is coming down. And I really think we have to think about the country not as just one nation in terms of the infection, but really looking at these local trends. And so I think we just have to keep a close eye on particularly the states that had opened up a little bit earlier and make sure that this is not the beginning of a rise or another bump in infections in Florida and other states that are on the rise.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, and when we talk about responding to those ticks higher in cases, it's interesting because we got the update from the CDC director, Robert Redfield, today telling House lawmakers that still the CDC is underprepared, the US is underprepared for a pandemic threat. So if that's the case, it doesn't sound reassuring that we would be in a good position to respond to a rise in cases here. What's your take in terms of maybe how we haven't been doing as much as we could have been in the interim months after we saw cases start to decline in terms of preparing for what could come?

DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI: Yeah, you know, I think we have to be really careful to not, you know, take our foot off the gas pedal in areas that are on the way down. You know, even in New York, which was our hardest-hit area of the country, you know, it's estimated from some studies that only 10% to 15% of the population was, you know, actually had the virus. And so, you know, it won't take much to rekindle a spark in a densely populated area as we start opening up. And so I think we really need to build that local capacity to recognize where there might be new hotspots, and to really be flexible in terms of how we approach opening things like businesses, but also, you know, outdoor activities for the summer, community organizations that are organizing summer camps.

And obviously, the big question on everyone's mind is what do we do with school in the fall? And I think that really is going to have to be a local decision based on what's happening in the community, and whether or not it's appropriate to go back to full classes the way that we had or if there is a staged approach? Or, you know, I'm on the committee for my kids' school to help advise opening.

And we're still struggling with, you know, what are the metrics we're going to use to decide how to bring back students? Who do we prioritize, you know, if it's the lower students that come back earlier because they benefit more probably from in-person learning? I think those are some big questions that the entire country is faced with right now.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that because Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked about that in an interview with CNN yesterday, commenting on exactly that, when we should be opening schools here in the US, thinking about what the timeline looks like. He seemed to be-- he seemed to be, you know, conceding the fact that there are risks any time you think about opening up a school come the fall. But he did say that he would be supportive of schools being able to open up in the fall.

So what really are those fears that you're discussing in your own local level here, and when you think about how you would measure it, what it could look like if you do see a tick higher in cases? Obviously, it would be, I think, a lot more destructive to then have to shut schools down again. So how is that path forming as you try and monitor it?

DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI: Well, I think, you know, I think we need to keep our eyes open to what's happening in other countries who have started opening schools earlier because of their different school seasons. It would be surprising if-- even though children aren't as affected severely from this virus as adults, you know, we've seen these inflammatory states that can happen to children. But that's very rare.

If this virus follows other respiratory virus patterns, children will probably be an important vector for transmission. And so I think we need to be mindful not just of the children's safety but also of teachers and families who are sending children to school who may have at-risk patients, or at-risk family members at home, or themselves be at higher risk from the disease. So I think it really has to be a local community-based decision based on what's happening in your community.

Is it safe to bring the children back? Or is there some, you know, can you do outdoor classes? Can you do a combination hybrid, know telecommuting for some students and then rotate who's on campus?

I think there's lots of ways to approach it. And I think we're in sort of no data land right now because this has never really happened before. And I think we have to just pay attention to what other people are doing and learn from that experience.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, and you mentioned other countries as well. I'd be remiss, just lastly, if we didn't note the uptick in cases right now experienced in Latin America. We're seeing cases balloon in Brazil. Just on Tuesday, it reported its highest number of deaths due to the coronavirus since the outbreak began.

We're seeing a similar deteriorating situation in Peru as well. How alarming is that, though, when you think about how the epicenter continues to shift around the globe, and how that could complicate mitigating what could happen down the road if this is to spread again, and maybe again? I hate to keep hitting the point, but lead to a second wave?

DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI: Well, I think it's really important to pay attention to what's happening in other countries, because this is a global phenomenon, right? There's-- if there are hotspots of this virus in the world, until there's a vaccine, that will always represent the possibility of creating further hotspots in other nations and spreading back to the United States. So I think this is a global problem.

Even though we're talking about it in terms of the local and community responses that we have to do on a local level in the United States, this is a global problem. And I think we need to continue to be at the forefront of helping to drive the science to understand this, but also to help support other countries who don't have the robust infrastructure that we have. And, you know, even with the infrastructure that we have, we've seen how we've become the epicenter of the world for this virus, with, you know, a majority of the deaths and a majority of the cases. So I think we're all worried about what's going to happen with countries that don't have that infrastructure in place.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, and we're seeing that play out now in Latin America. But, Dr. Brian Garibaldi, Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit Medical Director, appreciate you taking the time, as always.

DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI: Thanks for having me on. Stay safe, everyone.