'America This Week': Birx addresses next 30 days, Mark Cuban says put employees first

WASHINGTON (SBG) — "America This Week" host Eric Bolling sat down with Dr. Deborah Birx, the lead coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force to address the grim projection released Tuesday, estimating the total U.S. deaths from coronavirus could reach 240,000 even with mitigation efforts.

Also on the program, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, award-winning chef Thomas Keller and former White House Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland.

BIRX: 30 DAYS TO 'CREATE A DIFFERENT FUTURE'

Dr. Birx underscored the importance of social distancing and following White House guidelines, saying those actions could reduce the projected number of deaths.

"Use the next 30 days to create a different future than that 100,000 to 240,000 deaths," Birx emphasized. "That's in our hands. We have that capacity as Americans to change the way this virus impacts us."

According to White House projections, the country will likely see a surge in fatalities in the next two weeks. President Donald Trump has resisted a nationwide lockdown, leaving it to the states to implement mitigation strategies. Thirty-five states and Washington, D.C. have enacted stay-at-home orders.

Several governors have also begun requiring visitors from out of state to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Florida, Rhode Island and Texas have set up checkpoints to enforce the order.

Birx said those self-quarantine orders were "very important." She added that people should remain in the primary place of residence and avoid overwhelming the health care infrastructure in other parts of the country.

In New York City, officials are responding to the surge of hospitalizations by setting up field tents in Central Park after converting the city's convention center into a hospital last week. "We remain deeply concerned by the New York metro area," Birx said, explaining that the virus likely "seeded" weeks before the surge in cases. As of Wednesday, the state had roughly 84,000 cases and nearly 2,000 deaths.

"This is a highly contagious, transmittable virus," Birx said. She explained that initial reports from China that ignored mild and asymptomatic cases "lulled" people into believing COVID-19 was a "more containable epidemic."

Health experts are still unclear how many people are asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. "It could be anywhere from 25 to 50% or it may increase," Birx said. "We really have to act every day, that the people around us could be positive."

MARK CUBAN MESSAGE TO CEOS: 'PUT EMPLOYEES FIRST'

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and "Shark Tank" entrepreneur emphasized that CEOs should be protecting their employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

"This is a unique time; everybody's afraid because no one really has any specific or definitive information," Cuban told Bolling. "If you're going to be a leader, if you're going to be a good CEO, you need to be able to communicate and put your employees first."

The needs of employees should come before shareholders, he continued. "It's just something you've got to do because that's going to define your brand for years to come."

On the other side of the pandemic, people will be looking at how companies treated their employees when they consider whether or not to do business with them, Cuban added.

When the NBA announced it was postponing the regular season on March 11, Cuban was among several of team owners to offer to pay the salaries of stadium workers for the duration of the crisis. Cuban is also holding on to all the employees of his Los Angeles restaurant Westside Tavern and paying their salaries.

"I can afford to do it," said Cuban, a billionaire. "It's the right thing to help the economy, to help the country."

CHEF KELLER FIGHTS TO SAVE RESTAURANTS

Chef Thomas Keller, owner of the French Laundry, Per Se, and Bouchon, is waging a battle with the insurance industry to save American restaurants.

Keller and several other chefs formed the Business Interruption Group and have brought several lawsuits against insurance companies who are refusing to cover the business losses of restaurants impacted by the coronavirus.

The group of chefs, restauranteurs and owners are "working hard just to survive in these hard times," Keller said. Their aim is to persuade insurance companies to honor their business interruption insurance to cover the costs of the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants can typically purchase on business interruption insurance for disasters, or unexpected closures.

In Keller's case, he claimed he paid extra to cover viruses, "Yet they're still denying my policy."

The restaurant industry employs more than 15 million people in the United States and adds about $1 trillion to the economy every year. The industry has been hard-hit by the outbreak. Keller said his main focus is saving his restaurants to ensure his staff have places to return to work.

MCFARLAND: AMERICA BEST POSITIONED TO 'WEATHER' CRISIS

Former Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland took a virtual world tour, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Europe but estimated that the United States is best situated to come out strong from the coronavirus pandemic.

"I do think the world is going to go to a dark place for the next couple years," McFarland said. "But in that environment, the United States is in far better shape than anybody else."

Despite trillions of dollars in lost economic activity and skyrocketing unemployment, McFarland argued that the fundamental underpinnings of the economy remained sound. She further said that America's economic independence, the size of the domestic market and energy independence will be an asset as it recovers from the pandemic.

"Our relative strength compared to everybody else, compared to the Chinese, compared to the Russians, compared the Iranians, compared to the Europeans—we’re in much better shape to weather this and to then, when it's over, come roaring back.

PULSE OF AMERICA & PANEL

"America This Week's" segment "Pulse of America" featured reports from Sinclair Broadcast Group's national reporters and affiliated stations around the country.

WBFF's Shelly Orman spoke to a 26-year-old from Baltimore who became critically ill with coronavirus following a trip the New York City earlier this month. The otherwise healthy 26-year-old was able to recover from the virus but was shocked at the toll it took.

Bolling also moderated a doctors' panel discussion on COVID-19 with the chief medical correspondent for MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe' Dr. Dave Campbell and Dr. Dena Grayson, a specialist in infectious diseases.

"America This Week" is an hour-long program featuring interviews with lawmakers, administration officials, and politicians with unique insights into the issues that matter to Americans. The show also features news stories from Sinclair Broadcast Group's stations around the country to give viewers reports on relevant events from right where they are happening.

The program streams on all Sinclair sites every Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT/ 4 p.m. PDT.