Latest Efforts on Containing Coronavirus Outbreak

on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot com. You can also listen to our radio show weekdays at two pm Eastern only on Bloomberg Radio. There were many headlines coming out of this morning's Coronavirus Task Force update, a lot of it having to do with healthcare and treatments. Uh really aimed at controlling the virus or treating the divisus at the virus excuse me, um, So I do want to get make some sense out of it because there are a lot of headlines. Dr Amy Compton Phillips is back

with us. She's Chief Clinical Officer Executive VP at Providence St. Joseph Health. On the phone once again from Everett, Washington. Remember we've talked with her several times over the last few weeks and her hospital. The system is where the first US case of the virus was confirmed. Dr Compton Phillips, nice to have you back with us. Forgive me as I stumbled at the top and I was reading through some of the headlines and just trying to remember all

the things that we got out of the conference. Uh, this morning, the President touting a milarry drug as a potential coronavirus treatment. You also heard things about early coronavirus drug trials yielding mixed results. Where are we You're there

on the front line. What's what's what's going on? What do you see as potential realistic treatments for this Yeah, you know, I think what's really important is for us to have a systematic approach to this UM that that we can end up playing whack a mole if we

go after the next bright shiny object. And so what we've been really doing here on the West coast, which at the moment um, you know, we're neck and neck with the York not that we want to, not that we want to race to the front of the line for this UM, but for having the most cases UM in our system right now we're treating. Uh, it's up words of about eight hundred people that either have known or suspected coronavirus UM, and we're trying to do several things.

One is we're trying to make sure that we can triage people appropriately and get them to the right location so that if you happen to have symptoms of the virus, and because the testing has taken so long, we can't definitively say we do everything we can to take care of you in your home if if you can are stable enough to be in your home, so we don't overwhelm the health care system, right We're trying to make sure that in the hospital, if you have to go

into the hospital, we're putting you with other patients that also have UM COVID as well, and so that we can minimize use of the PPE. And then if you need acute care. We have several ongoing trials of medications including UM, the malarial drugs that the President talked about today, including some of the direct anti virals UM that you

heard about in the past few days. So so I think by thinking through this UM systematically rather than you know, uh thing thing you know all over the place, UM, that we can actually kind of get a handle on what's going on well and Dr Compton Phillips, it's really interesting insights. And I also wanted to ask you, um, what you're seeing because one of the headlines that I think it's grabbed a lot of people is the population

that's being infected. And it feels like the narrative is shifted there as well, in terms of many more young people being not just diagnosed but hospitalized. Are you seeing that? Have you seen that? And what should we be taking from this latest data? Yeah? You know, that was an interpretation by the news previously that young people don't get infected. Um. In all the articles and conversations that we've had in it with the physicians in China, with the physicians in Italy. Um,

young people who get infected. It's just that they tend to recover at a much higher rate and so that the mortality is higher in patients that are older and people that have underlying health conditions. But young people absolutely get infected, and we're seeing that thing here. Um, they end up less often in the I C you on a per capita basis, but they do end up um

seriously ill. And it's one of the reasons why it's really we are we are doing everything by hook and by crook to make sure that we have enough capacity and I cuth because we want to say every single person that comes to us with this bad disease UM and not not have people, you know, dying for lack

of access to health care. Is there some medication out there, perhaps existing a drug that's already in the system already you know, the FDA has pretty much signed off on that we can see then maybe another use of UM. We have actually tested a couple of different drugs that have in other kinds of viral diseases have anti viral activity UM that have not worked. But we're absolutely looking

at the array. And in fact that the malaria drug that the President mentioned, hydroxic chloroquin is one that's been on the market for decades UM and so that that has shown early promise, particularly in China, which is why we're standing epithety here as well. UM. And then the anti viral drugs while it hadn't been approved yet, it was being developed for a bola UM and so what had another use and and that's the one right now that we have a couple of different clinical trials going

on to see really if this does work. Dr comp Philip's only about forty seconds left here. I got to ask you, since we've talked a lot about it testing, is it ramping up? How soon will it be in your estimation to the point where it's really rolling in

an effective way. Testing is still a dramatic bottle act um, and so part of the challenge is that if for every patient that wants to be tested, or every person that wants to be tested and doesn't have major symptoms, it means people with significant disease in a hospital somewhere is not being tested. And so having having really clear um when you have a shortage, you have to figure out who gets what first. And we are in a shortage situation, and as we ramp up over the next month,

it'll get better. But right now we really need to use those tests for the people who need them the most. Listen, we always think the time that you give us. Dr Amy Compton Phillips, thank you, thank you, Chief Clinical Officer, Executive vice president of Providence St. Joseph Health on the

phone from Everett, Washington. As we've been saying, Jason, they've been dealing with it from day one, so really seeing how it grows and how you know what what is working in terms of treatment, but you can see still a struggle. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Jason Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. Let's get down to d c Ryan Teague back with I gotta say you are so good on the twitters man like I

follow you and pretty relentlessly. UM, and you're prolific and amid all of that, you're also keeping an eye on the administration and its reaction. What do we need to know at this point? Uh? Yeah, I think it can best be explained by a change in my policy against when want it or um, I've decided to allow it now uh during the UM. Look, the it's just like December. We're at the phase now where the federal government is mounting a response that is uh, you know, involving uh

sort of the whole of government approach. UM. And so that's the good news. UM. The bad news is that that's where we should have been two weeks ago. UM. So the delay in that uh centralized the delay in the acknowledgement of the problem. UM. The delay in reaction led to I think like a knock on effect in that these people you see on TV who just aren't still aren't taking it seriously. UM, all of those things. We're going to pay the price for those uh in

the days to come. And and ironically that's when people will will, I think, who haven't done following this quothly will start to feel the most panic. We will actually have a much better handle on things at that point than we did when no one was panicking, or when people weren't panicking enough. I do want to ask you Ryan though, in terms of the administration, the President and the team that are dealing with this on so many

different levels, whether its defense, whether health, whether it's financial. UM, I do feel like there is a bit of a rhythm here, but I do feel like we're also I know things are getting past, but I still feel like the sense of urgency of getting things done is not quite there yet. Am I wrong? No? I don't you know.

One of my friends Canadian likes to point out that after Pearl Harbor, the Canadian Canadian Parliament was actually like in session and voted to like go to war like on behalf of the United States like and actually like enter the war like a you know, it took a day for Congress to to get into session to actually declare war against Japan. Um, you know, we just aren't having that kind of a fast response. I am struck a little bit by how much the paradigm in the

world has shifted. But when you talk to people in in Washington, you're still hearing it's, you know, the same sort of you know, well, there's been some pieces online. Wow, you know we shouldn't the sense like I think this is an okay time to deficit spend. Most economists would agree that sort of kings the un approach here would

would be merited in this situation. Um, and the like you're you're right, the sense of urgency and doing something quickly and and coming up with a response is not there. The Senate went into recess um. The House bill kind of came over and they were watching on Twitter to see if Trump would okay, and like the House Bill

is just the first step. And this is like I can't imagine during the financial crisis that the Senate was in recess and like, you know, or we'll get back to you, um, general motors, you know, to see if

we can help you. You remember, correctly, though, they did vote down the first stimulus, UH in real time, like as the stock market was open and the stock market did crash, so the but but then but right but then but then seeing that they came back, like, it's interesting that you have you've JM and Mary Barr saying, you know, we'll help you create, you know, do a kind of a war assembly line of defibrillator defibrillators and stuff.

So I guess in terms of specific programs, do you have any insight in terms of UM what we might hear whether it's getting Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think that there is definitely UH biopartisan agreement on UM sending cash to UM directly to households to help get them through this. I think that the differences is how much and should we means test it UM. That is to say, should we not send the checks to people who are wealthy? How do we get the checks out? How soon can

we do it and how much? And do we do it on a recurring basis or do we do it just one time and then wait and see into it again? UM. All of those are big questions that would need to be resolved for something like that could be done. But I think that there's definitely UH a consensus of the things that need to be done. We're just not seeing them that, uh, that sort of unified drive to do it. Um. Yes,

but I think that we will see that. Like I said, I feel like the government right now is like back in the days when you had to use the slow modem, you know, and they sort of like page loading and you could sort of watch it load like line by line, UM on your Yeah, we're just waiting for that A O L dial up sound at this point. All right, Ryan teak back with thank you so much. Always good

to catch up with you. Highly recommend following him on Twitter minute to minute, keeping an eye on everything that's going on in the nation's capital and across all of our coronavirus coverage. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Jason Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. Well, it's a team sport when it comes comes to covering Wall Street. We know that at Bloomberg. Earlier in the week, we talked to Max Abelson about Wall Street being blindsided today,

that tough guy culture. And as I said earlier in the week, if you know this culture like Max Abelson does, he as I said, We're to on a great team to do this. Michelle Davis, Lennon Nun and Shri Notarajan all giving you a sense of man this macho culture. Max Uh not going well amid this virus outbreak. Tell us what you found. Talking to you, Jason, I can honestly tell you improves my spirits. And I've been dealing load today. I'm not I'm not kidding. So it's it's

you're so right. It's so nice to be reminded that work concoct agree team And a quick shout out to Stefania and our rotator Olivia and Holly Uh. It really didn't take a lot of people to get the snapshot and what our snapshot of Wall Street showed. And unless we this someone's really came to us. It's not as

if we were not chasing. This was that we found, you know, actual fevers on the trading floor of Golden Socks, which you know as a bank, like all of the big banks, you know, the message from the top is if you're feeling sick, go home. What we're finding is

that there's this really pure bread Wall Street pressure. Now some of this pressure sees him is internal from people who are making themselves feel this way, and and and some of the pressure is coming from middle managers or people's bosses to get to work and to and to literally get into the office, even when the demands of

the public health crisis is to stay at home. People are feeling pressure on Wall Street that those NonStop demands to get into the office, and that that is, um, that's that's that's the strange dynamic during during a deadly pandemic.

God one line in your story about how bankers are saying that private you know, privately, they're saying that they would be relieved at the markets are temporarily shut because you know, then they can if they're not ling, we'll well go home and not have any kind of consequences. But it does speak to the culture. We think so much has changed, you know, from decades ago, from Wall Street,

the movie, but there's still a lot of that out there. Look, I think I think you're right, and you know, I just want to um, you know, some something about a crisis is so clarifying. It helps you sort of look with a clarity on things that we kind of take for granted. I think it's important that as journalists, UM, Carol I've gotten to know so well over the years

station you as well. You know, it's important that we acknowledge among ourselves that there's a pressure in journalism too to um have have to sort of embrace a moment um and the cooking no matter what. And I think that, you know, it's a cousin to that same wallster culture, and you know it's it's certainly, um, we're seeing it all around. It's not just by the way inside the

big banks in thetown. Michelle Davis. My favorite anecdote of the Michell Davis has ever gone probably is in the story she found people in the wall Hockey who had to go into their office would be more watching the world. Fargo workers in the nearby building bring their computers out to go home at least we want to go to, but their bosses wouldn't let them. I have to say, can I just max reading your story, I felt the

same way. I do feel like that there is something in the media world, the same thing that you know. We don't run away from fires, we like jump into them, um, you know, and we when there is a crisis, UM, we all kind of want to be out there reporting on it and be involved and I think it's it's very similar, and I think there is pressure to you know, be there and because this is our job, this is

what we signed up to do. I think that the that the compromise, a compromise that not just exists within capitalism, but we exist within you know, being healthy and and being members of of of a public health community is to work as hard as you want to, but to work from home when the government and when companies are telling us to. I know that that's not statistically possible. Literally everyone, you know, my college roommates, Tom Canal is

a nurse right now in East New York. And it was the grocery workers Union market around the corner for me in Park Slope. You're in Brooklyn, are behind the counter. Not everyone has the luxury to earn a play check while we're getting from home to Jeff Greenen, our Bloomberg colleague with a story with Michelle Davis about one hundred million workers in America who don't have tad s gleave. Of course, a shout out to our colleagues in Seattle who wrote in a MAZ story highly recommend to all

our listeners about the drivers for your Amazon packages. Are you folks for listening. We're doing Amazon packages and I know I am. Amazon deliverers got one wife each from their boss before their chifts, saying good luck. I think it's just it's just a reality that's across Wall Street, but across corporate America right now it's and it's absolutely

fascinating to see. It absolutely is and it's a mess ry not surprising one of the most read stories in the terminal because it goes straight to the heart of Wall Street culture where you make your living. Max. We're so grateful to you, and you know, these are the sorts of conversations that we need to keep having to some extent because I will say, from a personal perspective, Carol, social distancing is successful. I think more so when there's

peer pressure. You know, when people essentially are able to say, hey, great to see you, but if you don't mind, I'm just gonna step back here a little bit, or I'm not going to take my kid to a playground, or I'm not going to do this sorts of thing. Like all of us being in this together, it means we have to sort of be out there and and sometimes make the make the tough choices. Bro A journal. Yeah, but you let me drive. Oh no, no, no no, no, honey, please,

I want to drive. Just drive, baby, the questions, trying your job. This is the drive to the globe. Thanks well, drying us Dawn on Bloomberg Radio, it is time for the drive to the clothes on this Thursday. Doug of course, just breaking down the numbers. We've got just about twenty minutes, ten minutes excuse me left in today's trading session. Lamar Villery is back with us, portfolio manager at Villary Funds. They've got roughly two billion dollars in assets under management.

Lamar joining us on the phone from New Orleans. So, Lamar, good to have you here on a day where we're actually seeing some gains in the equity markets. Um, talk to me a little bit about this environment, because you guys have been having a tough time to be fair in terms. I'm just looking at some of the performances, um that you've you know, had, I think you're to date, you're done, and the whole hall market. But even if I go back a little bit longer, Um, what's been

tough about managing in this environment? Sure? Well, you know obviously it's a tale of two markets. Um, you know, we we we we held up pretty well last year. Really the big lag last year was that we were overweight cash, which was you know, last year was a year where you could buy anything and it went up. Um, we're still we're still overweight the cash. Now we are a small cap manager. Uh, and small caps unfortunately have underperformed uh so far year today and they underperformed last year.

So we're swimming, uh someone against the tide a little bit there. But uh, you know the nice thing is now we're situated and we've got some cash, um, and so we're able to do some things that I think unfortunately lot of our peers are not able to give in difficulties in the market over but SMA. But small caps were up about last year, right, they were still

lagged large cats significantly. So I do want to bring when headline crossing the Bloomberg right now confirming some earlier reporting the State Department telling Americans not to travel abroad, just coming right out and saying that Carol, that folks should stay at home, stay in the country. And you know there was some earlier reporting I believe that said if you are overseas, uh, and an American get home or planned to stay where you are because at some

point things are going to get shut down. A little bit more was my parents would probably have said about this, what kind of makes sense? Don't you think? Yeah, it's a little bit logical. Um, we are talking with Lamar Hillary Portfolio, Magic Villary Fund. So you were saying, no, I understand that they lacked, but is there you know, in terms of positioning, do you feel like, in terms of the opportunities that were out there in the small

cap universe that you guys just made um some misses here? Uh? No, Actually we we we outperformed the you know, if you're looking at the balance fund, we're gonna lag of course because we hold a bunch of bonds. So oh, in all our our equities actually outperformed even the SMP even though we were a small cap and kind of swimming upstream and how to cash. Our actuaries actually have held

up fine. Um, you know, obviously in the last several weeks, we've had the same challenges as everybody, and so where do you put money to work? Here? Sure? So you know what we would you know, there's kind of too you know, if you're going to put money in the market right now, there's really two schools, and thought number one is, hey, you know, there are these these companies in these stocks that are just massively beat down and have lost you know, seventy percent of their value. You know,

some of these restaurants, hospitality, travel stocks. Um, you know, I think there's still too much uncertainty. As you just said with the State Department announcement, there's still too much uncertainty to understand exactly how deep things could go here and there. You know, these these companies, a lot of

them have a whole lot of debt. So rather than jump into those, I think the better play or the more um sort of the safer and more prudent play right here, is to invest in companies that really aren't impacted by the COVID situation. So companies that um even even might even be helped and arguably helped it, but at least aren't hurt by it, but that are still trading significantly off of their highs. So basically you're looking at premium type quality companies that are trading at a

nice little discounting. So where have you been maybe committing So are you committing new money, lamar or give us an idea in terms of names that you think are interesting at this point and that may be immune from the virus. Sure, So so um, you know, obviously the healthcare um. One of the companies that that we hold, it's actually traded off and is even down a little bit today in the strong market is a company called Steris, and Steris is the global leader and contamination control. So

this is you know, they benefit from hospital usage. Any attention to infection prevention benefits them. So you look at this and think, gosh, these guys, this should be one of these stocks that's really popping on the coronavirus scare. Well it's not. And the reason it's not is people are looking and saying, well, they're they're liable to miss their quarter because the number of procedures elective jagers is

going to go down. And I couldn't agree with that more. However, if you're investing for the long run, it's pretty hard to make the argument that there isn't going to be an increased focus on infection prevention going forward. So um, this is the type of thing which is exactly where you want to be in a long run. But investors I think are looking very short term and just sort of dropping everything. And this is one that can be

picked up at a at a reasonable evaluation. All right, Lamar Villary, thank you so much, portfolio manager of four Villary funds, looking after about two billion dollars down there in New Orleans. Stay safe. Uh, you guys know a thing or two about hunkering down. I know, having dealt with a lot of natural disasters. This certainly is something that is quite widespread and we're dealing with it, Carol, across the money markets, across economies. Uh, small businesses, big businesses,

as Lamar was alluding to. Thanks for listening to Bloomberg Business Week. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot com. You can also listen to our radio show every weekday at two p m. Eastern only on Bloomberg radioh