Trump on coronavirus: We want to make sure those who need testing can get one safely and conveniently

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Trump on coronavirus: We want to make sure those who need testing can get one safely and conveniently

President Trump says coronavirus testing will improve as it remains a major focus for the administration; Fox News correspondent David Spunt reports.

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," March 13, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

DR. NICOLE SAPHIER, FOX NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: You will be able to get them in April in Florida. You may not be able to get toilet paper, because it's still maybe out.

(CROSSTALK)

SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: But it will have the sauce.

SAPHIER: But you will definitely be able to get Chick-fil-A sauces, each bottle will be cost around $3.50 and all proceeds go to their futures --

(CROSSTALK)

JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS HOST: All right, that's it for us tonight. Have a great weekend, everybody. We're going to see you back here on Monday.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening, welcome to Washington. I'm Bret Baier. "BREAKING TONIGHT", President Trump has declared a national emergency because of the coronavirus. Making the announcement in the Rose Garden about 2-1/2 hours ago. The decision represents a major escalation in the effort to stop or slow the pandemic, which has so far claimed at least 41 lives in the U.S. and infected more than 1,600 people here.

A major emphasis today was on expanded testing, including drive-thru tests and retailer parking lots. A huge rollout of CEOs on display, a public- private partnership together trying to tackle this problem.

Wall Street staged a huge recovery, its biggest in 12 years. A large chunk of that gain happening after the news conference started and continuing throughout. All of this comes on a day of more cancellations and postponements, affecting major sporting events, worship services, and educational facilities. As well as increasing strain on businesses and consumers.

America has dramatically changed how it operates in the span of just a few days. Chief White House correspondent John Roberts, starts us off tonight on the North Lawn with what the emergency declaration means, and what comes next.

Good evening, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Bret, Good evening to you. Indeed, things have changed quite significantly in just the last few days. President Trump was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but with public concern growing and political pressure mounting on him to show that the White House is making maximum effort to deal with the coronavirus, the President today moved to get out in front of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words.

ROBERTS: The declaration of a national emergency will unlock tens of billions of dollars that can be put toward coronavirus response, and cut through red tape with Medicare, Medicaid, and the children's health insurance program, expanding hospital's ability to care for patients.

TRUMP: We'll remove or eliminate every obstacle necessary to deliver our people the care that they need, and that they're entitled to. No resource will be spared nothing whatsoever.

ROBERTS: The president, also announcing a new Google web site, launching this weekend to help people assess whether they should be tested, and urging Americans to only get a test if they are sick.

TRUMP: We don't want everyone running out and taking only if you have certain symptoms.

ROBERTS: The president today met with the CEOs of Target, CBS, and Walmart, which will set aside some of its parking lots to establish drive through testing centers. Ramping up testing has taken weeks, a fault the president said today of the previous administration.

TRUMP: No, I don't take responsibility at all because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations, and specifications from a different time.

ROBERTS: The president's point person on infectious disease, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said today, things will likely get worse before they get better. But he hopes that the U.S. is now well-position to bend the infection curve.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: That curve that I refer to that goes up, we don't want to have that curve. We want to suppress it down to that small mound.

ROBERTS: As the virus continues to spread, negotiations on Capitol Hill to craft a bipartisan coronavirus bill are stalling again, the president's still opposed to what House Democrats are proposing.

TRUMP: All of the sudden, they didn't agree to certain things that they agreed to. So, we could have something, but we don't think they're giving enough. They're not -- they're not doing what's right for the country.

ROBERTS: The House bill would provide free coronavirus testing and expand paid home leave and unemployment insurance. This morning, the Treasury secretary said, more help would be needed for severely affected industries like the airlines. And he again pushed for the president's idea of a payroll tax holiday.

STEVEN MNUCHIN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: The president is very interested in the payroll tax cut because it's a giant stimulus. We're working with Congress on that, if Congress wants to do the stimulus in a different format, we'll consider that.

ROBERTS: The president was also pressed today about his exposure to coronavirus from a Brazilian delegation at Mar-a-Lago last weekend. President Jair Bolsonaro's son told Fox News, his father tested negative for the virus.

President Trump, at first, said he had no plans to get tested himself.

TRUMP: Well, I don't know that I had exposure, but I don't have any of the symptoms.

ROBERTS: But later said, he probably would.

TRUMP: Well, I didn't say I wasn't going to be tested.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to be?

TRUMP: Most likely, yes. Most likely.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When do you think that will happen?

TRUMP: Not for that reason, but because I think I will do it anyway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: As states across the nation begin to close schools and limit the number of people who can collect together at public gathering, the president said today that he believes the next eight weeks with the virus will be a critical period for the United States, one in which he hopes the country can turn the corner on the coronavirus. Bret.

BAIER: John Roberts, live in the North Lawn. John, thanks.

It could be a long two months. The list of postponements, cancellations, and closings is growing exponentially tonight.

America, as mentioned, along with much of the world is becoming a very different place because of the coronavirus.

Correspondent Jonathan Serrie is in Atlanta tonight. Good evening, Jonathan.

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bret. Just minutes ago, Colorado reported another death. This brings the U.S. death toll from coronavirus to, at least, 47. And public health officials warned more infections are on the way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: The COVID-19 pandemic is already having an unprecedented disruption on daily life in the US. In recent hours, multiple governors and mayors have made emergency declarations. Even Broadway has gone dark, and this may be just the beginning.

FAUCI: You would hope that you wouldn't have to resort to these draconian moves of actually locking down a city. But it depends on what happens. I hope we never get to that. But you never take anything off the table when you're dealing with protecting the health of the American public.

SERRIE: Despite a nationwide lockdown, Italy's case count continues to rise, with more than 15,000 people infected and more than 1,000 deaths. Germany and Spain are also seeing cases spike.

ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Today, Europe is yesterday's China. When you really look at it, you know, over 50, 60, 70 percent of the new cases that are coming into the world today are coming in Europe.

SERRIE: In an exclusive interview with Fox News, CDC director Robert Redfield, said, President Trump's travel restrictions on China that began February 2nd, help slow the introduction of coronavirus into the U.S. New travel restrictions on much of Europe go into effect at midnight.

REDFIELD: We felt from a public health point of view, it was important for us to begin to sort of turn off the import of the cases, while we're now trying to aggressively confront the cases that we're identifying now.

SERRIE: COVID-19 continues to hit the sporting world, with the Boston Marathon postponed until September. NASCAR's rescheduling its next two events, and Formula One expects to delay its season until late May.

Organizers called off today's Australian Grand Prix after a race team member tested positive.

CHASE CAREY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FORMULA ONE GROUP: I think we're all disappointed to not have it. But these are challenging times, and I think we've made the decisions we have to make.

SERRIE: in golf, the Masters Tournament has also been postponed, with Chairman Fred Ridley explaining, "Ultimately the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're now at a point where the balance has shifted and the appropriate path is to close schools.

SERRIE: Today, the Los Angeles Unified School District joined a growing list. At least, 18,700 schools nationwide are either closed or closing for the outbreak. Affecting at least 8.1 million students according to Education Week.

The National Guard, says it expects to deploy nearly 1,000 troops in six states by the end of the day. They will assist with disinfection, meal delivery, and transportation of medical personnel and supplies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERRIE: And today, AMC announced they will be cutting seating capacity at its U.S. movie theatres starting this weekend to allow more space between individual moviegoers.

And AT&T has announced its providing unlimited data to its home Internet customers that in anticipation of more Americans spending more time at home in the coming weeks. Bret.

BAIER: Jonathan, thank you. Today's stocks posted their biggest rally since 2008. Almost 9-1/2 percent in the three major exchanges. The Dow exploding for a gain of 1,982 points. As I mentioned, a lot of it during that news conference in the Rose Garden. The S&P 500 surging 230. The NASDAQ jumped 672.

For the week, the Dow still lost almost 10 -1/2 percentage points. The S&P 500 dropped nine. The NASDAQ fell around eight. After a rough couple of weeks so far this year, the Dow is down almost 19 percent. The S&P 500 has lost 16 percent. The NASDAQ is the best of the bunch, losing more than 12.

President Trump spoke at length today about improving the testing for the coronavirus. It's a major focus for an administration that has taken heavy criticism really up until today.

Correspondent David Spunt updates us on that tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: We want to make sure that those who need a test can get a test very safely, quickly, and conveniently.

DAVID SPUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump making it clear that testing for coronavirus will improve over the next several days, a priority echoed by both sides of the aisle.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA): The three most important parts of this bill are testing, testing, testing.

SPUNT: The top medical experts in the country admit the United States is behind the ball.

FAUCI: It is a failing, let's admit it.

SPUNT: As of Thursday, Federal officials logged nearly 14,000 completed tests. CDC guidelines require tests to be given to people who have visited the affected geographic areas, or if a person believes they came into contact with someone who tested positive.

The problem, many people have come into contact with a positive case. They just don't know it. Now, states are getting more control over testing.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We think next week, we'll go up to a capacity of about 6,000 tests per day. The actual test is a mouth or throat swab that takes a mucus sample. The swabs are shipped to labs, and in most cases, it takes a day for a result. Private companies are looking to change that.

NATHANIEL BRADLEY, PRESIDENT, PARALLAX HEALTH MANAGEMENT: We stand ready to deliver a rapid screen test.

SPUNT: One company is working to develop a blood-based test that can provide results in 15 minutes.

BRADLEY: Our private solutions and public infrastructure is second to none. And you can anticipate our numbers will surpass all others.

SPUNT: Bradley isn't alone. Swiss company Roche, with a footprint in the U.S., announced it developed a swab test that could provide results in three and a half hours. The Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency authorization for the test.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SPUNT: Normally, getting approval to develop such a test could take more than a year. Roche, Bret, was able to do it in just a few weeks. The company hopes to start sending out the tests this weekend. Bret.

BAIER: David Spunt, thank you. We're just getting word of a deal according to the Speaker of the House. A deal with the White House on a bill -- a coronavirus bill. We'll get some more details about what's in there. We heard in John's piece in earlier today, there was some pushback from Republicans on that. We'll see what's in there.

Chad Pergram, our senior producer up on Capitol Hill. We get into a camera and get into the details.

The coronavirus is having effect on the election. Arizona's largest county is mailing ballots for next week's Democratic presidential primary to every voter who normally participates at the polls.

The plan in Maricopa County is to ensure citizens can vote with minimal exposure to the coronavirus. Louisiana, meantime, is postponing its primary election scheduled for April 4th. The governor wants to reschedule the voting to June 20th. Louisiana is the first state in the nation to do so.

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked many conspiracy theories. One of them put China's ambassador in a very tough spot today here in Washington. State Department correspondent Rich Edson has that story tonight. Good evening, Rich.

RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good evening, Bret. And the State Department summoned China's top diplomat in the United States, as American officials blame the Chinese government for spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus.

This morning, Ambassador Cui Tiankai, left the State Department not answering our questions as he left headquarters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe the U.S. military brought this virus to Wuhan, sir?

EDSON: Officials here say, the ambassador met with Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell, who objected to what official say is China's blatant global disinformation campaign on the coronavirus.

American officials have pointed to this tweet from a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying, "It might be the U.S. Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent. Make your public data. U.S. owes us an explanation."

There is no evidence, U.S. soldiers visiting Wuhan in October carried the virus. A senior State Department official says China is trying to deflect criticism for hiding information about the coronavirus at the onset of mass infections in Wuhan.

President Trump, says the accusation does not represent the views of China's leadership.

TRUMP: I did read one article, but I don't think that article was representative, certainly not in my conversations with President Xi, and they know where it came from. We all know where it came from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EDSON: An editorial in Chinese state media this month, suggests China could ban exports of medical products to the U.S. and that the world should thank China for its aggressive response to the outbreak.

The president did say today and praise China's coordination and cooperation with the U.S. government. Disinformation about this virus remains a challenge. Fox News has obtained a recent State Department report, showing more than 2 million tweets worldwide across six weeks earlier this year spread coronavirus conspiracies.

The most prolific lies that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation created it, and that the virus was manufactured as a biological weapon.

Officials here say they're working aggressively to combat this disinformation about the coronavirus, in particular, from Iran and China. The Chinese Embassy refused to respond to requests as to what exactly the ambassador discussed today. Bret.

BAIER: Interesting. Rich Edson, live at the State Department. Rich, thanks.

Again, breaking news, a deal according to the Speaker of the House, on the coronavirus bill. We will get details, haven't heard from the GOP side. Chad Pergram, work in the phones.

Up next, details on that U.S. retaliatory airstrike, following this week's deadly rocket attack on American military personnel in Iraq.

First, here's what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. Fox Nine in the Twin Cities, the St. Paul teachers end their strike. The union in Minnesota's second-largest school district have reached the tentative contract agreement. Students will return to class Monday. At least, we think so.

Fox 13 in Salt Lake City where Utah lawmakers passed new regulations on abortion as the state legislature ends its work for the year. One measure would ban most abortions if Roe versus Wade is overturned.

Lawmakers also made major changes to the state's polygamy statute, revised the voter-approved redistricting law, and reached a compromise on education funding.

And this is a live look at Philadelphia from our affiliate Fox 29. The big story there tonight, authority say a police officer was shot and killed as he served a homicide warrant at the home -- in -- at a home in the city's Frankford section.

Corporal James O'Connor was shot around 6:00 this morning. Two people in the home were shot and wounded by police. They are expected to survive.

That is tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. There is other news, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: As reference "BREAKING TONIGHT", an apparent agreement on legislation to address the coronavirus emergency, the House Speaker making that announcement, and the release trying to get some reaction up on Capitol Hill. Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram, live there now. Good evening, Chad

(CROSSTALK)

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS SENIOR CAPITOL HILL PRODUCER: Good evening, Bret.

BAIER: That kind of evolved, we heard the president in the Rose Garden, saying they're not doing what needs to be done.

PERGRAM: Well, the key here was the fact that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, spoke 12 times today, including three times during the president's press conference in the Rose Garden.

That tells you despite what the president was saying, is that there was a deal to be had. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn't think that the House of Representatives could leave with this still on the table.

Remember, the Senate is out. There were a lot of Republicans in the House of Representatives who were squeamish about supporting something that the president wasn't fully behind.

Remember, they've had problems with the president on these issues before. Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader learn that the hard way in 2018 when they had an agreement. They thought on the government funding bill and then there was the government shutdown.

Even Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, I thought there was an agreement earlier this week that he negotiated with Bill Barr, the Attorney General on FISA, and then that has blown up in the Senate for the time being.

So, you know, Republicans in the House are very concerned about getting this right. I spoke with one senior Republican who said that some of the outstanding issues were just technical. This is why they thought they had an agreement, maybe 10:00, 11:00 this morning, and they might have this bill on the House floor.

But this bill will probably pass later tonight with an amalgam of Democrats and Republicans. But what's key here Bret, is we still don't have the bill text. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at one point this afternoon, seemed poised to go ahead and pass her own bill without any Republican support.

And basically say, look, you know, we've done our part, the Senate, it's up to you, President Trump, it's up to you, and if you don't pass something, we will see you in November. Bret.

BAIER: Right, and Chad, that's important. This -- Pelosi in her letter said, she listed a few things including secured paid emergency leave, two weeks of paid sick leave, and up to three months of paid family and medical leave, and enhanced unemployment insurance.

What's key here is that there were some rumbling about other things being put in this bill, extraneous to the coronavirus response. And it may pass the House with the majority being Democrats, but it still has to get through the Senate. So, even if they made a deal, it still has another hurdle to go through.

PERGRAM: That's right. And that's what Mitch McConnell was waiting for, just to see what the street could bear in terms of the traffic in the House of Representatives. Now, again, the Senate, unless they do something by extraordinary measures and come back to session over the weekend. They're not going to tee things up until about 5:30 in the Senate. They're going to address FISA then.

But when you talk to other Senate Republicans, Roy Blunt, Democrat Chris Coons from Delaware, they think they can pass a bill along the lines of what the house will pass tonight and send that to President Trump. They understand how grave this situation is and they can't sit this one out.

BAIER: Yes. And very quickly, I mean, these bills, sometimes when there is an emergency and it needs to happen fast, and people don't see what's in the bill. That gets to raise some eyebrows.

PERGRAM: Absolutely, yes. And that's why people were concerned. They want to see the details. One draft of this that we saw earlier was 106 pages. And keep in mind how tough it was to pass tarp. This was their -- the -- you know, the Troubled Assets Relief Program in response to the financial crisis in 2008. That bill failed in the House of Representatives, despite how grave and dire the situation was, here, they're going to pass a bill, you know.

And again, keep in mind, Bret, that this is the easy bill.

BAIER: Yes.

PERGRAM: There's going to be a second tier and a third tier bill, which will be much more complicated in the weeks and months to come.

BAIER: Yes. And -- president hoping for a payroll tax cut somewhere in there. Chad Pergram, thank you very much for the latest up on Capitol Hill.

PERGRAM: Thank you, Bret.

BAIER: We have new information tonight, meantime, about the U.S. response to deadly rocket attacks on American service members earlier this week in Iraq. National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin fills us in from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This U.S. drone video shows the aftermath of the airstrikes. U.S. warplanes hit five sites south of Baghdad, weapons warehouses, including one at a civilian airport, where rockets like the ones that struck Camp Taji are stored by Iranian- backed militias.

Iraq's military said three Iraqi army commandos and two federal police officers were killed in the U.S. strikes. Today, The head of U.S. Central Command explained why the U.S. military was unable to prevent the rocket attack from a mobile launcher that killed army specialist Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias, 27, of Hanford, California and Air Force Staff Sergeant Marshal Roberts, 28, of Owasso, Oklahoma, and a British medic.

GEN. KENNETH F. MCKENZIE JR., COMMANDER, UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND: The truck was probably covered until seconds before they set the timer and ran away. So, you've got a very limited period of time when it appears as a -- as a missile loaded truck.

GRIFFIN: General Frank McKenzie said Kataib Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy the U.S. targeted last night is responsible for 12 rocket attacks in the past six months. So far, there has been no response from the Iranian-backed militia.

MCKENZIE: We've seen in the past what happens when you don't respond. Now, people know that we're not going to -- we're not going to tolerate these direct attacks on American or coalition service members, and we're willing and able to respond.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: General McKenzie, says he knows where more weapons storage sites are. General Mark Milley had a stern conversation with his Iraqi counterpart, warning him to move on these sites immediately. And to do more to halt these attacks on U.S. forces. Bret.

BAIER: Jennifer Griffin at the Pentagon. Jennifer, thank you.

Up next, panic buying at the stores because of the coronavirus. We'll take you around the country. First, "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. The Canadian Parliament is rushing ratification of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact. Canada would be the last of the three signatories to formally adopt that pact.

The country has shut down the parliament. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is working from his home in a self-imposed quarantine after his wife tested positive for coronavirus.

Thunderstorms and flooding are hitting Egypt for a second day. The death toll has risen to 18 there. Authorities say most of the fatalities took place in the country's rural areas and rundown slums. At least, six children died either from electrocution or rubble after heavy rains knocked down their houses.

Greece's first female president was formally sworn into office today. The ceremony took place in an almost empty Parliament as part of measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Only a handful of officials and a limited number of journalists were present.

Just some of the other stories "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: You may have noticed the shelves of your local grocery store, convenience store not exactly fully stocked as usual. Have you noticed the toilet paper is gone? At some places the essentials are essentially sold out or close, customers' nerves fraying. Correspondent Bryan Llenas looks at how worries over coronavirus are hitting the consumer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYAN LLENAS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Panic at a Costco in Brooklyn as customers fight over what's left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need you guys to calm down.

LLENAS: Store shelves across the nation are emptying quickly amid a national state of emergency over the coronavirus from New York to Texas to California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just seeing this panic among people. I have never seen it in my whole lifetime.

LLENAS: In Manhattan, customers form long lines in grocery stores while crowds rush the entrance of a Costco in Georgia. As more schools close and people work from home, select products with long shelf lives and perishable items are selling fast, like bread, toilet paper, disinfect wipes and meat. Even select products on Amazon are either are unavailable or won't be delivered for weeks.

According to Nielsen, compared to this time last year oat milk sales are up 322 percent, fresh meat alternatives up 158 percent, while dried beans and canned meat sales are also up. As for non-food products, facemask sales are up 475 percent, hand sanitizer 313 percent, while aerosol disinfectants, thermometers, bath and shower wipes, and first aid kit sales have also spiked. The food industry urging consumers not to panic.

DOUG BAKER, FOOD INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION: Understand that we are going to there for you and we are going to get that product back on the shelf as quickly as it's empty.

LLENAS: There's enough for everyone.

BAKER: Take what you need to meet the recommendations by the CDC of a potential 14-day at home stay, don't try to take two to three to four months of that. That's when we start seeing really significant shortages in the supply chain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LLENAS: Some stores are instituting two item per customer limits on high demand products, while others are offering doorstep deliveries, avoiding person-to-person contact. Bret?

BAIER: Bryan, thank you.

Let's talk more about the coronavirus and some of the legal questions surrounding it. Dan Abrams is chief legal analyst for ABC News, also the author of a new book "John Adams Under Fire, The Founding Father's Fight for Justice in the Boston Massacre Murder Trial." He joins us from New York. I want to talk about the book in a second. Dan, thanks for being here.

Let's start where we left off on that last piece, and is that true possibility of price gouging. You had the attorney general out saying that the Department of Justice stands ready to make sure that bad actors do not take advantage of emergency response efforts, healthcare providers, or the American people during this crucial time. Obviously, there is a lack of some items, and price gouging could be an issue.

DAN ABRAMS, ABC NEWS CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. And it's primarily a state- by-state issue. Most states have price gouging laws, and it basically means that when you are talking about essential supplies during an emergency, if you up the price to an excessive amount, which is typically defined as just 10 to 15 percent above the typical amount, you can either get civil fines or, in certain states, they can actually go after you criminally. So, as we are seeing, for example, on eBay and Amazon, other places, people jacking up the prices, these third-party vendors have to be careful about these state price gouging laws.

BAIER: Yes. The other legal issue that's interesting is quarantines and what goes around that. I take to you a story by the "Kansas City Star" of a dad of a coronavirus patient left self-quarantined for a school event. "The father of a Missouri woman with a presumptive positive case left self- quarantined Saturday, officials say. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page addressed the situation in a news conference streamed to Facebook on Sunday. When county health officials learned the man had left his home, they told him he must stay in his home or be issued a formal quarantine." Where is the line there?

ABRAMS: So it starts with voluntary. It starts with telling people, obviously, stay home. You have been exposed or whatever the concern may be. It's when they refuse to do that that the law then become applicable, because then you can say by court order you are required to stay home. It means that very often they have to go to court. They have to try and keep it as limited as possible. But if the person wants to fight that, they would then have to challenge it in court. That's where you are going to see the issues is the people who are refusing to just abide by the kind of commonsense recommendations that are being made.

BAIER: And the federal government, obviously, has guidelines under the CDC in the case that we are seeing now and the president saying it's a national emergency. But it really is a state-by state-by-state issue, and the National Guard dealing with that.

ABRAMS: Right, primarily, because the federal government, you are talking more about going between states or coming into the country. That's where the federal government is primarily going to be addressing it. But when you are in a state and you are there, it's primarily going to be the state government dealing with these issues.

BAIER: All right, I want to talk about your book, "John Adams Under Fire," which is really fascinating. Essentially, it's a trial of the Boston Massacre, and you go back into the trial transcript to really present this drama of John Adams as this lawyer in a murder trial.

ABRAMS: Yes. This was America's first big murder trial, 1770. The British soldiers have killed five colonists, and no one is willing to represent the British soldiers at this time. John Adams agrees to represent them. And we have got the 217-page transcript which serves as the heart of this book showing John Adams, sometimes in his own words, defending the despised soldiers. Adams suffered enormously for taking this case. He had rocks thrown through his window. He lost half his law practice. But it became for him one of the defining moments of his life as he looked back on it, and we really tell the story of this trial.

BAIER: Obviously, it leads to his spotlight in American lure and eventually his presidency. The reasonable doubt, first time in this trial?

ABRAMS: Yes. A judge implemented the beyond a reasonable doubt standard for the first time in this trial. And this is the case where John Adams used the phrase "Facts are stubborn things." People sometimes forget that's where we got that phrase from, John Adams defending these British soldiers.

And one of the things I admired most about what Adams did in this case is he didn't cross lines. He said, I don't need to attack all the citizens of Boston to defend these British soldiers. I'm going to focus on the facts of the case. I'm not going to cross certain lines. And, as a result, I think he set a really good standard for any criminal defense lawyer.

BAIER: Dan, it's a great read. And I'm a lover of history.

ABRAMS: I know you are.

BAIER: So if anybody is self-quarantined or just has a weekend, it's a book worth reading. Dan, thanks a lot.

ABRAMS: I appreciate it, Bret.

BAIER: Your worship routine may be disrupted this weekend because of the virus, likely so, unfortunately. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Our focus on faith now. The coronavirus impact will be felt this weekend at this nation's houses of worship. Many facilities will not hold services. Others will make adjustments. Religion correspondent Lauren Green takes a look.

LAUREN GREEN, FOX NEWS RELIGION CORRESPONDENT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is suspending all services, conferences, and gatherings until further notice. A growing trend now sweeping the country as cities are imposing maximums for large gatherings. In Houston, the coronavirus will silence Lakewood Church's 20,000 capacity sanctuary. Instead its popular pastor, Joel Osteen, will preach online to what is the largest Christian congregation in the country.

As the now pandemic COVID-19 disease spreads, houses of worship where the faithful gather weekly for spiritual strength are making drastic changes. Mosques are canceling Friday prayers and, Jewish Temples are canceling Purim celebrations. In Washington state, where there have been several coronavirus deaths, Seattle's Catholic archdiocese is suspending all public masses and closing its Catholic schools.

PAUL ETIENNE ARCHBISHOP OF SEATTLE: Despite our best efforts, this epidemic is going to continue to spread.

GREEN: In Texas, at St. Rita's Church, the doors will be open, but the parish is suspending the distribution of the wine for Holy Communion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coronavirus isn't here, but if we can do our part to keep it from spreading, we're going to do it.

GREEN: However, the Greek Orthodox Church at its parishes in the U.S. will continue to distribute the bread and wine, the body and blood, from a common cup. In Washington, D.C., where both the pastor and organist at an episcopal church tested positive for the coronavirus, the church is telling anyone Who came into contact with them to self-quarantine.

Further north, young Israel synagogue in New Rochelle has been closed since March 3rd as it is the epicenter of the area's outbreak. New York's governor has imposed a one mile radius containment area around the temple.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREEN: As the virus spreads, more houses of worship impose more restrictions and closings. People of all different beliefs now have a shared agenda to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Bret?

BAIER: Lauren, thank you. One pastor saying today services may stop, but the prayers will not.

Next up, the panel on the coronavirus and the response.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We just had a good meeting about our ongoing efforts to prepare this country for the H1N1 flu virus. We need state and local governments on the front lines to make antiviral medications and vaccines available.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am officially declaring a national emergency. We will remove or eliminate every obstacle necessary to deliver our people the care that they need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Three presidents, three national emergencies there over the years. This coronavirus now in 48 states plus Washington, D.C., 1,600 plus cases. The deaths now have gone up to 47, according to the CDC. Worldwide 137,000 cases, total deaths 5088. Italy spiking today. Total recovered, we talked about this yesterday 69,779. This national emergency declaration coming with a little bit different flavor in that it was a public-private partnership with CEOs being rolled out in the Rose Garden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD ASHWORTH, PRESIDENT, WALGREENS: We are happy to stand in here and help in communities all across America, because a lot of times when we have national disasters, our stores are a beacon in the community, and this situation is no different.

DAVID PIERRE, CEO, SIGNIFY HEALTH: We stand ready to help and provide our clinicians to be where they are needed, whether they are in retail clinics or in the home. And we are here to assist.

ADAM SCHECHTER, CEO, LABCORP: We understand how important the testing is and we are committed to doing everything possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Impressive rollout of CEOs that the markets really did like when the Rose Garden ceremony and announcement news conference started. You can see the spike in the Dow finishing the day, one of the best days in a long, long time.

Let's bring in our panel, Byron York, chief political correspondent for the "Washington Examiner," Jeff Mason, White House correspondent for "Reuters" who was there today, and Steve Hayes, editor of "The Dispatch." Jeff, a lot of questions from the president, but it seemed like it was orchestrated to say we are in this together, the nation is if the going to fight this disease.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "REUTERS": Yes, in many ways I think he did today what he was trying to do Wednesday and was unsuccessful at Wednesday, in saying that we are on top of this. We are taking action to fix maybe some of the things that didn't go super well at the beginning with regard to testing. And even saying that he is prepared to help the airline industry and the cruise ship industry if it comes to that. So definitely saying things that the market wanted to hear and has not heard before today.

BAIER: Maybe beyond the market, Byron, there was this confidence urge, a want for a feeling of confidence that the nation was together in fighting this.

BRYON YORK, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": Yes. I think that Trump had lost control of the public discussion of this, and I think today he got it back. Before today, I think he was responsible for the single best action in all of this, which was the China travel restrictions, and the single worst action, which was losing control or falling behind on the whole testing issue, not taking that seriously enough and making it happen.

And then after the primetime address on Wednesday night just did not work. There were errors in it. He looked nervous. The Dow just crashed the next day. And I think this was an entirely different event, as Jeff was saying. It was a really, really different feel to the event.

BAIER: Meantime, he was asked about this coronavirus bill up on Capitol Hill. Here's how he responded and how one congressman was worried about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We just don't think they are giving enough. We don't think the Democrats are giving enough. We are negotiating. We thought we had something, but all of a sudden, they didn't agree to certain things that they agreed to. So we could have something but we don't think they are giving enough. They are not doing what's right for the country.

REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): This has got a little, some other social engineering stuff in it as well. So they put in $1 billion that wasn't subject to the Hyde Amendment, which means that you could spend up to $1 billion effectively on state sponsored abortions, state funded abortions. So, it's hard to say, yet, what it's going to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Speaker Pelosi saying she has a deal. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says there is a deal. What we don't know is what is in the deal. And I don't think there is a lot of lawmakers up there on Capitol Hill who know what's in the deal.

STEVE HAYES, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Correct. I think lawmakers are clueless trying to find out what's in the deal. And I don't think President Trump has yet agreed to the deal. I think we would see a tweet from President Trump if he had already agreed to the deal. We'll learn more about what's happening.

I agree with you that the event at the White House was a positive step. I think at least does one thing. It ends the debate over whether this is a serious problem or not, which for the past four weeks we have been having. And the president led a chorus, I think, of irresponsible commentary suggesting that this wasn't something that needed to be taken seriously, including a lot of talking heads. I hope that that is now settled.

What we need now are facts. We need the president to lead on facts and to not provide bad information. I think it would be better off if the president stepped back and let Mike Pence and let the medical professionals do the talking for him.

BAIER: He did do that a number of times, bringing Tony Fauci up to the microphone who has become this really authoritative and plainspoken in cutting through, not sugar-coating it.

MASON: For sure, and in fact not sugar-coating it to the effect, or to the point that he said this week that it had been a failure, what had happened with the tests. And you didn't hear President Trump admonishing him for that. You didn't hear President Trump, expressing his --

BAIER: And the question is whether this effort, and it seemed like they rolled it out really well, about these companies, if they are going to get these tests going quickly.

YORK: Well, that's what they say. The CEO effort was good. The other thing that's been good in the last 48 hours or so is state and local governments are gearing up. For several days Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, was complaining that we here in New York are ready to start some testing. We can get some things done. The federal government won't let us. Now they can.

BAIER: The floodgates are open. I wish we had more time for Winners and Losers. Panel, thanks.

When we come back, "Notable Quotables."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: It's been a long week. But it's Friday. That means "Notable Quotables."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: My fellow Americans.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Our hospitals, doctors, researchers, and public health officials are flying blind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would recommend that there not be large crowds. If that means not having any people in the audience when the NBA plays, so be it.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Civilization as we know it is at stake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The likelihood of a recession globally right now is certainly above 50.

REP. ALEXANDRA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): When you have a Democratic House and a Republican Senate, compromise is the name of the game.

TRUMP: I'll be working with companies, small companies, large companies, a lot of companies.

PELOSI: No one is more worried about Dow Jones than the Jones family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line, it's going to get worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's shut the puppy down and let's move on and worry about November. This thing is decided. There is no reason to keep it going not even a day longer.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got a whole lot of delegates to go.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really thought we had a shot. But turns out I was about 40 years too young and 38 years to gay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your face lit up when I mentioned your grandkids. How old is the oldest grandkid, like, 60, 63?

(LAUGHTER)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go wash her hands.

TRUMP: OK, I like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: A little chicken wing there at the press conference.

This weekend on "Fox News Sunday," Chris Wallace will speak with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. We'll find out details about what that deal is all about, if there is a deal. Check your local listings for air times.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid. Try to make it a great weekend, sports or no sports.

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