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New Day

Mike Bloomberg Qualifies For Nevada Debate Tomorrow; 13 Americans Sent To Omaha Facility From Evacuation Flights; John Bolton Criticizes White House Censorship Ahead Of Book Release. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 18, 2020 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[07:00:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is New Day. John Berman is off today. Jim Sciutto joins me. Great to have you here, Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEW DAY: It's great to be here and there's a lot of news this morning.

CAMEROTA: There sure is. Let's get to that.

We begin with breaking news. Mike Bloomberg has officially qualified for the Democratic debate tomorrow night in Nevada. He is in thanks to this new national poll just out this morning that shows Bloomberg soaring into second place. Senator Bernie Sanders opening a double- digit lead for first place, he is at 31 percent.

Bloomberg and Sanders are already attacking each other ahead of the big showdown tomorrow. So we'll break down all of the new polling with Harry Enten in just moments.

SCIUTTO: Other story we're following this morning, there are new developments in the coronavirus outbreak. 13 Americans who were evacuated from a quarantined cruise ship in Japan have now been moved to Omaha and Nebraska, a special facility there for treatment. Overnight, 88 new cases of coronavirus were reported on that ship, bringing the total number of cases to more than 500.

Coming up, we're going to speak with an American who contracted the virus on that cruise ship who remains separated in quarantine from her husband.

Let's begin though with this new 2020 poll. CNN's Senior Politics Writer Harry Enten has the latest. So, Harry, good numbers here for Bloomberg?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICS WRITER AND ANALYST: Yes, I would say good numbers here for Bloomberg and also very good numbers here for Bernie Sanders. So what do we see here? We see this is a new national poll from NPR/Marist College, and we see that Bernie Sanders well out in front at 31 percent. But look who is in second place at 19 percent, Michael Bloomberg. He has now taken the second spot from Joe Biden at 15 percent.

The rest of the field way back, especially Pete Buttigieg who, of course, did very well in Iowa and New Hampshire, coming in second in New Hampshire and basically a tie for first in Iowa, he's all the way back here at just 8 percent of the vote. So the momentum that he saw in those early states in Iowa and New Hampshire does not necessarily seem to be transferring over to the national picture.

And indeed I would point this out in terms of the trend lines that we're seeing, this Marist poll is indicative of what we're also seeing across the other polling. Look at Bloomberg, when he entered, the first Marist poll had him at just 4 percent. He has rocketed all the way up to 19 percent.

But also look at Bernie Sanders. I don't want him to get lost in this picture because he's also going up in the polls as well. He was back at 22 percent in December. Look at him now, he is at 31 percent. And this bottom line tells the story, right? It's the best CNN-approved national polls for both Bloomberg and Sanders this entire cycle. So as Biden has been going down, Sanders has been picking up ground, as well as Michael Bloomberg.

Now, of course what, does this all mean for tomorrow night's debate? Well, it means that you hinted out at the top of the hour, Michael Bloomberg, with his 19 percent in the Marist College/NPR poll, he has qualified for the debate. So right now, the likely debate participants heading into tomorrow night are Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

I'm going to be very interested to see how Biden, Bloomberg and Sanders kind of go after each other as the three of them are now at the top of the polls. But, of course, as Alisyn was pointing to me before this program started, it's the state that really matter. The national polls, obviously, if they transfer to the states, that's important but it's the states that vote.

So we also have a new state poll from Virginia, which is an important Super Tuesday state. And what do we see there? We see the momentum for Michael Bloomberg transferring over to Virginia. Look at this, he is tied with Bernie Sanders right here at 22 percent and Joe Biden within the statistical margin of error at 18. So they are all above 15 percent, all making that 15 percent threshold. They may all pick up delegates in Virginia. But, again, look at this, Buttigieg only 11 percent, Klobuchar, who obviously did well in New Hampshire, only at 9 percent, and poor Elizabeth Warren only at 5 percent here. So that is not a particularly good poll for her.

And indeed, right now, what we're really seeing nationally and in the states is Bloomberg moving up and Sanders moving up, Biden going down, but it's looking like we may be heading into a two-way race perhaps by Super Tuesday between Bloomberg and Sanders if these trends hold. But, of course, tomorrow night's debate, that could change the entire picture.

SCIUTTO: One consistency in this race so far has been volatility, right? I mean, that picture would have looked different four weeks ago or two weeks ago. I mean --

CAMEROTA: It's predictably unpredictable, I would say, Harry. And, Harry, thank you for quoting me. I appreciate --

ENTEN: I try my best.

CAMEROTA: -- when I teach you something.

ENTEN: You know what? I listen to you. You teach me a lot of things, not just about politics but about life as well.

SCIUTTO: I'm learning as well. That's why I come here in the morning.

CAMEROTA: Young grasshoppers, follow my lead. Thank you both very much.

Okay. Meanwhile, to this other top story, 13 Americans who were evacuated from that quarantined cruise ship in Japan have been moved to a specialized medical facility in Omaha, Nebraska, but not all Americans who were aboard that cruise ship have been able to return to the United States.

[07:05:04]

Our next guest is in a hospital in Tokyo. Her husband is still on board that ship. Joining us now is Rebecca Frasure. She's an American citizen who tested positive for the coronavirus. Rebecca, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate talking to you first.

Your health, how are you? What, if any, symptoms are you experiencing?

REBECCA FRASURE, AMERICAN WITH CORONAVIRUS HOSPITALIZED IN JAPAN: Hi. Thank you for having me on. So my health, I really haven't experienced any real symptoms. I had a slight cough and very slightly elevated fever when I first got here. The fever has since resolved since like day two. And the cough is essentially gone. Once in awhile, it shows up, but otherwise I don't have any symptoms.

CAMEROTA: I mean, that is so good to hear because, you know, back here at home, it's hard for us to know how dire a situation is. And so you -- were you shocked when you tested positive for coronavirus? Did you suspect you had it?

FRASURE: No, I didn't suspect that I had it at all. So it was really a shock. And so, you know, it's kind of one of those things where you just -- you don't know how you may have come in contact with it, you know, especially since we were traveling and going to so many new places. So it was definitely kind of a scary thing to hear once we got that knock on the door that day.

CAMEROTA: I can imagine, because you also don't know where you are on the continuum of it. I mean, you didn't know when you got the knock on the door if your symptoms were going to get worse and you were going to get into a horrible situation or if you were on the tail end of it or what was happening.

And so now that you don't feel any symptoms, you are feeling better, you feel normal, why are you still in a Tokyo hospital?

FRASURE: Yes. So the reason I'm still here is the last throat swabs that I had at the end of last week still came back positive for the virus, so one can still have it while not experiencing any symptoms. And I think that's the big unknown about this virus is how long is it going to last and what's eventually going to happen to a person who has it.

CAMEROTA: And, Rebecca, what did you think when you found out yesterday, I guess, that there were 13 Americans who had also tested positive but were allowed to get on that charter flight back home to the states while they are not letting you out of the hospital?

FRASURE: Yes. So, you know, it was very shocking, 100 percent. And then, you know, you think about it and the people who got on the plane had still been on the ship, they didn't evacuate anybody from the hospitals in the area. And so, you know, they didn't necessarily wait to receive test results before they put those people on those buses and those planes. And I feel like they were probably taking some greater risks than, you know, they were letting on initially. So if they are taking those risks, why aren't they taking the risk of transporting people like me who are essentially asymptomatic back to the U.S. too?

CAMEROTA: Your husband has decided to stay on board the cruise ship while waiting for you, while waiting to get some word of what your release date for your future or your prognosis is. Is that a good idea for him to stay? I mean, he could have gone home.

FRASURE: He could have, but that would have been a -- you know, you don't leave your spouse behind. And so he has been testing negative. I think the last test that he did was on the 8th. His quarantine did restart once I left the ship on the 7th. But, you know, he -- it was just the best thing for him to do for this time to stay here. I would never have left him so, you know, we don't leave each other.

CAMEROTA: Yes, that makes sense. When is the last time you saw him?

[07:10:00]

FRASURE: Actually saw him physically?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

FRASURE: The evening of the 7th.

CAMEROTA: And so what has it been --

FRASURE: Yes, so it's been --

CAMEROTA: Yes, just tell us about your experience, I mean, being virtually alone in a hospital room with no information.

FRASURE: It messes with your mind. I've never really felt so alone. I haven't actually had physical contact with anybody outside of somebody, you know, taking my blood pressure or checking my lungs with a stethoscope in 12 days. I don't know if anybody else has experienced that. I mean, clearly, people who are in the hospital too are probably experiencing that to a degree. But that is something that plays with your emotions to not be able to touch somebody, to hug somebody, to have that personal interaction with another human being. And to not have that interaction with your spouse, it's clearly kind of devastating.

CAMEROTA: It's like solitary confinement. I mean, you're describing that you are in solitary confinement, though you've done nothing wrong. What are doctors telling you about when you will get out of this situation?

FRASURE: So I have to pass two throat swabs that are done two days in a row with negative results on both in order to be released from the hospital. Those are the established precautionary measures and testing procedures. So I'm set to be tested tomorrow and the next day. And all I can do is hope for negative results at this point, otherwise, I will be here for a few more days until they can test again and it's kind of hard to imagine.

CAMEROTA: Rebecca Frasure, we're thinking about you. We're praying for a good result on those throat swabs coming up tomorrow. We will stay in touch with you. Just take care of yourself. Know that you are not alone. We're all watching from here and really hoping for you to get out soon. Thanks so much for being with us.

FRASURE: Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that.

CAMEROTA: The number of coronavirus cases continues to rise by the day. This is a global issue now. What is being done to contain the outbreak? We're going to speak to a top health official here in the U.S. so you know what's likely to happen next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

SCIUTTO: This morning, we have several key developments on the coronavirus outbreak. More than 73,000 people around the world have now been infected mostly in mainland China, the death toll now up to 1,873. There were also 88 new cases of coronavirus on board that one cruise ship in Japan. 13 Americans were evacuated from the ship have now been moved to a specialized medical facility in Omaha, Nebraska.

Joining us now, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Fauci, great to have you on. We've been speaking pretty much every week for updates on where this stands. Big picture now with your expert view, how are global efforts to contain this, particularly efforts here in the U.S., going? Are they working?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Well, certainly the efforts in the United States are working. We had 15 cases in this country, 13 of which were direct travels from Wuhan, China, which is the epicenter of the outbreak and 2 of the 15 are spouses of those individuals who traveled.

So with the travel restrictions that we've imposed and which the Chinese themselves have imposed and the identification, isolation and contact tracing, we're doing pretty well. Variably, throughout the world, different countries have had ceded with individuals who traveled from Wuhan. And to a greater or lesser degree, they have been able to contain that. Some countries have done very well and being able to do the isolation, identification and contact tracing. And others have a considerable number of individuals in their country, not only from travel but from actual human-to-human transmissibility.

So the fate of all of this is going to be determined by two things, how well China contains their outbreak and hopefully they will be able to get their arms around that better over the next weeks, coming weeks. But also the other countries that get travel-related cases, will they be able to prevent it from sustained transmission? And sustained transmission means you go from one person to another to another to another. If you have really the sort of muted transmission where there aren't a lot of generations of transmission, then you have a good chance of containing it. But if you don't, then you really can look at the possibility of a global pandemic, and that's what the concern is.

So although in the United States right now, the risk is minimal. This, day it's minimal. But if it turns into a global pandemic, we could have a significant problem, and that's the reason why we're taking it very seriously.

CAMEROTA: But, Dr. Fauci, I want to ask you about that quarantined cruise ship, because maybe it's a microcosm of the way this disease spreads out in the world, off the cruise ship. So what's happening there is they are in quarantine, okay? The passengers are not allowed to interact with each other. They have been in quarantine now for weeks, I mean, or many, many days, maybe ten days. And yet last night, there are 88 new cases, new people who are testing positive.

So, clearly, something else besides person-to-person transmission is happening.

[07:20:03]

I mean, am I wrong to conclude that it must be they're getting something off a surface, the virus must be able to live off a surface or through the air ducts or something?

FAUCI: Well, certainly that's possible. I mean, there was an incident like that back in Hong Kong in 2003 with the SARS outbreak, in which in a hotel in Amoy, in Hong Kong, a hotel complex, there was vertical spread. Whether or not this is happening here, we don't know. But the one thing that's clear is that there's a lot of infection going on on that cruise ship, which is the reason why we made the decision a couple of days ago and affected it just yesterday is to get our people off that ship on to a plane and back into the United States where we could take care of those who were infected, as well as continue the quarantine of those who are at risk. CAMEROTA: Okay. Doctor, so a big picture question here is exactly how serious coronavirus is. Right now, it's about a 2 percent fatality rate, that's much lower than SARS, which was about 10 percent, higher, of course, than a typical flu that goes around every year. But the problem with that figure is we don't really know for sure, do we, because we don't know exactly how many people have been affected to kind of do the division of the number of deaths over the number of people that have been affected here. What is your sense? Are you more confident this is deadlier than you thought at the beginning? Which direction are you going here?

FAUCI: No, the direction is clear, and that is it is highly transmissible, as we've seen what's going on in the cruise ship and what's going on in China, particularly in Wuhan. It certainly is not as lethal as SARS, which is less transmissible, but when you look at comparing it with a typical seasonal flu, in which the mortality is 0.1 percent, this is much more. My sense and the sense of many of my colleagues is that the ultimate case fatality rate is what we call it, the death rate, is less than 2 percent.

And the reason is that what is likely not getting counted is a large number of people who are either asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic. So the denominator of your equation is likely much, much larger. So I would think at tops it's 2 percent and it likely will go down when all the counting gets done to 1 percent or less.

That's still considerable if you look at the possibility that you're dealing with a global pandemic as opposed to a minimal outbreak. Remember, SARS was 8,000 individuals infected and 774 deaths. Already now, in a couple of months, we have many, many, many fold more than SARS did in a year, and that's the critical issue, the ability of this to transmit so effectively and efficiently, like we're seeing on that cruise ship.

CAMEROTA: Yes, we need answers.

SCIUTTO: The first signs of this were just Christmas time. So a little more than a month, you've had this kind of spread.

CAMEROTA: But we still don't know exactly how it's spreading. Dr. Anthony Fauci, thank you very much for all of the information.

FAUCI: Good to be with you.

CAMEROTA: Okay. So former National Security Adviser John Bolton takes a jab at President Trump. These are his first comments since President Trump was impeached. What he's saying, what he's not saying about his time in the White House, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

CAMEROTA: Former National Security Adviser John Bolton is speaking out publicly for the first time since President Trump was impeached. In a speech at Duke University, he teased his upcoming book and expressed worry that it will be censored by the White House.

CNN's Vivian Salama is live in Durham, North Carolina. She saw the speech. She can tell us what happened because weren't there strict instructions, no cameras, am I right about that?

VIVIAN SALAMAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Alisyn. It seems that John Bolton does have a lot to say now that the impeachment trial is over but we can't bring you any of that audio because Duke signed a strict contract restricting anyone from shooting any audio. So we were only able to shoot video of the speech. But I was there and I got to hear everything that he had to say, of course, a lot of things talking about the impeachment trial. And he was very coy about what he would and wouldn't say. Thankfully, one of the Duke University students actually asked a question about why Ambassador Bolton was willing to comply with a Senate subpoena and not a House subpoena.

Now, you may remember Ambassador Bolton's comments, alleged comments, were referenced by a number of the House impeachment witnesses, but we never heard from him directly. He was waiting for a court battle to be resolved during the House impeachment inquiry. And finally when that was dismissed, he said and he reiterated last night that once it was dismissed, he deferred to First Amendment as the way to go. And so he said he would be willing to comply with a Senate -- with the Senate trial.

And so it was interesting because he did want to reference Ukraine, but vis-a-vis the highly anticipated book that we're still all waiting to hear from. Now, that book obviously is caught up in a very contentious pre-publication review with the White House. And so that came up quite a bit last night.

And here is what he had to say about Ukraine with regard to his book. He said, for all the focus on Ukraine and impeachment trial, to me, there are portions of the manuscript that deal with Ukraine, and I view that as the sprinkles on an ice cream sundae.

He went on to actually call that review process censorship and he was quite strict -- he had quite strong words about what was taking place with the White House in terms of that review, he said that the book was being suppressed. And he said that he's trying to write history essentially and he hoped that the audience would be able to read that.

And so one final thing he said with regard to Ukraine, when asked if he agrees that the call with President Zelensky last year was, quote, perfect, as Trump has said, he said, you will love Chapter 14.

And so, obviously, he has a lot to say. We're going to hear from him again tomorrow when he speaks at Vanderbilt University with Susan Rice, President Obama's national security adviser.

[07:30:00]

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: That will be interesting. Thank you very much, Vivian, for being our eyes and ears in that room.

END