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New Day Sunday
U.S. Reports Most Coronavirus Deaths In One Day; Trump Defends Firing Intel Community Inspector General; Firefighter In Hospital Gets Uplifting Surprise From Coworkers; Trump, Captain's Letter Warning Of Ship Outbreak "Not Appropriate"; Companies Mobilize To Help Fight The Coronavirus Outbreak; Business Donating PPE For Essential Workers Amid Uncertainty; JetBlue, United Airlines Fly Medical Workers To NYC For Free; Alibaba Co-Founder Donates 2.6 Million Masks, 2,000 Ventilators To New York City; CNN's Special Report "Inside The ER The Incredible Fight Against Coronavirus"; Pope Francis Celebrates Palm Sunday At Nearly Empty Vatican. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired April 05, 2020 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:15]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This will be probably the toughest week between this week and next week, and there will be a lot of death, unfortunately.
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: This is the moment not going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Johns Hopkins reporting that almost 8,500 people have died here, and that number is rising.
MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL (D), NEW ORLEANS: Our coroner's office is at capacity as it relates to our dead bodies of our loved ones.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We think at some point next week, we could have 5,000 people on ventilators. That's a real potential a horrible milestone.
TRUMP: We have to get back to work. We have to get -- we have to open our country again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you gather for these sacred events, Palm Sunday, Easter, Passover, when you can't gather for the sake of everyone's health?
TRUMP: How sad is it that we have Easter Sunday and people are watching on laptops and computers? It's sad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul. CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. We have some grim warnings to talk to you about this morning. President Trump saying there will be, and I quote, "a lot of death" in the coming weeks. And we're seeing those warnings this morning.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Yesterday, just like the day before and the day before that, the U.S. reported a new record of coronavirus deaths for a single day, 1,344 Americans died of COVID-19 on Saturday alone. 8,503 have died across the country in just five weeks.
PAUL: And let's talk about New York. It's still one of the hardest hit areas. Governor Andrew Cuomo there saying the state has yet to reach the peak of this curve, noting they could be up to eight days away from the apex. He says hospitals there are facing their ultimate challenge right now.
BLACKWELL: One ICU nurse in New York says patients appear to be sicker compared to last week. She says it's not just their lungs anymore. She says that their vital organs like their kidneys and their heart they're being affected as well.
Let's start at the White House with CNN's Sarah Westwood. Sarah, the president he laid out that message warning Americans that the next couple of weeks are going to be tough.
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Victor and Christi.
President Trump yesterday striking a somber tone saying that between this week and the next week this could be the toughest time that the country sees yet in this pandemic and also warning that in the road ahead we could see many more deaths of fellow Americans.
Take a listen to what the president said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This will be probably the toughest week between this week and next week, and there will be a lot of death, unfortunately, but a lot less death than if this wasn't done but there will be death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WESTWOOD: And the president also acknowledged that there could be shortages of ventilators in some of the hot spots around the country but that the administration was working to move resources from places that haven't yet been hit hard by the COVID-19 virus to places where ventilators are needed.
Now keep in mind that Friday the president and the administration unveiled new guidelines that Americans should, if they want to, wear face coverings. Not necessarily a mask, though, should be left for the medical professionals. But scarves if people want to when they go to the grocery store, when they go to the pharmacy.
But notably the president said that he does not want to personally wear a mask when he's in the White House, when he's in the Oval Office, suggesting that that could perhaps make him look weak, even though that's the recommendation of his health professionals.
But the president did say he'd be willing to try potentially an unproven anti-viral drug, hydroxychloroquine, something that the president has repeatedly suggested should be given to coronavirus patients, even though his own health experts have said there is simply not enough evidence to suggest that it's safe to use on patients who have COVID-19, Victor and Christi.
PAUL: Sarah, while we have you I want to ask you about what the president was saying as well defending his firing of intel community Inspector General Atkinson.
WESTWOOD: That's right. The president's late night decision on Friday to remove the intelligence community watchdog set off a firestorm. Not just criticism among Democrats, but also some Republicans who wanted more details from the administration as to why the president decided to take this action at this time.
In that letter on Friday, the president simply said he had lost confidence in Michael Atkinson, but yesterday at the coronavirus task force briefing, the president defended that action further. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I thought he did a terrible job. Absolutely terrible. He took a whistleblower report, which turned out to be a fake report, it was fake, it was totally wrong.
[06:05:03]
It was about my conversation with the president of Ukraine. He took a fake report and he brought it to Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WESTWOOD: Now, Atkinson has been placed on administrative leave for the next 30 days. The president, Victor and Christi, has yet to name a permanent successor for that position.
PAUL: All right. Sarah Westwood, so appreciate it this morning. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Now the president says the death toll would be higher if mitigation tactics were not put in place, but despite several warnings and new guidelines from top health officials, eight states still have now issued stay-at-home warning. The coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, says that now is the time to do everything that you can to keep yourself, your family and your friends safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIRX: This is the moment not going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe, and that means everybody doing the six feet distancing, washing your hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Now, according to the U.S. Northern Command, the military is sending 1,000 Air Force and Navy medical providers to New York over the next few days. Nearly 300 of them will be assigned to the newly converted Javits Convention Center and other locations.
BLACKWELL: Let's go to CNN's Jason Carroll. He's outside the Javits Center there in New York.
Jason, the governor of New York says that the state could be up to eight days away now from seeing the peak.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Victor. And that's why the governor says it's key to get this Javits Center up and operational as soon as possible. And, in fact, he called it a top operational priority for the city.
The Javits Center is going to be able to take some 2,500 patients here when it's up and fully operational. So you can imagine how that's going to put a great deal of relief on other hospitals here in the city once this is up and operational and ready to go.
Again, the apex in the city still several days away. New York City's mayor, Bill de Blasio, has said repeatedly the city is still not ready in terms of staffing, in terms of bed and equipment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DE BLASIO: We think at some point next week we could have 5,000 people on ventilators. We're going to need 45,000 doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, et cetera. We have to add 60,000 more beds in the course of the next month or so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Victor, Christi, New York's governor has also echoed those concerns every single time he's had a briefing. He has said repeatedly about the need for more equipment, especially ventilators. Listen to how the president has responded to that request.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, he shouldn't be complaining because we gave him a lot of ventilators. And if you take a look at the chart, it's down, but I wish he got going a little bit sooner, but we gave him a lot of ventilators. And you know what? He has a lot of ventilators. The problem is with some people, no matter what you give, it's never enough. It's never enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And here are some of the sobering numbers. More than 113,000 COVID patients here in the state, here in New York City alone, more than 2,600 people have died. This is why the governor has said, look, bring the ventilators to where the need is most in New York City. Once that need is over, then you pass on the ventilators to other places where there will surely be a need later -- Victor, Christi.
BLACKWELL: Jason Carroll for us there outside the Javits Convention Center, this now makeshift hospital. Jason, thank you.
This morning on "STATE OF THE UNION" Jake Tapper speaks with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards as the number of coronavirus cases in his state climbs. What are he and state officials doing to try to flatten the curve in Louisiana? Governor John Bel Edwards with Jake Tapper this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION" starting at 9:00 eastern.
PAUL: The president has said the next couple of weeks are going to be really crucial as well as Deborah Birx has said the same thing.
What are you feeling right now? What do you need to know about this virus? We have experts that are here to answer your questions.
Please tweet us, @VictorBlackwell and @Christi_Paul. We're also on Instagram. We're going to try to get your questions in a little bit later in the next hour of NEW DAY, so do keep it here.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Florida, they surprised one of their own who is recovering from the coronavirus. This is one of those really beautiful spots in the midst of all of this tragedy that we've been seeing.
See this crew here with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue? They drove to the hospital in their fire truck Friday morning, raised their ladder to the hospital's fourth floor window and held up "get well soon" cards and a sign that read, "Your new firehouse." While gasping for air, he recorded a video to thank them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're all going to come up and say hi.
[06:10:05]
This is love. This is -- this is the only kind of love you can get from them, the brother and sisterhood at the firehouse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: And this is the stuff that is so important to do. Miami Fire Rescue hasn't named that firefighter, but it's great to see how obviously his friends and coworkers are trying to make sure he knows that he is in their thoughts and in their family forever.
BLACKWELL: Yes, we are seeing these expressions of gratitude and love and support from both sides throughout the day, but to hear his trying to gasp for breath to say thank you, I don't know that I've heard from a person who was in a hospital who has COVID-19 speaking that way. This is the first time. And it really -- I'm resonated.
PAUL: Yes, it hits home, I think, to a lot of people who have -- who don't know somebody who is sick and probably just doesn't see the gravity of it. But can see how just these small acts of kindness, they change everything for these people who are so isolated from everybody else.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes.
Still to come, you know, trying to help the people who are taking care of the patients in hospitals. Big businesses, they're converting their factories, shifting production to help fight COVID-19. Small businesses, they're doing their part, too, to help the hardest-hit communities. We'll tell you how.
PAUL: Also, keeping the faith while keeping a distance. Pope Francis is celebrating mass Sunday -- Palm Sunday mass, I should say, in a nearly empty St. Peter's Basilica. Christians and Jews alike preparing for one of the holiest weeks of the year, but this time doing so amid a pandemic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:15:52]
PAUL: Fifteen minutes past the hour on this Sunday morning. We're so glad to have you here.
President Trump is defending the recent removal of Navy Captain Brett Crozier as commander of the "USS Theodore Roosevelt." He, Crozier, sent a letter expressing concern about coronavirus on the aircraft carrier and the president said, it wasn't appropriate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I thought it was terrible what he did, to write a letter. I mean, this isn't a class on literature. This is a captain of a massive ship that is nuclear powered. And he shouldn't be talking that way in a letter. He could call and ask and suggest.
But he stopped in Vietnam. A lot of people got off the boat, they came back and they had infection. And I thought it was inappropriate for the captain of a ship to -- I don't want to comment as to whether or not, but I agree with their decision 100 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Now, this is how the sailors said good-bye to their commander as he left the ship. You can hear the chanting. You hear that? "Captain Crozier," they're saying. The Navy says 155 sailors from the "Roosevelt" have tested positive for COVID-19.
Now, during this crisis, companies have been mobilizing to help struggling communities and to get aid to health care workers who are caring for people on the front lines of the pandemic.
PAUL: Yes. Cristina Alesci is our CNN business and politics correspondent.
Cristina, good to see you this morning. How are businesses helping out? What are they doing?
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, Victor, there are a long list of businesses pitching in in this fight against COVID-19 from industries including airlines, banks, fashion designers. You mentioned airlines.
United just on Friday announced that it would be providing free flights for health care workers into New York City, which as you guys know, has a staffing shortage. So getting those critical workers to New York City for free, and they plan to expand that to other hot spots around the country.
Yesterday, shortly after your program, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo publicly thanked the co-founders of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Jack Ma, Joe Tsai and his wife Clara, for really helping New York.
Joe Tsai and his wife Clara specifically have deep ties to New York. Joe Tsai is the owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team. They sent two large shipments from China to New York with that critical PPE, 2.6 million masks, 170,000 goggles and 2,000 ventilators. That was just an amazing donation from Joe Tsai and his wife Clara.
Now, fashion designers from Ralph Lauren to fashion brands like Brooks Brothers are vowing to make masks for critical workers and essential workers. And it's not just big companies. Just a few blocks away from me, I'm in the garment district not that far away from the Javits Center, fashion designers here, the small ones are making masks for essential workers like Diana Mahrach (ph), who is a small dress maker here, whose family has been in the garment district for years.
And then you have big companies like PepsiCo donating millions of dollars in humanitarian aid, pledging to help the hardest-hit communities. And big banks like JPMorgan Chase also pledging millions of dollars to help rebuild the hardest-hit communities both from a humanitarian standpoint and an economic standpoint.
PAUL: All right. Good to know. Cristina Alesci, thank you so much.
I want to tell you about something that's going on tonight. CNN's Miguel Marquez is taking you inside an emergency room. This is where doctors are frantically and very decidedly taking on this battle against coronavirus. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Code 99.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While interviewing doctors in other parts of the hospital --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Code 99.
MARQUEZ: -- nearly constant overhead announcements --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Code 99. Code 99.
MARQUEZ: -- that another patient has coded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Room 815.
MARQUEZ: Those announcements for patients already admitted not those in the ER.
[06:20:02]
(on camera): Can I just stop you for a second? This is the fifth or sixth code 99.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Code 99 is typically a rare event. We're having I would say 10 code 99s every -- every 12 hours at least.
MARQUEZ: Well, we've been here for about 30, 40 minutes and that's the fifth or sixth one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a lot of that -- what that represents is calling for a team to put an individual, a patient on a breathing machine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: CNN's Special Report, "INSIDE THE ER THE INCREDIBLE FIGHT AGAINST CORONAVIRUS." It airs tonight at 9:00. Really giving us a view of what these doctors and nurses and health care workers are up against.
BLACKWELL: Wow.
Still ahead, jails, prisons becoming a breeding ground for COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are ultimately afraid. Every day they ask the officers, where are our cleaning supplies? We need cleaning supplies. We are afraid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Ahead, why correction officers and inmates worry there isn't enough being done to keep them safe.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:25:25]
PAUL: We have a striking image on this Palm Sunday. Christians around the world, of course, marking the beginning of the holiest week of the year, Easter week.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Pope Francis is celebrating mass this morning without the crowds of faithful as you're used to seeing there at St. Peter's Basilica. It highlights the tough choices that churches and temples and mosques around the world are facing, how to keep the faith while keeping a distance. Here's how Pope Francis is calling on everyone to make use of the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (through translator): Let us be generous; let us help those in need in our neighborhood; let us look out for the loneliest people, perhaps by telephone or social networks; let us pray to the Lord for those who are in difficulty in Italy and in the world. Even if we are isolated, thought and spirit can go far with the creativity of love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Unfortunately, you couldn't see all of the translation there through the subtitles, and sorry for the folks listen on SiriusXM, that you just heard Italian there. But here in the U.S. a lot of churches are going virtual.
PAUL: Yes, they're following social distancing rules. Not every state is as strict, though. Here is CNN's Natasha Chen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Following stay- at-home orders can be complicated, especially for the faithful as we head into what is the holiest weeks for Christians and Jews alike. So how do you gather for these sacred events, Palm Sunday, Easter, Passover, when you can't gather for the sake of everyone's health?
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I don't think the government has the authority to close a church. I'm certainly not going to do that. But I think particularly coming up in the Easter season, I think, people are going to want to have access to religious services, whether it's online, whether it's in a more socially distant type of service.
CHEN: Out of 42 states with stay-at-home orders signed by governors, 14 of them offer exemptions for places of worship or religious institutions. They often include guidelines encouraging services to be done online. And, for example, in Texas, the attorney general says if gatherings happen in person, they have to follow CDC social distancing guidelines, but most stay at home states are not making exceptions.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): With all due respect, it's essential that we practice physical distancing everywhere. Period. Full stop.
CHEN: In Sacramento County, California, health officials say 71 people infected with coronavirus are linked to the same church, a congregation attended by many Russian-speaking members of the community. The church closed its doors on March 18th, but the health department believes the virus is still being spread during fellowship meetings in people's homes.
LYEDMILA PETROV, RUSSIAN AMERICAN MEDIA: We do have a language barrier. We're doing a lot of material and products that are going to be coming out in Russian, in English side by side to help the Russian community understand the severity of this coronavirus.
CHEN: Around the world practicing religion like everything else is increasingly becoming an isolated act, even if it's in spiritual unity.
In early March, Saudi Arabia temporarily suspended travel for the year-round Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina for the first time in modern history. Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in late July has yet to be cancelled, but Saudi officials said this week, Muslims should not make travel plans just yet.
And until the resurrection of regular traditions, many of this week's Seders and masses will be held in a most untraditional way.
POPE FRANCIS (through translator): We will celebrate Holy Week in a truly unusual way, which manifests and sums up the message of the Gospel, that of God's boundless love. And in the silence of our cities, the Easter Gospel will resound.
CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: President Trump says that he will be watching Palm Sunday services online from the laptop. And he called it sad that people will have to watch services online. He said that he's considering easing restrictions on churches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Think of it, we're not going to churches on Palm Sunday. But think of next Sunday, Easter. And I brought it up before, I said, maybe we could allow special for churches, maybe we could talk about it, maybe we could allow them with great separation outside on Easter Sunday. I don't know. It's something we should talk about.
But somebody did say that, well, then you're sort of opening it up to that little, you know, do we want to take a chance on doing that when we've been doing so well?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:30:08]
PAUL: Father Edward Beck is with us now. Father, it's so good to see you as always. I want to give your thoughts on that, first and foremost. What do you think should be done next week for Easter?
FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION COMMENTATOR: Christi, we have to do this in a virtual way and ways we haven't done it before. I mean, pro- life means staying home and canceling services. There is no way around that. I mean, that's what love of God and love of neighbor means right now. This is not a question of religious freedom. No one is restricting anyone.
This is about enslaving and harming people, I think, with a false and dangerous theology and spirituality. I mean, the fact is that if you gather, you can transmit or you can get sick, and no one knows who is sick necessarily. So even with social distancing, I was watching some of those churches and services, people are showing up, hugging everybody walking in, and it's beautiful. We miss the touch.
We miss the hug. But for now, we have to be disciplined enough to say that we can also access God and each other in new and creative ways, and this is not a good way to do it.
BLACKWELL: Let me ask you about the message this Sunday. 8,496 -- I'm sorry, the latest number, 8,503 now, people have died in the last 36 days of COVID-19, thousands of people, tens of thousands around the world. What is it message to the faithful?
BECK: Well, Victor, you know today is Palm Passion Sunday, and we're going to read the passion narrative of Christ, the crucifixion, suffering and the death of Christ. And we'll move this whole week to Good Friday, again, at the end of the week. And then that's not the final word though. It doesn't end on Good Friday.
The Christian message is that three days later, Easter Sunday is what our faith is really about, that even in the suffering and the despair, and even though we wonder why, God, don't you take it away, Christ from the cross says, God, why have you forsaken me, and, certainly, many of us feel forsaken, the final word is, I have not abandoned you, that new life is possible and we can emerge from this.
And I think as an Easter people for Christians, that is the message that we are holding on to. For Jews, I mean, who begin Passover on Wednesday with the Seder meal, or as my people calling it now, my friend, Zeder, because they're doing it by Zoom, so they're having their Zeder on Wednesday night. It's the same thing. It's a memory of God's presence and activity with his people and that he's never abandoned his people. So I think that's what we hold on to.
PAUL: In this time where it's painful for everybody of any religion, whether you're talking about the Christians or Jewish or Muslim, is there a universal message that you have found and is there a light that you have found amidst all of this? I like to call it a reset, because I think this is giving us time to reset our priorities and think about what do we really need and are we really happy with the way we've been living up to this point? But what do you feel in that regard, because you're in a tough position?
BECK: Well, Christi, I think that's such a wonderful point because amid all of the suffering that all of us have seen, it is around the world -- I don't ever remember experience when we as a world community have gone through something like this together at the same time, needing to help one another. I mean, the acts of heroism, the first responders, the healthcare workers, the acts of charity is really forcing us to look at ourselves and say, well, what really does matter?
I mean, we are missing hugging people whom we love, you know, people who we want to be connected with, people we took for granted, situations we took for granted, going out to a movie, being able to stay with a friend this close, I mean, little things that you say, wow, I never realized that that was even important to me. So I think even amidst all of the pain of this, I think we're being reborn in some way with new eyes, and hopefully it doesn't just fade away when we can do it once again, but we remember this is what really matters. This is what love really means.
And I think that it's been very inspiring to me as a world community that we've been able to come together in that way.
BLACKWELL: Father Edward Beck, always good to have you as part of conversations like this one.
BECK: Thank you, Victor. Thank you, Christi. Blessings on your week.
PAUL: You as well.
BLACKWELL: Thank you.
Coming up next hour, we will speak with the Louisiana pastor who says that he is going to keep his church's doors open despite already being cited several times, charged by police for violating rules against large gatherings.
[06:35:13]
PAUL: All right. We were just talking about, you know, a light in the world. Well, actress Jane Seymour is challenging people to share yours, your talents in any way possible, by helping people who are really lonely because of this social distancing. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE SEYMOUR, ACTRESS: So what are you going to paint today?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: The Texas retiree who got a call from the Emmy-winning actress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I can't tell you -- I can't tell you a date, but I think it's going to be sooner rather than later. But -- and, you know, we're not going to have separation for the rest of our times on the planet. We need it for this period of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: That's President Trump during his coronavirus briefing yesterday. And, listen, we don't know how long the social distancing -- these rules will be in place -- but people are settling in now for weeks, sometimes people are thinking this could go for months.
PAUL: Yes. Chief Media Correspondent and Host of Reliable Sources, a little later today, Brian Stelter with us right now.
Stelter, good to see you. So are there signals, you know, collectively of people looking at this and going, all right, this is a long-haul process and what do I do with this?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I think there are, and I think it's different for everybody, but I've noticed this week a real change here in New York City and in some of the decisions companies and organizations are making, to start to think many months ahead.
It's not just the boarded up shops here in New York, it's also the decisions of companies like Disney and other movie studios to postpone their films, not just for a month or two, but in some cases, many months down the line.
For example, the anticipated sequel for Top Gun was going to come out in June, now it's delayed until December. On the other hand, Disney still thinks it can release Mulan, the new Mulan in July of this year.
So there are interesting signals from corporate America at the same time that President Trump is talking about this month. And he basically came out and said this will continue through the end of April and then we will re-evaluate.
But a lot of corporate America and a lot of big organizations are thinking much longer term. Look at all the schools that are saying they will not open the remainder of this school year?
Do you know what some of the most popular books on Amazon are now? I bought a couple of these. Thes are the preschool workbooks to teach your kids how to read and how to write. These are literally two of the most popular books in the world on Amazon because parents are thinking they're not going to be back in school for months.
PAUL: They're not. They've already told us they're not.
BLACKWELL: So let's talk about what people are --
STELTER: Well, people are starting to make plans for that in 100 different ways. Now, some people, some states, perhaps, have not caught on yet. We're seeing this take effect in different ways in different places.
BLACKWELL: So what are people turning to for that normalcy? I've got a cocktail party that I have on Wednesday night that I'm hosting. But, clearly, no one will be together. We're all doing it technologically.
STELTER: Right. I loved what your prior guest said about Zoom, about having Zoom Shabbat or a Zoom Seder. We are seeing so much of that. I'm going to interview the CEO of Zoom on Reliable Sources later this morning. Out of nowhere, this technology has become so popular for people to meet up.
But it's not just Zoom, right? It's also Facetime and Google Hangouts and Cisco Webex, all these other types of software that allows to us be alone but together. And I'm doing it (INAUDIBLE), Victor5. I had a -- my entire family had a Zoom chat last night where the we were all eating dinner. It's those little things that hopefully connect people.
But, look, we have to also remember, there is a segment in the country that does not have internet accessed, that does not have those baked- in connections and that's a problem at a time like this. And we need to think carefully about how we can help people who are not connected, who are not even able to be online during a shutdown like this.
PAUL: Yes, because that is some serious lonely for people who don't have that access. Good point to make, Brian. Brian Stelter, thank you so much, always appreciate you.
BLACKWELL: Thanks, Stelter.
PAUL: Have a great show today. You can see him and his interview with Zoom's CEO on Reliable Sources, starts at 11:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: The states are working to reduce their prison populations so that officers and inmates can avoid COVID-19 infection. And it's raising some serious questions about the criteria for the release. We'll talk about that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:45:00]
PAUL: Well, doctors say a public health disaster is brewing inside jails. There is more evidence, they say, suggesting that they are becoming breeding grounds for the spread of coronavirus.
BLACKWELL: States, cities, counties across the country are working on ways to reduce population, but now there are some important questions about how officials are releasing certain categories of inmates.
PAUL: CNN Reporter Kara Scannell has been looking into this for us. Kara, good to see you today. Tell us, first of all, what's the criteria for release here?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Well, good morning. The criteria varies from state to state and county by county. But what they're looking at here is to release who are non-violent offenders, people who are at the tail end of their sentence, who are medically vulnerable to coronavirus, might be susceptible because of a respiratory illness or cardiac conditions, and those who are, you know, as I said, non- violent. This is not supposed to open the gates and let everyone out. They're really trying to curtail this.
And, you know, in New York, for example, they're creating lists. This is the mayor's office and the D.A.'s office, they're working through lists of people who would qualify for this and then allowing for that release.
And they're having concerns that maybe a few people have been released earlier than they should have, but, you know, judges, other elements of the government, we're really seeing an unusual alliance between both the public defenders and the prosecutors to try to thin the population. The reason why they're trying to do that is, as you said, the top doctor at Rikers Island Jail in Manhattan said that this is a public health disaster.
To put it in some perspective, in Rikers Island as of Friday, 239 inmates have tested positive for the virus. That is about 5 percent of the prison population there.
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In contrast, think about New York, where this is one of the biggest hot spots, if not, the biggest hot spot for coronavirus in the country. The total number of people in the state who have been affected is about 0.5 percentage point. So we're really seeing it spread in prisons. The idea here is to thin out that population so those who remain inside can social distance and that those who can leave will not be susceptible to it.
There is also, you know, in a jail, there are people that come in and come out, and so there is a lot of potential points. Either it's the correctional officers coming in or inmates cycling through, so they're trying to limit the amount of people that come in and out of the jails as well, you know, to put an end to the social distance, just as we're doing in our everyday lives, they're trying to have that same effect in jails and prisons across the country.
BLACKWELL: All right. Kara Scannell for us with something that, you know, a lot of municipalities are facing to try to thin the population to protect some lives. Kara Scannell, thanks so much.
PAUL: Thanks, Kara.
So, you know, sports are at a standstill. The question is for how much longer? President Trump is weighing in on that. He's says, it will be sooner than you might think.
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TRUMP: These are all the great leaders of sport, and they want to get back, they got to get back. They can't do this. Their sports weren't designed for it. The whole concept of our nation wasn't designed for it. We're going to have to get back. We want to get back very soon, very soon.
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BLACKWELL: That was President Trump on the possibility of when you could possibly go to a pro sports game.
PAUL: More sports have been shut down for more than a month now, most of them have. Coy Wire is with us. The president said the country needs sports, Coy. I'm sure a lot of people believe that. But what does that mean? COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. Christ, good morning to you, and Victor.
Sports are such a major part of so many Americans' families' everyday lives, the president even tweeting at little leaguers yesterday, telling them to hang in there until they can get back out on the field.
He had a conference call with commissioners from 13 pro sports yesterday. He thanked them for all of the work in their communities and also said that he wants to see fans back in the stands.
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TRUMP: And the fans want to be back too. You know, they want to see basketball and baseball and football and hockey. They want to see their sports. They want to go out on to the golf courses and breathe nice, clean, beautiful fresh air.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) that people tell you --
TRUMP: I can't tell you a date, but I think it's going to be sooner rather than later.
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WIRE: Now, to Christi's point, how soon that will be, that's the question. Basketball, baseball, hockey, they're all supposed to be playing right now. But they've been either postponed or suspended. Wimbledon cancelled completely for the first time completely since World War II. And that wasn't scheduled to start until the end of July.
Now, the late, great Kobe Bryant has been elected into the basketball hall of fame, just two months after that tragic helicopter crash that took his own life, his daughter, Gigi's, and those of seven others. The 15-time All-NBA selection was one of the greatest competitors ever in any sport. It's a bittersweet honor for Bryant's widow, Vanessa, who sat next to their eldest daughter, Natalia, speaking about what this honor means.
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VANESSA BYRANT, KOBE BRYANT'S WIDOW: Obviously, we wish that he was here with us to celebrate, but it's definitely the peak of his NBA career, and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here. So we're incredibly proud of him.
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WIRE: The induction ceremony for a class, which includes Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tamika Catchings and others scheduled for August. It remains to be seen if it will go on as planned.
Finally, baseball announcing this past week that it will pay players during the stoppage. And power couple Kate Upton and Justin Verlander know exactly what they're going to do with that money.
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JUSTIN VERLANDER, HOUSTON ASTROS PITCHER: There are so many people that are in need, whether it's those that are on the frontlines battling this disease head-on or someone who's at home has lost their job and needs to provide basic necessities, such as food and water.
KATE UPTON, SUPERMODEL: We're going to pick an organization every week who is doing really good work right now and donate the entire week's paycheck to that organization.
We'll also be highlighting the organization that we choose, so that everyone can see the amazing work they're doing right now.
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WIRE: Verlander, one of the highest-paid players in all of baseball, Christi and Victor, along with Upton, announcing their awareness that they know that other families and our healthcare workers need that money more than they do right now. It's great leadership and it's so --
BLACKWELL: It certainly is. Coy Wire, always good to have you. Thanks, Coy.
PAUL: Thank you, Coy.
WIRE: Thanks.
PAUL: So let's jump off of that same point of goodness. Actress Jane Seymour is encouraging you to share your goodness, your talents during this time. Take a look.
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SEYMOUR: so what are you going to paint today?
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PAUL: Can you imagine just sitting at home and getting a call from Jane Seymour? Well, she's encouraging you to do something good for someone, and she started the chain by painting in California. She was in California. But she painted with a senior citizen who is in Dallas over, as you can see, a video call. Listen to some of it here.
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SEYMOUR: But you just take the brush, you do the regular markings, and then I took a dry brush and just pulled it.
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And that got the fur look. And then I scratched for the whiskers. I scratched it.
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PAUL: Isn't that something?
