Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Some Italians Testing Positive After Symptoms Are Long Gone; WAPO: U.S. Cables Show Officials Warned About Wuhan Lab Years Ago; Obama Endorses Biden, Touts Him As Leader Needed In Crisis; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Discusses Obama's Endorsement Of Biden & Trump Handling Of Coronavirus Response. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired April 14, 2020 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Dr. Jennifer Lee, CNN medical analyst and a clinical associate professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University, joins me now.
How do you explain this? Why would the virus be in the system weeks after testing positive? We were talking to Dr. Rodriguez, who said he's seen that in his own patients. They're still essential shedding the virus even though they have no symptoms.
DR. JENNIFER LEE, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Right, Anderson. There are a number of cases of similar finding from around the world. This one in Italy, a patient who has tested positive for COVID, and then after his symptoms cleared, actually tested positive 30 days after the very first test.
There are also reports -- similar reports out of China of patients who tested negative, and then 20-plus days later, tested positive again.
There's a group of patients, about 115 of them in South Korea that they're looking into, because they tested negative and tested positive afterwards.
So there are a number of questions. There's some hypotheses of what could be going on. Did they clear the virus and get re-infected with a different strain? Or is this virus laying dormant and reactivating? Or did the test, when they did it, for those who have negative tests, were they false-negatives and later they're testing positive and still shedding virus?
Most scientists believe they're not getting re-infected, but that the period of time during which someone would shed the virus is actually longer than we might think.
That led public health officials in northern Italy to change of quarantine guidelines, to double them from 14 to 28 days.
COOPER: It also races a lot of questions about, trying to get the economy back on line, people go back to work, it puts the emphasis on testing to make sure that somebody, just because they no longer have symptoms and are feeling fine, they may still have the virus in them. LEE: That's exactly right. That's the message it sends to me. We have
even more reason to very urge urgently scale up testing. Testing is now better than it was a few weeks ago, but we're not anywhere close to where we need to be.
The nation still has tested less than 1 percent of our total population. And some experts believe we might need to do millions of tests per day in order to get to the level we need to reopen again and have people going back to work.
And the supply chain is issue. We cannot have this supply chain issue.
COOPER: There's so many moving parts to get this moving forward.
Dr. Lee, I appreciate it, as always. Thank you.
Up next, a disturbing report from the "Washington Post" showing how the U.S. government may have been aware of risky testing on bats being conducted at the Wuhan, China, lab over two years ago.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:36:56]
COOPER: We're learning more today about a Chinese research facility in Wuhan, China, that some have speculated may have ties to the coronavirus pandemic. It began in that city.
"The Washington Post" is reporting U.S. embassy officials made multiple visits to the lab in 2018 and were concerned enough to send two warnings about inadequate safety measures at the facility. At that time, the biolab was conducting research on coronaviruses in bats.
Josh Rogin wrote about this for "The Washington Post." He's with me now.
Josh, this isn't implying that COVID-19 came from the lab, though there's a lot of conspiracy theories along those lines.
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right, Anderson. We don't know how the virus originated, but we can't rule out that it came from this lab or another lab in Wuhan. There's a heated debate.
In 2018, U.S. health officials at the U.S. embassy in Beijing were so concerned about safety in the lab, they sent what was called a warning shot. They were begging people in Washington to aid the lab, help it improve the safety, because they knew their work on coronaviruses on bats was so risky. Those warnings were not heeded.
To be clear, it doesn't prove it came from the lab, but compared to the story that the Chinese government put out, that it came from a wet market, there's more and more evidence that's not holding up to water, and this story carries more credibility.
COOPER: Also, just in terms of not being credible, you look at the number of deaths of the virus around the world, the idea that China only has 3,000 deaths seems hard to believe. I haven't found one government officials or expert who believes that number.
ROGIN: The Chinese government has censored information, withheld information, and silenced or disappeared any scientists or doctors who contradict the party line.
The conspiracy theories are about whether or not this was an engineered virus. There's a separate distinction conversation about whether this came from the lab. It might have been, could have been, according to officials, an accident, not an engineered virus, but a naturally occurring virus that these labs were playing with that U.S. officials warned about for years, but nobody did anything about it.
COOPER: Interesting. Fascinating discussion.
Josh Rogin, I appreciate it. Thank you very much for the reporting.
[14:40:10]
Former President Obama breaking his silence on the campaign to make a big announcement and, indirectly, criticized the president and his White House.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Amid this global pandemic, President Obama has just thrown his support behind Joe Biden. He officially endorsed his former vice president today in this video message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If there's one thing we've learned from moments of great crisis, it's that the spirit of looking out for one another can't be restricted to our homes or our workplaces or our neighborhoods, or houses of worship.
It also has to be reflected in our national government. The kind of leadership that's guided by knowledge and experience, honesty and humility, empathy and grace. That kind of leadership doesn't just belong in our state capitols and mayors' offices. It belongs in the White House.
That's why I'm so proud to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States. Choosing Joe to be my vice president was one of the best decisions I ever made. He became a close friend.
I believe Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Senator Bernie Sanders, of course, suspended his campaign last week, endorsed Joe Biden yesterday.
CNN's senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, joins us now.
Jeff, obviously, a valuable endorsement for Joe Biden.
[14:45:00]
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No question, Anderson. This is not, of course, unexpected, but the message from former President Obama, which has viewed over a million times, had a message to Americans of goodwill. He said they must unite at this moment.
It was a full-throated endorsement of Joe Biden, but also the idea of a robust government, an informed government, a scientific government, so no doubt it was a prelude to his argument.
He didn't mention the president's name directly. He didn't have to. He talked directly about science, directionally about independent thinking, about the world order.
The message that Barack Obama was giving for Joe Biden is certainly better than anyone else could deliver. He's popular in Democratic circles, before it was about so much more than that -- Anderson?
COOPER: Every adjective he used to describe a leader, it was very clear why he chose the adjectives that he did.
ZELENY: He did, indeed. He used the word "empathy, honesty, integrity. This is the fact that it's now a unified Democratic Party, at least he hopes it will be.
So much different from four years ago. The fact that Bernie Sanders endorsed officially yesterday, this is a different moment.
So the message there President Obama was giving in that video message was so much about this time of crisis, why he believes Joe Biden is the man for the moment. Anderson, this is entirely different than anyone expected this to be.
The question is whether there would be a campaign together, how that will change --
(CROSSTALK)
ZELENY: -- campaign together, how would --
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: This would have been a huge campaign rally event if this was normal time.
ZELENY: It would have been a huge rally. Perhaps Bernie Sanders was there as well, joined together. I can still remember that rally in Unity, New Hampshire with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton there in 2008. But this will be the new normal for campaigns.
One thing that the Obama operation has that Joe Biden doesn't have, a footprint. Robust popularity online. This has been viewed between two and three million times. That's what the Biden campaign is hoping for. Barack Obama popularity in other forms to rub off on him. And for fundraising, of course. But make no mistake about it, also embedded in that 12-minute message,
which I'm told was just filmed yesterday, at the Obama's house, that it was not going to be an easy campaign. This is not an easy campaign at all. The question is, will he ever be able to get back on the campaign trail at the very end of this.
The former president said, I'll see you on the campaign trail soon, I hope. That is an open question here, what does this campaign look like. It's not on hold, Anderson. It's playing out right in front of our eyes.
COOPER: Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, thank you very much.
With me now, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, endorsed Joe Biden after ending her own 2020 campaign last month.
Senator, thanks very much.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Obviously there was a big campaign event in which you announced you were endorsing.
First of all, I want to ask how you and your family are doing?
KLOBUCHAR: Really well. My husband is recovered, got out of the hospital, and is doing really, really well. We had a nice Easter together with our family.
COOPER: I'm glad to hear that.
I want to play more of what former President Obama said today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Our country's future hangs on this election. It won't be easy. The other side has a massive war chest. The other side has a propaganda network patterned in a way to cut through the noise and spin to remind us of what is real, what is important.
This crisis has reminded us that government matters. It's reminded us that good government matters. That facts and science matter, that the rule of law matters. That having leaders who are informed and honest and seek to bring people together rather than drive them apart, those kinds of leaders matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: What do you make of how President Obama did this and what he said.
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I thought it was a beautiful video. I suggest that everybody watch it. What you see is he we need a confident person. You have the facts. Joe Biden help us manage him through us though the last economic crisis.
[14:49:58]
But you also have something personal. As I was listening to your discussion, I was thinking you didn't need tens of and to see that Barack Obama understands that Joe Biden that I love and that is someone who not only leads with confidence but also has the heart for it.
He talked about how his personal tragedies in his life where he lost family members, he lost his wife, he lost his kids. When that happened, how it made Joe Biden a stronger person and it makes him the president for our time. The kind of person we're going to need.
And I think, again, people in the -- in their own homes right now, struggling, are going to be able to watch that video and think with their heads about how we need competence and all they have to do is watch the president's press conference yesterday, President Trump, to see that we don't have that right now and what is happening in their own lives.
And also see President Obama's true warmth and love for Joe Biden. I don't think you need a big rally to see that.
COOPER: This is obviously hitting home for you in a very personal way. And I'm wondering how your own experience having that in your own home with your husband, the concerns for him, and then watching how things are playing out from a leadership standpoint from the White House, how you see and what you've heard from the White House over the last couple of weeks.
KLOBUCHAR: Exactly. And let me make clear. Nearly every American is feeling what I'm saying in some way. They have a friend or a family member. And what I learned, like so many people we had a long way on getting John's test results back, something like five and a half and six days. And he was in the hospital.
Secondly, I learned how following the rules mattered. He didn't go to the meeting with the other teachers because he felt a little sick. He didn't go to a Minnesota gathering we had, which could have exposed many people.
And the third thing that I learned is that feeling of not being able to be with the person in a -- the person that you love and hold their hand.
So I've been able to say to my colleagues on the Republican side, come on. This is going to happen to everyone. So we now need to improve that small business program, yes. But we also need the funding for tests and for the equipment and we need to get this testing out in such a big way.
That is the only way we're going to be able to bring our economy back, is we have the sophisticated and widespread testing that we need to give people the confidence that we can go back to work.
COOPER: Do you watch the coronavirus -- what are supposed to be the coronavirus task force briefings, which have been hijacked by the president for as long as he wants, before from scientists.
KLOBUCHAR: I've tried to watch them many times when we have the -- the scientists or Dr. Fauci speaking about the help and that is helpful. But you get so angry when the president turned it into himself. He turns it into a propaganda piece about himself when people are dying.
When Wisconsin voters are standing in line with masks and garbage bags over themselves, when you have got people all over this country wanting to stand at the bedside of their loved ones, and nurses and doctors going to work not knowing if they'll get the disease or not because they don't have the right equipment.
No, I don't want to see propaganda about him or him getting mad at the media or get mad at some small slight that he hated during the day. That is not what leadership is about.
I think Andrew Cuomo said it best when he said, if you're mad about what we're doing right now, call me, it is on me. He understood as so many of the governors do that the buck stops here. The buck stops here. That was Harry Truman's saying. And this president said the buck stops anywhere but here.
At the Republican convention, he is the one that said, I alone can fix this. Now let's fast forward, he's now saying he's back up to the governors. Then when the governors say, OK, we're going to join in regions, which makes sense, to figure out when we could start opening the economy again, what does he say then, no, you can't do that, I alone could fix this. Give me a break.
People understand what real leadership is and they saw it in the Barack Obama video released this morning about who I believe will be the next president, Joe Biden.
COOPER: Senator Amy Klobuchar, I appreciate your time today.
KLOBUCHAR: Thank you.
COOPER: Glad your husband is go doing better. Thank you so much.
KLOBUCHAR: Thank you so much, Anderson.
[14:54:45]
COOPER: Still ahead on CNN, as the death toll in the United States nears a staggering 25,000, some alarming new numbers from New York show that Latinos are dying at higher rates than any other demographic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar, in Washington, on this Tuesday afternoon.
And the death toll at this hour is nearing a staggering 25,000 people in the United States with almost 600,000 infected with the coronavirus.
[14:59:52]
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo saying that state appears to be at the peak of the pandemic. Deaths in New York State were up yesterday compared to the day before. But hospitalizations are down slightly. And the governor is saying this: "We changed the curve."
Though it is not over yet. Researchers say the U.S. might have to endure social distancing measures until 2022 unless a vaccine becomes available soon.
