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New Day Saturday

Georgia Reopening Despite Prediction That Daily Deaths Peak Is Still Five Days Away; Some States Begin To Reopen Despite Health Risk Warnings; Trump Refuses To Take Questions At Briefing A Day After Discussing Disinfectant Injections To Fight Coronavirus; FDA Issues Warning Against Private Use Of Hydroxychloroquine; Chief Of Naval Operations Recommends Brett Crozier Get His Command Back. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired April 25, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the U.S. death toll crosses 50,000 lives lost, some businesses reopen to a new world.

BRIAN KEMP, GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA: We will get Georgians back to work safely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are trying to keep our business alive and keep my staff able to survive.

DONNA WHITFIELD, BARBER: These are our gloves. We'll probably run out by the end of next week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of my managers has three little girls. We all have to know what we're going home to at the end of the night is safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so much confusion. People are asking is it safe? You know, I don't know what to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to try it. I just feel like us as a country, we're going to have much bigger problems financially if we don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We are always so grateful to see you. Welcome to you here in the United States and around the world. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for being with us. This morning, striking that balance. You've got the health, physical health, mental health, on one side, on the other side the economy. States beginning to reopen and right now, according to Johns Hopkins University, at least 51,949 Americans have been killed by the coronavirus.

PAUL: Now yesterday we got our first glimpse of what reopening would look like. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, despite having this barrage of criticism against him, moved ahead with the most far-reaching effort to restart the economy. We know there are several mayors across that state who are not happy with this plan. They voiced that and the plan contradicts guidance and models often cited by the White House. Those show Georgia shouldn't reopen, even begin to reopen until June 22nd, but the governor insists that they're ready.

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KEMP: We've laid our plan out to meet the phase one criteria. I think it's the right move at the right time, but I'm really appreciative of all they're doing for us. I've had multiple conversations with him and the vice president.

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BLACKWELL: Unlike what we've seen in other states, Michigan, Wisconsin to name a few, in Georgia, the protesters are pushing back against the lifting of restrictions. You see here some of the dozens of people who blasted their horns and waved signs as they drove by the governor's mansion yesterday.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say that it's supposed to be two weeks of decline and we haven't seen that. He's not even following White House guidelines. Even Trump says this is too soon. If he's saying that, then you know that says a lot.

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PAUL: CNN's Natasha Chen's been meeting with Georgia business owners to talk about the dilemma that they're facing as to whether to open.

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NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ... on Friday for the first time in almost a month.

ERIC GREESON, BARBER: Sterilize your chairs between customers. As you can see, we have the benches marked. These are disposable here.

CHEN: Georgia's governor says the state is ready.

KEMP: We will allow gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers.

CHEN: Barbers like Eric Greeson who happens to be diabetic.

GREESON: As a barber, what we have to do and I definitely would not have opened anything against the health officials' recommendation or the president.

CHEN: The president, who initially supported states to, quote, "liberate," pulled a 180, issuing a public rebuke of the Republican he once endorsed. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't like to see a lot of things happening and I wasn't happy with it and I wasn't happy with Brian Kemp.

CHEN: The state won't see a peak in daily COVID-19 deaths until next week according to widely accepted data.

GREESON: Everybody's scared of it basically, but we're also afraid that if we don't open, then the person down the street will and then we won't have business.

CHEN: This barber shop was one of two that were open out of the 10 Donna Whitfield visited on Friday morning.

WHITFIELD: These are our gloves. We'll probably run out by the end of next week.

CHEN: She's a barber and beauty supplier in Georgia and Alabama. It was her first day back in the truck in a month. She'd rather not risk bringing the virus home to her husband who has cancer, but she also can't afford not to work.

WHITFIELD: I'm just kind of on the fence, you know? I don't know, you know -- I hope we're doing the right thing.

CHEN: The right thing for Randy Hicks is making sure his 25 employees at Southern Lanes bowling alley could still support their families and he knows people may criticize his decision.

RANDY HICKS, OWNER, SOUTHERN LANES: I'm sorry for that. I hope -- I hope they don't hold it against us for no reason. We're not trying to hurt anybody. If you look, we just want to get our business going.

CHEN: Fellow owner Deborah Holland is a cancer survivor.

[06:05:00]

DEBORAH HOLLAND, OWNER, SOUTHERN LANES: I'm conscientious about what we have, the cleanliness that we have, the exposure we have because I don't want to have to go to the hospital with this virus or anything. I'm missing half a lung.

CHEN: The phone kept ringing with eager customers who all had to do temperature checks before coming in, could only use half of the 32 lanes and were limited on the number of bowlers per lane. Even with restrictions, there was a strong sense of relief.

HOLLAND: I literally felt the burden being lifted off my shoulders.

CHEN: And many of their regulars felt the same, like Leon Perpignan who came before doors even opened.

LEON PERPIGNAN, BOWLER: I just want to do something that I enjoy doing, that I haven't done in awhile. Besides all the honey to-do lists are all done.

CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Douglasville, Georgia.

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BLACKWELL: Our thanks to Natasha for that report. Now, there are other states that are beginning the process of opening up their economies.

PAUL: Yes. There are a few others and they're taking steps that may look a little bit different than what Georgia's doing. CNN's Cristina Alesci is with us with that story. So walk us through what these other states -- well, which states they are and what they're doing differently.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, it's a real patchwork for the most part, but life for many Americans will start to look different as their states really take the measures to ease some of those social distancing restrictions that have been in place now for nearly two months.

Now, the most open that we have -- we've been reporting on is clearly Georgia. Oklahoma as well also letting some personal care businesses like nail salons and barbershops open up. Alaska as well and then there are other states that are more measured in their approach, for example Colorado and Texas. They're allowing curbside retail. Texas already started doing that. Colorado is going to do that on Monday.

Now, look, there are some local officials that CNN has talked to that are questioning the wisdom of doing that, especially with all of the discussion about the availability of testing and contact tracing and these local officials, these mayors even in these states are telling us that they're worried and that the irony is that, in the one hand, the states are doing this because they're facing this grim financial reality of being closed down, but on the other hand, they are risking a potential spike in cases, a potential resurgence that might undermine the confidence in the economy.

So there's a real debate going on and bottom line, the bigger picture here is that it is a patchwork and there's no one uniform way of doing this. So there's going to be some confusion and people asking questions, but make no mistake about it, states are feeling the financial pressure and that's what's driving some of these decisions here, Christi and Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Talking about financial pressure, this is going to cost a lot. Do the states have enough money? Do they have the money to fight the virus and get the economies back going again?

ALESCI: Yes, Victor, you are pointing out an issue that is going to be the issue going forward in the -- in the days and weeks ahead. States are asking the federal government for $500 billion and that issue was the source of contention between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo this week who exchanged some very heated words over this because Mitch McConnell suggested in a media interview that states perhaps should file for bankruptcy instead of seeking federal help. Here's what Andrew Cuomo had to say about that.

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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): The morality of it and the ethics of it and the absurdity of it and the meanness of it. Legally a state can't declare bankruptcy. You would need a federal law allowing states to declare bankruptcy. Your suggestion, Senator McConnell, pass the law, I dare you and then go to the president and say sign this bill allowing states to declare bankruptcy. You want to send a signal to the markets that this nation is in real trouble?

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ALESCI: So despite that heated exchange, my colleagues on the Hill and I have been hearing that there are some Republicans who realize that financial aid to the states is going to be part of the next aid package. Keep in mind Congress has already passed funding to the tune of $3 trillion for other things related to fighting coronavirus. The next package will likely include aid for states, Christi, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Cristina Alesci for us there in New York. Thank you, Cristina.

PAUL: Thank you, ma'am. So among the businesses that are allowed to reopen in Georgia now are gyms and this is a place that's very familiar with our next guest who is a bodybuilder, also a nurse practitioner and he survived a fight against COVID-19.

[06:10:01]

He was in a really dire position with that virus, but we're happy that he's here with us now.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We spoke with him a couple of weeks ago and he really has been on this mission to make sure that you know that even someone who's young and fit is at risk of contracting this virus. So let's bring back now Lequawn James. He's with us. Lequawn, good morning. You look good. How you feeling?

LEQUAWN JAMES, NURSE PRACTITIONER, BODYBUILDER WHO SURVIVED COVID-19: Good morning. How you guys doing today?

BLACKWELL: We're good. How are you?

JAMES: I'm doing great. It's shocking, but I feel a 100 percent even before I contracted the virus. So it's very overwhelming, but I'm glad to be here.

PAUL: So when you say it's shocking, what are you referring to, Lequawn?

JAMES: I'm referring to the fact that I look at my pictures all the time of when I was in the ICU and to recently get cleared by the echocardiologist saying that I can resume all activity that I was doing before I contracted the virus, it was just surreal. Like it's less than a month later and I'm back to fully working out the way I used to. My heart is back to normal function. It's like I never got the virus in the first place. My health has returned 100 percent. BLACKWELL: Wow. Fantastic, fantastic news. I'm glad we brought you back for that update, but we also want your perspective because you've got this interesting perspective, this angle of being both a healthcare professional and a COVID-19 survivor. So now that Georgia, where we are, is opening up, what's your reaction to the availability of people going back to gyms and restaurants on Monday, movie theaters and the rest?

JAMES: I was completely shocked because, you know, I wanted to address the governor myself in a video saying, hey, do you want more people to look like this guy right here in the ICU who was near death? That could be the possibility. Even myself, I'm not going back to the gym. What I did was I just found some gym equipment and rented a storage unit and I go there to work out and I just work out there alone. So there are ways around it, but, you know, right now is not the right time.

PAUL: So what do you say to people who argue, you know, they need a job, they cannot pay their rent or their mortgage, they are on the verge of not being able to feed their children? Do you see a balance here?

JAMES: I don't, but in my eyes, three to four weeks of not working is hard, but it would be harder to close the casket on your loved one forever. So that's the way I see it and I mean, I know money is what people need to survive, but at this time, you won't be able -- you may not be around to spend it if you contract this virus. Who's to say you don't end up like me or worse?

BLACKWELL: Yes. We have heard from Governor Kemp that he expects that there will be more cases, although he says that this is the right time and they're doing this the right way. Lequawn James, it's good to know that you are back to 100 percent, you're doing well, working out. I saw your video on Instagram at the storage unit and thanks so much for being with us this morning.

JAMES: Thank you for having me. You guys have a great day.

BLACKWELL: You too.

PAUL: You as well.

BLACKWELL: So one day after making the wild inquiry about testing, potentially injecting disinfectant to kill the coronavirus, sources say that aides are pushing the president to stop doing these daily task force briefings. We've got details for you.

PAUL: And we're still talking about small businesses in Georgia that are divided over returning to work. They're trying to figure out how to best protect themselves and their employees and their customers. We're talking to a tattoo artist about the reality of maintaining social distance in his place of business in a tattoo parlor. Is it possible? That's ahead.

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PAUL: Some razor-sharp criticism of the president this morning after he told reporters he was being sarcastic for suggesting that medical experts look into testing the possibility of injecting disinfectants as a treatment for coronavirus.

BLACKWELL: Now those comments prompted doctors and state leaders and the companies that make those products to warn Americans do not ingest, do not inject disinfectants.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please don't. Don't inject, ingest or even put on your body any disinfectants that you're using for cleaning purposes. It's completely inappropriate and it's extraordinarily dangerous. People die from ingesting some of these products. So I really hope everyone understands. If the president was being sarcastic, it doesn't really matter. That information wasn't accurate and please don't act on it.

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BLACKWELL: To the White House now. CNN's Kristen Holmes is following the latest there. Kristen, good morning to you. The president knew that those questions were coming at the briefing on Friday, but he didn't wait for a single one.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor. Look, this has not been a good 48 hours for President Trump or the White House as everyone has been playing clean up over those Thursday comments. Christi, just to paraphrase one more time so we can be clear what exactly President Trump said, he said that people should look into, scientists, whether or not Americans could ingest or inject some sort of disinfectant, we're talking about bleach or Lysol, something like that, to clean out the coronavirus from their system. He likened it to using those disinfectants on surfaces. Now, this received extreme backlash.

[06:20:00]

Medical experts, as you just saw there, really warning the public, saying how dangerous this was and it was subject to some ridicule. I want to pull up a tweet here. It became political fodder when Joe Biden tweeted this out, "I can't believe I have to say this, but please don't drink bleach." Now, all of this pushed back, leading President Trump to tell reporters that he was being sarcastic when he said that, but look, I've spent the last 12 hours on the phone with White House officials, with sources close to the president and they all admit he was not being sarcastic.

And the other thing they talk about was that this was an unforced error. This didn't have to happen. A lot of it stemming from the fact that President Trump has a desire to look as though he is leading these medical briefings on coronavirus in front of the cameras despite the fact that he has no real medical knowledge.

PAUL: So we saw a very different press conference yesterday from this task force. He took no questions, as Victor had pointed out. Do we know if there is any sort of renewed push to get the president to make these more brief or to even step away from the podium during these daily briefings?

HOLMES: Well, there are several pushes in that direction. we know aides and allies have made a concerted effort to get him to stop doing the briefings altogether, saying that it wasn't good for him, these long, freewheeling comments and we want to point out here Thursday's remarks are exactly what these allies and aides have been saying for weeks. They were afraid of something like that happening, President Trump saying something that not only was factually incorrect, but potentially incredibly dangerous to people.

So that's one effort. We also know in the West Wing there have been conversations on how to maybe tone down these briefings. Is it making it shorter? Is it taking out the Q&A? Is there another way to restructure these if President Trump wants to continue doing them?

But of course, you know, all of this comes down to what the president wants. Despite these aides, these allies, despite the backlash him being upset over the fact that the coverage was so negative of those Thursday remarks, it's all down to whether or not he actually wants to stop doing the briefings.

BLACKWELL: Kristen Holmes for us there at the White House. Kristen, thank you. So tattoo parlors, they're on the list of businesses that can open in Georgia, but the question is will they? Up next we'll speak with a tattoo artist who says it is impossible to stay away at least six feet from clients.

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PAUL: It is day two for the state of Georgia's reopening this morning. Earlier this week, Governor Brian Kemp allowed some businesses to open. That was despite the state's stay-at-home order.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The first round of openings, gyms, hair and nail salons, barbershops, massage and tattoo studios and as staff return to work, their cautioned to wear masks and gloves and maintain social distance, but for some businesses, that's just really not possible. Joining us now is Shaun Beaudry. He is a tattoo artist at Anonymous Tattoos in Savannah, Georgia. Shaun, good morning to you.

SHAUN BEAUDRY, TATTOO ARTIST, ANONYMOUS TATTOOS: Good morning. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So you've decided not to reopen yet. Tell me why.

BEAUDRY: We feel it just may be a little too soon at the moment. We kind of want to give it a little bit more time and kind of see that slow kind of continue to fall.

PAUL: So what has to happen for you to feel comfortable to open the doors again, do you think?

BEAUDRY: Well, in our county, we don't have that many confirmed cases, but we would still like to see a continuing downward kind of trend. And yes, the least -- the less cases in our area, the better for sure and we're just thinking it's a little too early at the moment.

BLACKWELL: So I understand that when you heard the governor read off tattoo studios, you were surprised that tattoo parlors were in the first wave of reopenings. Tell me why.

BEAUDRY: I think everyone is because, you know, we're hearing that whole six-feet social distancing thing and it is really hard to obviously be six feet away and tattoo somebody.

PAUL: So how do you make that determination? I mean, does the placement of the tattoo on the body make a difference to you in terms of once you reopen and what you will allow yourself to do in your business?

BEAUDRY: Yes. Yes. For sure. The placement, obviously if you tattoo you somebody's neck, your face and their face are probably about this close away from each other. If you tattoo somebody's ankle, somebody's foot, you could actually maintain maybe a six foot distance from the person's face which I think a lot of the -- how the virus can spread the most easily. So there are things we can do that make it a little safer, but it's still obviously a little tricky to maintain social distancing while tattooing.

BLACKWELL: I'm looking on our screen at a clover and what appears to be the actual COVID-19 virus image we've seen. Tell us what this.

BEAUDRY: It was a -- my coworker, Ricky McGee, ended up tattooing that on a client on St. Patrick's Day and that was actually his last walk- in tattoo that he did and it was -- I think it's from a gentleman from Ohio. St. Patrick's Day is really popular in Savannah and even though they cancelled the parade, a lot of people still came in and that was kind of a last day for us to -- once we -- once we saw how many people there were, we were -- we were very much out of it at that point.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: All righty. Well, Shaun Beaudry, we appreciate you taking time to be with us and we know that you are all very dependent on your businesses reopening as soon as they can.

[06:30:00]

So take good care of yourselves and I'm sure you've heard from customers, but we're grateful that you took some time to talk to us today.

BEAUDRY: Yes, thank you very much. PAUL: Of course. So, Americans began hoarding millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine after President Trump touted the drug as a possible treatment for COVID-19. The FDA though is warning people now not to take the drug to treat the virus. The impact on patients who actually need the drug is what is the focus right now. We'll talk about it.

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[06:35:00]

PAUL: Well, the Food and Drug Administration is warning doctors now not use the drug hydroxychloroquine outside clinical trials. Early start -- early results they say of this large study suggested the drug may not be the game changer President Trump said it could be.

BLACKWELL: Yes, instead, the FDA says the drug is associated with heart trouble in some patients. CNN's Marshall Cohen looks at the impact of the president's words on lupus patients who need the drug for its proven benefits.

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MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: President Donald Trump once said there was nothing to lose by touting hydroxychloroquine as a potential cure for the coronavirus. But some of the millions of Americans with chronic diseases like lupus say there's actually a lot on the line. And there are shortages now for the drugs that they've been taking for years. One woman told CNN that she needed to lower her dosage while she waited for a refill to arrive from the United Kingdom.

And another woman I spoke to, Anna Valdez said that she had to tearfully accept pills from one of her nursing students whose parents had hoarded the drug because they thought it might protect them against coronavirus. Take a listen.

ANNA VALDEZ, NURSE INSTRUCTOR AND LUPUS PATIENT: When I opened that e- mail, I immediately started crying, and it was really crying from gratitude. I knew that I was not going to have to go without my medication, and I was also very proud and of my student nurse for recognizing a need and trying to meet it and support me. It made me proud to be a nurse and a teacher.

COHEN: These Americans feel like they've been left in the lurch and that President Trump has already moved on. According to a CNN analysis, he name-dropped hydroxychloroquine nearly 50 times since March, saying that he'd rather take a risk on the unproven drugs if it could save American lives.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's great for malaria, for lupus, for other things. And we'll see what it is, but I guess that we'll have many studies going on then, so we'll be able to learn.

COHEN: This week, new studies in France, Brazil and here in the U.S. indicate that the drugs may not be effective to treat coronavirus. It might even have deadly cardiac complications. Nonetheless, a black market has emerged, and according to our reporting, sellers on the dark web are peddling the pills for as much as $43 a pop, way more than they typical rate if you get a prescription from your doctor, it's usually about $1.

So, the bottom line is this, the real life fallout of President Trump's rhetoric is still being dealt with by some of the most vulnerable Americans. Marshall Cohen, CNN, Washington.

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BLACKWELL: Thank you, Marshall. Look at this, this is San Diego. Yesterday, more than two dozen pilots flew over local hospitals, this was to show their appreciation for medical workers. And some planes that carried banners, thank you, you see there, some made some smoke patterns in the sky, others performed stunts for the crowds on the ground. According to CNN affiliate "KGTV", the show was organized by a pilot whose wife works at one of those hospitals.

PAUL: Well, a second U.S. Navy war ship has been hit now with a major outbreak of coronavirus. What the Pentagon is doing this morning to stop the spread.

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[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Eighteen minutes to the top of the hour. Thanks for being with us this Saturday. A second U.S. Navy war ship has been hit with an outbreak of coronavirus.

PAUL: Yes, there are at least 18 people now on board the USS Kidd that have been infected. The first sailor who tested positive was medevaced off the ship after displaying symptoms. We know that he's receiving treatment now in San Antonio.

BLACKWELL: So, it was an eight-member Navy medical team now conducting contact-tracing and isolating sailors who -- they have been exposed.

PAUL: But that outbreak comes as there are more cases as well aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, at least 840 sailors had tested positive now, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the U.S. Navy is recommending that the former captain of that ship be reinstated. He'd been fired after warning about the spread of the virus aboard the aircraft carrier. And CNN's Barbara Starr has more from the Pentagon.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The chief of Naval operations four star Admiral Michael Gilday has recommended that Captain Brett Crozier get his command back and once again be in charge of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. Crozier was dismissed by the now fired former acting Navy Secretary after he got upset about Crozier's complaints and worries that sailors aboard the Roosevelt were not being properly cared for in the wake of the coronavirus breaking out on the ship.

Now after an investigation of several days, the Navy is recommending that Crozier be reinstated to his command. But it isn't going all that smoothly because that recommendation went to Defense Secretary Mark Esper who declined to accept it right away. A Pentagon statement says in part that Esper intends to thoroughly review the report and will meet again with Navy leadership to discuss next steps.

He remains focused on and committed to restoring the full health of the crew and getting the ship at sea again soon. So, Esper wants to read the full investigation before he accepts the recommendation of his own Navy leadership. There are now more than 850 sailors on the Roosevelt crew who have tested positive for the virus as the carrier remains tied up in port in Guam. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

[06:45:00]

BLACKWELL: Barbara, thank you. With such heavy news day after day, we will take whatever good news we can find at this time, and there's some positive news for mother nature, Christi.

PAUL: Yes, less pollution in the air, wildlife gaining back some lost territory -- let's say, look at this, millions of us are staying indoors, and that seems to be having an impact on the great outdoors. CNN's Allison Chinchar has some really good pictures here to show us. Good morning, Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: And good morning to you both. Yes, I think one of the biggest things, maybe perhaps the most widespread benefit that we're seeing across not only the United States, but across the world is pollution levels are starting to come back down. Now, again, it's all because we're not out as much, we're staying at home.

But take a look at some of these images, OK. The image that you're seeing on the left-hand side is this same time back last year. The image on the right is from this year. You can see those clusters of red especially around cities like New York, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, Cleveland, even Detroit shrinking. And again, it's because people aren't in their cars as much.

We don't have as many airlines out there as we used to. But it's not just the eastern half of the country. Take a look at California. You notice, again, that area shrinking around Los Angeles, San Diego, same thing. It's all because people aren't really out. And here's the visual way of seeing that. This, again, the image on the left is what Los Angeles skyline usually looks like when you've got that smog there on the right.

This was taken just about a week ago, much clearer skies and cleaner skies because you don't have quite as much pollution. And again, less pollution is because of less cars on the road, and you can see that here, that image up top just a couple of months ago, the image on the bottom taken about a week ago. So, again, fewer cars means little -- less pollution. Now, here's the thing.

It's not just fewer cars, it's also fewer boats, and with fewer boats, it's not churning up all of that sediment on the bottom of some of the canals, take for example around Venice and other cities in Italy. Which means the water is clearer because it's not churning that stuff out. Which means you can now see things that you wouldn't normally see.

Take for example this jellyfish in Venice. But it's not just those types of animals. Other animals that maybe would normally be outside, they're transitioning to places they wouldn't normally be. This is some deer from Yosemite National Park. The road that they are walking by would normally be heavily-traveled by a lot of tourists, even the rangers that go through.

This bear, this is a tree that is right next to a ranger station. Under normal circumstances, this bear probably wouldn't get that close. But there just aren't that many people there. So, these animals are kind of expanding where they would normally go. This taken from zoo Miami. This goat kind of checking out some of his neighbors, Victor and Christi, again, all because humans are no longer in a lot of these places, so the animals are given a chance to maybe roam some places they wouldn't normally have the option to do so.

BLACKWELL: Yes, these pictures have been all over social media. We saw like a flock of sheep heading up to a McDonald's randomly --

PAUL: Yes --

BLACKWELL: At some place. But you know, the thing is that we would have to be in this footing, in this environment for a very long time I imagine to have any real impact on climate change, not just a couple of weeks to a few months. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much for being with us.

All right, programming note, CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir has been criss-crossing the country documenting how the global climate crisis is transforming life as you know it here in the U.S. Watch his 90-minute special report, "The Road to Change America's Climate Crisis", it's tonight 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Right, looking ahead a little later this morning, cookie monster, Elmo, Big Bird and all the friends will be right here on CNN. Christi, this is a fantastic idea I think.

PAUL: Oh, my gosh, yes, because so many parents are struggling to know how to talk to our kids, and hopefully this very special coronavirus town hall is going to help. Medical experts are with "Sesame Street" gang, they're going to answer questions that were submitted by families like you, it's at 9:00 a.m. right here on CNN this morning. Good Saturday morning entertainment for the whole family there and good knowledge as well --

BLACKWELL: Absolutely --

PAUL: Yes --

BLACKWELL: You certainly need the information.

PAUL: We do. So, we want to know how you and your kids are adjusting to all of this. Maybe it's no big deal for you or maybe your kids are really having a hard time with virtual learning. Are they snacking all day? What is life like in this climate for you? Share your stories and your pictures with us. We want to see you @VictorBlackwell and @Christi_Paul on Twitter. We're also on Instagram, but we'd love to hear from you.

BLACKWELL: When we come back, how Britain's Oxford University is starting human clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine and when they hope that will be ready.

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BLACKWELL: Britain's Oxford University is starting human clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine. The hope is to make it available this Fall. And just to give an idea of how quickly researchers are working under normal circumstances, it can take between a year and 18 months to develop a vaccine. CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard is with us now. Jacqueline, good morning to you, and tell us about these trials and how it's working.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Good morning Victor, and like you said, this is on an accelerated process. So how these trials work, the goal is to get about 1,100 participants in the trial, and then researchers are going to split them into two groups. One group receives the vaccine, one group doesn't, it's a controlled group.

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And then they're going to analyze the differences between those groups to really determine the safety and efficacy. Now, like you said, this is an accelerated timeline, so while the goal is to have the vaccine ready by September, the timeline really depends on the trial results. And a matter of fact, Professor Adrian Hill, he's one of the researchers working on this at Oxford, he had this to say to our colleague Erin Burnett last night. We should have a clip here.

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ADRIAN HILL, LEAD RESEARCHER, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: Even finishing the trial by July would be pretty good going. Nobody knows when we'll finish because it depends on the incidents of cases in the study, and there will be a safety monitoring board looking regularly at those numbers, and they have the power to stop the trial and declare it over depending on well, the vaccine works which would be a great result of course.

But it could also stop it for what's called futility because there's no real difference emerging between the vaccinated and those.

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HOWARD: So, like you see, he said the timeline really depends on this trial. But there's a lot of, you know, hope that, of course, we want this trial to turn out in a good way. PAUL: Yes, and Jacqueline, the virus, I know, has really evolved in

some pretty alarming ways. I mean, it started out in the medical community saying that it was primarily a lung and respiratory issue, then they started talking about how it was affecting the heart and other organs. And now, we're hearing the virus can cause sudden strokes in young adults. What do we know about that?

HOWARD: That's right, so we're seeing reports of sudden strokes among young adults in their 30s and 40s who otherwise would have mild or no symptoms at all. The reason why we think this might be linked to how the virus has been associated with unusual blood clotting in the body, and then that can lead to the rest of stroke.

But as we learn more about this virus, we could see even more of this unusual or a typical symptoms coming up.

PAUL: All right, Jacqueline Howard, we appreciate the update so much, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Jacqueline.

PAUL: And we've been asking you, you know, how has your life changed in this world of coronavirus and quarantine? This is how our work life is different. Now, here we were meeting online, that's our Friday work meeting now. How virtually -- it's not the same. But we have to do what we have to do and we get that.

BLACKWELL: Yes, so, I see Khloe (ph) and I see -- it's like "romper room", and I see Mark Hiss (ph) and I see Kacie (ph) --

PAUL: Teach me something --

BLACKWELL: So, yes, this was the first time actually, we usually do it by phone, but this is our first video meeting now. And you know, we're all working like this, finding a new way to get our jobs done.

PAUL: And being away from work and school, I know that's left a lot of you some time to reconnect --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

PAUL: With one another, and we want to ask you how you're resetting. I call it hashtag, the reset. How we're resetting our lives in the wake of this. I want to read something from Rachel Mirabella Boyd here. She says "as life's paces slowed to almost a complete stop, I'm really getting to know my daughters.

We're around each other all day, every day, and it really is a wonder to know them and love them since there's quite literally nothing else to do, we're bonding strongly together with my husband too when he is not working at the hospital, and thank you to him for his work."

BLACKWELL: And this is from Tiffany Weems: "realizing everything I've been taken for granted. Aren't we all here looking around and appreciating how beautiful my home and space is, falling more in love with my new husband as we navigate these slow days together and try to keep my 10-year-old son constantly busy."

PAUL: We so love to hear your stories. And I think we all can relate to them and we can see something new in what you write. So, do send us a tweet or get on Instagram there and let us know how you're doing together. How are your kids adjusting to the new normal. We know that some are doing better than others certainly. So, share your stories with us and your pictures as well @VictorBlackwell and @Christi_Paul, that's on Twitter, we're also on Instagram.

And as we said, we really love to hear what you're going through, hopefully, we can get answers for you if you need them, but you really opened our eyes to some of the ways that people are handling this.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Still ahead this morning, healthcare workers on the frontlines, we're talking with a nurse practitioner from Atlanta who is in New York City right now working with coronavirus patients.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the next hour of your NEW DAY starts right now.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the U.S. death toll crosses 50,000 lives lost, some businesses re-open to a new world.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): We'll get Georgians back to work safely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are trying to keep our business alive and keep my staff able to survive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are our gloves. We'll probably run out by the end of next week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of my managers has three little girls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all have to know what we're going home to at the end of the night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are so much confusion, people are asking, is it safe? You know, I don't know what to do.