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New Day

Shanghai Disneyland Reopens; Fourth Stimulus Package Talk; Reports on Coronavirus Across the Country; Plan for Rationing Remdesivir; MLB Antibody Study. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 11, 2020 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Shanghai easing restrictions. In some places you don't even need to wear a mask. Here in Disneyland, they're still requiring that when you're down on the street with the public. But we were able to get rare access into how they were able to get to this point. And perhaps it's going to be a model for how parks in the U.S. and in Europe eventually open.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER: Welcome in to Shanghai Disneyland, where we are getting a sneak peak of what the new operations are going to look like for this park and reopening three and a half months after they had to shut down because of the novel coronavirus outbreak here in China.

Now, normally, when you're in the park, as they reopen, you're going to have to wear a mask. We're able to take ours off because the crowd isn't in just yet. But as you can see, the preparations are underway. They've used this time to rethink how they're going to have people coming in safely, keeping that social distance, and avoiding any sort of contact, not only with each other, but also with cast members. So, it's going to have things looking a little bit differently.

I'm going to take you outside the park to show you how we got in, with senior vice president of operations, Andrew Bolstein.

ANDREW BOLSTEIN, SVP OF OPERATIONS, SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT: We asked our guests to do a few things now differently than before. One is we ask every one of our guests to have temperature screening as they arrive here at the resort. We also ask them to show their QR code, which is a Shanghai specific health code.

We put a little more structure, detailing and markers in place. So these are very clear. Don't stand here.

CULVER: Yes.

BOLSTEIN: And then you stand in the blank space in between.

As always, we require government I.D. to redeem your tickets at the entrance, but we're also going to be capturing government I.D. information for every guest that comes into the park, not just one per party, as part of the traceability measures that we have in place now per the government guidelines.

CULVER: Give us an idea, I mean, as we're walking through, what folks will notice that's different. I mean one thing that stands out to me is constant sanitation.

BOLSTEIN: Yes. So we have a very dedicated team of custodial cleaners that we've even increased the numbers of those throughout the park that are constantly wiping down all the surfaces.

CULVER: And noticing that parade goes by. Obviously a distance, but you can still see the characters.

BOLSTEIN: Yes. Yes.

CULVER: Not the big hug and high fives, right?

BOLSTEIN: Exactly. More a -- more of a selfie moment and take the photos.

CULVER: Yes.

BOLSTEIN: But, again, it gives the guests that ability to have an emotional moment and that connection.

CULVER: As you're walking along the line here, you'll notice places you can stop and the places you need to keep a distance. And then, eventually, you make it to the attraction.

Notice this. I want to point this out. As I go into number one, normally you have number two to go into. They've got it roped off.

Stepping off the ride, the new normal. And they've got several more along the way out.

BOLSTEIN: As for the guests understanding, for your health and safety, the table is unavailable. So basically we're asking the guests not to sit here, sit there. And, again, it creates kind of that separation between all the different parties.

CULVER: Safe spacing, even for the performances. This is one of the stages. Look here in the crowd. Pick a box. That's where you and your family unit will stand, keeping that distance.

BOLSTEIN: We'll be able to strike that right balance between that safety and health and confidence side and then the magic that we're able to deliver every day.

CULVER: Do you feel, in many ways, that not only other parts of the company are look here and other parks hopefully, you know, going to be reopening. But maybe even other companies saying, we'll see how they're doing it, maybe this could help us reopen too?

BOLSTEIN: Sure. Everywhere's a little bit different, though. There's different regulations. There's different environments. People are at different phases of the epidemic. But I think what we have can be a model, hopefully some inspiration for them, and they'll adapt it for what their local conditions are. The same thing with the other operators around the world. We communicate and we share. In this type of environment, where we want to focus on safety and health, that's -- that's an area we all share together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER: And now that it is officially reopened, Alisyn, we spent some time down there chatting with a few folks earlier and they seemed to be just fine with these new measures. In fact, it kind of comforts them and the staff.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: David, really interesting to see if those new measures will work and if the public feels comfortable going to a big theme park like that. So thank you very much for that sort of backstage pass.

Meanwhile, back here, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the unemployment rate in the U.S. could go as high as 25 percent. So will Americans see more financial relief or not?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:43]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN MNUCHIN, TREASURY SECRETARY: We just want to make sure that before we jump back in and spend another few trillion of taxpayers' money that we do it carefully.

KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: And I think that it's just premature given that the $9 trillion of aid that passed in the last three phases, given that that is still out there, and there's still a bunch of it that's going to be delivered over the next month.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You hear it right there, new questions this morning about when or maybe even if more federal relief is on the way. Trump administration officials insist they do not believe a fourth stimulus package is needed right now. House Democrats say they want it and they're moving toward passing another stimulus bill as early as this week.

CNN chief business correspondent and anchor of "EARLY START," back on the air, Christine Romans joins me now.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

BERMAN: Romans, it was crystal clear that the White House doesn't want more aid, more relief, at least not now.

ROMANS: And there's so much money that's gone out the door, they want to see what worked, what is working and kind of, you know, figure out what -- what is the best way to go forward if you're going to need more aid here.

But this is as governors, John, are begging, almost begging that there has to be state and local relief in the next package and that there must be another package.

You know, and economists have all penciled in, when they talk about what the recovery looks like, they have all penciled in at least a fourth leg of stimulus here with aid to state and local governments.

[06:40:04]

Some economists are saying they expect more stimulus checks for Americans and maybe an extension of unemployment benefits beyond the four months of this -- of this super $600 extra unemployment benefits people are getting.

BERMAN: I was struck by the deficit terror that has begun to creep in, at least in some quarters apparently inside the White House. "The Washington Post" even reporting this morning that they're looking at some ideas with entitlements, maybe buying out people's Social Security.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Looking at it. I'm not saying they're accepting it, but these are ideas being kicked around.

ROMANS: And, look, there are people close to the president who, when Barack Obama and Congress were spending all kinds of money in the last big crisis, they were very vocal about deficit spending and how they didn't want to spend too much money in last financial crisis. And here -- I mean, look, the small business bailout so far, John, is already bigger than the bank portion bailout of the -- of TARP, with much less transparency I will point out.

So, look, there are probably -- probably plenty of hand wringing about deficits in the White House, but not among the president. The president doesn't seem to be worried about debt and deficits. And he has kept to his promise in not touching Medicare and Social Security.

BERMAN: So far. So far.

ROMANS: So far.

BERMAN: Although Jared Kushner apparently is involved in at least thinking about some of these things, or looking at them according to "The Washington Post."

Christine Romans, the pandemic and job losses and the suffering. How equally is it dispersed right now?

ROMANS: I was really struck by some of these numbers that I saw on Friday. I mean you saw African-American unemployment go from a record low to not a record high but up very sharply. I mean almost 17 percent. You saw Hispanic unemployment jump to almost 19 percent, which was a record high.

This was something that really struck me. You look at a college degree. That -- a person with a college degree, that -- that sector, 8.4 percent unemployment rate. But look at less than a high school diploma, 21 percent. There's a real sad shift here, a low wage worker, unemployment crisis happening here. Even in that jobs report you saw wages jump. You and I, every month, we look at the wage component of that. Wages jumped because the low wage workers got washed out, completely washed out of the job market. And that just -- it's just a tragedy because these are the folks who are the most likely to be living paycheck to paycheck and the most reliant on government aid here.

At the same time, you've got Google and some other big companies who are offering paid time off for their workers to deal with their family issues and school, telling them they're going to stay home until at least the end of the year. They don't want them coming back into the office. So it's a real -- a real bifurcation of the job market.

BERMAN: All right, Christine Romans, great to have you on with us this morning. Great to see "EARLY START" on as well.

ROMANS: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Thanks so much for being with us.

So, this morning, the world just got a little less funny. We learned just a short time ago that actor and comedian Jerry Stiller has died. A look back at his most iconic roles, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:57]

CAMEROTA: Sad news in the entertainment world this morning. Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller has died. His son, Ben Stiller, announced his death on Twitter, calling his father, quote, a great dad and grandfather and the most dedicated husband to Ann for about 62 years.

Jerry Stiller was best known for his roles on "King of Queens" and, of course, "Seinfeld."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY STILLER, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: Many Christmases ago I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had. But so did another man. As I reign blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.

MICHAEL RICHARDS, ACTOR: What happened to the doll?

STILLER: It was destroyed. But out of that, a new holiday was born! A festivus for the rest of us!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: He was so good in that role.

Jerry Stiller died of natural causes. He was 92 years old.

Now, back to our top story.

Nearly 80,000 Americans have died from coronavirus and a new outbreak in California is being linked to just one birthday party.

We have reporters in various states to bring us developments from across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN REPORTER: I'm Paul Vercammen in southern California with an astonishing story of a spread of Covid-19 in a birthday party. According to Pasadena City officials, a woman at a party, attended by friends and family, not wearing a mask. She starts coughing. She jokes, I may have Covid-19. She did. No one else at the party was wearing a mask. City officials now say that at least four other Pasadena residents have Covid-19. They believe outside the city of Pasadena, another five people showing symptoms may also have Covid- 19. They're simply calling this woman selfish.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I'm Sarah Westwood in Washington.

President Trump announced on Saturday that this week the Department of Agriculture would start buying $3 billion worth of dairy, meat and produce for food banks. This initiative is something the department had previously unveiled as part of its broader aid package for farmers and it will involve the department partnering with private distributors to package this food into boxes and distribute those to food banks, which have faced growing pressure, supply issues and even huge lines of people lining up for food with demand increasing dramatically with so many Americans out of work. It also comes as farmers struggle to manage their excess crops and livestock because schools and restaurants are closed and many processing plants still remain off line.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Natasha Chen in Bristol, Tennessee. But actually now I'm Natasha Chen in Bristol, Virginia, across the state line, where there is a very different set of rules. On that side of the street, the governor of Tennessee has allowed restaurants to accept customers dining inside. But on this side of the street in Virginia, phase one of reopening may not start until Friday when restaurants can do outdoor dining.

[06:50:01]

This has created some confusion and frustration for one community split across two states and now experiencing two different economies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to all of our reporters. Developing this morning, the federal government announcing a plan for

rationing Remdesivir, the only drug so far that has shown some promise as a treatment for severe coronavirus patients. A shortage of the drug is now putting hospitals in a tough position.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Remdesivir, the only drug that's been shown in a large, rigorous study to fight Covid-19. Given limited supplies, the federal government has been dolling it out, some hospitals getting less than they need, others getting none.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): New York state is working with HHS, Health and Human Services, on the federal side administering to 2,900 people at 15 hospitals.

COHEN: The federal government has given New York enough Remdesivir for 2,900 patients, but there are about 7,262 coronavirus patients in New York hospitals. That same situation playing out around the country. This vial from the first shipment of Remdesivir received last week by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where Dr. Rochelle Walensky is chief of infectious diseases.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: We know that the doses of this drug that we are going to get are not going to be enough to treat every patient that we have in the hospital now.

COHEN: So, they've had to make decisions about who gets Remdesivir and who doesn't.

WALENSKY: This was hard.

COHEN: At Mass General they have about 200 patients with the virus. And they have enough Remdesivir for only 65 patients. And more patients are being admitted every day and doctors don't know when they'll get more of the drug.

Mass General's decision, a hospital committee, not the patient's doctor, decides who gets it.

WALENSKY: This is not how we like to practice medicine.

COHEN: But, she says, it's the most equitable way to do it.

WALENSKY: It's nearly an impossible situation to be in medicine when you think that there's something you could and should be doing for somebody and you don't have it to give.

COHEN: The federal government has never explained how they decided which hospitals would receive Remdesivir and how much.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This drug is promising and we want to get it to the American people and to the areas that need it most.

COHEN: Saturday, the federal government said, in addition to sending Remdesivir to hospital, they'd also send to some state health departments and intend eventually to send it to all state health departments. But they haven't said how much they'll send to each state or their formula for determining those amounts.

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): This administration, of course, doesn't believe in transparency, but healthcare providers need to know about this.

COHEN: Representative Lloyd Doggett runs the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and has been following the Remdesivir rollout.

DOGGETT: It has been bungled from the very beginning.

COHEN: And now doctors trying to do their best to allocate this scarce resource.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Elizabeth.

So, a major study on coronavirus antibodies just completed in, of all places, Major League Baseball. The results and what it means for a potential season, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:29]

BERMAN: A brand-new study on coronavirus antibodies was just release, and the data set, Major League Baseball and pretty much everyone connected to it. Now, the results will be useful for science, also, though, maybe the possibility of an actual baseball season.

Andy Scholes with much more in the "Bleacher Report."

This is really interesting, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It is interesting stuff, John. Good morning to you.

So, thousands of Major League Baseball players took part in what researchers are calling the largest national antibody study to date. And of the more than 5,700 participants which ranged from players to team employees to even vendors at stadiums, researchers say only 60 of the 5,700 tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies. That comes to a positive test rate of 0.7 percent.

Now, the scientists say the studies had not been peer reviewed and the small number of tests make it difficult to draw conclusions about the extent of the pandemic in large metropolitan areas. They also say these results of the study likely won't have any bearing on when Major League Baseball is going to be able to begin the 2020 regular season.

All right, in the meantime, Patriots owner Robber Kraft is doing his part to help feed front line workers during this pandemic. He told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he's actually auctioning off one of his six Super Bowl rings to try to raise money, John. The auction, it started at $75,000, up to $330,000 this morning. It closes May 21st. My question to you is, how high are you going to go?

BERMAN: Yes, how high am I going to go?

You know, the funny thing is, I think he only has five Super Bowl rings because Vladimir Putin still has one of his rings, which is a true story.

SCHOLES: I remember that.

BERMAN: Some -- go Google Vladimir Putin and Bob Kraft Super Bowl ring. It's a whole other story. But, look, the Patriots have been terrific about fundraising and getting resources to people in need. Just one more way that they are champions.

Andy Scholes, thanks so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: So two months after the pandemic took hold in the U.S., there is a coronavirus outbreak in the White House itself.

NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's daily testing for people who come into contact with the president and the vice president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last thing we need is more people at the White House getting infected. Clearly the more prudent thing to do for him to quarantine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three doctors on the Coronavirus Task Force, all of them are entering some form of self-quarantine for the next 14 days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The key model now predicts 137,000 deaths in the U.S. by August.

[07:00:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're seeing, in some states, a 20 percentage point increase in mobility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really a risk no matter what we do.

END