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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Tulsa Rally On Track Despite Surging Coronavirus Case Numbers; Covid-19 Case Numbers Now Growing In 23 States; Beijing Reports 25 New Coronavirus Cases Amid New Lockdown. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 19, 2020 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: You'll be safe at home. Do not go.

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The latest now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Laura.

President Trump eager to get back out on the campaign trail and bring back the sense of normalcy around the country. The president denying reality though, which is that in at least 23 states we are seeing increases in coronavirus cases from last week to this week. And that includes the state of Oklahoma where the president is set to have this reelection rally on Saturday.

The president, on Thursday, praising the governor of Oklahoma who was actually at the White House -- praising him for how his state has been reopening despite the fact that, again, they are one of those 23 states seeing case counts rising. And they're also rising in the city of Tulsa where the president is having this rally on Saturday.

Now, ahead of this, we know that the Trump campaign has said that they will be handing out masks, they'll be doing temperature checks, but they have not said that they will require those masks. That is something that they have resisted doing so far.

Now what we are hearing is that the Bank of Oklahoma Center has actually put out a statement asking the Trump campaign to provide a written plan. Let me read you the statement from this Bank of Oklahoma Center where the president's going to have this rally.

"Given the Tulsa Health Department's recent reports of increases in coronavirus cases and the state of Oklahoma's encouragement for event organizers to follow CDC guidelines, we have requested that the Trump campaign, as the event organizer, provide BOK Center with a written plan detailing the steps the event will institute for health and safety, including those related to social distancing."

Now, one thing that we do know, social distancing is not in the cards for this rally on Saturday. The president has said and made very clear that he wants this arena, which can seat more than 19,000 people, to be jam-packed. And the campaign is already preparing to have additional rallygoers in an overflow area outside of this rally center.

So they're certainly plugging forward. We'll see whether or not they respond to this request from this arena -- Christine, Laura.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for that report.

Twenty-three states are now seeing a growth in new coronavirus cases this morning. Here are the five, as you can see there on the map, with the single -- the biggest single-day increases. California just reported more than 4,200 new cases; Texas, more than 3,500; and 3,200 new cases in Florida. More than three-quarters of intensive care beds in Florida are now full.

Meanwhile, New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo is thinking about quarantining people coming into the state from Florida.

CNN's Erica Hill is in New York. She has the latest on the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, good morning.

Here in New York City, the word from Mayor Bill de Blasio is phase two comes your way on Monday. And that also means outdoor dining for a number of restaurants in the city. They can apply to use some of that outdoor space they wouldn't normally use -- sidewalks, curb lanes, even additional patio space -- to allow for more diners in those restaurants.

Meantime, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announcing an executive order that businesses who violate the rules and the regulations for reopening could lose their liquor license.

He was also asked specifically about travelers from Florida and whether he's concerned given the spike in cases in that state. He said it's been recommended to him that he might want to consider a 14-day quarantine on travelers from Florida into New York, and he said he's considering it.

As I mentioned, in Florida, record-high numbers on Thursday, more than 3,200 new cases reported. A record-high day for new cases being reported in Arizona as well on Thursday. Those are certainly two of the states that officials are focused on.

And in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announcing that face coverings will be required statewide. This can actually supersede any local orders. Of course, you need to be maintaining that social distancing. If you're not really close to somebody you can take that face covering off. But the governor saying he was putting this mandate into place because he didn't want to lose any of the progress that's been made there.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Erica, thank you.

A top State Department official is stepping down over President Trump's response to nationwide protests against racial injustice. "The Washington Post" reports Mary Elizabeth Taylor, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs, says in her resignation letter that the president's, quote, "comments and actions cut sharply against my core values and convictions."

A spokesperson tells CNN the State Department does not comment on, quote, "personnel matters."

ROMANS: All right.

Facebook says it has removed ads run by President Trump's reelection campaign for violating its policies on hate. Now, the ad attacked what the campaign called dangerous mobs of far-left groups and featured an upside-down triangle. The Anti-Defamation League said Thursday the triangle is practically identical to that used by the Nazi regime to classify political prisoners in concentration camps.

The Trump campaign claimed the red triangle was a symbol widely used by Antifa. The ADL said some Antifa activists have used the symbol, but not widely.

[05:35:00]

Facebook removing the ad could escalate tensions between the White House and Silicon Valley. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized last month for not taking action on Trump's post that said looting leads to shooting as protests grew across the country. Twitter flagged that same post on its platform as glorifying violence.

JARRETT: All right. Still ahead, vacation hotspots are cautiously inviting tourists back after reopening. We go to Venice, next.

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[05:40:01]

JARRETT: Welcome back.

China just reported 28 new locally-transmitted cases of coronavirus, 25 of those in Beijing, just back on lockdown after a new outbreak that began at a major food market.

CNN's Anna Coren is live in Hong Kong with the latest on this. Anna, what more can you tell us?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Laura, authorities are saying that they have this outbreak under control. This is despite the fact that for days now we've been talking about the cases increasing in number. As you say, 25 new cases for Beijing, taking the total number in the capital city to 183 in the past week.

Now, these are all stemming from the Xinfadi wholesale food market, which provides 80 percent of Beijing's fresh food, vegetables, meat, and seafood. And we heard from China's CDC saying that most of the patients were from these meat and seafood stores. And the reason for that, they believe, is the favorable conditions -- its low temperature, high humidity. It allows for coronavirus to survive.

So this is what they are seeing in Beijing. They are working extremely hard to try and contain the outbreak. Obviously, the city is now in lockdown -- a city of 21 million people. Schools are shut.

And it is one of those things where you -- it's virtually impossible now to get out of Beijing. You have to test negative for coronavirus.

Three hundred fifty-six thousand people to date have been tested for the virus, Laura. Obviously, authorities working very hard to contain it so there isn't a second wave throughout China.

JARRETT: Yes, of course, that's the goal. All right, Anna, good to see you.

ROMANS: The World Health Organization says Latin America is the new epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic. Covid cases are rising sharply there and affecting government leaders.

We get more from CNN's Matt Rivers in Mexico City.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, there continues to be more and more bad news out of Latin America in regards to this virus.

Let's start in Brazil where, on Thursday, health officials reported roughly 22,000 newly-confirmed cases of the coronavirus. That brings the overall total there to about 978,000, which means that Brazil could pass the one million total case mark as soon as today, if not tomorrow. We're also expecting Brazil to surpass 50,000 deaths as a result of this outbreak in the coming days.

We also know that government leaders throughout this region have been severely impacted by this outbreak.

Start in Honduras where, on Tuesday evening, the president of that country announced that both he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus. President Hernandez saying that he has mild symptoms and continues to fulfill his duties while in isolation.

We also know the president of Argentina has announced that he has entered voluntary isolation after coming in contact with someone who had been exposed to this virus.

And finally, here in Mexico, yet another single-day record increase in newly-confirmed cases announced by the government on Thursday evening, with more than 5,600 additional cases reported. This comes as Mexico's government is moving forward with plans to reopen parts of its economy -- Christine, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right, Matt. Thanks so much for that.

Well, before coronavirus, Venice, Italy was overwhelmed with 30 million tourists in 2019. The city's economy is highly dependent on tourism. Now, after weeks of lockdown, European visitors are starting to trickle back.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in Venice. And, Ben, obviously, this would be the start of a very busy season but I've got to imagine it's going to look a little different this year.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely, it does look different this year. We were here a couple of years ago and it was crammed with tourists at this time of year. Now, however, there is a -- there is a handful of European tourists who began to travel here starting on the 15th of June. Also, many Italians are coming, as well as the people of Venice, who can sort of finally enjoy their city without these hordes of tourists.

Now, Venice, before, really suffered from an excess of tourists and they are hoping here that residents and the government officials that going forward, they will be able to reduce the overall number of tourists and encourage those who are coming here to stay longer. And to try to discourage, for instance, these massive cruise ships that before coronavirus would come in here and cause the huge waves in the -- in the lagoon, causing problems and just basically overwhelming the city.

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So basically, Venice is going through a soft opening. Some restaurants, for instance, are only open on the weekend. Some hotels are still closed, waiting for more people to arrive.

But it definitely is a time when if you can make it here -- and unfortunately, Americans cannot come to Venice at this point -- come to Italy or Europe, in fact -- it definitely is a good time to be here -- Laura, Christine.

JARRETT: You can certainly understand -- you can understand why Europeans want to get back there. It looks like a gorgeous day, at least where you are.

All right, thanks so much, Ben.

ROMANS: Hard to imagine Venice without hordes of tourists, right? I mean, just unbelievable. All right, is your Internet browser spying on you? A troubling new

report ahead.

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[05:51:00]

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this Friday morning.

Taking a look at markets around the world right now, a positive end to the week. You can see Asian shares have closed higher and Europe has opened more than one percent higher as well.

On Wall Street, futures are feeling the same mood. Dow futures up about 200 and some points right now.

Momentum on Wall Street, though, appears to be fading. The rising number of coronavirus cases in some states is weighing on investors, and unemployment claims show a rebound of the labor market could be slower than hoped.

The Dow closed down about 40 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq managed small gains.

Google Chrome users may have been affected by a spying campaign. A report from cybersecurity firm Awake Security found at least 111 malicious or fake Chrome extensions capable of taking screenshots, stealing login information, and capturing users' passwords as they type them. The report added the campaign affected a wide range of sectors, including financial services, health care, and government organizations.

Extensions allow users to add features to their browsers but the report highlights the potential for fraudulent extensions to compromise a variety of platforms and systems.

Awake linked the extensions to GalComm, an Israeli web hosting company. In a statement to Reuters, the company's owner denied wrongdoing.

Google says all the extensions flagged have now been removed.

AMC Theaters plans to reopen its more than 600 U.S. theaters next month with new health and safety measures. The chain says it will start a multi-phase reopening July 15th. It will implement a program it calls "AMC Safe & Clean." They'll have multiple measures, including requiring every employee to wear a mask, initially capping showtimes at 30 percent seating capacity, and disinfecting the seats nightly.

Meanwhile, some stores are relaxing coronavirus safety policies. Costco says it's bringing back free food samples, Target is now accepting returns on all merchandise, and Kroger is returning to its pre-pandemic stores hours at some locations.

While retail analysts say stores have strong financial incentives to return to normal, labor advocates and health experts say relaxing these measures could put employees and their customers at risk.

JARRETT: Well, as people across the country today honor Juneteenth, a bipartisan group of lawmakers are proposing to make it a national holiday. Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris and Republican Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday they're working on legislation to present to Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): Together, with my colleagues, Cory Booker, and Tina Smith, and Ed Markey, we are -- we are proposing that Juneteenth be a national holiday.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): It's an opportunity to reflect on our history, the mistakes we have made, but yet how far we've come in the fight for equality. And a reminder of just how far we still have to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: The date is currently recognized by 47 states and Washington, D.C. either as a state or a ceremonial holiday. A growing number of schools have also now declared it a holiday, closing for a day of listening, learning, and reflection.

And so it's worth noting why the day is important in the first place. As many people learned in school, the Emancipation Proclamation officially ended slavery in 1863, but it actually took two more years for Robert E. Lee to surrender in Virginia and for word to reach enslaved blacks in Texas, giving newly-freed black women and men a new date to rally around and to celebrate.

ROMANS: Yes, it's so amazing. I didn't learn about this in school when I was growing up, you know? And I feel like in some cases a lot of people were Googling and Wikipediaing this week -- white people trying to learn more about it because it's not something you learned -- you learned in school, like Columbus Day, for example.

So I think it's really interesting. It shows kind of two Americas, doesn't it?

JARRETT: It sure does. If you don't know, do the reading.

ROMANS: Yes.

Thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

[05:59:22]

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HILL: Record single-day highs for new cases -- more than 3,200 reported in Florida.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Florida imposed the quarantine on New Yorkers. Now we're afraid they're bringing the virus to our state.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not really so much a second wave, it's we've never finished the first wave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both responding officers charged in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks have surrendered. Officer Devin Brosnan has since been released on a signature bond.

DON SAMUEL, ATTORNEY FOR DEVIN BROSNAN: He's disappointed in the system, to be honest with you.

PAUL HOWARD, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: This is nothing new. We charged it based upon the facts.

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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Friday, June 19th -- Juneteenth -- a day marking the end of slavery.

END