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California Orders New Closures as Virus Cases Soar; Record Hospitalizations and 28.1% Positivity in Miami-Dade County; Biden Campaign Rolls Out First General Election Ad in Texas. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 14, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are now requiring all counties to close their indoor activities, their indoor operations.

[05:59:53]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do think we're going to need a shutdown. I am proposing two weeks.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: This is a really serious problem. It is truly historic. We haven't even begun to see the end of it yet.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci. I don't always agree with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, if you're trying to get the public to believe a fantasy, then you have to discredit the truth-tellers, and that's what the president is doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is deeply, deeply frustrated. He sees this as a ridiculous side show.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 Tuesday, July 14, 6 a.m. here in New York.

This morning, parts of the United States are beginning to shut down again. After an alarming spike in coronavirus cases, the most populated state in the country, California, deciding to again ban indoor dining. It is closing its movie theaters and all of the bars.

Much of the state also closing down hair salons, gyms, and churches. Three of the nation's largest school districts -- Los Angeles, San Diego, and Atlanta -- announcing that students will not be back in their classrooms this fall, despite threats from President Trump, who said he would withhold money. Here's where we are this morning. Thirty-seven states reporting

increases in new cases. Nearly one in every 100 Americans has now tested positive for coronavirus.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: If they can get a test. This morning, there are new, serious delays in testing around the country, so bad that the president's former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, is calling the testing situation, quote, "simply inexcusable."

The U.S. is also facing shortages of protective equipment. A former Defense Department official tells CNN the administration is months behind, because it failed to act aggressively enough.

And a deeply concerning statistic out of Florida this morning. While the recent surge in cases there has been driven by young people, now they are seeing a rise in older patients.

"The Miami Herald" reports this morning that one of the major hospital systems there has seen a nearly 100 percent increase in the number of patients older than 80 in the last two weeks.

We want to begin our coverage in California, though. CNN's Stephanie Elam live in Los Angeles.

Stephanie, oftentimes, California is on the leading edge of national trends, and if that's the case this morning, the rest of the nation may soon face questions about shutting down again.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, John. And just to give you some perspective here, I talked to an epidemiologist from the University of California at San Francisco, and this is what he said to me.

He said, It's simple. This is how he put it: You have a choice. You could be locked down as the economy goes to hell, or you can wear a mask.

This as California's Governor Gavin Newsom is putting into place some of the most wide-reaching rollbacks of the opening.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): This morning, Los Angeles on high alert and on the verge of a complete shutdown.

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D), LOS ANGELES: We have never had as many people infected or infectious. We have never had as many recorded positive cases each day. And we've never had as many people in the hospital.

ELAM: Los Angeles County reported nearly 2,600 new coronavirus cases Monday, as California added more than 8,300 new infections the same day.

Governor Gavin Newsom taking action, closing indoor businesses like dine-in restaurants, bars, movie theaters, museums, and zoos statewide. NEWSOM: We were able to suppress the spread of this virus. We were

able to knock down the growth of this in the beginning. We're going to do that again.

ELAM: And in 30 of the hardest-hit counties, venues like gyms, places of worship, indoor malls, barbershops and hair salons are no longer open.

KRISTIN BEST, OWNER, DYLAN KEITH SALON: It's the most heart-wrenching, because this is our livelihood, and so many hairdressers, they live paycheck to paycheck.

ELAM: For California's small business owners, closing again will be tough, but many, like Tyler Emery (ph), who owns a gym in Burbank, say it's necessary to follow the rules.

TYLER EMERY (PH), GYM OWNER: We can adapt. We can improvise. We can come together, and ultimately, that's the only option we all have.

ELAM: Newsom's move after Los Angeles and San Diego school districts announced classes will be held online this fall.

Meantime, in Florida, schools are still scheduled to open next month, with the Sunshine State announcing over 12,600 new cases Monday, its second highest daily total.

Governor Ron DeSantis says parents should decide whether their children go back to the classroom.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I'm not going to dictate, you know, how everything goes. A lot of school districts around the state that are going to just go, open up, and that's going to be it, because they haven't faced, you know, a similar epidemic that you've seen in places like Miami-Dade County.

ELAM: In Texas, Houston's mayor proposing a two-week shutdown.

MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D), HOUSTON: I think it's important to reset. We have to slow down this virus. And the only way we can reverse course is that we have to separate, and then we have to continue to put on our masks, engaging in social distancing.

ELAM: And with 37 states seeing new cases rise over the past week, some local leaders fear this is just the beginning of another dangerous spike.

[06:05:05]

MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), ATLANTA: In Georgia, I hate to say it, but it looks like we're going to be even worse than we were in the spring, if this transmission continues at this rate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Now, this news coming out of the Los Angeles and San Diego school districts obviously goes directly against what President Trump wants to see happen with school districts opening back up, with schools actually bringing the children back in onto campus.

He actually said that this was the wrong idea, saying, quote, "You're losing a lot of lives by keeping things closed."

It's not clear what the president meant by that, especially since we know a lot of health officials are saying that there could be more problems, widespread problems, health problems for children and the teachers, if they open up those schools too soon, John.

BERMAN: Yes, very hard to reopen when the cases are rising. That's what's happening in Southern California.

Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.

That's what's happening in Texas. It's what's happening in Florida. It's what's happening in Georgia.

So, in Florida, not only are they seeing a rise in some hospital systems in older patients now, Miami-Dade County is reporting record hospitalizations and a positivity rate of 28 percent.

CNN's Rosa Flores live in Miami this morning with the very latest -- Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you know, the big news here is that it's not getting better. The state of Florida reporting yesterday more than 12,600 cases.

And we're also learning about a new issue that has been lurking under the radar, and that is the need for medical personnel. We just learned this morning from Jackson Health that 200 of their employees are out with COVID-19. The positivity rate for the employees that they tested is 23 percent.

Here's the reality on the ground in Miami-Dade County, which is the epicenter of this crisis in the state of Florida, accounting for 24 percent of the more than 280,000 cases. The positivity rate is 28 percent. More than 2,000 patients are in the hospital right now with COVID-19.

And in the past 13 days, here are the increases when it comes to the number of patients: 68 percent. Number of ICUs, 69 percent. The number of ventilators, 109 percent.

There are 200 people right now on ventilators here in Miami-Dade County.

I just checked on the number of hospitals, the number of ICU hospitals that are at zero capacity here in Florida. It's up to 48 now. Remember yesterday about this hour, we were reporting that seven of those were here in Miami-Dade County? Well, that number has grown to eight.

Look, all of this surge has been leading to frustration, and now that frustration is boiling over. I was at a press conference yesterday with Gov. Ron DeSantis when Thomas Kennedy interrupted the governor with this. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESANTIS: So, I think the --

THOMAS KENNEDY, FLORIDA RESIDENT: There are record-breaking cases every day, and you are doing nothing!

DESANTIS: So I think --

KENNEDY: You are falsifying information, and you are misleading the public! Over 4,000 people have died, and you are blaming the protesters! You guys have no plans, and you're doing nothing! Shame on you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, John, I talked to Kennedy after he was escorted out, and he said that he wanted his voice to be heard, because he is tired of the failed leadership -- John.

BERMAN: Wow, 48 new hospitals -- or 48 hospitals in Florida now reporting they are at capacity in their ICU units, Rosa, that's right?

FLORES: That's absolutely right. And you remember yesterday, you and I talking about this. There were seven in Miami-Dade. Now there's eight this morning. That is the big concern here, is that something has to happen.

And you know, I pressed the governor on, Are you going to roll back any of these reopening plans, specifically on schools, John. You and I know, we've been reporting about this. The state of Florida is still digging in its heels, requiring schools to reopen for in-person instruction starting in just a few weeks.

The governor would not give me a straight answer.

BERMAN: All right. A lot of concerning trends there. Rosa Flores, thanks so much for your reporting.

So, which state might impose new lockdown orders next? And the new study which raises questions about how long the body is immune to coronavirus. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: This is a really serious problem. It is truly historic. We haven't even begun to see the end of it yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Dr. Anthony Fauci warning that the pandemic is far from over in the United States.

California is shutting down again. It's banning indoor dining. It's closing all bars statewide. The majority of the state also closing down hair salons, gyms, and churches.

Its neighbor, Oregon, is now banning indoor gatherings of more than ten people.

Joining us now is Dr. Peter Hotez. He's the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He's also the co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.

So, Dr. Hotez, here we go again. Texas is now having to shut down. I'm sure this is no surprise to you. You've been talking about the extreme measures that may have to be taken. Texas may have to follow suit, because your numbers there are so bad.

So shutting down, will that help what we're seeing with the hospitals, et cetera?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: You know, Alisyn, this is the problem, that we have to react to these massive surges. This is what Florida will eventually do, Texas will do, California's already done. This is not the way to do it.

You know, we -- we are supposed to be anticipatory. We should have known that this was coming and planned ahead of time.

And this is the problem: there is no roadmap, no plan for the country. So we just force the governors to make hard decisions when they see these massive surges, and the people start piling into ICUs and hospitals, and then the deaths start rising. And this is not the way to do it.

[06:15:00]

We can enact a plan for the entire nation to bring us into containment mode by October 1 and then open up the country safely, have schools again, colleges again. But we just cannot get any movement out of the -- out of the leadership of the nation.

And you know, you had that protester, Mr. Kennedy, who actually said it much more eloquently than I ever could. He said, You guys are doing nothing. You guys have no plans. Shame on you.

Well, there you are. He summarized it succinctly.

BERMAN: I'll tell you what concerns me this morning, Dr. Hotez. It's what Jackson Health is saying now in southern Florida. Because for the last few weeks, we've been hearing, It's younger people driving this surge in new cases, and that's true. It is younger people who are fueling, I think, this surge.

However, they say they've seen a 100 percent increase -- double the number of patients -- 80 years and older over just the last two weeks. What does that tell you?

HOTEZ: Well, absolutely everybody in the scientific and public health community knew that was coming, except for the people in the Oval Office.

There's no way you're going to contain an epidemic just among young people. It's -- it's just common sense. So, of course you're going to start to see a big increase in older people, and you're going to see that across the southern half of the United States.

And again, what's -- what's done is this disinformation campaign coming from the White House, where they'll cherry-pick facts and factoids and string together this false narrative as though everything's OK, when you see this massive surge and now the deaths piling up.

And again, I keep on hammering this point home, again -- the low- income neighborhoods and the devastation among the African-American, Hispanic, Latinx communities, which is so heartbreaking.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Hotez, it is really astonishing that President Trump has no plan still, after all these months. His plan to ignore it away hasn't worked, strangely, and now we hear nothing in terms of a plan. I mean, he's outsourcing it to governors. As you point out, governors are trying to make tough decisions.

And now, Rosa Flores just reported that where she is in Florida, the -- the healthcare workers have a 23 percent positivity rate. So, they, of course, as we saw in New York, are themselves getting terribly sick or having to be treated by their own colleagues.

I just don't see -- I don't see how we get out of this.

HOTEZ: Alisyn, back in February, I remember coming on NEW DAY for the first time, and I explained that what we saw in China, what we saw in Italy and in Spain is this untenable situation of hospital workers getting sick, colleagues taking care of colleagues in the ICU, and that's when the death rates go up, and we cannot allow that situation in the U.S. And then we allowed it in New York, and now we're letting it happen again.

This was -- all of this is predicted and predictable, and it's happening here in Texas, as well.

And so, it's not just the hospital staff capacity -- hospitals -- sorry, not just the hospital bed capacity. It's the staff. The staff are getting -- first of all, they're exhausted. They're donning PPE dozens of times a day, and donning and doffing PPE, and they're getting sick.

And that's -- why do you think the federal government is flying in hospital personnel now into places like Texas and elsewhere? And this is such a destabilized situation right now, and this is when the mortality rates start to climb.

So, there's -- there's a two-phase -- there are three phases to the rises in deaths. One, people piling into ICUs and dying after a period of time. But then, as hospital staff gets exhausted, then the mortality goes up even more. And then, of course, you have the sudden deaths at home. So, this is just more deja vu. It's -- but now it's happening over a

much wider part of the United States. And the country's going to become entirely destabilized unless we do something right now. We're not going to have a country by the fall unless we take some action.

BERMAN: I'm glad we showed that hospitalization chart before so people can see: this is a very steep increase in the number of people who are in the hospital. Rosa Flores reporting before from Florida, 48 hospital ICUs now at capacity there, which is a big increase from just yesterday. So, you can see the strain it is putting on the medical system.

Dr. Hotez, I want to get your take on a study, or a line of research that a lot of people have questions about, which is that there is research showing that the amount of antibodies in your body diminishes very quickly for people who have had coronavirus or been exposed to coronavirus. The antibodies go away over a few months. They've seen less of a presence there.

Now, we've all become amateur epidemiologists, so a lot of us think, Oh, my God, the antibodies are gone. That means we have no more immunity to coronavirus after a month or two. We can catch it again. What is the science really telling you here?

HOTEZ: Well, we don't entirely know, because this is a new virus pathogen. But extrapolating from other viruses, what we do know is we've seen this with measles, as well, and others, that yes, antibody titers can wane, but you can still have a type of immunocompetent cell in your body called a memory B cell or a long-lasting plasma cell. And what that means, practically speaking, is you can still respond faster if you're exposed to the pathogen again.

[06:20:13]

So, I think there's probably some degree of immunity, even if antibodies are waning. And then we'll probably also see a pretty good boosting effect if we vaccinate those individuals.

But I can't say that with 100 percent confidence by any means, because this is a new virus. But I think there's probably still some immunity, even if we're seeing declining antibody titers. That -- that's my hope, anyway.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Dr. Peter Hotez, we appreciate you sounding the alarm for this long, even if it doesn't seem that some leaders are listening. Thank you.

HOTEZ: Thanks so much.

CAMEROTA: Can Joe Biden turn Texas blue? Biden is rolling out a new campaign ad there to win over voters, and we will show it to you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:10] BERMAN: So, developing this morning, a new ad from the Biden campaign. Now, I know what you're saying: a new ad in and of itself is not news, but this is: where the ad is airing, the state of Texas. And that says a whole lot about where this race is right now.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us now with much more.

This is a real digital buy, Arlette, and it includes the state of Texas.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, John.

Joe Biden is wading into Texas with his first general election TV ad of this campaign, a spot that will focus on the coronavirus pandemic as that state has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.

Now, I'm told this is part of a mid-six-figure buy in television and digital. And while the ad makes no direct mention of President Trump by name, Biden's advisers -- advisers believe that the tone and message of this ad will present a stark contrast with the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, here is the very first look of this new ad set to run in the Lone Star State.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm thinking of all of you today across Texas. And though the rising case numbers is causing fear and apprehension, people are frightened, and they're especially worried about their parents, their grandparents, loved ones who are most at risk.

This virus is tough, but Texas is tougher. We can stop the spread, but it's up to all of us to do it. We have to step up and do both the simple things and the hard things to keep our families and our neighbors safe.

Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Stay home, if you can. And socially distance when you go out.

I want every single American to know, if you're sick, if you're struggling, if you're worried about how you're going to get through the day, I will not abandon you. We're all in this together. We'll fight this together. And together, we'll emerge from this stronger than we were before we began.

I'm Joe Biden, and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, as part of this ad buy, similar TV spots will also run in Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina, all battleground states that have also seen rises in their coronavirus cases.

But this ad comes as a recent poll shows Biden is competitive with President Trump in Texas. A CBS poll showed there's no clear leader right now in a -- in that state. Texas is a state that the president won by nine points back in 2016.

So, this ad today from the Biden campaign shows they're willing to test the waters in this typically Republican state -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

Joining us now, CNN's political director, David Chalian.

And David, Alisyn Camerota can tell you that no Democrat has won Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

CAMEROTA: I know you guys don't know much about presidential trivia, but it's 1976.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's right.

BERMAN: It's not just where, and where this ad is running is fascinating. But it's the what of it also. It's that Joe Biden is focusing on the pandemic in Texas, which says a lot.

CHALIAN: Yes. I mean, Joe Biden is focusing on the pandemic everywhere. But as you are right to note, John, in Texas as well because of the uptick in cases there.

This is -- when you look at the overlay of the states, especially Republican-leaning states, states that we normally see red on election night on the map, that are now moving into that real battleground category -- certainly, Florida's been a battleground for years -- but Arizona and Texas and North Carolina. States with uptick in coronavirus cases but also very important to the electoral map, certainly critical to Donald Trump's path to re-election.

I don't know, John, if you can somehow, in your mind, game out how Donald Trump wins the White House without a Florida or Texas -- and Texas -- in his column. I can't figure a path for him back to re- election.

BERMAN: No, he can't do it. That's interesting, by the way. Joe Biden needs none of those -- needs none of those states you just mentioned.

CHALIAN: Right.

BERMAN: Donald Trump needs, in all likelihood, every single one of them.

CHALIAN: Yes, without a doubt.

I also think, just as Arlette was saying, the contrast, right? I mean, look at Joe Biden wearing a mask at the end, saying, "Stay safe and wear a mask," after all those weeks of Donald Trump refusing to do so until this weekend when he went to Walter Reed.

Of reasserting to the American people about washing your hands and maintaining social distance. What I think you see here that the campaign is trying to do is sort of

like a public service announcement, right?

BERMAN: Yes.

CHALIAN: This isn't a traditional campaign ad. It's like a PSA, because they want to present Biden as president, what a President Biden would be doing during this pandemic and how he would be communicating with the American public, versus what people see from Donald Trump every day.

CAMEROTA: And by the way, there are a couple shots in there of him hugging people, which, of course, is, you know, Bidenesque, except that they're not wearing masks.

END