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U.S. Surpasses 5 Million Cases, Death Toll Nears 163,000; Trump's Executive Actions on Virus Relief Spark Concern; Georgia School Seen in Viral Pic Temporarily Closed after 9 Test Positive. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired August 10, 2020 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over 5 million cases of the coronavirus have now been reported across the country, and the rate of the spread is stunning.
[05:59:13]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If doctors and healthcare experts are correct, the wave of COVID-19 infections is not even close to over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We failed early on to adopt the testing that was necessary, and even more so, we failed to ramp that up to a degree that we're going to need in the coming season.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: President Trump, meanwhile, has been touting his new virus relief package, which he unilaterally extended through executive action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We offered compromises. We couldn't get it, so the president decided to take action on his own.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): My constitutional advisers tell me they're absurdly unconstitutional.
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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Monday, August 10, 6 a.m. here in New York. Alisyn Camerota is off. Erica Hill joins me this morning. Big morning.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it really is. And not the kind of big you want to see.
BERMAN: Five million cases. Five million cases of coronavirus in the United States. More than 1 million new cases in the past 17 days alone. A new study finds nearly 100,000 children tested positive in the last two weeks of July. Reports this morning that the college football season might be
canceled this week. The impact is profound, sprawling, and deepening. Five million cases. Five million is more than the population of 27 entire states. It's also 4,999,999 more than the one person the president told us about in January.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine.
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BERMAN: It's not just fine. Five million is not just fine. And it's 5 million more than the close to zero the president promised in March.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done.
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BERMAN: It's not a pretty good job. Five million cases is not a pretty good job. It's also nearly 4.5 million more than the number of cases on Easter, when the president at one point wanted to see full churches.
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TRUMP: I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.
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BERMAN: That was 4.5 million cases ago. This morning, 5 million is the reality.
HILL: And as we continue to look at how we've gotten to this point, by the first week of April, the case count in this country was about 276,000, nearly 10,000 deaths at that point. And suddenly the Trump administration was recommending masks, with one notable exception.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know, somehow I don't see it for myself. I just don't. Maybe I'll change my mind, but this will pass, and hopefully, it will pass very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: "This will pass very quickly." Well, by June 16, nearly 120,000 Americans had died. And that's when Vice President Pence wrote an op- ed in "The Wall Street Journal," calling the administration's coronavirus response a "cause for celebration."
"In recent days," he wrote, "the media has taken to sounding the alarm bells over a second wave of coronavirus infections. Such panic is overblown. We are winning the fight against the invisible enemy."
That message later echoed by President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you look, the numbers are very minuscule compared to what it was. It's dying out. By the way, we're doing very well on vaccines and therapeutics, also. I think there's going to be some big announcements on that in the not-too-distant future. But no, we're not concerned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: "It's dying out. We're not concerned. We're winning the fight." Well, it's not, and we are definitely not winning.
Less than two months later, this is where we stand. Over 5 million confirmed cases. Keep in mind, those are just the confirmed cases. Nearly 163,000 Americans are dead.
So how is the United States addressing this? We're not. There is still no nationwide testing program. There is no clear guidance on reopening schools. There's no acceptance at the top. President Trump peddling the same stale, false message he's been pushing since January.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind it will go away. Please, go ahead. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
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BERMAN: It's really amazing when you hear that. The bookends to 5 million cases, saying the same thing in January that he is saying in August. It speaks volumes.
And on top of the news this morning, when you see 100,000 children testing positive the last two weeks of July. When you learn -- and we're going to report more on this later this morning -- the entire college football season might -- might -- be canceled this week. That just tells you where we stand this morning.
HILL: It really does. And the ripple effect, as we have talked about, right, for the past so many months. The ripple effect. There's not a single area in this country that is not touched by this virus and by the lack of a coordinated response. It is mind-numbing that this is where we're at.
BERMAN: But here we are. And a lot to get to this morning.
HILL: There is a lot to get to, including developing overnight, new confusion from President Trump about these additional unemployment benefits, which he announced on Saturday. Well, now he's saying that some states may not be required to pay part of those benefits after all, if governors request federal help.
CNN's Lauren Fox is live on Capitol Hill with the latest. This is raising, frankly, even more questions this morning, Lauren.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, it has been ten days. Ten days since those federal unemployment benefits, that additional $600 a week that individuals were counting on, expired. And despite the fact that there were negotiations all week on Capitol Hill last week, there is still no deal in sight.
[06:05:18]
And this all comes, of course, as the president signed those executive orders at his New Jersey golf club. Whether anything can get done from those orders? Well, that's another question.
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FOX (voice-over): With negotiations for a new stimulus package at a standstill on Capitol Hill, President Trump tried to sidestep Congress and take coronavirus relief into his own hands, signing executive orders.
TRUMP: I think it actually works better if we do it the way we're doing it. You can't beat the deal we made.
But the president's move does not provide a clear path to help millions of Americans out of work.
PELOSI: My constitutional advisers tell me they're absurdly unconstitutional.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): And unfortunately, the president's executive orders, described in one word, could be "paltry."
FOX: Part of Trump's memorandum, reducing the additional unemployment benefit, from $600 to $400 per week, leaving it to states to pitch in $100 for every resident enrolled.
By Sunday, the president said it's possible the federal government could pick up the whole tab if a governor requests it.
TRUMP: It will depend on the state, and they'll make an application. We'll look at it, and we'll make a decision. So it may be they'll pay nothing in some instances.
PELOSI: Earlier, President Trump's economic advisers said states could afford it.
LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: I think they'll be able to make room. So based on our estimates, the states will be able to provide the extra $100.
FOX: But for states with budgets already stretched thin by the pandemic -- GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): Look, that would cost us about $500 million
between now and the end of the year. I could take that money from testing. I don't think that's a great idea.
FOX: And in another executive order, the president said --
TRUMP: So I'm protecting people from eviction.
FOX: In reality, Trump's executive order does not explicitly provide help for homeowners and renters. The president also promised to suspend payroll taxes. That's money paid into Social Security and Medicare.
TRUMP: If I'm victorious on November 3, I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax.
FOX: Trump's plan is actually a deferral, and only Congress has the power to change tax law.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are looking to meet yet again, with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to try to work out a deal.
STEVE MNUCHIN, TREASURY SECRETARY: We've said, let's pass legislation on the things we agree on and knock these off one at a time. And they've refused to do that.
PELOSI: We're at a stalemate, because the Republicans have from the start never understood the gravity of the situation that we are in. The problem has grown. And it has become an enormous economic problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOX: And when you take a step back, remember, President Trump had long attacked former President Barack Obama for his executive actions on DACA. And many Republicans on Capitol Hill felt the exact same way. So far, we're hearing just from Ben Sasse, a Republican, who said he's concerned about the constitutionality of President Trump's executive orders -- John.
BERMAN: Oh, yes. I mean, there are Republicans who made it their life to criticize Barack Obama for doing this when he was president. And now they are completely silent on it. We will wait to see if there is any consistency this morning when they get back to work today.
Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill, please keep us posted.
We do have breaking news this morning. A heavy police presence on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. Large groups of protesters gathering overnight, vandalizing retail businesses. Video taken outside of Saks Fifth Avenue shows armed officers standing guard at an entry door with the glass shattered.
Chicago police tell CNN that large crowds began to gather shortly after midnight. They did not have any particular information on the size of the crowd, amount of the damage, or level of police response, only saying, quote, "This is an ongoing situation." Not clear what triggered this.
CNN is reaching out to the police for more information.
So speaking of pictures, this picture of a crowded Georgia high school. So many people saw this after a student posted it, because she was so concerned about the lack of mask wearing, the lack of social distancing. She was suspended for a time for posting this picture.
Well, guess what happened now? The school is closed due to cases of coronavirus. That story, next.
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BERMAN: Developing overnight, a Georgia high school that's been under scrutiny after a student posted this photo of a packed hallway, no social distancing, clearly many students without masks. This school has now announced it is temporarily closing after nine people have tested positive inside the school for coronavirus. For a few days, at least, they're shifting to online learning.
CNN's Natasha Chen joins us now with the latest on this. I have to say, it is stunning, but not surprising, that we're here this morning after that picture surfaced last week, Natasha.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the principal and superintendent made sure to tell families that that was a five-minute period when students were changing classes. They said this may happen in a school with 2,000 students.
But now the letter that was sent last night from the superintendent to families said that, of course, they are virtual learning Monday and Tuesday, cleaning the campus, consulting with the public health department on what to do next. And families will receive notice by Tuesday evening on how they will proceed for the coming days.
Now, sophomore Hannah Watters posted that photo of the crowded hallway last week. She was suspended and then that suspension was reversed. She talked to CNN last night about how she's now gotten threats because of that.
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[06:15:10]
HANNAH WATTERS, STUDENT, NORTH PAULDING HIGH SCHOOL: I feel like a lot of teachers have my back, because they know how dangerous it is going to school, but I know that a lot of the kids I go to school with, I've already gotten backlash for. I've gotten threats and things like that.
But I know that I'm doing the right thing. And I'm -- and it's not going to stop me from continuing doing it, but it is concerning, especially since a lot of the people I go to school with, people I've known for years now, that are threatening me now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: Paulding County is not alone in this. In other counties around the Atlanta area, in Cherokee, there are 260 students and staff quarantined right now.
And over in Gwinnett County, the largest school system in Georgia, at least 260 employees either testing positive or in quarantine.
And just to explain where we are this morning, this is by the Atlanta airport. We're expecting later this morning Governor Brian Kemp along with the U.S. surgeon general to announce a new partnership, allowing for new testing in the next 16 days that would allow results to come back in 48 to 72 hours, a turnaround that is much faster than it currently is in Georgia.
BERMAN: It's much faster than it is in places around the country. That would be helpful, to be sure, if measures elsewhere also enforced. Natasha Chen in Georgia, thanks very much for being with us.
Joining us now is Dr. Carlos Del Rio. He's the executive associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine and Grady Health System. Can we put the picture back up, just so people can see this hallway in North Paulding High School last week that was posted by Hannah Watters.
Clearly, Dr. Del Rio, people are not social distancing and people are not wearing masks. Here's the thing: they were required to do neither inside that high school. Masks were not required, and in the guidelines posted by that school district, they acknowledged there would be cases where social distancing is not possible.
So how surprising is it, given that picture and given those facts, Dr. Del Rio, that we are where we are this morning with six students and three faculty members testing positive?
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Good morning, John.
It is not surprising, unfortunately. There is a lot of cases still, which a lot of community transmission in Georgia and many southern states. And somebody is going to come to school that's infected.
And the possibility of transmission -- we know that transmission, a lot of transmission is likely to occur in close environments, in close quarters. So whether it's, you know, indoors, small environments, close contact, you know, lack of ventilation.
So that hallway is the best place to have transmission when you have a lot of people close to each other. I think that not requiring masks and not socially distancing is exactly the recipe we need for transmission.
HILL: And if that's the recipe, it seems to be working at that high school.
Can you just fact check something for me? Because what we heard initially, and Natasha touched on this, initially from the superintendent seemed to make the case in that initial letter that, well, the kids may be in the hallway, but they're not there for that long. So there isn't really enough time that they're together for transmission, maybe five minutes. Does that figure in here?
DEL RIO: It does figure in a little bit. We know that a lot of transmission occurs when you have close proximity to somebody for more than 10 to 15 minutes.
However, when you have a lot of people together, when you have a lot of crowding in very small quarters, so close quarters, close proximity, cramped places are places where a lot more transmission can happen very quickly.
So I do think that the 10-minute, 15-minute rule applies most of the time, but you need to be in a -- in a more sort of -- in a bigger space, in an auditorium, a classroom, but not in such a small hallway. I bet you in that hallway, there were a lot of viral particles floating in the air that could have easily infected somebody.
BERMAN: Dr. Del Rio, two numbers, two sobering numbers this morning. We've spent a lot of time talking about 5 million cases in the United States. That's quite a place to be. We can get to that in a minute.
I was also struck by this new study over the weekend that nearly 100,000 children -- and that varies by age depending on state -- but broadly speaking, 100,000 children tested positive in the last two weeks of July alone. So what concerns does that raise for you this morning?
DEL RIO: Well, you know, it's very interesting, John. We initially did not think that children were infected or if they were infected, they would not transmit the virus. But I think the evidence clearly now shows that children can get infected. Many children may have higher viral loads in their respiratory secretions than actually adults.
I think children were initially not infected, because quite frankly, adults did a very good job of sheltering children and keeping children indoors. But I think as children are starting to come out, I think it's likely that more infections will happen.
Now, I must tell you that we clearly know that there's an inflection point at about ten years of age. It's about ten years of age, where children younger than 10 are less likely to get infected. Children older than 10 will get infected as quickly as adults do.
Children 10 and older are infected as quickly as adults. I mean, that's -- that alone is sobering to think about. I mean, my 10-year- old is going into fifth grade, right, and we're figuring how all these kids are going back to school.
[06:20:09]
I do want to touch on this number, too, though, of 5 million cases. We're now past 5 million confirmed cases. But Dr. Del Rio, as we know, and as we heard from Dr. Redfield at the CDC weeks ago now, those are just confirmed cases.
There could be ten times the number here in the United States. And it seems that testing is getting more difficult in many areas, as opposed to improving.
DEL RIO: Well, I think -- I think, Erica, you have -- first of all, it's a very sad number to have 5 million cases and to have, you know, over 160,000 deaths. Each one of those is a person. Each one of those is somebody who has a family, who has -- who has friends, who has loved ones.
But I also think that we see in our country something which is a disproportionate impact on African-Americans and Hispanics. You know, most deaths and most cases are occurring on minorities. And -- and I think those racial and ethnic disparities in those 5 million cases are really something that we have to think about. It's not just equally distributed.
So I think we need to address some of the social determinants of health. It's simply not enough saying wear masks, you know, wash your hands. We have to talk also about the other issue that need to be addressed, such as you know, crowding, housing, you know, opportunities for employment, the fact that many frontline workers are the people that are highest risk. I really think that, if we don't address those issues, we're really not going to see a significant decrease in the number of infections in our country.
BERMAN: All right. Dr. Del Rio, thank you very much for being with us this morning. We always appreciate your insight.
DEL RIO: Good talking to you, John.
HILL: Developing overnight, California's public health director resigning unexpectedly in an email to staff members. The "Los Angeles Times" reporting Dr. Sonia Angell did not give a reason for her immediate departure.
It comes after state officials confirmed serious issues with testing data that caused several thousand coronavirus cases to go unreported. More than 10,000 people in California have now been killed by the virus.
BERMAN: Also developing overnight, election chaos in Puerto Rico. Primaries temporarily halted because of a lack of ballots in voting centers across the island. Puerto Rico's governor has blasted the election commission, calling the decision, quote, "totally unacceptable and outrageous." Voting is set to resume next Sunday.
So a big week in politics here in the presidential campaign. Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce his running mate any time this week. The list of candidates growing shorter. What we know about the deliberations, next.
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[06:26:56] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So it may be they'll pay nothing in some instances. It may be -- a little bit like the National Guard. You know, the National Guard, as you know, sometimes will pay all of it, depending on the tragedy or whatever it may be, the disaster, and sometimes the state will pay 40 percent, 25 percent, 10 percent, or nothing, depending on how it works out.
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HILL: President Trump backtracking amid pushback over a memorandum that would require states to pick up 25 percent of the tab for reinstating extra unemployment benefits. The president, as you heard, now saying it's possible the federal government could cover the entire cost, if a state governor requests help.
Joining us now, CNN political correspondents M.J. Lee and Arlette Saenz.
M.J., we know a lot of states have actually already asked for help, perhaps not in the way that the president is now suggesting that they should. But just another sign that this is clearly not very well- thought out, when we can't, "A," couldn't get a lot of answers on day one, and now, you know, a couple of days later, we're seeing a shift again.
M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Erica. I mean, it is incredibly dubious what kind of legal standing the president has to enforce and enact these executive orders that he has put out. It is very questionable what kind of help real people who actually need this real help might be able to get. And I think the question about the unemployment benefits is a perfect example.
We just heard him there raising a lot of "what ifs," and maybe we could do it this way or maybe that way. To your point, I think it is very clear from those statements this was not something that was actually thoroughly thought out. It doesn't appear that it is clear, at least to him, how exactly he sees this being enforced.
You know, the question about this partly being responsible by the states, that the states would have to partly offer some of this funding. Well, the reality is that a lot of states actually are not in a position to offer this kind of extra funding. They are in not a good financial position to be able to handle some of this.
So for those kinds of states, what does that mean for the people living in those states who need that kind of help? So both with that and even, you know, with the eviction ban that we're talking about, President Trump has essentially said, Well, it is up to the federal agencies to find the money. We don't know how that money is going to be found, and if it is found, how is that going to be distributed?
So there is just a whole lot of questions at this point as to how this help can actually get to the people and filter down to the people. And I think the fact that he issued these executive orders just kind of perfectly goes to show that the president, at least politically speaking, felt like it was not tenable for him to not take some kind of action.
BERMAN: They're making it up as they go along. I mean, they're making it up. There is disagreement between Steve Mnuchin, the president, and poor Larry Kudlow, who can't complete a sentence without contradicting himself on this subject. They can't explain what's going on. They can't explain how the payroll tax situation will be handled with the deferred payments there. So they've got to figure that all out.
And then there's the legal matter or the constitutional matter.
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