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COVID-19 Cases Surge Among Children as Schools Reopen; Trump Escorted Out of Briefing After Shooting Near White House; Putin Claims Russia Has Developed First Coronavirus Vaccine; Stimulus Talks in Stalemate in Congress. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 11, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. MIKE RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: This virus is proving exceptionally difficult to stop.

[05:58:52]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Average daily deaths nationwide have topped 1,000 for the past two weeks. Several states are seeing record hospitalizations.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think at the end of a fairly short period of time, we're going to be in very, very good shape all over our country.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: There should be universal wearing of masks. There should be, to the extent possible, social distancing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not against having a mandate, but a mandate alone will not fix your problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that, if the virus has an opportunity to spread, it will, and it hasn't gone away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 Tuesday, August 11, 6 a.m. here in New York. Alisyn is off. Erica Hill back with me again this morning.

Good morning to you.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

BERMAN: So, this morning we're learning that coronavirus cases in children have increased by 90 percent in the last four weeks. In Georgia's Cherokee County School District, more than 800 children and 42 employees are quarantined this morning. Fifty students and staff have tested positive since reopening last week.

Georgia's governor continues to oppose a mask mandate, putting him at odds with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who says in a new interview that masks should be universal to fight the virus. Dr. Fauci says he was disturbed by this photo from a Georgia high school last week, a school where several students and staff have now tested positive.

And overnight, here on CNN, one expert warned that children may be able to spread coronavirus as easily as the common cold.

HILL: There are also significant, new developments involving college sports. The Mountain West conference postponing all fall sports, including football. ESPN reporting a decision about the Big Ten season could come as soon as today, and also reporting a rare heart condition has been found in at least five Big Ten athletes. That condition could be linked to coronavirus.

Breaking this morning, Vladimir Putin now claiming Russia has developed the world's first coronavirus vaccine, and we're going to have more details on that in a live report in just a moment.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Nick Valencia, who's live in Atlanta with our top story.

Nick, good morning.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

President Trump continuing to urge all schools across the nation to open up. Here in Georgia, they did, though -- they did so, and they were among the first in the nation to do so. And after the first six days of classes, the numbers look like a mess.

Hundreds of students and teachers in quarantine, but even still, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp applauding the first week of school.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): Even with coronavirus cases still spreading across the United States, President Trump once again insisting the pandemic will end soon.

TRUMP: I think at the end of a fairly short period of time, you're going to be in very, very good shape all over our country.

VALENCIA: But according to top researchers, the disease is here to stay.

RYAN: What it has clearly demonstrated is, you take the pressure off the virus, the virus bounces back. This virus is proving exceptionally difficult to stop.

VALENCIA: Here in Georgia, where this viral photo of a crowded high school hallway was taken just last week, Gov. Brian Kemp rejected a mask mandate at public schools.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): I think, quite honestly, this week went real well, other than a couple virtual photos.

VALENCIA: Kemp saying this, despite outbreaks in several Georgia school districts, sending hundreds of teachers and students into quarantine, while many parents debate whether to send their children back to the classroom or use online learning.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reported nearly 180,000 new cases in children within the past month. That's a 90 percent increase over four weeks. When asked about the study, President Trump said schools should still reopen for in-person instruction.

TRUMP: They may have, as you would call it, a case. It may be a case, but it's also a case where there's a tiny -- it's a tiny fraction of death, tiny fraction, and they get better very quickly.

I think that for the most part, they do very well. I mean, they -- they don't get very sick. They don't catch it easily.

VALENCIA: But health experts say this isn't totally true.

DR. SEAN O'LEARY, VICE CHAIR, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS COMMITTEE ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It's not fair to say that this virus is completely benign in children. We've had 90 deaths in children in the U.S. Yes, it's much less -- it's much less severe than it is in adults, particularly older adults, but we all have to take this virus seriously, including taking care of our children.

VALENCIA: And as some college students move back to campus, the future of football is in question. Several sports outlets reporting the Power Five conferences are discussing postponing the fall season.

With the academic year already underway for many students, Dr. Anthony Fauci says one public health tool is key for classrooms to reopen safely.

FAUCI: I feel that universal wearing of masks is one of five or six things that are very important in preventing the upsurge of infection and in turning around the infections that we are seeing surging.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Dr. Fauci very clear that wearing a mask could help stop the spread of the virus in schools, but here in Georgia, the governor showing no signs of budging. In fact, he's left that decision up to the individual districts who, in some cases, have left that up to the individual schools.

If you remember just a couple weeks ago, Erica, Governor Kemp sued Atlanta's mayor, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, over a mask mandate. That lawsuit has still not been settled -- Erica.

HILL: All right, Nick, appreciate it. Thank you.

Also developing overnight, new details about a shooting near the White House complex that led to a Secret Service agent abruptly escorting President Trump out of a White House briefing room. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It looks like they're just about going to be topping records, hopefully soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, we're just going to have to step outside.

TRUMP: Excuse me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to step outside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN's Joe Johns joining us now, live from the White House with more this morning. Joe, good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

The president briefly evacuated from the briefing room after what has been called an officer-involved shooting, that, of course, a United States Secret Service uniformed officer.

Now, here's what happened, according to authorities, right after the president was evacuated from the briefing room.

[06:05:04]

We were told that what had happened out on the street, about a block from here, a 51-year-old man approached the officer, told him he had a gun. The man started running toward the officer. The man crouched in what authorities describe as a firing position. The officer shot him in the torso. He was taken to the hospital.

As it turns out, according to a couple sources telling CNN the man did not have a gun.

In fact, after that, the president resumed his news conference, his briefing with reporters, and it was back to business as usual. Another round of misleading and false statements, including one that was asked and answered years ago. Listen to this back-and-forth in the briefing room last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If 160,000 people had died on President Obama's watch, do you think you would have called for his resignation?

TRUMP: No, I wouldn't have done that. I think it's -- I think it's been amazing what we've been able to do. If we didn't close up our country, we would have had 1.5 or 2 million people already dead. We've called it right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Now, back in 2014, businessman Donald Trump felt very differently about that during the Ebola epidemic. He did call for the resignation of President Barack Obama.

At that time, according to the Centers for Disease Control, there were four cases diagnosed in the United States of Ebola, two of which actually died.

So far here in the United States in the coronavirus epidemic, we have 5 million cases and 160,000 people dead.

Back to you.

BERMAN: So, Joe, just to be clear on that, the president called for Obama's resignation after two deaths, but now says that after 160,000 deaths, he would not have called for Obama's resignation.

JOHNS: That's exactly right. And it's highly unusual, simply because the president wrote the tweet, and somehow, doesn't remember it from 2014.

BERMAN: Yes, unusual is one way to say it. Another way to say it is bogus and outrageous and B.S.

Joe Johns at the White House. Thanks so much for pointing that out. Appreciate it.

All right, breaking news. Vladimir Putin claims that Russia has developed and approved the world's first coronavirus vaccine. This claim is being met with skepticism, despite Putin announcing his daughter is among the first to receive a dose.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins us live in Moscow with the breaking details.

Matthew, look, we're all desperate for some kind of progress, some kind of sign that things might be turning the corner in this battle against the virus, but what do we really know about this vaccine?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know a great deal, except that Russia is also very desperate to -- to get a vaccine for this virus. It's got the fourth highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, remember. And so, it is under a lot of pressure politically to try and resolve that for the Russian people.

It's also seen as the kind of prestige -- what critics say -- a sort of prestige project for Vladimir Putin. He wants to show that Russia remains a sort of scientific superpower.

And within the last few minutes, he's gone on national television, appearing in a video conference with all his cabinet ministers, including his health minister, saying that this Russian-developed vaccine is now essentially approved for use.

He said this -- he said it's gone through all the necessary checks. He said, I know it's effective, and it forms stable immunity.

And one of the reasons he gave knowing -- for knowing so much about it is that he said his own daughter -- now, remember, we very rarely hear -- not for a decade have I heard Vladimir Putin mention his daughter -- One of my own daughters, he said, has had the vaccination. She had a slight temperature at first, he said, but now she feels well.

So, extraordinary revelations. Not just about the daughter but about the fact that Russia has become the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine.

Rightly or wrongly, remember, as you mentioned, there is a lot of skepticism. The third-phase human trials, crucially, which are meant to decide and to determine whether the vaccine is actually effective and whether it's safe -- they haven't even really got under way yet. And what the Russian officials are telling me is that they're going to be conducting those third-phase human trials while they're administering to key workers, frontline health workers, teachers, the elderly. These are the people, and of course, the president's daughters, who will be getting this vaccine first of all.

So, an extraordinary development in Russia. The Russian health minister said this -- this is how much they're backing it -- they're saying this is a huge contribution to the victory over coronavirus, that, despite all that skepticism and all the concern about whether this vaccine developed in Russia is actually effective and even safe, John.

BERMAN: Yes, right. One thing that Russia lacks is the transparency that would be required to know for sure just how effective this is. And by skipping this third phase -- in the U.S., that's 30,000 people who would be tested with it. Not happening, at least not before approval there.

Matthew Chance, terrific to have you on. Thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it.

All right, here in the United States, a dramatic rise in the number of kids getting coronavirus. Could they be the next big driver of the pandemic?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning there is growing concern about whether children could ultimately drive a new spike in coronavirus cases. A new report finds that there's been a 90 percent increase in coronavirus cases in children over the last month. One expert is warning that children may be able to spread coronavirus as easily as the common cold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM HASELTINE, FORMER PROFESSOR AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: And there's every reason to suspect that this virus, even though it can kill you, behaves pretty much like a cold virus in terms of transmission. Who drives colds? Children drive colds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:15:05] BERMAN: Joining us now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. He's a professor of medicine at George Washington University and former Vice President Dick Cheney's cardiologist.

Dr. Reiner, good morning. Thank you for being with us. Look, we know that children, by and large, do not get as sick as adults from this virus. We know the fatality rate is low among children.

But when you see the incredible rise in cases over the last month -- nearly 100,000 children tested positive in the last two weeks of July alone -- when you see the spread among kids in that they can give it to adults, how concerned should we be?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We should be really concerned, particularly as we try and understand whether kids can go back to school.

So, let's look at some recent examples. Let's look at the example of the large camp in Georgia. So, about 600 kids attended that camp, and 44 percent of the kids at that camp ultimately tested positive for the virus.

Let's look at the Israeli experience. Israel opened schools in May. In one school, two kids tested positive, and they subsequently infected 150 other kids and 26 staff members, and then 88 people in the community.

So, we know with certainty that kids can infect other kids, and those kids can infect the community.

If you look at the Georgia camp experience again, more than half of those infections actually were in kids less than 10. So you know, there's been this notion that maybe kids less than 10 are relatively resistant to infection. It doesn't appear to be the case.

Look, any parent knows -- and certainly, this was our experience -- that when your kid gets a cold, about three days later, you get the cold. The difference is that, you know, the kids are usually over the cold in about a day, whereas you know, parents suffer for days on end.

So we know kids can transmit coronaviruses, and you know, this experience suggests that they can do it with this coronavirus.

HILL: That said, we're hearing from Dr. Fauci. He's looking at this photo that we all know so well of that crowded high school hallway in Georgia.

REINER: Yes.

HILL: And he said there needs to be universal wearing of masks. I mean, how much more, Dr. Reiner, do we need to learn? How many more times do we need to say that this is a tool we all have at our disposal so easily, a mask, and the difference that it can make? Are we making any headway?

REINER: You know, this is just baffling to me. Look, as a parent, if you told me that my kids can go back to school

next month, if they wear a mask in school. If they refuse to wear a mask or if you refuse to have them wear a mask, then they're going to stay home, I mean, what parent says, Oh, then I'm going to have them home. I can't have them wearing a mask? It makes zero sense.

The mask is going to protect your child from an infection. What parent doesn't want their child to be protected from infection?

The message in the United States has been so muddled and so politicized, but the truth is this. A mask will prevent a person from transmitting the virus to another person, and a mask will protect you from being infected from someone else. That is the truth.

So, look, if you're not feeling particularly magnanimous today, then feel selfish. Wear a mask to protect yourself. But the single message in this country should be, everyone who goes out in public wears a mask. It's as simple as that.

BERMAN: Dr. Reiner, there's something interesting happening in the data. First of all, the number of new cases in the United States, reported cases, has gone down from its peak, which was around 70,000. Now we're hovering around 50,000, which is still an incredibly high number.

However, in Florida and in Texas, the number of tests -- and we have these graphs -- the number of tests have actually declined over the last couple of weeks. What do you make of that?

REINER: Yes, it's very interesting. So, if you look at the United States as a whole, and you're trying to get a sense for whether declining cases are a result of a declining incidence of the virus or a declining overall number of tests, look at the positivity rate.

So, in the United States, the positivity rate, meaning the number -- the percent of patients who test positive, who get tested, has been pretty flat over the last couple of weeks at about 7.5 percent. So we're not dropping. It had been as low as about 4.3 percent in June.

Now look at Florida and Texas. In Florida, it's at 17 percent. So, despite the fact that cases have dropped in Florida and testing has dropped, the positivity rate has remained 17 percent, suggesting that any decline in cases in Florida is a result, likely, of a decline in testing, not in a decline in the incidence of the virus.

If you look at Texas, actually, the positivity rate has risen to over 20 percent, again suggesting that any drop in the number of cases in Texas is a result of inadequate testing.

[06:20:11]

Think about positivity like you're fishing. If, you know, pretty frequently you drop your hook in the lake, either you're the world's greatest fisherman or there are a lot of fish in the lake. Well, that's the same thing for coronavirus testing. If there's a high proportion of tests that are positive in the

community, there's a lot of virus in the community, and that seems to be the case in parts of the south and southwest.

BERMAN: Question is, why? Why are they getting fewer tests? Is it because the tests aren't as available? Is it because people have stopped going to get tested because of the waits? Is it because they're only testing symptomatic people? These are some of the questions we'd like to get answers to, to figure out what's going on with this data.

Dr. Reiner, thanks so much for being with us.

REINER: My pleasure.

BERMAN: All right. Breaking overnight, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best announced her resignation after the city council voted to cut $4 million from the police department's budget. That's far less than protesters were demanding.

Chief Best has come under fire for allowing officers to use tear gas and other less lethal weapons on crowds at Black Lives Matter protests. On Monday, Seattle -- the Seattle city council passed budget amendments to initiate police layoffs and cut the salaries of the department's command staff, including the chief's.

The White House and Democrats still at a stalemate over the economic aid that millions of Americans desperately -- desperately need. When could they see that relief? We'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:44]

HILL: The coronavirus pandemic is not just a health crisis. It touches everything in this country and around the world. It is a global economic crisis, and the longer it drags on, the more painful life becomes for millions of Americans simply trying to make ends meet.

So, why hasn't Congress stepped in? Why has Congress not passed another stimulus bill? When could you see some relief?

Joining us now, CNN political correspondent Arlette Saenz and CNN political analyst Margaret Talev, politics and White House editor at Axios. Good to see both of you this morning.

So you know Margaret, the further we go along this path, you can't help but ask the question, you know, is it time for Democrats to blink? Is it time for them to say, OK, fine?

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, Erica, I just don't think that that moment is imminent right now. The president moved on his own with these executive actions that have confused a lot of governors, including Republican governors across the U.S., that have cut the unemployment checks, that have forced states to scramble to pick up the deficit or risk getting nothing at all. And his negotiating team's position with the congressional Democrats

has been like, you know, Now you have to come back, slash, you want us to come back. I just don't think that's where they are right now.

But eventually, is there going to be a time when Congress needs to work out either a deal with the White House or just pass its own bills and see what happens? Yes, maybe.

I mean, there is the politics of the moment. There's also the reality, which is people are beginning to face larger and larger numbers of evictions. People are trying to send their children back to school. They don't know where their next paycheck is going to come from.

And the political reality that the president, heading into re- election, his re-election effort, really wants those $1,200 stimulus checks himself. And so, there is some leverage, but it doesn't seem like a deal is imminent at this point.

They're on 24-hour call. They could be brought back at any moment. But right now, no planned votes back until mid-September, after the conventions.

BERMAN: Good morning. Do you know where your running mate is? I'm asking this, obviously -- you cover the Biden campaign, and there was reporting first from "The New York Times," "Wall Street Journal" and others now this morning, that the Biden campaign is setting signals that the selection for the running mate will be midweek, which is, like now, you know, tomorrow, or as early as today. What do we know?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, this waiting game could soon be over, as we are expecting Biden to roll out his announcement, really any day now.

This is going to cap off a months-long vetting process where many of these contenders went through a full vetting, turning in documents, sitting for interviews with a committee, as well as Biden himself.

But right now, we're just trying to get some signals about how soon this could possibly come and which woman he will ultimately end up selecting.

And one of those top contenders is California Senator Kamala Harris, who ran against Biden during the Democratic primary. She's been at the top of a lot of people's lists heading into this V.P. search.

There's also Susan Rice, the former national security adviser, who worked with Biden in the White House. And then Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, who actually traveled here to meet with Biden.

And Biden, you know, has been pretty consistent with what he's looking for: someone who is simpatico with him, someone who can step into the job on day one. There's especially a lot of emphasis placed on that right now, given Biden's age.

And he is also looking to replicate that relationship that he had with President -- President Obama, you know. He may not be particularly close with some of these women in the beginning, but he wants to look at that long-term potential in their relationship.

So, now you know, we're standing by here in Wilmington, waiting to see when exactly that announcement's going to come.

HILL: We know you'll call us as soon as you get the word, too, Arlette.

Margaret, so that's on the Democratic side, obviously. We're learning more about how things may play out at the Republican National Convention. The president now floating that he could give his acceptance speech -- he had already talked about the White House, but now he's looking at Gettysburg? This is really raising some eyebrows and a lot of questions.

TALEV: Right. Even for Trump, it would -- he would outdo himself as a TV moment.

Look, this is, of course, the site of one of the most divisive, bloody battles in the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln's famous speech. It is hallowed ground by presidential decree.

END