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New Day
Texas Sees Rise in New Cases and Hospitalizations; First Week of Early Voting in Texas Tops 2016 Totals; Europe's Record Surge. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired October 19, 2020 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00]
ERICA HILL: CNN HOST: This morning Texas is one of 27 states across the country where new coronavirus cases are on the rise. Hospitalizations also beginning to climb in Texas. Joining us now is the mayor of Austin, Steve Adler. Mayor, good to have you back with us this morning as we look at those numbers. Hospitalizations are an increasing concern in so many areas and I know they are for you as well.
Where do things stand this morning in terms of hospitalizations and whether you have what you need based on what could be coming?
MAYOR STEVE ADLER (D) AUSTIN, TEXAS: You know I think we're - we're all real nervous about what could be coming. We had that community that drove the numbers down real low but they've started heading back in the other direction.
Here in Austin our admissions which were very lower up about 50 percent and the 7-day moving average from where they were just a week or two ago. Now the numbers still low so we don't have the red alarms going off but it's definitely headed in the wrong direction and some of the cities in Texas are nearing crisis. El Paso, Lubbock, Amarillo.
HILL: And we saw recently the governor sent extra resources to Election Paso. You bring up El Paso. As we look at what's happening with the different this time around which we're hearing from so many of our medical experts here is that in the beginning, let's say here in New York when we knew that there was going to be a need, you would hear from Governor Cuomo on a daily basis say, send it here and then I'll help you out when it's your turn.
The problem is everybody, it could be everybody's turn all at once. How much is that figuring into your planning.
ADLER: I think it's going to be everybody all at once if we get to that place. You know the governor gave everybody the ability to be able to open up bars and started putting on pressure for people to do that just a week or two ago but Austin did not do that. Houston didn't do that. Dallas, San Antonio, obviously El Paso. The governor had a tweet a few days ago saying that he might take back that discretion.
Also the message is just again, the message is just real mixed. You know the message is not clear and definitive that everybody should be wearing mask, you know that what's coming out of Washington right now with the president, that there is a debate over masks is just absolutely unbelievable to me given what we have seen in terms of what they can do to help.
So we are concerned and as we get closer to November, I think it's going to be an even bigger issue.
HILL: So just to press a little bit more on that, what we're seeing, I mean Texas obviously a big state but as you point out the governor was - the talk about bars, officials in Austin not too long ago were talking about it, obviously it doesn't seem like you're moving in that direction today.
The one thing that's clear though is as you pointed out cases are going up, hospitalizations are going up. What's the impact of those very clear black and white numbers on the folks in Austin. Do you think that is starting to have an impact?
ADLER: I did - it needs to have an impact. I think everybody is nervously washing those numbers and ultimately it's going to be a question of a discipline that we have as a community on wearing a mask, maintaining the social distance and washing our hands.
Everybody's tired of that measure of discipline, everybody wants to continue to open up the economy. We're trying to get more and more of our children in schools and it is a hard thing to do if we're going to lose control elsewhere and really this is show time for the community.
We have to find out where we are and what we're made of. I just wish that the messaging was clear and the things that are scientifically driven like wearing masking, increasingly becoming an election issue, a political issue is just outrageous, it's criminal.
HILL: Yes we know as you point out the data is there, the facts are there, the science is there, masks work, full stop. I'm sorry, go ahead.
ADLER: I was going to say it could be that it's driving Biden higher in the state. It's been a long time since Texas has been competitive and it's exciting to be in a state where I get to see political commercials again on TV.
HILL: I'm sure being inundated with them to that point. I do want to talk a little bit about voting with you because we've all been watching, right? People around the country are watching what's happening in Texas.
[07:35:00]
And the latest ruling for Travis county as I understand it is that in fact multiple drop off location for absentee ballots are OK according to that latest ruling from the judge on Thursday so is it your understanding then that based on that Thursday ruling, that these additional drop boxes can reopen? ADLER: That's my understanding, the anti-defamation league's lawsuit
on Thursday turned it back yet again. You know it is - they were open, they were closed. Now they're open. You know what, what we're talking about here is no matter how hard it's made to vote and it's outrageous that a county with 1 million people, me and three, Harris County with 4 million people would be limited to one drop box location for absentee ballot.
I mean just outrageous but no matter how hard is way to vote, this is an election where everybody wants to vote and participate. Travis County, Texas, 97 percent of eligible people registered to vote. Of course that doesn't count for anything unless they actually vote but it is exciting to watch.
30 percent of the people voting under 30. 40 percent of the people voting under 40. 20 percent of the people voting right now in Travis county are new people, have not voted here before so there, you can you can feel a sense of momentum in part because there are people that are trying to make it hard to vote.
HILL: We'll continue to watch what is happening there. Mayor Adler, appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you.
ADLER: Good to be with you.
HILL: Records being shattered across Europe. Up next, we have a live report from Italy. Why the second wave there feels very different the first?
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[07:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Just a short time ago Johns Hopkins University reported the world surpassed 40 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. 40 million. Look at Europe there, country after country breaking records on new cases. CNN has reporters all around the world with the latest developments.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I'm Salma Abdelaziz in Manchester where we finally have a breakthrough after a days' long standoff between authorities here and the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson over plans to raise the alert level of the city.
The Mayor says that he has had constructive talks with the government. We also heard from the Housing secretary that a larger financial package will be offered to the city to help affected businesses. The government says it is hopeful that a conclusion will be reached today but it's important to remember, Manchester is just one city, imagine having to negotiate these restrictions, city by city, town by town.
That's part of the reason why the country's scientific advisors are calling for a nationwide lockdown. SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in
Berlin where the Chancellor is urging Germans to abide by coronavirus rules as the number of infections continues to rise. Meanwhile in nearby Prague, people protested the new restrictions there over the weekend with no social distancing and few masks in sight.
The mandatory mandate to wear a mask outside your home in the spring made the first wave barely a blip on the radar but the populace Czech prime minister has so far said no to reinstating that same strict policy now.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Melissa Bell in Paris. Here in France, the daily rises in new coronavirus cases for the fourth day in a row above 25000. This as the curfews came into effect in ten French cities including here in Paris from midnight on Friday.
It's going to take some time though for those to have an impact if they do want the number of new cases and of course all lives are very much on what these massive rises in new cases are going to mean for the number of ICU beds taken up by COVID-19 patients.
Already nationally it is above 35 percent and in places like the Greater Paris region, 46.8.
HILL: Italy is imposing new coronavirus restrictions as daily case numbers there also continued to surge. Record highs being reported. Italy of course was the epicenter of Europe's outbreak at the start of the pandemic and it is now bracing for winter and that dreaded second wave. CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in Naples, this morning with more back in the morning.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning Erica. Well you know these new measures are actually fairly modest, really only affecting social gatherings, particularly in the evening. Now this part of southern Italy was largely spared in the first wave.
Now that the second wave is crashing, it seems none the less that the people in this area are taking the attitude of keep calm and carry on.
Italy is well into the second wave of coronavirus though it's not immediately apparent in Naples, the capital of the Compagnia region which has one of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases in the country. Infectious disease specialist Alyssandro Parella (ph) says it's not just about the numbers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have increasing number of positive people, positive, not increasing number of patients. It's very different.
WEDEMAN: What's different is the testing. Earlier this year only those showing COVID like symptoms were tested. Now everyone can do it? The majority of people who prove positive are asymptomatic, isolated until recovery. The number of people in intensive care now approximately a fifth of what it was before.
Day after day, Italy is reporting record increases in the number of new coronavirus cases but at the same time, Italy is testing like never before.
[07:45:00]
At this hospital here in Naples, seven days a week, at least 1000 tests are conducted quickly and for free. Five times as many tests are being conducted now than at the height of the first wave in March. The ones unwieldy process now routine. How long was the wait?
Half an hour says Abramo. When will you receive the result I ask. The whole family did it. Tomorrow morning we'll get a message by phone he says. There's no air of panic but there's concern.
We're not worried says Valentina, what worries us is not being able to work. The number of new cases is erupting in Italy and the peak of this wave is far off. Better prepared this time, Italy is still bracing for a long hard winter.
What's also interesting is that for instance, yesterday there were almost more - there were almost 12000 new cases reported. None the less the daily death toll is still relatively low. Yesterday the death toll was a mere 69 - 69, that compares to at its worst in Italy back in March when the death toll on one day was 969. John.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Yes Ben, I know. Obviously deaths can be a trailing indicator but let's hope they stay down there. Ben Wedeman, it's a beautiful shot but obviously Italy potentially heading into another tough period. Thanks so much for being with us. You want to remember some of the nearly 220,000 Americans lost to coronavirus.
55-year old James Hamilton was a beloved campus police officer at the University of North Carolina's Asheville campus. The school's chancellor remember Hamilton as a well-known presence at bulldog athletic events. He was also a Town Commissioner. Mark Slenski loved the outdoors. He worked as a manager at a golf village in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
Guard and was an avid fisherman. Fellow langers say he was defined by his generosity, once said he would always give but never expect to get. He was just 64. Norman Bernhall taught music in Georgia middle schools for decades. Born in Peru, he emigrated to the United States where he earned a doctorate in violin performance at ball state in Indiana.
Eventually he settled in Georgia. He played in quartets and orchestras. Former students told the New York Times that Bernhall conveyed his love of music with the patience of a Saint. He was 75 years old. We'll be right back.
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[07:50:00]
BERMAN: This morning we're waiting for answers from Johnson and Johnson. It has now been one week since the company abruptly paused its Phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial and we still don't really know why. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more so what do we know?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, you know this trial went on pause so quickly. They were not even three weeks into the trial when Johnson and Johnson went on what they describe as a voluntary pause. They say the FDA didn't tell them to do it, that they did it because one of the participants developed an unexplained illness.
Now there are several questions that remain and there are two in particular that Johnson and Johnson won't answer and I know because I asked him repeatedly over the past week. One is did this participate receive the vaccine or the placebo. If the participant receive the placebo then this is basically no big deal.
The placebo is just a shot of saline that does nothing. If the participant became sick afterwards, it wasn't because of the placebo or did the participants receive the vaccine. If he or she received the vaccine, that could be a red flag for possible safety problems.
The other question that's not getting answered is, is this the first time that Johnson and Johnson has paused this trial. It might not be and when I asked I did not get an answer, John.
BERMAN: Thank you for pressing. Obviously these answers are very important, Elizabeth. How does this pause compare with the one for AstraZeneca which I know was earlier.
COHEN: Right, it's actually very different in two ways. One, Johnson and Johnson says this is voluntary. They did this on their own whereas we're told by AstraZeneca that theirs was mandatory that the FDA put them on what's called a mandatory hold so that's different.
Also this one has only gone on for a week. The one for AstraZeneca was announced on September 9 so it's been more than a month that they've been on hold and really it's a bit of a mystery why it is taking this long for the FDA to decide do we let this trial continue or do we tell them sorry this trial can't continue.
They actually had two participants that developed neurological illnesses. AstraZeneca did. So let's take a look actually at all four trials that are currently in the United States so there's Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca which as we mentioned are both on pause and then there's Pfizer and Moderna, those two started July 27.
Those are still up and running and they have both said that they think they could have some data for the FDA to look at towards the end of next month. Erica.
HILL: All right Elizabeth, thank you. Meantime a disturbing new video just released appears to show at least one suspect involved in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan's governor conducting field training exercises. Now they are not the only group of extremists America has to worry about as election day approaches. Here's John Avalon with your reality check. JOHN AVALON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not every Supreme Court nominee
that gets a question on voter intimidation and whiffs it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Is it illegal to intimidate voters at the polls?
AMY CONEY BARRETT, SUPREME COURT JUDGE NOMINEE: Senator Klobuchar, I can't characterize the facts in a hypothetical situation and so I can't answer questions like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVALON: OK, voter intimidation is illegal but the reason the question is relevant has to do with guns around polling places which is never a great combination. See, last week 13 men were arrested in alleged domestic terrorism plot to kidnap and possibly execute Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for what they called treason and an attempt to spark a second civil war.
[07:55:00]
Yes, it's not and yes, the alleged plot was foiled by the FBI but no, you should not just dismiss it because gun toting extremist groups are not going away. They've been encouraged by what they see as President Trump's support for armed protests. As a result, the DOJ and the FBI are planning for the possibility of Election Day violence and voting disruptions.
An FBI memo reportedly warned of increasing extremist threats to the election and in Dallas, the FBI reportedly alerted local law enforcement to increase threat of right wing election violence, specifically mentioning the Boogaloo movement.
Their membership have been shattering racial justice protests and are believed to have ties to the alleged Michigan plot. There's been a lot of talk about violent protests this year including from Vice President Mike Pence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've seen violence and chaos in the streets of our major cities. Dave Patrick Underwood, an officer in the Department of Homeland Security's federal protective service, who was shot and killed, during the riots in Oakland, California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVALON: You might have gotten the idea that officer Underwood was killed by left wing protesters but in fact a man in the FBI who was associated with the Boogaloos was charged with his murder and FBI director Chris Wray had said that the majority of domestic terrorism cases come from racially motivated extremist groups. Now, under the Obama administration most of these groups were anti-
government but now many express support for President Trump with the oath-keepers even providing voluntary security for his rallies. Trump has called for his supporters to watch the polls on Election Day which is why there's a growing concern about possible voter intimidation from armed groups.
With a report from the Gifford's Law Center warning that it is likely that significant numbers of people will bring guns to polling places under the guise of preventing election fraud. There's a long ugly history of armed voter intimidation. Going back to violence in the reconstruction era, fear is their ultimate weapon.
So here are some facts. The second amendment does not protect private armed militias and voter intimidation is illegal but in five battleground states it is legal to bear arms to polls. Now this is a potential powder cake that Trump seems to be inciting. His campaign even calling its poll watching volunteers, an army for Trump. Subtle but don't let fear make decisions for you.
Go vote and perhaps some conservatives could help cool overheated passions by remembering the words of Ronald Reagan. "There is no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons." And that's your reality check.
HILL: Thank you John. New Day continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: COVID cases surging to new levels. There are now more than 8 million cases in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are getting tired. We're seeing mitigation fatigue right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm extremely worried. We're starting to spread.
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you vote for Biden, he will surrender your future to the virus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How bad will things have to get for you to advocate a national lockdown?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would have to get really, really bad.
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: SO much is at stake for this nation.
ANNOUNCER: This is New Day with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Good morning everyone. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. This is a New Day. Alisyn is off. Erica Hill with me this morning. Good morning to you.
HILL: Happy Monday.
BERMAN: All right, a lot going on this morning. We are now at the beginning of the biggest coronavirus wave yet. The next 6 to 12 weeks could be the darkest we've seen. Those assessments from two esteemed experts on the pandemic outlook this morning.
The United States is now averaging more than 56000 new cases a day. That's up more than 60 percent since mid-September. Look at the map. Look at the map here. 27 states are seeing a rise in cases. The Bay states by the way, cases are level right now but in some cases, level at a very dangerous place. Some of these states are the exact places where President Trump is holding mass gathering, super spreader potentially events.
No social distancing, few masks. In a new interview overnight, Dr. Anthony Fauci says given events like this, he's not surprised that President Trump got coronavirus.
HILL: 15 days now until Election Day and it appears the president maybe fighting for his political life. He's holding two rally today in Arizona opting to Rev up his mostly massless supporters. In fact, that's his plan this week ahead of the final presidential debate on Thursday night.
Joe Biden, we've learned focusing on debate prep this week as his campaign is warning supporters to avoid any complacency. Long lines meantime over the weekend in early voting states. So far more than 27 million ballots have been cast. That is nearly 20 percent of the total ballots cast.
