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New Stay-at-Home Orders Go Into Effect for 33 Million Californians; Giuliani Hospitalized after Testing Positive for COVID- 19; Trump's Baseless Fraud Claims Dominate Georgia Senate Debate. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired December 07, 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: Help is on the way. Vaccines are imminent.

[05:59:59]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our healthcare system is at the breaking point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe we could see FDA authorization within days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The vaccine is critical, but it's not going to save us from this current surge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This pandemic is ravaging the country. We all need to take our precautions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't see anything that would overturn the will of the people here.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They cheated, and they rigged our presidential election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mountains of misinformation are not helping the process. They're only hurting it.

(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 is Monday, December 7, 6 a.m. here in New York.

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill with me this morning.

Good morning.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Monday morning.

BERMAN: To you, as well. Breaking news: moments ago, President-elect Joe Biden officially announcing his health team. He will nominate California's attorney general, Xavier Becerra, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Also, we just learned he will nominate Vivek Murthy as surgeon general. It's a role he held during the Obama administration. And Rochelle Walensky from Massachusetts General Hospital, who has been a CNN contributor, is nominated -- or will be nominated -- to be director of the Centers for Disease Control.

This comes as at a critical moment in the pandemic. Tens of millions of Californians waking up this morning to new restrictions. Why? Twenty-eight thousand new cases reported in that state overnight. We'll talk much more about what California is doing shortly.

This morning, as you look around the country, look at this map. Look at all the red there. Everywhere there in red, new deaths trending up more than 10 percent. Deep red, more than 50 percent.

More Americans are currently hospitalized with coronavirus than ever before.

HILL: And one of those hospitalized this morning is President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who says he's doing well via Twitter.

Giuliani has spent the last several weeks traveling the country, pushing false election fraud claims. And as you see in the video, this just one of many times where he was frequently unmasked. Most recently in Georgia.

Overnight in Georgia, Republican Georgia Brian Kemp rejecting President Trump's request to open a special session of the Georgia General Assembly with the goal of overturning the voters' choices there and overturning Joe Biden's win.

We want to begin with the raging pandemic, though. CNN's Stephanie Elam is live in Los Angeles with our top story, where new restrictions just went in place overnight.

Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

Across the nation, we are seeing states setting all kinds of the wrong records. And that is something that is painted very clearly in California, as these new restrictions here in the state are hoping to bend the curve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): The alarming surge in new coronavirus cases has medical experts more concerned than ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not likely to see a peak in the number of infections until about the end of December, maybe into January. So as bad as things are right now, they're going to get a lot worse.

ELAM: The United States has added more than 1.2 million new coronavirus cases in the first six days of December alone.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE MEMBER: The gatherings that we saw on Thanksgiving will lead to a surge. It will happen this week and next week. And we cannot go into the holiday season -- Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa -- with this same kind of attitude.

ELAM: Hospitalizations continue to rise. More than 101,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus nationwide.

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Hospitals are getting full. And it's just hard to find spaces for people. So that's actually another crisis situation. I'm very worried about what's going to happen over the next three to six weeks.

ELAM: This morning, some 33 million people in California are under new stay-at-home orders, as ICUs in parts of the state are rapidly filling up.

On Sunday, California's Department of Public Health reporting more than 30,000 cases, a new daily record.

The new restrictions order bars, hair salons, museums, and movie theaters to close. But retail stores are allowed to remain open at 20 percent capacity. Restaurants are limited to takeout and delivery services only.

Some restaurant owners pushing back on the new regulations. One restaurant owner, frustrated that her outdoor dining patio has been forced to shut down, even though she says a video production company set up an outdoor eating area for its employees right next to her own parking lot.

ANGELA MARSDEN, OWNER, PINEAPPLE HILL SALOON AND GRILL: Tell me that this is dangerous, but right next to me, as a slap in my face, that's safe.

ELAM: This week, the Food and Drug Administration will meet to discuss authorizing emergency use for Pfizer's vaccine.

President-elect Joe Biden saying Friday his team had seen no detailed plan from the Trump administration to deliver a vaccine to Americans. But the Trump administration is assuring the public they are ready.

ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We have comprehensive plans from the CDC, working with 64 public health jurisdictions across the country, as our governors have laid out very detailed plans that we've worked with them on.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR, OPERATION WARP SPEED: We haven't had the chance yet to sit down with the transition team and explain in detail everything that has been planned and been done. We look forward to that happening. We actually, I think, have a meeting planned later this week.

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ELAM: Now just to point out, county by county, how bad the spread is right now. Here in Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the nation, yesterday, the county reported 10,528 new people have tested positive for the coronavirus.

They're also saying that the number of people hospitalized also at a record level, more than 2,800 people. This is why they are so concerned about this, and this is why many people are saying, we've got to do something to help these businesses, because they do need to stay closed.

And Erica, think about it this way. We haven't even yet seen the surge that health officials expect post-Thanksgiving. It's terrifying how large these numbers are.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Stephanie Elam with the latest for us this morning. Steph, thank you.

Breaking overnight, President-elect Joe Biden just announced his health team, including his picks for health secretary, surgeon general, and director of the CDC.

Jessica Dean is live in Wilmington, Delaware, with more for us this morning. Good morning.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Erica.

We do have this breaking news for you this morning, as the Biden transition team formally announces these key players in their health team.

Of course, as we see those coronavirus numbers surging, this team going to play a critical role in getting coronavirus under control. So let's walk through some of the members of this Biden health team.

We know that President-elect Joe Biden has selected Javier Becerra, the California attorney general, to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary. This, of course, bringing more diversity to Biden's cabinet at a time when there have been calls from outside groups to put more diverse candidates or more diverse nominees in his cabinet. And also, when Biden himself has pledged to make a cabinet and put together a cabinet that looks like America.

We also know that Dr. Vivek Murthy will be reprising his role as surgeon general. He served as that under President Obama. He will be reprising that role under President-elect Joe Biden. He also chairs Biden's COVID-19 advisory board and has been a longtime adviser to him throughout this pandemic.

Both of those are Senate confirmed. We know Dr. Rochelle Walensky will be tapped to head up the CDC. That is not a Senate-confirmed post, but you also probably know her. She is a CNN contributor. You've seen her face on our air many, many times. Some of the key members of his health team.

All of this coming, too, as we are learning that Biden will receive his first intel briefing from the Pentagon today. So another busy Monday for the Biden transition team and the president-elect.

And John, as is typical, we usually hear the formal announcement of their key team players, and then we typically are formally introduced to them at an event later in the week. We expect that to happen later this week, as well -- John.

BERMAN: We'll wait on the timing of that, but again, the official announcement, the paper release, came just moments ago. Jessica Dean, thank you so much for that breaking news.

Developing this morning, outgoing President Trump, his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is hospitalized this morning after testing positive for coronavirus. He joins dozens -- dozens -- of others in the president's orbit who have now caught the virus.

CNN's Joe Johns live at the White House with the very latest. What do we know about Giuliani's condition?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we know that the president made the announcement himself on Twitter. He said Rudy Giuliani had tested positive for coronavirus. He wished him well.

Giuliani for his part, 78 years old, checked into Georgetown University Hospital right here in northwest Washington, D.C. He tweeted out that he's getting great care, and he's doing good.

Giuliani has been traveling around the country, peddling the president's voting fraud fantasies and claims that he won the election. Giuliani most recently was in Arizona on Monday. On Wednesday, he was in Michigan. Most recently, I should say, he was in Atlanta. And he was seen not wearing a mask, not social distancing.

Of course, Giuliani is 78 years old.

The campaign, for their part, says that Giuliani did test negative before each of those trips.

Meanwhile, there is some other news relating to the president's inner circle. CNN has been told that Attorney General Bill Barr is not happy with the president and is thinking about leaving the administration before the inauguration of Joe Biden.

Apparently, he says, he is not someone who takes bullying kindly, turns the other cheek. This was first reported by "The New York Times." There's really no indication, at least at this point, as to whether he's made a final decision on that.

[06:10:11]

John, back to you.

BERMAN: Think about the implications there, Joe. There's only 40-plus days left. That Barr is not willing to stick around for that tells you his state of mind and his opinion of the outgoing president.

Joe Johns at the White House. Thank you very much.

So new restrictions in place in California as cases skyrocket there. Tens of millions of people will feel these new restrictions today.

And a new medical team just selected by President-elect Joe Biden, that's next.

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BIRX: The vaccine is critical, but it's not going to save us from this current surge. Only we can save us from this current surge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That's Dr. Deborah Birx, warning Americans not to let their guard down, as coronavirus surges across the country.

[06:15:02]

This morning, a record 101,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus. And this is the map that is truly stunning and terrifying. Everything there in red, you can see, are where new deaths are up at least 10 percent over the previous week. In dark red, deaths are up 50 percent week-to-week. Think of that.

There are no states, by the way, where new deaths are going down. This comes as President-elect Joe Biden moments ago named his health team to battle this pandemic. You can see the names on the screen there. California attorney general Javier Becerra. Dr. Vivek Murthy nominated to be surgeon general, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky to lead the CDC.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator Dr. Abdul El-Sayyed. He's an epidemiologist and Detroit's former health director.

Dr. El-Sayyed, thanks so much for joining us.

That slate to lead the Biden administration's health team, led by California Attorney General Javier Becerra to be secretary of Health and Human Services. What's your major takeaway?

I will note Becerra, no medical experience, per se. I mean, yes, he's done things with the Affordable Care Act and whatnot, but not a doctor.

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, well, I'll say one word. Competence. These are people who are excellent at what they do.

And I'll say about Javier Becerra, the nominee for HHS, though he is not a physician or a public health professional, he is definitely somebody who has thought a lot about the legal aspects of healthcare in our country. That's going to be really quite critical as we continue to see an onslaught against Obamacare, the ACA, and as the president-elect thinks a bit about how he can expand health insurance for millions of people who have lost it, even if we don't win the two Senate runoffs, Democrats don't win the two Senate runoffs in Georgia, giving him a legislative majority.

And so thinking about what you can do with executive orders is really quite important. And the other aspect you're going to want with a team that leads HHS is a well-rounded group of people. Folks who understand the disease dynamics and the healthcare aspects. And then those who understand the law and managing an extremely large bureaucracy that is the Health and Human Services Department of the federal government.

And so you've got a team here that's pretty well-rounded, that's very, very thoughtful.

And the last thing I'll say is that I really appreciate the appointment of Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith focusing on equity with respect to COVID-19, given the fact that this disease has taken upwards of three times as many black and brown lives as it has others.

And so focusing on equity and appointing somebody whose goal and job it is to think about that, I think is really critical and a nod to the different experiences that folks have had with this pandemic.

HILL: And we know what will be on their plate, right, coming in, as we look at the numbers just this morning.

And let's focus specifically on California. I mean, the staggering number of new cases overnight. Some, I believe it's 33 million Californians under these new restrictions now.

When you look at the restrictions that have been put in place, Dr. El- Sayyed, do you think this is what is needed to control the spread? Is Governor Newsom targeting the right businesses, the right areas of society to close down, effectively?

EL-SAYYED: Erica, this is a four-alarm fire, and we can't pretend that it's not blazing simply because it's been blazing for the past eight months. And I think sometimes in human psychology, the urgency of an issue gets blunted by how long the issue has been taking place.

And this is the worst moment of this pandemic. And it is right that we need to be able to reduce the spread of this disease. And that means reducing access to the kinds of places where people spread the disease, restaurants and bars.

The important thing here, though, is that we need the other side. And that's that people can't just be asked to stay home without having the means of being able to provide their families with food on the table. And that's why, really, we have to also be talking about the work that's going into a COVID-19 relief package, which is necessary and important. People need and deserve it.

And even as we do what we need to do to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we also need to do what we need to do to make sure that folks aren't going hungry because of it. And this is two sides of the same coin. We can't forget the fact that

people can't just stay home without being able to feed their children. So we've got to be able to do both.

BERMAN: So we're ten months into this, nine or ten months into this. People have been through this before. And I think people also understand what makes sense intuitively, and stuff that's a little quirky.

And in California, there are some things that are quirky, Dr. El- Sayyed. Playgrounds, for instance, will be closed. Explain that. How does that make sense?

EL-SAYYED: Yes, look, I think -- I'm a proponent of allowing to people to spend as much time as they need to outside, while of course, advising that people be masked up while they're doing it. And so, you know, there are some quirks. And, you know, I can't speak to the process that went into making decisions about California, but I think action is necessary.

I'll also say that it's really important to get this right, right? Public health folks have to get this right. Because every time folks look at a list like that and say, That's kind of quirky and I don't know why I can't do that, it does tend to undercut some of the trust that they have in public health professionals.

[06:20:14]

So we do need to be getting it right. I do think that we need to be able to provide safe avenues for people to -- to do the things that they're going to do, while at the same time, reducing COVID-19 transmission as much as we can and empowering people to live a dignified life and have food on the table for their families in the process through a COVID-19 relief bill.

HILL: I want to get your take quickly before I let you go, on what we learned about Rudy Giuliani overnight, the president's personal attorney, learning that he is now hospitalized with COVID-19.

We have seen him out in recent weeks all over the country, unmasked. Listen, we know the message that that sends. I'm just curious your take on what we're seeing now, given the number of interactions that Giuliani has had over those last several weeks?

EL-SAYYED: Yes, that's right. You know, it's sad, but it's not surprising.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 clown show that is the Trump administration and the attempted defense of the stealing of democracy through Rudy Giuliani was in my state of Michigan on Wednesday. And I worry a lot about the folks who were in the chamber with him, people that I know personally.

This is unfortunate. Because we've known that this pandemic has been raging for nine months. We've known the basic things that you need to do to protect yourself. And we've also known that members of the administration are choosing not to pay attention.

BERMAN: Yes. You can see the pictures right there of Rudy Giuliani in Michigan there, testifying.

Arizona has just closed down their assembly for the time being, because he was there speaking in public. I wonder if we'll start seeing that in Michigan and Georgia, as well, given his now visit to the hospital.

Dr. El-Sayyed, thanks so much for being with us this morning. Really appreciate it.

EL-SAYYED: Thank you for having me.

BERMAN: A little bit later in the broadcast, we are going to speak to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was just officially named the chief medical adviser for the Biden administration. We'll talk to him about what he sees going on in the country right now and also the process for getting vaccines in people's arms over the coming months.

The candidates in one of Georgia's critical Senate runoffs squared off in a heated debate overnight. Questions -- highlights and the question Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler repeatedly refused to answer, next.

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[06:26:34]

HILL: Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler and her Democratic challenger, Rev. Raphael Warnock, trading sharp attacks in a fiery debate last night. President Trump's baseless election fraud claims looming large over that race.

CNN's Ryan Young is live in Atlanta this morning with more.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Erica.

You think about this. On Friday, Vice President Pence was here. On Saturday, President Trump was here. On Sunday, we had this explosive debate where these two candidates go head-to-head, and all eyes are on the state of Georgia.

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YOUNG (voice-over): It's one of the most crucial races of this election cycle.

REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: And I've spent my whole career standing up for ordinary people.

SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): I have spent every single day working for Georgians.

YOUNG: And last night, two contenders for one of the high-stakes race for the Senate faced off for the first time since the general election, with President Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud in Georgia taking center stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, do you believe that the election was rigged?

LOEFFLER: Look, Greg, it's very clear that there were issues in this election. There are 250 investigations open. We have to make sure that Georgians trust this process because of what's at stake in this election.

YOUNG: On Saturday night, Trump once again pushed allegations of misconduct and voter fraud at a rally in southern Georgia. Senator Kelly Loeffler continued to sidestep when asked during the debate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Loeffler, did Donald Trump lose the election?

LOEFFLER: You know, President Trump has every right to use every legal recourse available.

YOUNG: Her Democratic challenger, Rev. Raphael Warnock, also accused Loeffler of putting her financial interests ahead of the well-being of Georgia residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, which she denied.

And on Friday, Georgia reported a record number of daily COVID-19 cases in the state, the highest since the pandemic began.

WARNOCK: She purchased that seat. It has done well for her -- the issue is that the people who sold it to her don't own it. And the people of Georgia are coming back to get their seat.

YOUNG: On stage, Loeffler hammered Warnock for his stance on abortion and continued to repeat one phrase throughout the debate.

LOEFFLER: Radical liberal.

Radical liberal.

Radical liberal Raphael Warnock.

YOUNG: And criticized portions about his past sermons about law enforcement and the U.S. military. Sermons Warnock says have been taken out of context.

LOEFFLER: I'm not going to be lectured by someone that uses the bible to justify abortion, to attack our men and women in the military.

WARNOCK: She's lied not only on me, but on Jesus.

YOUNG: With less than 30 days until the runoff, this may be one of the final times for the candidates to make their cases to Georgia voters.

WARNOCK: Because there are those who are engaged in the politics of division, they have no vision.

LOEFFLER: He wants to fundamentally change America into a socialist country. Well, I'm not going to let that happen. I'm working hard for every single Georgian.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: So Erica, at least we got that debate. Of course, when you talk about the whole eyes of the country on the state, because there's two races here.

And John Ossoff tried to have a debate last night, but he was the only one there. Senator David Perdue just declined to be a part of this debate series, and so he basically had a debate against himself, with an empty podium next to him.

So a lot of questions about what will happen next, obviously, as these candidates try to get their messages forward.

Today is the last day for people to register to vote in this state -- Erica.

HILL: Ryan Young with the latest for us. Ryan, thank you.

Attorney General Bill Barr considering stepping down before President Trump leaves office. This after a contentious meeting about Trump's false voter fraud plans. We've got the latest on that move, next.

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