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New Day

Giants beat Royals 5-0; Mandatory Ebola Quarantines Questioned

Aired October 27, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: But in New Jersey, a quarantine nurse is still being kept in an isolation tent. She says her human rights are being violated. We will talk more about that controversy.

And the Giants now a win away from making it three titles in five years. But don't count out KC. Details ahead in our "Bleacher Report."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again.

Here's a look at your headlines:

New York state is now softening its policy for health care workers returning from the so-called Ebola hot zones. They can be quarantined at home for the mandatory 21 days. New Jersey's governor, meanwhile, is sticking by his decision to keep nurse Kaci Hickox in a hospital isolation tent. Hickox calls her treatment inhumane and plans to sue to end her quarantine.

Changing the guard in Afghanistan. The last U.S. marine and British troops have officially ended combat operations. They transferred Camps Leatherneck and Bastion to afghan control. The American and British flags were lowered, pulled up for the last time, marking the military milestone.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko hailing exiting polls are proof of the country's path to Europe. He says Sunday's parliamentary elections showed support for his peace plan. However, millions in separatist controlled areas were not able to vote, leaving 27 of the 450 seats in parliament vacant. The first official results are expected as early as today.

I got to show you some crazy video from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. A group of people take down a man who taunted and attacked a fellow passenger during a homophobic rant. The man had been shouting expletives and slurs toward that passenger for wearing a pink shirt before started kicking and punching him. While other passengers jumped, intervened, quickly followed by airport police.

When asked why he attacked the passenger the man said, quote, these are his words, not mine, "because this is America."

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And in America, we don't kick like a punk in a situation like that either. It's good thing they took him down. PEREIRA: We don't treat our fellow Americans like that.

CUOMO: Everything he did was ugly in that situation.

CAMEROTA: I believe he's misreading the Constitution.

PEREIRA: You think?

CUOMO: He didn't read it is where the problem is. But other people, better people stepped in.

Thanks for that, Mick.

All right. So, speaking of better things, the San Francisco Giants better take care of business like they did last night if they want to win. They beat the Royals 5-0, just one win away from the third World Series title in the past five years.

Andy Scholes is here with this morning's "Bleacher Report". What do you think?

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Good morning.

You know, it's hard to beat the Giants in these even years, right? Won in 2010, Won in 2012, and now they're up 3-2 in this series. But there are some good news for the Royals this morning. They are heading home for game six and they're not going to have to face this guy, Madison Bumgarner, again. Bumgarner, man, he was great last fight again dominant during a four-hit shutout. In his career, guys, he is 4-0 with a .29 ERA. In the World Series, that makes him statistically the best pitcher ever in the World Series.

Now, game six is going to be tomorrow night in Kansas City. Royals got to have this they want to force a winner take all game seven.

All right. It's very sad news to report to you this morning: 22-year- old Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras died yesterday in his home country the Dominican Republican. Taveras' 18-year-old girlfriend was also in the car. She died in the crash as well. Taveras made his Major League debut this year with St. Louis before the season. He was the third ranked prospect in all of baseball. Very sad news.

All right. To the NFL, if you're a Super Bowl winning quarterback, you probably had a good day yesterday. For example, Drew Brees threw for 311 yards, three touchdowns. The saints continue their dominance at home. Who Dat Nation beat the Packers 44-23 on Sunday fight football.

In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger had a career day. Big Ben threw for 522 yards in a career high six touchdown. He's the first quarterback ever to have two 500-yard passing games. The Steelers crushed the Colts 51-24.

CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE) one of the ugliest uniforms ever.

SCHOLES: Ever. CUOMO: All right. Last but not least, Tom Brady, it was vintage

Brady against the Bears yesterday. Patriots dominated, dominating that game 51 to 23, a lot of high scores yesterday in the NFL. But my favorite stat from this game was Brady, he threw five touchdowns, he had five incomplete passes, nearly perfect on the day.

Chris, I know you sympathize with me on this. You're a Jets fan, I'm a Texas fan. I just only have envious watching those great quarterbacks, because we have to deal with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith.

CUOMO: The pantheon of football gods compared to the Jets. The Jets are a displaced to themselves, to their city, and to anybody who likes the sports.

SCHOLES: At least you are in the hunt for that first pick, right?

CUOMO: Just a joke. We need to end on a high note. Before we go, show Andy's socks. Do me a favor. Because there with is a side to this kid you just don't know.

SCHOLES: This is my Hakeem Olajuwon socks, greatest center in NBA history.

CUOMO: On his foots.

PEREIRA: Love it. That's dedication.

CUOMO: Thank you very much, my brother. I appreciate that treat on a Monday special.

So we will tell you this morning. We got to get into these concerns about Ebola, and what he right reaction. The White House is voicing concern, saying quarantine in several states, it's a mistake, it's a trend and it's a problematic one. New York now says, well, we'll modify our quarantine, you can do it at home.

The question is, will quarantines hurt or help the situation? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

New York and New Jersey are now enforcing quarantines for health care workers returning from West Africa. Although, New York says they can be quarantined at home.

The federal government says this could actually hurt the fight against Ebola. And the big picture, it wants those quarantines scaled back. So the bottom line, will quarantining health care workers be effective or harmful?

Joining us via Skype is Sean Kaufman. He's been training healthcare workers to combat Ebola in Liberia.

Sean, great to see you this morning.

SEAN KAUFMAN, PRESIDENT, BEHAVIORAL-BASED IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS: Good to see you, too, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: We know that you are coming to us from Dubai, where you are helping people contain infectious diseases, including Ebola. So, you're the perfect person to talk to this morning.

What do you think of these mandatory quarantines that we're now seeing here in the U.S.?

KAUFMAN: Well, it's a good thing that I'm not a part of these mandatory quarantines, because I wouldn't be able to continue to do my job, which is actually training folks to work with Ebola.

But I don't like them. I don't like them. I think they are a danger. I think that, you know, the battle against Ebola has to occur in West Africa. If we develop policy that prevents us from fighting that battle in West Africa, then it could actually come to the United States.

CAMEROTA: And what you are referring to is that just two weeks ago, you were in Liberia, you were working with patients with Ebola, why aren't you self quarantining right now?

KAUFMAN: Well, it's funny. Look, anybody who comes from the front line has to take preventative measures, which means we have to assess ourselves, we have to behave in an appropriate manner and we have to communicate.

And so, the reality is I am assessing myself. I'm doing everything I can to make sure that if something does go wrong, I will be able to self isolate, keep myself away from people responsibly and again continue to live my life, but live my life responsibly. And I think everybody that dedicates to this outbreak should have the right to do the same.

CAMEROTA: Well, Governor Chris Christie disagrees with you, and the reason he does is because we've seen examples here at home who people haven't acted that responsibly. They were supposed to be self- quarantining at home, but they ended up going out to restaurants or getting on the subway or going to bowl or whatever, granted, they were asymptomatic at the time. But it makes people nervous.

And so, let me play for what you Governor Christie said people can't be trusted to do what you are suggesting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: The fact of the matter is that we -- I don't believe when you are dealing with something as serious as this that we can count on a voluntary system. This is government's job. If anything else, the government's job is to protect the safety and health of our citizens. So, we've taken this action and I absolutely have no second thoughts about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Sean, the voluntary system doesn't seem to work in every case. What do you say to that?

KAUFMAN: Well, look, these folks that are coming back to the United States should not be treated in my opinion like dogs. Here is a nurse who has dedicated her life carrying and offering compassion to patients in West Africa to fight the battle overseas. She comes back and is put in a tent next to a hospital for 21 days.

I don't think it's about ridiculous. I don't think Governor Christie is leading, I think he's imaging. He is doing a poor job at that. He's not using science, he is simply using fear and trying to get folks to rally up against it, which I agree in the long run will end up hurting this battle against Ebola.

CAMEROTA: And the reason you think it will hurt, if the quarantine is too draconian, as we're seeing with Kaci Hickox. She's alone in an isolation tent. She says she was hungry, she was confused, she was tired, they were interrogating her him.

So you think that will be a disincentive for people to go to Liberia or to go to places like Dubai where you are?

KAUFMAN: Alisyn, absolutely. Look, if I have to spend time overseas in a high stressful situation, then when I come home, I'm going to be treated like this, I'm not going again. I'm not going to spend my time overseas and spend three weeks in a quarantine in a foreign place by myself. It's not going to happen.

I don't think anybody that has any type of family will allow that to happen as well. Look, when we come home, we should be treated like heroes. We can do better than what's done in New York and New Jersey. I hope the leadership chooses to do something better as well.

CAMEROTA: Very quickly, how about quarantine at home rather than in an isolation tent?

KAUFMAN: Where does it end, Alisyn? If we do it at home, does that mean that we can't be around our kid and our wives? Does that mean when we go home, we have to move our kids and our wives out so that they don't have contact with us, so that we don't interact with the public.

Look, we have to use science, Alisyn. Science should be our guiding force, not fear, not perception and certainly not public opinion. Science real science.

CAMEROTA: Sean Kaufman, you are on the front lines there. Thanks so much for giving us the perspective from a healthcare worker. We really appreciate it. Great to see you.

KAUFMAN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Chris. CUOMO: Boy, it's about science, but it's also about politics now, Alisyn. That's just the fact. Who would have guessed the hot button issue for midterm elections coming down to the wire would be Ebola? But even with an exotic issue, the politics are the same. Is the leadership there for the White House now urging states to focus on science, not fear. Remember, a nurse under mandatory quarantine is the one caught in the middle of all this in New Jersey. The question, is too much caution better than not enough?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

The White House is voicing concern over strict Ebola quarantine measures implemented by some states, growing number actually, right?

New York is not allowing people to just self-quarantine. They can do it at home. That's not water going on in New Jersey.

There was a nurse there who is treating Ebola patients in West Africa. Now, she's really kind of held hostage in this hospital. And she told Candy Crowley that she feels the treatment is inhumane.

So, are these state imposed measures necessary or is this as the nurse called it knee-jerk reaction by politicians playing politics with public sentiment. Let's bring in CNN political analyst and editor in chief of "Daily Beast", John Avlon, and Margaret Hoover, CNN political commentator and Republican/consultant.

John Avlon --

CAMEROTA: Good to see you, guys.

JOHN AVLON, THE DAILY BEAST: Good morning.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

CUOMO: This is a naked political play. People are afraid. And so, you are doing what you think assuages the people's will, which is to get these people away from them, which you are not following science. You are victimizing people who are doing the work in West Africa. Shame on you.

AVLON: Wow, look at you. Taking a strong line.

CUOMO: What do you think?

AVLON: I -- look, I think public health and personal liberty are often intentioned in the course of the country. Right now, people are panicking. And so, you have local officials trying to overreact to restrain that panic.

When the doctor came home from West Africa and came down a week later with Ebola, that has ripple effect. I think probably quarantining at home is far preferable to kind of imposition and putting someone in the hospital. In the case of this nurse in New Jersey, clearly a part of the problem

is a lack of communication. She is angry. That's one of the things motivating the lawsuit.

So, we're going to have to find balance. And we're going to be a little patient with each other as we do that, because we are dealing with something that's unprecedented.

CAMEROTA: Margaret, this is just PR. She doesn't have symptoms. She is completely symptom-free. So, for PR reasons, politicians are saying, but we have to hold her to make the -- quell the public anxiety.

HOOVER: I don't know it's exactly PR. I mean, I don't take Chris Christie as a blatant political hack trying to gain points in an election year doing this.

CUOMO: Are you sure?

HOOVER: Look, he clearly has a responsibility for securing a state and securing a state from panic, frankly. I think you have two side of the spectrum here. You could have pure panic or you could, truly, if you have two sides, panic or you could have a slightly, more authoritarian strong armed government.

The balance is obviously somewhere in between, right? And we're not going to strike it perfectly right now. But, frankly, the Obama administration wasn't out in front of this when the first Ebola patient came to the United State in August. There wasn't clear guidance from the CDC or wasn't clear communication.

CUOMO: Sometimes I think the White House isn't leading thing and that's playing politics.

But here, confidence is consistency, John, and we've gone from 21 days quarantine, but we know when in 21 you can get it. It's actually 40 days. Oh, it's OK for them to come back. Wait, it's here now, it's a big problem.

There are mixed messages. It leaves people scared.

AVLON: Look, there are absolutely --

CUOMO: No czar czar.

AVLON: That's a fair point, because you do need consistency. But in an unprecedented situation, you've got to change your approach to facts on the ground. And his is a place where the White House is messaging especially from the CDC where the goal posts keep moving, I think has undercut confidence.

But you can't replay that. So, what we need to do is realize we are in an unprecedented situation. I think the White House and federal government needs to get involved and set clear standards. But right now, we're seeing the standoff between governors and the Feds right now, which is also a part of water baked into our system. The big thing is, eight days from election, trying to politicize a

pandemic on any side is truly foolish and dangerous.

CAMEROTA: Well, I'm curious about that. Let's talk about the mid- terms for a second because all politics is local, Ebola is not local. So, does it play into the midterms?

HOOVER: Well, the stakes where you have really tight Senate races where the Senate hangs in the balance, it surely isn't local. I mean, there is no Senate race in Texas, New Jersey or New York. There are Senate races in Arkansas and you haven't heard Tom Cotton or Mark Pryor talked about it.

So, you know, only to the extent that maybe the next maybe wasn't fast enough. But you are right. It's not a local issue in the key states. So I don't see a massive politicization of this.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Look, my governor is the brother of New York state, right? And I'm the one pointing fingers about this policy because if you had -- my brother would disagree with this, because he's a Democrat. He'd say, no, no, this isn't about the White House and their policies.

But how is it not? How is this not about leadership from the top that is making states now go rogue and come up with their own policies? And doesn't that reflect on the midterm to kind of that collective psychology of whether the Democrats are really in control and doing what they need to do for the people of this country?

AVLON: Look, that's definitely the narrative that creates the environment. The world is going to hell, it's a lack of leadership on the part of the president doing it. But you also know that most public safety measures are matters for local and state governments. If we want to federalize a response to a pandemic like this, that moves the ball a lot more towards that --

HOOVER: No, no, no, what does the Department of Homeland Security does?

The Department of Homeland Security absolutely does work on pandemic --

AVLON: And the CDC.

HOOVER: And the CDC. You do federalize the response. That's the point. You issue clear guidance.

The reason narratives get traction is because there is some kind of truth to them. And you have seen -- you know, in the Obama administration a lack of response to many crises or a lack of quick response to the crises has gotten out of the way or sort of out of the hand of those in administration. You saw it as early as the BP oil spill --

AVLON: I hate it when she makes a good unifying point. (LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: It drives you crazy.

AVLON: Fair point.

(CROSSTALK)

AVLON: That was tough to concede right now.

HOOVER: I can't believe he gave one to me. So, now, I don't know what to do.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Stay down, John. Stay down.

You're married almost 15 years, stay down.

CAMEROTA: John, Margaret, great to see you guys. Thanks so much.

CUOMO: Look, what we do about Ebola is big. It's local. It's national. It's international. We're going to have to keep talking about it to figure out, because we clearly don't have the solution yet.

One big story we are following, a lot of other news as well. So let's get right to you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Backlash from health workers on the front lean of the Ebola fight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like my basic human rights have been violated.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: My first and foremost obligation is to protect the public health and safety of the people of New Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to be very careful about letting politicians make medical and public health decisions.

UNDENTIFIED FEMALE: The quarantine controversy rages on.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: It is totally in the state's authority to implement what that state thinks is appropriate.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIH: You have got to make your decisions and your policy based on the scientific data.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: It's a time for everyone to get on the same page and protect our people. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm Alisyn Camerota, alongside side Chris Cuomo.

A lot happening over the weekend that we need to get to right now, because overnight, responding to an uproar that stretched all the way to the White House. New York state is scaling back it's Ebola quarantine policy -- health care workers returning from West Africa who exhibit no symptoms will be able to do their own mandatory 21-day period at home.

CUOMO: And it has a lot of people raising questions -- well, can we trust self monitoring? That's why New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie, has a different take. He's standing by his Ebola rule despite coming under attack to be the first one to isolate a nurse coming back from treating people with Ebola.

Now, the nurse is slamming his policy saying she is completely healthy. She has no sign of Ebola. And she should be free to leave the New Jersey hospital. But she isn't.

We need complete coverage of this. And we have it. We're going to give you the Ebola story like nobody else can. We're going to speak with the doctor who survived Ebola in a moment.

Let's begin with senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Elizabeth, good morning.