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Trump Rallies as U.S. COVID Cases Surge; Fauci Says None of Us Have Been Told to Slow Down Testing; Infections Number are Surging in 25 U.S. States; Trump Uses Racist Term to Refer to Virus Again; EU Considers Barring Visitors from U.S.; Brazilian Judge Orders Bolsonaro to Wear Mask; FBI Says Rope Was Not a Racist Message to Race Car Driver; Hundreds Gather for Rayshard Brooks' Funeral. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired June 24, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've all done the best we can do to tackle this virus and the reality that brought this nation to its knees.
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CHURCH: As top health officials issue warnings about the coronavirus across the country, President Trump holds a rally in one of the hardest hit states.
While the European Union watches the from afar it's weighing whether to ban Americans as it reopens its borders.
And days after the world's top tennis star holds an event in Croatia, he tests positive for the coronavirus.
Good to have you with us. Well, the numbers don't lie. The coronavirus is still spreading rapidly in the United States. And U.S. health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says if the country doesn't stamp it out now it could turn into a forest fire later. More than 121,000 people have died from the virus in the U.S. and 25 states recorded higher rates of new cases compared to last week. Here's Dr. Fauci.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges we're seeing in Florida, in Texas, in Arizona and in other states. They are not the only ones that are a having difficulty. Plan A, don't go in a crowd. Plan B, if you do, make sure you wear a
mask.
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CHURCH: Dr. Fauci was one of several health experts at a hearing Tuesday in Washington. All of them said they plan to ramp up testing and were not told to slow it down as President Donald Trump had said.
Well, CNN's Nick Watt has the latest.
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FAUCI: If you look how we've been hit, we've been hit badly.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A checkup from Dr. Fauci, a praise for New York where they are for now controlling COVID-19.
FAUCI: However, in other area of the country we're now seeing a disturbing surge of infections.
WATT: Black Americans are being hit harder. Does institutional racism play a part?
FAUCI: The answer Congressman is yes.
WATT: And a vaccine?
FAUCI: I still think there's a reasonably good chance that by the very beginning of 2021, that if we're going to the to have a vaccine, that we will have it by then.
WATT: Meantime they say it must be masks, distancing and hand washing.
FAUCI: The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we're seeing.
WATT: Case counts are now rising in half our states.
DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC: As we move from total lockdown to a public health model of testing, tracking, isolating and quarantining, we have yet to see any state make that transition effectively.
WATT: Here's what happened in Texas since reopening began. We knew daily case counts would go up. They quadrupled.
GREG ABBOTT, TEXAS GOVERNOR: Because the spread is so rapid right now there's never a reason for you to have to leave your home unless you do need to go out.
WATT: He says even tougher actions might be needed if those numbers keep rising. Here's Florida since reopening began. Average case counts have tripled.
DR. ANDREW PASTEWSKI, JACKSON SOUTH MEDICAL CENTER: A week ago we had eight patients, none on a ventilator.
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We are now we're at over 40 plus patients, four on ventilators. We've had to find a second COVID unit and they're looking for a third COVID unit right now.
WATT: More than 60 percent of all infections in the U.S. are in those under 50 according to the CDC. Increasing fears for schools in the fall and the return of sports. The world's number one tennis player Novak Djokovic just tested positive days after holding an up-close and personal tournament, a decision another player called bone headed.
(on camera): And bad news from here in California. The state now says they are seeing a record number of new cases in a single day and also a record number of people in the hospital suffering from COVID-19. And this isn't the second wave. This is still the first.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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CHURCH: So let's bring in world-renowned medical expert Dr. Larry Brilliant, a CNN medical analyst with decades of experience in the public sector fighting viruses, including with the WHO and also working in the private sector with Google. It is a pleasure to have you with us.
DR. LARRY BRILLIANT, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Thank you for having he me, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So let's start by looking at the numbers. And the United States only represents 4 percent of the world's population but makes up 25 percent of the world's COVID deaths and 25 percent of its cases. And as a result of this the European Union is now considering blocking U.S. visitors from entering Europe for fear of spreading the virus when they eventually reopen. It is damning. How is it that the superpower can't figure it out but Germany, Greece, New Zealand and other countries can?
BRILLIANT: I think it is damning and it's shameful. And I think it's even a bit worse than that when you think that South Korea and the United States, both got their first case on the same day, and the deaths in South Korea are in the hundreds, and in the United States we just passed 120,000 deaths. It's shameful. And if the European Union were thinking of closing the borders of that continent to American travelers, that would be doubly shameful but it would be indeed not without precedent.
CHURCH: Right, and it certainly, it puts the United States on the same list as Brazil and Russia, which clearly wouldn't make President Trump very happy. As But also in his sworn testimony before Congress Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other medical experts contradicted President Trump and said the President had never ordered them to slow down testing and Dr. Fauci said they actually need more testing not less. But the current system of testing is failing in this country. What does the U.S. need to do to turn this around?
BRILLIANT: You know, and of course, I agree with Dr. Fauci that we need more testing. But it isn't the quantity of the testing. It's the placement of the testing. We need to test people who come into the hospital. We need to test places that are clusters that could explode like nursing homes. And we need to find every case of COVID in the United States or in the world that harbors viruses that could infect other people. We need to test them and then contact trace backwards to find out where they got that disease and forwards to find out who might have had contact with them.
All those people need to be tested and then some need to be treated. Others need to be isolated. This is the secret sauce of epidemiology. This is the ingredient that made it possible for Germany and South Korea and Singapore to defeat the disease for a while anyway and we need to do that. That's the most important thing for us to do and it's epidemiology 101 as we say in college.
CHURCH: As we get closer to the flu season, we are going to have an even bigger problem because only 45 percent of American adults actually get the flu shot. What needs to be done to ensure everyone gets that vaccination so we can at least reduce the problem of flu infections when that second wave of coronavirus comes in the fall and winter?
I wonder if it would be a second wave or just a continuation of this wave. But either way it will run smack dab into flu season. And when we test then, we'll have to have a different kind of test, one that can tell you if you have COVID or not but also if your symptoms are that of the flu or not.
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And this is the big challenge, the fear, the concern of epidemiologists, that if we don't have control of the epidemic by the time the flu season begins in October, November, December, we're going to run into people coming into emergency rooms who have fever, maybe they have the cough, they have the symptoms of flu, but they are the same symptoms early on as COVID and it's going to get very difficult for our hospital systems, our emergency rooms to handle -- it could be a flood of confusing cases.
CHURCH: Yes, it is a terrifying thought. And just finally, we see anti-vac-ers pushing back on getting a flu shot. And a recent CNN poll found that one-third of Americans now say they won't even take the COVID-19 vaccination even if it's available and free in the new year. What would be the consequences of a third of the population refusing to get vaccinated for the coronavirus?
BRILLIANT: Well, it would be terrible. We need to achieve an immunization rate that's close to 70 or 80 percent to achieve to herd immunity. Herd immunity used to only refer really to number of percentage of people that are vaccinated. If we cheat a little bit and we say it includes the number of people who've got natural immunity from the disease, still a third of Americans not getting the vaccine we wouldn't achieve it. I don't know that they will feel that way when there is a vaccine and
at the rate that COVID is growing, I have a feeling that opinions might change between now and then. I hope so.
CHURCH: I think you might be right. Dr. Larry Brilliant, it is an honor to chat with you. Thank you so much.
BRILLIANT: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: And as coronavirus cases rise in the United States, President Donald Trump was at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona Tuesday.
It is his second mass gathering in the last few days. No masks for the rally goers. No masks for the President either. And he even repeated the racist remark he made last weekend.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's got all different names. Wuhan. Wuhan was catching on. Coronavirus. Right? Kung flu. Yes. Kung flu.
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CHURCH: But cases in Arizona where the rally was being held are spiking. CNN's Ryan Nobles takes a look at how the city of Phoenix is handling the situation.
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RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The city of Phoenix chose not to enforce an ordinance recently passed by the city council and the mayor requiring anyone inside a venue like this and within six feet of someone else to be wearing a mask. This despite the fact that President Trump spoke to an audience of nearly 3,000 people inside this packed mega church.
In fact at this event there were few if any precautions put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Temperatures were not checked as people were came in. As we mentioned, hardly any masks were worn and there was little to no social distancing. And the President talking about the reopening of the economy saying it was necessary, that it was a step that needed to be taken. He also once again used that racist term to describe the coronavirus, calling it "kung flu" which is something this audience enthusiastically supported when the President made that comment yet again.
Ryan Nobles, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
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CHURCH: U.S. travelers may be barred from European Union countries when the bloc eases restrictions in July. The EU sources revealing the possible ban are familiar with the criteria but had not seen a list of countries. Going by the data it's not hard to see why the EU would consider this move. This chart compares the EU and U.S. since the pandemic began, the U.S. never had its first wave under control and is now back sliding towards 30,000 new cases a day.
CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris. She joins us now live. Good to see you, Melissa. So if U.S. visitors are, indeed, blocked from entering EU countries how will this work with each member nation?
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well essentially the bloc of 27 functions as just that. So the restrictions that we've seen roughly imposed since March on foreign travelers will be lifted for some countries. They will not, according to the European Union's own objective criteria allow the United States and countries like Brazil to be open to the European Union.
Now what that means concretely is that a decision that we're expecting in the next few days, the deadline is July 1st, we'll see a lot of countries in the world able to come in to the European Union, 27 nations, countries like France, Spain, Germany and American citizens still banned.
[04:15:04]
Now when you consider, Rosemary, the amount of business, the economic ties between the EU and the United States, the very many millions of visitors who visit Europe every year you'll see what a blow that would be. But the EU had been quite clear, its criteria is this. If a country is either at the same level as it is in fighting the coronavirus pandemic or better it will open its doors. According to that criteria the U.S. is not qualified.
CHURCH: It certainly makes sense and we'll see how President Trump responds to this if it certainly goes ahead. Melissa Bell joining us live from Paris. Many thanks.
Brazil is reporting a staggering jump in new case. Nearly 40,000 in 24 hours. And now its President known as the Trump of the tropics who has repeatedly flouted safety measures is getting an earful from a judge. Shasta Darlington has more now from Sao Paulo.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN REPORTER: A Brazilian judge has ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a mask in public after the coronavirus skeptic appeared at many rallies without one. The judge said Bolsonaro would face a fine of up to about $380 a day if he refused to use one while in public in the country's capital of Brasilia. Bolsonaro has repeatedly downed played the virus insisting the economic fallout from social isolation measures would be worse than COVID-19. His supporters have staged multiple rallies calling for an end to quarantine and he has frequently joined them, without a mask, shaking hands and embracing the crowds.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise. Brazil reported nearly 40,000 new infections on Tuesday and more than 1,300 additional deaths.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.
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CHURCH: And when we come back a surprising turn of events involving a noose found in the garage of NASCAR's only black driver. We will hear what the FBI has found.
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CHURCH: U.S. authorities say the noose found in the garage of black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace is not linked to a criminal act. The FBI reported that the rope was used to pull a door closed in the garage and had been there since October of last year. CNN's Randi Kaye reports.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There were 15 FBI agents assigned to this case. They wanted to get to the bottom of it very quickly. It was a very important issue. Very important case to them. And they determined that this rope that had been found in Bubba Wallace's garage had been in that garage long before that garage was actually assigned to Bubba Wallace.
In fact, we have new video tonight. Take a look at this video from 2019. It was on YouTube. It shows a garage door rope fashioned into a noose and that is in the stall used by Bubba Wallace's race team. And they source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation is telling CNN that the noose in that 2019 video is the same noose that Bubba Wallace's team alerted about, that there is just one noose involved in this case.
Let me give you a little bit from the joint statement by the FBI and U.S. attorney's office. It reads in part --
The noose found in garage number four was in that garage as early as October of 2019. Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number four in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number four last week.
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CHURCH: Well despite the FBI's findings, Bubba Wallace tells CNN he's still upset and doesn't think it was an ordinary rope.
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BUBBA WALLACE, NASCAR DRIVER: I've been racing all my life. We've raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pull like that. So people that want to call it garage pull and put out all the videos and photos of knots as their evidence, go ahead. From the evidence that we have, that I have, it's a straight up noose. The FBI has stated it was a noose over and over again. NASCAR leadership has stated that it was a noose. I can confirm that. I actually got evidence of what was hanging in my garage, over my car, around my picker guys to confirm that it was a noose. And never seen anything like it.
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CHURCH: Well, NASCAR issued a statement regarding the FBI's findings. The organization says -- and I'm quoting here.
We appreciate the FBI's quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional racist act against Bubba.
Well a Kentucky police officer has now been fired three months after the killing of an African-American woman. Breonna Taylor's death is one of several that sparked protests across the U.S. in recent weeks. The Louisville Metro Police Department chief said the officer Brett Hankinson displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life when he wantonly fired 10 rounds. Two other officers have been placed on administrative leave. Protesters and Taylor's family want all three officers to face charges. The 26-year-old emergency responder was killed in March when police broke down the door to her apartment as she was sleeping and shot her eight times in a botched raid.
Well, the mayor of Seattle, Washington wants to cut about $20 million from the police budget. Mayor Jenny Durkan has been working with black led community organizations to dismantle the police free "autonomous zone" taken over by protesters. The proposed cuts are part of a broader effort to manage a city-wide short fall of $378 million due to lower tax revenue and COVID-19 related issues. Durkan is also asking the police department to help cut up to 50 percent of its spending.
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Hundreds of people gathered in a historic Atlanta church Tuesday for the funeral of Rayshard Brooks. Family and friends remember him as a smiling, hard-working father. He was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer more than a week ago, adding to the tensions of racism and police brutality that erupted after George Floyd's death last month. CNN's Ryan Young has our report.
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RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A somber scene as Rayshard Brooks is laid to rest. Hundreds fill Ebenezer Baptist Church to pay respects to the man shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer earlier this month.
AMBREA MIKOLAJCZYK, COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND OF RACIAL BROOKS: He radiated such a bright light that regardless of the cowardly act that took his life, his light will never be dimmed.
YOUNG: It was an emotional afternoon commemorating the life of a 27- year-old father.
JYMACO BROOKS, COUSIN OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: This is the family that we come from. We didn't have a lot of anything but we had a whole lot of love for each other.
YOUNG: And providing a backdrop for a larger conversation on racism.
REV. BERNICE A. KING, CEO, MLK CENTER FOR NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE: This time the answer is not more diversity and inclusion, it's now time for black lives matter.
YOUNG: Brooks' death comes during nationwide protests against systematic racism and police brutality and less than a month after George Floyd died in the custody of the Minneapolis police.
REV. RAPHAEL G. WARNOCK, SENIOR PASTOR, EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH: George Floyd complied, Rayshard Brooks ran, yes, that's true. But they are both dead. And there in is the problem.
YOUNG: Brooks was shot in the back by officer Garrett Rolfe, one of the officers who responded to a call of a man asleep in his car at a Wendy's parking lot. Video of the incident shows him running away after resisting arrest and grabbing one of the officer's tasers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). He's got the taser.
YOUNG: Rolfe is facing a felony murder charge. He says he heard a gunshot and saw a flash and fired his weapon fearing for his safety. Officer Devin Bronsan is charged with aggravated assault.
Telling the "Atlanta Journal Constitution," he would have done anything differently that night. I have 100 percent faith the truth will come out. People will see this for what is it. They will under I didn't do anything wrong.
But for many the circumstances surrounding Brooks' death are a symptom of a larger problem.
GABRIEL MARTINI, NIECE OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: No matter the race, let's treat each other how we want to be treated as people. Let's love one another and fight for everyone's rights.
YOUNG (on camera): Some really powerful moments inside that church. I can tell you it was the young people who seem to led the way today asking for changes not only in the community but how the city moves forward. They said they're looking for lasting changes. They don't want Rayshard Brooks to die in vain.
Reporting in Atlanta, Ryan Young, CNN.
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CHURCH: And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Still to come the world's top tennis player tests positive for coronavirus and now he's under fire by fellow players who say he put others in harm's way. We have that in just a moment.
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