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Coronavirus Far from Giving U.S. a Break; U.N.'s List That United States Don't Wish to be Included; Straightforward Message from Formula One's Boss; COVID Cases in Middle East Rising Up; Coronavirus Pandemic; President Trump Facing Multiple Crisis Amid Reelection Campaign; Race For The White House; U.S. Democrat Joe Biden Leads Trump In Several New Polls; Almost 500 New Cases In Food And Meat Processing Plant In The United Kingdom; Two-Year Ebola Outbreak In Eastern Congo Declared Over; WHO, Coronavirus Cases Across Africa Are On The Rise; New Details In Madeleine McCann Case; English Premiere League Champions; Liverpool Win English Title For The First Time In 30 Years. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 26, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing pause, states across the U.S. scale back on reopening as the country records its highest ever number of new coronavirus cases in one day.
First, Ebola now COVID, just as Congo declares victory over the world's second deadliest Ebola outbreak. It's now facing round two with the coronavirus. We'll have a live report about that.
Also racing and racism. What former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has to say about racism in this popular sport.
We're live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers here in United States, and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen, and this is CNN Newsroom.
Thank you for joining us.
The United States confirmed 40,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. It was the highest one day surged by far. Some hospitals are already nearing critical mass, and more and more young people are falling ill.
That will be the dark cloud hanging over the White House Coronavirus Task Force on Friday. Its first public briefing in two months. Johns Hopkins University has logged more than 2.4 million cases in the U.S. but the actual number could be 10 times higher, 24 million.
Doctor Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control says for every confirmed case, there are roughly 10 others who go undetected because they have mild or no symptoms.
With infections now clearly on the rise in more than 30 states and huge states like California, Texas, Florida all having record spikes, it is no wonder several governors are hitting the brakes on reopening any further.
And it's not just the U.S., this normally happy summer beach in Bournemouth, England was the nightmare scenario health experts most feared in the middle of this pandemic. Local officials declared a major concerned incident and begged everyone to leave.
As U.S. cases surged to alarming levels the push to reopen is getting pushed back from some state governors.
We get more about it from CNN's Nick Watt.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Partiers packed this Fort Worth bar Saturday night, but the reopening of the lone star state is now on hold. As case counts climb at record rates and hospitals fill up.
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MAYOR RON NIRENBERG, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: If this acceleration continues unabated, we're going to find ourselves overwhelmed.
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WATT: Nevada, North Carolina and Louisiana also now pumping the brakes on reopening.
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GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D-LA): I think these numbers made crystal clear the correctness of the decision not to move forward.
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WATT: In California, Disneyland now won't reopen July 17th as planned.
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GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): That is an example of the data informing decision-making.
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WATT: California and Florida along with Texas are reporting record high new case tanks. So, our three most populous states are going in the wrong direction fast. And they are home to more than a quarter of all Americans.
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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We have seen most of this case growth in those under 40 categories.
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WATT: A focus now in efforts to staunch the spread, younger asymptomatic spreaders.
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ERIN BROMAGE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH: We are seeing the infection rates especially in Texas, Florida and Arizona just skyrocketing that demographic.
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WATT: Arizona now has the most cases per capita in the entire country.
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GOV. DOUG DUCEY (R-AZ): There is no consideration of increasing activity. Arizona is on pause.
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WATT: The CDC just added pregnant women to the at risk Democratic. They say just over 5 percent of women with COVID-19 require hospitalization. For pregnant women, that sourced to over 30 percent. They also now say our actual infection rate might be 10 times the confirmed cases, so not around 2.4 million, but around 24 million. And they say that social distancing is now our most powerful weapon.
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WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: It is a time to normalize wearing masks and social distancing behavior is now. So that we get used to it by the time the fall arrives.
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And I'm very concerned that the second wave this fall will be substantially greater than what we have experienced so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: The number we've really got to keep an eye on moving forward is hospitalizations. How many COVID-19 patients are in the hospital? And here in California, that's gone up by a third in just the past two weeks. A trend that the director of public health here in Los Angeles calls extraordinarily worrisome.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
ALLEN: Joining me now in Los Angeles is Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Doctor, thanks so much for joining us.
ANISH MAHAJAN, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: Thank you.
ALLEN: Well, 15 counties there in California are seeing increases in COVID cases. How might this affect hospitals and capacity if this trend continues? What is the situation there where you are?
MAHAJAN: Well, we are certainly seeing a great -- an increase in hospitalizations in many of the counties in California. So, as you know, we are seeing increases in cases, and usually when you have increases in cases, 5 to 10 days afterwards you start to see increases in hospitalizations. This is happening all across California and it is very concerning.
ALLEN: The governor is resisting easing up on restrictions and also not mandating masks. We are seeing that in some other states with big issues. Do you agree with these decisions is now the time to get more aggressive?
MAHAJAN: Well, we know that masks save lives in COVID-19. There was a recent study out of Texas and a few other universities that have now definitively shown that wearing a mask protects others around you, but actually also protects you if you are an infected from contracting the virus. So, masks are a must but not enough.
We have seen reopening occurring all across the United States and one of the metrics that has to be followed when you are reopening is the number of cases you are having and the number of hospitalizations you are seeing from those cases.
Now we are seeing cases go up, we are seeing hospitalizations going up, which means that the epidemic and the virus is out of control again, and so we have to not only pause reopening, we need our leadership to say to themselves and to the public maybe we might even need to roll back some of the opening.
Because the cost in lives is too much. Even when our hospitals have the capacity to take on more COVID ICU patients, we in the healthcare system know that some 30 to 50 percent of patients who end up on a ventilator due to COVID, will die. We have to ask ourselves is this worth it?
ALLEN: Absolutely. And it's not just California, it is Florida, it is Texas, where one infectious disease expert warns the spike there is leading to apocalyptic surges in major Texas cities. We know the U.S. broke the record for the most cases reported in a single day Thursday. So, the question is, can we get a handle on this, doctor, and we also know that a lot of these cases we are seeing are younger people.
MAHAJAN: Right. You know, I think we all hope collectively that the summer heat would slow this virus down, and that we wouldn't see as much transmission. We also hope that as we reopened if people did wear their masks and did appropriately social distancing even while resuming their lives, that we wouldn't see as much transmission.
But the numbers don't lie. Look at what's happening all across the United States we are seeing cases rise and rise. And so, at this point we have to ask ourselves, what are we going to do about it? We have to, we really have to take a hard look at really wearing these masks and being very careful, and maybe even rolling back some of these reopening so we can get a handle on this. ALLEN: Right. One doctor in Florida liken not wearing a mask to
driving on a highway, drunk without a seatbelt. So, what would you say to people at this point that are simply refusing to do these two very simple things -- social distance and wear a mask? And of course, we also know that from the very top with the U.S. president, he doesn't wear a mask, and even sometimes makes fun of it.
MAHAJAN: Well, I think it's a great metaphor that not wearing a mask is like driving drunk because when you drive drunk, you are risking other people's lives and your own. And now we know that masks work to protect others and protect yourself. And really, we have a number of young people now in the United States who have resumed their lives who may have COVID but are not going to get sick from it, but we know that they can transmit it.
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And so, we need our young people to wear the mask so they don't actually get the virus when they're out and about and not give the virus to their other loved ones. To their loved ones who may be more susceptible to having bad outcomes if they do get COVID.
And leadership is the most important. Now we need the president, we need all of our leaders to speak in one voice and say that mask is essential, so say that we have to be careful about how we reopen, to say that we have to have appropriate testing supplies and contact tracing if we're going to get a handle on this.
ALLEN: And that's where we're at. I mean this is a moment that is so important. Are we going to be able to get a handle on it? You've got the European Union questioning whether they'll allow Americans or people in the U.S. to travel to Europe because it's so bad here. Did you ever imagine that United States could have it this bad? How did we have this so wrong, doctor?
MAHAJAN: Yes, it is really shocking for all of us and we should have done better and we went wrong probably right from the beginning when in the beginning we had the CDC unfortunately bungle the rollout of testing for COVID. We lost critical time in a very early stage before COVID became a big forest fire throughout our country and we never caught up.
And part of not catching up his leadership at the highest levels, saying to all of our governors, saying to all of our jurisdictions that let's have a national strategy for testing, let's have a national strategy for contact tracing and isolating people when they are effective.
Let's have a national strategy about reopening on each of these really important things, unfortunately, we did not come together as a nation whereas we see other nations like Taiwan, New Zealand, and many other examples where they did just that and they don't have as big a problem as we do.
ALLEN: Right, and look where we are now. Dr. Anish Mahajan, we really appreciate your expertise and your time. Thank you so much, and we wish you the best.
MAHAJAN: Thank you.
ALLEN: Well, E.U. officials are set to meet in the coming hours to decide which country citizens will be allowed to come in and which will not. As they reopen their borders, they may block visitors from nations with severe coronavirus outbreaks as I just mentioned, including the United States.
It comes even as the World Health Organization warns that Europe is seeing its cases increase for the first time in months.
Nic Robertson is in London for us this morning. And good morning to you, Nic. This is definitely a time for difficult decisions.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it really is, and the E.U. ambassadors will be meeting in about an hour's time in Brussels, face to face, because that's how important this issue is to them. The 27 nations gathering around in a single venue, in a single room.
What we are hearing from the WHO certainly is them bringing the alarm bells for Europe, I think one word of caution here, that when the E.U. says, or rather when the WHO talks about infections in Europe, that's it's map of Europe, its collection of European countries which doesn't quite mirror that of the European Union.
But what the World Health Organization is saying is very stark, that there are 30 countries that they see that have concerning figures that they are seeing something that is very significant across Europe, this turning trend to the point that in 11 countries they see very significant increases that in COVID-19 infections that if they aren't dealt with swiftly could potentially overwhelm the health services in those country.
Now perhaps one of the countries that saw the WHO list and is a member of the European Union, that would be Sweden there, but other countries that among those 11 that the WHO were worried about the Kosovo, they include Albania, they include Armenia, they include Bosnia and Herzegovina.
So there is a deep concern at the WHO and of course this is, you know, of a concern for the European Union as well as it tries to figure out what are those specific criteria that are going to determine who can come in and who can't come into Europe?
ALLEN: Yes. And on that question, Nic, so what specific criteria will the E.U. use in deciding whether to block travel from the United States?
ROBERTSON: Yes, there are three basic principles. The first one they say is reciprocity. So, if your country blocks E.U. citizens, then, automatically, you don't make the cut. Now the United States falls into that situation right now, very early on in March, President Trump stopped on mid-March, President Trump stopped flights coming from Europe, stopped European -- Europe E.U. nations traveling into the United States. So that's one point there.
[03:15:06]
The other second point, I think is one that certainly the United States is very familiar with and can overcome, this is the about travel and it's sort of safety of people why they are traveling. But then, the third stumbling block, really, for the United States, is that rate of infection.
The European Union's average rate of infection at the moment is 15 cases per 100,000, the United States is about 106.7 per 100,000. And the E.U. is likely to set a threshold at about 50,000. So again, that will be the second point where the United States doesn't make the cut, Natalie.
ALLEN: Well, and if the United States isn't going in the right direction to meet that threshold. All right. Nic Robertson in London, thank you very much, Nic.
In Latin America, the number of cases is still rising as well. Brazil recorded almost 40,000 more cases on Thursday, bringing its total to more than 1.2 million. You can see here the number of new cases per 100,000 people Brazil and Peru well ahead of even the United States.
With that, more than 1,100 people have died in Brazil in the last 24 hours, bringing that grim total to nearly 55,000.
The number of new cases is also rising across the Middle East. These are the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins. Iran, once the epicenter outside of China, still has the most reported cases in the region. Turkey follows with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt, among the top five. But even countries not on this list are struggling with recent spikes.
For more on this, senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon is joining me now live from Turkey. Hello to you, Arwa. It's certainly this is yet another disturbing trend.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Natalie. And some of it is due to countries starting to open up, and like we see elsewhere in the world, populations becoming a bit complacent.
If you look at some of the measures that are being taken, though, quite extraordinarily, especially when we look at Saudi Arabia, who, this year for the Haj, that is the annual pilgrimage that is a duty for every Muslim, is saying that it will only be accepting pilgrims who already reside inside the country or already located inside the country.
So, shutting it off to people coming from abroad. There is also great concern about Iran, which was once the epicenter of coronavirus in the Middle East, perhaps, possibly being at the beginning of a second wave. The government there imploring the population to continue to wash their hands, social distance, wear their masks. And then if we talk about Iraq, not quite yet on that list, but also a very worrying trend there too, with cases increasingly on the rise, and based on reports and people that we're talking to inside the country, you know, there are mass graves that are being dug there. Their hospitals are beginning to struggle, hospital staff especially, seemingly experiencing a very high infection rate.
The speaker of parliament came out and said that parliamentarians will no longer be able to meet as they used to because of a prevalence of cases. Not just among parliamentarians themselves but also among key staff within that government institution.
When it comes to Turkey, yes, Turkey is ranking fairly high on that list but Turkey has managed at this stage to stabilize these numbers. But I think what we are seeing just goes to underscore that no matter what stage of this a country is in, complacency is not something that anyone can afford.
And a lot of these countries that we're talking about in the Middle East, Natalie, such as Iran, Iraq, and Egypt, they don't necessarily have the infrastructure to be able to handle this.
If we again go back to Iraq as an example, the country's health infrastructure was decimated by the sanctions under Saddam Hussein, and then you had the U.S.-led invasion followed by consecutive years of warfare that took place. And the country never was actually able to rebuild its healthcare system.
So, if numbers in any of these places really spike to an even greater degree, the consequences are going to be quite devastating, Natalie.
ALLEN: Right. And we know the people of Iraq have been suffering so much economically as well. What a terrible situation. Thank you so much, senior international correspondent Arwa Damon for us in Istanbul.
Next here on CNN newsroom, the FBI has released a picture of that noose found in the garage of a black NASCAR driver. We look at how it could've been put there and why.
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Also, Formula One is working to become more inclusive. The comments from the former head of the sport may not help. We'll have that interview, next.
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ALLEN: Two million people demanding racial justice have prompted the governor of Colorado to order a new investigation into the death of a young black man in police custody. Twenty-three-year-old Elijah McClain was walking home from a store in the city of Aurora last August when three white officers stop him. Body cam footage shows what happens next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop. Stop. Stop. I have a right to stop you because you are being suspicious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn around, turn around, turn around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: At one point, police put a chokehold on him, and later paramedics gave him a drug to sedate him. He suffered a heart attack and was declared brain dead three days later. None of the officers has faced any discipline or charges.
Governor Jared Polis is now asking the attorney general to reinvestigate the case after two million people signed a petition demanding this be looked at more closely.
NASCAR has released a photo of the noose found in the garage assigned to Bubba Wallace, the only African-American driver in the stock car racing association.
NASCAR's president says the photo shows the noose was real, as was his concern for Wallace. The FBI determine that no hate crime had been committed because the rope had been there since last year. NASCAR says all other garages were checked, but found a noose only in Wallace's. NASCAR was not able to determine who put it there or why it wasn't reported earlier.
Formula One kicks off its delayed season in little more than a week with the Austrian Grand Prix, at the same time the organization is working on a new initiative to try to make motorsport more inclusive. You would think everyone could get behind that. But the former Formula One boss seems to have different ideas on issues involving race.
Here is our interview with CNN's Amanda Davies.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORTS PRESENTER: Sixth-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is the sports only black driver in a 70- year history. He's often talked about the challenges he's faced in his career because of the color of his skin. And in the wake of the death of George Floyd, he called out other members of the motorsport community for not speaking up against racial injustice.
He's decided to take matters into their own hands, launching the Hamilton Commission, a research partnership aimed at making motorsports more diverse and more multicultural.
[03:24:59]
And this week when I spoke to the man in charge of Formula One until 2017, the man dubbed as Mr. F1, because of his 40-year relationship with the sport, Bernie Ecclestone, he did praise Hamilton for his actions and talks of its importance for the sport, but he made what I think it's fair to say, was some pretty controversial comments. I began by asking him why he thinks F1 hasn't done more to tackle the issue of diversity in the past?
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BERNIE ECCLESTONE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, FORMULA ONE: I don't think anyone is bothered with it before. They are too busy trying to win races, or find sponsors, or something. Really, other things are of little, if any, interest.
DAVIES: So, what impact do you think what Lewis has launched, the Hamilton Commission, what impact do you think that's going to have in real terms for Formula One?
ECCLESTONE: I don't think it's going to do anything bad or good for Formula One. It will just make people think. Which, is more important. I think it's the same for everybody. People want to think a little bit, and say, what the hell, somebody is not the same, not the same as white people that black and the black people should think the same thing about white people.
Because I think in lot of cases, black people are more racist than white people are.
DAVIES: What makes you say that?
ECCLESTONE: Well, things over the years, I've noticed. There's no need for it.
DAVIES: Is that not a case of fighting for equality and fighting against injustice for such a long time?
ECCLESTONE: Well, against injustice for anyone whatever color they are, it's important to do something about that for a start. But as, I mean, I don't think you are going to easily change people's attitude, I think they need to start being taught at school. So, they grow up not thinking about these things.
And I think it's completely stupid taking all these statues down. They should have left them there. Take the kids from school to look and say why they are and what the people did. And how wrong it was what they did.
DAVIES: As somebody who was so integral to making Formula One what it is today, do you not want to see it as a sport leading the way and changing attitudes, and portraying society as it is?
ECCLESTONE: I suppose the people that need to do that or the viewers. For the number of people that are directly involved in sport, there is such a small number of people that can do very little. I'm surprised, if anyone, in Formula One, certainly the teams and the people like the promoters, have any concern about this. I think it's the public at large that have to start thinking.
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DAVIES: Do you wonder what the sports or current owners will make of those comments. Echoes, and of course while still an influential figure in the F1 paddock, is no longer in charge. That's the liberty media group run by Chase Kerry. They, in recent days have launched a new initiative to tackle the issues around diversity and inclusion. The we races one campaign, including a task force to address the issues both on and off the track.
But set against the backdrop of the issues the Bubba Wallace has faced in NASCAR in recent weeks, now Bernie's comments there's no doubt, the scrutiny will be greater than ever on Formula One when the delayed season hits the track in Austria next weekend.
Amanda Davies, CNN, London.
ALLEN: Well, U.S. President Trump has work to do if he wants another four years on the White House. Next here, a half dozen new polls show Mr. Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden. We'll have the latest numbers and talk with someone about what's next for President Trump in this race.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Natalie Allen, you're watching CNN Newsroom, live from Atlanta. The United States on Thursday, recorded its highest single day rise in coronavirus infections, 40,000 people and many of them are young. The spiraling number of U.S. cases, now has President Trump struggling to play defense. This health crisis is confounding Trump's efforts to reverse his falling poll numbers and pursue his reelection campaign. For more on, it here's our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With coronavirus cases spiking and his poll numbers tanking. President Trump is chalking up the pandemic surge in the U.S. to increase covid-19 testing and nothing more. Tweeting the numbers of cases goes up because of great testing, while the numbers of death, mortality rate goes way down. But the president is signaling that the number of dead could continue to soar by the 10s of thousands.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It could've been stopped in China, but we could've lost anywhere from 2 to 4 million people as opposed to where it is now, which is probably 115, but it could get, you know, a little bit higher than that. It could go up to one 150, it could go beyond that.
ACOSTA: That's roughly 100,000 more deaths than what Mr. Trump predicted in April.
TRUMP: Now we are going towards 50, I'm hearing or 60,000 people. One is too many, and I've always say it. One is too many. But we are going towards 50 or 60,000 people.
ACOSTA: The president is still bristling that questions over wearing masks.
TRUMP: Why aren't you further away and why aren't you wearing a mask? I can take a step back. I mean, you are not social distancing based on your question.
ACOSTA: But hold on, in Ohio, Vice President Mike Pence was wearing a mask, and Texas where GOP governor Gregg Abbott is pausing his state's reopening, he said in a statement, I ask all Texas to do their part to slow the spread of covid-19 by wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly and socially distancing from others. In Florida, Republican Senator Marco Rubio is recommending mask to.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R-FL): Masks work. They reduce infection by up to 50 percent. It's not a big deal.
ACOSTA: Ever since the presidents disappointing weekend rally in Tulsa where thousands of empty seats were on display, dozens of secret service agents have now been forced under quarantine, as that agency is now asking his teams on presidential trips to undergo covid-19 testing. That is an addition to the Trump campaign staffers testing positive and now in quarantine as well. With 1.5 million new initial unemployment claims filed last week and more than 47 million since mid-March. The president is now trailing Joe Biden in critical states like Wisconsin, where a new poll finds the former Vice President with a strong lead.
JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's like a child, who cannot believe this has happened to him. All his whining, and self-pity. This pandemic didn't happen to him, it happened to all of us. And his job isn't to whine about it, his job is to do something about it.
ACOSTA: The president is banking on distractions to bail him out, like the protesters threatening to tear down statues across the U.S., as Mr. Trump is deploying U.S. marshals to protect this historic sites.
TRUMP: They're looking George Washington. They're looking at Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson. Not going to happen. Nit going to happen. Not as long I'm here.
[03:35:10]
ACOSTA: Ex-aides like former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, say the president simply hasn't focused enough on the virus.
AMB. JOHN BOLTON, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: And he didn't want to hear about the potential impact of a pandemic on the American economy, and its effect on his reelection. Turning a blind eye to all these early signs.
ACOSTA: And we're learning the President Trump is walling himself off from bad polling, telling advisers he does not believe the latest poll showing he is trailing Joe Biden, and the president is pushing off public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has not spoken to Mr. Trump in some three weeks. Aides are not hopeful the president will ever warm up to wearing masks. As one official told us quote, he will never change on the mask. Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Several recent polls show Mr. Trump likely Democratic challenger with a sizeable lead. One example here a survey from the New York Times in Sienna College has Joe Biden ahead of Mr. Trump by more than 10 points among registered voters. Let's get insight from Natasha Linstaedt in Colchester, England, she is a professor of government at the University of Ethics. Good morning, Natasha, thanks for coming on.
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX, ENGLAND: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
ALLEN: Well, polls ended up being wrong in 2016 when Mr. Trump beat Hillary Clinton, but these numbers are certainly looking promising for Joe Biden. What is your reaction to them?
LINDSTAEDT: Well, they are really significant. I mean, a lot of it is that -- I just want to mention that this poll gets a very strong rating. And so, it's considered to be a very accurate poll. But the other big thing is that, this is by a much wider margin than any lead that Clinton had in 2016. And we need to look the result from some of the swing states like Michigan, like Pennsylvania, like Wisconsin. At this point Clinton had a very narrow lead in this stages and Trump won this states by a very narrow margin.
In this case, Trump is doing much, much worse than Biden. Biden hasn't a 10 plus point lead in these states and we should also compare this to 2016, where Clinton never had over 50 percent threshold in this states. We also see big lead for Biden in states like Florida, with six points, seven points in Arizona, and 10 points in North Carolina. And the poll also revealed other demographics that we're not looking good for Trump.
So, the only category where he is doing a little better, by 3 points, is in the age group of 45-year-olds to 64-year-olds. But in every other age group, he's losing by wide margins. We are seeing those that are over 65, it's a 17 point drop from where he was in 2016. We see that among white voters. This normally is his biggest support base, but we are seeing that his support is dwindling there too.
ALLEN: Right. So let's talk about what is going there was just a strong anybody but wrong for this president. Certainly, he has been widely criticized for his non handling of the pandemic which is now spiraling out of control and many states that coupled with the protests and of course prior to that, there was just a strong anybody but Trump movement. It seems like, since the protests, and this pandemic, has gotten worse and worse that he has gotten worse and worse in n these polls.
LINDSTAEDT: So, I think the pandemic wasn't helping matters and he certainly wasn't gaining any support due to the way he was handling the pandemic. In fact, a majority of the public did not think he was handling it well, and in the polls it revealed that in swing states, a strong majority didn't think that he was handling it well. But where the turning point was seems to be the protest. The way he
handle the protest and the way that the public perceives his ability to handle race relations. He only has about 30 percent approval ratings in terms of how he deals with race and how he dealt with the protests. And we can see a big jump from May 25th, around the time that the protest started to take place, to now, a month later. And that Biden gained an average three points extra just in that one month.
Now, of course, anything can change, but the way he has managed this, whether it be using the military on his own protesters for the ridiculous photo-op he had with the bible, he is not being viewed as someone who can really unite the country.
ALLEN: Right. And again, and again, he now has a forum. He's doing his rallies to say something different. To come out with something that Americans can cling to that he is a leader that they can count on during a very tumultuous time. So, the question is, and you mentioned it, what can he do at this point to turn this around, because he is not seeming like he's putting in that effort?
[03:40:03]
LINDSTAEDT: Right, I mean, I think the number one thing he should do is focus on the economic argument for him. So, if you were to look at the -- some of the individuals that were polled, and they were asked if they are going to vote for Trump again and some of them said they might vote for Trump again, and in many cases, it was for economic reason.
For example, an owner of a small business said he would vote for Trump even though he wasn't that please with him, because he really believes in low taxes and that the government needs to stay out of regulating business. So, if I were the Trump campaign, I would be focusing on taxes. And that he would be the president to lower taxes and try to appeal to voters in that way, because the poll also reveal that it was really only the economy was the one thing that he had an approval rating above 50 percent.
ALLEN: Natasha Lindstaedt, we always appreciate your insights, thank you again.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
ALLEN: Now we are going to look at the coronavirus in another part of the world and in parts of the U.K. Meat factories are seeing a spike in cases. The (inaudible) meat factory in England, recorded 165 cases and in Wales more than 300 cases had been confirmed. And to separately meat and food processing plants. CNN's Anna Stewart is in Wales, outside of one of those plants for us. These are terrible numbers on Anna. What is being done about it?
ANNA STEWART, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, this is the poultry factory that had to declare 200 cases so far. It's a really worrying trend and it's across Europe and the United States. Seeing this large outbreaks in meat processing plants, and slaughterhouses. Experts are trying to work out exactly what is going on here. Why specifically these kinds of plants.
There are confluence of factors at play. First of all, of course, it's difficult to keep social distance in some of the production lines. Despite new measures being introduce, I know this one did have new covid-19 safety measures in place. Some are pointing to the poles and wet environment inside the factories that could help spread the virus.
It's also incredibly noisy I'm told, which means workers are often shouting to make each other heard. That means that droplets spread is an issue as well. And quite outside what goes inside -- I'm sorry, what goes on inside the factories, the working conditions, you also got to weigh the conditions outside of the factory? A high proportion of the workers in this sector here in the U.K., also across the Europe, also across the U.S., are migrants.
And they often work together but they also live together in communities around the factories. They travel together in uses. Some will work multiple meat processing plants in the country and travel together between them. So, there is a risk of spread not just inside the factories, but also an issue outside, Natalie.
ALLEN: Right. You have to feel for the people that are doing these jobs right now, in these conditions. So, what is the reaction been in the wider community, given the risk of outbreaks, like this spreading. Germany, I believe has forced a quarantine of some 360,000 people in the area around their major factory outbreak.
STEWART: This is really the big concern that you get an outbreak, within a factory and it spreads to a wider community. And this is happening as countries are starting to ease lockdown. Now here in Wales, lockdown is still very much in place. It hasn't been lifted like it has in England, so going into town is barely empty, not least as many of the workers that work, for instance in this factory are in quarantine as all the families and their contacts.
That was definitely a sense of apprehension though, people don't want to come into close contact with (inaudible) some locals tell me, they wouldn't go to the supermarkets or near this factory, because they were so concerned that the virus could spread around there. There is a big risk, in this is something that we are going to have to watch across Europe, across United States, these factories and the outbreaks around them and what that does to communities as lockdown are lifted. I can tell you there is a meat summit in Berlin today. That is as you said where the biggest outbreak has been in Europe. Ministers and representatives, I'm told are going to meet today to try and find ways to improve conditions for the workers in these factories. Natalie.
ALLEN: My goodness. All right. Anna Stewart, for us there. Thank you so much, Anna.
Some mixed news to report on another deadly virus, health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say the world's second deadliest Ebola outbreak is over, but not before it killed 2,200 people. But there is another Ebola outbreak in Congo as coronavirus also hits the region. For more about, I'm joined by CNN's David McKenzie, he is live for us in Johannesburg. How bad does it look for this country David? DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, I think everyone
is desperate for some good news when it comes to the battle against spreading disease. And the DRC is certainly no stranger to that in recent years. Now, you know, we travel to the epicenter of this outbreak, this Ebola outbreak, in the northeast of the country last year, and I was really struck by the bravery of the health workers then. Subsequently that kind of storyline that is spread around the globe when it comes to covid-19. I think it's important to remember today that this battle has been won in this part of the Congo, and it was due to these brave health workers.
[03:45:12]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: When it seemed like the outbreak was becoming endless and the fear of the virus insurmountable. It was the frontline workers we met last year, doctors like Cameron (inaudible), who taught us what it means to fight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes, all the world knows its fear, but they don't look at the individual people.
MCKENZIE: We need to treat these patients with empathy, he said, we need to treat them like they are a member of our family. Volunteers like Maxima (ph) recovering from disease that carried 66 percent mortality rate, and then caring for children or parents sick in isolation.
You have a smile on your face? Why do you have a smile on your face?
My smile is the joy of being alive, I beat Ebola, she said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should be very proud to had been able to eliminated Ebola in such circumstance in (inaudible). And let's say, at the end of a long marathon, now, you don't have (inaudible) to fight against the covid-19.
MCKENZIE: The milestone has been reached, ending a deadly Ebola outbreak in the middle of a conflict zone. But the celebration will be brief, there is a new Ebola outbreak in the country's west and these health workers, who learned how to fight against Ebola, who overcame community mistrust and misinformation, even attacks against their clinics must now take on covid-19 with cases spreading from the capital.
What is your message for the world out there? What can be done?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's about solidarity.
MCKENZIE: It is also about perseverance. Here they know experimental vaccines are incredible weapons, but they are not magic bullets. Here without highways, even pave roads in most places, they know how crucial supplies become (inaudible), how early detection, contact tracing and isolation are drivers of the response. Here they know how to fight. And while these nurses are battling a new virus, on this day, they deserve their moment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: Well, Natalie, you know, the WHO, yesterday said that it is really important to learn the lessons that DRC learned in its fight against Ebola in the eastern part of the country. In particular the key they say to stop virus spreading, including covid-19, is also about community engagement, about trust, and about people really understanding the threat and how to mitigate it.
So, in a way though the Congo has so many difficult circumstances to deal with, they can teach the rest of the world on how to deal with a pandemic spread. Natalie?
ALLEN: Absolutely, thank you for that report. David McKenzie for us in Johannesburg. David, thanks.
Coming up here, a cold case heating up more than a decade later. We are learning more about the man who police suspect killed three year old Madeleine McCann.
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[03:50:00]
ALLEN: It has been 13 years since Madeleine McCann disappeared, but German prosecutors are investigating him and the suspect who killed the little girl, back in 2007. Our Fred Pleitgen has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort from where the then three year old Madeleine McCann vanished in 2007. Investigators believe the man they now think murdered, her. A 43-year-old German Christian B., lived in this house, less than a mile, away at the time.
German prosecutors are asking members of the public to come forward with any sort of tips they might have. They believe that even 13 years later, there might be people out there who could have valuable information about anything suspicious, not just that happened outside of this house, but that might had happen inside as well.
Authorities released this pictures, and are calling on anyone who may remember having been inside around the year 2007 to come forward. But as German prosecutors trace Christian B's movement, we get to the village Foral, around 30 miles to the east. It was out of this house that a friend of Christian B's was running an agency taking care of children from Germany at the time, the owner of the property tells CNN.
When one of the kids ran away, Christian B appeared, and camp outside the house, living in his distinctive camper van for more than two months, until he brought the child back according to the house's owner. Portuguese authorities are refusing to comment on the case. CNN has learned, the Volkswagen camper van about which the authorities are also seeking further information was found only a few miles away. Christian B later moved to Germany, where he ran a kiosk. One of the workers there recalls him getting tents, when the McCann investigation came up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At some point he just said, people need to stop, the child is long dead, and I asked, how would he know? The child might just have run away or been kidnapped. And he said, after so many years, he child must be dead. And a dead body can be hidden easily.
PLEITGEN: Prosecutors say Christian B. also bought this abandoned factory about 100 miles away, police conducted several searches here in the past years. As you can see, there is still a lot of stuffing around here, but the authorities say that it wasn't until they started digging on this property that they found several data carriers with lots of pornographic materials including child porn on them.
The local prosecutor also said that children's bathing suit were found on the premises. This as authorities say they believe Christian B maybe responsible for other crimes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're pursuing two goals, one, is of course to solve the murder of Maddie McCann in such a way that we ultimately get a judgment by a court in which the accused is also convicted, however, it is at least as important to for us to find possible further victims of our accused in Portugal, and perhaps, elsewhere.
PLEITGEN: Currently jailed for another crime, Christian B's lawyer says his client is not talking to authorities, but that hasn't stop German prosecutors who continue to put together their case, hoping to finally solve the mystery of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Fred Pleitgen, CNN Praia de Luz, Portugal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: And I'll have more news right after this.
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[03:55:00]
ALLEN: Take a look here at a party, three decades in the making. Liverpool fans, outside of their stadium, right here, celebrating becoming English football champions for the first time since 1990. And our Alex Thomas is live in Liverpool with the story for us, and we can imagine the celebrations went on for a very long time, well deserved.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Rosemary, mixed feeling about those scenes of celebrations that you just saw, which were outside Anfield stadium. I'm inside right now, and this is where Liverpool played, although there is no action last night.
Mixed feelings about the celebrations because of course, that mass gathering with breaking all coronavirus regulations. The players were just as ecstatic as the fans, they gather to watch Chelsea play Manchester city, hundreds of miles away in west London and the result went Liverpool's way, meaning their champions again. Let's show you what happened in the game itself.
Christina (inaudible), the U.S. star, giving Chelsea the lead. Manchester City came back into the game, regaining the momentum with a goal from Kevin (inaudible) there, Dutch international, tremendous free kick. Chelsea didn't give up though, they won a penalty when (Inaudible) handheld the ball, he was sent off and Williams, for Chelsea at two-one victory for them, and it means that Liverpool's closest challenger Manchester City who lost that game, cannot now mathematically catch Liverpool at the top of the table.
There on course record points settle showing how dominant they had been and despite this more than three month break because of the coronavirus crisis, they managed to get the season back up and running. Liverpool champions, once more and it's all about those fans celebrations that we saw earlier, as the manager of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, acknowledged when speaking to the U.K. sky sports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JURGEN KLOPP, LIVERPOOL MANAGER: It's for you out there. It's for you. It's incredible. I hope you stay at home, I hope you go in front of your house if you want, but do not more and celebrate it, it's all here. And it's all here. We can do it together in this moment, and it is a joy to do it for you, I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS: Rosemary, it's very hard to put into words exactly how momentous this is. Winning the premier league is a big deal anyway, but this is much more than just a story of a famous football club winning a trophy that they haven't won for some time. 1990 was the last time they had been champions of English football, and not only are the European champions, they really wanted to win the league, once again.
If you think about grandparents, taking their grandkids to Liverpool, back in 1990, those grandparents probably were passed away since then. I spoke to a dad last night who brought his 6-year-old son to see the celebrations. The 6-year-old son was on his shoulders, the dad wasn't even alive the previous time Liverpool have been champions of England. This is a club that believed it is part of a city and the community as much as playing good football, and no wonder the celebrations were so wild and ecstatic. This is huge for these fans, and for this club, Rosemary.
ALLEN: All right. Wonderful story, thank you so much Alex Thomas, for us, in Liverpool. And thank you for watching this hour of CNN Newsroom, stay with me, I will be right back with another hour of news and our top stories.
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