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Cases Rise in Texas and Young People are Getting Sick; California Sees Alarming Rise in New Infections; U.S. Stocks Rise Despite 1.5 Million New Jobless Claims; Crowds Flock to U.K. Beach on Hottest Day Despite COVID-19; New Cases in Australia Cause Economic Concern; Liverpool Win English Title for First Time in 30 Years. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 26, 2020 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta.

Well, the United States on Thursday recorded its highest single day rise in coronavirus infections, 40,000 people and many of them are young. More than 30 U.S. states are seeing their numbers go up now. California, Texas and Florida are all having record spikes. Several governors have now hit the brakes on reopening any further. And the actual number of cases in the U.S. is ten times higher than the official figure. Health experts say testing has missed about 90 percent of infected people.

Texas is reporting a record number of new coronavirus cases. Almost 6,000 new infections on Thursday alone. The former acting director and CDC says it is a warning shot for states that aren't taking precautions seriously enough. Lucy Kafanov reports who's at risk from Dallas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The coronavirus nearly killed Christopher Marshall.

CHRISTOPHER MARSHALL, GRADUATE STUDENT/COVID-19 SURVIVOR: I got so sick that it was acute respiratory distress syndrome with septic shock.

KAFANOV: The 37-year-old University of North Texas graduate student spent weeks at Dallas area hospitals.

(on camera): Do you think you would have died?

MARSHALL: I definitely would have died. It got that serious.

I'm going home. KAFANOV (voice-over): Though doctors saved him, Marshall now lives in fear of getting sick again, due to the surge in infections across Texas. He's rarely leaving his home, struggling with survivor's guilt.

MARSHALL: The hardest part for me, initially waking up and saying, how many people have died from COVID-19? Because it's like why did I live? And everybody else died.

KAFANOV: Texas, one of the first states to push an aggressive reopening, is now seeing new cases and hospitalization rates reaching record highs.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): There is a massive outbreak of COVID-19 across the state of Texas.

KAFANOV: So many getting sick that in Houston, the Texas Children's Hospital is now admitting adult patients.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Our big metro areas seem to be rising very quickly. And some of the models are, you know, on the verge of being apocalyptic.

KAFANOV: Minority communities are bearing the brunt of the pandemic. In Dallas, Hispanics account for more than 60 percent of cases. Among them is Dallas ISD Police Officer Vicente Remediz, in the hospital for 82 days.

VICENTE REMEDIZ, DALLAS POLICE OFFICER/COVID-19 SURVIVOR: Take that COVID stuff serious. I wish I never caught it. I wish I never heard of it. But I tell everybody else, you know, take it seriously.

KAFANOV: The father of six was on a ventilator for more than a month. His brother says Vicente barely survived.

BISHOP GREG KELLY, CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF DALLAS: The family was worried about him passing away.

KAFANOV: Bishop Greg Kelly worries most about undocumented patients, many of whom are essential workers.

KELLY: They don't have any access to any kind of support, any kind of stimulus support. And so they have to work.

KAFANOV: And it's not just Latinos. Health officials say an increasing number of infections are among young adults like Chris Marshall.

MARSHALL: Stop thinking that you're so invincible, that you're young and that this cannot happen to you. It can happen. I am 37. It happened.

KAFANOV (on camera): Meanwhile, the governor announcing that Texas is going to hit pause on any further reopening of the economy for now. This, an attempt to slow down the spread of this virus.

Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Dallas. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: So that is Texas, and now California. An alarming surge in cases this week is worrying health officials in this state, America's most populous state broke new case records on several days this week. And in the past two weeks its hospitalizations are up almost 30 percent. CNN's Kyung Lah has more about it from Los Angeles.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have three lanes waiting.

[04:35:00]

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you thought the COVID crisis in California was over, it's not even close, say the people living the impact at this Los Angeles food bank.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like the store is openings are making people feel like it's safe to be out, but in reality, it's not. It's not safe

LAH (on camera): What do you say to people in California who think that this problem is over?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay home.

LAH (voice-over): The numbers paint a stark picture in California. After weeks of keeping the spread largely in check, new infections have shot up shattering records on multiple days. Los Angeles county now has the most infections of any county in the country. California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, says closing the state a second time is on the table.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSON (D-CA): We don't intend to do that, we don't want to do that, but I want to make this clear, we are prepared to do that if we must.

LAH: How did this happen? California was the first state to shut down. About two months of closures crater the economy but stabilized infections. Then the state moved forward in phases to restart the economy even as testing lagged.

ERIC GARCETTI, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: Each day we're getting a little smarter but each day the threat is still there.

LAH: Los Angeles just announced an additional 6,000 tests across the city's testing centers to keep up with the demand. But epidemiologists say testing and contact tracing is still a struggle.

ANNE RIMOIN, UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: They need it to scale up quickly. So we're always going to be chasing behind this virus instead of in front of it.

LAH: Meanwhile, infections in nursing homes and the prisons never stopped. And when the economy reopened -- PROTESTERS, CHANT: George Floyd.

LAH: Then came days of protests over the death of George Floyd. Where we saw masks but little social distancing. The governor and county health officials say this may be a factor in the current surge of COVID cases.

(on camera): Is there a lesson to be learned from what we're seeing now in California?

RIMOIN: Just because we had flattened the curve here in California early on does not mean we are out of the woods.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: The coronavirus resurgence in the U.S. has economists worried. The U.S. Labor Department reports 1.5 million Americans filed new unemployment claims last week, slightly more than expected. That brings the total to 47 million since this pandemic began.

Still, investors on Wall Street weren't phased. The Dow finished up Thursday almost 300 points and the Nasdaq and S&P each gained more than 1 percent.

Let's talk about it with CNN's John Defterios live this hour in Abu Dhabi for us. Good morning to you, John. Good to see you.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Hi, Natalie.

ALLEN: well that rate of jobless filings seems persistent and stubbornly high, but Wall Street unphased by it all. How so?

DEFTERIOS: Yes, two parallel worlds, if you will, Natalie. And that is a very high number at 1.5 million or just under that. It's six times the norm pre-COVID-19 and there's little doubt now that we'll cross 50 million which is a major milestone for those suffering through the unemployment situation. They'll cross it likely in July.

We had a rally on Wall Street because of the easing of banking rules to allow more liquidity into the system. This gave a lift after a very terrible selloff on Wednesday. And this did transfer over to Asia for two of the major markets at least. Let's take a look at the closing numbers. We had Tokyo and Seoul up about 1 percent.

There was a report after the closing bell from S&P, the ratings agency, saying this COVID-19, get this number, will cost that region $3 trillion in GDP and that is counting the recovery in 2021. U.S. futures right now though are at their lows so far for the day 20 to about a 230-point drop at the opening for the Dow industrials.

And there's still a lot of churning going on in industry and layoffs to the point that we were talking about there, Natalie. We had Macy's lay off 4,000 workers and then pointing for the departments for chain that they'll probably lose about $1 billion in the quarter. So it is alarming. But the central theme, is what you were just reporting on in the field

there from California and Texas, the major states, they're normally the agents of growth, Florida added to that list and their suffering badly. So we would expect a snap back will hold back the recovery in the second half that the Trump administration was looking for here depending on how deep it goes. But it looks alarming at this stage, that's for sure.

ALLEN: Let's talk about the airlines sector which remains in turmoil, not only here in the U.S. but worldwide. What are we expecting today?

DEFTERIOS: Yes, this is another front-line sector if you will, right, Natalie? The airline sector all around the world getting hit very hard. Five airline CEOs from the United States will be at the White House meeting with Mike Pence and perhaps Donald Trump.

[04:40:02]

We have to remember they've already tapped $50 billion of a bailout package here. Will they need more was the big question mark. They're obviously not happy about the situation in the European Union restricting air travel by Americans. Although some of the states can make their own decision but that's the overarching theme yet again.

Also, they need to come up with a common policy for testing people before they board a plane, for example, for temperatures. And the other big headline in the sector right now is that the unions are asking for another $32 billion for their workers to extend to the end of March 2021 because the rehiring is not taking place.

And finally, the German carrier, Lufthansa, this took about 2 to 3 months to work it out but did get a $10 billion state bailout. The CEO basically said we cannot survive without it. And there was a lot of push back also in Brussels but there seems to be a need just like the American carriers to do something about it and we're seeing the same in Australia with Qantas.

ALLEN: All right, something to watch. All right, we always appreciate it. John Defterios for us in Abu Dhabi. Thank you, John.

DEFTERIOS: Thanks.

ALLEN: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Take a look at this picture. Thousands of Brits hit the beaches despite social distancing rules and officials declared a major incident because of this. We'll tell you more about it next.

Also, a worrisome outbreak of coronavirus cases in Victoria state is threatening Australia's economy. We'll tell you how the government is responding there.

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ALLEN: A coastal town in southern England was flooded with thousands of people. I think you can see them right there. Throwing caution and social distancing to the wind. Officials say they're appalled because it's raising fears of a resurgence of COVID cases. We get more on this story from ITV's Juliet Bremner.

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[04:45:00]

JULIET BREMNER, ITV REPORTER (voice-over): The plea was to stay away but nobody seemed to be listening. Tens of thousands from across southern England and the Midlands descended on Bournemouth today. It was impossible to keep a safe distance from strangers and there was little or no awareness of any health risks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you come today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? I'm enjoying today's really nice weather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there anymore (INAUDIBLE), so I take advantage of it. By the time the rain goes back and all of the rules of lockdown are kind of like eased on.

BREMNER: With the town overwhelmed and police apparently powerless to intervene, by early afternoon the council declared a major incident.

VIKKI SLADE, LEADER, BOURNEMOUTH, CHRISTCHURCH AND PEOPLE COUNCIL: What's fairly obvious is that people don't believe COVID is a problem anymore. (INAUDIBLE) obvious from people's behavior.

BREMNER: The M3 was close to a standstill. As some seekers drove from as far away as Birmingham and London. The local Conservative MP told me police must be given more powers to deal with the deluge.

TOBIAS ELLWOOD, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: But also can't cope with this. If we need messaging at Waterloo station or Birmingham international are indeed on the M3, there's big signs on the motorway to say, Bournemouth is now closed, there is a major incident in play, please turn around or go somewhere else. If the police don't have the necessary powers, we should be operating very quickly in Westminster to give them those power to deal with this during an emergency.

BREMNER: The people living close to beauty spots like Durdle Door in Dorset, it feels like an invasion. One counselor trying to turn back vehicles was physically and verbally abused.

LAURA MILLER, DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL: Fortunately, it's entering back on me through his car window and fortunately, it landed at my feet. You see, the main problem is that the aggression, people have traveled four, five hours in their car and they're hot, they're grumpy.

BREMNER: Along the south coast they're attempting to stop the crowds and a second wave of COVID but it's a battle they fear they may be losing.

Juliet Bremner, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ALLEN: Right about now European Union officials are set to meet to decide which country's citizens will be allowed to come in and which won't as they reopen their borders they may block visitors from nations with severe coronavirus outbreaks and that would include the United States. The border reopening come even as the World Health Organization warns that Europe is seeing its cases increase for the first time in months as countries lift restrictions.

In Australia, a flare-up of cases in Victoria state has prompted officials to ramp up testing there. The concern now, how might Australia's already damaged economy handle a potential second wave? We get this report from Simon Cullen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON CULLEN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): For weeks now life in Australia has slowly been returning to normal as coronavirus restrictions ease. Now that's been put at risk by an outbreak of new cases in the country's second largest city, Melbourne.

SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We said there would be outbreaks. So the fact that there are outbreaks should not come as a surprise.

CULLEN: In a bit to curb the latest flare-up, the state government has ordered a testing blitz in suburban hot spots.

DANIEL ANDREWS, VICTORIA PREMIER: There will literally be hundreds and hundreds, entire teams of thousands strong door knockers out there talking to the community, inviting them to come in and get a free test whether they're symptomatic or asymptomatic.

CULLEN: The state of emergency in Victoria has already been extended until mid-July. And if the latest outbreak can't be contained, Australian authorities aren't ruling out a return to lockdown conditions.

GREG HUNT, AUSTRALIAN HEALTH MINISTER: It remains an option but I am hopeful that with this level of testing and this level of awareness that we will be able to control and suppress those cases.

CULLEN: Australia was quick to close its external borders and to impose internal travel restrictions. The shutdown helped control the spread of the virus keeping the total number of cases to around 7,500. But for a country that heavily relies on trade and tourism, it's come at a massive economic cost. The latest casualty, Qantas has announced 6,000 jobs will be cut, equivalent to 20 percent of its workforce.

ALLEN JOYCE, QANTAS CEO: The collapse of billions of dollars in revenue leaves us with little choice if we are to save as many jobs as possible longer-term.

CULLEN: The airline says it could take years to return to business as normal but each outbreak of coronavirus puts that further out of reach.

Simon Cullen, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Sports news coming up. An unrestrained joy for Liverpool football fans as they celebrate the end of a 30-year title drought. We'll have a live report about it.

[04:50:00]

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ALLEN: You're looking at a party three decades in the making. Liverpool fans outside their stadium there celebrating becoming English football champs for the first time since 1990. They became the English Premier League champions Thursday evening without even playing. Their rivals Manchester City lost their match meaning Liverpool couldn't be caught. Interesting evening.

Alex Thomas has more about it. He's live in Liverpool. People celebrating there, too bad they had to do it during a pandemic.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT: That's right, Natalie. The scenes are a little bit uncomfortable for those of us used to social distancing. But you have to understand, this is more than just a famous football club winning a trophy they've not won for three decades. This is the rebirth of a brand that was the dominant force in English and European football throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The players where just as happy as the fans. They had a viewing party to watch Chelsea play their closest challengers Manchester City hundreds of miles away in west London. We can show you what happened in the game.

[04:55:00]

Chelsea taking the lead through their U.S.A. star, Christian Pulisic, this before Manchester City made it 1-1. A beautiful free kick from Kevin De Bruyne. Chelsea didn't give up though. Won a penalty when Fernandinho, the City midfielder handled the ball, he was sent off and from the resulting spot kick Chelsea's Brazilian star Willian scores making it 2-1 to Chelsea. City lost. It means they can't catch Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.

Liverpool champions of England once again after a 30-year wait. The last time they did it, it was still known as the First Division, not even the Premier League. That was still two years away from being born. No wonder the Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, when he took charge five years ago and brought the club to this point, was so happy for himself. And crucially as you can hear now, this is the fans. This was him talking to Sky Sports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JURGEN KLOPP, LIVERPOOL MANAGER: It's for you all then. It's for you. It's so incredible. I hope you stay at home are going front of your house if you want but do not more and celebrate it. It's all here. And it's all here. Really, we do it together in this moment and it's a joy to do it for you, I can tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: So a Klopp project that started five years ago, culminating in winning the Champions League, Europe's top club competition last season and now the Premier League this season. The first time they've been English champions in the Premier League era. Credit to Klopp and the team and also to the American owners, the Fenway sports group, who also own the Boston Red Sox. They really invested in this club. Having bought it in 2010 when it was in a bit of shambles. And now the fans are delighted and they've got the title they wanted so much -- Natalie.

ALLEN: All right, very interesting. Good for Liverpool. Alex Thomas for us. Thank you so much, Alex. Good to see you.

Thank you for watching. I'm Natalie Allen. I'll see you here this time tomorrow. "EARLY START" is next.

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