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Phase Three Vaccine Volunteer Given Historic First Shot; World Reels With COVID's "Second Wind"; Polls Show Biden Gaining Ground; Researchers Testing Vaccine Candidates in Brazil; Confirmed Cases Top 70,000 in Bolivia. Spain PM: U.K. Decision to Reinstate Quarantine Misfit; U.K. PM Says "I was Too Fat" as He Wants Nation to Slim; Portland Mayor Demands Ceasefire Meeting with DHS; WH National Security Adviser Tests Positive for COVID-19; Google Employees to Work from Home Until 2021. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 28, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Wanted: 60,000 volunteers for phase three vaccine trials. The results will determine humanity's future.
It just keeps coming back. Many countries in Asia which had the pandemic under control now seeing record numbers of confirmed cases.
And for Joe Biden, running as the "not Donald Trump candidate" paying off, leading in the polls in key swing states.
Hello everyone, I'm John Vause with you for another hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
And we'll begin with two of the most promising experimental vaccines for the coronavirus, now beginning the final stage of testing.
Phase three. Meant to answer that biggest question of all. Does the vaccine actually work and protect us from COVID-19?
Moderna and Pfizer announced that they are ready for mass human trials, the two pharmaceutical companies each calling for 30,000 volunteers. And, if successful, the vaccine could be widely available by year's end.
It comes as the World Health Organization says this pandemic is the most severe crisis it has ever faced.
Right now, millions of Americans are facing their own more immediate crisis with the possibility of losing enhanced unemployment benefits.
Senate Republicans unveiled their coronavirus relief plan which includes cutting the extra weekly payment of $600 to $200. The extra money, they say, was a disincentive to finding a job.
House Democrats passed their own financial relief bill two months ago which leaves the benefits unchanged.
The coronavirus spread to 16 million people around the world in just six months. The United States alone now counts for more than four million.
And with infections rising in more than 30 states, it's becoming harder for experts to know when the outbreak will actually peak.
For the very latest across the U.S., here's Nick Watt.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The prick of a needle, a round of applause. Phase three trials of Moderna's promising vaccine are underway.
Is it safe? Does it work? Thirty thousand human volunteers expected to take part in 89 places across this country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAWN BAKER, PHASE 3 VACCINE TRIAL VOLUNTEER: They're trying to find a cure for what's troubling our whole world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Meanwhile, more than 5,000 souls now lost to COVID-19 in Texas alone, A state now dealing with a virus and a hurricane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JOSEPH VARON, CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: All these people are going to have to go to shelters. And just think about it for a second.
Shelters are going to be like giant petri dishes as far as coronavirus goes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Google just told 200,000 employees nationwide they can work from home nearly another year, at least.
And the Miami Marlins not playing their home opener. Postponed after 11 more players and two coaches tested positive, according to ESPN. The Yankees Phillies game also off while MLB conducts more testing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE MARTINEZ, MANAGER, WASHINGTON NATIONALS: I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to sugar coat it. Seeing those guys go down like that, it's not good for them, it's not good for anybody.
Because of my heart condition, what happens to me if I do get it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Across Florida, nearly 8,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in just eight days.
But the governor still pushing schools to reopen in August and won't mandate masks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONGRESSWOMAN DONNA SHALALA (D-FLA): He and the president have failed every child and teacher and educator in Florida. And put them at risk because of their reckless, reckless efforts to reopen schools.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Some medical experts now calling for a nationwide lockdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're one big country and we're seeing the virus spread.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LARRY BRILLIANT, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's whack-a-mole. It's playing ping-pong back and forth between the states.
That will continue for years if we don't have a singular, national strategy, all in, marching to the tune of same drummer.
And that drummer should be wearing a mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Here's the issue. South Carolina just reported a record-high death toll over the weekend.
And now vacationers returning from the likes of Myrtle Beach are being blamed in part for a spike in Kentucky.
The governor just closed the bars again for two weeks after a visit yesterday from Dr. Deborah Birx.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): She actually looked at us and said the conversation we're having right now we had with Florida and Texas weeks before the worst of the worst happened.
Now is the time for us to act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Here in California the average daily death toll is higher than it's ever been.
[01:05:00]
The governor is now sending strike teams and $52 million to counties in California's Central Valley to try and contain the virus there. And, here in Los Angeles, we are told that the only demographic in
which case counts are rising? The 18 to 29-year olds.
And health officials here say some of those young people are dying.
Nick Watt. CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When it comes to the coronavirus, there seems to be one inescapable fact.
No matter how decisively, how quickly, how effectively a government acts to control this pandemic, all it takes is for one person to not wear a mask or socially distance or refuse to quarantine for the outbreak to come surging back.
That's happening right now across Asia and many parts of the world.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Take away in Hong Kong. It's not just about grabbing a quick meal to go anymore. As of Wednesday it's a city mandate.
The new order is part of a government plan to try to stamp out a third wave of coronavirus in the city. Indoor dining will no longer be allowed.
The restaurants can stay open for carry out. Some workers worried that they won't make enough money to get through this latest round of restrictions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"It has affected us quite a bit," one woman says. "Because our takeaway sales are not that great. And now, by banning all dining, it's very hard for us to survive."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Authorities also issued tougher requirements for masks, which will now be mandatory even when outdoors. With a fine of $645 for anyone who doesn't comply.
But the coronavirus isn't just surging in Hong Kong.
In Mainland China, local transmissions are the highest they've been in almost five months.
Singapore surpassed 50,000 cases.
Vietnam, which has reported only a handful of cases since April is evacuating 80,000 people from Da Nang, after an outbreak in the popular resort town.
The prime minister is urging citizens to social distance again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"We need to remain calm," he says, "and take the matter seriously to find an effective way to stop the virus from spreading."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
But many countries are struggling to do just that. Especially in densely populated areas like India, where in just one day, nearly 50,000 new infections were reported.
Record numbers in Australia too, which recently had its deadliest day of the pandemic.
The premier, the state of Victoria, which is under a second lockdown says people are simply not following the rules.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL ANDREWS, PREMIER, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: It's just a matter of fact. We have too many people who have symptoms and they are going to work.
And what that means, even with mask-wearing, even with hand hygiene, even with distancing, that is an unacceptable risk in terms of transmitting this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: A virus that is still thriving across Asia. And is especially tenacious when people let their guard down.
Kristie Lu Stout. CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us now from the lockdown, Australian city of Melbourne. Here's Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University.
Professor Bennett, thank you for being with us.
CATHERINE BENNETT, CHAIR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY: A pleasure.
VAUSE: I want to start with the big picture here, globally. From Asia to Europe, many countries which were seen at least initially successfully dealing with coronavirus, once again they're seeing a surge in confirmed cases.
Are we looking at the start of a second worldwide wave?
BENNETT: It's certainly looking that way. The first wave we were looking at introduce virus and seeing it taking off quickly. But we are now seeing very substantial waves in a number of countries, particularly the ones that have started to relax restrictions.
And that's the concern when community transmission can take off that quickly.
VAUSE: Yes. With that in mind, here's the sub headline from the "Taipei Times" on Monday reporting on the outbreak in Hong Kong.
Authorities in the territory said that --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
--"residents have become too lax about wearing masks and social distancing, while cases rise."
And earlier this month, "The New York Times" had this incredible detail about the situation in Australia.
They report:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"As it has elsewhere in the world, the coronavirus found a hole in Australia's system.
It spread in part because of the sharing of a cigarette lighter among security guards working at a hotel where returning international travelers are being quarantined."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
What seems really incredibly astonishing about the virus is that even when a government takes quick and decisive actions, they bring this pandemic under control, it literally takes just one person to slip up and it starts surgery all over again.
BENNETT: Yes, that's right. And that's the challenge with this virus.
We've also had reports that America, for example, New York probably had the virus land a few times before it really took off and established that first wave outbreak.
In Australia, we suppressed the virus and probably eliminated local transmission.
But that episode just shows with our quarantine hotel breach that we ended up -- it's probably seeing cases right across Southeast Australia at the moment leap back to one or a few international travelers.
So that's the challenge.
One virus infecting one person who goes back to the community and is well connected or in a job that's well connected. And you can see this just take off so quickly, it's astonishing.
[01:10:00]
VAUSE: But there are calls in the U.S. for a do-over, all those stay- at-home orders. Only this time do it right, or get it right.
I'd like you to listen to what Dr. Anthony Fauci had to say about this. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You don't necessarily have to go all the way back to a complete shutdown, but you certainly have to call a pause and maybe even a backing up a bit.
What my advice would be, time out and maybe go back to a prior checkpoint. And from that point try to proceed in a very measured, prudent way according to the guidelines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Would you say that Dr. Fauci is sort of taking the approach of what is realistic and doable as opposed to what is ideal?
BENNETT: Yes. It has to -- ideal doesn't work if it's just not feasible.
And it's pretty much what we've done here. We've gone back to a prior stage of restriction, but that's not complete shutdown.
It worked for us before. And we've already seen, even though we're only a few weeks in, that we have suppressed this current outbreak.
So we're still seeing 300, 400 cases a day but it would've taken off, it would have been thousands by now. If it had stayed unchecked as it was at the start with even modest restrictions in place.
So you don't have to shut everything down again, but you need to take it back to a point where you bring the outbreak under control and then learn where your transmission weak points are.
And that's what you need to focus on longer term, to try and keep this manageable.
VAUSE: Yes. Well, lockdowns, masks, social distancing, hopefully will not be needed once there is an effective vaccine.
I'd like you to listen to the U.S. vice president on that.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE USA: First and foremost, we are moving at a historic pace to develop a vaccine. And the phase three clinical trials that begin today at 89 sites
across the country with Moderna are just one of the phase three clinical trials that begin in the days ahead.
But the American people can be confident. There'll be no shortcuts, there'll be no cutting corners on safety in the development of this vaccine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The issue of safety is huge. Because recent polls in the U.S. indicate almost half the country won't take the vaccine out of safety concerns.
There are antivaxxers all around the world from Australia to Europe, wherever you want to go.
What happens if a significant portion of the global population refuse to take the vaccine?
BENNETT: Well, that will pose a challenge. We don't expect any of the vaccines to necessarily be 100 percent effective. That's just how it is, not everyone will respond to producing an immune response.
And at the moment, some of them it could be around 60 percent. That's all we need to maintain suppression of the virus in the community.
But if you only have a proportion of the population having the vaccine and they won't necessarily be 100 percent immunized then it starts to become a problem.
We'll still end up with these outbreaks potentially happening, particularly in age care and other facilities, where we have people at high risk, if there's still too much virus circulating in the community.
So we really do have to work with people to help them understand that safety isn't being compromised, the virus does still take advantage of people in the community who are not immunized.
And hopefully, try and lift that compliance with the vaccine rolling out when we get to a vaccine.
VAUSE: Good luck convincing those people who refuse to wear a mask.
BENNETT: Yes.
VAUSE: But we will see what (inaudible).
Professor Bennett, thank you so much. It was good to speak with you, we appreciate it. Stay warm.
BENNETT: Thank you.
VAUSE: Cheers.
A return to anything close to pre-pandemic normal rests on an effective vaccine, and there's good news to report on that.
On Monday, two companies began the latest stages of clinical trials in the U.S.
Elizabeth Cohen was there when the first volunteer was injected for Moderna's vaccine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAWN BAKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Dawn Baker. We have that breaking news we're following out of Hinesville last night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dawn Baker usually delivers the news. But Monday morning, this television anchor in Savannah, Georgia, made news, made history.
As the first person in the United States to participate in a phase three clinical trial for a vaccine against COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Big day.
DAWN BAKER, VACCINE TRIAL PARTICIPANT: It certainly is. It's really exciting to me that I could be a part of saving lives eventually. Instead of just being scared and praying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: After Dawn's injection, study leader Dr. Paul Bradley called Moderna, the company that makes the vaccine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PAUL BRADLEY, COVID-19 CLINICAL TRIAL VACCINE STUDY LEADER: Connor [ph], I have amazing news. We dosed the first patient.
(Applause)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: The National Institutes of Health is collaborating on the trial. Dr. Anthony Fauci marked the day on a call with the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI (VOICE OVER): "I can tell you absolutely the first one was at 6:45 this morning in Savannah, Georgia.
[01:15:00]
Indeed, we are participating today in the launching of a truly historic event in the history of vaccinology."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: There are nearly 90 study sites across the country for this vaccine.
And phase three trials are underway for four other vaccines; three of those in China and one in the United Kingdom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, how are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Scientists hope that results of Moderna's trial will be clear in a few months. And a vaccine on the market by the end of this year or the beginning of next.
But that's if the vaccine is proven safe and effective, which is not a given.
Let me explain how the Moderna vaccine trial works.
This is the vaccine. And about 15,000 people nationwide will get injected with this during the clinical trial.
Now this looks similar to the vaccine but actually it's a placebo, it doesn't do anything, it's just saline. And another 15,000 people will be injected this.
And then afterwards, doctors will compare who gets sick with COVID-19 and who doesn't.
Doctors are recruiting study subjects who live in communities where they're most likely to get COVID so they can see if the vaccine truly works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRADLEY: We want people who are going to be exposed, out there in the community, living their lives. Whether they are, say, a health care worker where unfortunately we get exposed frequently, maybe they work in a grocery store.
But we want people that are, unfortunately, at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: That's why doctors are recruiting heavily among the African American and Latino communities where COVID rates are especially high.
But it's a challenge because historically those communities have been abused in medical research. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAKER: Very suspicious. So maybe, since I was at least bold enough to come forward right now, that might change that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(Applause)
COHEN: Coming forward to play a part in ending a pandemic that has brought the world to its knees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: You are the first person in the United States to get a shot in a phase three COVID trial. What does that feel like?
BAKER: It is very exciting. I'm very anxious about it. I just hope that they're really, really good results.
I know a lot of people are doing a lot of different vaccine trials and things are going on. But I feel -- one, I feel so proud.
Elizabeth Cohen. CNN, Savannah, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Can you believe it? It's been almost four years since the last presidential election. Now we're about 98 days away from the next one. Where did the time go?
When we come back, we'll look at the recent polls, which are not good for President Trump. But he insists his own numbers show him way in front.
Also if there's one benefit of having the world's second highest number of confirmed cases, it's ideal for human trials. More from Brazil in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well, with less than 100 days until the election, the U.S. president insists his own polling shows him ahead in swing states. Whereas public polling shows Donald Trump trailing or tying with the presumptive Democrat nominee, Joe Biden.
[01:20:00]
A new NBC Marist poll in the battleground state of North Carolina has Biden up by seven points.
The president's handling of the pandemic is costing him support, more trusting Biden when it comes to the coronavirus by a big margin.
Well, for more now, we're joined by Democrat strategist, Christopher Hahn, host of the "Aggressive Progressive" podcast and former aide to Senator Chuck Schumer. Also Republican strategist, Pete Seat, who worked in communications during the W. Bush Administration.
OK. So, Pete, first to you. For weeks now, poll after poll we've been looking at the president's numbers heading south when it comes to his approval on pretty much everything, maybe apart from the economy.
The "Real Clear Politics" average of polls for the top six swing states has Biden up a hair over six points. That's as of Monday.
But Donald Trump says wait a minute, that's not the case.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have polls that show me leading in almost every swing state. And substantially in other states by even more than a 1 in 16.
When you look at Florida, as an example, and you have thousands of boats out on the ocean, out on the intercoastal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, Pete, to you, essentially these poll numbers seem directly linked to the pandemic and the president's inability or his unwillingness to deal with what is a huge public health crisis.
And also, he just seems to be in this feedback loop of positive news and spin that kind of makes him feel good rather than reality.
PETE SEAT, VICE PRESIDENT, BOSE PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUP, FMR. WHITE SPOKESMAN, G. W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION: Well, at this point, in the 1988 election, we had a President Michael Dukakis. And at this point in the 2016 election, we had a President Hillary Clinton.
So while it seems like we only have a 99-day sprint ahead of us, we still have a marathon.
We've got two virtual conventions, hopefully three debates, a vice presidential pick yet to come. But what the president is doing here is what I'm fearful of, and that is bringing complacency to his base.
I hear it time and again from Republicans in my home state of Indiana and around the country, they don't believe the polls after what happened in 2016.
They think that Trump supporters are remaining silent and not actually getting out there and being aggressive.
There certainly is a lot more enthusiasm on the side of Donald Trump's base, compared to Joe Biden's base, however, whatever that base may be.
But there could be this sense of complacency that some October surprise is going to be in Donald Trump's favor and somehow tip the scales in his direction. But if they believe that and don't fight for this, they could end up
on the wrong side.
VAUSE: Yes. And Christopher, to you. We have a situation with the Biden Campaign essentially playing it safe, running on a platform that he is not Donald Trump.
Will that be enough to get the Bernie Sanders supporters to head to the polls?
Because we had this quote from "The Atlantic," a co-chair of the Sanders Campaign describing the choice in November like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"It's like saying to somebody you have a bowl of shh" -- the word rhymes with "Schmidt" -- "in front of you. And all you've got to is eat half of it instead of the whole thing. It's still" -- rhymes with "Schmidt."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Could these high poll numbers that you're seeing for Biden, again, lead to complacency? Not to say there's always the ever-present danger of a campaign-killing Biden gaffe?
CHRISTOPHER HAHN, LIBERAL ACTIVIST, FMR. AIDE TO SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER & HOST OF THE "AGGRESSIVE PROGRESSIVE" PODCAST: Look, there's only two ways to run; unopposed or scared. And if I'm the Biden campaign, I'm running scared.
Even though he's up seven to nine points depending on what poll you look at right now.
As for the Bernie supporters, I think they'd eat a whole bowl of Schmidt if it gets rid of Donald Trump because it's time for this guy to go.
He's failed on the economy. He's failed on the COVID-19 response. He's failed on foreign relations. The man is not fit to be president of the U.S.
He lies about everything, he can't even tell the truth about whether or not he was asked to throw out the first pitch at a ball game. This man is not fit to be president of the United States.
And whether or not there's enthusiasm on the Biden side or not, there's lots of enthusiasm in this country to get rid of Donald Trump.
In fact, the average of polls say that 50 percent of Americans will not vote for Donald Trump, no matter what.
VAUSE: OK. Well, there's this very straightforward question which the president was given during the news conference on Monday.
With Russia paying the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, did the president raise the issue when he spoke with Putin by phone last week?
Here's the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We don't talk about what we discussed, but we had plenty of discussion and I think it was very productive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Chris, first. If there's one responsibility that comes with the Oval Office, it's keeping Americans safe.
So add on to this the 140,000 dead Americans from the coronavirus, hard to see how, Pete, the president has actually succeeded in all of this. Right?
VAUSE: (Inaudible) Pete.
HAHN: No, the president has no succeeded in this, this president has failed. He's spent more time on the phone the last couple of weeks with Vladimir Putin than he has with Dr. Fauci, and 150,000 Americans are dead for it.
The American soldiers should be very weary of this president. How he uses them, how he will not protect them, how he will not stand up for them.
Any president who spoke strongly to a foreign adversary who had threatened American troops in the field would have went to the podium and said it.
This guy hasn't. He's a failure. He is not protecting our soldiers, he is not protecting Americans.
[01:25:00]
And the Americans are going to send him packing in November. Unless there's something that he can turn around, which I don't see him doing.
VAUSE: Pete.
SEAT: The president of the United States, when engaging in diplomacy, is under no obligation to share what takes place in private conversations.
What Barack Obama did as president in reengaging with Cuba was heralded as his great breakthrough. But when Donald Trump talks to Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, he's a bad guy for doing it.
It's the same when it comes to Vladimir Putin. We have no idea what took place in that conversation. So I think it's laughable to ascertain what took place unless we hear from the president what happened.
Diplomacy is working, it is happening right before our eyes. And we have to let that process play out.
And you can keep saying the American people want Donald Trump to lose re-election.
HAHN: They do.
SEAT: But let's remember Barack Obama won re-election, George W. Bush won re-election --
HAHN: Yes.
SEAT: -- Bill Clinton won reelection.
HAHN: Yes.
SEAT: There is a pattern here. And also a pattern of these polls being wrong in the past.
VAUSE: True.
SEAT: Donald Trump wasn't going to win in 2016 but, guess what, he did.
HAHN: Well --
SEAT: Donald Trump wasn't going to win the mid-terms in 2018, but guess what, he did.
HAHN: Well, Pete --
SEAT: (Inaudible) but guess what, he wasn't.
VAUSE: The mid-terms is another issue.
SEAT: Let's see what happens.
VAUSE: Very quickly. The body of Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights icon, is lying in state at the Capitol right now. Joe Biden and Mrs. Biden paid their respects on Monday.
As for the president and his plans. Well, listen to him right now on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: "Will you be seeing Mr. Lewis tomorrow at the Capitol?"
TRUMP: No, I won't be going. No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Pete, that's it. Donald Trump and John Lewis, they did not like each other. Regardless, was this a missed opportunity for a president who is not particularly liked by African Americans voters? SEAT: He should have gone. He should go and pay his respects. If
there is a reason, whether it's because of the pandemic or a security concern related to that, he should articulate it. But I think he should have gone.
Joe Biden went, others are going. The president should have gone as well.
VAUSE: Chris, five seconds.
HAHN: Yes. This guy can't even swing at a fat pitch. This would've been an easy thing for him to do, to go there and pay his respects.
Just like it would've been easy to rename military bases named after Confederates. People would have --
VAUSE: We're not going down that road.
HAHN: (inaudible). Couldn't do it.
VAUSE: OK. Thank you both. Christopher and Pete, thank you so much for being with us.
HAHN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Two shoppers with Nazi swastikas on their face masks have been banned by U.S. retailer, Walmart.
These images were recorded by a customer who says her great grandmother resisted the Nazis in the 1930s and the '40s.
Walmart called their incident at their Minnesota store unacceptable.
Police issued trespass notices to the couple warning if they returned, they would be arrested.
Unjust and wrong. The Spanish prime minster calls for the U.K. to reverse a quarantine order for travelers arriving from Spain. Details in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:28]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.
The World Health Organization says COVID-19 is the most severe global emergency it has ever face. The head of the WHO says the pandemic has changed our world and shown what we are capable of for good and bad.
America's leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that a vaccine will end the pandemic in the U.S. only if a majority of people are willing to be immunized. Right now, two of the most promising experimental vaccines are into the final stages of testing in the U.S.
The U.S. Senate Republicans unveiled their $1 trillion stimulus plan on Monday. It comes as the $600 weekly unemployment boost expires. The new plan cuts that by $400 as states transition to a system of benefits which will be determined by 70 percent of workers' wages.
Brazil's president appears to have recovered after coming down with COVID-19. Over the weekend, Jair Bolsonaro was seen riding a motorcycle there, didn't have a face mask. Later though, on Monday, officially back on the job, the same day Brazil reported 23,000 new infections.
Bolsonaro though focused on employment. Promising to focus on creating new jobs while blaming others for the problem.
As one of the world's worst affected countries in the world, Brazil is an ideal place to test a potential vaccine. At least two trials are underway, a third expected to begin soon.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports thousands have volunteered including many health care workers are on the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's an extra bit of bravery here you can't see. Denisi (ph) is a dentist doing for five months of coronavirus in Sao Paulo, the not to pretty job of cleaning infected mouths. Like everyone here, living away from her family, death around her daily.
But she is a first. The first Brazilian to be given a trial vaccine from Oxford University, carrying the hopes of pretty much all of us that this front runner vaccine works.
"Being a volunteer is an act of love," she says. "Donating a little bit of yourself."
All the staff here has been offered if they want to take part in the Oxford vaccine trial, putting them on another front line, the world's urgent hunt for immunity from this disease.
Denisi was subject one, and her boss Flavia was roughly subject 1000. In their hearts, the memory of a fellow doctor.
FLAVIA MACHADO, PROFESSOR OF INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE, UNIFESP: He was my friend for 23 years. He worked here for 23 years.
Yes, it was -- it was quite bad.
WALSH: Their eyes betray exhaustion. Yet here, they still give what they have left.
"The vaccine trial needs more people like us, at high risk of contamination. Being away from the people you love is very difficult."
Across Sao Paulo, there's a race between powers raging (ph) in one of the worst hit cities on earth over who can prove first that their vaccine works. China last week sent its Sinevac vaccine for trial here among the city's frontline workers, but it's roll out was met by an angry fringe railing of what they call, quote, "the Chinese virus". And so also railing at the China vaccine.
Are there concerns amongst your stuff here, for the safety of people who participated in this because of that right wing rhetoric.
ESPER KALLAS, HEAD OF SINOVAC VACCINE TRIAL IN BRAZIL: This is the number one concern. Some people may react oddly in these days to the volunteer who participated in a vaccine that was conceptualized in a Chinese company.
WALSH: Dr. Stephanie Teixeira Porto (ph) is the only Chinese trial subject to go public yet and this is the easy bit of her painful pandemic.
STEFANIA TEIXEIRA PORTO, DOCTOR AND VACCINE TRIAL VOLUNTEER: Even this past month, I was really, really anxious. And I would cry a lot.
WALSH: While she's not had any threats since she had the job here, she says she's been warned by the trial to be careful.
PORTO: They told me to not expose it too much and to try not to tell everybody how this is going to be.
WALSH: Isn't that strange?
[01:34:53]
PORTO: Yes, it's very strange. All of this. I don't understand why they hate China.
WALSH: As if this wasn't enough, the Americans are coming. Pharma giant Pfizer looking to test its vaccine which the U.S. has paid $1.9 billion for in Brazil's mega city hot spot too.
All hoping to be first. All finding Brazil wants access to their vaccine and return the access, an oh, feeling the heat and anguish of the months ahead.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Bolivia confirmed cases of COVID 19 have now topped 70,000. The county reported another 1,700 on Monday, at least 15 government officials have announced they tested positive for the virus, including the interim president who's now recovered.
Stefano Pozzebon reports from neighboring Colombia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bolivia is one of the most affected countries in South America from coronavirus. On Monday, the Bolivian health ministry said that the country topped the 70,000 mark of registered cases. There are currently more than 2,600 deaths registered for coronavirus in Bolivia.
And most crucially 15 (ph) government officials have been -- have contracted the virus. One of them the Bolivian interim president Jeanine Anez, who on Monday said that she had completely recovered and was sent back home from hospital. Now, firmly back at work 100 percent.
Jeanine Anez (INAUDIBLE) will probably be on the economy with Bolivia, one of the poorest -- historically one of the countries in South America, and with economists saying that the region will suffer the most from the economic crisis triggered by coronavirus. Many leaders around South America essentially asking themselves how can we recover from these catastrophic diseases?
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- Bogota.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Germany is introducing new measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak, starting next week there with mandatory tests for travelers arriving from high-risk areas. The goal is to keep daily cases well under 500 so the outbreak could be brought under control by October. At the moment, daily new cases are averaging around 800.
Meantime, the Spanish prime minister has criticized Britain's sudden decision to reinstate a 14-day quarantine on arrivals from Spain, calling it misfit.
Atika Shubert spoke with some travelers about to head into that quarantine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Checking in to the British Airways flight from Valencia to London and straight into a 14-day quarantine on arrival -- some passengers are angry.
What was your reaction when you first heard that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very stupid.
SHUBERT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
SHUBERT: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Simply because they didn't give time to the people to know about it.
SHUBERT: A parent's only weekend getaway has it's turned into a two- week family separation for Phil Bignew (ph). He left the kids with the grandparents. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we learned that we're probably splitting the
family up for 14 nights. And we don't live too far apart, but it's still a strange scenario that we've never faced before.
SHUBERT: And a trip to see parents in Spain now means missing out on crucial work in the U.K. for Miriam Cortez.
MIRIAM CORTEZ: I asked my job, and they're not going to test us so I would have to be at home for two weeks, and I work in a hospital. So even being our doctor, we are not tested to be able to go back to work.
SHUBERT: So a lot of frustration and some resignation for the passengers here. Quite a few telling me they actually felt safer with the tougher measures here in Spain than in the U.K. The Spanish government meanwhile says the country is still safe for visitors.
There are more than 200 outbreaks at the moment in Spain, including one in the city of Barcelona, home to several million people and a major tourist destination. Despite pleas by the local government to stay at home to curb the spread of the virus, Barcelona's beaches were still busy this weekend.
Spain's foreign minister said on Sunday that only certain regions were affected, similar to the rise in infections seen in other E.U. countries.
ARANCHA GONZALEZ LAYA, SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Spain is a safe country for tourists and for Spaniards like in any other European country. We are seeing outbreaks. The outbreaks in Spain are perfectly controlled.
SHUBERT: Nonetheless, the U.K. is not the only one to take precautions.
Norway has also ordered a quarantine on travelers returning from Spain. And France has warned its citizens not to cross the border into Spain for travel to any high-risk areas.
Atika Shubert, CNN -- Valencia, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted to struggling with his weight, admitting he is too fat. That could've been a problem when Mr. Johnson was in intensive care with the coronavirus earlier this year. Studies have shown that being overweight can significantly increase the risk of severe cases of COVID-19.
[01:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I've always wanted to lose weight for ages and ages, and like many people I struggled with my weight, go up and down.
But since I recovered from coronavirus, I have been steadily building up my fitness. I don't want to make any excessive claims because I really, really just started concentrating on it.
But I've got -- I'm at least a stone down. I'm more than a stone down. But when I went into the ICU, when I was really -- I was very, I was way overweight. I'm only about 5 foot 10, you know, at the outside and, you know, I was too fat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It comes as the U.K. is about to unveil a $2.6 billion plan to tackle obesity. According to government figures, more than 60 percent of adults are above what would be considered a healthy weight. The campaign will encourage people to cycle and walk. Boris Johnson says he now starts his day with a run with the dog. And he's looking good now. Not's not him there at the end.
Well, lawsuits, arrests and now demands for a cease-fire. We're live in Portland, Oregon where days' long standoff between protesters and authorities seems to be escalating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of all seven charges in the IMDB scandal. He faces decades of prison time and steep fines for abuse of power and criminal breach of trust. Najib is also convicted of money laundering after millions of dollars ended up in his personal bank account. He plans to appeal the conviction.
The IMDB scheme saw billions of dollars of taxpayer money funneled and embezzled out of the country.
For the past few weeks heavily armed federal agents in camouflage have used a shock and awe strategy in clashes with protesters in Portland, Oregon. A move which (INAUDIBLE) to larger, better equipped and more aggressive crowds.
The city's mayor who was tear gassed last week is now demanding an immediate meeting with the head of the U.S. Homeland Security to discuss what he is calling a cease-fire. This comes as two protest groups are suing federal law enforcement agencies over their aggressive tactics.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov is live in Portland. So Lucy, what is the very latest there tonight? Is it a return of the violence that we've seen in recent days?
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been quite calm here John, over the past few hours. You see the so-called wall of vets at the forefront and so-called of wall of moms behind them, the women in yellow shirts. They did in fact, came down (INAUDIBLE). Ok.
So -- hearing fireworks go off -- I wonder if my camera man might be able to show that. That is something we've been seeing sort of night after night, you know. You have of the fireworks go off that often brings out the federal agents to the event. Lead them to use tear gas, to try to disperse the crowd. That's why we have our gas mask.
But yes, it's a less than quiet, beginning to this evening I guess and a continuation of protests over the past few weeks, not just here in Portland but across the country.
[01:45:05]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAFANOV: Anger, outrage, and frustration across the country as some cities see clashes, violence and destruction. In Portland, Oregon this weekend demonstrators ripped down a fence surrounding a federal courthouse.
That city the focus of a controversial decision earlier this month by the Department of Homeland Security to send in federal officers to arrest and detain protesters, a decision President Trump has repeatedly defended as necessary to restore law and order, tweeting "Their leadership has for months, lost control of the anarchists. We must protect federal property and our people"
President Trump has been pushing the law and order messaging for weeks as his poll numbers have slipped.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Americans want law and order. They demand law and order.
KAFANOV: This morning he defended the deployment of federal agents tweeting federal forces are little involved in Seattle other than we have a large standby team in case of emergency.
Seattle police say they arrested 47 people Saturday, during what they called a riot that left 59 officers injured. A peaceful march turned violent with barricades outside of police headquarters being knocked over in Oakland, California.
The mayor of Oakland warning the community that they may be playing in the President's hands, saying quote, "vandalizing our downtown gives Donald Trump the image he wants and the justification he seeks to send federal troops into American cities.
Many demonstrators believe the presence of those agents in those cities are like an occupying force. The protests and violence is not limited to the West Coast.
In Austin, Texas, a man shot and killed during a Black Lives Matter protest Saturday, identified as 28-year-old Jared Foster. In Aurora, Colorado a terrifying scene when someone drove a jeep into a crowd of protesters. Fortunately, no one was injured.
The violence only seeming to fuel President Trump's verbal attacks on protesters, even calling them terrorists last month. On Sunday he tweeted "The protesters are actually anarchists who hate our country. The line of innocent mothers were a scam.
Those mothers, the so-called "Wall of Moms" are real. And they, along with military vets in Portland, formed barriers around the protesters to shield them from authorities.
VICTORIA, HEALTH EDUCATOR: Having the wall of moms, that was a way to refocus attention, but the most important thing is that we are only lending our bodies to the important work that the black community has been doing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAFANOV: The presence and the actions of the federal paramilitary forces against the wishes of both city and faith leaders has very inflamed tensions on the ground here. Yes, it has brought out a small group of riders late at night. But this is also something that has brought hundreds if not thousands of people out to the streets day after day to demand racial justice. They have one (INAUDIBLE), Black Lives Matter, John.
VAUSE: So Lucy, just explain what has actually been happening over maybe the last couple of days because what we understand is that with the federal agents there, heavily-armed, and in their camouflage gear and their riots, stuff (INAUDIBLE) no identification. Every time they sort of used some aggressive tactics, the protesters have become increasingly aggressive and response. Is that sort of how you see it?
KAFANOV: It's a game of cat and mouse in a way. I mean if a federal agents were to retreat and not make as much of a show of force that they had over the past few nights, it would probably de-escalate tensions. But a lot of people that we've been talking to feel that they've been upset by the behavior of these forces, police officers, to using tear gas, non lethal -- so called nonlethal munition, very visible in (INAUDIBLE) to push back the protesters. Yes, they say they're doing it to protect the federal building. But this radicalizes the crowd, the people, they get people into the streets, it gets more and more people involved in the protesters' movement. And frankly, shift the focus away from Black Lives Matter to this federal building.
And now we're here, more and more people chanting, pushing back against the fence, I don't know if we're going to see a repeat of the kid of themes that what we've been seeing in the past few days.
VAUSE: Lucy, thank you very much. Obviously, be careful. We appreciate it. Thank you.
Until recently President Donald Trump was not big on masks and social distancing, but a noticeable shift in tone and message now the coronavirus pandemic is hitting not just his poll numbers but his inner circle. More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the coronavirus has pierced President Trump's inner circle. The National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien testing positive for coronavirus. The White House confirmed that O'Brien had tested positive in a statement on Monday but so far they're providing very few details about when O'Brien tested positive and when he was last in contact with the President.
[[01:50:03]
DIAMOND: The White House statement did say that O'Brien is experiencing mild symptoms and it says that he's self isolating but that there is quote, "No risk of exposure to the President or the Vice President."
Now, we know that O'Brien hasn't been seen in public with the President in over two weeks but he was at the White House as recently as Thursday according to one of our sources.
The question though is when O'Brien was actually last with the President and whether he was with him on Thursday when, perhaps, he learns that he had tested positive for coronavirus.
Now, we do know that O'Brien was in Europe also recently. He traveled there, meeting with foreign counterparts in the U.K., France, Italy and other countries. And you can see in these pictures here O'Brien not wearing a mask during all of those appearances and then he returned, of course, to the United States. And we do know that he was at the White House.
Now, as for the president, he has expressed very little concern so far for this positive diagnosis. He said on Monday, that he was aware of the fact that O'Brien had tested positive but he said he had not seen O'Brien lately and that he planned on calling him.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN -- the white house.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, Google is sending a big message about where it thinks this pandemic is heading. What the company is planning for its employees as the coronavirus surges across the U.S.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well Google's decision to keep employees working from home until next year is a sign that they believe the pandemic would not ease anytime soon. While working from home has some clear health benefits, there are also downsides.
CNN's Brian Todd reports on how many companies are trying to strike the right balance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A bold announcement from Google, sends rumbling through workplaces across America, the tech giant CEO in a memo obtained by CEO telling employees Google will let employees work from home at least until July of next year. DR. LARRY BRILLIANT, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: I think, another indication that
they believe that we are in for the long haul on this pandemic, and I certainly as an epidemiologist agree.
TODD: Google had some previously said, most employees would be working remotely through the end of this year. With some employees being allowed back into the office sooner.
The tech industry has gotten ahead of other sectors regarding work at home policies. Twitter and Facebook will let some employees work from home indefinitely. With new coronavirus cases, rising in at least 22 states, health experts say these decisions have obvious health benefits.
DR. SHARI ROSENBAU, INTERNIST: This is one of the most contagious viruses we know. It spreads from droplets from face to face contact in the air. So to be able to prevent infecting our co-workers, infecting our loved ones, working from home can protect us.
VAUSE: But experts say tech companies aren't uniquely suited to having a lot of people work from home. Other companies simply aren't and many businesses tonight, are having to navigate pandemic adjustment environments.
At CNN with the exception of a few hundred employees who are needed to put programming on the air. The vast majority of employees have been working from home since March and will continue to work from home for the remainder of the year.
Experts say there's another danger with major corporations -- thinking about reopening their offices for in-person have to take into account.
[01:54:52]
BRILLIANT: If you have a workforce that is global and that people are on airplanes traveling all over the world, you will be constantly importing into your office the highest viral load from any of the places that people are going to.
TODD: But the work from home wave during the pandemic has taken its own toll. According to "The Wall Street Journal", an online conferencing event firm called Open Exchange sensing its employees needed some face to face interaction is renting a house in the English countryside so members of its European team can live and work together while distancing.
A Holiday Inn Express in North Syracuse, New York has been renting out rooms for people to work in a day at a time, just so they can get away from home.
CONRAD STRUZIK, GENERAL MANAGER, HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS: We're here to take care of you? To make your life easier to find what works for you even if it's a getaway because you are stuck at home.
TODD: Experts say there is growing evidence of isolation and other emotional setbacks people are facing from working at home during the pandemic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I have a video call of my patients or a telemedicine visit, one of the things we talk about is anxiety and depression. People aren't able to perform their best right now.
TODD: One epidemiologist, Dr. Larry Brilliant also told us he's worried about the millions of people who have to work from home who may not necessarily have the personal space at home to work from their own study or bedroom. Overcrowding in homes, he says, is a big potential danger. A major factor in spreading the virus right now is transmission within families, many of them having multiple generations living together.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, at the U.S. Capitol, a final honor for a civil rights icon. Congressman John Lewis is the first black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol's rotunda. He was a member of Congress from Georgia since 1987. His stature in the nonviolent movement for racial equality was a hard one. He was brutally beaten in the march against segregation in Selma, Alabama in 1965.
On Monday, congressional leaders pay tribute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Here in congress, John was revered and beloved on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of the capitol. We knew that he always worked on the side of the angels and now we know that he is with them.
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: As his friend Dr. King once put it, we could build a community at peace with itself. Today, we pray and trust that this peacemaker himself now rests in peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Before arriving at the Capitol, Lewis' flag-draped coffin was driven past Washington landmarks significant to the civil rights movement.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, John Vause.
The news continues here on CNN with Rosemary Church after a short break.
And please wear a mask.
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[02:00:02]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
And I'm Rosemary Church.
END
