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Hurricane And Tropical Storm Watches And Warnings From Florida to Maine as Tropical Storm Isaias Heads For The U.S.; A Possible Setback for the Largest School District in Georgia After Over 200 Employees Have Either Tested Positive for COVID-19 or Have Been Exposed. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 03, 2020 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:20]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane or tropical storm watches and warnings are up from Florida all the way to Maine, as Tropical Storm Isaias heads for the Carolinas now.

CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers joins us. Chad, a storm a major threat for millions. Do you expect it to strengthen as it heads towards the coast?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, the hurricane center does have it going to 75, which is a hurricane, and right now it's 70. But, I'll tell you what, Jim, don't even think about this thing anywhere near between -- just -- just call it 72.5, I don't care, there's no difference in damage or surge between 70 and 75, it's just going to be the same storm, right?

We are going to get an awful lot of water on the land in the form of rain, we're going to get wash from the salt water up into the marshes, maybe three to five feet, called storm surge.

The storm just can't get its act together today, there's too much dry air out there, too many winds from the southwest breaking it up.

There's not an eye that we see when a storm is getting stronger, so I think it's going to remain where we are right now, but it is going to be plus or minus 50 miles from Myrtle Breach by 8:00 o'clock tonight and that will cause crashing waves on shore, tearing apart some of the shore line, pushing water into the marshes as well.

One more think I'm worried about though, with all of this rain that's going to come down, it could be three to five inches even for New York City, the winds are still going to be around 60 for New York City, with all those big trees in the suburbs, that will bring down power lines for sure. Bring down trees, bring down power lines and we do expect that kind of power outage damage with this storm.

Three to five foot surge, I think the real biggest threat will be Charleston, it's high tide today, the highest tide over the month because we're full moon, so we have that going against us.

Could be water in the streets of Charleston like we see all the time with a passing storm, and this one would be no different. Awful lot of rain fall all the way through the Carolinas all the way up to upstate New York, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes, and all those states dealing with the pandemic as well. Chad Myers, thanks very much.

MYERS: Sure.

SCIUTTO: Well schools across the country struggle with the question of reopening during a pandemic, a big possible setback for the largest district in the state of Georgia, Gwinnett County, just outside of Atlanta, says around 260 employees will not be able to work because they've either tested positive for COVID-19 themselves or been exposed to someone who has.

Dr. Jeffrey Gold is the Chancellor for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and he joins me now. You look at that data there and it does show the challenge the challenge, right, of opening the school districts, because listen, this is America today, it is extraordinarily widespread, as Dr. Birx said.

When you see numbers like that, from your perspectives, does that mean that school district really shouldn't reopen?

DR. JEFFREY GOLD, CHANCELLOR OF THE NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: Well, it's always a really tough question, Jim, because we know that our school children not just derive education, particularly in the K5 group, but also derive nutrition and support and socialization and other very important things that occur.

But having said that, there is no question that the ability to control the transmission of the virus in the local community around the school is absolutely key. There needs to be an adequate amount of testing and contact tracing and there has to be control in that local community before we can think about safely reopening schools.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, that's the thing, I mean Dr. Fauci has said this for months, is that there's no one-size-fits-all, that it's really about the degree of the outbreak in that district. And I just wonder, are you seeing a plan developing nationally to address this question that way? To say, listen, if you've got a big outbreak in your district you can't do it. If it's small enough, you can.

I mean, is there any -- are you seeing any plan that's going to institute that very simple standard across the country?

GOLD: Well Jim, the University of Nebraska Med Center, our team, has been working very hard, certainly with all of our local public health districts and local school districts on exactly that, because to make a decision based upon statewide data, particularly in a state as broad and diverse as Nebraska is just doesn't make sense.

And it's 500 miles across our state. There are communities that are several thousand and there are communities that are a million, and to say that what has happening in Omaha is the same as what's happening in Scotts Bluff just wouldn't make sense.

And so, you're exactly right, what we need is a partnership between the local public health districts and the school systems to look at the spread of disease, to look at particularly the community acquired case transmission rates and then make a decision as to what's safe, when to open and also for which grades. You know, what's going to happen in K5 is probably different that what's going to happen in high school, where there's a very different equation.

[10:35:00]

SCIUTTO: Yes. I want to ask about big picture here, because Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Task Force, she said over the weekend that -- that masks and social distancing, that those two steps by themselves can -- can do enough to control the outbreak without doing a broad stay-at-home order. And I wonder if -- if you agree with that or does it come down to how broadly the virus is spread in a particular community?

I mean, can masks and distancing be enough?

GOLD: Well, we certainly know that masks and distancing helps. There is no question about that. It prevents the spread, it also prevents safety for the individual wearing the mask and doing the distancing, but I think it depends on how much transmission is going on in the local community.

If things are really out of control, if there's not adequate contract tracing or if the testing has got a long delay periods, then perhaps more of a shutdown is going to be necessary for a period of time.

Whereas, if what we're looking at here is across the great Midwest at least, which is to try to get our kids back to school, to get college athletics reactivated and all of the things that we value so much, masks and social distancing are going to be key. They are key.

SCIUTTO: What do we learn from California? So, it -- it -- it addressed this early, shutdown early, seemed to have it under control, but it went from 65,000 cases when I began reopening to 500,000 now. What's the lesson to be learned from them?

GOLD: You know, probably many lessons and many more to be learned in the future about the public health concerns of pandemic spread. But, certainly it's about the control in local communities and the consistency of messaging.

There is no question that California was really aggressive and ahead of the game and had made a number of very important steps early on in the pandemic spread. And then as attempts were made to reopen, I'm not sure that all Californians, you know, sort of were as closely connected to the remaining social distancing things, mask wearing and other concerns that were so important. You know, it became an all or nothing phenomenon.

And one thing we've learned, Jim, that this has got to be a graded response moving forward, one step at a time.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Yes, it makes sense. Well, Dr. Gold, good to have you on. Thanks so much.

GOLD: Always a pleasure, sir.

SCIUTTO: While some schools work to reopen classrooms others push for online learning only, groups of parents are coming up with a new plan, creating pandemic pods for classes at home.

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[10:42:10]

SCIUTTO: Well, it may take a village to raise a child and during this pandemic it may now take a community to educate them. As the pandemic forces schools across the country to reopen with online classes only, some parents are coming together to create pandemic pods in their homes to help kids learn as a group.

CNN's Laura Jarrett has more.

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MARNIE WEINSTEIN, EDUCATION CONSULTANT: First thing I think we need to do is get out your homework.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With coronavirus resurging across the country and so much uncertainty about what school look s like this fall, many parents are now taking matters into their own hands.

WEINSTEIN: Right now people are in panic mode. You're going to check each other.

JARRETT: Marnie Weinstein, and education consultant in Washington, D.C., says parents are reaching out desperate for other options.

How many parents would you say have reached out you?

WEINSTEIN: My e-mails are overflowing, my text messages are overflowing.

JARRETT: She's helping parents form what they're calling learning pods, small groups of young children paired with a single teacher in a home.

WEINSTEIN: It could be a basement, it could be a room upstairs, just as long as the teacher can set it up to feel like a classroom.

JARRETT: This pod in a suburb of Atlanta has 12 families and 28 kids, from kindergarten through fifth grade.

MEREDITH COPLEY, MOM/LEARNING POD ORGANIZER: We've talked about consistency and routine. Whoever is hosting the group of kids, my kids are going to get their backpack, laptop in their backpack, their water bottle and a snack and they're going to take it to that -- whatever house they're to, we're hopefully going to stay pretty consistent with that.

ANDREA LABOUCHERE, MOM/LEARNING POD ORGANIZER: I envision a one-room school house. We wanted to create an environment where our kids could work together, be together and have that social part of school that's so important for their developments.

JARRETT: And their kids like this option too.

ADDY LABOUCHERE, 5TH GRADER: I'd rather be in a pod with my friends than be at home just working on school by myself.

JARRETT: From San Francisco to Toledo, Ohio, to Tampa, Florida, pandemic pods or micro-school groups are popping up all over social media, each with their own set of rules.

WEINSTEIN: We are going to say that we can go to the grocery store but always wear masks and wash our hands.

JARRETT: But in-person instruction doesn't come cheap, with some parents guaranteeing a teacher their full salary or more even if their child ends up back in a classroom at some point this year.

WEINSTEIN: Good job. So, a lot of the teachers, they'll tell me they're not sure they want to sign on and a lot of them are coming back because they can get the same amount of money or more working half-day, staying safe.

JARRETT: A lucrative deal for teachers, but yet another way COVID has highlighted how a good education often depends on what your parents can afford.

A more cost effective options, families who plan to follow their school's virtual learning plan.

LABOUCHERE: We're not homeschooling them, there's a difference.

JARRETT: They're forming their own pods and hiring a tutor to help with all the digital homework and check-ins.

[10:45:00]

HELEN ARCHER, MOM/LEARNING POD ORGANIZER: Once they're done with the digital learning, then they take a break and that's where the tutor will come and facilitate and make sure that they stay on track with that curriculum.

JARRETT: In many cases the details are still being ironed out, but parents who have kids with a pre-existing condition or special needs say the pod model is the safest for their families as the pandemic continues.

NIKKI COHEN, MOTHER: I think it's a fantastic option, because you can -- you can kind of tailor your educational needs to whatever your family needs.

ARCHER: When the kids look back they're going -- they're going to remember a fun community time that they've had during these few months, because this is not going to be forever.

JARRETT: Laura Jarrett, CNN, New York.

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SCIUTTO: A lot of families facing that.

Well, we're just two weeks from the Democratic convention. Presumptive nominee Joe Biden has a big choice on his hands. Who will be his running mate? We're going to discuss next.

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[10:50:25]

SCIUTTO: Well, big decision on the horizon for Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has said he could announce his choice for running mate early this month, but there's still a lot of disagreement within the party, some of it spilling into the public.

Joining me now to discuss, CNN politics political correspondent Arlette Saenz, she's covering the campaign and national politics reporter for the "Wall Street Journal" Sabrina Siddiqui.

Thanks to both of you.

Arlette, I'm going to put you on the spot here, when is the announcement likely to be and -- and who are the frontrunners?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, last week Joe Biden said that he would have a decision made up this week about his running mate, but an announcement may not happen until next week, the week just before the convention.

But, we do know that Biden is now entering that final stage, heading into crunch time with his decision and that he has narrowed down his thoughts about running mates to a handful of women.

Among those serious contenders are Senator Kamala Harris, who really from the beginning has been a big name in this V.P. search process. He is also looking at Congressman Karen Bass, who has had a lot of people lobbying on her behalf in recent weeks, as she has emerged as a serious contender.

There is also Susan Rice, the former National Security Advisor who worked closely with Joe Biden in the White House under President Obama, and then Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth are also believed to be under consideration.

But, as Biden is heading into these final moments in his decisions, you know, he's talked about he wants someone that is simpatico with him and who would be ready to be president on day one, those are big considerations he's going to have in the coming weeks.

SCIUTTO: Sabrina Siddiqui, big question of course is, are -- are you looking for someone who helps in the job or helps you win the election, right? I mean ideally you want both. Hillary Clinton showed someone in effect Tim Kaine, and Tim Kaine that she felt could be a good teammate and run the government.

Of course, we know how the election went in 2016, where -- what is the quality that the campaign is going to lean on here? Is it -- is the manager who helps you in office or the one who helps you, they hope, win the election.

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Jim. I think that there a number of factors at play. There are, of course, political considerations. One of the calls that Vice President Biden has faced is to choose a woman of color.

There have been growing calls following the police killing of George Floyd for him to choose a black woman on the ticket, especially given his considerable support among black voters, which -- who are critical, of course, to him securing the nomination.

At the same time, this decision is unfolding against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and Vice President Biden, throughout his campaign, has really prioritized experience. As Arlette said, he has repeatedly said he wants a running mate who would be ready on day one.

Often time in elections a vice presidential candidate has not necessarily had a huge impact on the ticket, but there has also been more focus on Biden's picks specifically because of his age, because he would be the oldest first-term president to take office if elected.

But, because this is a job that he himself held for two terms, he knows what he wants. That's what most people close to him say. So, ultimately, I think, as much as there are a number of political calculations that are always at play, this will very much be a personal decision in the end.

SCIUTTO: Arlette, on that question that Sabrina raises there, which is the -- the calls for him to pick, not just a woman, who he's committed to, but a woman of color. Based on your interactions with the campaign, is that a factor that's already been decided?

SAENZ: They haven't outwardly said that he has made that decision, but he certainly has been facing a lot of pressure from allies and other Democrats, who believe that this moment right now calls for a woman of color, and that top tier of contenders there includes several black woman, you also have Tammy Duckworth in there as well.

And so, this is something that Biden, you know, looking at this moment that the country is currently in, could decide to go that way. But he hasn't publicly said yet how he -- if that is going to be the determining factor for him as he heads into this decision.

SCIUTTO: OK, before you go, you're both going to hate me for doing it. You -- you're -- if you had to make a $5 bet, Sabrina you first, then Arlette, who -- who would you guess would be the nominee.

SIDDIQUI: I thought I got out of the prediction business in 2016, but look, I still think that what I'm hearing is that Kamala Harris remains a very affirmable contender, but it is telling that in this final phase there are still many women in the mix.

SCIUTTO: Arlette?

[10:55:00]

SAENZ: Yes, you know, I think one thing that this is going to boil down to, I'm kind of avoiding answering the question.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SAENZ: But it's going to be the relationship and seeing what those one-on-one interactions he has with these women are like in this coming week, as he potentially meets with them in person or potentially over the phone as well.

SCIUTTO: No question, and then you look back at these choices, given the last several decades, that a very personal choice, sometimes surprising choice for the nominee. Arlette Saenz, Sabrina Siddiqui, thanks to both of you.

SAENZ: Thanks

SIDDIQUI: Thank you Jim.

SCIUTTO: And thanks so to you for joining us today. I'm Jim Sciutto. "Newsroom" with my colleague Kate Baldwin will begin right after a quick break.

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