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Florida Governor Pushes for Return of School Sports Amid Pandemic; Long-Term Lingering Effects of COVID Alarm Scientists, Survivors; Governor Cuomo Authorizes All N.Y. School Districts to Reopen; Arizona Public Health Association Executive Director, Will Humble, Discusses Former Hot Spot Arizona Seeing New Cases Decline, What Other States Can Learn. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 07, 2020 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now the governor explained yesterday during the press conference that he's not envisioning an NBA-style bubble. He's not envisioning for the shutdown of sports programs when an athlete has symptoMs.

Instead, he said, that what would happen is that individual would be isolated, tested, and then, 10 days later, that individual could return.

Now the governor also explained that he does have children, that they are not school age but, if they were, he would want them to play.

Take a listen.

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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): As a father -- my kids are young. They are not sports age yet. But you know, if they were, I would want them playing. And if they bring something back to the house, as much as I wouldn't want that, I'd rather take that risk than to deprive them of the opportunity, you know, to do things like this.

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FLORES: Now the governor, of course, continues to say that parents have a choice as to whether or not to send their children to in- person, face-to-face instruction.

But, Kate, as we look overall at the state, you can see that, yes, the number of daily cases has dropped. Today, for example, the Florida Department of Public Health has reported more than 7,000 cases. And yes, it's sounds a lot but, for Florida, that's actually down. The record a few weeks ago was more than 15,000.

But you look at the positivity rate and, in the past two weeks, it's between 12 percent and 17 percent -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: Still not acceptable, even close to that rate.

Thank you, Rosa. Really appreciate it.

Coming up for us, she's an E.R. nurse who survived cancer and then she survived COVID, but her road to recovery is still not over. Side effects lingering now for months. She joins me next.

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BOLDUAN: That was April 23rd, an amazing moment for the entire hospital system there in Boston. That was also an amazing moment for Deb Buonopana. She was released from the hospital after her battle with coronavirus, the very same hospital that she's been an E.R. nurse in for years.

But the road to recovery -- she would not have known it then, but she knows it now -- was far from over. More than 100 days later, she's still suffering from the lingering side effects from COVID, something doctors are hearing more and more about but still have very little research to explain.

There's a name for this now. It's become known as Long Haulers, suffering from a range of lingering effects, like extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, foggy memories, skin damage, gastrointestinal issues, balance issues I've even heard as well.

Let's talk more about this. Deb Buonopane is joining me right now.

You look wonderful. Thank you so much for being here.

I've watched that video of you leaving the hospital so many times because it was filled with such a -- you could see your joy even behind your mask and you could hear the joy of all of your friends and colleagues there as well.

And now -- just so we can see that again.

And now, though, the road for you is not over, you're still dealing with lingering effects. Describe that for me, Deb. DEB BUONOPANE, E.R. NURSE & CANCER, COVID-19 SURVIVOR STILL SUFFERING

LINGERING EFFECTS OF VIRUS: Right now, my hairdresser, Bet, who worked at Ultra Vista in Braintree, has noticed my hair is coming out. I've lost 65 percent of my hair. I lost it years ago with cancer and chemo treatments and it's one thing I did not expect to lose after COVID.

BOLDUAN: I'm sure -- and I've heard that from many, that these side effects are strange in some regards. Sometimes they come and go.

I recently talked to someone who is dealing with lingering side effects as well. And he said the hardest part for him was the psychological toll that this will -- has on him.

You're no longer sick but you're still dealing with the impact of this disease. How has it affected you? Has it been the same for you?

BUONOPANE: Yes. It affects me a lot. You know, you have an image to uphold. You're a nurse and you're taking care of patients. And when you come home, you kind of get down and depressed because when you look at your hair it's coming out in the bathroom.

And then, you go to your hairdresser, and she's telling you that a little bit more hair is coming out, split ends. It has no life to it. So it -- it causes a lot of anxiety.

BOLDUAN: What do you hear from your doctors? What are you hearing about -- about -- how this is connected?

BUONOPANE: Honestly, I haven't told my doctor yet. She and I have a virtual meeting in two weeks so I'm not quite sure what they are going to do. But I would like someone to help me out, and as well as the people in my job who also have lost their hair from COVID.

BOLDUAN: You've heard about this from others as well?

BUONOPANE: Yes. There are nurses and housekeepers that have been coronavirus positive, and we are all losing our hair. It's absolutely horrendous.

BOLDUAN: Horrendous. And -- and on some level mysterious I think.

You know, when you -- if you've been dealing with this for so many -- three months now, are you at all afraid that this could be permanent?

BUONOPANE: That's what I'm afraid of. That is what I'm afraid of. I don't know if that's going to be permanent. But I don't know the effects that it has on my body and why is it happening and how long is this going to happen for.

[11:40:08]

BOLDUAN: Yes. No kidding.

Just so everyone knows, you're no wilting flower. You beat cancer, as you mentioned, back in the early 2000s. You're a member of the Navy Nurse Corps and have been an E.R. nurse now for more than 30 years. Are you back working at the hospital, even dealing with all of this?

BUONOPANE: Yes. Yes. I went back and I'm working three days a week, 12-hour shifts and I feel strong. And I also feel anxious at times when I just come home and see that I lose my hair.

And I'm hoping that -- that -- I mean, there's been comments to me saying, wow, your hair doesn't look as full as it used to be. So that's hard.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And everyone always has the best of intentions.

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BOLDUAN: Say that again, Deb. Say that again.

BUONOPANE: I still have -- I have my cancer wig so maybe I might have to start wearing that. I don't know.

BOLDUAN: If need be, you would rock it. You would rock it proudly and you would look beautiful, that's for sure.

BUONOPANE: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: How -- how -- has having the disease, has getting sick with COVID and dealing now with not only you had to spend time in the hospital -- I think it was nine days that you were in the hospital before you were -- before you were released and then these ongoing effects that you're dealing with.

How has this entire experience changed the way that you work and treat patients who are also fighting the disease now that you're back?

BUONOPANE: Well, there are a lot of patients that we still test for coronavirus, and there are some that we still see.

And you just have to do the best you can to make sure that they are comfortable and help them out as best as you can so that they can get on up to the floor and get out of the hospital.

That's the only thing I wanted to do is get out of the hospital after 12 days of being in that room.

BOLDUAN: Twelve days. I'm sorry, I never want to say anything short of exactly what you did.

Well, you're a fighter. You look beautiful, inside and out, Deb.

Thank you for coming on. Thank you for your fight. And thank you for what you do, day in and day out. I really appreciate it.

And it's great to hear you speak out because it's important for folks to know, that they are not alone, that there are a lot of people dealing with what is still mysterious with the lingering effects of COVID, like yourself.

BUONOPANE: Thank you. BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

Coming up for us, just weeks ago, Arizona was on the brink of becoming another epicenter of the virus. Now cases are declining. What did officials do right? What is there to learn for all of the other states in the country?

We'll be back.

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[11:47:27]

BOLDUAN: This just into CNN. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo just announcing that all New York state school districts are authorized to reopen.

CNN's Alexandra Field joining us now with more information on that.

Lay out what the governor said about this decision and what it means.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He says it's a testament to the fact that New York has brought its infection rate so low over the course of the last few months that he's saying every school and every region across the state can go ahead and reopen.

Of course, every district will have their own plan, but they are all cleared to do that right now.

He says the state will continue, of course, to be closely watching the numbers. If the infection rates start to go up, then they can order schools to shut down in a region-by-region basis depending on where you see infections.

He's stressing a lot of points this morning though, putting a lot of the responsibility on the school districts to improve their communication with parents, with students, with teachers.

He's telling them that they all need to post plans online for how they will do contact tracing in the event it's needed, for how they will do remote learning if that's needed, and how they will do COVID testing in the event that that's needed.

On top of that, he's ordering all of the districts to organize discussion sessions with parents, also discussion sessions with teachers about how the new school year will go.

Certainly, this is uncharted territory. Kate, this is really fascinating though because you've got the largest school district in the country, New York City, with 1.1 million students, they are cleared to go back to school.

And if you look at the top-10 largest districts across country, the other nine are doing online learning. That of course, is a function of the surge of infection in those other states. Not what we're seeing here in New York. Not now -- Kate? BOLDUAN: Real quickly, Alex, to lay out what Mayor De Blasio has laid

out, some in-person learning is what he suggested the plan would be.

FIELD: Exactly. This does, again, allow the districts to decide what is right for their district. You've got some 750 districts across the state.

They have all had to submit their plans to the Department of Health and also to the Department of Education. They are laying out plans for in-person, online and for some sort of hybrid.

But right now, they can all go ahead because the infection rate is so low. They can all send kids back to school if that's what parents choose to do.

BOLDUAN: So they can be largest school district in the country, would be the one -- would be the only one of the largest school districts in the country to be opening for in-person learning, and really quite soon.

Alex, great to see you. Thank you so much.

Coming up for us, Arizona cases now on the decline, leveling off, doing well. Is it a success? What does it mean? And what did officials do right? And what can other states learn?

[11:50:03]

We'll be right back.

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BOLDUAN: One month ago, Arizona was an epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the United States. Today, cases are still at a high level but have started to decline.

You can see here, at its peak in July, the state was averaging about 3,500 new cases a day over a seven-day period and now just under 2,000 cases a day. Not where you want to be in the end but definitely heading in the right direction.

[11:55:12]

How did Arizona start turning this around? What could the rest of the country learn from it?

Joining me now is Will Humble, a former Arizona state health director and now the executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association.

It's good to see you again, Will. Thank you for being here.

WILL HUMBLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ARIZONA PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION & FORMER DIRECTOR, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES: Yes, thanks.

BOLDUAN: When you were on previously, I was looking back at it sounding the alarm of how bad the situation in the state was getting after reopening too fast so describe from your perspective what you are seeing now.

HUMBLE: It was terrible. We were really a global hotspot. What we have seen for about the last three weeks is a moderation in the number of new cases. Our percent positivity rate is drifting down, although we are still way too high, at about 15 percent. That's on a seven-day moving average.

And more importantly, we are no longer using crisis standards of care within the hospital system because there's been some relief in that regard.

So things are, in general, improving. But nothing to the point where we'd be able to open our K-12 school system or anything like this.

BOLDUAN: I think, to make it clear for everyone, you're not here to say this is a complete success. No way. But you need to see -- it needs to start declining to get anywhere near the light at the end of the tunnel, if you will.

What do you think it was that most help turn things around here in the state?

HUMBLE: I'll do them in order. I think the biggest thing was, first of all, our -- we had no face covering requirement until late June. And our governor prohibited cities and counties to put in an ordinance until late June. They did that.

And face coverings are now fairly normalized, so that I think, has been the biggest -- that's the thing that I think made the biggest difference.

The other things are -- these are equally big I think -- is that the governor, at the end of June, the very end of June, shut the bars and the nightclubs, which were clearly super spreading venues because there was no mitigation whatever within those places and it was really amplifying the virus.

So I think those are the key things, bars, nightclubs, face coverings.

Finally, restaurants are supposed to limit their capacity to 50 percent. Compliance on that is spotty. But I think that's making a little bit of a difference.

BOLDUAN: Definitely, it seems at least a cultural shift in how people view the daily life, is probably what came about with it.

What do you think other states should take from this Arizona lesson?

HUMBLE: First of all, don't do what we did early on. Two things, what not to do and then what to do if they're in a hole.

Face coverings work. Do not put up resistance. If you are an elected official, it works. It is high return on investment. Please do that. If you're a local official and can or a governor, please put in a face covering requirement. It works. It will help save your economy and hospital system.

So that's one thing. I think that's the big take home message.

If you do dig yourselves into a hole, like we did in Arizona because of making poor choices, prohibiting face covering ordinances and so forth, and allowing bars and nightclubs to be free-for-alls, lock those things down.

What are the things that we have learned? This virus is responsive to policy decisions. That's what we found.

Bad policy decisions in May and June and then better policy decisions at the end of June. And we are benefiting from that right now. Although not -- like you said, not where we need to be but not getting worse.

BOLDUAN: Talk to me about what you think about schools. What do you think should happen with K-12 schools as schools are set to reopen for in-person classes in Arizona in a couple of weeks?

HUMBLE: Yes. So originally, our governor had been setting dates for school opening, which makes sense pre-pandemic but not in a pandemic.

So we did advocacy to urge the governor to require metrics, to put forward metrics so that school districts see what's happening in the communities and what the percent positivity, what the trend in cases, and so forth, and then, obviously, build their mitigation plans. But don't open for in-person instruction until the metrics are met.

[11:59:58]

And our state health -- he did order the state health department to put metrics together. And they did that yesterday. And actually, they're pretty good. So no county meets the standards for the metrics.

BOLDUAN: So interesting.

HUMBLE: Which is a good thing.