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Florida Sets New Record for COVID-19 Deaths; Children and Elderly Lead Late Summer Spikes in Cases; Putin: Russia Approves World's First COVID-19 Vaccine; 900+ Students and Staff Quarantined in Georgia School District; New Zealand Reinstates Restrictions Due to New Cases; Top U.S. Conferences Postpone Football Seasons; Harry and Meghan Book Reveals Tensions in Royal Family. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 12, 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]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. Well, Florida is reporting a new record number of deaths from the coronavirus. But it's currently one of at least 20 states that have seen case numbers fall over the past week. Still concerns remain as the school year begins in parts of the U.S. CNN's Kyung Lah has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stark warnings and reprimands today as children and the elderly, America's most vulnerable now lead the late summer surge in cases. After a drop in June new health data shows an alarming spike in nursing home cases due to community spread.

And a separate report shows a 90 percent increase in COVID cases among children over the last four weeks. These spikes come as 43 states show the average number of cases holding steady or down compared to the previous week.

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY: When school starts both at the high school level and in college and universities, we think we're going see an explosion of cases in September that will far surpass what we saw after Memorial Day.

LAH: High at risk the Big Ten is out for the fall. Large conference announcing a delay of all fall sports including the lucrative football season calling it too risky. From Florida State University's football field, Governor Ron DeSanctis says cancelling student athletics is a mistake.

Yet it's the governors own state health department that reports a 137 percent increase in child cases in one month and its highest daily death toll reported Tuesday, 276. In Georgia, hundreds of students remain quarantined after COVID exposures from the first week of school. Georgia's governor has resisted a statewide mandate calling the first week of school a success. While at the White House, the President claimed this about children with no backing in science. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Buy they don't catch it

easily. They don't get very sick. And according to the people that I've spoken to, they don't transport it or transfer it to other people or certainly not very easily.

LAH: Those dubious claims continue to collide with the calls by the country's leading experts for all people to wear masks at all times.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: They should be universal wearing of masks. There should be the extent possible social distancing. Avoiding crowds. Outdoors is always better than indoors.

LAH: In the hunt for a vaccine, Russia claims it has approved the world's first coronavirus vaccine and has received interest worldwide for a billion doses. The Trump administration questioned whether it's safe.

ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The point is not to be first with a vaccine, the point is to have a vaccine that is safe and effective for the American people and the people of the world.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Russia is set to begin a massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign in October despite questions over the safety of its newly approved vaccine. The Russian President made the big vaccine announcement on Tuesday claiming it is a global first but phase three trials have literally just begun. And as Matthew Chance explains, experts are very skeptical about this vaccine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You couldn't accuse the Kremlin of ignoring the propaganda value of its vaccine. They've even called it Sputnik, after the Soviet satellite that shocked the world and launch the space race. Now it's the vaccine race. The Kremlin says it's won hands down.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): A vaccine against coronavirus has been registered for the first time in the world this morning. I know that it works quite effectively. It forms a stable immunity.

CHANCE: We but how does he know? Well, he says one of his own daughters perhaps the one who is an acrobatic dancer has already been vaccinated, or his eldest, a medical specialist. What Putin says is that she had a slight temperature at first but feels much better now. Extraordinary from a Russian president who rarely mentions his family. We still don't know for sure how many children he has.

Still, it underlines how much confidence the Kremlin wants to show and its new vaccine despite concerns, no clinical data has been published. Soldiers were used as volunteers in early testing and crucial third phase human trials have not even started.

[04:35:02]

Worrying shortcuts, say critics, that the Kremlin dashed across the line.

AZAR: The point is not to be first with a vaccine. The point is to have a vaccine that is safe and effective for the American people and the people of the world.

CHANCE: There's been criticism inside Russia too. A prominent pharmaceutical industry body this week calling on health officials to postpone the vaccine because it may put lives at risk. Not a warning that's been heeded. Officials say frontline health workers and teachers will be vaccinated first, then the elderly and other vulnerable groups.

In fact, Russian officials say there's a vast global appetite for their vaccine. Applications for more than a billion doses, they say have already been received from more than 20 countries. It may not be safe or even work, but Russia can proclaim at least to itself that it is once again a planet saving scientific superpower.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And during an interview with "National Geographic" top U.S. expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says without evidence to support Russia's vaccine it may not be safe. And with such a quick turnaround he doubts it'll be effective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: Having a vaccine and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things. I hope that the Russians have actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective. I seriously doubt that they've done that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, in the United States many states are opening school even though community transmission is surging. In Georgia though, one school district seeing firsthand the end result of risking the health of students, parents and teachers. CNN's Nick Valencia has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may be a symbol of how it's treated and looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That masks are not a big deal and should not be mandated anywhere.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Woodstock, Georgia, in Cherokee County with Jamie Chambers and his family live was among the first in the nation to reopen schools. After the first five days of classes, at least 15 schools or more than a third of the district reported cases of COVID-19, according to the district. As of today the district said more than 900 students and teachers from elementary to high school were asked to stay home and quarantine.

JAMIE CHAMBERS, CHEROKEE COUNTY PARENT: I would think objectively anyone looking at this would see it as a disaster. What's ultimately going to happen is it's going to spread out all throughout our area and there's going to be a lot of people who are in danger because of it.

BRANDI HEATH, PARENT, CHEROKEE COUNTY; We were lied to.

VALENCIA: Brandi Heath worries she might be one of those in danger. At first the mother of four who says she's immunocompromised elected to send her kids to learn face-to-face but pulled them out two days later after one of her kids came home and said he didn't feel safe.

HEATH He we expected the Cherokee County school district to keep our kids safe.

VALENCIA: CNN reached out to Cherokee County school Superintendent, Brian Hightower, who declined a request for an interview. In a written statement today he defended reopening schools. Saying that he had the majority support from parents.

While he stopped short of mandating face coverings, he said, we know all parents do not believe the scientific research that indicates masks are beneficial. But I believe it and see masks an important measure to help us keep schools open.

Three weeks before school reopened Chambers wrote an open letter to the superintendent. Blasting the district's 77 page reopening plan as flawed alleging it was hastily put together. He chose to keep his kids home to learn virtually. Off-camera During our interview, several parties happen to be at the park with their children. Including this self-described teacher who confronted Chambers accusing him of generating controversy.

CHAMBERS: I hope that you're right and I'm wrong.

VALENCIA: No one at the park would speak to CNN on camera. Though one mother said she sent her elementary aged kids back to school because they were going get the coronavirus, quote, sooner or later.

CHAMBERS: We all want to be normal. We all want our regular lives back. And I have nothing but sympathy and empathy for people who do. But we're not living in normal times.

VALENCIA (on camera): Yes, but it looks normal behind us right now.

CHAMBERS: And that's the thing, people are just choosing to live as if it is until it's impossible to ignore.

VALENCIA (on camera): I spoke to parent in Cherokee County who tells me they were told by a school principal they didn't need a mask because they were shielded by God. It's that kind of cavalier attitude in the county that many parents worry will lead to an increase of infections.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, New Zealand has re-imposed coronavirus restrictions after reporting its first locally transmitted cases in more than 100 days. Auckland where the infections were confirmed, is now under lockdown for at least three days.

[04:40:02]

But the rest of the country is facing less severe restrictions. And for more CNN's Will Ripley joins us live from Hong Kong. Good to see you, Will. So of course, the world hailed New Zealand's success for eliminating the virus. So how do authorities there think these new cases came into the country?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are still trying to figure that out, Rosemary. But yes, this is a country that for 102 days enjoyed the enviable position of being able to tell people there was no COVID- 19 being spread in the community. And now all of a sudden you have this household in Auckland with four members who are confirmed to have the virus. And there are an additional at least four probable cases that they are still trying to verify, doing contact tracing, isolating all of that.

One of the members of the household who has the virus was working in a cargo facility. So they're looking at whether it could have come in on cargo. Whether they need to step up sanitation of packages. Because it's been proven in the past that the virus can live in certain -- especially refrigerated environments for quite some time.

So as they investigate the source, they are also trying to make sure they detect any other cases that might be out there in the community. And they're prepared -- New Zealand is -- to test tens of thousands of people in the coming days even though they haven't had the virus for more than three months. They been bolstered their testing capabilities and public health officials said they actually think that this was inevitable. That the virus would resurface at some point and they say that they are ready.

So they have police checkpoints set up in Auckland to make sure that people are complying with this lockdown which means schools are closed, non-essential businesses closed. There are even proposing the dissolution of Parliament by at least a few days. That of course is a crucial step before next month's national elections. Where the Prime Minister's party, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, expected to do quite well in those elections. In part, Rosemary, because of how decisively they have handled this pandemic from the beginning.

You talk about schools reopening in the United States where there are places with thousands of active cases and in New Zealand where they have right now a total of five active cases confirmed because there was one imported case and these four local cases and shutting down schools in their largest city for that.

CHURCH: She has been an impressive leader for that country. No doubt about it. Will Ripley, thank you so much for that live report. Appreciate it.

And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM. College football in the U.S. is the latest sport to be hurt by the virus with two of the five big conferences postponing their seasons. We'll take a look.

[04:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, two of the biggest conferences in U.S. college football have postponed their eminent seasons because of the pandemic. The Big Ten and Pac-12 say they pulled the plug on football and several other sports to keep their student athletes safe. They hope to resume competition in the spring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN WARREN, COMMISSIONER, BIG TEN CONFERENCE: You look at this decision. It just, we just believe collectively there's too much uncertainty at this point in time in our country, and to really, to encourage our student athletes to participate in fall sports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: According to "Fortune" magazine 65 of the most reputable college football programs generate more than $4 billion in revenue each year. In 2018 they made nearly $1.8 billion in total profits, more than 27 million per University.

And despite coronavirus case numbers soaring in the U.S., President Trump thinks the season should go on as planned.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Joining me now is Stephen Collinson a CNN a CNN politics, White House reporter. Thanks so much for being with us.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Hi.

CHURCH: So, two big college football conferences postponing the season, a big blow to colleges and to President Trump who keeps insisting football continue despite surging COVID-19 cases. This decision, obviously, will result in considerable lost revenue. But what does it reveal about the President's leadership?

COLLINSON: Well, Rosemary, college football is an absolute tradition in the United States in the fall. Each state has a number of big university teams, hundreds of thousands of people watch these games. If you turn on your TV on a Saturday morning you can watch college football pretty much between noon and past midnight.

So what the President is so concerned about is if there isn't college football it will completely contradict his notion, his argument as he runs into the election season that America is back to normal during the pandemic. That is the reason why he keeps putting pressure on these college football conferences, these leagues to continue to play.

CHURCH: What influence might he apply, what sort of pressure, perhaps over the Southeastern Conference, the SEC decision, which will have to be made very soon?

COLLINSON: Right, and that, of course, is in the South of the country, an area where the President is very strong politically. States like Alabama and Georgia where he's hoping to do very well in the election. The problem is, though, is that reality is staring these colleges in the face. The reason why they cannot go ahead and play college football is because the virus has been spreading like wildfire through the Sun Belt and many other areas of the country.

There isn't sufficient testing to keep testing college football players every day. You got these vast teams, 75, 80 players on a team, and a vast entourage of coaches and everything else. The United States hasn't put in place the contact tracing system like some countries like New Zealand, some countries like South Korea have that has helped them suppress the virus.

So whatever pressure that the President brings to bear in his news conferences, the reality of the spread of the virus, the fact you can't get hundreds of thousands of people into these stadiums. And the fact that, you know, colleges and the teams can't travel safely around the country to play their games. Means that the decision really is out of the President's hands. And it reflects the reality of the fact that the United States has not got the virus under control. We're still seeing 1,000 deaths pretty much every single day and there are more hot spots that are popping up.

So it's the reality of the virus that's stopping these college football games not some notion that these players and coaches don't actually want to play.

CHURCH: And with that in mind, I mean it has to be said, that if President Trump announced a national mask mandate now along with an extensive national rapid test program, he could turn this pandemic around by the November election even before that. Why wouldn't he just do that? Surely that would be easier than pushing against the reality he faces.

[04:50:00]

COLLINSON: You know, it's very interesting. The President, you know, I've rarely covered a politician who has such a strong connection with his political base, his most faithful supporters. But he's never really been willing to do anything to sort of lead that base in a different direction. The President clearly feels that Trump supporters, conservatives, are still against the idea of a government telling them they have to wear a mask.

And he spent so many months undermining the idea of people wear a mask against, you know, the reality of science. But it's very hard for him now to kind of turn around and tell everybody to wear a mask and he doesn't really want to do it politically. I think that's one of the reasons.

You know, the President has never really taken this pandemic seriously. He's never put in place the kind of testing and tracing organization that you're talking about nationally that might help suppress this virus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Stephen Collinson, thanks so much.

And still to come, a new book claims to tell behind-the-scenes story of Harry and Meghan and the events that led the couple to step back from their royal roles earlier this year. What the book's co-author told me after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:55:00]

CHURCH: A new biography of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry is officially out. "Finding Freedom" is written by two journalists and provides a detailed portrait of their life behind palace walls. And a glimpse into some of the events that led to the couple stepping back from their royal duties. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have denied contributing to the book. And earlier I spoke to the book's co-author and royal reporter Omid Scobie and asked how he managed to tell the couple's story without direct access to them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMID SCOBIE, CO-AUTHOR, "FINDING FREEDOM": This book was sort of born out of a very unique situation as my time covering Harry and Meghan and speak with those close to them. I realized that there's a difference between what we're seeing about the couple in the pages of some of the British tabloids is very different to what I was seeing, sort of having a front row seat on the Royal beat. And also from speaking to those that worked with them, who know them.

And so, I felt like there was a chance here to tell another side of the story. And although there was no participation from the couple in the books we were able to speak to some of the people closest to them within their inner circle, close friends, their palace aides past and presents, as well as people they worked with in their charitable spaces and of course, in Meghan's entertainment career as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Have a great day.

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