Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Study: Rates of Symptomatic Children with COVID Are Very Low; "Rolling Hot Spots" in Focus as Midwest Sees Uptick in Infections; Tropical Storm Laura Expected to Slam Gulf Coast as Hurricane; Protests Erupt after Police Shoot Black Man in Front of His Kids; NAACP President, Derrick Johnson, Discusses the Police Shooting of Jacob Blake. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 25, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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

(CROSSTALK)

[11:30:17]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks so much for joining us this hour.

I'm going to throw some numbers at you but here's the point and the encouraging signs with the fight against COVID. Things are coming down and heading in the right direction. But, of course, with the important context that they are coming down from a very high point.

Just under 40,000 new cases reported yesterday. Over the last two weeks, the average number of daily new infections is down nearly 21 percent. Just look at that curve.

Only 10 states are now showing an increase there. Many of them in the Midwest, which we will talk about more in just one second.

Twenty-three states are seeing a decline. The virus killed another 450 Americans yesterday. But the rolling average of deaths is slowing, slowly falling.

And the all-important indicator, the positivity rate, is also dropping. Now at about 6 percent nationwide.

So the fight against COVID is having an impact right now. But that is not a permanent state, of course. Just look at colleges across the country. More and more reporting COVID clusters breaking out, leading more and more schools to crack down on students and parties and gatherings.

Ohio State is temporarily suspending more than 200 students for breaking the school's coronavirus policies.

The University of Kansas is taking disciplinarian action against two fraternizes for hosting parties over the weekend.

And the mayor of Tuscaloosa is ordering all bars closed after seeing more than 500 cases pop up at the University of Alabama.

Now this also just came out, a new study shedding light on how many children have COVID and don't have any symptoms and what that means for tracking cases and reopening schools safely.

CNN's Elizbeth Cohen is joining me now. She's standing by with that information.

Elizabeth, this new research was just published out of the University of California, San Francisco. What did they find?

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kate, these doctors did something really interesting. They looked at children who were at children's hospitals, not for COVID, but for all sorts of other things, for non-COVID reasons.

Let's take a look at what they found out. They tested more than 33,000 children who were in for other reasons. They didn't have signs of COVID. Nobody thought they had COVID. They weren't there for COVID.

Our of those 33,000 asymptomatic children, 250 of them were positive.

Now the number of children who were positive varied by community. In other words, some of these children's hospitals, when they tested those children, but they didn't get a single case of COVID. Other ones, about 2 percent of the children that they tested were COVID.

So it varied very much by community to community. Not surprising seeing the COVID rates in this country vary from community to community.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And these researchers make a really important, I think, and helpful assessment of how they think that this helps communities with regard to many things, including reopening schools safely.

COHEN: Right. I think one of the things you have to think about -- and this is something Tony Fauci talks about a lot -- is America is a big place.

If you have a lot of COVID in your community, it stands to reason that you will have more children with COVID and you don't know that they have COVID because they're asymptomatic.

So schools really have to sort of they don't need to be looking at the national data. They need to be looking at the data in their community.

If I knew that, in my community, 2 percent of these children who were tested, who didn't appear to have COVID, but 2 percent of them did, that's going to mean something to me.

If I'm stuck in a building with lots of children, I want to know that 2 percent of them might have COVID and aren't showing it.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It's kind of a formula, is how they described how you can look at -- look at these reopenings and how it can apply to your community, different applications for different communities.

Thanks, Elizabeth. I really appreciate it.

COHEN: All right. Thanks.

BOLDUAN: So let's talk about focusing in on communities. And regionally is another place we need to focus. Let's focus in on the trends that we are seeing with COVID right now.

The northeast, as you remember very well, was the first major hotspot in the United States. Then the Sunbelt, the southern tier of the United States, became the epicenter of COVID outbreaks in the country. Now, it's the Midwest that's becoming the biggest concern it appears.

Take a look at this. This shows the story of the south, a steep rise -- you can see that huge rise in cases, and then a decline. But as cases declined in the Sunbelt, you can see the danger ahead in the Midwest with the cases on the rise there.

Which does beg the question: Are what we can call kind of a rolling hot spot, are they now the new normal? If so, why? And what's working and what isn't?

[11:05:04]

Joining me right now is Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips. She's a CNN medical analyst and chief clinical officer for the Providence Health System.

Doctor, it's good to see you again.

So rolling hot spots moving across the country. I've heard it also described as kind of a constant game of Whack a Mole. Do you think that is the new normal?

DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think it is the new normal, at least for the near future.

And the challenge is that, as a virus rolls into a community, people start doing the things that we know stop the virus, including things like shutting down bars, getting incredibly good about wearing their masks and social distancing.

And then as people -- as it's real, as they see their neighbors getting the disease, people are very adherent to the guidelines.

As then as things start to wane, people get comfortable again. And you start mingling a little bit more. And, oh, maybe I left my mask at home, oh, well, I'll just go out anyway. And they get more complacent.

This waxing, waning in how we live through the length of time that we have to manage is going to be the challenge over the next 18 months or so until we get the vaccine not only made but fully deployed across the country.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And you're answering my next question. But just to put a fine point on it, we've been looking for so long at the Sunbelt, the southern tier of the United States, and how bad it had really gotten.

But also now the change. The percentage changed from week to week has dropped by at least 10 percent for the last two weeks in terms of cases.

Why is the Sunbelt getting better? What have you seen, from Arizona to Florida to Texas? What are you seeing that's working?

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: So I think the measures we are hearing about.

The governors in those states actually did start taking the mitigation measures that we have to be able to do to shut down the virus, which includes shutting down those places where you can't wear a mask and still go about your business, bars and restaurants.

Indoor dining at restaurants and bars seem to be the social behavior that are really correlated with the highest risk of transmission.

So they shut down the bars and restaurants. They started making masks more mandatory. They started increasing rules around social distancing.

And, after a time lag, because it takes a little while to get control of this thing once it's out of control, you start seeing the improvements.

And those are the proven practices that we need to make sure are consistent as viruses start to creep up in a community. We need to clamp down on those behaviors and then we can, hopefully, stop those peaks from getting too high before we're able to control them.

BOLDUAN: Yes. There's a lot of see what we've done here or there to learn what you should be doing right now especially in the Midwest. Dr. Redfield said he's nervous about a third wave hitting the middle of the country.

But there's a lot that leaders can learn right now from leaders in the Sunbelt, leaders in the northeast of how to make sure it doesn't spike what we've been looking at.

I want to get your take on Elizabeth's reporting. What does it mean if you can get a good estimate of how many children in a particular community are asymptomatic? How helpful do you think this is?

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: I think it's a little bit helpful. But to be honest with you, it really is the burden of disease that matters, how many cases per 100,000, and how many tests are positive.

Because the more disease in a community, the more likely you will have children who are carrying the germ, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.

The challenge is what are those thresholds that allow us to get kids back to school. Do we have testing available for when kids in school get infected -- because it's not if, it's always a when, right --

BOLDUAN: Right.

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: -- so we can start containing the virus.

And do we have mitigation strategies so that if a child comes to school and is infected it won't spread like wildfire through the rest of the school?

And so it's good to know, but it is no means the only factor we need to understand.

BOLDUAN: It's the factors that, Doctor, you've been talking about all along, that need to be listened to in order to open up safely and when to open up safely.

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

I want to turn now to some --

COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: -- breaking news on Hurricane Laura. The National Hurricane Center just released a new forecast on the storm and its path. It is expected to become a major hurricane before slamming into the gulf coast.

Let's get straight over to CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers. He has been tracking this.

Chad, what is the latest you're seeing with this storm?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kate, the Hurricane Center did take the storm and nudge it a little bit to the west, a little bit closer to Houston. And that's concerning because we're 115 miles per hour making landfall and we always say that's plus or minus 10 percent. Could go either way from there.

This is a storm in very warm water. Not much here to tear it apart like Marco got torn apart, absolutely destroyed. This is not going to have that kind of shear.

[11:10:08]

And it will make landfall very close to the pass, plus or minus 70 miles left or right. Think how many towns and cities and coastal locations, not so much in Louisiana, along the coast, but how many places that affects in Texas.

But it will affect you in Lake Charles. This isn't going to slow down anytime soon. There's not much land between Lake Charles and really the ocean itself, the Gulf of Mexico. Water is over 90 degrees.

The inland push of the wind will be all the way to Lufkin, Alexandria, through Lake Charles, all those purple areas. It's 110 miles per hour or more in some spots. So you have to understand the power lines, trees, storm surge will be pushed well inland if it gets to the category 3, plus or minus 10 percent.

A lot of rainfall coming down as well. We'll probably see rain somewhere in the 10-inch range.

Now this is not Harvey. This isn't going to stop. When this thing gets moving on up into the Midwest, it is going to roll through the Midwest, roll over Nashville, maybe still 30-mile-per-hour winds there. But not stopping like Harvey did.

Houston, you are so close to the cone. In fact, Bay City is in it. Houston, Sugarland, you're not. You need to pay big attention. This is going to be a significant damage maker, a significant surge maker in the peninsula.

But if it's east of there, that will be the Lake Charles area. If it's west, like some models are taking it farther west, Houston, you are in it. Make your preps now. You probably have 24 hours to do whatever you're going to do. And then the wind will get too strong to put up boards, of course.

BOLDUAN: We'll stick close to you, Chad. The next 24 hours will be critical and people are preparing an emergency response getting prepared, especially in the midst of a pandemic.

Thanks, buddy. I really appreciate it.

Coming up for us, we have Wisconsin now at the center of nationwide protests after police shoot a black man in the back in front of his children. This morning, new details about Jacob Blake's condition.

And day one of the Republican National Convention painted a portrait of President Trump that doesn't fit with reality. We'll sort through the fact and the fiction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:16:43]

BOLDUAN: The morning, we're learning more details about how Jacob Blake is doing after being shot multiple times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

This was the scene in Kenosha last night. Protesters and police clashing during demonstrations as people are outraged over the death of another black man in the hands of police. And this time, in front of Jacob Blake's children.

CNN's Sara Sidner is on the ground in Kenosha. She's joining me now.

Sara, you've talked to Jacob Blake's father. What is he telling you?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He says that his son has gone through multiple surgeries after being hit so many times by bullets and that at this moment he is paralyzed from the waist down.

Now he says doctors haven't been able to tell them if, indeed, this is something that will be permanent or if he will regain some movement at some point in time.

But a devastating bit of news for the family and Jacob Blake and his family that at this point he is paralyzed from the waist down.

We also heard from his uncle, Justin Blake, who talked about how strong his nephew is, how he was a wrestler, and how he was surprised that he even survived this. He called it a miracle after looking at the video himself. Said he was devastated by it.

And that he knows the three children ages 3, 5 and 8, who were inside of the car watching this are completely traumatized. They are being cared for by loving family members. And they're hoping to get those children also some help, some therapy.

But he talked about the devastating phone call this family had to endure, the one phone call that no family ever wants to get.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN BLAKE, UNCLE OF JACOB BLAKE WHO WAS SHOT BY POLICE: This is like all the black parents talk about, the phone call you don't want to get. And we got it.

So you have to sort of be strong for each other. Let your faith lead the way.

And so, after talking to his mother, she and my brother we are asking people in Kenosha and around this nation to protest but protest nonviolently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: We may have lost connection with Sara.

Sara, thank you so much for bringing that to us. A really appreciate it.

Sara Sider is on the ground for us in Wisconsin.

Joining me right now to talk more about this is the president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson.

Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it.

I just want to get your reaction to the video of the shooting and also what we have now heard about this entire thing so far.

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, NAACP: It's unfortunate for those children. Can you imagine having your children in the car to witness such violence?

This father exemplified why we need to do a qualified immunity. Why there needs to be a national database of police misconduct.

It will be interesting to find out how this law enforcement agency responds. How the district attorney will respond. And whether or not these law enforcement officers have had past disciplinary problems.

[11:20:13]

No community, no parent, no father of children should be faced with the vivid pictures of what we've just seen.

We must do something different to make sure law enforcement agencies are actually protecting and serving our community and not creating this kind of harm, trauma and violence.

BOLDUAN: This, unfortunately, sounds and feels and is so familiar. That's what this entire moment has been about, right?

What do you want to see happen now in Wisconsin? What's your message to, I don't know, local leaders, the governor, the head of police?

JOHNSON: Accountability must be in place.

When you have qualified immunity, you have so many officers who are actually good cops, but their profession has been tainted by individuals who are ill-equipped, ill-trained, not provided with the right type of de-escalation methods and strategies, and is causing and creating a really negative view of all law enforcement officers and agencies.

The George Floyd situation was not an aberration. It's been the reality that so many African-Americans had to live with and be faced with for years.

The only difference is we have social media. We have cameras on our phones. This stuff is being taped.

Growing up in Detroit, I was confronted with some of these things.

We must, as a nation, deal with holding law enforcement agencies accountable to ensure that good police officers are able to be proud of their profession as we weed out officers who are bad apples.

And I call on law enforcement agencies and officers to weed these individuals out. We must create a new standard from what we're witnessing today.

And this is a national problem. It's not a local problem. It's a national problem.

BOLDUAN: Put into context of everything that is going on even just this week. You have massive demonstrations that are planned for today in Louisville, Kentucky, demanding justice for Breonna Taylor.

And the NAACP is one of the organizations behind the march on Washington this Friday.

We've talked a lot about kind of this moment, what this means during the protests after George Floyd's death. But what does this moment mean? I mean, there were massive protests throughout the summer in response

to George Floyd and racial injustice and systemic racism. And now we have Jacob Blake, another name that has to be added to this tragic list.

What is this moment, and where are we in this moment now?

JOHNSON: We are at a place now where we have to move those many protesters. They really did look like America. We have black and white. We all are saying the same things that Black Lives Matter.

It's a statement of fact. It's a statement of fact that the value proposition we must carry to the polls in November.

The NAACP, we are proud to host a virtual march on Washington. We're using this moment as a stopping point to reenergize to move to November.

Speaker Pelosi will be joining us. Senator Booker, many, many others will be joining us for the virtual march on Washington. We actually -- there will be audience to join us.

But the goal is to prepare for the election in November around a valued proposition that Black Lives Matter, that structural racism is a problem. And we must, as a nation, address the aggressive policing that we're seeing in our communities.

The murderers of Breonna Taylor should not be walking free when this young lady was simply sleeping in her home in her bed not causing any peace (ph) and she was murdered by law enforcement officers. They must be arrested.

The killers of any individual must be -- there has to be an accountability standard. We have to set a different tone.

Moving from protests in the street to power at the ballot box with a value proposition that individuals who are elected begin to adopt public policy to have a true accountability system for law enforcement agencies who are sworn to protect and serve not kill black people for being black.

BOLDUAN: We'll talk much more about this ahead.

Derrick, thank you for coming in. I really appreciate it.

Still ahead for us, the first night of the Republican convention touted President Trump's leadership. How much of it was reality or more what they want voters to believe? We're going to take a look at the Trump campaign's alternative reality ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:25:02]

DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: -- Joe Biden and the radical left -- (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: The official theme of day one of the Republican convention was "Land of Promise." "Axios," however, described the theme more appropriately as Trump's alternative narrative.

[11:30:07]

You could also consider it an alternative reality.