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CDC Changes Testing Guidance; Lakers and Clippers Boycott Season; Trump to Accept Nomination Tonight. Aired 9:30-10a

Aired August 27, 2020 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:33:23]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, Hurricane Laura still battering parts of Louisiana after making landfall overnight as a category four storm. That is huge. It has now weakened to the category two hurricane, but reporters, police, first responders just getting out to more remote areas that have been more severely affected. Around half a million customers from Texas to Louisiana are without power.

Laura is the strongest storm to hit the area in more than a century. It packed winds up to 150 miles per hour. The roof of this casino shredded in the midst of the worst of it. We're going to continue to follow this throughout the morning and share all we find as first responders get out to those affected.

Well, a federal health official tells CNN that the Trump administration pressured the CDC into changing its coronavirus testing guidance. The agency no longer recommends testing for most people without symptoms, even if they have been in close contact with an infected person. That contradicts everything they've been saying for months.

President Trump's testing czar, as he is known, denies that the change is the result of political pressure, but the updated guidance has certainly left medical experts puzzled and worse.

Joining me now to discuss, Dr. Leana Wen. She is an emergency room physician and the former Baltimore city health commissioner.

You just wrote a piece for "The Washington Post" in which you say flat out that the CDC's Covid-19 advice is wrong and nonsensical. Tell us why.

DR. LEANA WEN, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: Yes, Jim, this flies in the face of common sense and public health. We know that testing is key to containing this contagious disease and that much of the spread, maybe up to half of the spread, is driven by asymptomatic individuals.

[09:35:02]

So we need much more testing of these asymptomatic individuals and not less.

And I'm afraid that these new guidelines will lead to a lot of confusion. They do say that you should talk to your healthcare provider, your local and state health official. But as a former local health official and a practicing physician, I can tell you that we turn to the CDC for guidance.

And so now there's going to be a lot of confusion. Patients are not going to know whether they can seek testing, testing sites might even turn away patients who meet these requirements and I'm afraid that this might even give insurers the cover to potentially deny patients coverage for tests.

SCIUTTO: That's a good point.

The HHS assistant secretary, Brett Giroir, says that this is not the result of political pressure. But as you know, the president has spoken for months about how -- well, falsely, saying that more testing -- it's only testing that has led to more cases. The president publically is against more testing.

Do you believe it when you hear Giroir say that this is not the result of political pressure?

WEN: Well, if that's what he says, then he needs to justify why these changes are being made. As far as I know, there aren't new scientific studies that somehow show that asymptomatic spread is not a problem. So without an explanation that's rooted in science, you have to wonder what the real reason is.

And maybe the reason is to justify why they're not doing enough tests. But if that's the case, get more tests, don't change your guidelines.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Yes. Dr. Fauci notably was in surgery for throat polyps. He was not part of these discussions surrounding this change. He says he's concerned because this guidance will give people, quote, the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern.

Explain that concern.

WEN: So the guidelines seem to imply that, well, don't worry if you don't have symptoms because now you don't need to get tested. That's not the case at all. We know that 40 to maybe even 50 percent of the spread could be from patients who don't have symptoms.

And, in fact, I actually think it may be higher because if you have symptoms, you should be staying at home. You shouldn't be interacting with others. And so those who are out there circulating and spreading the disease and not knowing it, they probably are asymptomatic or pre- symptomatic, meaning that they haven't developed symptoms yet but could and will in time.

SCIUTTO: OK, so let's set aside those CDC guidelines for a moment. You've been studying this very closely. We have a lot of people listening right now who may have been exposed to someone who tested positive for this but haven't yet shown symptoms. What should they do? WEN: You should go get tested. You are in a category that is high risk

for having Covid-19. So, certainly, if you have symptoms you should get tested. Nobody argues with that. You're also at high risk if you're a health care provider, if you are a nursing home resident.

And, of course, I mean this is just common sense, if you've been around someone, in close contact with someone, and then you're told that they just have been diagnosed with Covid-19, I think all of us would want to be tested because we want to protect our family, our loved ones. We want to know. And Admiral Giroir is saying, well, if you get test to soon, that test result may be negative and you're actually positive. If that's the case, then we should be doing even more frequent testing, then you get another test in three to four days.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

WEN: The answer is not, don't get tested at all.

SCIUTTO: Yes. All right.

Well, Dr. Wen, folks, listen to what she's saying. She knows what she's talking about.

Thanks very much, as always.

WEN: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, reports that players from the Lakers and Clippers have voted to boycott the rest of the NBA season to protest racial injustice. Will other teams do the same? Is the season hanging in the balance?

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[09:43:02]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

Well, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, two of the most powerful teams in the NBA, voted to boycott the rest of the NBA season during a players meeting last night according to reports. This is right in the middle of playoffs. Sources tells CNN, the vote does not appear to be binding, but the future of the playoffs is up in the air.

This comes after the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their playoff game last night to protest injustice and racial violence. Milwaukee just 40 miles or so from Kenosha, where it's been taking place. The Bucks decision prompted a wave of solidarity of protests across professional sports, not just basketball, and it's not just players taking a stand. One of the hosts of "Inside the NBA," Kenny Smith, he walked off the set in the middle of a live broadcast to support the boycott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNY SMITH, HOST, "INSIDE THE NBA": As a black man, as a former player, I think it's best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight and figure out what happens after that. I just don't feel equipped to be here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I respect that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Quite a moment.

And it's not just basketball. We see it in professional baseball. We've seen it in professional soccer.

Joining me now to discuss, a reporter for NBA TV, Stephanie Ready. She is inside what's known as the NBA bubble there.

I wonder if you could tell us, first, Stephanie, what the status is of the playoffs. You have two major teams voting in a non-binding way, but still voting to cancel the playoffs. Are the playoffs done? Is the season over?

STEPHANIE READY, REPORTER, NBA TV: No, Jim. At this point, no. There has been no final resolution. It's been widely reported that the players will continue their meetings today. I've actually texted with a couple and they said that last night did not end the way they wanted it to in terms of finding a final resolution.

[09:45:01]

Obviously, there have been some disagreements and people have different sentiments and perspectives. But the goal is that they want to continue their united front. The reason why things happened so quickly and fluidly yesterday was because when one jumped, they all wanted to jump.

They wanted to make sure they presented a united front to amplify their voices even further. They expect to continue their meetings this morning. They are hopeful that they will end up with a resolution. But, as you mentioned, that vote last night was not at all binding.

SCIUTTO: Yes. But there is something different now, is there not? I mean to cancel playoff games in the midst of high -- I mean these are game five, right? They were deciding games. And you're seeing other athletes come out in support.

READY: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Baseball games cancelled. Professional soccer games. A major tennis player opting out.

You're speaking to these players every day. Tell us about the depth of feeling right now. I mean we saw it rise to a new and unprecedented level following George Floyd and now this.

READY: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Where do they stand? READY: It runs very deep, Jim. LeBron James said it early on in this

bubble environment, he said, being black is not a movement, it's who they are. It's who we are all. If you're an African-American living in the United States, this is your life every single day.

And a lot of these players have children at home that they're raising.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

READY: That they're trying to teach, to do things the right way all the time, to treat people fairly and equally. And it's a really hard lesson to teach when they can turn the news on and see that someone who looks like them is not being treated fairly or equally. So all of those things weigh in on these players.

Of course, they want to compete and win a championship. That's the goal. That's why they are here. But they also understood that coming here to play and compete provided them a tremendous platform to be able to try to affect change as best they can in their communities.

And I think you saw everything come to a head last night. I think that it's the emotions, it's the fear that Doc Rivers so eloquently expressed, that they live in their everyday normal lives, that their family members are still living outside of this bubble. It's the pressure of trying to compete at the most elite level in the game they love.

And, also, we cannot underestimate the factor that they have been separated from their loved ones. I've been here for over 30 days, Jim, and they were here well before I was.

SCIUTTO: yes.

READY: And when you're in the bubble, it's not just wearing a mask inside and outside, as you see, it's -- there's very little human contact here.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

READY: And I think that that's not being talked about enough.

SCIUTTO: I get it.

READY: People like getting hugs, especially if you have family.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Yes.

READY: So all of that definitely weighs in.

SCIUTTO: And I'm sure it heightens the worry about their families.

READY: Right.

SCIUTTO: I want to play to you what the president's son-in-law and adviser, close adviser, Jared Kushner, said about all this today.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Look, I think that the NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they're able to take a night off from work without having to -- to have the consequences to themselves financially. So they have that luxury, which is great.

Look, I think with the NBA there's a lot of activism and I think that they've put a lot of slogans out, but I think that what we need to do is turn that from slogans and signals to actual action that's going to solve the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Somewhat dismissive there. I should mention that the vice president's chief of staff, just a short time ago on this network, called the protests absurd and silly.

How do you expect players there to respond to that characterization?

READY: Just from going from past experiences, I don't suspect that they are looking to Jared Kushner or to anyone in the Trump administration for guidance in this realm. I've spoken with a few and I don't think that this is where they're looking for their expert's opinions.

I do think that the opinion that they make a lot of money so who cares, they can sacrifice is not the right way to think about this. They are still human beings. They are making a tremendous sacrifice to be here, as I just mentioned, without their families and loved ones. And I think that they are doing actionable things.

LeBron James started More Than a Vote. There are players who are not just donating their money, but donating their time. The Toronto Raptors, they don't even -- they're not even stationed in this country but they have a voting initiative where they're trying to make sure that all of the U.S. citizens are registered to vote in their country.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

READY: I think these teams are putting their money where their mouths are. They are definitely taking action. The coaches have an entire group -- a subset of their coach's organization, where they are fighting for social justice and they're doing it with the grass roots organizations and all of their individual markets. I think that Jared Kushner doesn't know enough about what he's trying to talk about.

SCIUTTO: Stephanie Ready, it's good to have you there. Thanks for giving us a vision inside that bubble. We appreciate it.

READY: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: And we'll be right back.

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[09:54:24]

SCIUTTO: President Trump set to speak from the White House lawn this evening to accept the nomination for a second term.

CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins me now.

There are lots of crises out there right now, racial crises, there's a hurricane, there's the pandemic. How does the president plan to make his case tonight in the face of all that?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, we know that we've seen throughout this week at the Republican National Convention the White House and the president himself wants to put a fine gloss on it, a positive spin on all of that. But we do know the president is going to be briefed at FEMA about the hurricane in the hours before the speech.

[09:55:00]

So we are expecting him to mention that.

But I am told by White House officials that it's not going to change the speech dramatically, and it's certainly not going to interrupt the speech. He's going to go forward with it and give it from the South Lawn.

And we were out there earlier this morning, Jim, and it is pretty extraordinary what the South Lawn has been turned into. It is essentially the floor of the Republican National Convention.

We've talked a lot this week about how traditions and norms have been disrupted by this president in this week. This is certainly a big one. This is the people's house, and he will be speaking -- the president will be speaking from the South Lawn of the White House looking on to The Washington Monument there. There are going to be fireworks and, more importantly, there will be a crowd of more than 1,000 people. So the question is how close will the president get to some of these people.

But we do know a sense of the message. We heard the vice president last night in Fort McHenry, Baltimore. He was talking about, you know, really all the positive things the administration has done, but it almost seems like an alternative reality to what some of the record actually is. We know the president will be continuing all of that and going aggressively after Joe Biden, trying to say he's a radical. But the reality, this is Trump's America. This is his presidency. He's the incumbent here. So that, of course, is his challenge.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Jeff Zeleny, thanks very much for covering.

We'll have special coverage of night four of the Republican National Convention. It begins tonight, 7:00 Eastern Time, live on CNN. And we'll be right back.

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