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U.S. About to Hit 200,000 COVID-19 Deaths; CDC Removes Guidance About Airborne Transmission Saying It Was Added in Error; U.K. Encourages Work from Home as New Cases Surge; France Reports Stark Rise in COVID-19 Cases; Trump Narrow List to Replace Ruth Bader Ginsberg; Trump, Republicans Moving to Fast-Track Nominations. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 22, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, the U.S. is inching closer to a tragic number. Nearly 200,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus. This as a flip-flop from the CDC causes more confusion. We'll explain.

Plus, the U.K. government announces new restrictions as cases in that country surge. We're live in London where the British Prime Minister will address the nation today.

And supreme speed. Leading Republicans say they have the votes they need to get a new justice on the Supreme Court before election day.

Any moment now the U.S. will pass that horrifying mark of 200,000 dead Americans from the coronavirus. In the last week more than half of U.S. states reported an increase of infections greater than the week before. Johns Hopkins University reports more than 6.8 million cases across the country.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is under fire for removing guidance from its website seemingly posted by mistake. Officials say the move was not the result of political pressure but the back and forth is only adding to the confusion around how the virus can spread. The top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says you can't look at a death toll that's close to 200,000 and say, that's terrific. Still, President Trump claims the U.S. is rounding the corner on the pandemic, but as Athena Jones shows us, that is not the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. PETER HOTEZ, CO-DIRECTOR, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT: We may be in for a very apocalyptic fall.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the U.S. approaches another grim milestone, 200,000 lives lost to coronavirus, signs the much feared fall surge in cases is already here.

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: If you look at what's happening around the country right now, there's an unmistakable spike in new infections.

JONES: New COVID-19 cases topping 40,000 a day on average with new daily infections now rising in 28 states, up more than 50 percent in eight states. Wisconsin, Idaho, and South Dakota all reporting COVID test positivity rates above 16 percent.

HOTEZ: It's happening because we're forcing schools to reopen in areas of high transmission, forcing colleges to reopen. And we don't have the leadership nationally telling people to wear masks and to social distance and do all the things we need to do.

JONES: The startling trend coming as the CDC issues and then removes from its website new guidance showing just how contagious coronavirus is.

The agency noting it can spread through the air in tiny droplets or aerosols, not just when someone coughs, sneezes or talks, but even when they simply breathe. Highlighting restaurants, fitness classes and choir practice as risks. The agency later saying the new guidance was a draft posted in error.

Meanwhile on the vaccine front, the White House's testing czar, Brett Giroir, arguing --

ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, DEPART OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Vaccine as early as possible even in a few million doses will be a godsend in terms of outcomes, hospitalizations, morbidity and deaths.

JONES: Still, Bill Gates warning of a long road ahead even after a vaccine is approved.

BILL GATES, MICROSOFT FOUNDER AND CO-CHAIR, BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION: If the vaccine approvals come by early next year, as I expect, then by next summer, U.S. will be starting to go back to normal, and by the end of the year, our activities can be fairly normal if we're also helping these other countries. At the end of the epidemic best case is probably 2022.

JONES: All this as the influential model from the University of Washington now lowering its forecast for total U.S. COVID deaths by January 1st to just under 380,000, down from more than 415,000 last week, citing steeper than expected declines in deaths in several states.

But the model still predicts more than 3,000 deaths a day by the end of December and says a universal mask mandate could keep total deaths to around 263,000 by New Year's Day.

JONES (on camera): And I should note that this new forecast is really a range. Just like it estimates how many lives could be saved by a universal mask mandate. [04:05:00]

It also says if current mandates ease the number of reprojected deaths soars to more than 445,000 by January 1st.

Athena jones, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN medical analyst Dr. Celine Gounder. Thank you doctor for being with us and for all that you do.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: My pleasure.

CHURCH: So, this country has lost nearly 200,000 Americans to COVID- 19, and yet we cannot apparently rely on the CDC for reliable guidance on how contagious and deadly this virus is after the CDC abruptly reversed new guidelines Monday on airborne transmission, claiming it was posted in error. What is going on here?

GOUNDER: Rosemary, really this is new old news. We have been saying as scientists since February, March, that this is likely, at least in part, transmitted through aerosols, that it's airborne.

The real debate that we are still having is to what degree is the droplet borne versus airborne. But big picture, the measures that we need to be implementing to control spread of the virus remain the same. It remains the face masks. It remains social distancing, although, you know, at a minimum six feet apart, not only six feet.

But, you know, the other new old news here is that the CDC continues to have mixed messaging on the science. And I'm not sure actually whether this was through political interference or through an honest mistake. But either way, that has me profoundly concerned that this kind of mixed messaging will be coming out of the CDC in the middle of a pandemic.

CHURCH: Yes, and it breaks down that trust, which was already in trouble, wasn't it? So, meantime, the President has given himself an A-plus for his handling of the virus even as the death toll nears 200,000 and new cases are rising in 28 states, making masks even more critical.

What's driving this spike in cases? And is it too late now to turn this around, do you think as we head into the flu season?

GOUNDER: Rosemary, I think there are a couple of different factors that are driving this. After previous holiday weekends, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, now Labor Day, we have seen increases in cases. People letting their guard down, socializing with family and friends in ways that were not safe, unfortunately. And in addition to that, over the last several weeks, students have been returning to college and university campuses.

And those have also become super spreader settings where transmission has propagated among students and then spread also to communities outside of those college and university campuses. I am concerned about the upcoming flu season and whether people will really start to take mask wearing and social distancing seriously in this country.

CHURCH: Yes, and the key model has lowered its forecast to COVID deaths by January 1st to just under 380,000 which, of course, still no reason to celebrate. But we saw Trump supporters at a rally Monday booing another Republican who dared to suggest that they should wear masks.

How do you convince Americans that masks are all we have right now and that the vaccine that President Trump promises for late next month may not come in time?

GOUNDER: I think this is such a tragedy that we have lost 200,000 lives that we may be losing almost 200,000 more between now and the end of the calendar year. This was a preventable tragedy. This was preventable through such simple things like wearing masks. And the fact that we have not shown the resolve in this country to do that, to protect ourselves, to protect our families, to protect our fellow citizens, I find it deeply unpatriotic, quite frankly.

And I do hope that maybe the CDC guidance will provide a face-saving way for some people who have been very reluctant to wear masks to perhaps change our minds now that the CDC has also acknowledged that the virus can be spread airborne.

CHURCH: The irony, of course, it is the one thing that allows us to get back to some sense of normalcy. But we shall see what happens. Dr. Celine Gounder, many thanks as always.

Well, across Europe, the continent is battling an accelerating number of COVID-19 cases. Countries in shades of red and orange here are seeing a rising number of new cases in the past week compared to the previous week. The British government is urging people to stay put as the country tries to combat a surge of new COVID-19 cases.

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove says if it's possible poor people to work from home, then they are encouraged to do so. Today the Prime Minister is expected to announce new measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. The country's chief scientific advisor says cases are doubling every week.

[04:10:02]

The virus is also spreading rapidly across the channel in France prompting Italy to mandate virus testing for any visitors arriving from France.

And CNN is covering the pandemic surge in France and the U.K. Melissa Bell is in Paris and Scott McLean is in London for us. Good to see you both. So, Scott, let's start with you and talk about these new restrictions that are very soon to be announced. What is planned? And will this be enough to avoid a national lockdown?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. So, Rosemary, you know, new restrictions in this country seem to be coming in fast and furious. And last week the government announced limits on social gatherings across England. And now we have also this announcement that is coming that will essentially mandate the bars close early, at 10:00, and that there'll be table service only. Something is not customary in this country by any stretch.

And now this morning you also have this British cabinet minister saying that if you can work from home, you should. And this is really contrary to the advice that the government was putting out even a month ago. Where it was encouraging employers to send their workers back into the offices, into these COVID secure offices. The government wanted to get schools back open, which they are now.

And that the very least schools seem to be the golden goose for the government. The Prime Minister had made abundantly clear that he only wants to close them again in very extraordinary circumstances. All of these measures are because the government health official said yesterday that the virus is doubling. The number of new cases is doubling every seven days. And that means that if that trajectory were to continue without any action, in four weeks from now you could have 50,000 cases per day in this country. That's on par with what the U.S. is seeing or even more and the U.S. is seeing and this country has 1/5 of population, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Incredible. And, Melissa, let's go to you now. What's the latest on France's efforts to control the new spike in cases.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: The efforts here in France are being dealt with on a regional level with local authorities now, Rosemary, in those areas that are hardest hit. Taking on the need for fresh measures. But so far, no sign that they're managing to bring these figures under control. The number of people being infected continues to rise. We have a positivity rate of 5.7 on Sunday, that rose to 5.9 yesterday. And more than 1,000 clusters that have now been identified throughout the country. 178 of those in old people's homes.

Tonight the French President will go in visit one of those. Calling for greater protection for those who are most vulnerable. And as you say, even as individual regions have that responsibility for trying to bring their own COVID-19 figures back under control. In many cases, France's you're in greater Paris region, extremely worrying figures in terms of ICUs and their capacity and the number of people heading into them every day. As these regions try and take on this problem, a country like Italy announcing that if you're coming from any of those regions in France, you're going to be tested if you get into the country. The country really keen. You'll remember the first in the European outbreak now to protect what it considers or better figures than some of its neighbors.

CHURCH: All Right, Melissa Bell and Scott McLean, many thanks to you both. Appreciate it.

And still to come, Republicans are vowing to push ahead with nominating a new Supreme Court justice, a decision that could have huge implications with less than two months to go for the U.S. presidential election.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: President Trump is narrowing his list to replace Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. He says he will announce his decision towards the end of the week. CNN has confirmed that one of the front- runners, Amy Coney Barrett, was at the White House Monday and met with President Trump.

Meanwhile, Justice Ginsberg will become the first woman ever to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. That will take place on Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday she will lie in repose at the Supreme Court so the public can pay their respects.

One of President Trump's most ardent supporters is vowing to confirm any Supreme Court nominee before election day. Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate judiciary committee, says Senate Republicans have the numbers to proceed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): We've got the votes to confirm Justice Ginsburg replacement before the election. We're going to move forward in the committee. We're going to report the nomination out of the committee to the floor of the United States Senate so we can vote before the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And a quick confirmation vote could solidify the conservative's grasp on the court as it rules on issues like abortion rights and health care. CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump says he'll announce his pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court by the end of the week.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I think, in all due respect, we should wait until the services are over for Justice Ginsburg. And so we're looking probably on Friday or maybe Saturday.

COLLINS: Trump telling Fox News that he's waiting out of respect for RBG, before baselessly claiming that her dying wish to be replaced by the next president, which she dictated to her granddaughter, was concocted by Democrats.

TRUMP: Well, I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was reported.

COLLINS: The president spent the weekend on the phone with staff, lawmakers and advisers, as he narrowed down his list of finalists to several women. TRUMP: I'm looking at five, probably four, but I'm looking at five very seriously.

COLLINS: On that list right now are Amy Coney Barrett, Allison Jones Rushing, Kate Todd, and Barbara Lagoa, a Cuban American judge from Florida that campaign officials believe could provide a political boost.

TRUMP: Well, she's excellent. She's Hispanic. I don't know her. Florida. We love Florida.

COLLINS: Trump making clear his desire to submit a 6-3 conservative majority on the court for generations to come.

TRUMP: These are the smartest people. These are the smartest young people. You know, you like to go young because they're there for a long time.

[04:20:00]

COLLINS: While it's not clear who he'll pick, it is clear that Trump wants to have his nominee confirmed before the November election.

TRUMP: I think the vote, the final vote, should be taken, frankly, before the election. We have plenty of time for that.

COLLINS: Waiting until Friday to announce his pick would give Trump 39 days to get his nominee confirmed. On average, Senate confirmations for Supreme Court justices take around 70 days.

TRUMP: We should act quickly, because we're going to have probably election things involved here, you know, because of the fake ballots that they'll be sending out.

COLLINS: The president providing no proof that fraudulent ballots are being sent out. But there is new audio revealing comments he made to Bob Woodward about reshaping the courts and working with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to appoint conservative judges.

TRUMP: He will absolutely ask me, please, let's get the judge approved, instead of 10 ambassadors.

COLLINS (on camera): And CNN has learned that the President met with Amy Coney Barrett at the White House on Monday as he is going through these nominees. He says he's going continue to speak to several that are on his short list over the next few days. He says his announcement will likely come on Saturday now. So we'll have to wait to see who it is the President selects.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: So let's talk now with CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart. He was press secretary for former President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2000. Thank you so much for speaking with us. JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Glad to be here.

CHURCH: So, the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has triggered an almighty political fight to replace her. With President Trump leading the charge planning to nominate a woman by Saturday and to get a confirmation Senate vote before the election, only two Republican senators are pushing back right now. So, what viable options are available to Democrats to fight this?

LOCKHART: Well, they can try to slow down the works in the Senate to get it to election day. But that's not likely to work. And I don't think it's likely that another senator or two are going to defect.

So, I think that this is going to go through. I would expect before election day. And then Democrats, because they don't have a chance to stop it, they do have a chance to retaliate. They could add seats if Joe Biden wins and they take over the Senate to the Supreme Court. They would have to get rid of the filibuster, which they've talked about. They've even talked about adding two states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The real -- the real question is whether they have the stomach to do it. And we're not going to know it until after election day.

CHURCH: And of course, meantime, this issue is overshadowing the pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And despite nearly 200,000 Americans losing their lives to the virus so far, President Trump he's giving himself an A-plus for his handling of the virus.

How careful do the Democrats need to be about keeping the pandemic the top priority, front and center, while balancing the need to halt or somehow slow down this confirmation vote?

LOCKHART: Well, you are exactly right. And I think the short-term benefit for President Trump is that it has shifted attention away, at least for the first couple of days from the coronavirus.

But if you look at the numbers, they are starting to creep back up. And I still firmly believe that this election is going to be a referendum on the president's handling of this.

That's why I think you are going to see the Democrats arguing about healthcare in the context of the Supreme Court because those two issues go together. You know, it's bad enough to lose health insurance and pre-existing conditions, but we've got what, maybe a million people who might have a pre-existing condition, you know, the aftereffects of COVID that we're still learning to under -- we're still learning about. And the Republicans are trying to take that away. That's a really powerful argument for Democrats.

CHURCH: Right. Yes. And when you look at the polls, do you wonder how it's possible that Donald Trump is still in this presidential race when nearly 200,000 lives have been lost to COVID-19. His mishandling of the pandemic, his meddling in the U.S. Postal Service, his stoking of racism and divisions in this country. How do you explain the fact that this race could go either way considering all those negatives?

LOCKHART: Yes, well, he's got what, you know, what he calls his base. His MAGA, Make America Great Again people who honestly will do anything and believe anything he says. And the great debate in this country by both politicians and public health experts is whether you wear a mask or not.

I don't know that debate is going on anywhere else in the world. But Donald Trump has signaled to his group of supporters that they don't need to wear a mask. That somehow the virus isn't real.

[04:25:00]

He called a Democratic hoax at one point.

So, he starts the political battle with 40, 42 percent of the American public. He only needs another 4 or 5 percent because of the way the Electoral College is structured. That's why he still in the race. I do think though as we get closer to election day, if these numbers are still piling up the way that they are, that the public will reject President Trump. But I think, you know, we are in for a long night on election night.

CHURCH: I think you're right. Joe Lockhart, thank you so much for your analysis. I appreciate it.

LOCKHART: Thank you.

CHURCH: The U.S. Justice Department is withholding federal funding to three American cities in response to prolonged civil unrest. The department has led with Seattle, New York, and Portland, Oregon, anarchy jurisdictions. Democratic leaders in those cities have largely opposed federal intervention despite some rising crime rates to avoid inflaming tensions. New York's Attorney General called the jurisdiction a pathetic attempt to scare Americans into voting for President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: You cannot issue orders to the city and/or a state. It's incompatible with the principle of due sovereignty. This is nothing more than a distraction away from the fact that 200,000 individuals have lost their lives as a result of COVID-19. It says the result of the failure of this administration, President Trump in particular, to lead this nation and to heal the divide and breach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: After the break, the White House says the economy is recovering quickly, but that's not what some experts see. How those fears could be dragging down stocks. We'll take a look. Stay with us.

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