Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

No Clear Picture Of President's Health As Questions Loom After Briefing; Schumer Says It Makes No Sense To Rush Barrett Hearing; Non- Essential Businesses In Parts Of NYC May Have To Close Again. Aired 3- 4p ET

Aired October 04, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The 89th Airlift Wing out of Joint Base Andrews says it is following C.D.C. protocols. It is not said whether or not any airman have tested positive for the virus, but our own National Security analyst say that Air Force One needs to be ready in case of a national emergency.

It is a flying White House like we've seen right after 9/11.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:00:28]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We continue this hour with an attempted cleanup on the messaging of the President's condition in his battle with COVID.

Today, yet another confusing briefing from his medical team igniting more questions than answers. The President's doctors maintain President Trump is doing well. But his medical team is now admitting that he has experienced two episodes of low oxygen that required an oxygen supplement and a steroid.

This, after doctors sidestepped questions about the President's oxygen problems on Saturday. They also say the President has received a second dose of Remdesivir, a five-day treatment that was just approved for emergency use in May.

Despite the President's troubling symptoms, his doctor say he could be back in the White House as soon as tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BRIAN GARIBALDI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S MEDICAL TEAM: Today, he feels well he's been up and around. Our plan for today is to have him to eat and drink, be up out of bed as much as possible to be mobile, and if he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: With the growing contradictions and mysteries on the President's health, there are now major questions about the credibility of the story that we are being told about the President.

We have a team of correspondents covering these developments. Boris Sanchez is at the White House, and let's begin with Jeremy Diamond at Walter Reed.

Jeremy, the President's medical team tried to set the record straight today about the President's health, but now it's even more confusing.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, here is where things stand right now. The President of the United States is in the hospital with a deadly infectious disease that has killed 209,000 people here in the United States and the doctor who is briefing the public on the President's condition is facing a crisis of credibility.

Dr. Sean Conley, yesterday, danced around these questions of whether or not the President had received supplemental oxygen at any point. You know, he said at one point that the President had not received any oxygen on Friday while he was here at Walter Reed with the team. And later, we learned as well as other outlets learned that the President had indeed received supplemental oxygen on Friday morning at the White House before he was taken to Walter Reed.

Today, we heard a very different story from Dr. Sean Conley, who finally admitted that the President had received supplemental oxygen and also that the President's oxygenation levels had dropped below 94 percent both on Friday as well as yesterday, on Saturday.

He also disclosed that the President is now on dexamethasone, a drug that is typically only reserved for patients who are experiencing severe symptoms of the disease. It is in fact only recommended for patients who have needed and who do need supplemental oxygen.

So why did Dr. Conley not disclose this information, withhold information during his briefing yesterday? Here's his explanation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SEAN CONLEY, WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: So I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the President, his course of illness has had. We didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction.

And in doing so, you know, it came off that we're trying to hide something. It wasn't necessarily true, and so here you have it, he is -- the fact of the matter is, is that he is doing really well. That he is --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Now, there's no reason that withholding truthful information from the public would steer the prognosis of the President's condition, one way or the other. But what Conley did do yesterday he was he made it that much harder for us to believe him when he says, as he said, in that clip there that the President is now doing really, really well because of course, he has damaged his credibility so much.

And while we did get more information from him today, he continued to withhold key information today. He was asked repeatedly what the scans of the President's lungs and the x-rays of the President's lung show, he only said that they show expected findings, but he wouldn't detail what those are -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Jeremy, I've got to ask you about the scene there behind you as well with all of the cars and I mean, I grew up in that area. I know Rockville Pike and I have family working across the street at N.I.H. there. They have never seen that in all of the Presidents who have been treated there, what was the Naval Hospital, now Walter Reed, can you tell us a little bit more about the people who have assembled there? The cars that have been going by the horn honking all of that?

[15:05:07]

DIAMOND: Yes, well, we -- there's a few dozen Trump supporters who have been outside of Walter Reed. Throughout the day today, I can tell you that having been here the last two days that this crowd has significantly grown. You have cars coming by and honking to show their support for the President. This is an effort that is being organized by the Republican Party of Maryland.

In fact, they have encouraged people to come out here to show their support for the President. Beyond that, there has also been some sparse confrontations between the President's supporters and some counter protesters as well.

But this is, you know, a crowd that's been out here to try and show their support for the President as he battles this virus.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's traditionally a busy street, but it's also one that's rather placid -- not now. All right. Thank you so much, Jeremy Diamond. Appreciate that.

All right. Boris Sanchez there at the White House. The White House Chief of Staff now, I mean, the microscope is on him and his statements and statements that contradict the kind of messaging that the President wants out there. What's happening?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Fred, the White House having a very difficult time getting a clear message out to the American people regarding the health of President Trump, and there's this conflict between what we're hearing from the President's doctors and from others in the administration, like Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows. That apparently has made the President furious.

We've heard, you know, the White House doctors having a difficult time answering very basic questions about whether the President received supplemental oxygen, about when the last negative COVID test the President took was administered. They're not having a good time trying to answer these very difficult questions.

Today, we saw this attempted cleanup and layers and layers of contradiction. The White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows yesterday tried to make clear to reporters, in his estimation of the situation, saying that it would be several days -- that the next several days would be critical in ensuring that the President has a safe recovery from COVID-19.

Today, we heard that the President might be let go from Walter Reed Medical Center tomorrow. The President hearing and watching all this made furious, apparently, according to sources. He is angry at Chief of Staff, Meadows for sharing this information. He believes that Meadows is undermining the credibility of his own medical team.

And one final note, Fred, we just heard from the White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah, and she gave this this quote to reporters, quote, "When you're treating a patient, you want to project confidence. You want to lift their spirits, and that was the intent. But Chief of Staff Meadows came out to give you guys more information, just to try to be as transparent as we can."

So here you have the White House Communications Director, saying the Chief of Staff is trying to be as transparent as possible with the American people, and the President is furious at him for it -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Boris Sanchez, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it.

Let's talk further about all of this now. Dr. Khalilah Gates is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Good to be with us. Glad you're with us. Francesca chambers is a White House correspondent from McClatchy. Good to see you as well. Francesca.

So Doctor, you know, one of the President's doctors saying they're treating him, you know, with the steroid drug, dexamethasone. What does that tell you about the condition of this COVID patient, the President of the United States?

DR. KHALILAH GATES, PULMONARY AND CRITICAL CARE SPECIALIST, NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: So the treatment with dexamethasone simply tells us that the President at some point has had hypoxemia or low oxygen levels, which the treating physicians have told us at this time, and so we know that dexamethasone -- we use dexamethasone in this patient population.

WHITFIELD: Is it at all worrisome to you?

GATES: So any of our patients who require oxygen, we do have concern. That suggests to us that there is significant inflammation in the lungs that we definitely want to try to slow down and that's why we choose to use medications like dexamethasone, which are shown to impact and improve mortality in these patients.

WHITFIELD: And then there was this question from a reporter, you know, to the doctors about the President's most recent lung scan. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: And what do the x-rays and CT scans show? Are there signs of pneumonia? Are there signs of lung involvement or any damage to the lungs?

CONLEY: Yes, so we're tracking all of that. There's some expected findings, but nothing of any major clinical concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, what does that mean to you -- expected findings -- when the question is about any kind of scarring on lungs, et cetera? You defined why that steroid is used. Now, what is expected at this stage of infection for the President given his oxygen levels and everything else?

GATES: So there are numerous findings associated with COVID on chest films radiography, anywhere from very subtle signs of inflammation to more subtle signs of pneumonia, and so that's really all that we can gather from what was told to us.

[15:10:10]

GATES: I do not think that that at all really tells us how the President is doing. The chest x-ray is just a piece of the clinical picture, and so we really have to rely on clinical setting, vital signs, including oxygen levels, et cetera.

WHITFIELD: And Francesca, you know, so we just heard her, you know, so we just heard our reporters talking about the President not being happy about the messaging, you know, going out. That he is angry about how his hospitalization is being conveyed in the media, angry at his Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows.

And that he feels that the message is that he is sicker than what his doctors are actually saying. But then now listen to Mark Meadows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Has he ever been on supplemental oxygen?

CONLEY: Right now, he is not on oxygen.

QUESTION: I know you keep saying right now, but should we read into the fact that he had been --

CONLEY: Yesterday and today he was not on oxygen.

QUESTION: So he has not been on it during his COVID treatments?

CONLEY: He is not on oxygen right now.

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF (via phone): The doctor is exactly right. He is doing extremely well. In fact, I'm very, very optimistic based on the current results. And as the doctor said, he is not out of the woods. The next 48 hours or so with the history of this virus, we know can -- be can be tough, and -- but he has made unbelievable improvements from yesterday morning when I know a number of us, the doctor and I were very concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Francesca, that was the optimism that was expressed by Mark Meadows later on in the day. But early here, you know, he conveyed a message to the pool of reporters that said, you know, the next 48 hours is really critical. The President didn't like that.

So here it is, the White House trying to control the message, but then, this is chipping away at any trust that the public can have of the White House and the messaging even when it comes down to the President's health and welfare.

FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MCCLATCHY: We haven't heard from the President yet today, Fred. He put out videos in the last two days, but we haven't seen that yet today. It is not saying that he won't, but we haven't seen it yet. And there are a few people who are in direct contact that we know of with the President.

You mentioned White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows; Bill Stepien, the campaign manager for the Trump Campaign; Jason Miller -- they've spoken to him -- Robert O'Brien, the National Security adviser said he spoke to him on Friday. He is expected to brief him again later today.

So that information is limited that we are hearing from the President directly with so few people who have been in direct contact with him.

WHITFIELD: So Dr. Gates, what about that responsibility of the doctor to try to convey the most optimistic, I guess, message but that might be in contrast with what the reality is of a patient's condition. And of course, we don't really know because we're not really sure what to believe about the President's condition.

GATES: I think this is a very unique situation. As a physician, our priority is always to our patients and their care and protecting that. But we're talking about the President of the United States.

So there is a balance to be maintained with understanding, he is a patient suffering an illness that can be very life-threatening, but at the same time as Americans, we want to know; and so it's going to be continuing to find the balance of the right information without the potentially misleading information being presented.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Gates, do you think these doctors should continue to have press conferences? Or do you believe a third party should be brought in to manage the messaging?

GATES: I think the physicians are more than capable of having the press conferences. It really -- we have to recognize that as much as we want to know, we're not necessarily privy to all of the information impacting President Trump, and so that's what I mean by this balance, this middle ground that we all have to find. WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Khalilah Gates and Francesca. Stay with me,

Francesca. Actually, we're going to talk again. Thank you so much, Doctor. Appreciate it.

GATES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so we don't know exactly when President Trump contracted coronavirus, but he and his top staffers gathered at the White House last weekend, so was the U.S. Supreme Court announcement a super spreader event?

And then later, some New York City neighborhoods may be shutting down for the second time this year. We're live with the Mayor's proposal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:37]

WHITFIELD: In only a few days, an alarming number of people close to President Trump have now tested positive for coronavirus, and whether you're a lawmaker, a White House adviser, a University President or the President of the United States, there's one thing or one event they all had in common.

Our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What you're looking at is the origins of a likely super spreader event. At least eight people, including President Donald Trump himself are now infected, and that is among those who have had the ability to actually get tested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA (on camera): You can't see the virus, but what is happening during a super spreading event.

DR. ERIN BROMAGE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, it's a very rough analogy. But if we think of a campfire and say that that's a person who is infected and releasing virus, it's not like it's the ring around the person that is actually going to be the risk, it is those that are on the side where more of the virus is being projected either through big talking or through the breeze the air that's blowing it there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA (voice over): But it was also these moments that caught CNN medical analyst, Erin Bromage's eye.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROMAGE: When the event finished, when they're all coming up and hugging and shaking hands and saying congratulations, that's where, if I was a betting person, I would be putting my money on of where this occurred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA (voice over): We know that the safety protocol for the event was to test anyone in close proximity to the President, but it wasn't required for everyone attending the ceremony. And it clearly wasn't foolproof.

Again, take a look here where the people who were diagnosed as positive were sitting, not next to each other, which leads us to again look at what happened right before and right after.

[15:20:19]

GUPTA: Former White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, closely leaning in to speak with Attorney General William Barr. Lots of people closely interacting with their guard down.

It can be difficult to pinpoint these super spreader events. This one ceremony, though, is giving us a look at the anatomy of how it happens all the time, not just here, but anytime people aggregate together in large groups in the middle of a pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROMAGE: There's no doubt that there has been transmission at the protests, the political rallies. It's just the fact that the virus doesn't discriminate.

Just because we haven't documented it, it doesn't mean it hasn't happened. It's just that we've got an event now that is very visible, well-documented, well-tested, and we're seeing the outcome from it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice over): So Fred, that's a little bit of an idea of what happens or what can happen during a potential super spreading event. It's important to keep in mind again, that it's never -- it's never just the event itself, but also sometimes there's pre-events, people get together, maybe more tightly clustered, post-events where people may get together even inside.

So that's part of the job of the contact tracers to find out. Okay, we know about this event, but what about other get-togethers as well.

Also, you know, there's this idea that the President, we need to know when his last negative test was so you get a better idea of his timeline.

If someone for example, tests positive on Friday, it's likely their exposure happened several days earlier. Someone showing symptoms on Friday, like with the President, we also know if you look at the timeline here in this graphic, that they are usually more contagious and maybe even the most contagious in the few days before they start to show symptoms. So symptoms develop on Friday or Thursday, whenever, back it up two or

three days, Wednesday, Tuesday, possibly Monday. So you get an idea of how challenging it is for contact tracers to try and figure all of this out -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much. I have a feeling none of us will ever really interact in person the same after seeing that.

All right, a U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the verge of being derailed. The U.S. Senate's top Democrat wants to delay hearings as coronavirus spreads on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:57]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he wants a delay in the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Judge Amy Coney Barrett. This, after three Republican senators were diagnosed with coronavirus last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Even though he has said it's not safe for the Senate to meet in session, but it's okay to have the hearings.

And the idea of having virtual hearings where no one is with the witness for the Highest Court in the land for a life appointment that would have such effect on people's lives makes no sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants the hearing to go ahead on October 12th, and potentially have a confirmation vote before the November 3rd, Election Day.

Francesca Chambers is back, White House correspondent for McClatchy. So could these senators, you know contracting COVID create any kind of roadblock for Mitch McConnell's plan to move ahead? I mean, two of which are on the Senate Judiciary Committee?

CHAMBERS: Well, and the Senate Minority Leader went on to say that he thought that virtual hearings would be inadequate, if that were to happen, and he also said that they would talk about some sort of a boycott.

However, he did acknowledge that there would be very little that Democrats could do to really have much more of a delay.

WHITFIELD: McConnell has been insisting on the Senate convening in- person, you know, all through this pandemic. Is he in danger of looking like he is tone deaf?

CHAMBERS: Well, he has also said that there will be in pro forma session, essentially won't meet until October 19th. However, again, Chuck Schumer this morning saying that if it is unsafe for senators to be there, because that's why Mitch McConnell has said he doesn't want senators to be there until October 19th, how can they possibly move forward with these hearings on October 12th?

But again, they are planning to do that. So far, no further updates on whether or not those would be delayed.

WHITFIELD: And as these, you know, positive infection rates kind of, you know, sweep through Washington, D.C., I mean, what about the momentum of having more people on Capitol Hill, you know, tested. That there is a more concerted effort of contact tracing, if anything, at least by the White House, particularly because of the images out from that Rose Garden moment.

CHAMBERS: And White House officials have said that it's the White House medical unit that's conducting that contact tracing, even campaign officials have said that they are relying on the White House to make those calls and make those contacts, but oftentimes, as we've seen in the last few days, it's from reporters who have been the ones who have made public who has and hasn't contracted the coronavirus from the events that we saw at the White House.

WHITFIELD: Nancy Pelosi, you know, said -- you know, took to the airwaves again today. She gets tested as frequently as she can, but she says the whole idea of all the members of the House, you know, being tested and their staff, it just isn't realistic compared to the Senate, which of course is smaller. But what about this push on the Hill?

[15:30:04]

CHAMBERS: They certainly haven't had the same protocols that have been in place as the White House has which had been, at least everyone who expects to come in close contact with the President was getting tested.

But even then, the White House's testing ability was rather limited in that everyone who was coming through the doors of the White House was not being tested, and that of course, as we've seen over the past couple of days is where these problems have come from.

WHITFIELD: All right, Francesca Chambers, thanks so much. Continue to be well yourself.

CHAMBERS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Panic in Washington and panic on Wall Street. President Trump's coronavirus diagnosis is adding another layer of uncertainty to the markets. What impact will it have on the U.S. economy? We'll have a preview of the week ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Global markets will start reopening in just a few hours. It is the first reaction that we will see from investors since President Trump went to Walter Reed Military Medical Center for treatment on Friday after the President initially revealed his diagnosis early Friday.

[15:35:10]

WHITFIELD: The Dow plunged more than 400 points, but then pared its losses closing down 135 points. CNN Business correspondent, Alison Kosik joining us now.

So Alison, good to see you. Markets and investors, well, they don't like uncertainty, and right now, the President's prognosis seems very unclear. What is to be expected?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, good to see you as well, and based on the information that we have, right now, analysts, who I'm talking with say when the market opens tomorrow morning here in the U.S., expect there to be a pullback to the tune of one to two percent.

So with the Dow, that means a loss of about 550 points, for the S&P 500, which is the broader market index, expect to see about 70 points of a loss on the S&P.

We're going to get a better idea of what the market sentiment is like around 6:00 p.m. today, that's about two and a half hours, that's when we're going to find out how those futures are trading as well. We're also keeping an eye on overnight markets, 8:00 p.m. starts Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong as well. Thereafter, we'll see how those markets are trading to get a better idea of how Monday is going to go.

So what are investors using as their guide? At this point, Fredricka, they are using information as their guide. So just like a family who is waiting on a family member at the hospital, waiting on an update from a doctor, the same thing goes for what investors are waiting for. They are waiting to hear these updates from doctors and from the administration how President Trump is doing.

The problem is they're getting conflicting information and the information they're getting isn't necessarily from credible people. So this lack of clarity is causing a lot of uncertainty, which you mentioned, Wall Street just doesn't like. That breeds anxiety, which breeds volatility, which is something that we can expect to see in the markets this week, a lot of volatility, especially as we see the markets really move on these headlines.

So whether there's an intense selloff will really depend on what those headlines are, and key point here Fredricka, how those headlines are interpreted, how they are sort of reading between the lines, because we don't really know what we're getting here when we get that information, so we're all kind of reading between the lines here, along with investors -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And of course, we know that the President is probably very mindful of that he and his circle is trying to convey a very positive message, but it doesn't help when you've got the medical team sending another message, which kind of undermines the whole -- I mean, they're even sending this positive message, but it's all undermined by the fact that there's no clarity and no real truth. And so that, too, is having reverberations in the markets and will

impact it.

KOSIK: Yes, exactly. That equals uncertainty once against, uncertainty in the markets, but that uncertainty also is a danger for the broader economy, because what this diagnosis of the President does is it kind of gives another psychological blow to an already fragile recovery in the economy that's already losing steam.

Case in point here, the Jobs Report we got on Friday, 661,000 jobs were added in September, but that came up short and it really shows that jobs recovery is losing steam. So there is that element of uncertainty there just about the economy, and it matters not just for investors who find it hard to trade on uncertainty, it matters for companies who find it hard to plan.

You know, they don't know what investments to make. They don't know what hiring to make. The future is kind of cloudy. It matters for consumers as well as they are dealing with a whole lot of uncertainty. They're not going to spend as much. They are going to pull back and save more.

Same with workers. If they don't know what their job prospects are, they are going to pull back from spending as well.

Another layer of uncertainty here, right before we learned that the President has COVID, Trump refused to guarantee that there would be a peaceful transition of power. So he was essentially threatening a contested election. That added yet another layer of uncertainty that still exists.

So you have this big pile on, not to mention an election coming in 30 days. So, there's a lot of play. Call it uncertainty.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's dizzying. All right, Alison Kosik, thank you so much.

KOSIK: Got it.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, the Mayor of New York City proposing a second shutdown as cases spike in nine neighborhoods, and it could begin as early as this week. Will other cities follow suit?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:43:54]

WHITFIELD: All right, this breaking news. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to close schools and non-essential businesses in an effort to stop a wider spread of coronavirus in New York City again, and if approved, this could happen as early as Wednesday.

CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro joining us live from New York. So, what is the mayor weighing?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this is kind of a developing story that's been going on for a few days now. For a while, the Mayor has warned that there are about 20 zip codes in New York around Brooklyn and Queens where we've seen a kind of concerning rise in the infection rate, and in nine of those zip codes, that the Mayor announced today, there's been an over three percent infection rate for the past seven consecutive days that led him to propose closing schools and essential businesses in those nine zip codes and the 11 other zip codes that he is calling zip codes of concern, he wants to close down indoor dining which just recently reopened and gyms and pools and other places like that.

Now for this to happen, he needs the Governor to sign off on it. We've reached out to the Governor's Office. We haven't heard back. We also reached out to the Chancellor's Office of the school system here which says they're waiting on the Governor to weigh in, too.

[15:45:09]

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: But for now, the plan is October 7th, Wednesday, those schools and essential businesses closed down again in those nine neighborhoods.

It's a big deal here in New York City, as the mayor said in his press conference today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: So today, unfortunately, is not a day for celebration, today is a more difficult day and I'm going to be giving an update that gives me no joy at all.

In fact, it pains me to be putting forward this approach that we'll need. But in some parts of our city, in Brooklyn and Queens, we're having an extraordinary problem, something we haven't seen since the spring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Just a quick correction there, the closures will be of non-essential businesses, those businesses that we've seen closed at the worst time of the pandemic here in most of the city.

But the main plan here is to do a neighborhood by neighborhood fight of these rising numbers in the hopes that they don't spread to the wider city -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So what about reaction, if any coming from the Governor's Office? Because I remember a while back in the earlier stages of the pandemic, the Governor, you know, kind of was sending an edict that some of these kinds of closures would have to be run past the Governor's Office.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Well, that's right, Fred. This is one of the hard things about covering the pandemic in New York, is that the Mayor's Office and the Governor's Office don't always operate in sync.

And right now, we have the mayor requesting these closures, and we're waiting for the governor to say what he thinks about doing that. But everybody has been talking about the dangers of these rising numbers in these neighborhoods, and telling people they have to wear masks, they have to stop congregating. They have to start doing the things that are requested by the city and the guidelines in the city to try to keep this virus from coming back to a place that was the hardest hit back in April -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Evan McMorris-Santoro in New York. Thank you so much.

Back with us now, some medical reaction, Dr. Khalilah Gates, Pulmonology and Critical Care Specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Good to see you again, Dr. Gates. So what do you think?

I mean, this is a very -- you could see a very exasperated New York Mayor there about, you know, trying to make the best decision for the welfare, you know, of people there and looking at the spikes in so many of these zip codes. Can you kind of relate to, you know, what he is trying to weigh here?

GATES: I completely understand what he is trying to weigh. I think each community has to decide their threshold. We have consistently lived in this pandemic in which we are very acutely aware of a potential spike or another surge and we want to do what we need to, to avoid that.

And so every city in every state should have their kind of threshold of where they're going to start to peel back. We have to approach the pandemic that way. We cannot just close our eyes and keep moving when we see our numbers climbing or we're going to see what we had in the spring and that is definitely not what we want.

WHITFIELD: Okay, and we are seeing spikes in many different corners of the United States. Are you looking at, you know, with the kind of pattern of spikes, you're looking at a great need for many states cities to reconsider shutting down, locking everyone down again.

GATES: Yes, I think that COVID and this pandemic shows us that we have to be flexible. We have to watch the numbers. We have to watch our hospital utilization. We have to watch the positive cases and make adjustments. We can't just continue to go forward without making changes.

And that's what we really have to be able to do, and it is hard to say, hey, we are getting back to normal and then oh, wait, we have to step back. That's hard for all of us. But if we're going to continue to get through this and avoid what we saw in the spring in New York, and here in Chicago, we all have to be willing to make those hard decisions.

WHITFIELD: Do you look at the NFL at all as a barometer of the spread of COVID? I mean, we've got one of them -- one of the biggest stars right now who has just tested positive, Cam Newton, a number of other teams have experienced a large number of positive cases. It is interrupting the season thus far that really just got started. Are you using the NFL kind of as a barometer given they have such

health protocols in place, but they're not immune either.

GATES: I'm not using the NFL as a barometer of what COVID is doing in the country.

WHITFIELD: Not the barometer, but a barometer.

GATES: Yes, I am using it to show that no one is immune to COVID. We all have to take the appropriate steps and I think that the NFL as well as some of the other things that have opened back up or just showing us that it is very easy to get in a situation in which we're propagating the infection and we have to be willing and have plans in place to change what we're doing when we see that this starts to increase.

[15:50:12]

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Khalilah Gates, thank you so much, from Chicago.

GATES: All right. Thank you. It was great to being here.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. All right, millions of families across the country have experienced unfathomable pain from forced separation due to COVID.

CNN's Rosa Flores was there for a heartwarming reunion between a mother and son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The anticipation is over. A heartwarming reunion after being separated for months by the COVID- 19 lockdown of senior care centers in Florida.

Mark Lebenthal and his 89-year-old stepmom, Arlene had not embraced since Mark's father died in April.

Visiting rules are strict. Mark had to make an appointment in advance, get his temperature checked in the lobby, wear personal protective equipment all before being escorted to Arlene's door.

Mark made a promise to his late father that he would find Arlene a comfortable assisted living facility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARLENE LEBENTHAL, LIVES IN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY: He went so quickly, and he was such a sweet man.

MARK LEBENTHAL, FATHER DIED IN APRIL: And he loved you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): But the comfort quickly turned to isolation as the lockdown stretched for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

A. LEBENTHAL: I first saw my sister yesterday, and I can see my friends. It was tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): Early in the pandemic, some seniors can look out their windows to see posters and signs made by family or friends. Others are still spending most of their days alone.

FLORES (on camera): Many states including Florida are allowing limited visits to nursing homes. The visitation rules vary across the country and facilities and a handful of states remain closed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIONNE POLITE, AARP SPOKESPERSON: The whole situation is a real tragedy. We are not supposed to treat our older adults the way that they're being treated right now.

FLORES (on camera): What's the toughest part of advocating for senior citizens?

POLITE: Oftentimes they don't have a voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): Victoria Cerrone pushed to see her 85 year old father, Vittorio in-person after being separated for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTORIA CERRONE, FATHER IN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY: It was absolutely excruciating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): Once a successful businessman traveling the world with his wife, Elizabeth, Vittorio now lives in a Memory Care Center struggling with dementia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CERRONE: Time is precious right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): Victoria says he became agitated, depressed and confused when visits were allowed only through a window. Here is a picture of her 82-year-old mom waiting in 95-degree heat to see the love of her life separated by glass.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CERRONE: I think I noticed my mother and my father tried to kiss once was. It was quite emotional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): Victoria's heartbreak only grew as time passed and her parents couldn't celebrate their 58th wedding anniversary, Father's Day and Vittorio's birthday. It would take six months for this father and daughter to reunite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CERRONE: And I gave him a giant hug. I didn't let go. And I just told him I loved him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): Mark Lebenthal is thinking about his father, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. LEBENTHAL: My dad would be very, very happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES (voice over): In honoring his memory by keeping his promise.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Our hearts go out to so many families.

All right, this quick programming note. With only weeks now until the election, it is time for Mike Pence and Kamala Harris to face off, the only vice presidential debate of 2020 airs Wednesday night on CNN with special live coverage starting at seven o'clock Eastern Time. Please join us.

Thank you so much for being with me today.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. More of the CNN NEWSROOM continues next with Ana Cabrera.

But first, this preview of tonight's premiere of "First Ladies" on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would not be standing here tonight without the FIRST LADY.

QUESTION: When you were little, did you ever want to be the First Lady?

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't know I could be the First Lady.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What she was interested in was changing the world.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Human rights are women's rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, a woman who is actually trying to do something different.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All he wanted to hear was I was wonderful. And all she was going to do was tell him the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She would ask questions. She stepped up when she saw that things were going the wrong direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She gets the last word.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's 31 years old. She stands up to all the President's advisers.

M. OBAMA: When they go low, we go high.

ANNOUNCER: The new CNN Original Series, "First Ladies" premieres tonight at 10 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:59:41]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

The President's team of doctors doing it again. At a critical time in history, when the country needs solid, reliable, crystal clear information about the medical condition of the American President who is hospitalized right now, they again gave us a rosy view of his very serious battle with COVID-19.

[16:00:10]