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Stimulus Bill on Hold; Stock Markets Rattled by Political Uncertainty; V.P. Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris Face Off; Hurricane Delta on its Way to Mexico; White House Chaotic as COVID-19 Spreads; Genetic Information could Shed Light on White House Outbreak; Trump's Team Refuses to Reveal Last Negative Test Date; Kloots, Trump's Comments Like a Gut Punch; Pentagon Leaders Quarantining after COVID-19 Exposure; Fauci Could See 400,000 Virus Deaths this Winter; Mother Struggles to Feed Family after Losing Job; COVID-19 Rise Across Europe; Boris Johnsons Denies COVID-19 Robbed Him of His Mojo; Chemical Weapons Watchdog Claims Nerve Agent in Navalny's Blood; Rock Legend Eddie Van Halen Dies. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 07, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, the coronavirus is spreading through the ranks of the U.S. government, as new polling shows the U.S. president, losing steam against Joe Biden.
Mike Pence and Kamala Harris are getting ready to debate for the first time. What their teams are doing to prepare and keep the vice- presidential nominee safe from COVID.
Plus, hurricane Delta has weakened slightly but is still a very dangerous storm as it approaches Mexico. A live update from Cancun.
Good to have you with us.
Well the White House COVID-19 cluster is growing. President Trump's hardline immigration adviser, Stephen Miller is the latest member of the president's inner circle to test positive, and you can see Miller boarding the Marine One helicopter, last week with Hope Hicks. She tested positive early in the outbreak.
One official call the atmosphere in the White House chaotic as the virus tears through the West Wing, infecting a long high-profile list. It includes the president, the first lady, the press secretary, and many more. And now we know the infection has spread to the military.
A coast guard admiral, who was out the White House in late September has contracted COVID-19. That is according that his forcing, rather, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and other Pentagon leaders to quarantine. But President Trump's ongoing bout with the disease hasn't inspired him to change tactics.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Back at the White House from a three-day hospital stay, President Trump is downplaying coronavirus, and says he is looking forward to debating Joe Biden in nine days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARA TRUMP, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: He's looking forward to it, he is ready. And I think he's going to go in with an even new mindset on the coronavirus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Trump's own physician says he is still not out of the woods when it comes to his diagnosis. But for, now he is staying in the White House residence, and considering delivering a national address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: (Inaudible) it came in some form today, I'll leave that to him how that is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Trump's press secretary is working from home after testing positive for coronavirus, adding to a growing list of officials who are staying home because they tested positive -- or were in contact with a colleague who did.
At least, one of the members of the military who was directly assigned to support the president in the Oval Office and residents tested positive as did a third staffer in the press office.
With officials worried about possible exposure, the West Wing looked more like a ghost town today, and dramatic photos show the briefing room being disinfected by White House employees dressed in full protective gear.
Alongside a final pitch for Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Votes are already being cast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Michelle Obama referenced the White House outbreak today, noting that the Secret Service and residence staff, should never be taken for granted.
The president didn't allude to the heightened concern as he returned to the White House Monday night with a staged entrance. A campaign spokesman wrongly claimed that the president was alone on the balcony when he took his mask off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president is alone on the balcony outside. He takes his mask off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: But that's not true, a photographer was right behind the president. And afterward he went inside to re-shoot his entrance with a camera crew already waiting. The president spent the day spreading misinformation and Facebook removed one of his posts after he falsely claimed that the flu was responsible for more deaths than the coronavirus.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
CHURCH: President Trump abruptly suspended talks with congressional Democrats on another COVID-19 relief package until after November's election. His moved announced in a series of tweets on Tuesday stalls efforts to help millions of Americans and businesses facing financial difficulties from the pandemic.
Sources say Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Democrats were still far apart when a final agreement before the president pull the plug. Wall Street wasn't happy with the move and stocks dropped on Tuesday.
[03:05:04]
We want to bring out the Asian markets so you can get a look at those too and give us an idea of what's -- what might be ahead -- nearly up 1 percent there. Australia's market is above one and a half -- one a quarter percent.
So, let's turn to John Defterios, he is with us from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, John. So, we saw a sharp sell off on Wall Street but Asian markets are taking this in stride it seems, is there still hope for a compromise?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: That is the market view right now, Rosemary. But this is live under a predictable president, let's put it that way. He tells Wall Street, I'm going to hold off negotiations until after the election, then gets on a conference call with Senate Republicans and Steve Mnuchin to say I still want a deal around $1.6 trillion.
So, a lot of mixed messages. Let's take a look at U.S. futures, they are starting to believe that there is still space for a compromise, as your suggestion, Rosemary. They are all four-tenths of 1 percent, but high-end antics by the president.
But this is no joke. We had $3 trillion in the first package, we saw 26 million Americans on unemployment benefits, one in seven in the United States, in the last week 75,000 jobs cut from corporate America. So, this is serious stuff. Let's bring up those major players you were
talking about Steven Mnuchin, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell. The House Democrats put up $2.2 trillion back in June. They didn't start negotiating with the Republicans until September.
There was no package from the Republicans. They wanted something below a trillion dollars. The White House is at 1.3, you can hear the compromise at 1.6. But let's get on with it. I would imagine we're the only developed country in the world in Europe and Asia during a crisis like this, Rosemary, where they are still arguing, nobody argues about stimulus packages in other countries, they just pass it because it's a crisis. And this is carried on far too long but the President throwing a wildcard in the table at the very last minute.
CHURCH: Yes, meantime, many Americans not able to pay their rent. It is so frustrating. So, John, how about the Federal Reserve board chairman, because he is an independent voice here, didn't he warn about the need for a stimulus package?
DEFTERIOS: He has never wavered, Rosemary, over the last six months he said, stay the course. It's no time to pull off money off the table. He was urging to get the stimulus package done in September before the September 30th deadline.
He's saying those of the lower wrongs of society cannot be left exposed. Because of the jobless rates, and also black Americans, the unemployment rate is rising. We've had those protests over the summer. Let's listen to Jerome Powell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD: Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardships for households and businesses. Overtime household insolvency and business bankruptcies would rise, harming the productive capacity of the economy and holding back wage growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: And, Rosemary, we talked about the unemployment benefits. Nobody talks about it too often. Nine hundred dollars a week was the average unemployment benefit before the package expired. It's now $300 a week and while we see bankruptcies and mortgage foreclosures, it's very difficult without the new injection which should carry us through to April next year if the recovery is starting to pick up.
CHURCH: Let's hope we see some movement with that. John Defterios in Abu Dhabi, many thanks.
Joining me now is Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Good to have you with us.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, President Trump abruptly ended the stimulus bill negotiations Tuesday that would've provided relief to millions of Americans who are hurting right now. He says those talks will not resume until after the November election, and as a result the market plunge of course. What are the political ramifications of a move like that?
SABATO: This really has been a general election from the hell for Donald Trump. Everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong. He needed the stimulus bill because so many parts of the American economy, so many pieces of the American population are hurting. And this was an opportunity to give them hope and some relief. And now, it won't happen at least until after he needs it.
CHURCH: And that would work against him, surely. So why would he do that?
SABATO: Well, he must have assessed maybe via Mitch McConnell that it wasn't going to happen anyway. And so, he wanted to be the one to end it showing decisiveness and leadership as we know he is obsessed with. Maybe that's why, I'm guessing but it makes sense. In a sense, it makes sense.
CHURCH: Right. And President Trump told Americans not to be afraid of COVID-19, even suggested he might be immune despite still being infected. And spending three nights in hospital, pumped up on steroids and a cocktail of experimental drugs.
[03:10:01]
Now he says he feels great and is ready to debate. Joe Biden says that shouldn't happen if Trump is still infected with COVID. How problematic and political could this prove to be? Because Biden would not want to be -- seem to be the one that says this debate can't go forward.
SABATO: Yes, and this will accelerate after the vice-presidential debate. But it suggests to me that there is not agreement on whether that debate, the presidential debate should even be held. And Biden's point is realistic. After all, just about everybody we can think of in the White House close to President Trump now has come down with COVID.
I don't blame Biden a bit. I don't think anybody does for not wanting to be in the general vicinity of the president and some of the people from his White House. So, it's going to be fascinating to see whether they even have one. If they do, it might have to be socially distance.
CHURCH: Yes.
SABATO: Through Skype or Zoom or something.
CHURCH: Right. And polls show Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden increasing his lead over Donald Trump. A new poll from Monmouth shows Biden ahead 54 percent to Trump's 42 percent in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. And a new CNN national poll has Biden at 57 percent, and Trump at 41 percent. What a gap that is. What are those numbers tell you? SABATO: Well, as you know, that's a massive gap. And the election is
November 3rd, actually the elections right now. And we are accelerating the pre-election voting. Millions and millions of people are already casting their ballots.
This, nothing has gone right for Donald Trump in the last few weeks, absolutely nothing. Now some of it is due to him, while everybody hopes for complete recovery for him and all of his people at the same time you have to say they invited COVID into the White House. This is irresponsibility and it's continuing because other people in the White House who are not directly associated with the Trumps are also in danger.
CHURCH: So, Larry, how reliable are these numbers do you think?
SABATO: Well, Rosemary, I think it's absolutely convincing that Joe Biden has a substantial lead. Do I think it's 16 points? No, I don't. Why did that show up in the poll? Because Republicans have gotten discouraged. They were discouraged about the debate and how poorly President Trump did.
They are discouraged about the COVID diagnosis and the hospitalization. And when that happens, and we have other examples of this from the past, people who are aligned with, in this case, the president, simply won't answer the poll. So, you get a skewed sample in the direction of the candidate whose supporters are up, are excited.
CHURCH: What would that mean about their voting intentions, though?
SABATO: Well, you never know whether something is going to happen on the Trump side that will enable those people who have become disillusioned to return to the fold and actually show up and vote. And most Republicans appeared to be determined to vote on November 3rd in person on election day.
So, they've got time to bring them back men. But this is not a question of just bringing people back. Trump is well behind Biden and he has missed every opportunity so far to make up ground. You can't be but so optimistic for Donald Trump.
CHURCH: Larry Sabato, always great to get your analysis. Many thanks.
SABATO: Thank you.
CHURCH: And in less than 24 hours, Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris will face off in a debate separated by Plexiglass. The Harris team requested the barrier as a COVID safety precaution.
As CNN's Ryan Nobles reports Pence's team initially oppose the barrier but has now agreed to Harris' demands.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This time last week the idea of holding a vice-presidential debate after the President of United States have been diagnosed with coronavirus seemed very unlikely but somehow it is going to happen here in Salt Lake. But it's going to be pretty different than the one that we saw in Cleveland a little more than a week ago.
A number of precautions will now be in place when Kamala Harris and Mike Pence take the stage on Wednesday night. The two candidates originally be seven feet apart, they're now going to be 12 feet apart. And between them will be two Plexiglass shields that will be between Harris and Pence to minimize the risk of the coronavirus transferring between either of these candidates.
Now there was a little bit of controversy regarding this. The Harris camp asked for it. The Pence camp said if they want the Plexiglass shield, they can have it but they didn't feel that there was any kind of scientific benefit to having one in front of the vice president. They later backed away from that fight and they are now going to be two Plexiglass shields on the stage on Wednesday night.
[03:14:59]
In addition to those precautions every single person inside the debate hall aside from the two candidates and the moderator will be required to wear a mask. That was the requirement in Cleveland as well, but you'll remember that many folks from the Trump side, including the Trump family decided to take their masks off anyway.
So, the other key, both Senator Harris and Vice President Pence have had a number of days in a row with a negative coronavirus test. As long as that holds, it seems as though this debate will take place on Wednesday night.
Ryan Nobles, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.
CHURCH: And as you just heard, the next debate will be between Democratic vice-presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence. CNN's special coverage begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the U.S. East Coast, that's midnight Thursday in London, 3 a.m. in Abu Dhabi, and 7 a.m. in Hong Kong.
And if you miss it live you can tune in for a replay of the debate at 8 a.m. London time. That's 11 a.m. in Abu Dhabi, and 3 p.m. in Hong Kong.
Well, Joe Biden says there should be no second debate if President Trump is infected with COVID-19. But the U.S. Democratic presidential nominee says he will decide to participate based on the recommendations of medical experts. Biden was back out campaigning Tuesday at a symbolic site.
CNN's Jessica Dean has our report.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Former Vice President Joe Biden delivering an impassioned plea for unity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, once again, we are a house divided. But that my friends can no longer be. We are facing too many crises, we have too much work to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: With a backdrop of the Gettysburg battlefield, the site of so much American bloodshed and division, Biden made the case America can come together once again.
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BIDEN: There is no more fitting place than here today in Gettysburg to talk about the cost of division.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The speech highlighted a consistent theme of Biden's 2020 run, his belief the election is a battle for the soul of the nation.
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BIDEN: Let's conduct ourselves as Americans who love each other, who love our country, who will not destroy but will build.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Biden also calling for unity around the COVID crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Wearing a mask is not a political statement. It's a scientific recommendation. Social distancing is not a political statement. It's a scientific recommendation. Testing, tracing, the development and all the approval and distribution of the vaccine isn't a political statement. It is a science-based decision. We can't undo what has been done. We can't go back. But we can do so much better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Biden's unity speech comes as a new CNN poll taken after last week's debate and mostly following Trump's COVID 19 diagnosis shows the former vice president increasing his national lead over President Donald Trump to his widest margin in the election so far. Biden receiving 57 percent to Trump's 41 percent among likely voters nationwide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I wanted to take a moment to remind you what's at stake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Meantime, one of the Biden campaign's most effective surrogates, former first lady Michelle Obama offering her closing argument for the Democratic nominee in a new video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: We can no longer pretend that we don't know exactly who and what this president stands for. Search your hearts and your conscience. And then vote for Joe Biden like your lives depend on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Obama speaking as a parent and a black woman in America criticizing President Trump for stoking fears about black and brown Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: So, what the president is doing is once again patently false. It's morally wrong. And yes, it is racist. But that does not mean it will not work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Still, Biden hopes his message of unity will prevail.
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BIDEN: I do not believe we have to choose between law and order and racial justice in America. We can't have both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Jessica Dean, CNN, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
CHURCH: The beaches are empty in Mexico as a major hurricane is expected to make landfall in the coming hours. We are tracking the system, that's next.
And Dr. Anthony Fauci says tens of thousands of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. could have been avoided with just a few simple steps.
[03:20:00]
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CHURCH: People in Cancun and Cozumel, Mexico evacuate ahead of a dangerous hurricane now expected to make landfall in the coming hours. Hurricane Delta has weakened slightly but is still a powerful category three storm. It has already sent huge waves crashing into the harbors of the Cayman Islands. One person on Twitter said the waters reached all the way to the street.
CNN's Matt Rivers is in Cancun, Mexico for us ahead of the storm. He joins us now live. Good to see, Matt. So, what is the situation there on the ground this hour, and how ready are they for this?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, we've actually moved a little bit south now from Cancun. We are in Playa del Carmen. And I can tell you having covered a number of these kinds of storms, we are in this period where it's kind of strange, because everyone is waiting for something bad to happen that we know is going to happen in the next couple of hours.
Right now, obviously, you can tell the winds, the rain still that not bad as of yet. But we know it is coming. Now the big question for the storm is where it is going to make landfall? This particular hurricane is very intense. High winds, at this point a high category three but also relatively small. So, the area that are going to be -- that is going to be affected the most by those very intense winds is going to be a relatively small area compared to what you would see with larger hurricanes.
And so that's what makes where this hurricane makes landfall that much more important. But I can tell you that, I mean, it's safe to say that this caught everybody by surprise in this part of the country. I mean, we were tracking what was a tropical depression as recently as Monday morning.
And then by Tuesday morning when we woke up, the wind speed had increased in the storm dramatically to the point where we are looking at what we're looking at right now, Rosemary, which is a high-level category three hurricane. Very dangerous for the people that are going to be in its path where it makes landfall. Hopefully, it makes landfall in one of the less popular sections of this coastline, but time will tell. We'll figure that out in the next couple of hours.
CHURCH: Indeed, it will. And I know you'll keep a very close eye on this. Matt Rivers, stay safe. Thank you so very much.
And our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is tracking the storm for us. He joins us now. So, Pedram, what are you seeing?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Rosemary, you know, still very menacing system here. And of course, we've talked about how rapidly it has intensified here tripling, more than tripling in strength here. We're going from a 40-mile per hour storm to over 145 at its peak intensity.
The concern of course, it has weakened just a little bit but not enough to make much of a difference when it comes to the landfall location as Matt reference there, when it comes to a storm like what we see with Delta which is very compact in nature.
[03:24:55]
The center of the storm, the eye wall where the strongest 195- kilometer per hour winds are located only spends less than 10 kilometers across. So, it is exactly where it makes landfall that it will have this significant devastation in place while areas just to its north could see far less damage.
So, if this shifts a little south as it has in recent hours you can see this impact areas around Cozumel around Playa del Carmen where Matt is located, while Cancun could really spare the brunt of what is a major hurricane making landfall. So again, at least one piece of good news to look at the storm and see how small and compact than most destructive area is. And historically speaking, not many storms of this magnitude reached
this point at landfall, and in fact, over 100 years of record keeping only shows us three such storms, Delta would be the fourth coming to shore with such magnitude, again, making landfall across this region.
And category three is by the National Hurricane Center they are categorized as a devastating sort of storm with impact on the immediate area of landfall. So, we think landfall within the next two to three hours across portions of Cozumel within the next say, four to five hours around areas just south of Cancun.
And of course, it has been as active of a season as it gets. Ten systems would be making landfall. Nine have already made landfall. Delta would be our 10th system of the season to make landfall across the continental United States. That would be a new record for most landfalling systems in the United States.
So again, as active as they get here, and of course we look at where Delta is slated to end up within the next two to three. Models have wanted to trend this back towards the west, that's an area with warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico. And that will keep the storm potentially as a major hurricane as it approaches land.
Conditions are favorable for it to weaken just before it makes landfall sometime Friday afternoon into Friday night. But again, depending on how far west this travel really dictates how strong of a system we are looking at.
And here's the perspective as far as the models. The gradual shift to the west here has really put a high confidence for a landfall somewhere across the State of Louisiana. You'll notice, at least intensifies across the warmer waters back to a category four where you will think by Thursday night, and possibly a major hurricane still on approach to landfall across the State of Louisiana.
Rosemary, remember hurricane Laura also made landfall across the State of Louisiana as a major hurricane. So, this would in fact be the fourth storm to make landfall in the State of Louisiana in 2020 if it meets there -- if it makes there by Friday.
CHURCH: It is unbelievable, isn't it? Pedram Javaheri, many thanks, keeping us up to date on the situation there. I appreciate it.
Well, still to come, a source describes the White House atmosphere as chaotic as the virus ripped through the West Wing. How contact tracing could help bring order to that chaos, that's next.
Plus, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA KLOOTS, ACTRESS: It broke my heart. It was like a gut punch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: One widow shares her pain and anger after President Trump told Americans not to let coronavirus dominate their lives. We will hear from Amanda Kloots who lost her husband to the virus.
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[03:30:00]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: The atmosphere at the White House is chaotic according to one source as COVID-19 rips through the president's inner circle. Senior adviser Stephen Miller is now one of at least a dozen of the president's close contacts who have tested positive. And there are others, whose names and faces we don't know, including a military aide, assigned to the Oval Office. The top infectious disease expert in the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci says, the White House outbreak, was avoidable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALERGY AND INFECTOUS DISEASE: Take a look at what happened this week at the White House. That is a reality. Right there. And every day that goes by, more people are popping up that are infected. It's not a hoax, it's an unfortunate situation. When you see something like that, because that could have been prevented.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So, let's talk now with Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA, always good to have you with us.
ANNE RIMOIN, UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL PUBLIC HEALTH: It's my pleasure.
CHURCH: So it is critical of course, we find out how this COVID-19 infection got into the White House, because this outbreak, potentially poses a national security risk, as it continues to spread, from an infected president to his many aides and all those around him. So science, is able to tell us, how, when and where the president was infected by using genetic sequencing. How does that work exactly? And why isn't that being done right now?
RIMOIN: Well, getting samples from -- those swabs that are being taken, from everybody while they are being tested, do carry important genetic information that can tell you about where this virus came, from which strain the virus is, if there are multiple introductions, and we can trace how it goes from one person, to another. All looking at this genetic barcode.
We really do need to understand, very clearly what happened here. And so, getting samples from everybody that has tested positive so far, and being able to look to see, are they related to each other or are there several introductions of virus that are transmitting here will tell us so much. First of all, we will be able to let us construct a timeline, for how this happened and who really transmitted to whom. But it also, tells us so much about what is going wrong with their strategy.
If we see that multiple people, multiple people got the infection from different places, that tells you, you really need to be focusing in on the community and understanding that people are getting infected from multiple ways, whereas if it's one strain, and it looks like it is one single introduction, then it was really only maybe one or was only one test that failed.
CHURCH: Right. So the CDC, has offered to help the White House, with contact tracing in the midst of this outbreak, but that offer was apparently rejected. Why would the White House not want help with this?
RIMOIN: This is really a serious problem. Contact tracing is the heart and soul of how we manage COVID-19. And how we can break chains of transmission. When you do contact tracing, you're looking for anybody that might had been exposed to a person who is COVID positive. You are able then to test those people, people who are positive are isolated. And everybody else who has been in contact with them are quarantine for 14 days. This is how we break chains of transmission.
But it was very worrisome, just yesterday -- the doctor, the president's physician, who is managing the medical unit, which is managing the contact tracing said, I am not interested in looking backwards, he did not want to let us know when the last negative test was. That Donald Trump had, which makes it very hard to do contact tracing. Contact tracing is in fact, looking backwards. That is what we need to do, to be able to go forward and protect as many people as we possibly can.
CHURCH: And why do you think, that President Trump's medical team is not disclosing when he last tested negative for COVID-19? And talk to us about why that is so important to know when they are trying to contact trace in the midst of this outbreak.
[03:35:03]
RIMOIN: Well, I don't know exactly why they are not telling us when his last negative test was. I do have a suspicion that maybe what their strategy was that they were testing everybody around the president, and not necessarily testing the president himself, regularly. Relying on testing to create a buffer around him. But that is pure, speculation. I don't know the answer, why.
But that is the only thing that makes some sense to me, but it's critical that we know when his last negative test was. And exactly when he tested positive for the first time. Because I am assuming he had some confirmatory tests. That is what we are understanding. Because, that gives us an indication of the window in which he could have been exposed and when he actually got infected. And then for how long he's actually been contagious and posing a threat of transmission to other people. So this information is so critical.
CHURCH: And Rimoin, many thanks. I appreciated it.
RIMOIN: My pleasure.
CHURCH: Amanda Kloots, is just one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans whose lives have been devastated by this coronavirus. She lost her husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero in to the virus in July. He was only 41 years old. And had battled the deceased for months. Kloots said, President Trump's comments to not let COVID dominate you were extremely hurtful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA KLOOTS, WIFE OF BROADWAY STAR NICK CORDERO DIED IN CORONAVIRUS: It broke my heart. It was like a gut punch, bringing back all of the -- everything we went through.
The flippant comments -- don't be afraid? You know, we were afraid every single day. We were afraid for our lives, we are afraid for Nick's life -- and then you know you are afraid for the world.
To tell somebody to not be afraid of this disease that took a life, that took over 200,000 lives -- it took over million lives? It's just, you know, it's like a dagger in the heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And there are new concerns about U.S. National Security after a top military official tested positive for the coronavirus. CNN's Barbara Starr has the details from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The entire U.S. Joint Chief of Staff, except for one member, now quarantining, working from home. After they were exposed to the coronavirus. The number two at the U.S. Coast Guard, was in the Pentagon last week for meetings and had a positive test on Monday, after experiencing mild symptoms.
He had met with a joint chief, were told to discuss a number of matters. One of the meetings taking place in the tank, the classified meeting room here in the Pentagon. And that led to the joint chief being told to work at home.
The Chairman General Milley, the Vice Chairman General Heighten. The heads of all the services, except for the Marine Corps, number two at the Marine Corps sat in on that meeting and also General Paul M. Nakasone. Very interesting because he, is actually the head of U.S. Cyber command and the national security agency, he is the head of a vital parts of U.S. Military Intelligence working very closely on election security issues.
Now, we are also told, as of this time. All of them have tested negative. They are not positive, they do not have the COVID virus. But it is likely that this will be a day by day situation, we are told. Where their medical advisers will determine when it is safe for them to come back into their workplace. Barbara Starr, CNN the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: We'll talk virus expert, Anthony Fauci warns that America's failure to contain the coronavirus, thus far could lead to as many as 400,000 deaths this winter in the U.S. Speaking to students at American Universities, Dr. Fauci noted how easy it is to follow the simple measures suggested to slow the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: The models tell us that, if we do not do the kinds of things that we are talking about, in the cold, in the fall, in the winter, we can have from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths. That would be just so tragic if that happens. Uniformly, if we were a uniform and not such a heterogeneous country, but uniformly. If we had everyone, had uniform -- universal use of masks, distancing, no crowds, outdoors, wash your hands, you wouldn't see the surges that we are seeing. It occurs, because of the lack of implementation of a simple public health measures. It's so frustrating because it's not rocket science.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Dr. Fauci says the country is still lacking when it comes to testing and other experts say any benefits seen from lockdowns earlier in the year have disappeared. States like Utah, Alaska and Montana which have never been considered hotspots are now reporting record infection rates.
Meanwhile the U.S. president had a post remove by Facebook for suggesting the seasonal flu was more deadly than COVID-19. According to Johns Hopkins University the coronavirus has killed more Americans than the last five flu seasons in the U.S. combined.
Well, may Americans were already living paycheck to paycheck before the pandemic hit. And they've been hurt the most by job losses. And now, since President Trump has halted negotiations, there's no hope for a stimulus check anytime soon. CNN's Kyung Lah met a single mother who is struggling to feed her family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mommy, wake up, mama, we have got to go to school.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The morning routine for Rose Rodriguez and her three girls.
ROSE RODRIGUEZ, SINGLE MOTHER WHO IS STRUGGLING TO FEED HER FAMILY: You're allowed to play in school? (Inaudible).
LAH: Three-year-old Alexandra, and 12-year-old Terry (ph) sleep in one bed. 13-year-old Yelitsa (ph), sleeps on the couch. Breakfasts --
RODRIGUEZ: Alexandra you want this one?
LAH: -- is what she has scrounged from the day before.
RODRIGUEZ: It's good? Yeah?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I eat whatever is left over.
LAH: Everything has changed since coronavirus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, mom.
LAH: Before, coronavirus was this full?
RODRIGUEZ: Everything was full.
LAH: This was Rodriguez at her full-time job at LAX Airport. She worked for Qantas Airline cargo making more than $20 an hour.
RODRIGUEZ: I thought everything would be good. I thought you know what, I have money for my rent. I have money for the food. I don't have to worry about the girl's health.
I never thought that on Wednesday, I would show up to work, but no, it was not that way, you could lose your job at any time.
LAH: How about the food?
RODRIGUEZ: The food. That's what we struggle with.
LAH: Tell me about that struggle.
RODRIGUEZ: Sometimes we eat, sometimes we don't.
LAH: What she manages, is cheap unhealthy food. Rodriguez says, she has applied for 50 jobs, 30 interviews later, still nothing. Her unemployment applications stalled, part of the more than 1 million stuck in a logjam in California system, her car and most of her furniture, repossessed. She is months behind on rent.
RODRIGUEZ: When we go to the laundromat, we see homeless washing themselves. And one day, I don't go back to work, I'm going to be one of them.
We only live check by check, but now it's not a check, it's a box. Box that I have to stretch out for seven days.
LAH: That weekly box is donated food from the L.A. Food bank and Salvation Army.
While her older daughter's learn virtually on public school laptops, Alexandra gets free childcare and lunch at the Salvation Army. Too young to understand a viruses impact on her family.
RODRIGUEZ: I don't think she wants what she sees. But I tell them that I can't. I have to tell her tomorrow so she can forget.
LAH: And every day it's tomorrow?
RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Everything is tomorrow.
LAH: Food banks across the country have seen hour's long lines, as record unemployment devastate working families.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we do have our peace.
LAH: At Salvation Army food bank in Los Angeles, they fed 10 times the number of people, as last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not like it happen for a week, or two weeks. It's been happening for months. And even though we are trying our best to help, we know that we barely scratching the surface, because we can only do so much with a limited resources that we have.
LAH: Today, fresh food bank supplies mean their shelves are more full.
But the joy, is short lived.
Counting down the days, to the next food box has begun.
RODRIGUEZ: They shouldn't go through this. They don't have to worry like how can they eat the next day, my mom has to go look for food.
[03:45:00]
As my mom eating and she should not be worried about that, because she would be working -- and they should be just worry about school and their futures. It just hurts.
LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And just ahead, face masks are the new normal for many parts of Europe, and if cases don't stop rising, more restrictions could be in store. We will have the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Across Europe, countries are putting new restrictions in place, in an effort to combat rising COVID-19 cases. Germany, is reporting its highest number of daily infections since April close to 3,000 new cases.
The infection rate has been rising in Germany, since July.
Italy, is in the process of passing a measure that would require face masks in all outdoor spaces. Some regions have already made masks mandatory. And Paris is just a few days into a force closure of bars, as officials put in place new restrictions to battle a spike in coronavirus cases in France.
So let's bring in CNN's Melissa Bell, she is live in Paris. Joins us now. Good to see you, Melissa. So various European countries, still trying to figure this out. What is the very latest on this?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Several European countries and even those countries like Germany that hadn't been as badly affected, Rosemary, as others during the first wave or Italy that had appeared to be dealing with the second wave slightly better are now seeing those record rises.
As you mentioned in Germany, yesterday the highest number of cases we've seen since April, in Italy that fresh record was set on Saturday. They hadn't seen such a high rise in the number of new cases also since April. And that's just even those countries are now struggling with the second wave.
In Germany, as you say, in Berlin, specifically several high-risk areas have met that the parliament has become a mask only zone for politicians there. And Italy soon, we will be seeing what we seen in France now for the last few months where outside, in public places as soon as you are outdoors, where you have to put a mask on. And of course, the problem once again just with the first wave, is how the health system can continue to cope with the figures.
Take the greater Paris region, Rosemary as an example, where we have seen pretty fast rises in the number of people in ICUs, the number of people in ICU in the greatest Paris region has doubled in just 10 days. It is the problem of that, the fact that this happens in geographical, geographically limited spaces and that the rises happened very quickly.
So, since yesterday, bars and cafes close here. But we have been speaking to doctors who have expressed some doubts about whether the measures go far enough to ensure that the rise is contained sufficiently for the ICU's to be able cope for the health system as a whole to be able to cope.
[03:50:09]
On the current trajectory, we are told the greater Paris region could see massive rises over the course of the next month, up to a 1,000 people in ICU for the greater Paris region, and that would make it not only very difficult for the health system to cope, but it would mean that other emergency procedures were increasingly set aside, as they were in the first wave for COVID-19 patients.
So, for now an ever tightening series of restrictive measures being put in place in several European countries, but for the time being a very little hope and very difficult to see that translating into the kind of changes we need to see in terms of ICU entries, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes. It is all a very careful balancing act, isn't. Melissa Bell, bringing us up to date on the very latest there, many thanks.
And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, another world leader who battle COVID-19 is speaking out about his own bout with the disease. In a speech, he denied the virus has robbed him of his mojo, and dismissed claims he is still suffering its effects.
CNN's Scott Mclean has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is one of the few people on earth, who knows what it's like to walk in President Trump's shoes right now, world leader battling the coronavirus in full public view. The coronavirus, almost killed Boris Johnson. It also led plenty of his detractors to say that it robbed him of his mojo.
In an interview this weekend, the Prime Minister pushed back saying that it would be inappropriate for him to bring his usually buoyant style and energy to a public health crisis. And now, in a speech to his own Conservative Party, he called the assertion, nonsense. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: And of course this is self- evident driven, the kind of seditious propaganda you would expect from people who don't want this government to succeed. And yet I have to admit. The reason I had such a nasty experience with the disease is that, although I was superficially in the pink of health when I caught it, I had a very common underlying condition, my friends, I was too fat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Since then the Prime Minister said he has lost 26 pounds, he's also launched a government campaign to tackle obesity. He may also soon have to make some difficult decisions about how to respond to this country's coronavirus outbreak. The U.K. is now recording more new cases of the virus, per capita than the United States. Meanwhile, the Scottish first minister is set to announce her own new coronavirus restrictions, Wednesday afternoon.
Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: There is new evidence that Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin's most outspoken critic, was poisoned by a nerve agent. The world's chemical weapon watchdog group said, blood samples from Navalny contained a new variant of the toxin similar to Novichok which is banned.
Navalny became sick on a flight in Russia in August and was airlifted to Germany for treatment. He blames the Russian president and western governments are demanding answers from Moscow. Russia denies any involvement, calling the allegations a conspiracy. Novichok is a soviet era, nerve toxin. It was used to poison a former Russian spy in England, two years ago.
Well, the music world has lost a legend, guitarist Eddie Van Halen has died at the age of 65. More on the legacy, he leaves behind when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:55:00]
CHURCH: Eddie Van Halen, on a guitar solo there during a performance in the eighties. The legendary guitarist for the rock group Van Halen has died at the age of 65. His son Wolf Gang share the news on social media that his father had lost his battle with cancer.
CNN's Stephanie Elam, looks at the life and career of the rock and roll superstar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eddie Van Halen was hailed as one of the greatest guitarist of all-time. His riffing rhythm branded him a guitar God and raise the musical bar for future generations.
Born to a musical family, Van Halen bought his first guitar at Teisco Del Ray at age 12. He then taught himself how to play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you take lessons, then you go and buy a book. Which is based on theory where the facts are again, we will have 12 notes to which you want one (inaudible).
If everything I do is based on tone sound.
ELAM: By high school, he was the lead guitarist in the ban that would go on to bear his last name. Van Halen. In the span of four decades, Van Halen released over a dozen albums. They're 1978 self-titled debut sold over 10 million copies and was certified diamond. Its second track, Eruption, featured Eddie Van Halen guitar solo that forever redefined the instrument. Van Halen signature two-handed tapping technique allowed him to reach otherwise impossible notes.
The sound was intensified by a custom guitar, Van Halen design and build himself. He called it the Frankenstrat or Frankenstein. Part Gibson, part Fender. The Frankenstein became its own trademark.
EDDIE VAN HALEN, GUITARIST: The guitar is pretty basic instrument. It's a piece of wood, it's got strings on it. Tuning pegs, tail piece, pickups, blah, blah, blah. It means more of a formula one race car.
ELAM: Van Halen's design, eventually evolve into his own guitar line. But even with a replica guitar, there is no replicating of Van Halen guitar solo.
From the bans 1984 hit Panama with, to his Eruption sequel, Spanish fly. To his collaboration with Michael Jackson's beat it. Van Halen's fast shredding speed solos will reverberate for all-time.
VAN HALEN: My whole life has been music, I could not imagine anything else.
ELAM: Eddie Van Halen, a musical genius, who push life strings to the limit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: What a legacy there. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church, be sure to connect with me any time on Twitter, @rosemaryCNN. And I'll be back with more news in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
