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Doctor: Trump Posted Consecutive Negative Tests; Trump Holds First Rally Since COVID-19 Diagnosis; China Testing City of 9 Million After 12 New Cases; U.K. Prime Minister Ignored Scientific Advice; Germany Sees Highest Infection Number Since April; Some Pennsylvania Women Turning Away from Trump. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 13, 2020 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: CHURCH: Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson is now the second drug maker to pause human trials for a coronavirus vaccine in the U.S. after a volunteer fell ill. Some 60,000 volunteers are said to be taking part in the human trials, and experts say complications are not unexpected. Joining me now is CNN medical analyst, Dr. Leana Wen. She is an

emergency room physician at George Washington University. Thank you, doctor, for all that you do and talking with us.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Always glad to join you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, President Trump's doctor said Monday evening, that he has tested negative for COVID-19 on consecutive days using an antigen test, and yet this is the first we're hearing about a negative test since his infection. What do you make of this, and why didn't he take a more reliable PCR test?

WEN: That's exactly the right question. It does not make any sense at all that we are relying on the antigen test when that's not what the antigen test is for. And when there is a much more accurate gold standard test, the PCR test.

So, it leads you to wonder, did they get a result that they did not like via this more accurate test and then took this other test in order to try to hoodwink the American people?

CHURCH: It is a concern, isn't it? And of course, doctor, we saw the President hold a rally in Stanford, Florida Monday night where the COVID infection rate is around 10 percent. And where few of his supporters wore masks or socially distanced. How do you think he looked and what is your medical response to the President holding a rally at this time with more planned this week in three other states?

WEN: Look, I am glad that the President feels well enough to be holding these rallies. He wasn't short of breath. He actually looks like he is recovering well, which I am glad about. But I am very worried about the people attending this rally, not because of the President. I don't think there is a high chance that he is going to be infecting them, even if he is infectious, but they're in chance -- their chance of infecting one another.

Because large rallies, these gatherings of many people in closed settings where there are in close contact with one another without wearing masks, that is really the last thing that should be happening in the middle of a pandemic. And I sincerely hope that all of these individuals will consider themselves as having gone to a high-risk event and will choose to quarantine themselves and get tested after the event.

CHURCH: Right. We will see if that happens, of course. But preliminary data from Brown University seems to suggest that schools are not the super spreaders of COVID-19 that was previously thought. I'm interested to get your response to that data, particularly when we know of many schools dealing with infections, having to send students and teachers home. How do you reconcile those results up against the reality we are facing?

WEN: To my understanding from the study is that they only looked at these self-reported cases by schools from students and staff who were infected. Not the secondary infections that resulted. And the reason that this is important is, so many children are asymptomatic or have atypical symptoms.

For example, they might have G.I. symptoms and not your traditional coughing, sneezing, respiratory illness. And by the time that illness is detected, it often is not in the children but in those that they are around. The family members, or even one or even one removed from that. And so, I think there needs to be a lot more research done to look at correlating for example, community spread with what is happening in the schools.

And until then, I completely agree that we should prioritize schools for in-person learning and try to do everything we can to reduce community spread so that we allow schools to come back for in-person learning. But we really need to also safeguard the health of not only the students, but the faculty staff and their families too.

CHURCH: Right. Yes, and so do parents, we want our kids back in school, but it has to be done safely, right? And doctor, the U.S. is averaging about 50,000 new COVID cases a day. And all we really need to do is wear masks. But that message is failing to get through to the American public.

We see it at these rallies for the President, and it's failing to get through despite the fact that thousands of lives could be saved if everyone wore masks. How do you get that message across and why is it not being received loud and clear?

WEN: It does take a significant cultural change, but we can do this. And part of what has been hampering our response all along is this mixed message. Instead of standing behind our scientists, we had our political elected officials frankly push scientists and science under the bus. We need everybody to be on the same page with this message and I think for all of us as individuals, we can do our part.

We could wear masks ourselves. Be a role model for those around us. Also, in public health, we talk about the trusted messenger. Well, you are trusted messenger to someone.

[04:35:00]

It could be somebody in your family, somebody in your social circles, who may not believe in masks, but you can help to convince them that this is the right thing to do for our country.

CHURCH: Yes, we certainly, all have to be role models, don't we? Dr. Leana Wen, you are our role model. Thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.

WEN: Thank you very much.

CHURCH: And China is in the process of testing an entire city of 9 million people. This after 12 new coronavirus cases were reported over the weekend. Authorities in the coastal city of Qingdao are taking swift action to find any other new cases. They have set up a city-wide testing program and have screened more than 3 million people so far.

CNN's David Culver is in Beijing for us. He joins us now live. Good to see you, David. Some of course, as we mentioned, the aim is to test 9 million people in just a matter of days. How are they even able to pull off such a massive operation and what are the results so far.

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Rosemary, good to see you as well. This is massive. Talking about the scale of this, it's a city larger than New York population wise. And so, they are looking to do this over the course of five days. We know as of now they've screened some 3 million people as you mentioned. Of that, a million test results have come back -- not according to the government there -- with negative results. All together they're saying only just about a handful of confirmed cases, some asymptomatic ones on top of that.

But aside from that, it's something we have seen play out before. Wuhan, for example, earlier in the summer, they like wise had city wide testing, 12 million residents there that underwent it.

"" Here in Beijing, in June actually, they had a good portion of this city undergo mandatory testing and screening, so as to determine whether or not a cluster outbreak was being contained.

I think the real concern overall, though, is what numbers we're getting out of Qingdao in particular, and who was there that potentially was in contact with some of these exposed cases and bringing it back to other cities. That's the worry because of what we saw last week, and that was the end of Golden Week, a massive travel holiday which you had millions of people in this country moving about for vacation.

So as of now, with these small numbers, people seem to be a bit more confident. However, I can tell you here in Beijing, even talking to folks who are in education, for example, they're looking at the possibility of maybe shutting down schools. Nothing official has come out from that. But that's the discussion and the planning to react should they need to if this is going to spread a bit farther. As of now though, they seem like they have this under control. The

question is going to be, how much can we rely on those numbers. Of course, numbers here in China coming from the government have been met with a lot of skepticism going back to Wuhan. But it does feel as though they're going to push this one as a successful rebound from what was a big travel holiday.

All in all, there, you're talking about millions of people who are now undergoing testing, and it's a process that will take just a few days' time. But they've seemed to have gotten that under control. I mean, I've seen how it works here, Rosemary, it's actually quite impressive in Beijing. They had people being bussed into these parking lots that were converted into these large screening centers and it was quite organized and orderly, and they managed to make it work. As of now, no lock downs are even in place in Qingdao.

CHURCH: Yes, this swift reaction in China, just a stark contrast to what we see happen here in the United States. Incredible stuff. David Culver, many thanks for that report from Beijing. Appreciate it.

And still to come, reports that the British Prime Minister ignored his own government's scientists' advice. What we're learning about which COVID restrictions were recommended and when. Back with that in just a moment.

[04:40:00]

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CHURCH: In the U.K., we are learning that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government ignored its own scientists about COVID-19. The information about a previous warning comes just hours after the Prime Minister announced a new COVID alert system and stressed that people need to obey restrictions. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is not how we want to live our lives, but this is the narrow path we have to tread between the social and economic trauma of a full lock down and the massive human and indeed economic cost of an uncontained epidemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, cases are spiking across the English Channel, too, including in Germany. The country had a handle on the first wave, but it's just posted its highest infection numbers since April.

And our correspondents are tracking developments across Europe. Nic Robertson is live in London, and Scott McLean is standing by in Berlin. Good to see you both. So Nic, let's start with you. What COVID restrictions did these scientists recommend and when did they do that?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, three weeks ago, this group of scientists known as SAGE, it's not always the same scientists but it's the country's leading authorities on tackling COVID. They meet regularly. They advise the government regularly. And three weeks ago, the minutes of their meeting, they concluded that the country required what they called a circuit breaker, a short, national lockdown. The sort of thing that we had earlier in the year to get around the current rise in coronavirus cases.

The government didn't go for that option, we just heard the Prime Minister there laying out why it's a balance between health against the economy. But it was quite surprising to see that that group of scientists who normally keep their deliberations and advice to the government close hold, secret, if you will. After the Prime Minister's press conference Monday, yesterday, where he announced these new three tiers, they decided to release their advice from three weeks ago. Which does indicate a rift on their position compared to that that the Prime Minister is taking.

And it was quite significant during that press conference yesterday when England's chief medical officer was asked, do the current restrictions that the government's putting in place go far enough to bring down the rising level of coronavirus cases? This was his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WHITTY, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO THE U.K. GOVERNMENT: I am very confident that the measures that are currently in place are helping to slow the virus, and these measures will help to slow it further. I am not confident and nor is anybody confident that the tier 3 proposals for the highest rates, if we did the absolute base case and nothing more, would be enough to get on top of it.

The base will not be sufficient. I think that's very clearly the professional view, but there are quite a lot more additional things that could be done within that with local guidance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:45:00]

ROBERTSON: So his additional things he's talking about are details, both on if you will, that the Prime Minister is currently trying to work out with many of the councils and local authorities in the north of the country where the infection rates are at their highest level. So, it's also a balance of bringing the local populations and those councils along with the central government.

And you get this sense that there's this rift in the country between science and the politics, and also different parts of the country, the north at the moment, where those infection rates are higher. People generally feel that the south is getting away with less restrictions. It's unbalanced and this is, again, the difficulty of the Prime Minister's position.

CHURCH: Absolutely. Nic Robertson, many thanks to you, joining us there live from 10 Downing Street, appreciate it.

And Scott, let's go to you now in Berlin. What's behind the spike in infections across Germany, and what's the government doing about it? SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary, yes, so this spike in

infections is quite concerning for this country, which has done a pretty good job of handling the coronavirus early on, seeing less than one quarter of the deaths that they saw for instance in the U.K.

And this spike is leading to long lines at testing sites. I'll take you to the front of the line right here at one of the sites in Berlin. Some of the people that we spoke to earlier today said that they had waited about, you know, an hour and a half, two hours to get to the front of the line, to get to the tests. A lot of people that we spoke to as well said that it was one of their colleagues, one of their family members, or one of their friends, who had informed them they may have been exposed to the virus. And so, that led to them obviously coming here to these windows to getting a test just on this street corner.

They're trying to be as efficient as they can in getting people through the line so they can get through as many people as they can. But even still, there's sort of a limited numbers of tests they can do at any given site. So, this place in particular isn't open in the afternoons, for instance.

There is also -- I should also mention, Rosemary, that this is the fall break here in Berlin, and so a lot of Germans would normally be looking to go on vacation but with international travel looking dicey right now, many Germans looking to go even within the country. But even that's proving quite difficult in some cases because many German states actually require people from virus hot spots like here in Berlin where they a seeing really high rates of infection to have a negative test within 48 hours. Other states are requiring not only that negative test but also a quarantine period of up to two weeks in some cases when they enter the state and when they check into a hotel. So, it's making things quite difficult. It's also increasing the demand for testing sites like this one.

There are members of the military, about 1,400 of them across the country, helping out with the contact tracing efforts. So, the government says that they have the capacity to do about ten times that. And quickly, Chancellor Angela Merkel is going to be meeting with the premiers of the states, tomorrow, and she's expected to announce new coronavirus measures then.

CHURCH: All right, and Germany did so well in the beginning. We'll keep an eye on this. Scott McLean joining us from Berlin. Many thanks.

And still to come, we meet female voters who supported Donald Trump in 2016, but are changing their minds this time around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is there a moment in the last four years when you said I can't do this again?

JULIE BRADY, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: The COVID pandemic, the way he handled it, that was the absolute last straw for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A full report from the key state of Pennsylvania, next.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: President Trump heads to Pennsylvania for a campaign event in the coming hours. Key to his victory there in 2016, white women voters. So, what do they think of him now? CNN's Kate Bolduan traveled there to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLIE GEITNER, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: I'm probably a good example of someone who has gotten through a lot of change in four years.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Hollie Geitner, a registered Republican is a working parent of two kids living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and she wasn't alone. 50 percent of white women in Pennsylvania did the same according to exit polls.

(on camera): What do you feel today about your vote four years ago?

GEITNER: I can tell you how I felt four years ago. Shame.

BOLDUAN: Do you regret your vote?

GEITNER: Where we are today? Yes. I do. I don't think this is the great again that everybody thought it was going to be.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): So, Hollie, is voting for Joe Biden. And so is Nin Bell. What drew you to Donald Trump? Why did you vote for Donald Trump, Nin?

NIN BELL, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: For his celebrity. 100 percent.

BOLDUAN: It was the brand?

BELL: It was. Yes.

BOLDUAN: The image?

BELL: Absolutely? Successful. Funny. Like he was funny, I loved his show the "Celebrity Apprentice." Never missed it

BOLDUAN: Was there a moment when you decided I cannot support him anymore?

BELL: It was almost instantly.

BOLDUAN: It's not just outside the cities where suburban women are questioning their support for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. It's even out here in Westmoreland County, rural Pennsylvania, consider Trump country. We are about to meet two of them.

JOAN SMELTZER, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: She is older.

JULIE BRADY, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: And I am older.

BOLDUAN: Oh, you are definitely sisters.

(voice-over): Joan Smeltzer, and Julie Brady are registered Democrats. And both voted for Trump in 2016.

SMELTZER: I feel like have been duped. I got it wrong and it hurts my heart. I mean, it truly hurts my heart, because the things that I saw I didn't take seriously enough.

BOLDUAN (on camera): Throughout the campaign, he was making sexist, misogynistic remarks. And then there was the "Access Hollywood" tape. How did you guys process and digest that, being out there and voting for him?

SMELTZER: It was not easy. I looked at myself and I think how could I do that?

BRADY: I feel like I did a disservice to women by voting for this guy.

BOLDUAN: Was there a moment in the last four years when you said I can't do this again?

[04:55:00]

BRADY: Because of the COVID pandemic. The way he handled it. It was the absolute last straw for me. He didn't create the virus, but he kind of left us all in the dark guessing what was going on. And that was not fair to us.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Among the women we spoke to, the coronavirus, the President's handling of the pandemic, and the racial unrest following the police killing of George Floyd were the overwhelming driving issues.

GEITNER: George Floyd's killing was a pivotal moment for me. And when I read that he was begging for his mom. As a mother myself, it just brought me to my knees. And to see what's happened since, I feel like he has added fuel to flames of hatred, and that really bothers me.

BOLDUAN: Nin Bell, who registered as a Republican in 2016 just to vote for Trump in the primaries. Now protests weekly in her town just outside Philadelphia. Often met by groups she used to consider herself a part of. Trump supporters, setting up counter demonstrations.

BELL: I think Trump kind of thrives on that, on that division. I've seen it in my own town.

SMELTZER: Integrity, that's what we are lacking.

BRADY: And accountability. And being the mom of a nine year old, that's one thing that I push with my son all the time, is you know, you made a bad decision, it's your fault, you learn from it and you move on. We have a President who, nothing that happens is ever his fault. It's always somebody else's fault.

BOLDUAN (on camera): And there are consequences.

BRADY: There are consequences. He's about to find them out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Have yourselves a great day.

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