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U.S. Reports One-Day High, over 83,000 COVID-19 Infections; Experts: Masking Could Save 100K Lives by March 1; Coronavirus Reaches New Peaks across Europe; 51+ Million Early Votes Cast in U.S. Election. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired October 24, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, everyone, and welcome to Studio 7 here at CNN Center in Atlanta. I am Michael Holmes.
We begin with the breaking news. The U.S., on Friday, reporting the most new coronavirus cases, in a single day. Nearly 84,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Now again, this is the most since the pandemic began and shows that the U.S., clearly, it's not rounding a corner as the president likes to say. Rather, it seems as if it has taken a, wrong and very dangerous turn, at a critical time. When the weather begins to get cooler and people spend more time indoors.
Experts worry that the worst is yet to come and warned that COVID-19 deaths will increase in the next few weeks. All of, this happening, with the presidential election of course. 10 days away. The 2 candidates couldn't be further apart, when it comes to dealing with the virus.
Friday, President Trump, holding 2 big campaign rallies in Florida. We will show you the video there. What you don't see, is a lot of masks. You certainly don't see a lot of social distancing. And, there was a speech, that you could say masks the alarming numbers. Trump, even ripping Joe Biden, for trying to scare people about the virus.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All he talks about his COVID, COVID, COVID. They want to scare people. We have done so well with it, now it is 99.8 percent. Look at what is going on and we are rounding the turn, we are rounding the corner. We are rounding the corner beautifully.
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HOLMES: Joe Biden's message was so starkly different, you may wonder if he is running for president of the same country. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I will go to every governor and mandate mask-wearing in their states. If they refuse, I will go to the mayors and county executives and get local masking requirements in place nationwide. As president, I will mandate mask-wearing in all federal buildings and all interstate transportation because masks save lives, period.
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HOLMES: The top infectious disease expert in the U.S., warming to the idea of a nationwide mask mandate. For months, Dr. Anthony Fauci was not on board with that idea but, given the surge of infections, he thinks it may be time to take public health measures to the next level.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: More than 30 states are having upticks in test positivity, which is a pretty good predictor that you will have a surge in cases, which will lead to a surge in hospitalizations.
The reason I am particularly concerned, as we get deeper into the cooler months of the fall and the cold months of the winter, that activities, out of necessity, will have to be done indoors.
And that is going to be a problem. So that is the reason why, I say, we really need to double down on the kind of public health measures that we've been talking about so long.
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HOLMES: With the number of new COVID-19 cases skyrocketing in the U.S., the surgeon general is warning that this could be the worst week since the pandemic began. More than half of states now reporting infections increasing by 10 percent or more compared to the previous week. Nick Watt, reports
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are now in the fall surge, virus spread accelerating.
ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We're in a very serious moment right now. We're seeing increases in cases. And what we're seeing is, through the Midwest, Upper Midwest and the Plains, a lot of cases occurring.
WATT: A dozen states are suffering all-time record high average daily case counts.
TRUMP: We're rounding the turn. We're rounding the corner. It's going away.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The truth of the matter is that we're turning the corner into a tsunami. WATT: Nationwide, the three worst days for new cases were all back in ugly, ugly July, coming in fourth, yesterday, 71,671 new infections.
And the number of COVID patients in our hospitals has soared by a third in just three weeks or so. AZAR: Then, we will see results from that.
WATT: Results means deaths, our average daily death toll already higher than it's been in a month. And another 160,000-plus Americans might die before the first day of February, according to influential modelers.
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WATT (voice-over): They say, if 95 percent of Americans wore masks, 100,000 lives could be saved through the last day of February.
AZAR: This is being driven by individual behaviors at this point.
WATT: Like going maskless, family gatherings, public gatherings, three cases now confirmed at this Los Angeles mega-church, which defies public health orders, meets inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will obey God, rather than men.
WATT: Big Ten football kicks off tonight, very few fans. Still, "We are expecting some potential new obstacles as a result of the upcoming football season," says the mayor of East Lansing, home to Michigan State.
We are in the fall surge. We know what we need to do.
REINER: Mask up and we can turn this around.
WATT (voice-over): Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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HOLMES: The 5 countries in the world with the highest rate of infections per capita are all in Europe. That is what a CNN analysis found using data from Johns Hopkins University, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France. France is actually reporting its highest number of daily coronavirus cases, ever.
A French infectious disease expert says that the country is now paying the price for ending its lockdown over the summer, too soon.
Slovakia, also reporting a record high of daily cases and is now announcing strict new rules for when people can leave their homes. The country now undertaking a massive campaign on what it calls blanket testing.
CNN's Scott McLean, standing by for us in Berlin.
We had just been talking about the trends in the U.S. but just as concerning where you, are in Europe. SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are right Michael. So far, it
seems like the government approach has been to make restrictions localized, with minimal impact on the economy and only put in place lockdowns as an absolute last resort.
The trouble is, it's not entirely clear whether those are working. Case in, point German chancellor, Angela Merkel, brought in a series of restrictions aimed at virus hotspots, like Berlin, like most large cities in this country.
But today, this country just reported a record high case count. She promised to revisit whether or not those measures were working 10 days later, this, weekend marking 10 days. So her government will have some decisions to make.
Next, door in France, they are also seeing record high case counts. The president there saying, he expects to live with the virus, until at least next summer. A 9 pm curfew is now being extended, to most of the country, affecting some 46 million people.
Again, in Italy, similar picture, record case counts. One regional governor says, these half measures are simply not working. There needs to be another nationwide lockdown.
The Czech Republic, for its, part is already doing it. It is not hard to see why. It is the most affected country on Earth, it has the most cases, per capita, of any major country on Earth. That is 5 times more cases than the United States.
What's very scary, while for most of Europe and the United States, the second wave of the virus has been much less deadly than the first, in the Czech Republic, it is a second wave we're seeing right now, which, so, far has been eight times deadlier.
The health system, there is really on the brink of collapse. The health minister said, they can be completely overwhelmed, in a matter of weeks. But there is also a political crisis. The health minister was accused, yesterday, of breaking his own coronavirus rules. The prime minister asked him to step, down and he refused.
The prime minister, says he will replace him anyway. If he manages to do, that, Michael, that would mean that the Czech Republic would be on to its third health minister and just the last 6 weeks. All at the height of the worst outbreak on planet Earth.
You can understand why Slovakia, next door, is watching the Czech situation with real horror, as their cases also start to rise. They are trying to test the entire country. It will take a massive effort, some 20,000 health workers, 5,000 different sites, 8,000 members of the military, to do it over the next 3 weekends.
It is not compulsory but if you do not get tested, you need to quarantine for 10 days. Michael?
HOLMES: Extraordinary measures, extraordinary times. Scott McLean, thank you so much, there in Berlin. Manchester, in England, is also under new restrictions. The harshest
in the U.K. The mayor, of Greater Manchester, publicly fighting the British government over the measures. But the talks with the government failed. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us live from Manchester, tell us all about it. .
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Ultimately, this big standoff between the prime minister and the mayor Andy Burnham has resulted in him not reaching a deal. The government has unilaterally imposed these restrictions, on the city.
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ABDELAZIZ: Pubs and bars need to shut down. They are virtually banned for mixing together and it's an extraordinary week. We have seen the government, of this one city, trying to set a precedent for the rest of the country, that they can fight back, they can demand large financial packages for businesses and even if they fail, they've led an uprising against prime minister Boris Johnson that he's still trying to grapple with.
I want you to take a look at how this played out for one business.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): In an age of isolation, you can still find a little community here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just going to have a few drinks during this tough time. (INAUDIBLE).
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For nearly two decades, Manchester United fans have flocked to this pub.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This place has all the pictures and a real heritage of United fans.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): To meet friends, grab a pint. But nothing compares to game day.
JACK TENNANT, BARMAN: Every seat would be filled, everyone would have a pint. Everyone would be watching the match. And if we'd score on the day, noise like nothing you've ever heard before.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Owner Jamie Flynn hoped the football rituals would return.
JAMIE FLYNN, OWNER: -- live to come out for those weekends and it's been (INAUDIBLE), yes.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For days, local authorities refused to shut down businesses like this one in a bid to get more financial aid from the government.
ABDELAZIZ: Do you know what help you're getting for the government?
FLYNN: I have no clue, no. We're a bit in the dark a lot of the time.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Prime minister Boris Johnson ordered the social restrictions saying the situation was grave.
ABDELAZIZ: The rebellion from city hall failed. But it showed the shortcomings of a regional strategy versus a nationwide one. The government can get locked into a dispute potentially for days with local authorities while businesses face uncertainty and infection rates multiply.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, told us he had no regrets.
MAYOR ANDY BURNHAM, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND: I'm confident beside myself that I did the right thing. In the end, politics is about representation, speaking up for people and particularly people on the lowest incomes.
ABDELAZIZ: Do you think that your decision will ultimately result in more lives being lost?
BURNHAM: (INAUDIBLE) say arguably more damage is being done beyond COVID to people's lives. And restrictions that the government have added, I don't think personally will make a huge difference in the number of cases.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For now Flynn is pouring his last pints.
TENNANT: Everyone just needs to tighten, do what they need to do otherwise it'll be gone. And then that's all that history, all that, those memories are gone.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): A plea for politicians to find the right strategy that saves both lives and livelihoods.
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ABDELAZIZ: Now there is a Manchester United versus Chelsea game today, so all of those people in the pub will be watching that alone, at home. In a way, this is the mayor's argument. It is not just about the disease, which is what the mayor says. It's about people's socioeconomic standing, mental well-being, ability to connect with friends and family, after we have already been through a first wave of this pandemic.
His plea and what we heard from the pub owner and the people inside it is, if you're putting restrictions in place, don't do half measures. Make them efficient and effective, so we can tackle the virus, get a grip on, it and people can go back to their lives. Michael?
HOLMES: All right, good to see you Salma, Salma Abdelaziz in Manchester.
Countries in South America, also struggling to keep things under control. Colombia, fast approaching 1 million cases, when looking at numbers from Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths, nearly 30,000 people. The country's vice president, Marta Lucia Ramirez actually says she has tested positive for COVID-19. She's under quarantine and is urging people to follow the safety measures in place to stop the spread.
U.S. presidential, race coming down to the wire, as the candidates fight for every last vote now. We have the latest from the campaign trail, when we come back.
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TRUMP: We will quickly end this pandemic, this horrible plague that came in from China. If you look at what's going on, we are rounding the turn and rounding the corner and rounding it beautifully.
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BIDEN: The president still does not have a plan. He has given up. He has quit on you. He has quit on your family. He has quit on America. We can choose a different path.
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HOLMES: The U.S. presidential candidates, battling it out, as the race heads into the final stretch. The coronavirus pandemic, of course, a major point of contention.
Now President Trump is trying out a new theme, energy. Hitting out at rival Joe Biden, for saying that the U.S. should shift away from oil. Oil is the economies of some key states, including Texas and Pennsylvania. Kaitlan Collins, with the latest from the campaign trail.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After clashing on the debate stage last night, President Trump and Joe Biden back on the campaign trail today with 11 days to go.
Before heading to Central Florida to shore up support with seniors, President Trump touted his more restrained debate performance.
TRUMP: I think this was better. This is obviously a more popular way of doing it. And, no, I think I wanted to play by the rules, I felt very strongly about it.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, in Delaware, Joe Biden continued his criticism of the president's pandemic response.
BIDEN: We make up 20 percent of all the deaths worldwide. If this is a success, what's a failure look like?
COLLINS: Last night, the candidates clashed over Trump's handling of the pandemic right out of the gate, as Trump claimed that he took full responsibility, but then blamed China.
TRUMP: I take full responsibility. It's not my fault that it came here. It's China's fault.
We're learning to live with it.
BIDEN: Number one, he says that we're learning to live with it. People are learning to die with it.
COLLINS: On health care, Trump and Biden offered two different visions for replacing the Affordable Care Act if it's overturned by the Supreme Court. BIDEN: He's never come up with a plan. I guess we're going to get the
preexisting condition plan the same time we got the infrastructure plan.
TRUMP: So, I'd like to terminate ObamaCare, come up with a brand-new, beautiful health care.
COLLINS: Biden slammed Trump for his administration's zero tolerance immigration policy that has resulted in lawyers being unable to find the parents of over 500 children who were separated at the border by the federal government.
BIDEN: It makes us a laughing stock and violates every notion of who we are as a nation.
COLLINS: Trump correctly noted that it was his predecessor who built the systems that immigrant children were housed in, but failed to acknowledge it was his administration's zero tolerance policy that resulted in families being broken apart.
TRUMP: Who built the cages, Joe?
BIDEN: Let's talk about what we're talking about.
TRUMP: Who built the cages?
COLLINS: The president hitting Biden after he said he would wind down federal subsidies for the oil industry.
BIDEN: I have a transition from the old industry, yes.
TRUMP: Oh, that's a big statement.
BIDEN: I will transition. It is a big statement.
TRUMP: That's a big statement. BIDEN: Because I would stop...
KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR: Why would you do that?
BIDEN: Because the oil industry pollutes, significantly.
COLLINS: Vice President Mike Pence voted in his home state of Indiana today, after President Trump announced his vote in person in Florida tomorrow morning, despite defending his plan to vote absentee for months.
TRUMP: I signed an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots are great. They work.
COLLINS: At the end of September, you saw that Biden campaign with 3 times, were coming out today, he raised $26 million last, night during the debates.
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COLLINS: The question is, where do they spend it in these next 11 days?
Left in the race?
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, traveling with the president, in Florida.
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HOLMES: Let's take a closer look at Joe Biden's closing argument, to voters. He is giving details how he would handle the coronavirus, actual steps he would take, while criticizing President Trump's lack of a strategy, Arlette Saenz with more.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden, making it clear, he intends to keep the coronavirus pandemic front and center, in this campaign in the closing days before the election and both the debate and in a speech in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden tried to present his vision of combating the virus, taking aim at President Trump, accusing him of quitting on America and not having sufficient plans to deal with the crisis. Take a listen to what Biden had to say the day after the debate?
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BIDEN: The longer Donald Trump is president, the more reckless he gets. We don't have to be held prisoner by this administration's failures. We can choose a different path. We can do what Americans have always done, come together and meet the challenge with grit, compassion and determination.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SAENZ: He also outlined a bit of strategy, how he would combat the coronavirus pandemic. He said, he would not wait until he is an office, he would during the transition start reaching out to Republican and Democratic governors to gauge what kind of resources they need.
He would also push Congress to send a bill to his desk by the end of January. That would provide resources for public health and economic initiatives.
He also talked about the need for Americans to, wear masks. saying it is not a political statement. and Talked about improving the testing and contact tracing strategy within the country, in this moment of coronavirus.
Now on Saturday, Joe Biden is hitting the campaign trail, having stops, making, stops in Pennsylvania. He is also getting some help from President Obama. He will be campaigning in the battleground state of Florida.
Both men holding events that are socially distanced and adhering to COVID-19 standards, presenting that contrast with the types of events that Trump has. You'll see Biden in the closing days of this campaign, really hammer away at this message about the coronavirus pandemic and how he would lead the country, going forward, in the coming months, if he is elected -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: The U.S. president, claiming a major foreign policy victory on Friday, announcing that, thanks to a U.S. brokered deal, Sudan and Israel, have agreed to start normalizing relations. or begin the process of doing that. Mr. Trump, signing an order removing Sudan from the state sponsor of terrorism list, one of Sudan's requirements for talks to proceed.
According to Benjamin Netanyahu, Sudan is turning a corner after formally rejecting Israel way back in 1967.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): Whereas today, Khartoum says yes. Yes to peace with Israel. Yes to recognition of Israel. Yes to normalization with Israel.
This is a new era. The era of true peace. This is a peace that is expanding, to include other Arab countries. 3 of which, having made peace with, us in recent weeks. Sudanese and Israeli delegations will meet soon, to discuss cooperation, in many fields, including agriculture, trade and other important areas for our citizens.
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HOLMES: Sudan's acting foreign minister says this is just the beginning of the process.
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OMAR GAMARELDIN, SUDANESE ACTING FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): This is an agreement to normalize. It's not yet normalization. We must wait for Sudan's democratic institutions to be functional, including in the legislative council, so we can complete the ratification of this step so it can become, in reality, normalization.
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HOLMES: Sudan is in the process of building a civilian led government after it overthrew longtime leader Omar al-Bashir back in 2019.
We will be right back, on CNN NEWSROOM.
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HOLMES: You don't have to be a football fan to have heard of the legendary Pele. The Brazilian who started playing the game as a teenager turned 80 on Friday. Considered to be one of the greatest football, players of all-time, of course, Pele, the only man in history, to have won 3 World Cups. CNN's Anthony Wells, with the story.
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ANTHONY WELLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A celebration will have to wait. But Pele's legacy over the last 80 years is on full display, here at the Pele museum in downtown Santos. We begin by showing you one of the jerseys he wore when he was state champion with Santos FC back in 1968.
He is one of the few footballers in world history, to have scored over 1,000 goals. Perhaps the most special, of all of those was the goal he scored in 1969, at the famous stadium in Rio, the goal number 1,000. A moment so special in his career, he was awarded this plaque, to pay tribute to such a special and unique moment, in the career of a footballer.
With the Brazilian national team, he won the 1958, '62 and 1970 World Cups. Until this day, he is the only player to have won 3 World Cups. He retired from the Brazilian national team in '73. This is the jersey he wore in his last game.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, he scored over 1,280 goals, in 1,366 matches. Making him the leading goal scorer in world football history. Because of such a stellar career, in 2014, he was awarded the highest honor in football the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
A moment so special, he even came down in tears. So on his 80th birthday, because of the worldwide pandemic, he's
celebrating in isolation, with friends and family. But fans around Brazil and around the globe are paying tribute to arguably the greatest footballer of all time and the most famous Brazilian -- from the Pele museum, in downtown Santos, I am Anthony Wells. We'll send things back to you.
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HOLMES: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM, spending part of your day with me, I am Michael Holmes. "AFRICAN VOICES CHANGEMAKERS" up next.
