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U.S. Death Toll form COVID-19 Surpasses 250,000; More Than a Dozen U.S. States Tighten Restrictions; Fauci Frustrated by Those Who Deny the Danger; Rising U.S. Infection Rate Further Staining Hospitals; Trump Seeks Recount in Two Wisconsin Counties; Biden: Stonewalling Threatens to Delay Virus Response; Trump Refuses to Accept Election Results; Pompeo Meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired November 19, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, a quarter of a million people have now died of COVID-19 in the United States, and the warning from health officials is blunt, it's going to get worse.
In public, Donald Trump is still refusing to concede the election. In private, some officials are starting to reach out to the Biden team.
And is there a glimmer of hope for Europe? The World Health Organization says cases are falling but the continent is not out of the woods yet. We are live yet in Paris.
Good to have you with us. Well, soaring cases, rising hospitalizations and now a U.S. death toll from COVID-19 that surpassed a quarter of a million. A grim picture, as officials warn, the worst of the pandemic may still lie ahead. Right now, there are more than 11 1/2 million cases in the United States which continues to lead the world in both the number of cases and deaths. The Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services who spoke with CNN's Erin Burnett anticipates the situation will deteriorate even further.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: This will get worse. We have had 1 million cases documented over the past week. Our rate of rise is higher than it even was in the summer. There are so many more cases that we have that deaths are going up, and unfortunately, we do anticipate this to continue at least for the next couple of weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And that dire warning comes as the pandemic rages in many parts of the United States prompting some governors to take tougher actions. CNN's Nick Watt takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New York City is the biggest school district in the nation, so many parents right now scrambling to balance work with childcare for the morning.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): That's the law in an orange and a red zone. Follow the facts.
REPORTER: I'm confused --
CUOMO: And I'll tell you what need.
REPORTER: Parents are still confused as well. The schools are going to close tomorrow.
CUOMO: No. They're not confused. You're confused.
WATT: Meanwhile, in Iowa --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make sure you don't have a blood clot in your lung.
WATT: More than 76,000 Americans now hospitalized with COVID-19. That's an all-time high.
GOV. STEVE BULLOCK (D) MONTANA: In some places we're already out of beds and room to put even new beds.
WATT: So, Montana's mask mandate goes statewide Friday.
In Michigan, a three-week pause, kicks in today. No more indoor dining, bars, movie theaters.
GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D) MICHIGAN: Inherently dangerous situations are when you are inside with people from a different household or many different households for a prolonged period of time with masks off.
WATT: In South Dakota, the governor still won't mandate masks.
GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R) SOUTH DAKOTA: People that want to wear masks should wear masks, and people who don't shouldn't be shamed because they choose not to.
WATT: In Oregon, there can be no more than six at a Thanksgiving table this year.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's Orwellian in a place like Oregon to say if you gather in numbers more than six, we might come to your house and arrest you and you get 30 days of jail time.
WATT: Orwellian or just life-saving?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We're all in this together as a nation. If one element of the country or multiple elements of the country don't cooperate with an infectious disease, we are going to continue to be in trouble.
WATT: 1,707 lives reported lost Tuesday, COVID's deadliest day in America for six months. The average daily death toll is now rising in 33 states.
DR. TOM INGLESBY, DIRECTOR, JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY: I'm the most concerned I've been since this pandemic started. States across the country are having the most rapid rise they've seen since the start of this.
WATT: Good news, the FDA just authorized the first fast at-home self- test and Pfizer now says its vaccine is 95 percent effective. And they'll file for FDA authorization within days. Moderna won't be far behind.
[04:05:00]
ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: By the end of December, we expect to have about 40 million doses of these two vaccines available for distribution, pending FDA authorization, enough to vaccinate about 20 million of our most vulnerable Americans.
WATT: But likely early summer before it's widespread.
BULLOCK: There is light at the end of the tunnel. However, that tunnel is long.
WATT: And some places panic buying is now back, also long lines at food banks and COVID-19 testing sites. The pain of this fall now resembles now the spring and it's getting worse.
(on camera): The situation in New York City is very interesting. So they reached 3 percent positivity which triggers the closure of all schools. So now in New York, kids can't go to a classroom, but an adult can still go to a bar to get a beer. It's complicated.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, America's top infectious disease expert says many Americans are still in denial about the pandemic, and Dr. Anthony Fauci says when people ignore solid data, his frustration, quote, borders on pain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: When you look at the heat map of the country where the colors that get darker and redder show that there's increased activity, it's almost the entire country. So things are going in the wrong direction in an arena of increased risk, namely the cooler and colder weather. I mean, let's go, folks. What about that don't you understand?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Dr. Raj Kalsi joins me now from Naperville, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. Thank you, doctor, for being with us and for all that you do.
DR. RAJ KALSI, BOARD CERTIFIED EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Thank you, Rosemary. Thanks for having me back on.
CHURCH: So unfortunately more than 250,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19. Cases and hospitalizations are surging. New York schools are closing indefinitely. New restrictions are being applied and while President-elect Joe Biden met with health care workers Wednesday, the current President is absent, but blocking Biden's transition. As a doctor, what is your reaction to where things stand right now in this country?
KALSI: So Rosemary, I can only speak to what I'm dealing with, boots on the ground, and our hospitals are full. And as you know, mid-tier and high-tier institutions and also rural hospitals, we are full with COVID. In addition to all of the other emergencies that people come into the hospital with, and elective surgeries that people have and then they get admitted to the hospital. We are full to the brim and now seeking strategies to try to increase our ability to house these patients, decrease elective surgeries which decreases funding to nurses and doctors, and staff, which is critical. And we're at a tipping point in Illinois in particular in the suburbs of Chicago.
CHURCH: So when the governors of Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin had a virtual meeting, they revealed the Midwest is the epicenter of biggest COVID-19 surge to date with long lines of people getting tested, new restrictions put in place. You're a doctor in the Midwest, what are you seeing at your hospital just outside of Chicago. You mentioned the fact that you've got people coming in. It's all full up. But what are you doing in terms of different treatments, different approaches to the people coming in?
KALSI: It's a great question, Rosemary. The last time you and I met we were just at the beginning of this illness. We had no idea how to really treat it. We thought we were going to do traditional clinical measures, traditional critical care measures to treat these patients when they came in with low oxygen levels and they were coming in with low blood pressures. Now we know better.
We're not intubating or ventilating people right away, we're putting them on high flow oxygen, humidified oxygen. We are giving them steroids when their oxygen levels are low. We have adequate access to remdesivir, tocilizumab, and plasma, and in some cases antibodies. And big institutions have that, and small institutions we are able to transfer them to other big institutions to get those patients those measures.
So we are much better at keeping these people alive, unless people, Rosemary, are dying from this. That being said, we're still getting inundated with patients in the ER. We are at an all-time high in terms of volumes, and we have 10 to 25 percent of staff out with COVID, and they are suffering without pay at some point, and they can't support their families because they have COVID. So, this is a big problem, and we need them back because we need the help.
CHURCH: What are you experimenting with that might help people fight this virus?
KALSI: So, I don't mean to speak to patients as their doctor.
[04:10:00]
As you know, Rosemary, I come on here just to give you a boots on the ground experience of what's going on. But for my patients in a discussion with them and their doctors, vitamin D is a huge supplement for prophylaxis and to treat COVID-19. Zinc supplements in certain doses is also a big thing. And also, melatonin sometimes, and there's adequate data out there right now that suggests that there is some antiviral components to all three of these. Now again, anything I recommend has to be discussed with your personal doctor or your emergency doctor. These are things that are safe and low risk helping my patients and also steroids.
CHURCH: So you are also seeing COVID fatigue. I mean, it's right across the United States and across Europe. We're seeing it right across the world in fact. How frustrating is that as a doctor? And why do you think some Americans can't seem to comprehend the dangers posed by this virus, refusing to wear masks and follow other health guidelines in the middle of a pandemic.
KALSI: Because this is new and novel and we're Americans, and this is a country where we propagate free speech and freedom opine about anything that you want and that is the luxury of America. Part of the curse of America is that in times like this, Rosemary, I'm finding that it's challenging to convince people that we need to come together as a community to do the right thing. That being said, I have to respect Americans for doing what they think is right, and everybody has to take on that risk and take on that burden when they are part of the problem.
CHURCH: That is a great answer. Dr. Raj Kelsey, you and all the other doctors and nurses are our front line heroes, thank you so much for your service.
KALSI: Thank you so much, Rosemary. Thanks for having me on.
CHURCH: President Trump continues stone walling on the transition to a new administration but behind the scenes, some current officials are quietly reaching out to Joe Biden's team to offer limited assistance. That story in just a moment.
[04:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: President Trump has barely been seen in public since his election loss to Joe Biden, except his several rounds of golf of course. His official calendar remains empty of any events. He has not mentioned the worsening pandemic. Instead, the President continues to push false claims of election fraud. But some two dozen court challenges filed on his behalf have either been dropped or thrown out for having no legal merits.
His latest gambit is to seek a recount into heavily Democratic counties in Wisconsin. Biden carried the state by more than 20,000 votes. The recount is unlikely to change the final result.
Meantime, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has made tackling the pandemic his top priority when he takes office next January. But the Trump administration is still refusing to cooperate with the Biden team. CNN has now learned that some current and former administration officials are quietly reaching out to Biden to lend some assistance. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has those details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President-elect Joe Biden praising medical workers tonight on the frontlines of the coronavirus fight.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's not enough to praise you. We have to protect you. We have to pay you.
ZELENY: He is shining a light on their heroism, and calling out President Trump's obstructionism, as his administration still refuses to cooperate with Biden's transition team, especially on fighting COVID.
BIDEN: We've been unable to get access to the kinds of things we need to know about the depth of the stockpiles. We know there's not much at all, and there's a whole lot of things that are just -- we just don't have available to us. Unless much is made available soon, we're going to be behind by weeks and months.
ZELENY: Yet staffers inside the Department of Health and Human Services were instructed to not communicate with any Biden advisers, CNN has learned, and asked to report any outreach to top agency officials.
ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We've made it very clear that when GSA makes a determination, we will ensure complete cooperative professional transitions and planning.
ZELENY: As the U.S. reported the deadliest day of the pandemic in six months, a Minnesota nurse begged Biden for more help.
MARY TURNER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL NURSES UNITED: I've taken care of coworkers, as they fight for their lives on a ventilator. And knowing that they got sick because of the hospital, or their government hasn't protected them.
ZELENY: Biden showing his empathy, said this.
TURNER: I'm sorry I'm so emotional.
BIDEN: No --
TURNER: It's just -- BIDEN: -- you got me emotional.
ZELENY: Tonight, members of Biden's COVID-19 advisory board say Biden's team will be ready, but said they were skeptical of any credible plans that exist inside the Trump administration.
RICK BRIGHT, MEMBER, BIDEN COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: We will be ready on day one. We've waited 10 months for a plan to be shared with the American public, and the healthcare experts on the vaccine program.
ZELENY: The Biden transition team is also placing a high priority on building the government, particularly the Health and Human Services Department.
Officials tell CNN that two Democratic governors are now top contenders for the post. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico. They, along with Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general, are among the leading contenders for the post.
All this as Biden's advisers are blasting Trump's attempt to undermine democracy by firing Chris Krebs, who is in charge of U.S. election cybersecurity for telling the truth about the election.
REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA) INCOMING SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN: It's dangerous, the entire transition, Trump's whole behavior right now should frighten the American public.
ZELENY (on camera): We're also learning that a handful of current and former Trump administration officials are reaching out privately to the Biden transition team. Believe it's important to put country over party. They are reaching out to them directly, one-on-one, trying to help with this transition, even as President Trump refuses to acknowledge the outcome of the election.
[04:20:00]
Now Mr. Biden clearly is sounding the alarm, as more than a quarter of a million Americans have now died of COVID.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Larry Sabato, Director of University of Virginia Center for Politics joins me now. Great to have you with us as always, Larry.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So here's what we have, a President missing in action, stewing over an election loss, using Twitter to fire officials, falsely claiming voter fraud, and most Republicans complicit standing silently by as Joe Biden tries to prepare to take over despite being blocked by Donald Trump. What is going on here, and why is there not more outrage? SABATO: Well, first of all, as you suggested, the President is simply
a sore loser and he's throwing a temper tantrum which he has done on many occasions since he became President.
Second, he's trying to keep his base stirred up. He wants them to think that they were deprived of the victory that they so richly deserved and that he deserved, even though it's absolutely ridiculous, everyone knows Joe Biden won. Everyone but people who are willfully blind.
And I think to some degree, Trump is sticking it to Joe Biden hoping that the fact that he can't get security briefings, the fact that he isn't getting that transition money, that he can't talk to the COVID specialists who are working with the Trump administration, all of these things will make his opponent who defeated him less successful as President, and that's disgraceful.
Their ought to be universal outrage about this. There's no excuse for not being outraged because it hurts the country. And I wonder frequently what is wrong with people, really. Have our standards fallen this far?
CHURCH: Apparently so. And of course despite Donald Trump delaying his transition, President-elect Biden has hit the ground running, meeting with health experts Wednesday and governors on Thursday. But his team needs those briefings you talk about on the pandemic for vaccine distribution plans, and national security briefings to properly prepare for office on January 20th and going forward. So otherwise, we're talking about the possibility of many lives being lost. What needs to happen next to move things along, and how should Republicans be viewed if they don't make sure that happens.
SABATO: The head of the GSA, General Services Administration, needs to turn over the paperwork immediately. She should have done it right after Biden was declared President-elect by all of the networks, including the conservative networks. She should have done it immediately. She hasn't done it. She claims to be on the horns of a dilemma. It's in her imagination. It is very clear that Biden qualifies under the wording of the law. It should be done immediately, and every Republican Senator, Congressman and governor should be demanding that it be done. Because all of them are being hurt and should be hurt by this.
CHURCH: And with the Trump campaign feverishly trying to rework the outcome of this election, what is the latest on the partial recount of votes in Wisconsin and the Georgia vote certification and how long can the Trump administration keep these delay tactics going with no indication the outcome will change in any meaningful way?
SABATO: I suppose it's possible for them to keep this flat ball rolling for a while, but it's not going to last very long. Because for one thing, judges aren't going to stand for it. There's nothing behind their appeals. There's nothing behind their claims, and judges of various stripes, partisan, and ideological have said as much in court. That ought to be embarrassing for the Trump team but as we learned over the past four years, nothing embarrasses them. So it's a matter of Trump continuing this tantrum, depriving his
elected successor of the opportunity to succeed not for himself but on behalf of Americans who may, as you said, otherwise die from COVID or a national security crisis that may arise with the Biden team unaware of facts they should know before inauguration day.
CHURCH: Yes, American people are the losers right now, while this continues. Larry Sabato, always great to get your perspective. Appreciate it.
SABATO: Thank you so much, Rosie.
CHURCH: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Jerusalem where he has been meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During his visit, Pompeo is expected to be the first top American diplomat to visit a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Most of the international community consider those settlements illegal.
[04:25:00]
CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now live from Jerusalem. Good to see you, Oren. So what's the latest on this visit and it purpose?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, this morning Secretary of State Pompeo spoke alongside the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pompeo made one policy announcement from the State Department. He said the BDS movement, the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel will be considered anti-Semitic and the State Department will make sure that any organization that works with them will not have funding from the U.S. Department of State.
He called the BDS movement a cancer. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responding simply wonderful as a response when Pompeo looked at him there. Now Pompeo is expected to head to the Psagot winery in the West Bank in a Jewish settlement there. There is a red wine there named after Pompeo, after what they see is all the positive steps for settlers and for settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Golan Heights from the Trump administration. There he's expected to have lunch before heading to the Golan Heights.
The Golan Height doesn't have the same religious or biblical significance as the West Bank, but it is a celebration of the Trump administration's foreign policy. For example, recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel and recognizing Israeli sovereignty there.
In that sense, who is it that's celebrating this? First of course, Pompeo and Netanyahu, second, the settlers in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, and then Evangelical Christians. There Pompeo may be looking ahead to the future with plenty of rumors circulating about that he is looking at a 2024 bid of his own.
This isn't the end of Pompeo's trip. From here he heads to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has been pushing those countries in the past to normalize relations with Israel. That would be, if it succeeds, another foreign policy victory for the Trump administration. Perhaps is not likely, but in the waiting days of the administration it seems Pompeo is not giving up. Rosemary, it's worth remembering that Pompeo has not yet publicly acknowledged Joe Biden won the election.
CHURCH: Yes, critical point there. Oren Liebermann joining us live from Jerusalem, many thanks.
Well, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech will be seeking vaccine approval in days as more encouraging trial data was released. CNN talks with BioNTech's about their plans in the months ahead.
