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Fauci Echoes CDC Warning to Stay Home This Thanksgiving; Texas Hospitals Pushed to the Brink as ICU Beds Fill Up; U.S. Unemployment Claims Rise After Weeks of Decline; Shocking New Allegations in Tyson Foods Wrongful Death Suit; Doctors in Sweden Call for Stricter Measures; Pompeo Broke Precedent with Visit to West Bank Settlement. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired November 20, 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]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to you our viewers in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

U.S. coronavirus cases surged to a new high again on Thursday. More than 180,000 confirmed daily infections according to Johns Hopkins University. The situation across the U.S. is deteriorating so quickly that an influential model has just raised its projected winter death toll by 30,000, and the CDC is warning Americans to stay home for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. That warning was echoed by Dr. Anthony Fauci in a conversation with our Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanksgiving, Christmas, people have been stuck in for so long --

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Right.

CUOMO: I don't have to tell somebody with your name how important family is. And they've been trying to do it right, and a lot of them, they haven't gotten sick, and everybody who gets sick pretty much lives, 99 point something, we need the holidays, what's your response?

FAUCI: Yes, my response is that each and every family unit -- and I mean this seriously, Chris, -- and I'm not dictating what we should do, that each and every family unit should do a risk benefit determination about the holidays. About whether they want to have the traditional Thanksgiving meal where you bring in a lot of friends and family, people fly in, they drive in.

You take a look at your family, and you say do I have a person there who's an elderly person, a person with an underlying medical condition that might put them at an increased risk of a severe outcome if they get infected. Do I want to take that risk right now or do I want to say maybe the prudent thing to do for now is to just pull back and just keep it within the family unit that you live with, instead of having people from the outside come in. I'm not saying everybody should do that, but everybody should at least give it serious consideration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: I spoke a short time ago with John Henderson. He's the head of the Texas organization of rural and community hospitals. I asked him how rural areas of his state are tackling the dramatic upswing in new cases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN HENDERSON, CEO/PRESIDENT OF TORCH, TEXAS ORGANIZATION OF RURAL, AND COMMUNITY HOSPITALS: Well, cases and hospitalizations, and even deaths, are about as high as we've been at any other point during the pandemic. But where the rural hospitals are feeling it, most acutely is with regards to staffing. They're having trouble with nurses and respiratory therapists, and physicians. They're having a lot of trouble with transfers and finding transfers for patients that exceed their ability to treat in any case. And then they've just been pushed to the edge, and we are starting to see some pretty tragic outcomes this week.

BRUNHUBER: You mentioned the high death rate. I mean, those problems seem to hit rural areas harder, in terms of the mortality rate. I understand that it is almost 45 percent, you are more likely to die of COVID in rural areas than in people living in urban areas. Why is that?

HENDERSON: Well, access to care is a big issue in rural Texas, and there are people that live a long way from care. And then, it has to do with scope of services. So most rural hospitals in Texas don't provide ICU level of care, for instance. That's OK most of the time, when you can transfer to an urban center, but we've seen trouble with that this week.

BRUNHUBER: Underfunding, you know, has been a huge issue. I know you've to rely on volunteers, including, and I understand, Matthew McConaughey, who is donating, and ferrying masks to rural hospitals earlier this year. And I understand, you yourself, you know, delivered hand sanitizer out of the back of a pickup truck. I mean, that's inspiring to hear that, but it hardly seems like the way a great nation, like the U.S. should be handling a pandemic. What do you need from the federal government?

HENDERSON: Well, we received some federal stimulus, and it helped our hospitals make it through the summer. If this continues, we're going to need more, because that money, frankly, is gone. And we have seen the best in people, Matthew, and his wife, Kamila in particular, have been wonderful. But that has been temporary. People are just trying to help where they can. But we have to get out of this thing eventually.

[04:35:00]

BRUNHUBER: And you know, part of that, I imagine, as a coordinated national response. You probably not going to get one until at least, you know, the next president is sworn in. So, what are those 60 days until then going to look like?

HENDERSON: We are in for a pretty rough 60 days, at least, the next couple of weeks. You almost have a split screen camp where there is encouraging news on the vaccine development front, but this period of time, between now and when people actually getting the vaccine, that are going to be tragic in many cases across rural areas of Texas.

BRUNHUBER: Well, listen, we wish you and all of the staff and doctors that you deal with the best of luck. Thank you very much for speaking with us, John Henderson, we appreciate it.

HENDERSON: Happy to do it. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER (on camera): Well, as COVID cases soar in the U.S., more people are losing their jobs. Nearly 3/4 of a million Americans filed for first time unemployment benefits last week. That's the first increase in that number after weeks of decline. So to discuss this, let's bring in our John Defterios. He's in Abu Dhabi. John, we have, you know, jobless claims increase and two programs for unemployed Americans expiring. Which could affect than 13 million Americans. You know, I'm no economist, but that doesn't sound like a good combination.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, certainly not, Kim, these are big numbers you're talking about here, and we have almost the perfect storm. We have the cases spiking throughout the United States while the U.S. federal programs are winding down. And then you have this uncertainty about the transition to the White House.

You talked about the weekly jobless claims. They are historically high. We have the long-term unemployed shooting up to nearly 4 million in the last month. That was a gain of 50 percent. And there are a handful of programs that are super important.

One was the paycheck program for those in small businesses, like restaurants, dry cleaner, petrol stations and the rest. That phased out in August. So that's under strain. There's another one for freelancers and contractors, covering, Kim, another 7 million jobs. We have one for eviction notices to keep people in their homes, that's going to wind down the end of December. And we had another one for unemployment supplemental insurance, that was $600 a week. It only lasted for the first four months of the first stimulus package. So that's why it's critical to get one back on to the table.

And this window of the next five weeks is so important. Now we see a glimmer of hope with the leadership in the Senate and the House talking again, saying they're willing to sit down. But there's a huge canyon, if you will, in terms of the package that we're talking about. $2.2 trillion on the House side with Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer trying to deal with something bigger than a half a trillion dollars. McConnell's not been budging from the figure right now. The most important thing is as the programs wind down by the end of the year, Kim, you can't leave people hanging until the Presidential transition on January 20th. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: All right, well at least there's hope. Thank you so much for that. John Defterios in Abu Dhabi appreciate it.

Some shocking allegations in a newly filed lawsuit about a Tyson food plant in Iowa. The plant manager allegedly organized a pool to bet on how many employees would test positive for COVID, and the company allegedly failed to provide enough safety measures. CNN's Dan Simon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stunning allegations made against managers at this Tyson pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, one of the first to shut down when the coronavirus raged uncontrollably in the spring. A supervisor allegedly taking bets on how many would get the virus. It's one of several disturbing claims in this wrongful death federal lawsuit obtained by CNN.

According to the allegations, the plant manager of the Waterloo facility organized a cash buy in, winner take all betting pool for supervisors and managers to wager how many employees would test positive for COVID-19. In the end, more than a thousand employees would catch the virus, about a third of the nearly 3,000 working at the plant. Ernest Latiker spoke to CNN's Gary Tuchman in April about his conversation with the Tyson's HR department.

ERNEST LATIKER, TYSON EMPLOYEE: They told me I was safe, and they told me that everything was OK, and they told me I have a better chance of catching the coronavirus going out to Walmart than at Tyson, come to work, you're safe.

DEAN BANKS, CEO, TYSON FOODS: Our primary focus is keeping our plant, the team members healthy and the community they live in, keeping the disease out of there so it stays out of our plants.

SIMON: That was Tyson's CEO Dean Banks in March, as supermarket shelves began to lay bare as plants struggled to contain the virus. But even as best practices became known, the suit says Tyson failed to provide appropriate personal protective equipment and failed to implement sufficient social distancing or safety measures to protect workers from the outbreak.

At least five Waterloo plant workers died according to the lawsuit. The suit filed earlier this year by the family of one of them.

[04:40:00]

But it's been revised with even more troubling claims including the alleged betting pool. Another manager is also alleged to have explicitly directed supervisors to ignore symptoms of COVID-19, telling them to show up to work even if they were exhibiting symptoms of the virus, a concern one employee echoed to CNN in April.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think they care about your health?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not as much as they need to.

SIMON (on camera): Now Tyson's CEO, Dean Banks, put out a statement. It reads in part --

We are extremely upset about the accusations involving some of the leadership at our Waterloo plant. Tyson foods is a family company with 139,000 team members and these allegations do not represent who we are.

He went on to say that the alleged individuals involved would be suspended without pay, and he's also tapped former Attorney General Eric Holder to launch an investigation.

I'm Dan Simon, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: There's some advice from a former chairman of the Federal Reserve. Alan Greenspan is just one of many saying controlling the coronavirus pandemic should be the number one priority in the U.S. He spoke earlier to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN GREENSPAN, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: I have never seen this particular situation all during my professional experience, anything like this with which we have to have handle in a manner when we know very little about its internal dynamics. However, trying to forecast where the virus is going virus is going is at this particular stage, very little more than a guess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, it's become known as the Swedish model that some doctors there now say the light touch approach to the pandemic isn't working so we'll be live in Stockholm, stay with us.

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[04:45:00]

BRUNHUBER: New measures to curb a second coronavirus wave are kicking in, in Sweden. Starting today, bars and restaurants won't be allowed to sell alcohol after 10:00 p.m. The country has relied on a light touch, government advice, rather than enforcing strict rules. But the COVID-19 death toll is more than four times the combined figure of it Nordic neighbors, all of which had tougher measures.

Phil Black is in Stockholm for us. So, Phil, many conservatives here in the U.S. touted the so called Swedish model, no lock downs, no strict measures, an emphasis on personal responsibility but now the government is changing its tune. So are Swedes listening?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the frontline doctors we've been talking to, Kim, are concerned about two things. One is that people aren't paying enough attention to those recommendations. And more than that, they think those recommendations alone are no longer sufficient. They are frustrated because they believe this current severe second wave the country is gripped by, could have largely been avoided had more forceful action been taken sooner.

Now as you touched on, Sweden of course, is famous for not taking forceful action in its handling of the coronavirus. It relies on recommendations. Giving people information, allowing them to make what the government would consider to be the right choice for themselves and the country.

But the concern is, people are listening. The virus is now surging and so there is a far greater sense of urgency in terms of the message that is being given to people. The list of recommendations is much more extensive. It reads like a de facto lockdown really. And the tone from the government is much more urgent. They are saying don't go out, don't mix publicly, don't go anywhere that could potentially involve crowds. Essentially cancel you plans and stay home.

The Swedish model is often associated with the whole idea of herd immunity. Where immunity builds up in the population to such a point that the virus is essentially stopped in its tracks.

Now officials here deny that that ever a goal. But they have said that they hoped the more open approach would as a consequence, allow immunity to build in the population, to a point where it would at least help in slowing down the spread of the virus. They thought it Would really start to make a difference and prevent further spikes, further waves as the country is experiencing now.

They now believe, however, that there is simply no evidence to suggest that greater immunity in the population is playing any role in slowing down to any significant degree the spread of the virus at the moment -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, a very interesting lesson being learned there. Thank you so much, CNN's Phil Black.

The U.S. Secretary of State shatters decades of U.S. foreign policy by visiting a Jewish settlement in the West Bank that's considered illegal under international law. We'll have a live report from Jerusalem just ahead. Stay with us.

[04:50:00]

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BRUNHUBER: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Israel for the United Arab Emirates as part of his latest official visit to Europe and the Middle East. Pompeo's final hours in Israel included a trip to the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem. He also visited a holy site on the Jordan River considered the place where Jesus was baptized.

Earlier he did what no U.S. Secretary of State has ever done. He visited a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. International law considers those settlements illegal, and while touring the Golan Heights near the Syrian border, he declared this is a part of Israel. Well, that's a radical departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has been covering the secretary's visit and joins us now from Jerusalem. So, Oren, the Secretary of State breaking all sorts of foreign policy traditions. How is it being received in Israel and how is it being interpreted by Palestinians?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo along with the Trump administration have been moving U.S. foreign policy in this direction for quite some time from recognizing Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights a couple of years ago, to Pompeo's decision or ruling that settlements were not de facto, illegal under international law, and effectively leaving it up to Israel's judicial system to decide whether they were legal or illegal.

All of that broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy, and that didn't seem to bother Pompeo or the Trump administration at all. It is a victory no doubt for Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, considered occupied territory under international law. It is a victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's right- wing and perhaps more importantly from Pompeo's perspective, it is a victory for Evangelical Christians who cheered and push for this trip since even before it was officially happening.

And that maybe who Pompeo is really looking to in these statements and this visit, as he eyes his own bid for the White House in 2024. If that's to succeed, he knows he needs Evangelical Christians and that would be his base. Perhaps that explains the visit to Friends of Zion Museum this morning. That is a museum founded by Evangelical Christians and that is exactly his target.

Palestinians, of course, furious by this trip. There were protests around the Psagot winery where he visited the day before he visited there. And they have said it legitimatizes Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

BRUNHUBER: All right, and so let's look forward then, what are we expecting from Mr. Pompeo in Abu Dhabi.

LIEBERMANN: I expect we'll hear quite a bit from Pompeo about the success of the Abraham Accords and the changing Middle East, in which Arab states are normalizing relations with Israel. We'll also hear I suspect a little bit of the perhaps, although this will become quiet, on the latest UAE push to get the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II fighter jet. They've been looking for that and they have certainly gotten louder about their desire to have that advanced fighter jet in the last few days and certainly the last few weeks.

From there he'll head to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Those are two states that the Trump administration has pushed to normalize relations with Israel. It seems that even in the waning days of the administration that effort is still ongoing.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much, Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem.

[04:55:00] Well changing tacks now, you know the holidays are around the corner when they put out the traditional Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York. And this year it contained a surprise, a living present. Good they think too, the enormous Norway spruce looked scraggly and sad, a dismal metaphor for this terrible year, one might say. A tree Charlie Brown would know. But what was tucked in its branches gave everyone a hoot.

Let's see him. There he is. This little guy, a full grown solid owl, about the size of a soda can. Naturally, he's being called Rockefeller. The adorable stowaway is being cared at a wildlife facility and eventually will be returned to the wild.

And the long held tradition of sitting on Santa's lap may not be possible for children this year, but Santa isn't going to let a pandemic get in the way of Christmas. Thanks to one company, kids can tell Santa what's on their wish list virtually. It's created a web site where children can talk to Santa using artificial intelligence, ask Santa data base has over 180,000 questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you do in summer?

VIRTUAL SANTA: My favorite hobby, would you believe it, it's roller skating. Ho, ho, ho, ho.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And the number one question kids ask whether they're on the naughty or nice list. The web site asksanta.com is live until New Year's Eve. I feel like we have all been naughty this year somehow.

Well, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Please stay with us. "EARLY START" is next.

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