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CDC Releases Guidelines for Restricting Travel and Gatherings During the Holidays Due to Coronavirus Spread; State Vote Certification Deadlines Arriving for 2020 Presidential Election; President Trump Running Out of Options for Contesting Presidential Election; President Trump's Son Donald Trump Jr. Tests Positive for Coronavirus; President-Elect Biden To Likely Announce Possible Cabinet Picks; Thousands Line Up for Food Banks Across U.S. As Result of Economic Impact of Coronavirus; Utah Reaching Capacity for Intensive Care Units Due to Coronavirus Spike. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired November 21, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:14]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Coronavirus concerns are changing Thanksgiving plans across this country. New cases, new hospitalizations numbers are climbing to record levels across the U.S.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, the president's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is now one of the nearly 12 million Americans infected with the coronavirus.

BLACKWELL: And a reminder of the economic toll. This morning Americans are lining up for help at food banks across the country.

Good morning. It's Saturday, November 21st. I'm Victor Blackwell.

WALKER: Good morning to you. I'm Amara Walker in for Christi Paul, and you're in the CNN Newsroom.

BLACKWELL: So, this morning the U.S. is facing this challenge of how to handle the holiday as coronavirus is really spreading out of control.

WALKER: Just yesterday the U.S. added more than 195,000 new cases, which is a record for the second straight day. And with more than 82,000 hospitalizations, that means those patients will likely spend their Thanksgiving alone without their family in the hospital.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Polo Sandoval is live with us from JFK International Airport in New York. And it's a tough choice. People want to see their relatives, but it just is not safe, according to the CDC.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you're likely going to see that affect travel, too, guys. And you need to keep in mind that the CDC did roll out this guidance just this week, recommending that families simply stay home or at least advising against Thanksgiving travel. So that's one reason some of the nation's airports will probably be a lot quieter this holiday travel season. Then also some airlines reporting that they are seeing increases in cancellations and drops in bookings.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SANDOVAL: It's a broader, and some fear, longer lasting wave of COVID- 19 infections and deaths, and you can see it in the latest COVID trend map showing a virtual sea of orange and red, 10 months after the first U.S. COVID-19 case was confirmed, and just over 13,000 new infections. The state of California shattered its own record Friday. Then there's the reality of the fights on the front lines to save patients from the virus' suffocating grip. It's a struggle compounded by staff shortages in some of the nation's rural medical facilities.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We're seeing these surges on intensive care units, and that's when the mortality rate, the death rate goes like this to this, vertical, because nurses, other staff, doctors get overwhelmed. And it's not just a matter of the beds. It's having trained staff in order to take care of them.

SANDOVAL: On Friday, the American Hospital Association flagged reports from care facilities in at least six states where fears are growing about the physical and emotional toll on medical personnel.

LACIE GOOCH, NEBRASKA NURSE: I have seen so many emergent intubations. I've seen people more sick than I've ever seen in my life.

SANDOVAL: There is, however, hope that front line medical workers could soon be better protected against the virus. On Friday, Pfizer and BioNTech were the first to apply for FDA emergency approval of their coronavirus vaccine.

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: This is what we had most hoped for, but it's not just around the corner. A vaccine rollout is going to take a long time. It's not a vaccine that saves lives. It's a vaccination program.

SANDOVAL: Until that happens, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention continues urging Americans to avoid travel and to keep the Thanksgiving celebration small.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: I'm making the personal sacrifices not to infect my parents and my pregnant daughter, and there's a lot of people out there who know how to protect one another, and we just need to make sure we're all doing that.

SANDOVAL: Including by continuing to wear a mask. The CDC out with another reason to do so. The researchers took a look at the state of Kansas and it's July 2nd mask mandate. A majority of the state's counties, some two-thirds, opted out of the governor's mask order. They later recorded about a 100 percent increase in COVID-19 cases. Compare that surge to a six percent decrease in the counties that did require masks in public.

(END VIDEO TAPE) SANDOVAL (on camera): And finally, some perspective for you this morning. Back in July during one of the latest, or most recent COVID spikes, we made it up to about 77,000 new COVID cases in one day. Just yesterday alone, Victor, that number, slightly over 195,000. So, it certainly tells you where we've been, where we are, and now the key is where we'll be going from here and depending on whether or not people take those precautions that authorities have been recommending leading up to Thanksgiving.

BLACKWELL: It's remarkable. Polo Sandoval at JFK, thank you so much.

WALKER: And despite these surges that we're seeing, President Trump seems focused not on the coronavirus, but on overturning the election, and that effort is failing.

[10:05:00]

To date, the president and his allies have lost or withdrawn at least 28 cases they have fought in courts since Election Day. That was almost two weeks ago.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the courts are moving on, the states are doing the same, and lawmakers in Georgia, Michigan, and in other states are now -- they're vowing to follow the law on certifying the election. CNN's Jessica Schneider is following all of that for us. Jessica, talk through here where things stand right now.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor and Amara, these state certification deadlines, they're coming quickly, and at this point we've seen all of the president's efforts to stop the certified vote for Joe Biden in key states fail, both on the political and legal front. And in many cases, it's actually Republicans who are stepping in to rebuff the president's attempts.

So let's run down the key states here. In Georgia, the state's 16 electoral votes have officially been granted to Joe Biden. It was last night that the Republican governor there, Brian Kemp, he signed the paperwork to formalize the certification right after a federal judge rejected a last-ditch lawsuit to block the certification. Now, the Trump campaign had made numerous efforts to stop the certification there, but we saw the secretary of state rejecting all of those allegations of impropriety. And it was Governor Kemp last night who reiterated that he was following the law when he signed the state's electoral votes to Joe Biden. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): As governor, I have a solemn responsibility to follow the law and that is what I will continue to do. We must all work together to ensure citizens have confidence in future elections in our state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: And the final tally in Georgia shows that Joe Biden won the state by 12,670 votes. Now, in Michigan, despite the president inviting those top Republicans

from the state legislature there to the White House yesterday, those Michigan lawmakers reiterated last night they will not intervene in the state's electoral process. So, state certification there, it's scheduled for Monday, and the vote count in Michigan puts Joe Biden up by more than 150,000 votes.

Now, there is some concern in Michigan that the two Republicans who make up that four-member canvassing board, they could potentially refuse to certify the vote there, and that would lead to potential court intervention where those members could be found in contempt. It could even lead to the Democratic governor there, Gretchen Whitmer, to step in to replace one or both of those Republican members to ensure certification. But those really would be emergency measures that we may or may not see.

So, Amara and victor, the end of this fight is really coming fast for the president with Michigan and Pennsylvania both scheduled to certify their votes for Joe Biden on Monday, and Nevada coming Tuesday. Guys?

BLACKWELL: Jessica Schneider for us in Washington. Thank you, Jessica.

WALKER: Joining us now is national security correspondent for "The New York Times" and CNN political and national security analyst, David Sanger, along with Douglas Brinkley, a CNN presidential historian. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

Let me start with you, Douglas, because I think we all need to sit and digest the outrageousness that we are witnessing right now in plain sight, a sitting U.S. president refusing to accept the will of the people, trying to overturn the Electoral College, basically telling electors in states to ignore that Joe Biden won in their state and to break the law.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Yes, who would have thought that America would have ever a tinpot dictator, but that's what we have. President Trump is living in some kind of fantasy zone. He has a philosophy of never losing, so he just will philosophically and emotionally refuse to believe that he lost.

But at least he's going through the courts, and the courts are telling him to get lost. He's getting no traction anywhere. And as you rightfully point out, by next Tuesday, by the time Nevada comes through, there really isn't a strategy left for Donald Trump. He will probably continue to be petulant and pout. He very likely won't show up for Joe Biden's inaugural, he might even hold a counter inaugural, for all we know.

But the point is Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won, and they will be ensconced in the White House, and they will be picking their cabinet officers. And you're going to see Donald Trump being an ex-president in Mar-a-Lago, trying to reinvent himself yet again.

BLACKWELL: A counter inaugural, I had not considered that, but it is on brand. David, let me come to you. Republicans have stayed quiet for the most

part during this legal fight. Just a few spoke up about the lack -- or the stall of the transition. But inviting lawmakers to the White House from Michigan and the discussion of doing the same for Pennsylvania as he tries to overturn the election, I'd imagine that would be a different order of magnitude.

DAVID E. SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, one would hope, though, as you say, we've seen very few of the Republicans, at least at the federal level, come out and say anything beyond he ought to get the transition going in the off chance that Joe Biden becomes president here, which obviously looks like it is a certainty.

[10:10:15]

So, what have we seen happen? As you heard in your report earlier and as Doug suggested, plan A was go to the courts and see if you could get the ballots invalidated, and that failed. It failed most spectacularly in Detroit, but he's been doing it mostly in urban areas, and of course mostly in areas where there was a significant black vote against him, though, obviously, it was much broader than just that.

Plan B was, if you can't get the courts to go along, use raw political power to try to get the legislatures to send up two different competing slates of electors to Congress and make Congress figure out, where the president believes, because of the nature of the way the vote is taken, he's got an advantage.

The question that we don't know, Victor, is, is there a plan C? In other words, if he loses these first two, does he then have an additional step, or does he continue his defiance, or does he just go to Mar-a-Lago and continue on along the lines that Doug suggested?

WALKER: David, you wrote about this in "The New York Times" and you quoted historian Michael Beschloss saying, quote, this is a manufactured crisis, it is a president abusing his huge powers in order to stay in office after the voters clearly rejected him for reelection. This is what many of the founders dreaded.

And what's also disturbing, there's a Monmouth University poll that shows 70 percent, a huge majority of Republicans believe Biden only won because he cheated, even though there's no evidence of widespread fraud. David or Douglas, whoever wants to answer this, this is an attempted power grab. At what point could it amount to sedition?

SANGER: My own view is it's not sedition yet because the president, as Doug pointed out, has worked within the courts so far. He's tried this political maneuver that hasn't worked.

Now, if we got to the point where the electors were selected by the states, forwarded to Congress. Congress is supposed to validate that on January 6th. If he still would not at that point concede, allow transition to happen, do all of the usual things one would do after it's over, then I think you could engage that. But maybe Doug has got a different view.

BLACKWELL: Doug?

BRINKLEY: I think I agree with you completely. I think that Trump is going to push it to the very, very limit, but in the end, he has to recognize that he lost. He's simply trying to keep his followers. He has them, he's convinced over 70 percent of the Republicans that it was a fraudulent election when, in fact, it was one of the most well- run elections in U.S. history. Almost no fraud or irregularities whatsoever.

I think he's going to try to probably go after Joe Biden in 2024 or have Don Jr. or Ivanka involved. He's going to create a kind of second shadow government out of Mar-a-Lago. He practically lives next door to Rush Limbaugh. They'll create a kind of a media empire, a voice out there that simply refuses to accept anything that Joe Biden does and go on the attack.

After all, the big thing we haven't mentioned is the Georgia Senate race. And if Republicans picked up those two senators, it would be the first time since 1992 -- or actually 1988 since George Herbert Walker Bush that you had a Senate of the opposite party, which might stop confirmations. Bernie Sanders might want to be labor secretary, Biden might want to offer him that, but you're going to have a blowback from the Trump Republicans on that.

So, Trump and Mitch McConnell may stay as an iron fist and just try to wear down Biden. In the end, I think Trump feels he was abused during his transition over accusations of collaborating with Russia, and he's punishing Biden and Democrats, saying what's good for the goose is good for the gander, I'm not going to accept anything you Biden-ites do or think of doing.

BLACKWELL: David, we heard from week from Republican Senator Joni Ernst, and she was responding to the Trump campaign's suggestion that Republicans who won were in on the rigging. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JONI ERNST, (R-IA): To insinuate that Republican and Democratic candidates paid to throw off this election I think is absolutely outrageous, and I do take offense to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:15:06]

BLACKWELL: At some point, would you not expect that Republican members of Congress would have to speak up in the style and fashion that we're seeing from Senator Ernst to protect themselves, to defend themselves?

SANGER: You would think they would. For the past four years the Republicans have gone through a calculus about what it means to displease Donald Trump, and you've seen him take revenge when he thought they weren't sufficiently loyal. But at this point they all recognize he's lost. And feel concerned about it, and yes, they believe he'll continue to have come form of control over the party even after President-elect Biden takes office. That strikes me as a somewhat remarkable calculus. You would think at some point they would decide that they really have to get with this. And you see them edging there by saying let's let the transition happen even if we haven't revolved the election, although, as Doug points out, we have.

WALKER: David E. Sanger and Douglas Brinkley, we thank you both for talking about this really disturbing but important topic. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, gentlemen.

So the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., he is now the latest person in the president's circle to test positive for COVID-19. We'll tell you what Trump Jr. is saying about the recent diagnosis and what the president is saying about it.

WALKER: And as the pandemic wears on, food banks are helping more people in need this holiday season. Natasha Chen will join us live outside Atlanta with more.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To get food distribution, food boxes for Thanksgiving, they were lined up hours before the event began. Coming up next, we'll talk to the DeKalb County CEO about his concerns about potentially not being able to keep this going on as long as people need it.

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BLACKWELL: Donald Trump Jr. has tested positive for COVID-19. He's now isolating.

WALKER: CNN's Kevin Liptak joining us now from the White House. And Kevin, as we've been saying, Trump Jr. is the second person in the president's circle to test positive for the virus this week. Do we know how he's doing and feeling?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: According to the president, his son Donald is doing very well, thank you. He's tweeted that in the last couple of hours. The spokesman for the president's eldest son said that he tested positive earlier this week, that he has no symptoms, and that he's been self-isolating at his cabin. That is where he taped a video that he posted on Instagram this morning. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP JR., PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON: You wouldn't know it based on anything that I've felt or have seen. I guess I've been totally asymptomatic. But out of an abundance of caution, I'll quarantine. I'll follow the regular protocols. I only got tested because I was supposed to do a father-son trip with my son after basically being on the road nonstop for a few months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, in the past, Donald Trump Jr. has downplayed the coronavirus. He said that deaths were down to almost nothing on a day when they had topped 1,000. And as you mentioned, he's just the latest person in the president's inner circle and here at the White House to have tested positive for coronavirus. That list seems to grow longer by the time. It's included the chief of staff, the national security adviser, the press secretary, the president's campaign manager, at least six senior advisers, the president's younger son, the president's eldest son, his wife, and the president himself.

The latest is Andrew Giuliani. He's a midlevel aide here at the White House. He's the son of Rudy Giuliani, who has taken the lead on the president's attempts to overturn the election. That has placed Rudy Giuliani in self-isolation as well after he came into contact with his son.

BLACKWELL: Long list. Kevin, is the president going to be doing anything this weekend? We haven't seen him do much. Are we going to see him, at least?

LIPTAK: Yes. We saw the president for the first time in a week yesterday when he came to the briefing room to talk about drug pricing. This morning he participated in the G20 summit. We actually didn't know whether we would see him there. The White House didn't say. Finally, tonight, last night they confirmed that he would be participating in that summit. We saw him on the screen there. It's being hosted virtually by Saudi Arabia.

In the past, the president has made no secret that he doesn't think very highly of these multi-lateral summits. Throughout the summit this morning he was sending tweets. The president is kind of at a low point in his influence on the global stage. That's because he lost the election and many of these leaders have gone on to congratulate Joe Biden. So, the president has concluded his participation in the summit. He's left the White House. We assume he's on the way to the golf course.

BLACKWELL: Kevin Liptak there at the White House, thank you very much.

Speaking of Joe Biden, the president-elect will meet with his transition advisers today. Both he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday.

WALKER: CNN political reporter Rebecca Buck is in Washington, D.C. with more details. What can we expect, Rebecca?

REBECCA BUCK, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: This weekend we're not expecting to see much of Joe Biden at all as the president-elect, as you mentioned, meets with his transition team today. All of this going on behind-the-scenes. But there is a lot happening in these meetings, in these discussions, as he and his team continue to lay the groundwork for the transition, put the pieces in place. And we could be hearing some major announcements early next week about his cabinet picks. We are expecting Joe Biden to make his first cabinet picks, announce them, who he plans to nominate.

We are anticipating -- in fact, he already said he has in his mind selected who he wants as his treasury secretary. One of the frontrunners per our reporting is Lael Brainard, who is on the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve, would be a consensus pick for that position.

[10:25:07]

And then we're also looking potentially at a pick for secretary of state in the coming days, something that will send a message not only domestically, but to the world about Biden's approach when it comes to foreign policy and his priorities when it comes to foreign policy. So, we're looking at some really interesting days ahead for the Biden transition.

But of course, the big question when it comes to these nominations for cabinet picks is going to be the Senate. Will Republicans maintain control of the Senate? That is hanging in the balance right now with these two runoff Senate races in Georgia. If Republicans win those races and maintain control of the Senate, that could complicate these cabinet nominations for Biden, and of course it could complicate his governing agenda, what he's able to get done in those first few years as president before the midterm elections.

He has not, as far as we know, spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell because, as you know, Republicans and the president still refusing to recognize Biden as the winner of this election. But Biden did meet this week yesterday with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. They discussed, of course, the coronavirus pandemic, the economy. Those are going to be the biggest issues as Biden comes into the presidency. So, we're looking at potentially a coronavirus stimulus in his first days. These are the pieces that they are looking to put in place at this point.

One of the major hang-ups, though, of course, is that the General Services Administration still has not ascertained Joe Biden as the winner of this election, meaning he doesn't have access to important data, government information. So, we'll be watching to see if that ascertainment happens any time soon. Amara and Victor?

BLACKWELL: It's been two weeks since Joe Biden has been projected the winner of the election, and still it has not happened. Rebecca Buck in Washington, thank you.

We've got more now on the millions of people who are struggling just to feed themselves and their families this holiday season. This morning hundreds of people have been waiting for hours outside a food bank in Georgia. Our Natasha Chen is there with a report. We'll take you there live in a moment.

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[10:31:37]

BLACKWELL: Thanksgiving is five days away, but there are a lot of people in this country who are struggling to feed their families, not just on a holiday, but every day. WALKER: That's right. It's a first-time experience for many as food

insecurity in America continues to worsen because of the pandemic. CNN's Natasha Chen outside Atlanta this morning at a food giveaway. And Natasha, people there have been lined up for hours to receive food. What are they telling you?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Amara and Victor, they're telling me that 2020 is the first time many of them have come to a food drive. What you're seeing behind me right now are some of the fire department recruits who have been helping to volunteer distributing the boxes. We just saw some of the last cars come through, but we can show you video from the past hour where there were hundreds of people in their cars. The first people getting here at 5:30 a.m. for an event that wasn't supposed to start until 10:00.

And the people here in DeKalb County who have been running these food drives periodically through the year tell me that every time they do this, there are more people who show up, which just goes to show that the food insecurity, the need actually increases and has not gotten any better in this county, at least. Here is the county CEO talking about his concern about their ability to continue these events into 2021 if Congress doesn't act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL THURMOND, CEO DEKALB COUNTY: I'm pleading to our leaders in Washington, Republicans and Democrats, to really look around and see and understand the amount of pain and distress that is spreading across this nation. And I'm pleading with them to come together to either extend the deadline for these funds, or to send out a second stimulus package that will help families who are in need, begging them to rise above the discord and the rancor, and do what's right for the people of this nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And we're seeing some of the final cars come through right there with recruits putting those boxes into their trunks right now. We met a teacher who said that she used to have a part-time job reffing sports games, and of course those games are no longer being played during COVID, so her budget has shrunk. So a lot of people talking to me about how their work hours or work situations have changed this year, puts them in a tighter pinch.

And a recent storm that came through this area left a lot of people out of power, and she said her entire deep freezer good had to go. So, another reason why people are just in a tighter bind right now ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Amara and Victor?

BLACKWELL: It's a rough time, but we're all so appreciative for what they're doing there to make sure that the people in DeKalb County, those families have food. Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

WALKER: In a year that has, for too many people, felt cruel, an act of kindness can go a long way. BLACKWELL: That's what we're seeing at the First Unitarian Church in

L.A. Right now, volunteers are working to ensure that hundreds of people do not have to go hungry this week on this holiday, this coming up Thanksgiving. Paul Vercammen is on the story for us there. Paul, hello to you. About 1,000 people expected at this food drive, the first 200 get something special. What is it?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor, Amara, they're going to get a turkey. This is a weekly event, but they're ramping up their efforts at the Unitarian Church, and this is a symbol of just how tough the pandemic has been on everybody in terms of the economic impact.

[10:35:05]

You can see them in line here. This is in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. And they lined up, some of them, yesterday late in the afternoon, to make sure that they got a shot at this. And these volunteers are working furiously to get them their meals. The First Unitarian Church has been a pillar in the community helping everybody out.

And as you can tell, this is a walk-up food distribution event, not drive-up. But we'll show you just over here to the right, you'll see all this food stocked up. They also go so far as to give this food to churches in the neighborhood throughout Los Angeles as they shore up this shortage.

And I would like to talk to the organizer of this event. Trinity, come on over here. We'll set you over here just in one second. I know it's a little bit hectic and crowded here. You have seen the progression on the streets of Los Angeles where people are now looming on the horizon, facing the possible threat of eviction. You're also seeing more people who would never come to your food giveaway before. And just your thoughts on what has been happening here?

TRINITY TRAN, FOOD GIVEAWAY ORGANIZER: Well, this has been a record- breaking year for our food bank and food banks across the nation as we're looking at -- these are unprecedented times. And whether it's a holiday or whether it's another Saturday, it's now up to volunteers to feed the people. This is an essential service that needs -- that's being handled by volunteers because the federal government is failing to address basic safety nets for people.

And that's why we're seeing record-breaking numbers. Our lines are stretched down the block, around this block. And we need the federal government to step up, and that means increasing federal funding for programs like the USDA, which have now cut back on the emergency food programs that they were providing for food banks. That means increasing SNAP benefits, which are a critical lifeline to over 38 million Americans who depend on it. And also supplementing of unemployment insurance, those are some of the programs that we need to see scaled up to be able to address the critical need, to be able to provide relief for so many millions of Americans who depend on it, especially in this neighborhood where it's primarily low-income immigrants. VERCAMMEN: And you live around here. Can you give us a sense quickly,

being on the ground, of how much this level of anxiety has increased as this pandemic has dragged on and people don't have jobs?

TRAN: We're seeing a lot of people who are in line for the first time. There's about 1,000 people that we are expecting today, and that feeds thousands of more family members who are waiting at home for food. And as I mentioned, the federal programs that have been providing some of the relief are now being scaled back, and that's just creating a lot of anxiety for nonprofits like ours, and those in line who depend on the staple foods that we provide weekly.

VERCAMMEN: It is great that you have jumped into breach here and provided this food on a Saturday. I super appreciate your time.

TRAN: Thank you so much, Paul.

VERCAMMEN: There you have it, as you can see, Amara, Victor, on the streets of Los Angeles, a food pantry giveaway that's going to go on for a while. And people genuinely, you can see the smiles on their faces as they grab their box of food. Now back to you.

BLACKWELL: Paul Vercammen in Los Angeles, thanks.

And if you can at home, support your local food bank. Often, they can provide three, four meals from each dollar, and if you think $10 really isn't significant enough, imagine you can buy 40 meals with that, with their power to stretch that dollar to feed families. It could be any one of us at any time.

WALKER: That's true. And the fact that there's so many people in line for the first time, it just goes to show you how widespread the needs are and how so many of us are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Still to come, the state of Utah broke another single-day record for new COVID-19 cases, and its hospitals' ICUs are overwhelmed. We're going to talk to a doctor at a facility in Salt Lake City about what he's witnessing.

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[10:43:33]

WALKER: The U.S. is on track to cross 12 million coronavirus cases this weekend, and one of the hardest hit states in the country is Utah. The state broke another single-day record, with more than 4,500 positive infections. Intensive care units are on the brink of running out of beds.

Joining me now is Dr. Brandon Webb, he is a specialist at Intermountain Healthcare in Utah in the Infectious Diseases Unit. Doctor, we appreciate you joining us. We are seeing skyrocketing cases in Utah and hearing that the state's ICUs are almost at capacity, 89.3 percent. Describe to us what you are seeing in your facility and what you're hearing from fellow physicians around the state. DR. BRANDON WEBB, INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTHCARE INFECTIOUS DISEASES

PHYSICIAN: Absolutely. If you tour one of our hospitals today, what you're going to see is the effects of contingency care. We are at or beyond capacity, and so what you're seeing is entire wards that are full of COVID patients alone, seeing ICUs that are full. You're seeing new hospital wards being built in emergency departments and in children's wings. And you're seeing a lot of health care workers who are committed, exhausted, and discouraged a lot of times because most of these cases are preventable.

WALKER: So when you say preventable, let's talk about exposure and the usage of masks, because we know the incoming Biden administration is saying that they will be issuing a nationwide mask mandate, and for some reason the wearing of masks has become a political thing. That must be frustrating for you.

[10:45:15]

WEBB: Yes, this isn't about politics. This is about biology and behavior. And the behavior that we need is to come together and do the things that work. We know that masks work, we know that when two parties wear masks, it dramatically decreases the transmission rate. We know that distancing works, and we know that collapsing our social circles works.

WALKER: And just from a personal note, you're an infectious diseases doctor. Are you frustrated to see us go through this once again, deja vu all over again?

WEBB: Frustrated, but not surprised. It's a really tough thing. We recognize that in order to interrupt the cycle of transmission, people have to make hard behavioral decisions, intentional decisions to change the way we connect, the way we socialize. And we recognize that that's difficult. But on the flipside in the health care setting, we need that change from the community, because we're at capacity. We're doing everything we can.

WALKER: You're at capacity in Utah, and we have Thanksgiving just a few days from now. What are your biggest concerns when it comes to the holiday season?

WEBB: I mean, the biggest concern is the cruel mathematical predictability of this. Our hospital volumes right now reflect the transmission rate in the community from two weeks ago, which was half what it is now. And the reality is if we don't do things differently, if we don't find different ways to celebrate Thanksgiving, we're already projected to be in trouble, and it could get worse.

WALKER: It's just been such an awful year. When is it going to end? There's also a lot of misinformation out there about the virus, right, and conspiracists who, I understand, have been trying to gain access to a hospitalization in Utah to prove, somehow, that these hospitalization rates are not even real.

WEBB: Yes, and I'm not sure what they're expecting to see, people running hysterically in the halls or slumped over in hallways. That's not what you'll see in our hospitals. You'll see, like I said, the effects of contingency care and creative planning to go take care of patients in a lot of venues that we weren't previously using.

WALKER: And just lastly, give us your advice, what should we be doing. Especially with the holiday season, some people are going to travel no matter what, they're going to go and see their families, gather in groups in some capacity, especially knowing the CDC is now saying that more than 50 percent of coronavirus infections are spread by people who don't have any symptoms, which again speaks to the need for people to wear masks.

WEBB: Yes, plain and simple, wearing masks and finding reasons to wear them rather than excuses not to is critical. And finding ways to intentionally change our behavior, to shrink our social circles, to stick within a nuclear household will make a difference, and we need it.

WALKER: But what about over Thanksgiving, if people are going to have gatherings, what would you advise them to do?

WEBB: I think all gatherings have some risk, because someone could be attending who is asymptomatic, and you can't wear masks while you're eating. Where weather permits, eating outside is best, doing things that can help distance and shorten the amount of time of the gathering are things that you can do to temper the risk.

WALKER: Dr. Brandon Webb, we appreciate everything that you do. Thank you very much.

WEBB: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Next hour on CNN Newsroom, President Trump and his legal team are running out of ways to try and overturn the results of the election. So how much longer can the president refuse to concede?

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[10:53:27]

WALKER: In honor of our CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute, we are sharing incredible moments of inspiration. Here is this week's moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: When the call rang out for masks, gloves, face shields, and protective suits to keep our frontline workers safe, Americans responded with great generosity. Many simply turned in what little they had, but the workers at Branscomb, America, did something extraordinary. They moved in and quarantined in two of their manufacturing plants for nearly an entire month. What they made every day was the material needed to make life-saving protective gear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where can we resource to actually help during this crisis? And we found very quickly that our role in this is to keep that plant running safely and securely.

COOPER: So, for four weeks, no one left. They ate, slept, worked, and played together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's the team. The boys.

COOPER: When they needed a morale boost, family and friends formed a massive parade to say hello and send their love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awesome, awesome, thank you!

COOPER: And when the month ended, they had produced 40 million pounds of product, enough to make 1.5 billion surgical masks. They walked out together, a sign of determination and resolve to save lives in desperate times. And if you were wondering, yes, they got overtime and much needed time off with their families because of their heroic act.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WALKER: And to vote for any of our most inspiring moments, go to CNNHeroes.com. CNN's All-Star Tribute airs on December 13th.

[10:55:02]

And that is our time, everyone. Thanks so much for watching.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield continues after the break.

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