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Trump Legal Team Presses On With Election Fight; State Of Senate Hanging On Georgia Runoff; U.S. Coronavirus Tops 12 million; Biden's Transition Delay Might Thwart Distribution Of Vaccine; Tyson Foods Managers Alleged Betting On Employees Getting COVID-19; Restrictions Up In L.A. County With Surging Coronavirus Cases. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 22, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Erica Hill in New York in for Ana Cabrera. Two weeks and one day now since the math made it clear Joe Biden, not Donald Trump, won the presidential election. Two days and one week since CNN and other major news outlets made that call and still no evidence has materialized to change that call.

The Biden transition, despite zero cooperation from the White House, is happening. If you're waiting for the dam to finally break in the Republican Party, if you're waiting to hear sensible clear GOP officials admit the facts, accept the reality en masse, accept their constituents' votes, you're going to have to keep waiting.

That said, cracks are beginning to appear in the Republican wall of denial. I give you exhibit A, Chris Christie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: What's happened here is, quite frankly, the content of the president's legal team has been a national embarrassment. I've been a supporter of the president. I voted for him twice, but elections have consequences.

And we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn't happen. The country is what has to matter the most, as much as I'm a strong Republican and I love my party, it's the country that has to come first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Chris Christie there, a strong supporter of the president, as he said. He's been at the president's side throughout his term. He even helped, of course, Mr. Trump prepare for this year's presidential debate.

Also today, exhibit B, Republican congressman from Michigan where President Trump has been personally pressing state officials to dispute the vote count, to ignore legally cast ballots. Well that long-time Republican congressman saying the fight for now is over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. FRED UPTON (R-MI): The voters spoke. And here again in Michigan, it's not a razor-thin margin. Its 154,000 votes. You to let those votes stand -- 154,000 votes is plenty to overcome. I mean, it's over. The longer this last, languishes, the time then escapes from us from actually seeing a peaceful transition to the next administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: A peaceful transition. There's also the Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey, offering -- could be exhibit C I guess, last night. Shortly after a federal judge dismissed a Trump campaign seeking to invalidate millions of mail-in ballots, this statement. "I congratulate president-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory. They're both dedicated public servants and I will be praying for them and for our country."

Here's the reality. The main reason this presidential transition needs to begin in earnest now, not later, has nothing to do with politics. American lives are literally at stake. The coronavirus pandemic is raging. It is shattering unthinkable records on a daily basis.

More cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths. Already more than 256,000 American lives lost while waiting for a national plan to tackle COVID-19. Let's be honest here, the U.S. has been playing catch-up since day one.

So the more tools the Biden team has when they take over in January, the faster they can address this pandemic. The widespread Republican denial is also distracting them from a race that they really might want to focus on. It's one that will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

Two seats, remember, still to be decided. The outcome up to voters in one state, in Georgia. And that is where we begin our coverage of this hour with CNN's Ryan Nobles. So Ryan, Georgia Republican senator, Kelley Loeffler's campaign today saying she has now tested negative for coronavirus, this comes after she tested positive on Friday. What more do we know tonight?

RYAN NOBLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know a lot of confusion, frankly, Erica. Senator Loeffler and her team said that she did test positive for coronavirus on Friday. She's since taken a number of tests. One came back inconclusive. Then they went back and checked the results of that test again and then determined that she had tested negative.

She is now going through yet another test in what her campaign says is that if she's able to test negative twice, then that will allow her the opportunity to get back out on the campaign trail. But as of right now, she is isolating.

And the effects of this, the impact have now trickled down across the Republican Party here in Georgia. Senator David Perdue, who is the other incumbent senator who is in this runoff race with so much at stake.

[17:05:02]

He's been around Kelley Loeffler quite a bit over the past week or so. Been with her at an event with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday. None of them were wearing masks at different point in that event. So he too is isolating until the results of her test become more clear.

So we're waiting to see exactly the outcome there. But boy, Erica, you really laid it out well. Everything that's happening with President Trump complaining about the results of the election, they really are a far cry in terms of the importance as to what happens here in Georgia over the next month or so.

These two races will determine who controls the United States Senate in the next congress. If the Democrats are able to sweep, that means the Democrats will have control of the House, the presidency and the Senate. But if even one of these Republicans is able to hold on, Mitch McConnell and the Republicans will continue to hold the Senate majority.

So there's so much at stake here, so much money pouring into the Peach State. And everyone in the political world keeping a very close eye on what's happening here, Erica.

HILL: Yes, that's for sure. And we're also going to be looking to Georgia again not just are for the Senate race, but the Trump administration now requesting a recount in Georgia. Just a reminder of course, President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner on Friday following a hand audit.

So, I mean, this will essentially be the third time that Georgia's 5 million votes will be tabulated. Is anything likely to change, Ryan?

NOBLES: If you talk to the experts, Erica, they flat reply say no. And many say that this is really just an exercise in futility. We should point out that the results in Georgia have already been counted twice, including a hand audit the second time around and there was really no discernible difference in the ultimate outcome.

So yet, the Trump campaign has the ability to ask for another recount after the certification. They're going to do so, but there's very little chance it will change the outcome.

HILL: Ryan Nobles live for us tonight in Georgia. Ryan, thank you.

Well, President Trump's baseless election battle really isn't working at this point. We know the outcome hasn't be changed. Joe Biden is still the winner. But the president's legal losses are really piling up.

And now his wall of GOP support appears to be showing some cracks. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is at the White House. So Jeremy, despite the reality, we know the president is really staying on this path. He is determined to undermine the election. JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No doubt, Erica. Even

as the president suffers one loss after the next, he is digging in in his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Yesterday, he suffered this major defeat in the state of Pennsylvania. A federal judge there dismissing out of hand the president's attempts to prevent the state of Pennsylvania from certifying election results, essentially handing a death nail to the president's efforts to overturn the results and Joe Biden's victory in that state.

In the wake of that, you are starting to see some of the pressure in the Republican Party building on the president. Senator Pat Toomey, Republican senator, announcing after that federal judge dismissed the president's lawsuit that he would recognize Joe Biden as president- elect and he called on President Trump to concede this election.

You are also starting to see other Republicans beginning say at a minimum that this transition needs to begin even as the president continues to play out this shrinking number of legal avenues that he still has. We are also seeing the president's efforts to pressure Republican state lawmakers, also failing, whether it is in the state of Michigan or in the state of Pennsylvania.

The president's pressure has not led any of those Republican state lawmakers to say that they would overturn the will of the voters and assign those electors to President Trump instead of the winner in those two states, President-elect Biden.

And so the president really facing narrowing options and increasing pressure among Republicans. Although we should note, that a majority of Republican lawmakers here in Washington so far, have refused to acknowledge Joe Biden as the president-elect even as we come close to three weeks after that presidential election took place.

Now, as for President Trump, you know, this weekend he spent a lot of time on the golf course. He also spent a little bit of time attending the G20 Summit, which is happening virtually this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

And in that message that the president gave this morning in a pre- recorded message, he made very clear that he is ending his presidency as he began, striking out a very unilateral picture for the U.S. foreign policy and making clear that the U.S. is an outlier, including on that critical issue of climate change. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To protect American workers, I withdrew the United States from the unfair and one-sided Paris Climate Accord. A very unfair act for the United States. The Paris Accord was not designed to save the environment. It was designed to kill the American economy.

I refuse to surrender millions of American jobs and send trillions of American dollars to the world's worst polluters and environmental offenders. And that's what would have happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND: Now, even as the president is making clear that he stands by his decision to withdraw the U.S. from those Paris Climate Accord, President-elect Joe Biden has made also very clear that he plans to rejoin that climate agreement as soon as he takes office and he will strike out a very different U.S. policy as it relates to climate change and of course, many other issues, Erica.

[17:10:05]

HILL: Yes, many other ones, you're right. Jeremy Diamond, live at the White House tonight. Jeremy, thank you.

Joining me now, CNN Senior Political Analyst, Kirsten Powers and legendary journalist and CNN Political Analyst, Carl Bernstein. Carl, look, on paper we know the president is losing, but in terms of sewing doubt, he is winning here. Just how big of a threat is President Trump right now to democracy?

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He, as he has been throughout his presidency, is a huge threat to democracy in America. For the first time in our history, we are watching a president of the United States sabotage the interest of the United States through undermining our very electoral system. He is the mad king on his way out of office, destroying in his wake, out the door, our most basic institutional and constitutional stability.

It is going to be a long time to undo the damage he has done to this country, to the national security of the United States, to the health and welfare of the United States, including the hundreds of thousands of dead because of his homicidal negligence that are resulting from his policies and his absence of presidential leadership in the pandemic.

We've never seen this kind of destruction by a president of the United States, disregard for the interest of its people, it's constitutional and it is borders on seditious. And it's going to be up to the American people to see as he leaves how this rogue mad king should be treated after he leaves office.

HILL: Well, as we watch for that and we watch what is happening on that road, we should point out the president's attorneys are really trying to spin even this latest legal loss in Pennsylvania. I just want to read for you what we heard last night from them noting, "Today's decision turns out to help us in our strategy to get expeditiously to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Of course, we know that the president for some time has been talking about the Supreme Court's involvement in this election, alluding to it multiple times before Election Day. One example from September. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: I think this will end up in the Supreme Court and I think it's very important that we have nine justices. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: We've known this all along, but Kirsten, just to point out here, even if this ends up in the Supreme Court, it does not mean that President Trump is getting a second term.

KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: He's not. I mean, this is just madness. There is nothing -- I mean, as Chris Christie pointed out, they're not even making the case when they get into court that there's been any kind of real voter fraud.

You know, they talk about these irregularities that they can't really point to that certainly wouldn't overturn the state in Michigan 150,000 votes. It's just unimaginable if Hillary had behaved this way when Donald Trump won -- barely won, you know, two or three states, and yet we have an overwhelming victory in Michigan and he's still trying to claim that there was some sort of voter fraud, which would be impossible to do at that level.

I mean, it's just -- and I just want to say also, it's not just Donald Trump. I mean, the Republican Party doesn't get off the hook here. They have been priming their voters for at least the last five to seven years with the idea that Democrats are always stealing elections. They make up these bogus stories and they're constantly telling them this.

So they're perfectly primed for somebody to do something like this. And the fact that you have a couple of people coming out and saying something is completely outrageous. I mean, what the president is doing by any standard is utterly unacceptable.

The entire world is watching us. It doesn't just affect what happens in the United States. We are a model and a leader in the world and what he is doing, it's unforgivable.

HILL: Well, and to your point, what we are not seeing and what we are not hearing, right, are more Republicans come out publicly and say that.

POWERS: Right.

HILL: Right? Say that they are concerned for the future of this country, that they are concerned for democracy, that what they see is not okay. And Carl, what's interesting is for four years we have been talking about, well, they won't say anything publicly but privately there's also this concern happening behind the scenes.

At what point are we going to start to see a shift because things are different now. We're now in this transition period and the reality is the president is out of office on January 20th and the country needs a peaceful transition of power, no matter who the country voted for. So, is there -- are there some rumblings you're hearing behind the scenes that maybe perhaps finally we'll start to hear more of those private conversations publicly?

BERNSTEIN: You know, if you're asking me, the answer is yes, but it's coming very, very late.

[17:14:56]

Look, the Republicans in the senate particularly have been craving, not just through just four years, but particularly through this seditious last period of Trump's presidency in which he's trying to bring down the very Democratic existence that is the bed rock of our country.

Let's make no mistake about what it is. And if there are Republicans in the Senate who in talking to each other, despise and disdain this president, many of them, 15, 20 of them were happy to see Joe Biden win the presidency as long as the Republicans continue to hold the Senate.

On my twitter account, I think later tonight, I said on the air the other day. I listed about 15 of these senators. I'll put it up on twitter who they are. And many of them have been craving and refusing to speak though. I know from members of their staffs, from many people in the Senate itself who they are and what they've been saying about Donald Trump.

And yet, this is the shame of the Republican Party that it has allowed the Republican, the party of Lincoln to be captured by Donald Trump, an authoritarian, who is determined to undermine the Constitution, to undermine electoral system, to undermine our very democracy, whose interests are his self-interests, his financial interests, the interest of his family.

It is no accident that almost all of his principal national security advisers from Mattis to Bolton to Kelley and on down the line, that they left believing that Donald Trump is a threat to the national security of the United States.

We are now witnessing the ultimate threat as he tries to dismantle our constitutional protections and institutional stability of this country as he goes out the door.

HILL: And Kirsten, real quickly, I understand the strategy of not wanting to give too much oxygen to the president because what he thrives on is attention, and yet is it time for the Biden team to be more vocal about just how damaging this lack of transition cooperation really is?

POWERS: No, I don't think they should spend any time on it. It's not, you know, the president does -- just want to get attention. He just wants to blow up the system. He just wants to be the center of everything. And, you know, I think making him the center of everything just place into what he wants.

He would love to have a fight with Joe Biden. I think that Joe Biden should just do what he's doing, be the president-elect, be a grownup, be, you know, the person who actually cares about the future of this country versus the person who is just obsessed with himself.

HILL: Kirsten Powers, Carl Bernstein, great to have you both here tonight. Thank you.

BERNSTEIN: Thanks.

POWERS: Thank you.

HILL: As President Trump continues to deny the reality of the election results, President-elect Biden continuing on, expected to begin announcing his cabinet picks this week. So, who is on the list? That's next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

HILL: When President-elect Biden takes office, he'll be leading a country not only at war with the virus, but in many ways at war with itself. Just consider the state of Texas, the first state to record a million total cases of coronavirus.

At this point, Texas has not only more cases than any other state in the U.S. It also has more than all but 10 countries worldwide. Many of its hospitals are strained, as we've talked about so many times on CNN. In El Paso, the morgues are as well at this point.

Right now, about 1 in every 25 residents in El Paso is actively infected with COVID. One in 10 has battled the virus at some point. Now, the National Guard is there in El Paso, called in to help with mortuary support.

Previously, inmates had been recruited to help with the overflow of bodies. This as the CDC, of course, is warning against travel, warning against gatherings this Thanksgiving, to avoid further spread, further pain.

Meantime, one of the state's two senators posting this. It's a picture, as you can see, of a turkey with the words, come and take it. That's from Senator Ted Cruz. I'm not sure who is actively trying to take away his turkey, but here's what we do know. The virus is raging in the state of Texas and does not care about anyone's politics.

Joining me now is former Health and Human Services Secretary under President Obama, Kathleen Sebelius, and former adviser to four U.S. presidents, both Democrat and Republican, David Gergen.

Good to see both of you tonight.

So, Secretary Sebelius, with all of the scenarios that you went through while preparing for a possible pandemic, was there ever a time that you talked through the possibility of almost an entire political party denying the science and fighting you on public health measures that would be needed to deal with a possible pandemic?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, FORMER HHS SECRETARY: Well, Erica, none of us ever contemplated this scenario. The president never contemplated this scenario. And never in the history of the United States have we seen a public health crisis be politicalized the way this one was. And I go back to April when the CDC put out very clear step-by-step

guidance of how the country could safely re-open. We were under voluntary national stay at home orders. And the CDC was asked and did follow through with a step-by-step here's what you do to protect the health system.

Here's what the positivity rate should be like, here's how much testing should be in place, what the contact tracers should look like. And the number one goal was to keep Americans safe and secure. The following day the president of the United States chose to begin attacking governors, demanding that Michigan be opened, that Virginia be opened, that Minnesota be open, liberated, as he said.

And that started what was an ongoing debate about what the protocol should be. Should we follow the science?

[17:25:00]

Should we pay any attention to what the good health experts said? And we now are bearing those results. Three million cases so far in November alone. Hospitals filled to beyond capacity. Not just in Texas but here in the Midwest, across the country. People are being transported for hours or out of state to try desperately to find a hospital bed. And the end is nowhere in sight.

HILL: You know, as we look at all of this, you know, we've been saying for months, to your point, the need to address the reality of the situation. The need for some leadership.

We are, David, starting to see some Republicans, when we talk about this transition, some Republicans telling the president it's time to concede, including the governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, which of course the president was not happy with.

Hit back pretty quickly, talking about -- taking a swipe at him, talking about buying faulty COVID tests from overseas. Here's the response from Governor Hogan, "If you had done your job, America's governors wouldn't have been forced to fend for themselves to find tests in the middle of a pandemic, as we successfully did in Maryland. Stop golfing and concede."

David, we know what the message is, obviously, in that tweet, but how much further do you think it goes in terms of influencing others to speak out?

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER TO NIXON, FORD, REAGAN & CLINTON: How much influence Larry Hogan has in general --

HILL: Yes.

GERGEN: -- or this general view (ph). But I think it's a message that is growing and this could seek him out (inaudible) the same thing, that this is a national embarrassment. (Inaudible) to stand up and thank goodness we have people like Liz Cheney in the House and Lamar Alexander in the Senate, Republicans with backbone, who stood up. But, Erica, when you look at the overall numbers, the number of prominent Republicans who have stood up to Trump on this, you can count on two hands. It is an embarrassment for the party that it is not taking this seriously.

The party is complicit. The Republican Party is complicit and the mess we have on our hands and the number of deaths. This is not just the president. The Congress is an equal branch of government. It has the responsibility to step up when there is a crisis.

They failed to do that. And we've got ourselves into a terrible spot. We can work our way up. The vaccine, you know, apparently coming. But nonetheless, we have paid a terrible price probably on the number of deaths of Americans, the number of people who are going to be left with all sorts of infirmities, and the reputation of the United States, which is how crazy looking like a crazy banana republic.

HILL: You know, you mentioned the vaccine, David. Secretary, as we look at this, the good news, obviously, is that there is a vaccine on the horizon that we're getting this, you know, excellent data in terms of efficacy that things are moving along quickly.

That being said, the vaccine has been politicized. I mean, we can't ignore that either. So just based on your experience, right. You were in charge of convincing Americans -- he's talking about the swine flu vaccine and H1N1, when that was a bog issue.

What should the narrative be as we are moving towards perhaps emergency use authorization, as we're moving towards a rollout of a vaccine for the coronavirus vaccine, what should Americans hear about it?

SEBELIUS: Well, I think it's really important to start right away to make sure that there's a lot of transparency around the steps of this process. That as the FDA considers moving forward with the authorization, that people can really unpack the data.

What does 95 percent efficacy mean? Who is the vaccine most successful in terms of preventing the disease? What happens if you get one shot versus two shots? All those things -- the more the American public can hear from scientists, can be reassured that this is not some kind of political trick, I think the further we go down the line of getting people to be ready to be vaccinated.

But I would tell you that, to David's point, what's going on right now is going to lose more lives. Is going to actually kill people because not having the transition team be able to know what the logistics of planning vaccine distribution are, what the priority order is, and how that's going to be satisfied.

Governors need to know what role the federal government will play. Are they on their own as they have been since March or will the federal government actually try to deliver the vaccine to the last mile if they identify the providers and the individuals who need to be vaccinated? Can they count on the federal government to have the logistic plan to

get the vaccine to them? All those pieces of the puzzle are daunting, under any circumstances. But with a two-dose vaccine that may have to be stored at super cold temperatures, it's even more daunting.

[17:29:59]

And having the Trump administration and the current HHS refuse to let the Biden team communicate around vaccine logistics, get into the agencies, talk to people is incredibly dangerous.

HILL: Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, David Gergen, I really appreciate you both joining us tonight. Thank you

GERGEN: Thank you, Erica.

HILL: The Trump administration refusing to formally sign off on a transition to President-elect Biden. So, just how does that affect this nation's preparedness amid a raging pandemic? We just touched on part of it. Well, ahead, a member of the Biden/Harris transition COVID-19 advisory board joins me to talk about those hurdles and how they're trying to get over them. You're live in "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:00]

HILL: As the coronavirus rages across the country, the U.S. has now set hospitalization records for 12 straight days. And nowhere is the lack of communication during this transition between a Trump White House and the incoming Biden administration as critical and potentially damaging as it is in terms of how we fight this pandemic.

And, of course, as parts of that, how a vaccine is distributed once it's available. Dr. Celine Gounder is one of the medical experts recently named to Biden's COVID-19 advisory team. She's also an infectious disease specialist. Good to see you tonight.

So, we know that just today, President Trump's vaccine chief acknowledge she's had no contact with the Biden transition team. I mean, just give us a sense of where do you stand right now. What has been your experience in terms of getting information, right, as being one of these advisers to the president-elect? Has there been any improvement and do you see signs it could get better?

CELINE GOUNDER, BIDEN-HARRIS TRANSITION COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: We're currently not having conversations with the current administration. We're not even supposed to be back channeling. So, we're piecing together what is being done through conversations with other stakeholders.

And that means that this information, gathering information -- I don't want to call it a transfer, but trying to get ourselves up to speed is taking much longer than it would if we had a smooth transition. It's not complete because there is going to be information that only the administration is going to have and that's not being shared with us. HILL: You know, part of what we heard also today is concern about the

politicization of the vaccine. I just want to play one of those moments. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: I think it's very unfortunate that the whole process has been politicized and, therefore, the context has created conditions whereby people's perception have been exacerbated and we are where we are today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: So, there's the perceptions, right. This is one of the things I'm sure that you are talking about in your meetings, about what the messaging should be. Part of that messaging involves, you know, timelines. How much damage do you think the politics have caused at this point when we talk specifically about a vaccine?

GOUNDER: I think the politics have been enormously damaging. If you look at survey data that's been done looking at Americans' likelihood of accepting a vaccine, those numbers have gone down, down, down over the last several months.

And I'm particularly concerned about communities of color, for example, which have shouldered an undue burden from the coronavirus pandemic, both health wise as well as economically. And they are among those who are also least trusting of this vaccine, which means that, again, you'll see another disparity perpetrated here.

HILL: You know, there's also -- the messaging I think is somewhat confusing. It is wonderful to know that we're getting a vaccine. And I certainly hear the hope just in talking to friends and family members about, okay, now we see it. There is some light at the end of the tunnel.

But the reality of when that light will reach the average American, I'm not sure that's been clear. And I think this may be a perfect example of why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SLAOUI: Our plan is to be able to ship vaccines to the immunization sites within 24 hours from the approval. So, I would expect maybe on day two after approval, on the 11th or on 12th of December.

SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORME FDA COMMISSIONER: I think by the second quarter of 2021 maybe into the third quarter we'll have a vaccine that hopefully will be licensed for general use if everything goes well and the data continues to support the safety and effectiveness of that vaccine and we'll be able to vaccinate the public or a good portion of the public heading into fall of 2021.

(END VIDOTAPE)

HILL: I mean, you listen to the two different timelines there, and I understand that Moncef Slaoui is talking about those initial doses, which we are all imagining will go to those on the frontlines. How important is a realistic timeline here and a consistent one?

GOUNDER: Yes, I think the message here is that the people who are going to be vaccinated starting this calendar year will be front line health care workers, other essential workers and you'll also see vaccinations in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

The general public will not have access until April or May at the earliest. And then it takes time. It takes time to vaccinate everybody and for everybody to want to be vaccinated and come in for vaccinations. So yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel but there is a still long tunnel ahead of us. And that means we really need to double down on the other basic prevention measures in the meantime.

HILL: The virus is not changing between now and January 20th, as we know. What do you think though will change starting January 20th with the Biden administration in terms of how the virus is approached?

[17:39:56]

GOUNDER: Well, I think you're going to see a very different messaging on masks. Masks have also had been very politicized. Masks are a basic public health measure. It's like politicizing toilet paper. Masks are highly effective. They're cheap and they do not shut down the economy.

So, if you want to keep the economy open, masks need to be number one, two and three as part of your strategy. The other key thing you're going to see a big difference in tenor, in emphasis on is testing. The current administration has really discouraged testing, had said we're testing too much.

Well, the fact is, you cannot get your hands hand around -- you cannot wrap your hands around a problem like this until you understand what the problem is, where the transmission is occurring, in what populations and why. And the only way to know that is if you do a lot more testing than we're doing currently right now.

HILL: Dr. Celine Gounder, appreciate it as always. Thank you.

GOUNDER: My pleasure.

HILL: Just ahead, stunning allegations out of Iowa. A lawsuit claims managers at a food processing plant bet on just how many employees would get COVID-19. Those details are next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:00]

HILL: Managers as a Tyson Foods pork processing plant are accused of placing bets on how many workers would contract coronavirus. That's according to an update that a lawsuit brought by the family of a worker who died from the virus. CNN's Dan Simon has the story. (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 catch the coronavirus. 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 1,000 employees would catch the virus, about a third of the nearly 3,000 working at the plant.

UKNOWN: I'm scared.

SIMON (voice-over): Ernest Latiker spoke to CNN's Gary Tuchman in April about his conversation with Tyson's H.R. department.

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

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

SIMON (voice-over): That was Tyson 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. But it's been revised with even more troubling claims including the alleged betting pool.

Another manager is also alleged to have also 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.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think they care about your health?

UNKNOWN: Not as much as they need to.

(END VIDEOTAPE) DAN 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 that he's also tapped former attorney general, Eric Holder, to launch an investigation. I'm Dan Simon, CNN, reporting.

HILL: Up next, we're going to take you live to the West Coast where new restrictions are crushing the restaurant industry.

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[17:50:00]

HILL: We've been following the economic impact of COVID-19 and the restaurant industry in Los Angeles has certainly not been spared as the case count surges. And L.A. County health officer reporting a 68 percent increase in new cases between October 28th and November 10th.

On Thursday, the county reported its highest new case count of the pandemic, more than 5,000. CNN's Paul Vercammen is live in Los Angeles. Paul, we know there's this series of new restrictions enacted in the state of California, some more looming, and that is a major concern for the restaurant industry.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Erica. Look at it as a series of devastating waves crashing down on the restaurants and bar business. Just last night, a curfew went into effect at 10:00 p.m. No more gatherings in restaurants and bars, and that means no patrons and thus no business.

And now, we're on the brink here in L.A. County. Per the county rules, this is a little complexed, but stay with me. If the five-day average exceeds 4,000 new cases, restaurants and bars can offer only takeout or pickup. And we're on the brink of it right now after several days.

So, take Dustin Lancaster, a major player in the restaurant business here. He went from 13 down to 10 restaurants. Behind me, his L&E Oyster Bar. Right now, he's chewing his fingernails because he just doesn't know what's going to happen. He already laid off 250 employees. He brought some back. And now, this, the possibility of having to close down again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DUSTIN LANCASTER, LOS ANGELES RESTAURANT OWNER: The biggest toll is we're going to have to lay off the people that we just brought back or we're going to have to furlough them, likely, as we downsize to the takeout only which, you know, requires less kitchen, less front of house staff. So, this influx is just --it's about to break us all.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VERCAMMEN: And Lancaster also noting if it is not a straight layoff, you have the situation where people's hours are just so dramatically cut. He and other restaurateurs just want to see a stimulus package passed. There was a $120 billion in one of these measures that was earmarked for the restaurant business.

He's now saying we'll take $30 billion. We'll take anything. Anything to keep these service workers in Los Angeles. And obviously, throughout the country, back on their jobs. Back to you, Erica.

HILL: Yes, it's so important. Just one thing to clarify, Paul. So you're saying that if they hit that number, there's no outdoor dining either. It is just takeout.

[17:54:59]

VERCAMMEN: That's in L.A. County. That's right. If the five-day average exceeds 4,000 new cases per day, which we're on the brink of that right now, that's what has the restaurateurs here just so nervous, and then every single person, whether it be a server or a maitre d, anyone who makes their living in the restaurant business is just absolutely recoiling in terror.

HILL: Absolutely. All their distributors as well. And as you point out, this is something that millions of Americans are dealing with across the country. Paul Vercammen, appreciate it. Thank you.

A quick programming note for you. Tonight, the final two episodes of the CNN Original Series "First Ladies." Hillary Clinton airs at 10:00, followed by Lady Bird Johnson at 11:00. Be sure to stay with us for that. We'll be right back.

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[17:59:59]