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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Keeps Claiming Anyone Who "Wants" a Test Can Get One; Top Health Official: Anyone Who "Needs" a Test Can Get One; Trump: U.S. Conducting 300,000 Coronavirus Tests Daily; Harvard Institute: 900,000 Tests Daily Needed by May 15; WH Orders Staffers Wear a Mask After Scrambling to Deal With Two Staffers Who Tested Positive. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired May 11, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, the President declares the United States has prevailed on testing, saying again that anyone who wants to test can get a test. But health experts say that is just not true and the United States is not where it needs to be to fully reopen.
Plus, coronavirus in the White House scramble to contain the spread in a new policy mandating masks. But why isn't the President wearing one?
And the government's loan programs supposed to be a financial lifeline. Many though in the restaurant industry say it is failing. Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio is my guest.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, Trump's mission accomplished. The President claiming victory when it comes to testing in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have met the moment and we have prevailed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, in fact, the President is saying the United States is only conducting 300,000 tests a day. The Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, Dr. Ashish Jha, with a very conservative estimate, says the United States need to be at, at least, 900,000 tests a day this week. Especially considering that a lot of people right now who are even able to get a test have symptoms. They're symptomatic. Something President Trump pointed out himself today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If people want to get tested, they get tested. But for the most part, they shouldn't want to get tested. There's no reason. They feel good. They don't have sniffles. They don't have sore throats. They don't have any problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Of course, the problem, of course, is that it isn't just that the United States is far short of the tests needed despite recent improvements on testing. It's the people who do not have sore throats or symptoms can have and spread coronavirus. I mean, first of all, we now know that many people are most contagious before they have symptoms at all.
So even if you're going to be symptomatic, it's before you have the symptoms that you are the most contagious. In other words, there'd be no sniffles or sore throat. And second, by Trump's sniffle and sore throat logic, Katie Miller, the Press Secretary for Vice President Pence would not qualify for a test. But she got one daily because of who she worked for. One day she was negative, the positive, reportedly no symptoms. She has coronavirus. She works in the West Wing. Her husband Stephen Miller is regularly in close physical proximity to President Trump.
But by President Trump's logic, Katie Miller would not have gotten a test, not if she was an ordinary American being told to go back to work because no sniffles, no sore throat, no symptoms. That is why his logic doesn't add up. As Trump's own testing chief made clear at the same press conference today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BRETT GIROIR, HHS ASSISTANT SECRETARY: So the CDC guidelines really says that if you're in close contact, just testing negative on that one day doesn't mean you won't be positive later on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Right. So even in the same day, you could be negative when you're tested and that could change. It could change at any time, which is why as the president says America needs to get back to work, sending many millions back into workplaces, this is clearly not true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As far as Americans getting a test, they should all be able to get a test right now. They should be able to get a test. If somebody wants to be tested right now, they'll be able to be tested.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Kaitlan Collins is OUTFRONT live at the White House. And Kaitlan, the president abruptly ended the briefing as you were up. He had called on you. You came to ask your question, abruptly ended it, what happened?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he did not let me ask a question after he had pointed to me and call on me, something that he noted after the fact that's because I let my colleague from CBS continue asking her question, when she had asked the President a variation of why was he talking about what ranking the United States was, why was that important to him, given the fact that we are at 80,000 deaths now here in the United States clearly more Americans are still getting coronavirus every day and he told her she needed to ask China that question.
And, of course, we did ask that, that was because she is an Asian- American reporter and that is why he was asking her that question. And then he abruptly stormed out of the press conference. He did not take any other questions, Erin. He left and went back into the Oval Office.
And this comes, of course, as the main press conference takeaway was they wanted it to be about testing. That is what the President was trying to talk about, talk about how they've ramped up their efforts. He made some misleading comparisons talking about the United States and South Korea saying that we are doing more than South Korea. Of course, the populations are a lot different, South Korea did a lot more rigorous testing early on and helped flatten their curve and that's why they've seen a few hundred deaths while we've seen a thousands of deaths here in the United States, 80,000 today is the marker that we hit.
And also the questions that are facing the President are about what is he doing given the fact that two people tested positive here last week, two people who often work on White House grounds and are often in the West Wing. And you saw one of his top economic advisors yesterday saying he believes it's scary to come into work given the fact that they could be exposed.
[19:05:06]
And they are still trying to work on that contact tracing, trying to contain that outbreak. And Erin, that all comes as there is a new change at the White House, which is that staffers are now wearing masks. They issued a directive earlier today telling staffers that if you're coming into the West Wing, you need to be covering your face. That was not the policy before.
But the question is, is the President and the Vice President going to follow that guidance. And judging from the President's appearance in the Rose Garden, he is not because everyone else is wearing one, including his Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also wearing masks, but the President himself was not.
So it's not clear if he's not going to follow that policy going forward, but a lot of questions we had for the President he did not answer any of those from us, at least, at the end of that press conference before he left the Rose Garden.
BURNETT: All right. Kaitlan, thank you very much. And I want to go now to Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Ashish Jha, Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute.
So Dr. Jha, I was just referencing, obviously, your numbers and you have been in the forefront of testing capabilities in America. So what do you say to the President who, talking about a 300,000 tests a day number, which is an improvement, of course, from where we were, says anyone in the United States who wants a test can now get one?
DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: So, Erin, thanks for having me on. Look, the reality is that's not the experience of most Americans. Doctors and nurses trying to order tests still finding that in many places that's not possible. They can't get test for people who have symptoms and a lot of people who will need a test because they might work in a high risk environment can't get a test.
So the reality on the ground is that many people who need a test can't get one today. And until they can get one, it's really dangerous to try to open up our economy and tell everybody they can just go back to work as though there wasn't a major outbreak out there.
BURNETT: Right. And, of course, to the point we made about Katie Miller, Sanjay, she was being tested every day, just as a condition of going to her job which many people on the frontlines in this country should also have that. But because she was getting that negative one day positive the next, that's how it happens.
And the President now says that all Americans will be able to be tested daily very soon. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When will it be that Americans across the country will be able to get tested every day as they go back to work?
TRUMP: Very soon. I mean, really very soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So Sanjay, just to make the obvious point here, there are about 150-ish million Americans who work. Obviously, you've had huge job loss, obviously some of them can work from home. Say that number is 100 million people, we're not anywhere close.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. We're not anywhere close. And I mean, I think it's very interesting that people look at the White House and say this is how they're approaching this. Certain people are being tested every day. In order to try and give people a sense of safety.
It's not perfect by any means, because as you pointed out, people can be completely asymptomatic. They may test negative one day, positive the next day. It may be due to an exposure they have several days earlier. So it's not a failsafe by any means, but we're nowhere close to sort of giving people that confidence either physically or even psychologically, Erin, that they don't have the virus that day, that people around them that they're about to come in contact at their place of work don't have the virus.
I mean, I think that's what we're going to need to some extent. I mean, I'm not sure what it looks like, ultimately. But it looks like a lot more testing than we have now. And I don't think it's important to compare this to other countries either. I mean, we have to look at what we're able to do now and what the
impact of that will be in this country. We're not close to it, which is too bad, because I think this is something - this is one of the many issues that we probably could have tackled earlier and probably had a much bigger impact on.
BURNETT: And Dr. Jha, to the point Sanjay is making is that what happened, because the President did bring up South Korea and now say we're at two times more tests per capita than South Korea, so adjusted for population. However, you have a few hundred deaths there, you have 80,000 deaths and it's going to go significantly higher than that in this country.
Sure, they had a guy go to a nightclub last week, but they were able to point out every single contact he seemed to have made in that time. I mean, what is it that went so dramatically different between the U.S. and South Korea, because it isn't just testing? Is it the timing of that testing or something else?
JHA: Yes. So South Korea jumped on this very early. So they had a lot of testing upfront running by February and March. So yes, we've done twice as much testing per capita, our outbreak is 20 times bigger per capita than South Korea. So we let this get ahead of us. We have a lot more cases in the United States and so we actually just need a lot more testing to try to catch up.
And as you said, Erin, testing is really, really important. It's one part of the strategy. A second part is tracing, identifying who you've been in contact with. And then, of course, isolation, making sure that people who have been tested positive or who've been in contact with people tested positive are isolated, so they don't infect other people.
[19:10:01]
It's a comprehensive approach that has led South Korea basically keep their society open. The fact that they have nightclubs that are even open is a testament to what they've been able to do, which America has not because of our testing failures.
BURNETT: So Sanjay, because of our failures, a key Coronavirus model often cited by the White House now predicts 137,000 deaths in the U.S. by August. It had been 134,000. Then, of course, at one point they were citing the 74,000, these numbers have gone dramatically upwards almost doubling, why?
GUPTA: A lot of it just because of the increased mobility now of people. I mean, even as these states started to reopen even before they were officially reopened, according to the modelers, Chris Murray and his team over in Washington started to see some increased mobility. They were looking at cell phone data that was anonymous and trying to sort of calculate movement and mobility that way, people are moving around.
I mean, it's interesting, Erin, because a lot of people when you look at the polling, they'll say despite the fact states are reopening, I'm still going to stay-at-home. More people are saying that they're not, but mobility is going up and as they get more data points, I mean, these models are fed by these inputs and it worries me.
And I hate to say this, but I think that the numbers are still - they're still low. I mean, remember, Erin, at one point, they were saying 70,000 by the end of August, we're middle of May right now and we're at 80,000 people. It's horrific to even think about that that way.
But I think sadly the numbers that they're projecting are still even low, if you look at how things are going and the numbers are likely to get worse with the state's reopening.
BURNETT: And Dr. Jha, this comes as - and I know testing is just one part of it, but, again, if you're going to be putting people back to work, you need testing, all sorts of testing, both antibody and actual virus testing. Today, the President was saying anyone who can get a test can get one and whenever one goes back to work, we're very close to everyone being able to get one, false. But it's a totally different view on testing than what he said last week. Here he is last week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't think you need that kind of testing, that much testing.
I've always said testing is somewhat overrated.
We have the best testing in the world, but testing is not necessarily the answer.
If we did very little testing, we wouldn't have the most cases. So in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: What do you say to that, Dr. Jha?
JHA: Well, what I would say is you shouldn't listen to the President, you shouldn't listen to me, you should look at actions. The actions here are that when the President was worried about the safety of the Oval Office, which he should be and we should all be, we've got to keep that place protected. What they did was they started testing everybody every day, so words are fine.
He can say we don't need testing. I can say we need more testing. It doesn't matter. What we should do is look at the actions and the actions of the White House are that they are testing all of their employees every day and that's how they're trying to keep the President safe and I'm interested in keeping all Americans safe. And I don't think we need to test everybody every day, but we clearly need to be testing a lot more people.
BURNETT: And Sanjay, the FDA has granted its first emergency use for an antigen test, which looks for pieces of the virus sort of a different technology than some of the other tests that are out there.
GUPTA: Yes.
BURNETT: And Dr. Birx had said we needed to break through at that sort of level. She's specifically mentioned antigen testing when she spoke about that a few weeks ago. So how significant is, this new test? Is it sort of a breakthrough capability?
GUPTA: Well, these antigen tests could be very important because they're easier to perform than the standard diagnostic test, which is a genetic test that it either has to go to a lab or done by some of these machines. It's just more complicated. People may have been familiar with a strep test, that's the way to sort of think about this. It's an easier test.
The problem is they've got to be accurate. I mean, this is a real concern the accuracy of these tests. I mean, even with the Abbott Lab test, which is a rapid test. In some of the studies they showed a 15 percent false negative rate, 15 percent of people who thought they did not have the virus had the virus. But the antigen testing they've traditionally had high false negative rates as well.
So I mean I think it's a great idea to have an antigen test, because it'd be very quick, can make it much more available maybe even in homes, but I'd like to see the accuracy of that test. It's got to be very, very high.
BURNETT: Yes. Certainly, the White House using Abbott tests with a 15 percent false negative, we can all just on a very clear level see what a big issue that is. Dr. Jha, Sanjay, thank you so much.
GUPTA: You got it.
JHA: Thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, the White House now requiring anyone in the West Wing to wear a mask. OK. Why did it take 38 days for me to give you that headline, when 38 days ago is when the White House said that's what all of America should do?
And Kentucky announces a 10-year-old boy is in critical condition with coronavirus. This is a rare condition among kids linked to the virus is discovered among more children. And Disney opening in Shanghai, as China announces an outbreak in another part the country. We will go live to Shanghai tonight.
[19:15:03]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:18:48]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump claims he's felt 'no vulnerability whatsoever' as the White House is frantically trying to figure out how the Vice President's Press Secretary, Katie Miller, became infected with coronavirus. And while some who had contact with her are self- quarantining, the Vice President was back at the White House this morning.
So let me show you this, it's a little difficult to see but there he is. You can see he is not wearing a mask and he does not appear to be socially distancing from the people with him who obviously are not wearing masks either.
This on the same day that the White House finally decided to take its own advice and require staffers entering the West Wing to wear a mask. I say finally, because it is 38 days after the CDC asked all Americans to wear a face mask, especially if they've come into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.
So for 38 days after that and the Vice President has been in contact with someone who has the virus. In fact, there are now two people working inside the White House who have tested positive in the past week.
OUTFRONT now, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, he advise the White House medical team under President George W. Bush. Currently the Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab at George Washington University Hospital.
So Dr. Reiner, White House officials now going to be asked to wear masks except for when they're at their desks.
[19:19:59]
We saw the President though as the press corps was socially distanced wearing masks, he did not wear one. Two people who work at the White House have tested positive including his own personal valet. And as we all know and Trump's testing point person pointed out today not have the virus in the morning and you could have it in the afternoon. So what do you say to this, more people in the White House could be infected?
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: More people in the White House almost certainly are infected. Look, I think from the outset, the White House didn't like the optics of people around the president or the President himself for that matter wearing a mask. At the outset, they were trying to downplay the significance of the virus in this country and everyone wearing masks which seemed to have countered that.
But viruses don't really care about optics and one of the principal methods that countries that have been successful in putting down the pandemic, places like Hong Kong and China and South Korea, one of the key tools, very simple tools that they use from the outset was universal mask wearing. The masks prevent or sharply decrease the ability for people to transmit the virus, particularly asymptomatic people to other people.
It's a key tool. It's what we use in the hospital. I put a mask on, before I leave my car and it doesn't matter if anyone's around me, I wear it. I want to set an example. And I want to see that from the White House.
BURNETT: So to that point, we saw Vice President Pence and, of course, this is his press secretary who has now tested positive. So he was choosing to not self-quarantine, which, OK, you could you could choose to do that, but he's not wearing a mask and neither is the aide who's with him also not wearing a mask. And as we pointed out, the President didn't wear one at the presser he did stand separately. He had his own podium.
So when the President was asked about people wearing masks Today, I wanted to play for you Dr. Reiner what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, there's a certain distance from me or there's a certain distance from each other they do. In the case of me, I'm not close to anybody. I'd like to be close to these two gentlemen. They're hard working great men, but they just said, frankly, let's keep it this way. So obviously, in my case, I'm very far away from everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Is he taking this seriously enough?
REINER: Well, he's taking it in the wrong way. There are two reasons for the people in the White House to wear masks. One is to protect the President, but that's only one of the reasons. The bigger reason is to protect everyone else in the compound from contracting the virus.
But the President only thinks of that as how he can be protected from getting the virus. If I was trying to motivate the President, if I was part of the White House medical staff, now I will tell them something very simple. If he and the Vice President both contract this disease at the same time and they are both sick, Nancy Pelosi will be president. He needs to understand, the stakes here are very, very hot.
BURNETT: And put it in terms that he cares about.
REINER: Right.
BURNETT: I mean, let me show you a video that we just got in, Dr. Reiner, from the Vice President's event in Iowa. This is on Friday, food industry executives removing their masks just before Pence's arrival. A source says the woman in the video is a member of the Trump administration. You see her walking around. She told the attendees they could remove the mask since everyone was six feet apart.
And this video is from the Des Moines Register and The Intercept first reported about it. Obviously, this was the day the Vice President found out his Press Secretary had Coronavirus. He knew when he was walking into that room, in fact, that she had tested positive. Is this good advice?
REINER: No, it's horrible advice. There was a piece in The Federalist today that suggested that the President or the Vice President wearing a mask would be a sign of weakness, how insulting, how insulting for the heroes who spent every day working wearing a mask.
I think when you wear a mask, you're showing that you care about your community, that you care about trying to put this virus down. Wearing a mask is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of incredible strength and I want to see that message propagated by our leaders and we're not getting it.
BURNETT: Dr. Reiner, thank you.
REINER: My pleasure.
BURNETT: And I want to get out of David Gergen, our Senior Political Analyst to advised four presidents. So, David, obviously the President hadn't really been doing these briefings for a while today, taking some questions after talking about testing. And the White House is now frantically trying to figure out how the Vice President's Press Secretary got the coronavirus, right?
So there's the testing part, she was getting that, but then there's the contract tracing part and, obviously, they're really scrambling on that. As someone who's advised four administrations what would you tell this one?
[19:25:00]
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You're sending out very confusing messages, Mr. President. I'm afraid you've been - as we just saw from your clips, Erin, day after day after day, you're saying testing is not important, now when he's got five people in the White House, two of whom have tested positive three are on quarantine, self- quarantined. He says suddenly they test everybody and they're also requiring everybody in the White House to wear masks.
So first, he confuses people about the test. Now, on the mask, everybody in the White House are wearing masks except one person, that's Donald Trump, which sends a signal that they don't have it straight. I think the biggest problem here, Erin, is that there is no strategy.
If you're going to fight a war and you're going to go all out, you have to have a plan for victory and there's no plan here for victory. It's all based on hope. And as the military says, hope is not a strategy. And I think that that's causing a crisis of confidence in the country. People do not want to go back to restaurants or get on airplanes or do a lot of the other things that they used to do regularly in the past until they have confidence that they're not going to come down with this virus, the first thing that happens to them is step on an airplane or go into a restaurant.
We're not going to get this economy back until we have a strategy. We have a commander in chief who believes in the strategy and we have a commander in chief who persuades the country to follow that strategy.
BURNETT: So the President was also asked today about his claim that President Obama committed the biggest political crime in American history. Here's what he said to that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Obama game, it's been going on for a long time. It's been going on from before I even get elected and it's a disgrace that it happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the crime, exactly, that you're accusing him of?
TRUMMP: You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the newspapers except yours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Obviously, (inaudible) making an accusation. What is he doing here?
GERGEN: Well, he's passing off. He's just scratching his various issues. He's just sounding off. He had this Twitter - he was on Twitter much of the weekend, just with a lot of nasty stuff and I think he's gotten into a childish place, as he showed to Kaitlan Collins in that press conference. That you cannot lead the country, you can't lead the world unless people think you're stable, that you're an adult, that you're thoughtful and that you're honest and we're just not seeing that and it goes on and on and on.
BURNETT: You mentioned the exchange with Kaitlan Collins and that is how the briefing ended with a heated exchange with a CBS News reporter who is Chinese-American. Let me play the clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is this a global competition to you if everyday Americans are still losing their lives and we're still seeing more cases every day?
TRUMP: Well, they're losing their lives everywhere in the world and maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, OK? When you ask them that question, you may get a very unusual answer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically, that I should ask China?
TRUMP: I'm telling you, I'm not saying it specifically to anybody. OK. Anybody else? Please, go ahead in the back, please.
COLLINS: I have just two questions.
TRUMP: No, it's OK, we'll go over here.
COLLINS: But you pointed to me. I have two questions, Mr. President.
TRUMP: Next.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: So what's your reaction to that, David?
GERGEN: Maybe they had to go back to not having press conferences. When he's unleashed it's, as I say, childish and it increases the crisis of confidence. People need to know we have a stable, competent group of people in the White House and they're not making it up day to day and they're not sitting around trying to figure out how do we stop him from doing this or saying that today and we simply don't have that.
I think that, of course, he saw an Asian-American woman, he must have known she came from one of the networks, but he saw her and what did you think he thought China, it just triggered him in China because he wants to make China the punching bag. He found them as one of the scapegoats. Obama is a scapegoat. He's got three or four, but it's not helping the country.
BURNETT: Yes. All right. David Gergen, thank you very much. I appreciate it.
GERGEN: Thank you, Erin. Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, the President says the administration is now investigating a mysterious illness that could be linked to coronavirus that has left at least three children dead. Plus, as more states reopen, what do restaurants need to do to keep people safe? Celebrity Chef Tom Colicchio is my guest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:30]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: New tonight, another case of the mysterious illness in children possibly related to coronavirus now reported in Kentucky. That on top of 100 suspected cases in New York, and President Trump tonight saying his administration is looking into the rare condition.
All of it comes as parts of the New York will reopen Friday as the number of coronavirus deaths reported in a single day fell below 200.
Nick Watt is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today in Kentucky, horses are training again. They'll race this weekend but with no one watching. Forty-eight states in all now on the road to reopen this week, Friday in New York our epicenter --
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: This is the next big step in this historic journey.
WATT: Landscaping, tennis, drive-in movies and the like will be allowed statewide, and a regional phased reopening will begin. CUOMO: You are going to increase activity, depending on how
intelligently you increase activity will be the possible effect on the spread of the virus.
WATT: The projected death toll does tick up as we reopen, according to that well-known University of Washington model. It's now over 137,000 by early August.
ALI MOKDAD, PROFESSOR OF HEALTH METRICS SCIENCES, IHME: As people started moving second week of April, which of course will increase the circulation of circulation of the virus and unfortunately number of deaths.
WATT: In Arizona, the projected death just near tripled. Today, restaurants can reopen across the state for dine-in.
[19:35:00]
In Florida, projected deaths just jumped a third. Today, hair and nail salons can open across that state, and restaurants and retail reopen with limited capacity in hard hit Palm Beach.
DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR: The lack of adequate testing, I think, along with reopening and people getting together more just I think projects a pretty grim outlook over the summer.
WATT: And look at this. A packed Mother's Day at a Colorado restaurant and a New York to San Francisco flight packed full, tweeted by a doctor flying home after helping fight the virus.
CUOMO: Now we're worrying about we have 93 cases we're investigate of young children who have COVID-related diseases.
WATT: For most kids, COVID-19 is mild, but we're now discovering that for a small minority, there might be a toxic shock-like reaction.
For Juliette Daily (ph), her heart stopped beating properly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom told me what was happening and it was pretty hard to comprehend.
WATT: Three have died already in New York. The challenge ahead: reopen and stay safe.
LT. GOV. JON HUSTED (R), OHIO: We believe we can do two things at once. The coronavirus is going to be with us throughout the rest of the year. We need to learn to live with it.
WATT: One Ohio restaurant prepping for its reopening still ten days away hanging shower curtains between tables.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT: So Connecticut and Massachusetts the only states holding out. They haven't published reopening plans yet. California opened the door a little on Friday, but LAX still looking pretty quiet. Masks, by the way, mandatory inside the terminal.
They say even if it's a towel or t-shirt, rubber bands around your ears just do it.
Finally, Erin, here is an eye-popping economic headline. California and four other western states have written to the federal government, asking $1 trillion in relief, $1 trillion. And even that they say won't be enough -- Erin.
BURNETT: These numbers are really scary when you look across the country at what this is going to mean, and it's a -- it's money that needless to say we simply don't have.
All right. Nick Watt, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, the chief of pediatric critical care at Cohen Children's Medical Center, Dr. James Schneider.
And, Dr. Schneider, I appreciate your time. Obviously, I'm not happy we're talking to you under these circumstances. But please, you know, people want information on this.
How many cases of this mysterious illness have you seen at your hospital, and what are the symptoms?
DR. JAMES SCHNEIDER, CHIEF OF PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE, COHEN CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER: Well, thanks for having me, Erin.
In our hospital, we've actually had quite a few. We -- since the beginning, we've had close to 40 cases so far in the hospital and the majority have been in the intensive care unit.
Most kids they're presenting with a typical story of never having had symptoms of typical COVID related infections like cough and fever, but they're showing up with persistent fever three or four days perhaps, as well as gastrointestinal symptoms -- so belly pains, vomiting, diarrhea. Those are the typical presenting signs. There are also others that kind of look like this Kawasaki disease we've been talking about, which includes some rash, maybe some red injected eyes, red lips, things of that nature.
BURNETT: So why do you think we're now hearing about this, right? Because now, it's -- we're hearing about it, right, and in several places. We didn't hear about it in April. We didn't hear about it in March. Why now?
SCHNEIDER: Well, when we -- this is a brand new disease for us, and so we're still learning a lot as a community. What we think is going on we're seeing a post infectious inflammatory reaction to a previous infection. Meaning, kids had infection early on in the course of corona's life here and if you imagine in New York we've only seen corona for about six, seven weeks now.
So, kids who gotten infected maybe then or early on, a few weeks later as their body has responded to this infection, now it's leading to an increased immune response, it's leading to an overactive immune system and causing the symptoms we're seeing.
BURNETT: So basically you're saying these are children who it seems had coronavirus, maybe even asymptomatically, no one even knew. So, first, you're going to find about this is, a month, six weeks later, you're child is going to have a rash, you're going to -- so, look, this is terrifying, as you know, for lot of people, and we all understand it's incredibly rare.
But when things involve children people -- people are deeply concerned.
SCHNEIDER: Right.
BURNETT: So how can a parent try to pick up a symptom earlier? I would imagine in all these cases, the earlier you're able to get it, the better the chance of a positive outcome.
SCHNEIDER: Well, that's very true. Time does matter.
You know, it's important to know this is not an asymptomatic disease where children are -- have been sitting at home with this unknowingly.
[19:40:00]
It's really now a matter of being aware on our part as a medical community and as caregivers that when a child presents with these typical symptoms, they're all -- in our institution, every child has a fever for at least 3 or 4 days and has these other symptoms.
So they're quite ill appearing when -- they when they show up, so as soon as these symptoms are visible in a child seeing the pediatrician, getting evaluated is really, really important. And the sooner, the better.
BURNETT: Dr. Schneider, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: You're very welcome. Thank you.
BURNETT: And next celebrity chef, Tom Colicchio, is my guest. Why he says the federal government's stimulus program is a failure when it comes to helping restaurants survive.
And troubling news out of China. New outbreaks are being reported as Disneyland reopens in Shanghai.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, the U.S. treasury secretary says the small business loan program is working great but admits the government will look at making fixes. This after business owners say the loans could stick them with even more debt.
Phil Mattingly is OUTFRONT.
[19:45:02]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The government's small business rescue program was designed as a dream lifeline for business owners.
LAURY HAMMEL, CEO AND FOUNDER OF LONGFELLOW HEALTH CLUBS: I actually think they did the right thing.
MATTINGLY: But for some ravaged by the pandemic, like Laury Hammel, who owns a series of health clubs in Massachusetts and Utah, it has become a nightmare.
HAMMER: We're in a situation all of a sudden, we find out we don't have the ability to spend 75 percent of what we got from the PPP.
MATTINGLY: After a rocky rollout, the program has kicked into gear. More than 4.2 million loans, more than $500 billion to save small businesses all of which can be forgiven if certain rules are followed, but those rules 75 percent of the funds must be used on payroll, 25 percent for things like rent or utilities and all within 8 weeks have become a dramatic problem with businesses like his still unable to open on states orders and many workers still making money from enhanced unemployment insurance.
HAMMEL: I'm not going to be paying all these people money for not coming to work, and not only because it doesn't help them out because if the business is not around they're not helped.
MATTINGLY: And the business saving program has created yet another desperate moment. The SBA's own inspector general said, quote, tens of thousands of borrowers won't be able to have their loans forgiven because of the rules.
MARK HARMAN, PRESIDENT, STANZ FOOD SERVICE: Basically how I describe it to people is this gigantic pothole, and it's dark, and so you have no idea how deep or how long it is, and you need to have something to fill that pothole.
MATTINGLY: Mark Harman, the president of Stanz Food Service, a distributor based in South Bend, Indiana, has watched not just his business but the restaurants it serves struggle with the programs rules.
HARMAN: They're all decimated. They seriously are decimated, and the PPP loan, while its intent was acting good, it's -- it's not practical for what they do.
MATTINGLY: Harman contacted Indiana Senator Todd Young with his concerns, and Young, a Republican, along with Democratic Senator Michael Bennet have drafted proposals to try to address the issues. The question now, is it too late?
HARMAN: What has happened with this kind of a -- the pandemic essentially, it's catastrophic what it's doing to our industry. And it's going to be really, really hard to come back from if we're not saved. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And, Erin, the reality is at this point in time, that there is bipartisan agreement that changes need to be made. There's just a recognition this crisis is far deeper than anybody expected. Small business owners want to be able to use the money, want to be able to pay their employees, but they need more time to be able to do that.
I think the big question outstanding when even if there's agreement, will changes be made? Still negotiations ongoing on Capitol Hill right now, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Phil, thank you.
And OUTFRONT now, Tom Colicchio, celebrity chef and judge on the TV show "Top Chef." He was forced to layoff about 425 people from his Crafted Hospitality restaurant group.
And, look, Tom, you obviously are in the middle of this, and you heard that food service company in Phil's piece say, look, the small business loan program is not working for restaurants. You know, you've got to use three quarters of the loan for payroll, not rent, and what problems do you -- do you see with this?
TOM COLICCHIO, CHEF AND OWNER, CRAFTED HOSPITALITY: Well, the big problem is that restaurants aren't open. And so I could bring my staff back now, I can pay them for the two months and I'm probably not going to be open for -- yes, for the two months and I'll probably not be open, and so, I'll have to lay them off again. And that's if they actually come back to work.
And so, what we really need to do is move this date of origin from where we got the loan to somewhere in the future. I spoke to Senator Schumer today and he has a plan to move it to December 31st. And so, that's helpful.
The Bennet-Young plan is also helpful, because they're trying to address the inadequacies of PPP. You know, the PPP, if your business that maybe you're 20 percent depressed and maybe you laid off a few workers, this is great because you can hire those few workers back and now, your entire payroll is taken care of, and you're only 20 percent depressed. That doesn't work for restaurants that aren't opened.
BURNETT: Right, you have no revenue and also, of course, you've got all these small restaurants, rent, everything else you're dealing with.
COLICCHIO: Sure.
BURNETT: So you are part of a trade group I know, Tom, that's been advocating on behalf of restaurants. You know, you mention what you're talking about with Senator Schumer, but what would you do right now to help restaurants? Is there something specific and very clear that could be done right now? COLICCHIO: Sure. So, I'm a cofounder of the Independent Restaurant
Coalition, and what we're advocating for is a restaurant stabilization package, we're asking for $120 billion that will help stabilize the restaurants, not only to get them open, but actually get to some runway to stay open, because what I'm really concerned about is getting open is half the problem. Staying open past two or three months because we're looking -- number one, if we open up we have to practice social distancing in the restaurant. We have waiters and bartenders with masks on, we're going to have to take out half our seats.
So, perhaps, we'll do 20 percent to 30 percent of our business. That doesn't work for us. We're going to lose money. So, opening up just to lose money doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And so, we're going to need some runway here, yes.
BURNETT: Right, and a lot --
(CROSSTALK)
[19:50:00]
BURNETT: Yes, a lot of restaurants I know, you know, they're not going to be able to pay the rent with the amount of money they'd be getting in and never mind the payroll.
COLICCHIO: Yes.
BURNETT: I mean, you know, we just showed a moment ago, I want to show it again, Tom, an Ohio restaurant, it's Twisted Citrus is its name. They reopened, hanging up clear shower curtains between the tables. And, of course, you've got social distancing.
I mean, you know, what's it going to be like in a restaurant? I mean, there's the financial part you point out. You can't just open a restaurant and it won't work, the math won't work.
But then there's a reason people go to a restaurant, a person like you creates a restaurant to begin with, which is the ambience, the noise, the togetherness without necessarily being together, you know? That's the point.
What's it going to be like in a restaurant?
COLICCHIO: Right. If you're going to have waiters wearing masks, you have butchers wearing masks, waitresses wearing masks, you'll have the smell of disinfectant in the air, because every time someone touches a door handle, you have to have come behind them and clean it up, you'll have paper napkins, and paper plates, maybe, and plastic knives and forks, shower curtains around the tables -- you know what, perhaps if we open up, and there maybe a sense of solidarity, we want to help these restaurants, that's going to wane very, very quickly when people realize how ridiculous it is to try to eat in a public space that is just not -- not conducive to dining.
And so, you know, I just don't see us getting past that 20 or 30 percent mark, you know, unless we have a vaccine and we're far off from that.
And so, listen, this is -- this is a hope and a prayer and it's one thing for the president to say, hey, let's start opening up businesses. It's another thing because it's not when we can open the business -- it's when customers feel comfortable coming into that restaurant so they can be together. This just doesn't make sense me, and I think that in the long run, you'll see more restaurants close if they open up, and then they're going to close for good, and then those employees will be gone for good.
And we're talking about independent restaurants, we employ 11 million people. And if you think about the supply chain, all the farmers and fishermen and cheese makers and winemakers, you know, we're talking about 20 million people. So we have a ways to go. We need help.
BURNETT: Wow, all right. Tom, thank you very much.
COLICCHIO: Thank you.
BURNETT: As I said, Chef Tom Colicchio.
And next, troubling news out of China. One city going into, quote, wartime mode. There has been a surge of new cases. So, what is going on?
We're live in Shanghai.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:27]
BURNETT: Tonight, China facing new coronavirus outbreaks. A city in the country's northeast going into, quote, wartime mode. More cases appearing, and Wuhan where the virus started is seeing its first cases in a month.
All of this as Shanghai reopens Disney today, the first time there since January.
David Culver is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Disney cast members lined the street to welcome guests back. A Shanghai park reopening Monday after 3 1/2 months, it closed as the novel coronavirus ravaged parts of China. The latest government figures claim far fewer cases, particularly in Shanghai.
Disney felt confident to reopen the gates, limiting admission to 30 percent capacity or 24,000 guests. But Disney CEO has said far fewer guests will be allowed initially.
And on day one, CNN noticed a smaller crowd in the massive park, coupled with several new safety measures. ANDREW BOLSTEIN, SVP OF OPERATIONS FOR SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT: And we
have cast members here monitoring the queues all throughout, asking guests to maintain that respectful social distance at all times.
CULVER: Senior vice president of operations, Andrew Bolstein, says temperature screening starts before guests walk in. All visitors need to register online and book for a specific arrival time to keep from congregating.
To enter, you must have a Green Shanghai QR health code. That's the government's high tech way to track potential exposures. Inside the park, reminders to keep your distance. Yellow tape added to lines for attractions and restaurants.
(on camera): Safe spacing even for the performances, this is one of the stages. Look here on the crowd. Pick a box. That's for you and your family unit will stand, keeping that distance.
(voice-over): Every other table blocked off to space out diners. After stepping off each ride, you'll find a row of hand-sanitizer stations.
(on camera): One thing that stands out to me is constant sanitation.
BOLSTEIN: Yes. So, we have a dedicated team of custodial cleaners that we've even increased the number of those in the park constantly wiping down all the surfaces.
CULVER (voice-over): And for now you can no longer hug Mickey or Minnie, not even a high five. A safe selfie distance will have to do, along with a face mask.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so excited.
CULVER: The new measures have not deterred Disney fans.
To me, it means the magic starts again, she tells me.
But the joy here is not felt everywhere in China.
As Disney reopens in Shanghai, a city in northeast China has gone into wartime mode, locking down to stop a recent spike in cases.
And at the original epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan, after weeks without any new cases, the city has reported six over the past two days. Dimming the festivities a bit at Shanghai Disneyland. They've tried to balance celebration with remembrance, creating tributes to front line health care workers -- this a projection of gratitude.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER: And behind me, Erin, you can see just over my shoulder, the iconic castle here at Shanghai Disneyland as they prepare to open for their second day after this outbreak and after having to be closed for that long period of time. It is a delicate balance between finding that celebratory mood and at the same time acknowledging the pain around the world.
And perhaps, though, something for folks closer to where you are, Erin, to look forward on Disney's website, Disneyworld in particular, now looking to book reservations for folks starting on July 1st. So, it seems availability has now popped up.
What we showed you happening here, though, including the face masks likely to be a part of the new Disney experience where you are.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much.
And thanks so much to all of you for joining us on this Monday.
Anderson takes it over now.
