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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Biden Lays Out Ambitious COVID Strategy For First 100 Days; New Jersey Charter School Offers Night School For Kindergartners; Concern In China: Is COVID Coming In On Frozen Food? Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired December 09, 2020 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:08]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Jarrett. About 30 minutes past the hour here in New York.
And as of this morning, lawmakers are still hashing out a deal for a stimulus, but protesters aren't taking to the streets in Washington -- no. Instead, demonstrators are showing up in places like Boise, Idaho furious about COVID restrictions.
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BOISE, IDAHO COVID DENIERS: We will not comply. We will not comply.
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JARRETT: The Central District Health board forced to adjourn its virtual meeting there after COVID deniers showed up, even at some board members' homes.
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DR. DAVID PETERMAN, CEO, PRIMARY HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP, BOISE: We're going to take care of you.
DIANA LACHIONDO, BOARD MEMBER, BOISE CENTRAL DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD: Can I interrupt you for just a moment?
PETERMAN: Yes.
LACHIONDO: My 12-year-old son is home by himself right now and there are protesters banging outside the door, OK? I'm going to go home and make sure he's OK, so I will reconnect with you when I get there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: That member clearly shaken and you can understand why. One day it's protests over the election, the next it's over COVID, all because of the same parasite of misinformation.
SANCHEZ: Now, the coronavirus deniers in Idaho were protesting in a state where more than half of COVID tests came back positive yesterday. ICUs there also being stretched to the limit.
Now, the health board was going to vote on new measures to stem the rapid spread of COVID, something that is desperately needed.
Once again, a record number of COVID patients in U.S. hospitals -- almost 105,000 Americans fighting to survive. That number has tripled since October. And nationwide, there were more than 2,500 deaths reported overnight, one of the worst days of the pandemic so far.
JARRETT: And even as anticipation grows for the vaccines that are hopefully on the way, the White House Task Force is warning states that vaccines will not significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19 until late spring.
Now, Pfizer's vaccine may get emergency use authorization, known as EUA, as soon as tomorrow. A top official at Operation Warp Speed lays out what happens next.
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GEN. GUSTAVE PERNA, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: I am 100 percent confident that we will be able to implement this. That with our collaboration of the trifecta there, we will be successful and we will start to have shots in arms within 96 hours of the EUA. That's what I believe with all my heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The pain of COVID also being felt across the economy. The National Restaurant Association says that one in six restaurants nationwide have already closed for good this year. We can expect that number to grow as winter arrives and dining outside becomes less appealing in colder states. That means a lot of jobs are about to disappear right around the holidays.
JARRETT: So, President-elect Biden is laying out an extremely ambitious plan to combat the pandemic in his first 100 days in office. He acknowledges he won't immediately end the pandemic, but Biden says we can change the course of the disease and life in America.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: It will start with my signing an order on day one to require masks where I can under the law, like federal buildings, interstate travel, on planes, trains, and buses.
Secondly, this team -- this team will help get at the latest -- at the last 100 million COVID-19 vaccine -- at least 100 million COVID vaccine shots into the arms of the American people in the first 100 days.
The third thing I'm going to ask in the 100 days, it should be a national priority to get our kids back into school and keep them in school.
And to the American people, I know that we've all had a lot of sleepless nights this year. All I can tell you is the truth. We're in a very dark winter. Things may well get worse before they get better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It is a big day for the Biden transition. Two new cabinet picks set to be revealed -- Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as Housing Secretary; and Tom Vilsack, a longtime Biden ally set to lead the Agriculture Department.
The president-elect also set to introduce former Gen. Lloyd Austin as his choice for secretary of Defense, but that nomination is facing some resistance within Biden's own party because Gen. Austin retired from military service only four years ago. He would need a congressional waiver to be able to take that job.
So there are exactly six weeks until Joe Biden's inauguration. It's time for three questions in three minutes. Let's bring in CNN's senior political analyst, John Avlon.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.
SANCHEZ: Good morning, John.
JARRETT: Great to see you.
So you just heard Biden's priorities for his coronavirus plan. An FDA committee also now says Pfizer's vaccine appears to meet the safety requirements so authorization basically could come any day now, which really puts Biden at the front of the biggest vaccine effort in global history.
[05:35:04]
What do you make of his plan, John, and do you think it's enough?
AVLON: Look, I think it's very smart to use 100 days as a benchmark. It's a way we think of administrations. And he's basically going all in and saying look, we're going to do three big things from day -- from day one to day 100, at least.
He's not overpromising, you know. You want to underpromise and overdeliver. That's what he's setting himself up for. They're huge logistical problems, but the contrast in terms of the specifics of his policy and the tone of his approach could not be more different from this administration.
SANCHEZ: Yes, just really taking seriously the threat --
AVLON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- of coronavirus is a stark contrast in itself.
AVLON: Yes. SANCHEZ: There's a lot to keep track of on Capitol Hill, John. First, the coronavirus relief bill. Multiple reports saying the White House and Republican leaders are getting behind a plan that would include a $600 stimulus check going out to Americans, but that could come at the expense of benefits.
AVLON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Democrats saying that is simply a nonstarter. We're going to follow that as the week goes on.
But I really want to ask you about this defense bill. The House voting overwhelmingly to pass it. It's not really a controversial bill. It's been passed every year for more than half a century.
And it passed despite that veto threat from the president. He wants to attach a crackdown on big tech, Section 230 --
AVLON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- something totally unrelated to defense spending.
Is this a sign, though, that the House passed this with a veto-proof majority that Trump's power is waning in the eyes of some Republicans on Capitol Hill?
AVLON: There just might be a crack of daylight here between House Republicans and President Trump for the first time in a long time. But the places where Republicans have stood up to Trump in the past, even a little bit, have to do with the military.
And that's one of the reasons why this attempt by the president to use his leverage to sort of slap on Section 230 under the National Defense Authorization Act makes so little sense. He'll almost certainly get overturned if he tries to put a veto on it.
But he is sticking to his guns here. Expect a fight going forward. But it's just one of many areas.
And as you said the real deal in some respects, isn't just this, but it's the COVID relief and the negotiation stand between the president, Democrats, and Republicans there. It's got to be a bipartisan path there, but it's not going to be at the expense of unemployment insurance.
JARRETT: It is interesting this is where the GOP decided to draw the final line in the sand with this --
AVLON: Yes.
JARRETT: -- president on his way out.
So, John, I want to ask you about this -- Newsmax. It's considered more of a fringe outlet for a long time. Some people at home may not have even heard of it. But it beat Fox in the key ratings --
AVLON: Yes.
JARRETT: -- demographic for the very first time. It was only for an hour and the margin was narrow.
But this isn't just a media story. I think it's about how people consume information, what they want, and why they want it.
Is this a realignment of how conservatives get their information, in your view, or does the dust just settle when Trump leaves office?
AVLON: Look, I think you're seeing a couple of broader dynamics that you also see in place in politics as well. It's not just a media story, as you say.
One, the continued fragmentation of politics means there's always room to one's right in the case of Fox, Newsmax, and OAN. And it's also the danger that the Republican Party is confronting politics.
You know, we've got a situation where the parties pay obsessive attention, particularly the Republican Party, with the far-right because there's so few competitive general elections for congressional seats. So people are terrified of ever letting anyone get to their right, and that's what's happening between Newsmax and Fox right now.
It's the same dynamic and it's one of the things that artificially polarizes our country. Because you think you could just play footsy with these folks and then keep a straight news division for a couple of hours -- apparently not, Fox. That's the dangerous game you're playing and we'll see how it all reaps out -- plays out with President Biden in office.
But this is a sign of the larger sickness in our country. Hyperpartisanship is dividing us unnecessarily and artificially.
JARRETT: It's just amazing that even as deferential as Fox has been to this president --
SANCHEZ: Right.
JARRETT: -- for so many years, apparently it just wasn't enough.
AVLON: No such thing as enough.
JARRETT: All right, John.
SANCHEZ: A sharp analysis, as always. John Avlon, CNN senior political analyst.
AVLON: Thanks, guys.
JARRETT: Thanks, John.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much.
AVLON: Be good.
SANCHEZ: Thanks.
There is a good reason that President-elect Biden is prioritizing schools and teachers in the vaccine rollout. Remote learning has been a big struggle for students and put unprecedented stress on parents.
In one of the poorest parts of New Jersey, the youngest kids at an all-virtual charter school were simply not logging on for class. Many of them have parents that are essential workers and are unable to get them online during the day. So the school tried something new -- night school for kindergartners.
CNN's Bianna Golodryga has more.
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RACHEL HODGE, ENROLLED DAUGHTER IN KINDERGARTEN NIGHT SCHOOL: It's been really hard doing this on my own --
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (voice-over): For single mother Rachel Hodge, every day is a juggling act.
HODGE: -- trying to make ends meet and being able to go to school to further my education.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): In addition to raising two daughters, Hodge works full-time as a housekeeper in a hospital and is studying online to be a social worker.
[05:40:05]
So when both of her daughters' schools in Newark, New Jersey announced they would continue fully virtual instruction for the fall semester, Hodge knew something had to give.
HODGE: I really didn't know how I was going to do this.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Five-year-old Vanessa was due to start kindergarten at the KIPP Thrive Academy, but with her mother at work all day the only available child care came in the form of a daycare center. Logging into class was not an option.
HODGE: At the end of the day, education is what really matters. I was upset with myself that I had to sacrifice her education so I could be able to work.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Vanessa missed school almost every day, and she wasn't alone.
MEREDITH EGER, KINDERGARTEN TEACHER: We have a few scholars that were absent the majority of September and almost all of October.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Meredith Eger is a new kindergarten teacher this year at the KIPP charter school system. She has yet to meet her students in person.
EGER: Vanessa, can you come off mute and tell us our Zoom classroom rules?
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): At the start of the school year she still hadn't met many online, either.
EGER: They needed something to help those kids that were absent.
You got it, so keep going -- yes.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): So, KIPP launched a kindergarten night school -- a separate class from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., in addition to teaching kindergarten during regular school day hours --
EGER: So, good evening.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): -- for those students or scholars, as they're called at KIPP, who couldn't be online during the day. Eleven have signed up so far, including Vanessa.
EGER: Vanessa, can you tell us who you wrote hello to?
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Even if the hours aren't normal --
EGER: I see you're in the car, so don't worry about it.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): -- the instruction is --
EGER: Does anyone remember? Vanessa, what is it?
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): And it's made a huge difference for families like Hodge's --
HODGE: It kind of alleviated a lot of the stress and anxiety, and also my worries of is she getting the adequate quality education that a kindergartner should be able to get.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): -- with crucial life skills beyond just academics.
EGER: It's how they're learning how to go to school, how to make friends.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Studies also show a quality kindergarten education can have a big impact on college attendance and earnings later in life, which is why declines in kindergarten enrollment across the country during the coronavirus pandemic are especially alarming and forcing schools to think outside the box to get kids online for class.
GOLODRYGA (on camera): So, nine, ten weeks in, how is this experiment going so far?
EGER: I think it's going great. The second we started the evening learning program they have not missed one day.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): It's been an adjustment having kids do their schooling when they would usually be getting ready for bed. EGER: And it's getting close to time for bedtime and everything, so I definitely want to try and keep them moving.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): But there are also some silver linings.
EGER: I see a lot more parents sitting with their scholars at night because they're home.
HODGE: So it works out really well. She's really independent. All I have to pretty much do for her is log on the computer.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): While Hodge is anxious for schools to reopen, she's grateful that thanks to some creative unconventional thinking her little scholar can still attend kindergarten.
VANESSA PARKER, ATTENDS KINDERGARTEN NIGHT SCHOOL: I'm fine doing it on the computer because I get to stay home. I'm learning a lot more in kindergarten.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Bianna Golodryga, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Bianna, thank you. That was a great story.
We'll be right back.
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[05:47:31]
SANCHEZ: A patchwork of coronavirus restrictions has one state pushing religious services online while another state considers them essential.
CNN has the pandemic covered from coast to coast.
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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Jean Casarez in New York.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is announcing that on Tuesday, they confirmed approximately 10,000 new cases of COVID-19. Gov. Tom Wolf is urging residents of Pennsylvania to just stay home during the holidays and he is strongly asking religious leaders to hold virtual services and their congregants to avoid gatherings. To stay safe, he says, this year, we need to stay home.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Lucy Kafanov in Greeley, Colorado.
The state has now updated its COVID-19 dial framework to allow places of worship, as well as certain ceremonies like weddings and funerals, to be classified as essential. People must still wear masks indoors, practice social distancing, and outdoor activities are strongly preferred.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Alexandra Field in Worcester, Massachusetts.
And, Gov. Charlie Baker is saying that since the Thanksgiving holiday, there are too many new COVID cases, they are coming too quickly, and they are causing too much serious illness. At this rate, he says, the state's hospital system won't be able to bear it. Along with plans to stand up two field hospitals -- one behind me already operational -- the governor says new restrictions need to go into effect.
Starting on Sunday, you'll see new limits on capacity across a number of industries. You'll also see new limits on outdoor gatherings. And you'll even see the temporary closure of some businesses, including some indoor performance venues.
AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Amara Walker in Atlanta.
A modified stay-at-home order is about to go into effect in North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper announced that starting Friday, all businesses must close up shop by 10:00 p.m. and residents must stay at home from 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 in the morning. Now, the governor said the goal is to limit gatherings, especially during the holidays.
This announcement comes as the state is seeing the highest number of hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic and has surpassed 6,000 new COVID-19 cases twice over the past week.
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JARRETT: Thanks to all of our correspondents for those updates.
Jumping overseas now, there's a growing concern in China over imported cases of coronavirus. Officials claiming recent outbreaks can be traced to imported frozen foods. Some in China now even question the idea that Wuhan was the true origin of the global pandemic.
[05:50:11]
CNN's David Culver is live in Beijing. David, what's going on here?
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Laura. It might sound insignificant when you think about the cluster outbreaks. You just got about seven new cases, for example, in Chengdu. It doesn't even compare to the U.S.
But what we have to look at is this narrative getting more and more attention here -- this idea that perhaps these cluster outbreaks in China are linked to imported frozen foods, as you say, and the packaging that they come in with. However, we know that the WHO and the U.S. CDC has said there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted from frozen food or the packaging to humans.
Nonetheless, state media -- they're going with this narrative and they're pushing it pretty hard and they believe that this is one possibility. And even, they have suggested that this was how the virus originally got into Wuhan.
It's led to major changes here. We've seen what they've done firsthand in the cargo import areas of some of the international airports. The folks who are working there head-to-toe in PPE. Many of them have to go through extreme sanitation routines just to get to and from work and when they're leaving the office, essentially.
And then they're testing the frozen food -- the salmon, the shrimp. Anything you see there that they deem potentially carrying the virus, they're running COVID-19 tests on to determine whether or not it's actually on there.
Going forward, you have to look at the timing. WHO has a field team coming here in the coming weeks. They're supposed to be tracing the origins of the virus, Laura. It will be interesting to see if this narrative continues to influence and perhaps will even play into their final findings of what they deem to be the origin of COVID-19.
JARRETT: Just fascinating, David. Thank you so much for your reporting, as usual.
SANCHEZ: Turning to Europe now, Germany suffering its deadliest day of the pandemic so far. Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking just moments ago about what comes next for her country.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen joins us now live from Berlin. And, Fred, Merkel not being coy. She essentially said that Germany would not make it through the winter without tougher COVID restrictions.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly what she said, Boris.
And if you look at the situation here in Germany, they had 590 people die of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Those numbers are from the German Center for Disease Control. We found those earlier this morning.
We have to put that into perspective. That's about the equivalent of 2,300 people in the U.S. dying in a single day, so that's an extremely high death toll here for Germany. And if you look at the numbers, the big problem that Angela Merkel has right now is that in Germany, the numbers are going in the wrong direction.
The country has a fairly light lockdown so far. Today, more than 20,000 new coronavirus infections -- that's about 3,500 more than the exact same day last week.
And essentially, what Angela Merkel said earlier today in that speech, she said we need tougher measures here in this country, especially in the run-up and then also after Christmas as well. She's for closing shops, for instance, and also schools. She believes that the holidays need to be extended so that people just have less contact with each other.
Of course, Germany, for a long time, was a role model for dealing with the pandemic. Right now, things really going in the wrong direction, Boris. SANCHEZ: Yes, we know you'll keep an eye on it. Fred Pleitgen reporting from Berlin. Thanks so much.
JARRETT: So any way you look at it, 2020 has been a rough year and it isn't even over yet. So how do people make sense of it? Well, Google has some answers.
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JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You tell the people of Pennsylvania -- well, how many ballots are left and how many are provisional?
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JARRETT: As you might expect, election results was one of the biggest trending searches. Also, coronavirus and Zoom as all of us looked for ways to stay connected.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Check the work. Does the person have the right app?
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JARRETT: Chadwick Boseman also a very popular search after he died of cancer, as was Kobe Bryant when he and his daughter were killed in that chopper crash.
A lot of other timely stuff made the list, like stimulus checks, sourdough bread, social distancing, date ideas, and PlayStation 5, along with just questions like why is the NBA postponed and why is toilet paper sold out?
I, for one, especially in the early days of the pandemic, was just constantly searching why is Clorox sold out everywhere?
SANCHEZ: Anytime that I had a tickle in my throat --
JARRETT: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- or felt even slightly off, I would Google COVID restrictions -- or rather, COVID symptoms. I was so concerned. And still, I'm so concerned that I had it or I'm going to get it.
I also did a lot of Googling about Joe Exotic. All the characters in that saga fascinated me. So, yes, wanted to Google it.
JARRETT: I've -- you have taken me back now. I forgot how that just overtook us all for several weeks there. Oh, man.
SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for joining us today, and thank you for having me, Laura. I'm Boris Sanchez.
[05:55:00] JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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BIDEN: We need your help. We're in a very dark winter. Things may well get worse before they get better.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: More Americans in the hospital with COVID now than ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to do the kinds of things we know how to do to flatten the curve because vaccines won't provide relief immediately.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Supreme Court delivering another blow to efforts by the president and his allies. They are not going to be overturning the certification of the results in Pennsylvania.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Supreme Court is not going to wade into a case that simply has no merit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's absurd.
