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New Day Sunday

Florida Braces For Tropical Storm Amid Pandemic; Lawmakers At Stalemate Over Extra Unemployment Benefits; In-Person Portion Of GOP Convention Will Be Closed To Press; Sailor And Seven Marines Presumed Dead After California Incident; U.S. Deaths Top 1,000 For Six Consecutive Days; California Reports Highest Single-Day Death Toll; Experts Recommend Wearing Face Shields Or Goggles As Well As Masks. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 02, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:12]

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY weekend with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Live at the White House this morning, top of the hour. Thanks for being with us this morning.

The coronavirus hotspot of Florida got a new threat this morning. Tropical Storm Isaias expected to bring some power outages, heavy rain and damaging wind today.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Part of that state, East Coast, they're starting to feel the impacts this hour. The storm is making its way along the rest of Florida's Atlantic Coast today, heads into the Carolinas and the northeast beginning of the week, into the midweek.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And Isaias is adding problems on top of problems. Look at this. The U.S. added more than 58,000 new COVID-19 cases Saturday. Reported more than 1,100 new deaths in total. More than 154,000 Americans have been killed by COVID.

PAUL: Add to that the economic strain and the fears millions of people are feeling. Now, I know we throw numbers out at you but look at what is on your screen now. Because that is a line of people we're told who waited seven hours for groceries at a Los Angeles food bank. And as they're standing in line, there's still no sign of a deal when it comes to relief from Washington, D.C. We do know, however, Republicans and Democrats will be continuing their talks today.

BLACKWELL: We're going to talk more about the coronavirus and the response in a moment. But we're going to start here with Isaias, the tropical storm. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is with us. Allison, where is it and how strong is it?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, right now hurricane -- or Tropical Storm Isaias, winds are about 65 miles per hour sustained. But the gusts are 75 miles per hour. And I want people to understand, if the sustained winds were that high, this would be a hurricane. So, your gusts are still up around hurricane strength, even though the sustained winds have dropped down to tropical storm strength.

To the northwest at about nine miles per hour, this is the major limiting factor right now with this storm. There is a ton of dry air surging and especially on the western side of the storm. There's also some vertical shear. Those two things are really fighting this from being able to intensify which is why the National Hurricane Center said, you know what? It's very likely this is just going to remain a tropical storm for the rest of its entirety as it moves up the East Coast.

So, you have tropical storm warnings up and down the Florida coast and some new tropical storm watches now for portions of the Carolinas. In terms of wind, this is the one thing that has really changed. You've got three threats and three impacts from the storm. Wind, rain and storm surge. Only one of those has changed and that's the wind which has decreased slightly.

But with that said, because those wind gusts are still going to be very strong, power outages are still very likely, not just in Florida but really up and down the East Coast. In fact, you can see there's still some widespread potential for power outages in states like North Carolina, Virginia and even potentially New York.

We are starting to see some of the rain bands begin to push in from Tropical Storm Isaias already. Now, most of them are light at this point. But we do anticipate more of those moderate and heavier rain bands to push in as we go through the rest of the day especially as it slides up the East Coast.

The Space Coast in particular is going to be the spot. If there is a landfall with this in Florida it will be along the Space Coast. So, that's going to be the area that we are likely going to keep a close eye on. From there, it will continue to track up the East Coast.

Here's the thing. The reason why Florida isn't necessarily going to get the most rain is because all the moisture is on the eastern half of the side. Once it makes landfall, though, that eastern half of the storm then starts to cross inland. So, from the Carolinas all the way up to New York, that's really going to be the target point, Victor and Christi, for where the rainfall is. In those places widespread four to six inches is very likely and even some isolated spots where you're getting even higher amounts than that.

So, again, this is really going to be the main focus. But, again, Victor and Christi, I want to emphasize there are three impacts from the storm. Wind, storm surge and rain. And only one of those has changed. It just happens to be the one that corresponds to a name change bringing it from Hurricane Isaias down to tropical storm.

PAUL: All right. Allison Chinchar, appreciate the update. Thank you.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Randi Kaye is in Palm Beach. Randi, what are you seeing there now? RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're still seeing pretty heavy winds here, Victor. Not so much rain, again. But the wind we were clocking about 50 miles per hour just a short time ago.

But just take a look at the ocean back there. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we were here and people were out here surfing, they were sunning themselves. And now we're expecting a two to four-foot storm surge on top of the regular tide.

[06:05:03]

We are hearing -- getting word of some power outages here. We know of 1,500 power outages at this hour. FPL, Florida Power & Light, certainly working to restore those. They have been -- having a staging area since yesterday in Daytona where they have crews, about 10,000 personnel from 20 different states, from New York, from Texas, everybody coming together to try and get the power on here.

Because we're dealing with the coronavirus spiking here in Florida they have to take some extra precautions. So, they were concerned about delays. The governor was thinking there could be delays because they have to wipe down the equipment, work in smaller groups in case there are cases they can contact trace and also do those temperature checks.

But the governor was also saying, just speaking of power, also good news he said that 100 percent of the nursing homes and assisted living facilities here in the state would have generators. Because you may recall during Hurricane Irma back in 2017, 14 people died after the air conditioning went out in a nursing home here in south Florida. Twelve of them Miami (ph) said because of heat exposure. So, that is certainly good news.

But the shelters are open here in Palm Beach County just in case. Certainly, taking extra precautions. They have five shelters open.

They're using masks. They're using hand sanitizer. But we had another 500 plus cases of coronavirus here in Palm Beach County as of yesterday. The county positivity rate still about 13 percent. So, they have to take all the extra precautions. It's one of the reasons why the governor was planning to open some hotel rooms for people who might be symptomatic so they could avoid those shelters.

Victor and Christi, back to you.

BLACKWELL: Randi Kaye there for us on Palm Beach. Randi, thank you so much.

We'll have more on Tropical Storm Isaias throughout the morning, including update from the director of the National Hurricane Center. He will join us live next hour.

OK. Back to coronavirus. And still no deal on the stimulus package. Negotiations continue today. Lawmakers admit that they're still far from an agreement, they held, what they called productive meetings yesterday. PAUL: Meanwhile, those extra unemployment benefits, you know, they have run out and we know that Americans are really suffering. There are long lines at food banks across the country. We know that bills are piling up. People are struggling to pay their rents.

CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes is at the White House this morning. So, Kristen, talk to us about what the expectation is for discussions on a stimulus plan today.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi and Victor.

Well, today don't expect any sort of major announcements. Remember this is not the primaries meeting. This isn't going to be Speaker Pelosi, Senator Schumer, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, or Secretary Mnuchin like we saw yesterday. This is their staff. Hashing out the nitty-gritty here. And we're told they're going to be going through a lot of these issues.

Likely Monday, when the four primaries meet again you'll have some sort of announcement. Whether or not that's a deal we'll obviously have to wait and see. But much of that will be based on the foundation of what they are doing right this second.

And it's important to note what exactly the differences are. What is holding this up? Because a lot it is surrounded what just mentioned. That extra $600 a week unemployment benefits coming from the federal government.

Democrats they want it to extent through January at $600 where it is. Republicans they want to pass a shorter term solution and they want it to be right now $200 a week until states can figure out how to do 70 percent of wages, which we talked a lot about last weekend. And as the White House and Republicans themselves were negotiating over that that's going to be hard for states to do. Remember the state systems right now are incredibly worn down. They are dealing with massive amounts of unemployment. So, that's one of the big problems.

The other is how comprehensive this bill is. Pelosi, Democrats, they have said they want a big comprehensive bill. Republicans are saying let's pass something quickly, emergency relief and then we can get to the comprehensive bill. Right now Democrats saying, no dice.

But as you mentioned, Victor, they are saying yesterday's meetings were productive. They sat together for about three hours. But there were still some finger pointing. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: There are many issues that are still very much outstanding. We're apart. But we had a serious discussion and went down piece by piece and saw where each side is at.

STEVEN MNUCHIN (R), U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: There's clearly a subset of issues where we both agree on very much. We're very interested in extending on enhanced unemployment insurance. We're very interested in schools. We're very interested in jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: But just how interested remains to be seen. Will they come to the negotiating table? What are they willing to give up?

And as you mentioned, Christi, there is no more money right now. And people are relying on that money. Rent is due at the first of the month. As you said, people are lining up at food banks.

The country is in economic peril. And for people who are waiting for some sort of funds, who are out of work and can't find work, they need this and they need it now.

[06:10:06]

BLACKWELL: Kristen, can you clarify the announcement, the specifics of reporter and media access at the Republican convention later this month?

HOLMES: It's actually very interesting, Victor.

So, the media will not be allowed to be on site when the RNC cast its ballot to nominate President Trump as the president-elect. Now, here's why this is so interesting. This is completely unprecedented.

Now, they're saying this is because of coronavirus. That they can't get enough people in there. That because of the attendance they have to really limit it.

They are also saying that this will be a live stream. So, I want to note that. It's not as though it's happening behind closed doors. But this is so far from what President Trump said that he wanted for a convention.

Remember, when he talked about moving to Jacksonville, which of course he inevitably canceled, he wanted to be there so that they could have the fanfare, they could have the media, they could have the big crowds. Now, we're back in North Carolina and now there's not even any media. It's a live stream of the event. So, it will be very interesting to see how this actually plays out and what it looks like.

PAUL: Yes. Especially since, I believe an RNC official told CNN they don't even know if President Trump is going to be there for part of it. It's going to be something like we've never seen before. Kristen Holmes, appreciate you so much. Thank you.

So later this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION" Dana Bash is filling in for Jake Tapper. Dana is going to be joined by White House coronavirus task force response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, Congressman James Clyburn, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. That's "STATE OF THE UNION" airing today at 9:00 Eastern.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, more on the pandemic which is still killing so many people each day now across the U.S. PAUL: And, listen, it was a frightening night for more than 7,000 people if California who had to evacuate from their homes as the Apple Fire is burning out of control, still zero percent containment. We'll give you the latest. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:14]

PAUL: Sixteen minutes past the hour right now. And eight U.S. service members missing after a training accident off the California coast are presumed dead now. The I Marine Expeditionary Force says the search for the sailor and seven marines is over.

BLACKWELL: They were part of a group training inside an amphibious assault vehicle. It apparently sank after reportedly taking on water. It happened off the coast of San Clemente Island on Thursday.

For a sixth day in a row now more than 1,000 people have been reported killed by COVID-19 here in the U.S.

PAUL: California seeing a troubling new spikes, reporting its highest single day death toll yet. More than 200 people died in that time period. CNN's Polo Sandoval has the latest for us on the coronavirus pandemic and what we're seeing this morning. Good morning, Polo.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi, good morning to you.

This weekend actually marks five months since New York state's first confirmed COVID case. Here we are still, testing continues, in fact quite aggressively. On Friday, there were 83,000 tests that were conducted. The highest numbers since the start of the pandemic according to the governor's office. Less than one percent of them coming back positive. That's certainly promising news for people in and around New York state. But certainly the rest of the country is still struggling with these numbers.

You mentioned California and that outbreak. Also sort of an uptick in the Midwest as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): California, once the role model for flattening the curve has become a coronavirus hotspot. Much of the state showing dark red as California's Department of Public Health announced its highest number yet of COVID-related deaths. That number 219 in a single day. Since the pandemic started, more than 9,000 people in California have died from COVID-related complications.

ANNE RIMOIN, PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, UCLA: It's very frustrating as an epidemiologist to see these cases -- numbers continuing to rise without a national strategy, without adequate testing, without contact tracing as we need it. All of the things that we've been talking about for months and months. And these numbers are going to continue to go up until we do have these things in place.

SANDOVAL: People struggling financially in Los Angeles waited in line for seven hours on Saturday at a food bank.

TRINITY TRAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, URBAN PARTNERS LA: It's surreal to see that many people standing in this line for food. And it's really a larger indictment of a failed system and the inability of the federal government to take care of the people. Because at the end of the day it's unconscionable to live in a world where people have to wait for seven hours for a box of groceries.

SANDOVAL: Florida reported 9,000-plus cases for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday. And in Texas, the city of McAllen's convention center is being converted into a health care facility to help meet hospital capacity needs in the hard hit southern part of the state.

A new CDC report on how quickly children transmitted the virus at a summer camp in Georgia came out as schools are starting to reopen across the country. A Mississippi high school student tested positive for coronavirus during the first week of classes according to Corinth School District's social media posts.

In Indiana last week, the Hancock County health department notified Greenfield Central Junior High School that one of their students who attended part of the school day tested positive for COVID-19, the superintendent told parents in a letter. And a staff member at Avon High School in Indiana tested positive for COVID-19 but had not been at school this past week.

DR. WAYNE J. RILEY, PRESIDENT, DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER: The safest way to open schools is to decrease community transmission. The Achilles heel of our whole national effort has been the lack of testing capacity. We are not doing nearly the amount of tests we need to do on a daily basis. Probably about anywhere from 1 to 3 million tests a day.

[06:20:01]

We're under a million.

SANDOVAL: The coronavirus spreads again on Capitol Hill. Arizona Democratic Representative Raul Grijalva has tested positive for the coronavirus. His office confirmed on Saturday. In a statement Saturday, Grijalva slammed Republicans who don't wear masks in the building, citing the events of the week.

Most of the U.S. is now in the red zone. And in July, the U.S. saw 10 days where COVID deaths surpassed 1,000. The CDC now projecting more than 173,000 U.S. deaths by August 22nd.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Here in New York, home to the nation's largest school district, the city submitted their school reopening plan just last week. A little later than unusual. In fact, that's drawing some criticism from Governor Andrew Cuomo. But ultimately he's the one who will make the final decision this coming week as to whether or not the schools will reopen as expected this fall, Victor and Christi. So, right now really is the time when parents here in New York City are making those decisions. Do they send their kids to school if they reopen or do they stay at home for remote teaching? Parents will have that option.

BLACKWELL: Yes, decisions being made across the country. Polo Sandoval for us. Thanks so much.

PAUL: Thanks, Polo.

Maybe you've been part of this debate as to whether to use face masks to stop the spread of coronavirus. A lot of people have opinions about it. But some health experts now are asking, should we actually wear goggles or face shields?

BLACKWELL: Joining us now, Dr. Jennifer Caudle, a family physician. Dr. Caudle, good morning to you.

DR. JENNIFER CAUDLE, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So we heard from Dr. Fauci earlier, well I guess last week now, that if you had goggles, if you have a face shield, use it. What do you think?

CAUDLE: I agree with that. I do agree. If you have those things on hand, it's only going to add an extra layer of protection. But it's really important to specify that this is not instead of or a replacement for face masks.

Face masks still come first and it's what we must do. And in fact the CDC does not recommend using face shields for everyday activities or as a substitute for face masks but it's a form or recommendation. But if you have the goggles and the face shield, it can be great because remember, coronavirus just as many viruses can be potentially spread through our mucus membranes.

That's our mouth, our nose and then, of course, our eyes. Of course, face masks cannot protect our eyes. So, again, you have that goggles, that pair of goggles and the face shields. Go ahead and wear those along with a mask if you wish for extra protection.

PAUL: I want to ask you, doctor, about the Midwest, the increase that they're seeing in COVID cases right now. Is there any explanation for why that's happening now as we head into fall when we would assume that COVID would intersect with the regular flu?

CAUDLE: Sure. And I have a feeling and I suspect that it really will intersect with the regular flu. In my office, as a family practitioner, we start giving flu shots in the middle of August. So, we're coming into flu season right now.

Why it's happening in the Midwest? I mean, it's not surprising that coronavirus literally has spread throughout the country. What I am hoping, however, is that the Midwest heeds the lessons, the hard lessons learned that we've learned on the East Coast and at the south -- and California is still learning right now and really puts mitigation efforts in place right now.

Putting in place those mask mandates, the social distancing, closing restaurants and bars and things of that nature to really get ahead of it. You don't want to be behind the eight ball with COVID. And if there's any sign that cases are increasing, which we're seeing in the Midwest, this is absolutely the time to start that mitigation aggressively in my opinion.

BLACKWELL: We know that in North Carolina there is some evacuation orders for some of those outer banks, some of those beach communities, as Tropical Storm Isaias is getting closer to the coast. And some people, we know, will potentially head to shelters. They have said that they will open shelters.

What should people know? I know that the government is preparing. But what should people going into these shelters do know to keep themselves safe?

CAUDLE: Sure. And first of all this couldn't have come at a worse time, right? It's tragedy after tragedy happening. So, the same principles really apply to shelters as they do to say schools or really any other environment. Things that we have to keep in mind the face masks.

And, again, here if you have a face shield or goggles to wear in addition that would be excellent. Also the hand washing cannot be stressed enough. If you cannot access soapy water use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that has at least 60 percent alcohol in it.

Social distancing as much as you can. I know there are efforts to try to make shelters as safe as possible but that's still going to be important to stay only with your group, your group of people that you have sort of been with throughout this time. You know, trying to maintain those efforts despite the double tragedy, shall we say, is going to be most important.

PAUL: You just went through what we individually have to do. But the CDC is saying --

CAUDLE: Right.

PAUL: -- this morning that there is about 20,000 more people in the U.S. who could die from COVID in the next 21 days. People hear that and they want something done.

[06:25:00]

CAUDLE: Yes.

PAUL: If we're doing everything we can do individually, what is it that we need from leadership, whether that be federal, whether that be state, whether that be from protocols --

CAUDLE: Right.

PAUL: -- cooperations, resources? What is the biggest lack right now? CAUDLE: Right. You know, you really said it. We are lacking so much. Basically a coordinated sort of national strategy which so many of my colleagues -- we've been talking about there is no national strategy to attack COVID. And that's ridiculous.

In our nation that we really don't have a national plan there needs to be adequate testing which we still don't have in many places. There needs to be contact tracing that's done consistently. And there also needs to be isolation.

This sort of national strategy has been important from the beginning and we haven't had it. And not only that, in order to get our schools back and running, you know, parents and teachers and so many of us are worried about back to school. One of the reasons why is because we haven't had a national coordinated strategy to help us get into this next season. That is what we need. We still need. We need this actually more than ever.

PAUL: Dr. Jennifer Caudle, always appreciate your expertise. Thank you for getting up early for us this morning.

BLACKWELL: Thanks, doctor.

CAUDLE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So, Isaias expected to move up to Florida coast this morning. Earlier, the storm hits the Bahamas. We're going to take you there after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: Bottom of the hour now. NOAA storm trackers in the air right now assessing the strength and direction of Tropical Storm Isaias.

PAUL: And we are on the line with them. Lt. Commander Kevin Doremus is the pilot aboard the NOAA tracking plane. Pilot, thank you so much. We appreciate it, Kevin, to hear from you.

What are you seeing? What are you hearing?

LT. COMMANDER KEVIN DOREMUS, NOAA CORPS PILOT: Hey, thanks for having me. We just finished our first pass through the storm. We started to the south and we worked our way up to the northeast. The northeast part of the storm is where we were kind of expecting the worst convection. (INAUDIBLE) around a little bit.

We are now at the north of the storm, just east of the Marlboro, Florida area, kind of south through our second pass for today. We've got one more pass after this.

So far, everything is looking like what we were expecting, the Hurricane Center says it's a tropical storm and we're continuing to gather that important data for the Hurricane Center so they can to continually improve the forecast and the model.

BLACKWELL: So, I know that the analysis actually happens on the ground. So it would be premature to ask you if it's strengthening. But, for you, I've heard you describe it as an unusual storm. Why is this unusual?

DOREMUS: Yes, absolutely, sir. We are the data gatherers for the Hurricane Center, so we're constantly collecting data. Today's mission is especially important. We're using a very high-powered radar at the back called a tail doppler radar.

It's unusual in the fact that at least earlier in the storm when it was a hurricane in its physical appearance, it did have an eye as far as the wind field goes, but, visually it didn't have that classic, what we would like call a stadium effect, where you have the ring of clouds, 360 degrees around you.

Right now, we're looking at most of the cloud features and the stereotypical appearance of the tropical storm or hurricane is primarily focused on the north and northeast side of the storm. But, yes, we're just continuing to do our thing, gather that critical data for the Hurricane Center and doing what we can to help the public on the ground.

BLACKWELL: Lt. Commander Kevin Doremus, thanks so much and stay safe out there.

DOREMUS: Thank you, sir. Thanks very much. I appreciate it.

PAUL: Take good care.

BLACKWELL: All right. So after -- a day after, I should say, Isaias made landfall in the Bahamas, the country is beginning to see the extent of the damage from the storm.

PAUL: Yes. Clinton Watson with Eyewitness News is with us from NASA. What have recovery efforts started to see, Clint? What are you seeing?

CLINT WATSON, NEWS DIRECTOR, EYEWITNESS NEWS: Victor and Chris, what's happening here now in the Bahamas is simply just that, people going through, assessing things. The preliminary reports are that all is well. There's been minimal damage as far as structure.

There's been some flooding in areas. Some of the low-lying islands have reported flooding. Here in the capital, some of the low-lying areas to the south and to the west have reported some flooding. No loss of life, no injuries, so pretty much a great report.

There are some downed power lines, some trees that have made roads impassable, but nothing that crews cannot get out and clear today. There has been loss of power to some particular areas, and that's a result of power lines being down or generators that have blown. But, by and large, significantly, the damage has been minimal.

In the Southeast Bahamas Islands, they've reported -- there were reports, some flooding, no damage there as well. In the Central Bahamas, pretty much the same thing, flooding into some of the islands, minimal damage, trees down. Here in the capital, the Providence, the same here, just a few trees are down, making some roads impassable and flooding in low-lying areas.

But, structurally, the country held up well. They need to have shelters that were open for people to come in. There were some concerns, as you can imagine, the islands are dealing with this pandemic and just having some 492 active cases, 25 reported just yesterday. There was some concern if people have to go to shelters, how they would manage social distancing, how they would deal with those who would come who may have been positive.

The government was able to put in place some measure to separate people if they had some symptoms or had to be in quarantine. But the good thing is, most people do not have to go to shelters. Only if the shelters were open. And so that made good for being able to control the pandemic in the midst of dealing with this hurricane.

So, by and large, the Bahamas fairing well, assessment will continue throughout the day by NEMA to ensure that all of the reports that were coming in preliminarily are actually what they are.

[06:35:09]

Communications have held up and so, by and large, the Bahamas has been able to come out of the storm without any major issue.

BLACKWELL: Good news. Clint Watson for us there, Clint, thanks so much.

WATSON: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And I think some of the video we were showing there, Christi, looked like it was from Dorian, because the description of no structural major issues didn't match what we were seeing. So I want to make sure people were clear about that.

PAUL: Yes, it's important to point that out, because if there was no structural damage, that is not indicative of what we were just seeing.

BLACKWELL: You wouldn't need a search dog, yes, just to be clear about that.

PAUL: Yes, just for clarity.

So, more positives, postponements, players dropping out, we've been talking about this. The question is, what is the commissioner of Major League Baseball saying about the state of his game right now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

PAUL: So, when we look at what's happening in baseball right now with the COVID cases that are popping up, the postponements and the players, they are saying, I'm out of the season all together, you'd think we'd be looking at a closure pretty soon.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The commissioner is reportedly saying though that there are no intentions of stopping the season.

Let's go now to Coy Wire. Coy, so, on Friday, there were reports that the commissioner was saying that unless there's a change, there would be a shutdown, where does MLB stand now?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They seem to be back and forth and kind of going with the day-to-day news about new cases that we're seeing, Victor and Christi, like we're with the schools and other organizations across the country were just kind of riding this wave of this pandemic.

These MLB schedules are being shuffled, teams are having to fill roster spots. Commissioner Rob Mandred told ESPN's Karl Ravech, quote, the players need to be better, but I am not a quitter in general. And there's no reason to quit now. We have had to be fluid. but it's manageable, unquote.

Now, MLB postponed the Cardinals/Brewers game yesterday just hours before first pitch and then they postponed the doubleheader today after three Cardinals players and three staffers tested positive. The Cardinals series with the Tigers was pushed from tomorrow to Tuesday with all the games having to move to Detroit.

Three players deciding yesterday that they aren't going to play the rest of the season, including gold glove outfielder and father of three, Lorenzo Cain, Marlins second baseman Isan Diaz, new Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, who suffers from a heart issue, all choosing to opt out of the season.

Now, some good news, the Miami Marlins, who've had 21 cases, reported no new positives for the first time since last weekend. MLB also says it believes that two Phillies staffers who initially tested positive had false positives.

All right, yesterday was perhaps the busiest day of sports in August we've ever seen. So let's see some sports. No hitter is off to a hotter start this summer than Aaron Judge. Look out virtual fans in the stands, the Yankees' 6'7 slugger launching this rocket deep, the first time he's hit a homer in four straight games. Yankees beat the Red Sox 5-2 and go for the sweep today.

Let's hit the west coast, Rockies' (INAUDIBLE) Nolan Arenado showing why he's a seven-time gold glover, the Rockies third baseman sprints full speed deep into the outfield, looking back over his head and makes this incredible sliding catch in foul territory. That's more than 100 feet where he started. This is like, Victor and Christi, sliding into a Sunday afternoon after a good weekend of hard work. Rockies win 6-1.

Now, raise your hand if you thought T.J. Warren was going to be the first to score 50 in the NBA's restart. The six-year guard was unstoppable against the Sixers, a career high 53 points, nine three- pointers. He even outscored the rest of the Pacers starters. And this came out of nowhere. Before yesterday, he only ever scored 40 points once way back in 2017. Pacers win.

All right, hockey is back with a bang. The first game of the NHL's historic season with 24 teams jumping straight into the playoffs. New York Rangers facing the Carolina Hurricanes, in just 61 seconds into the game, Jaccob Slavin puts Carolina one zip with the first goal of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff.

And moments later, the gloves come off almost as soon as they went on. Rangers' Ryan Strome and Carolina's Justin Williams showing that they were a bit up amped up to be back on the ice. Hockey is back. Carolina will go on to win this one, 3-2.

The NHL operating in bubble setups in both Edmonton and Toronto, they too have had success so far, Victor and Christi. The league reported zero positive tests out of 800 players this past week. This seems like the bubble setup is the key for sports.

PAUL: Good to know. Coy Wire, always good to see you, sir. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Coy.

So, an important breakthrough in the effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine, the first U.S. study subjects have now gotten their first shots as part of phase three of the trials.

PAUL: Right. And that's the last stop before the Food and Drug Administration decides whether it can go on to market.

Our Elizabeth Cohen met the very first person in America to get this historic shot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAWN BAKER, VACCINE TRIAL PARTICIPANT: I'm Dawn Baker. We have that breaking news we're following out of Hinesville tonight.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dawn Baker usually delivers the news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you identify your name for me.

[06:45:00]

COHEN: But Monday morning, this television anchor in Savannah, Georgia, made news, made history as the first person in the United States to participate in a phase three clinical trial for a vaccine against COVID-19.

A big day.

BAKER: It certainly is. It's really exciting to me that I could be part of saving lives, eventually, instead of just being scared and praying (ph).

COHEN: After Dawn's injection, study leader Dr. Paul Bradley called Moderna, the company who makes the vaccine. DR. PAUL BRADLEY, VACCINE STUDY LEADER: Doctor, I have amazing news. We dosed the first patient.

COHEN: The National Institutes of Health is collaborating on the trial. Dr. Anthony Fauci marked the day on a call with the media.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can tell you absolutely the first one was at 6:45 this morning in Savannah, Georgia.

Indeed, we are participating today in the launching of a truly historic event in the history of vaccinology.

COHEN: There are nearly 90 study sites across the country for this vaccine and phase three trials are underway for four other vaccines, three of those in China and one in the United Kingdom.

Scientists hope that results of Moderna's trial will be clear in a few months and a vaccine on the market by the end of this year or the beginning of next, but that's if the vaccine is proven safe and effective, which is not a given.

Let me explain how the Moderna vaccine trial works. This is the vaccine and about 15,000 people nationwide will get injected with this during the clinical trial. Now, this looks similar to the vaccine but actually it's a placebo. It doesn't do anything. It's just saline. And another 15,000 people will be injected with this. And then afterwards, doctors will compare who gets sick with COVID-19 and who doesn't.

Doctors are recruiting study subjects who live in communities where they're most likely to get COVID so they can see if the vaccine truly works.

BRADLEY: We want people who are going to be exposed out there in the community, living their lives whether they're a healthcare worker where, unfortunately, we get exposed frequently, maybe they work in a grocery store. But we want people that are, unfortunately, at risk.

COHEN: That's why doctors are recruiting heavily among the African- American and Latino communities where COVID rates are especially high. But it's a challenge, because, historically, those communities have been abused in medical research.

BAKER: Very suspicious. So maybe, you know, since I was at least bold enough to come forward right now, that might change that.

COHEN: Coming forward to play a part in ending a pandemic that has brought the world to its knees.

You are the first person in the United States to get a shot in a phase three Covid trial. What does that feel like?

BAKER: It is very exciting. I'm very anxious about it. I just hope that they get really, really good results. I know a lot of people are doing a lot of different vaccine trials and things are going on. But I feel so proud. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Our thanks to Elizabeth Cohen for that story.

New recommendations this morning are coming from two of America's experts on the pandemic, wear the face shield or goggles, as well as the mask, if you have them. But there are questions about if the masks are enough to protect you from the virus.

We've got a story on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

PAUL: I know you've heard this constant theme for months now from public health officials saying you have got to wear face masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

BLACKWELL: And now, some experts want you to wear goggles or face shields too. Here's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Deborah Birx is now recommending adding a face shield in addition to wearing a mask.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The thing about the face shield, we think that that could protect the individuals, and that it would decrease the ability for them to touch their eyes and spread virus as well as those droplets coming towards them.

So there are two different technologies for two different reasons.

TODD: Her colleague, Dr. Anthony Fauci, spoke about teachers getting back to classrooms this year saying, while they don't need to wear medical-grade protective equipment --

FAUCI: The minimal things you might want to do is you can use just a mask and eye goggles and possibly gloves.

TODD: Fauci later clarified that in CNN's town hall saying he wasn't recommending that all Americans should wear face shields. Still, all of this is raising questions about whether masks have been enough to protect us from coronavirus all these months.

DR. ANNE RIMOIN, EPIDEMIOLOGIST, UCLA SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Masks will provide a very significant measure of protection. And what it really is doing is it's protecting everybody else from you. The point here is now that wearing a face shield could provide extra protection.

TODD: Experts say face shields or goggles are especially important for teachers who could be more vulnerable if they deal with younger children in classrooms. PROF. SASKIA POPESCU, INFECTION PREVENTION EXPERT, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: We're likely to be in environments where children pull down their masks or not be very compliant with them. And it might get coughs close to the face. There is concern that you could get respiratory droplets in the eyes.

TODD: But what about the rest of us? For that trip to the grocery store, should we be wearing masks and face shields?

RIMOIN: The bottom line here is, at minimum, you should be wearing a mask. If you want to add a face shield, goggles, large glasses, that is all going to help reduce spread.

TODD: Public health experts acknowledge getting large segments of the U.S. population to wear masks has been a struggle. People balked at the discomfort, the inconvenience, the very principal of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- violation of my constitutional rights and my civil rights.

TODD: And there could be even more resistance to the appeal to wear face shields. Many may complain that they're hard to find, balk at extra money. But experts have some reassurance.

POPESCU: Really, eye protection and face shields are much more available and they're much cheaper than people realize.

[06:55:01]

A lot of companies were able to print them and make them for a couple of dollars.

TODD: But health experts say those of us who may think that our standard eyeglasses or sunglasses are going to be able to take the place of a face shield or set of goggles, think again. They say these standard glasses have too many gaps around the sides, above and below. You simply need the tighter fit of a face shield.

Brian Todd, CNN Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Brian, thank you.

We're going to take you live to Florida next to see what Isaias is doing there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:00]

PAUL: You see the ominous clouds there.