Transcripts For CNNW State Of The Union With Jake Tapper 20200713

As florida scrambles to stop the spread, miamidade mayor joins me ahead. All of the president s friends in a move one republican senator called historic corruption, the president commutes the sentence of a former adviser, convicted of lying and obstructing his work for the trump campaign. In this country they want justice. Is this justice . House Speaker Nancy Pelosi coming up. The state of our union is worried about our children. This morning, americans are waking up to a shocking image, President Trump wearing a mask in public for the first time during a visit to a military hospital. A strikingly responsible picture after months of downplaying the importance of face coverings, a tool recommended by his own health officials. Despite the president s assessment that were in, quote, a good place, the u. S. Is breaking unwanted records for new coronavirus cases. The daily death toll rose this week as states across the southwest struggle to contain outbreaks. There are nearly 135,000 americans dead and over 3. 2 million cases of coronavirus in the u. S. The ongoing crisis is making the issue of schools urgent and confusing. President trump is demanding schools open while criticizing guidelines from the centers for Disease Control provided to help schools keep students, families, teachers and communities safe and issuing a threat to cut off funding which he does not have the full authority to do. Joining me now is the secretary of education, betsy devos. Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Let me start by saying that everybody shares the same goal. They want children to be back in school. What i want to ask you about today is how we do that safely. You said this week, quote, that theres nothing in the data that suggests it would not be appropriate to have kids in school. So i want to take a look at that data. The u. S. Hit a Record Number of new cases on friday. The number of new cases per day is higher now in 45 of the 50 states than when schools shut down in march. Hospitalizations are climbing in several states and some icus are at or near capacity. Yes or no, can you assure students, teachers and parents that they wont get coronavirus because theyre going back to school . Well, the key is that kids have to get back to school and we know there are going to be hot spots and those need to be dealt with on a casebycase basis. But the rule should be that kids go back to school this fall. Theyve been missing months of learning. Many of them are going to be so far behind, difficult to catch up, and we know this is a matter of their health in a multitude of factors or multitude of dimensions. We know their Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Wellbeing and kids from lowincome and vulnerable populations, this is devastating to be out of school and not learning for months on end. Madam secretary, i dont think anybody disagrees with that. Im a parent. I want my schoolaged child to go back to school but the question is, can it happen safely . Can you by saying what you just said also assure parents, students, children, everybody whos there that theyre going to be able to do so safely . We know that children get the virus at a far lower rate than any other part of the population. And, again, theres there is nothing in the data that would suggest that kids being back in school is dangerous to them. In fact, its more a matter of their health and wellbeing that they be back in school. Weve seen this in countries other countries in europe and elsewhere in the world where students have gone back to school and have done so very successfully. That should be the goal. We know children can spread the virus. There was a summer camp in missouri which closed after 82 campers and staff tested positive. Texas says more than 1,300 children and employees in a childcare facility tested positive. Heres what the cdc guidelines say, if children meet in groups, it can put everyone at risk. Children can pass this virus onto others who have an increased risk of severe illness from covid19. Thats your own federal governments guidelines. And we also know we also know that the ymcas that provide childcare have been studying this very carefully and that there has not been high incidence of viral spread in those situations. So it really is a matter of paying attention to good hygiene, following the guidelines around making sure were washing hands, Wearing Masks when appropriate, staying apart at a bit of a distance socially and doing the things that are commonsense approaches to ensuring that kids can go back to the classroom and go back to learning. So theres there are a lot of things to unpack there. First of all, youre talking about ymcas, thats great news, but im asking you about your own federal governments guidelines, the cdc guidelines, and what the cdc has said is that if children meet in groups, it can put everyone at risk. Well, the cdc has also been very clear to say they never really recommended schools close down in the first place and theyre very much of the posture that kids need to be back in school for a multitude of reasons. The American Academy of pediatrics has said the same thing. Kids need to be in School Learning and we cannot be paralyzed and not allow that or not be intent on that happening. Youre right. The aap rather has said that the goal, of course, is for children to be back in school, but they also signed a letter saying schools in areas with high levels of covid19 Community Spread should not be compelled to reopen against the judgment of local experts. It sounds like what youre saying is you as the secretary of education is compelling you are compelling schools to reopen regardless of whats happening. No. What were saying is that kids need to be back in school and that School Leaders across the country need to be making plans to do just that. Theres going to be the exception to the rule. But the rule should be that kids go back to school this fall. And where there are little flareups or hot spots, that can be dealt with on a schoolbyschool or casebycase basis. Theres ample opportunity to have kids in school theres many counties across the country that have virtually no cases. And so School Leaders need to be looking at the granular data, right on the ground where they are, and looking at if there are problems, then how are you going to deal with them. But the goal needs to be that kids are learning full time against this fall. Again, i just want to make clear, nobody has any goal thats different from that. Everybody wants children to learn in the best possible conditions. But theres also the question of safety and balancing those and im not hearing a plan from you on how to get to that goal of children in School Learning but doing so safely. Does the department of education have a plan to do that . Well, the department of education has been working hard the last several months. All of my team, weve been working closely with state School Leaders to ensure that they had maximum flexibility waiving tests, providing state of the union lo student loan relief, all things that have helped leaders do the right things for their students. We know that far too many kids didnt have any kind of a learning experience. Going into the fall, we need to ensure education education leaders need to ensure that kids are going to be able to be learning full time, no matter how that looks. If theyre in an area with high incidence of virus, they need to be learning remotely, full time. Secretary devos, on that note, the cdc, lets talk a little bit more about what the cdc is recommending. Installing some physical barriers, closing playgrounds. Keeping desks six feet apart and not sharing books. President trump said he disagreed with those guidelines, calling them very tough, expensive and impractical. The cdc said the recommendations are going to stand. As the secretary of education, should schools in the United States follow the cdc recommendations or not . Dr. Redfield has clearly said these are recommendations and every situation is going to look slightly different and the key for education leaders these are smart people who can figure things out. They can figure out what is going to be right for their specific situation. Because every School Building is different. Every School Population is different. If you have an Elementary School or a middle school thats understandable. But what i want to understand is if the federal government is all on the same page. As the secretary of education, should schools follow the kids need to get back to school. They need to get back in the classroom. Families need for kids to get back in the classroom. And it can be done safely. There are guidelines that are very clear and also and also very acknowledging that situations are going to be different. But the rule has got to be that kids i want to just tell you that i dont know that its clear because the cdc guidelines do lay out steps in which they see a vision for returning to School Safely. And i dont hear that coming from you. Well, i know for a fact that there are many schools that have been working hard to put together their plans for moving ahead. We want to see every School District, every state doing the same thing to say not what we cant do but what were going to do and what we can do. Were a country of action, were a country of doers. Okay. Lets talk about we have education leaders who can work hard and figure this out. Lets get specific. Lets talk about one area, one leader you have singled out who is trying to do just that. Fairfax county, virginia, the School District that you called a disaster and you really criticized when it comes to their backtoschool plan, i went there on friday. They are saying that the parents and students are going to have a choice, two days a week in school. The rest Virtual Learning, or complete Virtual Learning. I want you to listen to what the Fairfax County superintendent told me about what it would take for every student to bo back to School Following cdc guidelines. Our default on a Normal School day in Fairfax County is 18 inches, not six feet, not three feet, 18 inches. You would need another five pentagons of space to be able to safely accommodate all of the students in Fairfax County Public Schools. So what hes saying is its not feasible to bring everybody back and follow the very guidelines from the cdc guidelines that youre making demands that are just not possible. Im glad you brought up Fairfax County because i think its a very important contrast to, for example, the plans that Miamidade County has in place. And i understand youre having leaders from both of those districts on your program today. The contrast between the two is stark. In Miamidade County, they have continuity of instruction plan that has been robust. Granted, they had this plan or theyve been working on this plan because they often experience hurricane damage. Can we just stick on Fairfax County, maam . And not miamidade . Im going to contrast it. That you have brought up because its a multiplicity of platforms. Its a wide variety of approaches but with the expectation that if you have to move to a remote instruction situation that you have fulltime learning going on for all students at all times. Okay. I dont want to get much into this, but is not a fulltime learning plan. But they do have fulltime Virtual Learning no. Four days a week, either four days a week online and, you know, the fifth day not, or two days a week in person, these are not valid options and choices for families. Its not fulltime instruction. Okay. What you are saying is you want kids back in school. What he is saying is because they have almost 200,000 children in their School District, they would have to build the size of five pentagons in order to accommodate what you are asking for. Theyre a wealthy district, but even with money, its just not feasible. So what is your recommendation given that reality . My recommendation is he take up the offer to meet with my team and some of the folks from the cdc and the task force to talk about ways that they can look at this freshly and differently on behalf of the students they are serving. Should they follow cdc guidelines . The cdc guidelines are just that, meant to be flexible and meant to be applied as appropriate for the situation. But you understand how confusing it is to have cdc guidelines can i just say one thing . Sure. Go ahead. I was just going to say i would look forward to meeting with him along with some of the folks from the task force and talking about how this can practically happen. I think were all on the same page. We want kids to get back to school. We want them to be learning fulltime, not just parttime, not just an episodic situation. But kids have got to be learning fulltime and have the expectation that the next school year is going to give them at least a school years worth of learning. Lets move on. Because so many of them fell behind. Lets move on to what happens if there is an outbreak. What are experts telling you about the appropriate level of transmission for a school before it has to shut down . Well, i know that thats an area that the cdc is helping to provide further insight into. I cant, as a nonphysician or a nonmedical expert, tell you precisely what to do in the case of one child in a classroom or five children in a classroom. But the key is every school should have plans for that situation to be able to pivot and ensure that kids can continue learning at a distance if they have to for a short period of time. But youre the secretary of education. Youre asking students to go back. So, why do you not have guidance on what a school should do just weeks before you want those schools to reopen . And what happens if it faces an outbreak . You know, there is really good examples that have been utilized in the private sector and elsewhere, also with front line workers in hospitals. And all of that data and all of that information and all of those examples can be referenced by School Leaders. But im not hearing a plan from the department of education. Do you have a plan for what students and schools should do . The plan schools should do whats right on the ground at that time for their students and for their situation. There is no one uniform approach that we can take or should take nationwide. But can i just ask you . The school in the city of detroit are very, in my home state, in the city of detroit, would be very different than that of a school in the Upper Peninsula of michigan. And thats the point. But you are arguing over and over that they should handle this on a local level. But, at the same time, as the secretary of education, you are trying to push them to do a onesizefitsall approach which is go back and reopen schools. You cant have it both ways. I am urging all schools to open and to be providing their students a fulltime education. We all acknowledge that that could and may well look different in a certain area that has a flareup of the virus. But the goto should be that schools are opening and fully functional and operational and giving parents and families the flexibility thats necessary. So if there is a situation where a child is has a vulnerable, you know, underlying condition, that the parents could have a choice to be able to educate their flareup that schools should revert to Remote Learning . I am saying that schools should have plans like Miamidade County has. They should have plans, and the parent and families should know what their options are. Im asking you as the secretary of education, if there is a flareup should schools revert to Remote Learning. Youre very aggressive about reopening. And the obvious question is what happens if they feel that they cant . Are you comfortable with Remote Learning if they cant . I think the goto needs to be kids in school, in person in the classroom. Because we know for most kids, thats the best environment for them. I understand that. But what if they what if they cant what . What if the School District feels that they cant safely go into the school because there is a flareup in that district . Remote learning, are you okay with it in that situation . If there is a shortterm flareup for a few days, thats a different situation than planning for an entire school year in anticipation of something that hasnt happened. Thats a very different thing. Kids have got to be back in school. Theyve got to be back in the classroom. And working families have to have their children in school. Okay. Knowing that theyre continuing to advance i know you keep saying that kids should be back in school. Nobody is disagreeing with that because of schools, because of childcare, everything. We know the reasons for that. I want to ask you about teachers. A new kaiser study this week found that almost 1. 5 million teachers, one in four nationwide, are at high risk of serious illness from coronavirus because of age or underlying conditions. We just learned this morning that three teachers in arizona contracted covid. One of them died. So if teachers dont feel comfortable going into the classroom, should they go in or stay home . Well, first of all, i feel for a teacher that has a vulnerability or an underlying condition and know that this is something that is concerning. But the reality is that there are ways for those teachers to be able to continue to do what they do. And every district, every state has the real opportunity to work with and figure out the best scenario for those teachers. Should those teachers go in the classroom if they dont feel comfortable . Thats something for them to work out with their local district. But, again, thats the exception, not the rule. The rule needs to be schools need to get open. Kids need to get back to school. Teachers want to be there. Madam secretary, you keep repeating that, and nobody is disagreeing with you. Im asking you very detailed questions about how to do that, the mechanism and the rules and the guidance that you give them as the top person in this area federally. I want to ask you on that note about money. You are threatening to withhold federal education dollars from states that dont fully reopen schools this fall. To be clear, you dont have a lot of authority about 90 of funding comes from the state and local level. But you do have control over some. Republican senator Susan Collins said, quote, i think we need more funding, not threats to withhold funding. How does it help to take any money away from School Districts during a pandemic . There is no desire to take money away. In fact, we want to see schools open and have been committed to ensuring the resources are there to do that. Remember, the c. A. R. E. S. Act fund, over 13 billion has been distributed to the states. All of it in the states, now only 2 of it has actually been spent yet or drawn down. So no more threat to withhold funding . The reality is we are committed to ensuring all students and all schools have the resources necessary for kids to be able to continue learning. And where schools dont follow through on that, you know, parents should have the opportunity and the option to find a so, yes or no, is the threat to withhold funding still alive or not . Yes or no . We are committed to ensuring students are in school and learning. And parents okay. The flexibility and the resources to be able to take their kids to a school that if their school refuses to open. Thats not a yesorno answer. You didnt answer the question. But i appreciate you coming on this morning. And, again, i just want to reiterate, nobody disagrees with your goal. Everybody wants students to get back to the most robust learning environment. Absolutely. We all want that. Thank you. And up next, a rare response by Robert Mueller to President Trump after a move one republican senator called historic corruption. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be here in minutes. And the coronavirus death rate is rising in the south. The latest on the spike in cases, overcrowded hospitals, and what could happen next. Stay with us. If you have a garden you know, weeds are low down little scoundrels. Draw the line with roundup. The sure shot wand extends with a protective shield to target weeds precisely and kill them right down to the root. Roundup brand. Trusted for over 40 years. burke at farmers, we know a thing or tweve seen a thing or two. Like how nice it is to save on your auto policy. But its even nicer knowing that if this happens. Or this happens. Or this. Or this. Or even this. Weve seen and covered it. So, switch to farmers and you could save an average of three hundred ninetyfive dollars. Get a quote today. We are farmers. 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But i just want to ask you for your reaction to the interview i just had with education secretary betsy devos. Are you confident that students and teachers will go back to the School Safely in the fall . I think what we heard from the secretary was malfeasance and dereliction of duty. They are messing with the health of our children. We all want our children to go back to school. Teachers do, parents do, and children do. But they must go back safely. And when you hear what the administration is saying, we know that they have no appreciation for the failure that has brought us to this point. Going back to school presents the biggest risk for the spread of the coronavirus. They ignore science and they ignore governance in order to make this happen. If there are cdc guidelines, they should be requirements. But most importantly, most importantly, and i hope the republicans will join us. We have to call upon the president to implement the defense production act so that we can have the ppe, the personal protective equipment, as well as the testing equipment and the equipment to evaluate the testing. No ones taking a test if its going to take seven days to find out whether youre positive or negative. All of these things are central to controlling this virus and essential to whether our children go back to School Safely. I just want to ask you about something you just said. You said the cdc guidelines should be requirements. Yes. How do you make that happen . Do you have to pass something in congress to make that so . No. You have to have a scienceoriented administration to require it. Instead of the head of the cdc do they have the authority to do that . Of course they do. You have to require that you have mask wearing, that you have social distancing. They have those guidelines that change because of a tweet from the president. We think that guidelines should always be improved. Theres no question of changing. Improved on the basis of science. But they should be mandates, not requirements. I want to ask about something that could be on your plate coming up. And that is something very specific that you all passed in the first round of coronavirus relief, which is 600 per week in additional Unemployment Benefits for millions of american families. Those benefits are set to expire in just two weeks. Are they going to run out . And if so, what would that mean for those families . Well, thank you for taking us to the heroes act, which does three things, honors our heroes, and very essential if we want our children to go back to school, our teachers, our health care workers, our custodians in the schools, our transportation workers, our sanitation workers. The state and local governments need the resources in order to meet the needs of the American People including the education of our children. Secondly, in the heroes act, we talk about opening the economy, testing, tracing, treatment, social distancing, mask hygiene and the rest. And the money to do that. Thats where the president must have the defense production act to make for us to have the equipment to get the job done. And third is where you are, putting money in the pockets of the American People. Not only will the 600 expire. Unemployment insurance will expire. So, will you be able to extend that . Will you find a compromise in order to be able to extend that . We have to find a compromise because we must extend it. We must extend the Unemployment Insurance that will expire at the end of july. And then the direct payments to people so that we have 6,000 for a family of five people are desperately in need it. Also has funding for, which republicans have resisted, money for food stamps. Money for election day in terms of voting from home. An osha standard that says if you want to be protected as a worker, as an employer, have a strong osha standard, and of course it also protects the postal service, just to give you an array of do you feel confident that when Congress Comes back that you will be able to pass and work with republicans to negotiate another round of funding . Well, let me just say this. When we first passed our bill, they said nothing, never, no, we need a pause. Now we know we dont need a pause, we need to act. Then they said were not going to spend any more money. Now theyre saying a trillion dollars. Thats not enough. But well have to find Common Ground to pass legislation. Now, let me just say this. They have spent they, the fed, has spent trillions of dollars bolstering the stock market. We think we should spend trillions of dollars bolstering american i want to move on to other issues. Before i do so, theres a lot of understandable criticism of the administrations response to this outbreak. I want to ask about yours and congress and what you have said initially in particular. On february 29th, about two weeks before many states shut down, you said, quote, there are no indications of widespread infections in the United States. And you suggested that the first 8 billion package would fully address the scale and seriousness of the Public Health crisis. Looking back knowing what you know now, did you underestimate the crisis also . No. What we did was at that exact time was writing the first covid bill, which we brought to the floor and passed on march 4th. It was about testing, testing, testing. Because if you dont test, you dont have a handle on what the problem is. And that was to address, okay, this is out there, lets find out. So no regret on your part . No, not at all. We have had four bills all bipartisan, but they have not been implemented by the administration. And, no, we said testing for march 4th. We were writing the bill to find out what the threat was to us, why the president was delay, denial, calling it a hoax and causing deaths. Ive got to ask you about what Robert Mueller said. He broke his silence yesterday to defend his russia investigation after the president commuted the prison sentence of his former associate roger stone. He said, mueller said that stone remains a convicted felon, and rightly so, you called the president s commutation an act of staggering corruption. Is it an Impeachable Offense . Its staggering corruption, but i think its important for people to also know that its a threat to our natural security. The whole impeachment process was about our national security. The Supreme Court was to find out about the russian connection. And we will continue to pursue that. This case was about the russian connection. So what the president we will have legislation that says a president cannot commute or pardon or offer clemency to anybody who commits a crime, is convicted of a crime that affects the president s behavior and his culpability. But, again, people should know, this isnt just about lying to congress. That means lying to the American People. Witness tampering and the rest. Its about our national security. Okay. And, madam speaker, before i let you go, just one word after you saw the president wearing a mask, your reaction . Well, im so glad that he obeyed the rules of the walter reed. You cant go see our veterans who are there without wearing a mask. Now, hes crossed a bridge. Thats an admission that if youre going to see our soldiers, you have to wear a mask. If youre going to be with our children, you have to wear a mask. If you want to stop the spread of the coronavirus, you have to wear a mask. Thank you. So hopefully by his example, he will change his attitude, which will be helpful in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, thank you for joining me this morning. I appreciate it. Thank you. And disney world has opened its doors again, but its not clear if people feel safe going back. The latest on increasingly dire situation thats going on in florida. Thats next. Plus, what are schools doing to reopen in the fall . We talked a little bit earlier. But i got an inside look at how one county is preparing. Thats later. Did you know that feeling sluggish or weighed down could be signs that your digestive system isnt working at its best . Taking metamucil every day can help. Metamucil supports your daily Digestive Health using a special plantbased fiber called psyllium. Psyllium works by forming a gel in your digestive system to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. 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While the president wore a mask on his visit to walter reed yesterday, he declined to do so in florida on friday, as that state faces a spike in cases. Joining me now is the mayor of Miamidade County, carlos gimenez. Mr. Mayor, thank you so much for joining me. Six hospitals in your county have reached capacity. You currently have the most hospitalized patients of any county in florida. How long do you think it might be until your hospitals reach capacity . It wont be long. Look, we have reached capacity in some, but we also have reserve space. In our system we have another 1,200 beds that we can crank out pretty fast. We have another 500 icu beds that we can crank up. We have right now probably about 1,500 vacant beds in our critical care. Its our icu capacity thats causing us concern. But we can crank up another 500 once they stop doing elective surgery here. The recovery rooms then can become icu rooms. And we can do that fairly quickly. Our ventilator space, our ventilator usage has gone up also, close to 200 now. So we definitely had a sharp increase in the number of people going to the hospital. A number of people are in icu. And a number of people on our ventilators. We still have capacity but it does cause me a lot of concern. Im sure it does. And youre obviously a local leader there working hard on the safety of your constituents. This week the president visited your county. He didnt wear a mask. He repeatedly touted a drug to treat coronavirus that can have negative side effects for some people. He has publicly criticized anthony fauci, the top Infectious Disease expert on his own task force. I want to ask you from the federal level from the president of the United States, do you feel that your constituents are getting good advice . Well, a lot of the measures that weve taken here come directly from the cdc. We follow cdc recommendations when we open up our county. We have a panel of infection disease experts that advise me just about on a daily basis. They rely on the cdc and they rely on other scientific journals, et cetera, to let me know what it is that we need to do down here in Miamidade County. Are you worried that, in following those recommendations, you are being undermined by the president of the United States in what he is saying and doing, or, in the case of being in florida in your county this week, not doing, not wearing a mask then . Well, i understand what he did. I was on the tarmac to greet him. And myself and everybody else that was there was tested an hour before. He kept his distance. They take care of the president. I understand what they do. We take our measures here and its local in nature. We do the things that we have to do here. We have a mask order inside and out. And really what im asking, our citizens in miamidade, because we have such a high Positivity Rate and its been this way since april that its the way that we act that we have to keep our masks on inside and out. We have to keep our distance. We have to wash our hands. And if we all do that, then were going to be able to tamp down the virus. Thats what were trying to do here in miamidade in addition to other things that were closing that we had open, interior spaces of restaurants, we closed that this week. We put a curfew to start to limit the social interaction that really we thought caused the big spike in cases that we had here that we can see. We trace it back to about the middle of june. And thats when it all really started. Well, let me ask you about another big factor and that is schools. Secretary devos was talking about how schools might reopen. She alluded to the plan that you have there in miamidade. But the superintendent there said opening schools would be counterintuitive should the miamidade School District follow President Trump and the secretarys advice and fully reopen schools. Do you agree with that . Well, look, what i got from the interview that you had with the secretary was it was local in nature. And so its local here. And were a hot spot. And so ive teamed up with the superintendent. Were going to Work Together to find the solution. We dont know what this virus is going to look like six weeks from now when the School System is supposed to open up. And so hes got a set of options, i think we need to work on a set of options on if the virus is here what were going to do. If the virus is there what are we going to do. And it all depends on the Positivity Rate and the state of the virus in six weeks, whether its in room or in classroom setting or its some other kind of learning. Its all going to be guided by our science. Its all going to be guided by our number one priority is keeping our kids safe. But, as you said, the number one goal is to try to get them back in the classroom. But, hey, it all depends on the virus and what its doing here at that time. Were almost out of time. Good idea for the president and the Republican National committee to hold an inperson convention in your state of florida in the next few weeks . Yes or no . It depends on, again, where its at and the state of the virus. If they can wear a mask indoors and keep social distancing. Look, two weeks ago, we had spaces open here, public spaces that were open. But the Positivity Rate and the state of the virus in this community forced us to close those spaces. So you cant have it here in miamidade. Im not sure whats going on in jacksonville. Thank you so much for your time this morning. The mayor of Miamidade County, mayor carlos gimenez, thank you so much. And should you send your kids back to school this fall . What schools say they need and what other parents are deciding. Thats next. Gillette proglide and proglide gel. Five blades and a pivoting flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. So youre ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. [ ] when you have diabetes, managing your blood sugar is crucial. Try boost glucose control. The patented blend is clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels. It provides 60 more protein than the leading diabetes nutrition shake. Try boost glucose control. Its safe to say parents want their children to go back to school this fall. But the question is, can it happen safely . I visited one of the largest School Districts in the country to find out whats possible. As you come in, you can start to see the signs were putting into our schools about six feet social distancing. Fairfax county, virginia, prepping for back to school in the age of covid19. Weir going to have plexiglass. This is new . This is new. And limited. Just two days a week inperson learning, the rest virtual. Parents also have the option to keep their kids home entirely. So youre in a classroom now where we spaced apart desks at six feet. Were going to have ppe for all our teachers and students, and were going to have a return to school in a new normal. Scott bray brand is the superintendent for Fairfax County Public Schools and Northern Virginia a d. C. Suburb which education secretary betsy devos recently singled out criticizing its return to school plan. One of the most wellfunded, i would call it an elite public School System in america, offered families a socalled choice for this fall. Her argument is that theres no excuse for you all not being able to figure out how to get kids back to school full time. Covid doesnt discriminate based on wealth or poverty. Covid hits all of us, and the guidelines for six feet social distancing simply mean that you cant put every kid back into school with the existing Square Footage footprint. Its just that simple. Fairfax county is one of the largest School Districts in the country, more than 188,000 students from prek through 12th grade. Were the size of five pentagons. You would need another five pentagons of space to be able to safely accommodate all of the students in Fairfax County Public Schools. Doesnt sound very feasible. It doesnt sound very feasible. Fairfax county parent Miriam Aguilar says things can look better for the spring for her daughter and third grade on. How did Virtual Learning go at the end of the school year . Its hard. It was. Getting him logged on, the technical difficulties, just being there, you know, half the time i felt like an i. T. Person and i. T. Is not my field. It was crazy. The school uses multiple online platforms, which made it confusing. This generation of kids, theyre very technology savvy, so they should be able to do this on their own, but they cant because its got like it different links to different things. Shes a single mom but considers herself lucky. She can work from home and has help, including her own mother who lives with them. Even my mom being here, even with that help sometimes you got to be, like, quiet, you know, im on a call. Sometimes id be up until 2 00, 3 00 in the morning. Just because, like, when the house is quiet, i can focus. And then, you know, you have to be up in the morning trying to do the best you can. You have two fulltime jobs. She chooses full time Virtual Learning for several reasons, including protecting her 71yearold mother. I dont want to put her in a position where my kids are going back and forth from school. We can all be very cautious, but you never know. Her plea to the superintendent, make Virtual Learning a lot smoother for her and her kids. Whats your response to that and how have you worked to fix it . We had two weeks where we struggled, and then we had two months where we soared. I wish we were able to do that out of the gate. We have Lessons Learned and were using those lessons to help us be ready to have a successful fall. Thank you so much for spending your sunday morning with us. Fareed zakaria gps starts next. Hey its me, lily from at t. Im back working from home and here to help. Hey lily, im hearing a lot about 5g. Should i be getting excited . Depends. Are you gonna want faster speeds . I will. More reliability . Oh, also yes. Better response times . Definitely. Are you gonna be making sourdough bread . Oh, is that 5g related . No, just like why is everyone making sourdough now. But yes, youre gonna want 5g. At t is building 5g on americas best network. Visit att. Com to learn more. This is gps, the Global Public square. Welcome to all of you in the United States and around the world. Im Fareed Zakaria coming to you live from new york. Today on the show, america is number one in new coronavirus cases. And by far. So how and why did this super powers efforts to contain the pandemic go so wrong . We got hit. By the virus that came from china. Ill talk to one of the countrys preeminent physicians,