Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20200511

Garden without a mask claiming we have prevailed as far as testing. He has mixed messages urging states to reopen. A new model raised the projected death toll to 137,000 americans will die because of coronavirus by early august as restrictions are eased and americans become more mobile. Jeremy, we heard quite a few conflicting claims from the president. Reporter we did particularly on testing. President trump it outing some of the progress made in testing. But we heard the president go much further than the facts allow. We did hear kind of a Mission Accomplished moment from the president on the issue of testing. In every generation through every challenge and hardship and danger, america has risen to the task, we have met the moment and prevailed. We prevailed on testing is what i was referring to. If people want to get tested, they get tested. We have the greatest capacity in the world. If people want to get tested, they get tested. Reporter that statement from the president was reminiscent to one he made early in this pandemic. It was not true then and not true now. We heard the administrations point man try to clarify the president s statement saying if it is you need a test and are symptomatic, having some kind of respiratory distress, you can get a test in the United States. Most states can now enter phase one was being stressed based on the testing capacity. At the white house we are seeing an outbreak of coronavirus with two white house officials testing positive within a few days of each other last week, particularly the Vice President s press secretary katie miller prompting many to go into some form of self testing and saying he has not been in the president s place. B there are several days when you may not test positive, but you may be infected and spreading the virus. Thats the concern among several officials from the white house. Interesting that the Vice President was not there today. Normally the president and Vice President would attend all of those. He said we could talk on the phone, maybe. So maybe they wont be spending time together because the Vice President s press secretary katie miller was confirmed with the coronavirus. The press conference ended awkwardly. Tell us what happened. Reporter it was one of those combative exchanges between the president and reporters. Particularly he faced a question from a chinese american reporter from cbs. You have to watch the clip to see how he responded to her and how he ended the News Conference abruptly after that. You have said many times the u. S. Is doing far better than other countries when it comes to testing . Why does that matter, why is it a global competition if every day more americans are losing their lives . Well, they are losing their lives everywhere in the world. Maybe thats a question you should ask china, not me. When you ask them you may get an unusual answer. Behind you, please. Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically . I am not saying it specifically to anybody. I would say it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that. Go ahead. Please, anybody in the back. I have two questions. You pointed to me. Next. Next, please. You called on me. I did and you didnt respond and now i am calling on the young lady in the back. I just wanted to let my colleague finish. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. As you can see, wolf, that was our colleague Kaitlan Collins trying to ask a question. She had been called on by the president , but wanting to allow her colleague from cbs, lisa zheng to follow up on her question, something that many of us try and do, a journalistic practice. It had been several weeks since we had seen him do one of these conferences. And one of the reasons is because his advisers were saying that his comments were impacting negatively on viewers in key states he needs. It is that kind of behavior that has many of his advisers concerned. Kaitlan collins did the right thing in allowing her colleague to follow up. Thank you, jeremy. 48 states are reopening. Lets go to erica hill. What are some of the latest developments you are seeing there on the ground . Reporter we are hearing from governor comeau today who said by the end of this week three regions will be able to begin reopening. Across the state low risk business like landscaping and gardening and even drivein movie theaters will be allowed to come back online. But each states approach is different. Face conversation and social distancing is the new norm. At least 48 states will be partially opened by this weekend. Its almost like its our first grand opening. Restaurants, retail and manufacturing coming back online. We are excited for customers to come back and enjoy the experience. In alabama, gyms, hair and nail salons and large gatherings have the green light. Restaurants in colorado are limited to takeout delivery. But yet this packed restaurant in colorado was seen. The owner said she never expected it to be so busy, but were happy to see people coming out to support the constitution. Are you traveling to or from an area of covid. The governor says they take time, but that they dont have jurisdiction over tribal lands. Reporter a model often cited by the white house is now predicting that 137,000 americans could die by august because of increased mobility. The coronavirus will be with us the rest of the year. We need to learn to live safely with it. The governor saying remdesivir which the fda says can be used to treat severe cases in some of the hardest hit states. T the w. H. O. Cautions on herd immunity. New york is investigating cases of inflammatory illness in children. If the child has shortness of breath, headache, vomiting, head over to the nearest hospital. Reporter and this photo. He was heading home to florida after volunteering in hospitals for the past several weeks. Summer camps can open with limited capacity. Massachusetts getting set for phased reopening next tuesday. And governor comeau said three areas will reopen in his state next friday. This is the next big step in this historic journey. Reporter those three regions can open friday, but the governor said that there are other regions that have met six of seven metrics and there is a chance they could have met all seven of those by friday, so we could see five areas reopening friday. Lets hear more on the president s address. Governor mike dewine is joining us. The president said we have prevailed on testing. Do you agree with him . Can anyone who wants a test in ohio get a test right now . No. I think we have made a lot of progress. The white house has been helpful to us to get the reagents and get that approved. We have upped our capacity significantly in ohio. The actual testing is going up. I think we are up to 7500 tests per day. We project that will continue to go up. We are moving in the right direction. What we have done, wolf, is prioritize that we have three levels, one, two and three, in regard to who should get a test. The private sector is coming along, so thats a different situation. You are seeing some drugstores, for example, that are pharmacies, that are rolling these things out in the private sector. I am talking about what we are trying to do with the testing we have. As i said, it has gone up significantly, but what we are trying to do is prioritize it to save lives. Thats the most important thing we focus on every single day. With testing so important, even testing with no symptoms because you may be asymptomatic but have the virus. That is not the case despite what the president said. The president will allocate 11 billion previously appropriated to testing capacity. How much do you think that will make a difference in your ability to reopen your state of ohio . Well, i was on the call, and a lot of the governors were on the call with the Vice President today. We heard discussion about that. That will be very helpful. One of the things we focus a lot on are Nursing Homes. Ohio, like most states, are seeing a real fatality rate in some Nursing Homes. Once it gets into a nursing home, its difficult. Testing is part of that approach. We also have something we think is unique and we are proud of in ohio. Our hospitals have stepped up and with Nursing Homes. Every hospital every nursing home has been adopted by a hospital in the state of ohio. So when there is a problem they bring their inif he can sus disease people in and try to surge in if the nursing home needs more ppe. If someone is showing symptoms, they come in and do the tests and do the basic stuff, test to be sure other people dont become positive. Nursing homes is something we care a lot about. Somebo everybody has had someone in the nursing home at some point. Its somebodys dad or mom. And sad that the children of the people in the nursing home cant come visit their fathers and mothers. Grandchildren cant come and visit either. Thats so painful for everyone. I am told by the end of this week, 90 of your states economy will be reopened in some fashion, but the number of coronavirus cases in ohio continues to fluctuate. You are fighting two battles, the pandemic crisis, but there is an economic crisis as well. There are competing needs that need to be struck right now. What is the right balance . Well, wolf, one of the things we have done is that as we open businesses, we want to be sure we do it the right way. We want to be sure that people who run those type businesses come up with the best practices. We will open retail tomorrow. When they open retail, they have to do everything they need to do to separate people. They cant have too many people in a room. But you are right, its a risk if you didnt open up, and its a risk if you dont open up. We are trying to do it in a measured pace. I have continued to appeal to my fellow ohioans. Who have done a good job. I am telling them we have to keep doing this. The risk is up because we are opening up. The importance of adding the facial, adding the mask to what we have been doing. We have been doing the social distancing and now we have to put the mask on as we go out into public. These are things that are very important. Every employee now in ohio has to wear a mask under our protocol. Which is critical. Governor, thank you. You were way ahead of the curve in ohio in getting things done. In the process i think its fair to say you saved a lot of lives by doing so. Thanks very much and thanks very much for joining us. We will stay in touch. Good to be with you. Just ahead, the new policy requiring staffers to wear masks as the white house scrambles to control an outbreak within its walls. And why the coronavirus is taking such a toll on nursing home facilities. State farm is announcing the Good Neighbor Relief Program were returning 2 billion dollars to our auto policyholders through may 31st. Because now, more than ever, being a Good Neighbor means everything. Like a Good Neighbor, state farm is there. We are following breaking news out of President Trumps News Conference and conflicting statements. The president speaking in the rose garden a while ago until he abrupt i lended the News Conference in an awkward way. Lets bring in dr. Sanjay gupta. The president said, and i am quoting him, that we prevailed. Is it true that everyone who wants a test in the United States can be tested . Is that true . No, its not true, wolf. We have a long ways to go for that. There are a couple of things to point out. We have been doing more testing than we had, but when we talk about enough testing, we are not just talking about the people testing, but the possibility that people may need to get tested several times. In the white house their protocol is some people are getting tested every day. That may in fact be too much testing. We dont know yet. There will be a specific protocol that comes out of this. The fact is that were we to open places back up, get big institutions, communities, states, the country running, we will need a lot of testing. Look what happened in the white house and that should give people a good indication of what needs to happen in other places. Testing regularly, Contact Tracing, quarantining. You have the top Infectious Disease doctors in the country. I want to talk about the way the press conference in the rose garden ended with a rather combative exchange. You have said many times that the u. S. Is doing far better than other countries when it comes to testing. Yes. Why does that matter . Why is this a global competition if more americans are losing their lives every day . They are losing lives everywhere in the world. Maybe thats a question you should have china. Dont ask me. When you ask them that question you may get an unusual question. Behind you, please. Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically . I am telling you. I am not saying it specifically to anybody. I am saying it to anybody who would ask a question like that. Please go ahead. Why does it matter . Please in the back, please. I have two questions. Thats okay. But you pointed to me. Next, please. You called on me. You did and you didnt respond and now im calling on the young lady in the back. I just wanted to let my colleague finish. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. As a veteran white house correspondent, what is your reaction to that display . Ever seen anything like that in the rose garden . Is. I have seen a few trump conferences and they have been similar to that. The president doesnt like tough questions and doesnt like to be challenged by women reporters. Third, our colleague in cbs asked a completely legitimate question because the number of tests in the United States compared to other countries is not to our problem. The problem we have is getting our economy opened safely and getting test levels adequate is what we need to do. Test in hot spot areas, meat packing plants, Nursing Homes, surveillance testing. The president was put on the spot about that and didnt like it. And Kaitlan Collins did the cle collegiate thing of deferring to her colleague and let her finish. And the president decided to punish cnn. Kaitlan collins asks good questions. President trump doesnt like it especially when he doesnt have a good answer to those questions. He ends the pros conference and walks out. Sanjay, it was interesting to see the new protocol at the white house, masks, social distancing. May it be too little too late . Well, these things should have happened earlier. No question. I think you could say that about everything. It is true the testing has improved a bit, but it is not one of those things where you necessarily can catch up. People look at the right side of the screen and are reminded that we as a country of 5 of the population in the world have more than 25 of the worlds coronavirus. Thats in part because we reacted late. Its important because they are doing what they are doing now. Masks are not fail safe. I wish it had happened earlier. I think it would have given a better chance to not be exposed to the virus. These are basic measures that can go a long way toward slowing down and hopefully containing the spread of this virus. Quickly, john, go ahead. The one consistent thing in this white house is being behind the curve. They have never been ahead of the issue. Down playing it and declining to use president ial players to augment supplies, saying governors are responsible for testing, under pressure they say they are going to give more money to back the states. They have failed consistently to get ahead of the challenge. Everybody coming into the white house are supposed to wear masks, except the president and Vice President , they are not wearing masks, at least yet. States moving to reopen to some extent. We will look at florida, what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. To give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you dont. [grunting noise] ill take that. Yeeeeeah 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar ensure max protein. Now available in twelvecount. Stock up today and right now, is a time for action. So, for a second time were giving members a credit on their auto insurance. Because its the right thing to do. Were also giving Payment Relief options to eligible members so they can take care of things like groceries before they worry about their insurance or credit card bills. Right now is the time to take care of what matters most. Like weve done together, so many times before. Discover all the ways were helping members at usaa. Com coronavirus many of lifes moments in thare being put on hold. Are staying at home, at carvana, we understand that, for some, getting a car just cant wait. To help, were giving our customers up to 90 days to make their first payment. Shop online from the comfort of your couch, and get your car with touchless delivery to keep you safe. And for even Greater Peace of mind, all carvana cars come with a sevenday return policy. So, if you need to keep moving, were here for you. At carvana the safer way to buy a car. Its velveeta shells cheese versus the other guys. Clearly, velveeta melts creamier. Confident financial plans, calming financial plans, complete financial plans. Theyre all possible with a cfp® professional. Find yours at letsmakeaplan. Org. Theyre all possible with a cfp® professional. Staying connected your way youre just a tap away from personalized support on xfinity. Com. Get faster internet speeds with a click. Order xfi pods to your home in a snap. Or change your Xfinity Services with just a touch. All in one place. Youre only seconds away from all of that on xfinity. Com. Faster than a call. Easy as a tap. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Tonight as the u. S. Death toll from coronavirus has jumped to above 80,000 and only two months ago there were only 38 deaths. The state of florida has allowed hair and nail salons to open across much of the state. Palm beach county, just beginning to open. Florida is faring better than some expected. Update our viewers. Some of the restaurants here are finally open as well. You can see one over my left shoulder. It is not very crowded, but people are concerned because it has fared well under the coronavirus according to the governor and many here, that coming out would cause a spike in cases. The Tampa Bay Times talked with three companies that tracked location data from apps on millions of cell phones and they were able to see if floridians stayed home and self isolated throughout the state. And they found that many did the self imposed self isolation. They stayed home. They didnt wait for the governor or county to tell them. They did it on their own. Take a look at a couple of graphics from the Tampa Bay Times. If you look at the miamidade graph here, the blue loin stains at 100 . Thats cell phone data. Hardly any movement by the time april 1 rolls around and april 3 when the governors stay at home order went into effect. And same thing with palm beach county. The blue line takes a big dip. It is almost at zero by the time the governors stay at home order went into effect. Clearly people stayed at home here in florida. Which was the right thing to do. Randy, thank you very much. Lets get an update across the country. We are joined by the mayor of San Francisco. Mayor, thank you for joining us. You have taken a rather conservative and successful approach to combatting this pandemic. Why arent you in line with Governor Newsom when it comes to reopening . I think i am in line with the governor, but there are different areas of california that have more cases than others. So the ability to move faster in those particular counties are possible. Here in San Francisco even though we have flattened the curve we have not seen a reduction. We continue to see the numbers go up. We provide reopening for some nonessential businesses, but we move with caution. What will reopening look look foy look like for residents of San Francisco . Our florists and other similar businesses to do pickup and delivery. So other nonessential services we want to be sure they put guidelines in place as people go out to cosmetic stores and things people would like to get. But it helps with our economy. The need to get business is important. But we want to be careful. We cant go back to normal and move around in the same way because we want to be sure we not only curve the virus, we want to reduce the curve overall. Mayor, your city is being sued by the university of california Hastings Law School in San Francisco, together with residents as they urge you to clean up homeless encampments . The problems that exist not just around San Francisco but other major cities, substance abuse, mental illness, those issues just dont go away. In the age of social distancing, it has been more difficult to get the resources and the people to support this population. When you look at what San Francisco is doing as it relates to housing over 1,000 people in hotel rooms, a number of trailers, collaborative approach, not enough, but it will take state and local officials to get new regulations so we can address this issue quickly. Good luck to you. Appreciate you joining us. Coming up, trouble around the world as restrictions are lifted and now there are new clusters of infections. Me too. And if youre a small business, were with you. Standing by you every step of the way. Bye bye. Ambient sound fades in and plays throughout. Ambient sound begins to rise. Ambient crescendos and then goes silent for the tagline. [ siren ] doug ambient sound begins to rise. Give me your hand i can save you. Lots of money with Liberty Mutual we customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. You know when your dog is itching for an outing. Or itching for some cuddle time. But you may not know when hes itching for help. Licking for help. Or rubbing for help. If your dog does these frequently. They may be signs of an allergic skin condition that needs treatment. Dont wait. Talk to your veterinarian and learn more at itchingforhelp. Com. The World Health Organization today reported that some nations that eased restrictions saw a surge in coronavirus over the weekend. From china. Reporter two narratives we saw playing out here. In the northeast of the country, one of the cities there going under a wuhanlike lockdown. They are trying to contain a hot spot. Go to the original epicenter itself and over the past several days, six cases have been reported. The first time new cases have been reported in several weeks. Then here, can you see in my backdrop the castle. It is very different. They are doing a phased reopening. They have limited it to 30 capacity. However, they are expected to be well under that as they try to get back to business and yet maintain health safety. David culver, thank you very much. South korean officials closed bars after a wave of new outbreaks. Reporter the reopening has been postponed by a week after a cluster of new cases in s south korea. They believe they are all linked to this incident. They want to get in touch with 5500 people and have already tested 3,000 people. These are people who went to this particular area within a twoweek period. We are told the next few days will be critical in trying to get this outbreak controlled. Also troubling signs in germany as cases are increasing as businesses reopen and restrictions are listed lifted. Reporter germany has moved past the first phase and what is happening is that Larger Stores and restaurants and caves are able to reopen. We saw this in town. In one restaurant you had to give personal data so that should there be a case of coronavirus in the restaurant, the authorities would know where to find everybody. Thats that Contact Tracing which is important. Troubling news for the germans as this countrys centers for Disease Control has said the numbers for the Novel Coronavirus are being pushed up. And that could mean the virus is spreading. They ask for people to adhere to these social distancing measures to avoid a new risk of infections. And a look at Nursing Homes in the United States. Governor comeau is calling it ground zero for the coronavirus. I just. When i. Accident forgiveness from allstate. Click or call for a quote today. Many of lifes moments in thare being put on hold. Are staying at home, accident forgiveness from allstate. At carvana, we understand that, for some, getting a car just cant wait. To help, were giving our customers up to 90 days to make their first payment. Shop online from the comfort of your couch, and get your car with touchless delivery to keep you safe. And for even Greater Peace of mind, all carvana cars come with a sevenday return policy. So, if you need to keep moving, were here for you. At carvana the safer way to buy a car. Longterm care facilities home to so many older american who are the most at risk from virus are seeing thousands of positive cases and deaths among residents and staff. Cnns brian todd has been looking into this for us. Brian, what are you finding out in. Wolf, its gotten so bad at Nursing Homes Vice President pence is now telling governors they have to develop plans to test all nursing home residents, something President Trump said a short time ago he would support. This comes as were getting some jarring new numbers on nursing home deaths. Hes fearful about his 69yearold mother who lives at this phoenix area nursing home. His mother doesnt have any symptoms of coronavirus at the moment, he says, but the facility says about four dozen residents there have tested positive and at least 7 have died. Its definitely been very fearful since all you can do is just wait and just hope that nothing happens and hold your breath. Tonight there are shocking new numbers on the ravaging toll covid19 is taking on american Nursing Homes. Nationally longterm care facilities are linked to 11 of reported cases, and more than 1 in 3 deaths according to a tally by the new york times. In recent days cnn has reported on individual states with spiking numbers that are simply flooring. In new jersey more than half the states deaths from coronavirus have come at longterm care facilities. And in New Hampshire as of it foor few days ago more than 80 of the deaths were at Nursing Homes. In new York Governor Andrew Cuomo is trying to head off further disaster. This virus uses Nursing Homes. They are ground zero. They are the vulnerable population in the vulnerable location. Reporter Governor Cuomo is now requiring that nursing home Staff Members be tested twice a week for coronavirus and says hospitals cannot discharge a patient to a nursing home unless the patient tests negative. But Nursing Homes still present what one expert calls a perfect storm of factors which put their residents at higher risk, in addition to the fact many of them already have Chronic Health problems these residents are confined to where they live, and many of them live in pretty and interact in close spaces, and so that puts them at high risk because they cant effectively distance. And Staff Shortages at Nursing Homes which one expert told us were a problem before this outbreak are now making the risks even greater for staffers and residents. Within the nursing home the nurses and technicians that work there could be dealing with tens of patients at a time. What that means is youve got one person going back and forth between all the rooms and all the different patients. Those conditions have led to scenes like this. Relatives have to check on their elderly loved ones through the windows of those facilities. In midmarch the federal government issued guidance banning nearly all visitors and communal activities at Nursing Homes. At a nursing home in pasco county, florida, relatives couldnt get anywhere near their mothers and grandmothers to celebrate. So they had to wave, honk and call them. But the wall street journal is now reporting that federal regulators are drafting new guidelines to allow visitors to go back to Nursing Homes under some very strict standards and in multiple phases. But theyre getting warnings from Health Experts they should not reopen these facilities too soon. Brian todd reporting for us, thank you. We have more news just ahead. Family at home or those at work, principal is by your side. Were working hard to answer your questions. Like helping you understand what the recently passed economic package can mean for you. Were more than a financial company. Were a together we can get through anything company. Now, more than ever. Show me what youre made of. So we showed it our people, sourcing and distributing more fresh food than anyone. Our drivers helping grocers restock their shelves. How were helping restaurants open popup markets. And encouraging all americans to take out to give back. Adversity came to town. So we looked it in the eye. And it wont be us. That blinks first. Finally tonight we want to share with you some more personal stories of americans who have died from coronavirus. Daniel zane of hatherferred, pennsylvania, was 94 years old. While serving in world war ii he dodged enemy fire across an open field to give first aid to a fellow soldier. His wife of 71 years valerie died two days earlier. Anne marie of new york city was 83 years old. She was born in trinidad and moved to the United States in 1973. She leaves behind her husband leo and five children. Were told she loved to cook deg de dishes from her homeland and talk politics. May your loved ones rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing. Erin burnett out front starts right now. Out front next the president declares the United States has prevailed on testing, saying again that anyone who wants a test can get a test. But Health Experts say that is just not true, and the United States is not where it needs to be to fully reopen. Plus coronavirus in the white house. The scramble to contain the spread and a new policy mandating mask, but why isnt the president wearing one . And the Government Loan Program supposed to be a financial lifeline. Many, though, in the Restaurant Industry say it is failing. Lets go out front. And good evening. Im erin burnett. Out front tonight