on the night when joe biden and donald trump were supposed to share the same stage for their second debate, the two presidential candidates held competing town halls on rival television networks at the same time. you'll see the sharp contrast between them for yourself in just a moment. for biden, the format was familiar territory, to talk policy, although sometimes he avoided straight answers. when the event was over, he stayed to talk with voters off camera, and in contrast, that with the president, president trump was much more combative, his responses to pointed questions about the pandemic, white supremacy, conspiracy theories and other issues were largely defensive and peppered with falsehoods. if voters were hoping to find out what president trump plans to do if he wins a second term, they were proud disappointed. we get more from cnn's jim acosta from miami. >> voters did not get a lot of straight answers from president trump in the town hall that took the place of a presidential debate with joe biden, given opportunities to denounce qanon. the president evaded the question and would not say what he thought about the group. here's more of what he had to say. >> i know nothing about it. i do know they are very much against pedophilia, they fight it very hard. >> they believe it is a satanic cult run by the states. >> i'll tell you what i know about, i know about antifa and the radical left, and i know how violent they are and how vicious they are, and i know how they are burning down cities run by democrats. >> ben sasse said quote qanon is nuts, and real leaders call conspiracy theories conspiracy theory. >> he may be right. i just don't know about qanon. >> you do know. >> no, i don't know. >> the president gave evasive answers on health care, abortion, even his own personal income taxes but the biggest missed opportunity was when the president would not say when his last negative coronavirus test was leaving open the possibility that he walked into the last presidential debate with joe biden potentially symptomatic for covid-19. jim acosta, cnn, miami. >> biden faced plenty of tough questions in philadelphia and a town hall moderated by george ste stephanopoulos of abc news. the former vice president stuck around after the event to keep talking with voters. and while his responses were heavy on policy, there were a few times he chose to dodge, rather than give a straight answer. cnn's arlette saenz reports. >> over the course of a 90 minute town hall here in philadelphia, joe biden faced a range of questions from how to handle the coronavirus pandemic to the economy and even his support for the 1994 crime bill. this was a heavily policy focused discussion. as he faced questions from a mix of undecided voters and people who have already made up their minds about supporting biden or trump. one of the most most note worthy changes came during a discussion about the issue of court packing. joe biden has deflected when asked about adding more justices to the supreme court for weeks now. and he offered a bit more of a detailed answer in this town hall. take a listen. >> i'm not a fan. it depends on how this turns out. i'm open to considering what happens from that point on. >> you know, you said so many times during the campaign, all through the course of your career, it's important to level with the american people. >> george, no matter what answer i gave you, if i say it, that's the headline tomorrow. it won't be about what's going on now, the improper way they're proceeding. >> don't voters have a right to know where you stand. >> they do have a right to know where i stand, and they'll have a right to know where i stand before they vote. >> you'll have a clear position before election day. >> biden not ruling out the possibility of adding more justices to the supreme court. he wants to see how the nomination with amy coney barrett moves forward and will give voters a bit more answer closer to election day. biden also criticized president trump of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and he was asked about a coronavirus vaccine and whether it should be mandated. biden said there should be a discussion of making it mandatory but acknowledged that there could be legal issues with actually implementing that. but overall, biden stayed very policy focused as he was presenting his agenda for a biden administration, offering a contrast to the president without the president being on the stage. friday, joe biden is heading to michigan where he will have two shots at that critical battleground state as early voting is underway, and he's trying to get people to head out and vote. >> after the town hall, biden's running mates, kamala harris spoke with cnn. she argued that republicans have been packing the court for years under president trump. >> i think that joe biden has been consistent on saying this is not the time right now to have this discussion. i'm sorry but i can't have a conversation about court packing around something that has not even happened yet which is who is going to be the next president without dealing with what they have been doing for the last few years. >> harris cancelled travel plans after two people linked to the campaign tested positive for covid-19. she and her husband both tested negative thursday. at their town halls, both candidates were asked about their personal covid testing regimens, biden confirmed daily testing and described the test he usually takes. mr. trump wouldn't give specific details and he refused to say whether he had taken a test before the first presidential debate days before he was hospitalized with the virus. >> did you take a test on the day of the debate, i guess, is the bottom line. >> i probably did. i took a test the day before and the day before and i was always in great shape, great shape for the debate. >> do you take a test every single day. >> no, but i take a lot of tests. >> you don't know if you took a test the day of the debate. >> possibly i did, possibly i didn't. >> by the way, before i came up here, i took another test, the deep test, and because i wanted to be able -- if i had not passed that test, i didn't want to come here, and you know, expose anybody. and i just think it's just decency. >> so as we heard in jim acosta's report, president trump refused during his town hall in miami to denounce the group qanon, which the fbi calls a domestic terror threat. last hour, i spoke with this about leslie of chatham house in london. take a listen. >> the words of the president speak miles to those who are listening and for q and for permission. so, yes, it's certainly a distraction for him if he's trying to get that 5% of the electorate that hasn't fully decided who they intend to vote for, if he's trying to persuade them this is a president who will ensure security and safety on the streets, you think that's a distraction. it's far more potentially damaging and destabilizing because it sends a signal to a certain group that the president is granting them permission to remain active. >> let's turn to biden now. why this sort of waffly middle ground of not taking a firm position on court packing until later? >> yeah, this has been very interesting and we saw also the vice presidential nominee, kamala harris in the debate with mike pence also deflect this question. they have clearly wanted to watch and see the hearings for amy coney barrett to judge the public sentiment to see how quickly the senate will move towards a confirmation. these are critical questions. what we did hear last night is vice president will make a decision before the election. there is a commitment. but it is true that they haven't wanted to very clearly say what their position yet is. this is a very important issue, obviously for democrats, a very important issue for trump's base. america is very polarized. they feel passionately about soe social issues, and the supreme court is the lightning rod for the social division in america. >> absolutely. there's no question looking at them that of the two town halls, i guess the president got the greater grilling from the moderator. we saw the trump campaign tweet about it after. it's all they were talking about on fox, and hunter biden, i guess. will his supporters see this town hall as the real debate, the debate trump is engaged with every day, a debate not against biden but the left wing press intent on destroying him, this, you know, watching in would just confirm everything that they knew, that the establishment is against him, and maybe it will further encourage them to rally the wagons. >> you know, i think that that is beyond a shadow of a doubt is the narrative that has really taken hold for several years now. it's not new that the president hasn't been given the fair platform, that he has been attacked by the media. we have seen this. i don't think it's going to change anything to do with the turnout or voting. it might drive more people to vote, but remember, we are on track for a record turnout in the united states. david wasterman of the political report is anticipating between 150 and 160 million americans will turn out to vote. that's up from 137 million in 2016. people are already passionate, passionate on both sides, his supporters will see him as being attacked again. it will drive turnout, and the lot of what's happening on both sides of the aisle, ensuring that people stand in the long lines, mail in the ballots, exercise their right to vote. it's incredibly important and also important for the candidates to ensure that people do turn out and vote. remember, as i said before, there's only about 5% of the electorate that haven't made up their minds. for most people, it's just about ensuring that they do actually vote. >> and our thanks for her analysis there. u.s. coronavirus cases are definitely headed in the wrong direction. since sunday, 21 states have hit their peak 7-day average of the new cases since the pandemic began, and now an influential model predicts there could be more than 390,000 deaths in the country by february, and that's slightly lower than the previous forecast. but the harsh reality is in just over three months, as many as 170,000 more americans could be dead. cnn's nick watt has more from los angeles. >> i feel very incompetent. >> reporter: this virus destroyed ricardo aguirre's business, killed eight family members, including his father. >> we did everything together. >> reporter: and nearly 60,000 new covid-19 infections across america yesterday, highest tally in a couple of months. >> this is now unconscionable, this late into the outbreak. >> reporter: the atlanta falcons won't practice today after a positive test and perhaps the biggest name in college sports is covid positive. >> i feel fine. i felt fine. i was very surprised by there. >> reporter: these are the nationwide daily case counts, bad in the spring, worse in the summer, rising again, rising fast, a call to arms at nyc, our one time epicenter. >> simple as this, crucial week. this is the week to stop the second wave. >> reporter: this week, 21 states logged their highest average daily case counts ever. >> we've got to get these numbers down, and if this trend continues our hospital capacity will be in jeopardy. >> reporter: in just a week, the number of covid-19 patients in the hospital in indiana jumped 25%. in ohio, 28%. in delaware, 30%, in minnesota, 32%. in wisconsin, more covid-19 paspas patients in the hospital now than ever. >> if there was a major car accident today in green bay between all the hospitals, we wouldn't be able to take care of it. >> advisers to our president, reporting herd immunity, let it rip. >> i think we have to rip that square in the eye and say it's nonsense. >> it leads to unnecessary cases and it leads to unnecessary deaths. >> reporter: what might have been new zealand, small island nation granted by 25 deaths total, why? quick action, real border closures and nationwide lock down. strong tests and trace, this according to a new study in the lancet. here, cases are rising, temperatures are falling. some say the first wave never ended. here comes the second. so thanksgiving? >> you may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering. >> before the thanksgiving holiday here in the u.s., of course it is halloween, and beverly hills now one of the first cities in the country to ban trick or treating. they say they're not going to be out there hunting for kids wearing costumes, but if you are caught trick or treating or caught giving candy to a stranger, you might get a hundred dollar fine. nick watt, cnn, los angeles. >> former new jersey governor chris christie is revealing just how seriously ill he was with coronavirus, and he's warning people to take the virus very seriously. in a statement released on thursday, christie said he was in intensive care for seven days. his statement referred to the supreme court nominating event he attended last month at the white house. it read in part, i believed that when i entered the white house grounds that i had entered a safe zone due to the testing that i and many others underwent every day. i was wrong. i hope my experience shows that you should follow cdc guidelines and wear a mask to protect yourself and others. a second coronavirus waver is bringing infection rates not seen before in this pandemic. coming up, we'll go live to several cities in europe to find out how severe it's getting and new restrictions taken to fight it. and washington is split on an economic stimulus plan as millions of americans struggle during the pandemic. we'll look at what the government is doing to help them and what's standing in the way. stay with us. neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the 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friends are for. ask your veterinarian for apoquel next to you, apoquel is a dog's best friend. we were paying an arm and a leg for postage. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go. our costs for shipping were cut in half. just like that. shipstation. the #1 choice of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 months free. families across america are in urgent need of help during this coronavirus pandemic but the economic relief that could help them is facing a deadlock in washington. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says he has no plans to bring to the floor a $1.8 trillion stimulus package. the white house is floating and instead intends to hold a vote on the $500.01 the white house and democrats reject. last night joe biden said help hasn't been given to the right people and ordinary americans are paying the price. >> the president had an opportunity to open and allow schools and businesses to stay open if they got the kind of help they needed so the congress passed a couple trillion dollars worth of help and what happened was most of that money, a significant portion of that money went to the very wealthiest corporations in the country, didn't get to the mom and pop stores. you had one in five, one in six minority businesses closing, many of them permanently. >> in turn, donald trump has blamed house speaker nancy pelosi and china for the current situation. >> and you know who i'm negotiating against, nancy pelosi, because she doesn't want to give the money. we should have stimulus. this was not our people's fault. this was china's fault, and she's penalizing our people. i'm ready to sign a big beautiful stimulus. you saw the other day, i said go big or go home. i want it to be big. i want it to be bold. >> are senate republicans with you, are they going to go big, a big old number? >> they'll go. they're very happy. >> an economic proposal of this scale has ramifications not just in the u.s. but globally too. john defterios is following the story from abu dhabi. >> i'm sure pelosi is taking some heat within in her own party for turning her back on the latest offer. the president can't get enough support from republicans? >> it is a bit of both, kim, but the senate republicans are the roadblock to getting a much bigger stimulus package out, and they're doing so traditionally as they are now because of budget prudence, if you will. they're very concerned that the u.s. is going to climb above 100% of debt for gdp for the first time ever, and they say this is the time to reign that in. senator mitch mcconnell is having difficult building support beyond a half trillion dollars as opposed to now, look at what's on the table, 1.8 trillion from the white house, 2.2 from the house. you can close the gap but can't get it through the senate. here's the difficulty for president trump. and the other side of it is even because we have the debt to gdp that's so high, the u.s. chairman and bank president said you need the stimulus before we get the vaccines on the market or we're going to see the economy sputter. this is the number one challenge going into the polls on november 3rd. the u.s. president opened the swing states to get them growing again, michigan, ohio, pennsylvania, wisconsin, they're getting hit with a huge case load and their economies are starting to stall. so the big question mark going into the polls on november 3rd, i think, is does a president get blamed for mismanagement of the front end of covid-19. he spent a lot to get the unemployment rate from 14.7 down to 7.8. but did he reopen the economies too early. if you're looking to say, look, he did this covid-19, and they link it to the economy. so far that hasn't happened, but it's a very tight poll right now in the swing states, and vice president biden's up by marginal ways. he's getting credit for health management for the future. the president getting credit for the economic recovery so far. that's why it's such a fierce battle. >> as you say, so much rides on that question for the election. thank you so much, john defterios. appreciate it. president trump sent conflicting signals about whether he would agree to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election. in the town hall he said he would as long as the vote is quote honest. as pam brown reports, he's been repeating debunked voting claims casting doubt on the election process. >> they always talk about the friendly transition. >> reporter: the president is doubling down on his refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to joe biden. >> i'm not saying anything. i'm saying this, i think everybody says it, you have to have a fair election. >> with the outcome of the election possibly not known on election day, the president is trying to sow doubt in the election, also falsely claiming the ballots are being thrown out because they're votes for them. >> they don't want to send in the ballots and have them thrown in a dumpster. this is a crazy thing, and we're checking every one of them, w g watching very closely, where did they come from. >> reporter: at this point, there isn't any evidence that ballots for trump are intentionally being tossed, most states taking extra steps to ensure voters they are doing everything they can to protect the integrity of the election. a new court ruling is causing election officials in north carolina to scramble as early voting is mnow underway. a federal judge handed democrats a win, up holding a policy to allow ballots to be counted if mailed on or before election day. and republicans a win in a ruling that makes it harder for voters to fix absentee ballots with missing signatures. both rulings may be appealed. nearly 18 million americans have already voted. this according to data from 46 states. so far, the states with the most ballot returns, florida, texas and california. pamela brown, cnn, washington. >> after impeachment proceedings against the u.s. president began last year, president trump was warned that his personal attorney was being used to transmit russian misinformation. according to "the washington post," the president was told by u.s. intelligence that rudy giuliani was targeted by russia while in ukraine. the intent was to get giuliani to pass the information to mr. trump. one official recalls mr. trump shrugging and saying that's rudy. europe seeing a troubling rise in covid cases. health experts and governments are scrambling to contain the surge and some are facing criticism. we'll go live to the uk, france and italy to get the latest on the fight against the virus. in business you have to be able to shift-pivot-adapt. then do it all over again. comcast business gives you fast, reliable internet on the nation's largest gig-speed network. and now for a limited time, you can also get fast shipping- with amazon business prime essentials. so no matter what comes next, you'll always be ready to bounce forward. get started with powerful internet and voice for $64.90 a month, and ask how you can get one free year of amazon busines prime essentials on us. call or go online today. comcast business. europe is facing an alarming surge in covid-19 with numerous counties posting record numbers of new cases. the world health organization says roughly 80% of european countries are seeing a rise in infections, countries like italy and france are seeing new cases increase by 50% compared to last week. and just compare europe in the blue there with the u.s. a rise in new european cases is sharper compared to how things were during the summer. and russia's health ministry is among those reporting a record daily high, more than 15,000 new cases, as well as 32 deaths. we have reporters covering these developments. salma abdelaziz in manchester with the latest from the uk. phil, let's begin with you, several regions, including london where you are moving to tier 2 lock downs. what does that mean? >> they aren't being locked down. businesses aren't forced to close, not yet anyway. for the 9 million in london, and other areas of england, they're going to suffer tough restrictions on their personal lives. the key change will be from tomorrow, it will become illegal for people who don't live together to spend time together indoors. no hanging out with family or friends anywhere inside, homes, restaurants cafes, bars. still possible to socialize outside in groups of up to 6. that's going to become less practical as the days get shorter and colder, as winter deepens. london's mayor says this was necessary. there was no choice because the virus was spreading, is spreading rapidly in all parts of the capital. all the key indicators are trending in the wrong direction. here in london, you don't meet too many people who are surprised by this. they fear it could be just the beginning. tougher restrictions could still come yet, but it confirms as many have long suspected what the politicians have been saying pretty frequently lately and that is that it's going to be a long difficult winter, kim. >> thank you so much, now we'll go to salma in manchester there in the north of england, the situation even worse, the government wants to make restrictions tighter, and now i understand the local officials are fighting back? >> that's absolutely right, kim, the mayor has outright rejected plans by the government to move this city to tier 3, very high risk, that's the highest level in england's covid alert system. take a listen to how he justified his reasoning. >> they are asking us to gamble our residents' jobs, homes, and businesses and a large chunk of our economy on a strategy that their own experts tell them might not work. we would never sign up for that. >> now, the mayor is not prime minister boris johnson's only critic. there's a growing chorus of opposition voices that say prime minister boris johnson and his administration are taking the wrong strategy. you have the government saying, look, the best way forward is small, limited regional lock downs. on the other hand, you have those backed by scientific advisers saying we need what is called a circuit breaker, which is a nationwide complete lock down for a short period of time to stem the rise in cases. we have heard from the foreign secretary dominic rob this morning. his response to the mayor was essentially saying that as a matter of last resort, we can proceed with the plans to move this city to that very high level risk category. however, we would like to cooperate with the city as local authorities and while all of this political wrangling is going on, the virus continues to spread, and the clock is ticking, kim. >> thank you so much, salma abdelaziz in manchester, england, and phil black for us in london. appreciate both of you. a nighttime curfew is beginning in paris, while italy closes schools again. keeping track of this are cnn's melissa bell and ben wedeman, let's start with you, melissa. the curfew just over the horizon. what's the latest there? >> reporter: just over the horizon, and really the government authorities are going to be looking to see whether this makes the difference that it needs to make. again last night, just ahead of those curfews, we saw another record rise in terms of the number of new daily cases. the question is whether the curfew in nine cities between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. for four weeks is actually going to bring the numbers down because in cities like greater paris there is already a serious strain on icu units as a result of covid-19 patients taking up a greater and greater proportion of the beds that are there. so will the curfews be enough? that is one of the big questions that the government is facing. he continues to look at the number of new cases but also the positivity rate now nationally at 12.6%, kim. on the first of september, it was three times less than that. it has risen very quickly indeed, and again, already in paris, more than 45% of icu beds taken by covid-19 patients. what emanuel macron said on wednesday, this looks to be worst than the first because it's spread out all over the country and this time he explained there simply were no spare beds. >> thank you so much for that. we'll go to ben wedeman in rome. the u.k. added its list of quarantined countries when visitors have to come back, a sign of the worsening situation there in italy? >> yeah, there's no question, kim, that the situation is worsening here. we saw a number of new coronavirus cases reported yesterday, which was almost 2,000 higher than at its height. the height of the pandemic here in italy earlier this year. so certainly the expectation is things are going to get much worse. at this point, people are particularly concerned about the situation in campanya, a region in the south where naples is located. that area was spared from the pandemic earlier in the year when it really was concentrated in the north of the country. now, however, we're seeing a surge of cases there. the problem is that it's a much poorer part of the country. the medical, the public health infrastructure is much less prepared and it's also one of the most densely populated parts of italy, and so the concern is that with these rising numbers, the situation could get much worse. we already know that the governor of the region has ordered schools and universities to be closed. all parties and public, religious and civic festivities are now banned. also restaurants must close at 9:00, and there is serious consideration about imposing curfews along the line of what we heard melissa talking about in france. kim? >> thank you so much, ben wedeman in rome. melissa bell in baldu. earlier i spoke with an associate professor of molecular biology and told me children play an important role in the virus, and said in-person learning should stop for now. listen to this. >> for the foreseeable future unless it's absolutely necessary it's very clear that we cannot have face-to-face education and that involves both the academics, the teachers at schools. i would even hazard the prime schools and below, nurseries, not being open because we have data from switzerland, france, germany, italy, greece, from everywhere showing that transmission happens with children and we do not know still and we won't know for years what is the developmental impact of in virus, and we can't take that risk. beyond that, we need to be able to sustain function of this society and the economy, and if we are allowing the virus to access bubbles of the sizes of schools, and their associated families, and workplace, well, we're not achieving that. >> well, one thing that might help bring down those numbers, experts agree, of course, we have to wear masks, but even yesterday at a town hall with voters, president trump questioned the use of masks. listen to this. >> i'm okay with masks. i tell people wear masks but just the other day, a85% of the people who wear pacifimasks got >> he got the number right but the interpretation was wrong. the truth is wearing masks, especially cloth masks as we know isn't necessarily designed to protect the wearer but how pervasive is this, you know, masks don't stop the spread claim and how harmful is this misinformation given what we're seeing now with the rise in case numbers. >> it's absolutely totally harmful. i cannot emphasize in stronger words without being not appropriate for the time of day that the lack of use of reasonable personal protective equipment and by god, a cloth mask is a reasonable piece of protective personal equipment, puts at risk everyone in your immediate vicinity and everyone in your community. the data is clear from the best universities of the united states, the best universities in the u.k., the face masks prevent the migration of aerosols and we have results showing that the incoming aerosols can be contained to an extent by masks. why should you not wear in. >> thanks for his analysis there. after the break. >> there was a time i didn't like him at all. i loved him. >> florida is flip flopping amid a tight u.s. presidential race in florida. some seniors who backed president trump in 2016 say they will vote for biden. we'll find out why. stay with us. so you're a small business, or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. there's been a backlash against the dualing to-- duelin town halls. nbc is coming under fire for letting the president take a competing time slot. here's cnn chief media correspondent brian stelter. >> reporter: these twin town halls were a poor substitute for an actual presidential debate. however, they were still worthwhile. and some of the critics who were complaining about the format and the scheduling of these town halls started to change their tune about halfway through. of course it was abc that scheduled a town hall with joe biden first, and nbc followed up with a town with president trump. they were at the same time on the east coast in the united states. some viewers did flip back and forth, but i think there was more interest in the trump town hall because he had not sat down with a journalistic interview with someone of the caliber of savannah guthrie. he had not sat down for a big, rigorous interview. it was notable that guthrie challenged him about his coronavirus testing history, as well as some other issues in the news like his comments in the past about qanon. so it was a very news worthy town hall at nbc, but there's still been a lot of criticism both internally and externally about why the network decided to host a town hall with trump at the very same time that biden was scheduled to appear on nbc. in some ways this was about a petty rivalry. over on abc, biden tried to appear to be above the fray, above all the trump noise. trump, of course, is always in the fray, always making lots of news, always shocking people with lots of comments. biden, on the other hand, tried to play the decent statesman, suggesting that people, a, look over at nbc, do you really want four more years of that. it was a split screen for the ages between these two networks, and later on friday, we will hear about the ratings. we will see if trump or biden had higher ratings. i suspect trump will be the higher rated program, but of course ratings are not all that matters, what matters about the town halls is was there news made, did we learn more about the candidates and most importantly, were any minds changed at all. of course this time next week, there is one more debate on the calendar. trump and biden are expected to meet for one more debate on october 22nd. brian stelter, cnn, new york. >> the swing state of florida has been a big focus in in presidential race, and president trump won florida in the last election, but now the coronavirus pandemic is making some senior voters reconsider their stance. jeff zeleny reports. >> let's go joe. >> reporter: these florida seniors are fired up for joe biden. but it's not only democrats taking their stand. a bigger threat to president trump's reelection may come from voters like tommy and rody johnson, lifelong republicans who supported him four years ago but won't again. >> i feel he's responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths because of his attitude about it. he still is dishonest about it. he keeps saying it's getting better and it never is. >> reporter: their frustration turned to fury with his handling of the coronavirus. >> we voted for him, and of course the virus, covid, has been terrible. >> reporter: three weeks ago, his son tested positive for covid-19. >> i was mad because he had it, and it was, you know, and i kept thinking, it's mr. trump's fault because this thing should never have gotten as far as it has. >> reporter: seniors were key to trump's victory in 2016. yet fall off from this critical voting block have the president sounding the alarm this week at a rally here. >> biden's agenda would be a catastrophe for florida seniors. >> reporter: during his own florida visit, biden turned the subject back to coronavirus. >> so many lives have been lost because this president cares more about the stock market than he does about the well being of seniors. >> reporter: toby sheland is a nurse going door to door for biden where she hears the stories. >> they can't hug their grand kids, so it's been huge. that's been a huge factor. >> reporter: the pandemic and the fear of a close election drives these senior volunteers. >> only four votes, that's maybe two houses, three houses. i don't want to wake up this year the day after the election and say what more could i have done. >> reporter: signs of an exceedingly tight race are plentiful with passionate support for trump on display from flags to front yards. >> there's more people supporting him now because he's had so many people going against him, and i don't feel he's been treated fairly by the democrats at all. >> the question is just how many trump voters have soured on the president. the johnsons live in a county that's still deep red. they are no longer shy about showing their affirmative support for biden. >> mr. biden is a nice man and there was a time i didn't like him at all. i love him. >> reporter: but it's trump that's driving them and this race. >> he's so dishonest and the worst is that whenever he is caught in a lie, he blames it on somebody else. it's always somebody else. he's impossible. >> reporter: on top of all of this, the tv air waves here are flooded with hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising about social security and taxes. those of course are familiar issues, but it is the new political issue of coronavirus that also is front and center every time president trump holds a rally. he spent three of five days this past week here in the state of florida certainly underscoring the importance of the 29 electoral votes. early voting begins in many florida counties next week. certainly this state as critical as it ever is. jeff zeleny, cnn, viro beach, florida. >> coming up, the queen of england has emerged in public again, but something was noticeably missing from her royal attire. we'll have the details next. stay with us. since my dvt blood clot... i wasn't sure... was another around the corner? or could things go a different way? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and 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waiting for. unlike ordinary memory want supplements-ter? neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. all around the world, the pandemic has made social distancing and face masks, u.s. senate leader mitch mcconnell has been strict about enforcing those rules until the senate. on thursday, a rare breach of protocol not seen in months in that protocol, maskless senators, lindsey graham and e dia dianne feinstein shook hands and hugged. it sparked a lot of criticism by those who expect political leaders to set a proper example, and notably not wearing a mask either was queen elizabeth. it was the first time she had attended a public event since the pandemic started and although buckingham palace says precautions were taken, some are wondering if she should have worn one regardless. anna stuart reports. >> reporter: it was the queen's first public engagement since the pandemic began. the monarch opened a research facility accompanied bid her grandson prince william. there's always a lot of attention on what her majesty wears, but on this occasion there was perhaps more focus on what she didn't, a face mask. prince william didn't wear one either. buckingham palace says the queen decided not to wear a mask after consulting medic. specific advice was sought and all necessary precaution taken. as you can see from the footage, the queen and prince william kept a clear distance from others throughout the visit. people are questioning whether the queen should have worn a mask assen an example. more regions face tighter restrictions as they battle the second waver of coronavirus. anna stewart from outside buckingham palace in london. >> thanks for putting up with me. i'm kim brunhuber, "early start" is next, you're watching cnn. when we started our business we were paying an arm and a leg for postage. i remember setting up 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and millions cast their votes across the country. we have reports this morning from miami, philadelphia, london, paris, rome, welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm christine romans. >> and i'm boris sanchez in for laura jarrett. it is friday, october 16th. 5:00 a.m. in new york, happy friday christine. >> nice to have you here this week. it's been a busy week and there are 18 more days now to the election, and as of this morning, voting is