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WAPO: Trump Campaign Workers Removed Thousands of Stickers at Tulsa Rally that Promoted Social Distancing; NBA Finalizes Plan to Restart Season July 30 in Florida; MLB Aiming to Start Shortened Season on July 23 or July 24. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired June 27, 2020 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a Special Edition of the Situation Room.

Global coronavirus numbers near a pair of truly staggering milestones, almost 10 million people infected and almost 500,000 dead worldwide. Here in the United States, over 125,000 have perished, and the pandemic is showing no signs slowing down at all. An alarming rise in cases led to a new national daily high of more than 45,000 cases on Friday.

The surge, sweeping across 32 states over the past week, this as the CDC is now warning that the total number of coronavirus infections in the US could be anywhere from 6 to 24 times higher than the reported numbers. These grim trends are forcing states to overhaul their reopening time lines as we near 4th of July weekend. Normally heavy with travel, at least 12 states right now have already paused or tightened their reopening measures. Including Florida, the state shaping up to be the country's new epicenter just hit a peak of more than 9,500 cases in one day.

Texas, another hotspot, the governor there admits he reopened bars too soon. So now bars are shutdown once again. Arizona seeing a drastic spike as well, the governor there putting the state on pause, and California weighing tighter restrictions after record hospitalizations and ICU admissions this week alone.

But as red flags pile up, the vice president, Mike Pence, he stuck to the reopening narrative pushed by the President. Listen to what he said on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: We have made truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward. We've all seen the encouraging news as we open up America again. As we stand here today, all 50 states and territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly.

We're in a much stronger place. The truth is we did slow the spread. We flattened the curve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Simply not true, some of the states are going back. They're ending their reopening measures to begin with.

Let's start in Washington right now as the White House tries to explain away the skyrocketing new coronavirus numbers. Behind the scenes, there's also an increased effort to protect, and this is understandable, to protect the President of the United States from the virus.

Our White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond is joining us, joining us right now. Jeremy, the resurge of virus surely front of mind for so many Americans right now, does that seem to be the case for the President as well?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the reality is that, when it comes to the coronavirus, the President is nowhere to be seen. Now, that doesn't mean that the President isn't being seen at all. In fact, our photojournalist, Tony Umrani, spotted the President golfing today at his golf club here in Virginia.

The President, in fact, was supposed to go to Bedminster this weekend, his golf club in New Jersey, but he cancelled that trip at the last minute but still went golfing today in Virginia. Not clear why, Wolf, but the President claimed it was because he wanted to monitor the law and order situation from Washington. And that certainly has been on his mind far more than this coronavirus pandemic.

The President tweeting more than a dozen images of individuals believed to have participated in some way in trying to take down that statue in Lafayette Square, right across from the White House.

What's clear, Wolf, is that the President and the White House, they don't want to treat this latest spike in cases in the same way that they treated the previous peak. Despite the fact that we have seen several records in new case counts of coronavirus across the country in the last week. We have not heard from the President in the way that we did when we were seeing that first dramatic peak in coronavirus cases.

In fact, yesterday, while we did hear from the vice president and members of the Coronavirus Task Force, that briefing notably didn't take place at the White House. They moved that over to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the President did not join them.

[21:05:08]

So clearly, Wolf, an attempt here to match what the President is saying that no matter what happens here in terms of the number of cases of coronavirus in the United States, this reopening is stopping for nothing. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes. The President seems to be more interested in protecting monuments and statues than he is in the coronavirus which is killing hundreds of Americans every single day. Jeremy Diamond reporting for us, thank you very much.

Coast-to-coast coronavirus cases are on the rise, right now, in 32 states, some reporting record new highs. Covering all of this for us, CNN's Paul Vercammen is out west in Los Angeles, CNN's Natasha Chen, she's in Pensacola Beach, down in Florida.

Natasha, let's start with you, because today Florida reported, what, a record 9,585 new coronavirus cases in what's now the highest single day reporting since the start of this pandemic. So what are you seeing there on the ground?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there's music playing, it's hopping here. People are enjoying themselves like it's any other summer in Pensacola Beach. And the only difference is that yesterday, the states shutdown standalone bars so they can no longer sell alcohol on the premises. They can, however, sell to go orders for people to consume that alcohol off of their property.

Restaurants are still allowed to operate right now, even with bars in those restaurants, at 50 percent capacity. And the governor has said that there are no plans at the moment to continue the future phases of reopening. So right now, he has stopped short of issuing a statewide mask mandate.

And we asked some bartenders about that. They said that, you know, they can see that happening. It wouldn't be unreasonable because they see the numbers rising as well, but not everybody feels the same way about that. Most people walking around here do not have masks on.

There are some businesses that have decided to voluntarily roll back just a little bit, perhaps closing an inside dining room, canceling large events or canceling live music. But again, that is not the majority of the businesses, Wolf.

BLITZER: Natasha Chen, reporting for us. Stand by. I want to go to CNN's Paul Vercammen out in California, which is reported a single day increase of nearly 6,000 new coronavirus cases. Paul, what else can you tell us?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we should note they are testing more people than ever before in Californa, but let's tell the story through the lens of Disneyland, where today outside Anaheim, we saw 100 cars in a rally. This was a protest against Disney opening up, without these union members, 3,000, hotel workers want further safeguards before Disney reopens.

You may remember that Disney backed off on reopening July 17th. Nevertheless, this one union is adamant about needing more safeguards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN LYNCH, UNION REPRESENTATIVE, DISNEYLAND WORKERS: They need a comprehensive plan. It begins with testing, which they're saying no to, but they've got to tell us the details. We asked them, what happens if a cook gets sick, how are you going to test and protect the other folks in the department? They don't know. How are you going to handle the increased cleaning? They don't know. Then beyond that, we asked them, you need to do comprehensive regular testing. They're not willing to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: But Disneyland is saying through its doctor, Dr. Pam Hymel, she's the Chief Medical Officer for the Disney properties, that their plan is to reopen with testing, but more or so masks for guests, masks for workers, temperature checks for guest before they come in. Temperature checks for workers when they go home. They also want to increase the number of workers that are involved in disinfecting and cleaning.

So they say they're ramping up. We should note that we also talked to another union that's in favor of what Disneyland is putting in place. But this is a very nuanced and complex story, Disneyland is an economic engine in California. It employs some 31,000 people. There tens of thousands of other jobs linked to Disneyland that put paychecks in people's hands.

And we should note, Wolf, 21 million people a year visit Disneyland. So stay tuned, no opening date yet as California proceeds cautiously in the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

BLITZER: All right. Paul Vercammen reporting for us, Natasha Chen reporting for us, guys, thank you very much.

Let's discuss this further with our medical experts, Dr. Abdul El- Sayed is an epidemiologist, former Detroit Health Commissioner. Dr. James Phillips is a Physician Assistant Professor at the George Washington University Hospital in the nation's capital.

Dr. El-Sayed, the country has surpassed the previous high in new daily cases which was back, what, in early April, seems so long ago. But there isn't the same sense of urgency in light of this new surge, is there?

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. And here's the message everybody has to understand. COVID is not over. It was not over.

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And simply because we know more about the virus and because we've made it through that first major peak does not mean that we can act like it's over. And this spread is extremely difficult to see because we know that if it's been spreading this long, it's not just the number of cases, but it's how long it's been spreading consistently that we are getting a delayed view on where we really are.

The transmission rate today is not what we're seeing, the case count, that's seven days old. And at its peak, we know that this virus and spread double every two-and-a-half days. And so, if we're seven days behind, we could be looking at 16 times the number of cases that we actually see right now. And so, we need real action and everybody's got to be a part of it. It means wearing masks, it means social distancing. It means taking this thing seriously because it really is a dangerous disease. It's killed 125,000 of our sisters and brothers in this country, and we've got to do a lot better.

BLITZER: We certainly do. You know, Dr. Phillips, I want you to compare the numbers. Look, in Florida, compare those numbers to Italy, which used to be the epicenter in Europe. Italy never had a single day record of close to 9,000, florida does. Even though it has tripled the population, the numbers in Florida today are on par with New York's highest daily case number. That was at the height of the pandemic in April.

When you consider all of this, is it time for Florida, Dr. Phillips, to take more drastic measures?

JAMES PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. You know, there's interesting parallels between Florida and Italy, but also some interesting differences in the timing and the testing that I think are important to get the full picture now.

Between -- when we first looked at Italy, and the number of cases and deaths that we were seeing there, we attribute a lot of that to the age of the population in Italy. And the numbers showed that about 20 percent of the population in Italy is over the age of 65, which we know to be one of the vulnerabilities to this virus.

The age in Florida over, the percentage of people over the age of 65 in Florida is also almost 20 percent, around 18 percent in the last numbers that I saw. And so, I think that that's critical to see that you have a similar population that's vulnerable.

Now, some of the differences between the case counts that are important is that, we are testing more in the United States now than Italy was at the peak of their disease. And so, we are seeing more cases diagnosed in the young population here, and Italy wasn't testing those people. They were reserving the testing for the sickest people at that time.

However, in Florida, with the number of people that are currently infected, the fact that there's still a lag, and the fact that we haven't even diagnosed all the cases there, it's going to continue to spread and the older populations are going to become increasingly vulnerable. We may start to see numbers of deaths in hospitalizations go up.

BLITZER: It is a very significant elderly population as we all know in Florida. Dr. El-Sayed, the 4th of July holiday here in the US is approaching. It's summer, people want to get out, they want to enjoy the weather. Both of you -- let me ask both of you, first, Dr. El- Sayed, what's your message to those simply reject masks and social distancing, say it's not for them?

EL-SAYED: Look, I get that you're frustrated. I get that you feel cooped up. It get that you want to have a great 4th of July. But here's the thing, it will not be a celebration of this country if what we do goes on and kills many more Americans.

In order to take this seriously, it means not just curtailing having a good time. Have a good time but do it in a way that's responsible. If you're going out, make sure to wear a mask. If you can, stay in a place among folks with whom you share a bubble, and try not to go out and mix too much with other folks.

And then lastly, I'll just say, I want you to remember that you yourself may be cavalier about your own risk, but I want you to ask yourself about the people in your life that you love, that you care about, who may come in contact with the disease because of you, what does it mean to protect them. And keep that in mind as you go out and have a great 4th of July.

BLITZER: That's a really important message. Dr. Phillips, what's your message?

PHILLIPS: Treat yourself and every other person around you as though they have COVID-19, and are asymptomatic. If you do that, and you space yourself out and you stay within your bubble of people that you know and are constantly exposed to, it's the best way to keep yourself safe.

Fourth of July is a great time. I'm here in Washington, DC, it's an excellent holiday. There will be thousands of people outside. The good news is the fireworks are in the sky. Stay away from people and look up. You don't have to crowed together to see fireworks.

The national malls still have a plan to hose large crowds for fireworks this year. The President wants to give a speech, and the mayor of Detroit is doing everything she can to prevent large crowds from gathering by withdrawing some support and by trying to get the message out that it's dangerous.

So I'm hoping that people don't go to large mass gatherings like on the national mall. There will be medical support there, but it's just worth it. Watch them from your house, watch them with your families from afar.

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BLITZER: Good advice, very good advice. Dr. El-Sayed, the US has, what, a quarter of the world's positive COVID cases right now, a quarter of the world's death from this virus. The numbers are surging right now, much of the world is seeing a dramatic decline in cases. Is this anything other than a catastrophic failure to contain the virus here in the United States?

EL-SAYED: Look, there's no way to characterize this as anything but a failure in leadership to take this on. And, you know, if you don't believe that, just take a look at the curves in almost every other high income country in the world. They have figured out how to curtail it after admittedly getting off to a challenging start. And we are not going to be able to take this on by ignoring it, by pretending it doesn't exist, by "moving on", by acting like there's nothing that we can do about it. We know what to do, but we have to decide to do it. And part of that is, ending this politicization of the basic things that we can do to get this right. Wearing a mask isn't a question of whether or not you believe in liberty. It's a question of whether or not you believe in science and the well-being of the people around you.

And so, we've got to stop with this politicization. We've got to stand up with science, and we got to believe in one another. I know that we can take it on if we are willing to do what it takes to do that. And that may mean sacrificing a little bit. Wearing a mask is uncomfortable, especially when it's hot. But if that means protecting someone you love from a disease that is deadly, I think it's worth it. And if we're willing to take that on, I know that we can do this.

BLITZER: It certainly is worth it. It will save hundreds and thousands of lives here in the US. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Dr. James Phillips, to both of you, thank you so much for joining us.

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, states across the country are seeing a surge in cases, what does that mean for the education of millions of children in the United States. The former Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, he is standing by live. We'll discuss when we come back.

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BLITZER: The enormous uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic is posing very significant questions about when children here in the United States will be able to return to school.

As of now, New York is apparently better positioned than most states. But even there, the debate around how to reopen continues big time. Our Evan McMorris-Santoro has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last week of school is usually a time for fun, and celebration. But this year, at the Greenburgh Central School District just outside New York City, the end of the school year just brings big questions about the next one.

MARY MEKEEL, ENGLISH TEACHER: We left in March thinking we would be back in two weeks. And here it's June, and we're packing up. And do I set up for fall, clean up and set up. I don't know.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Teachers like Mary Mekeel were allowed back inside their classrooms for the first time since the pandemic started.

MEKEEL: When I first came in this morning, I had winter stuff out still because it was cold, so I put snowmen away.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Cleaning out a time capsule of the day students left back in March.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To sort of leave things the way they were was a little bit out of a science fiction movie.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: These days, going into a school building means temperature checks, and frequent disinfecting. Where people go and what rooms they enter is closely monitored, and it's still not enough.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order in early June allowing schools to open for in-person instruction of special education students on July 6th. After scrambling to make it work, Greenberg had to take a pass.

TAHIRA DUPREE CHASE, SUPERINTENDENT, GREENBURGH CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: One of the reasons I don't have enough staff. The next reason, I don't have the therapist to provide the services that these children need.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Superintendent Tahira DuPree Chase is now focused on planning for the fall. But that's also a challenge when nothing is certain.

DUPREE CHASE: We're in the phase of making sure that we have multiple plans in preparation for whatever is going to happen in September, but planning is key. What I believe it's going to look like in September, if it does reopen, is that we're going to have to have a hybrid model.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Under consideration, our plans for students to be in class half the day and online at home half the day. But that's not finalized yet. In fact, nothing is. New York schools are waiting for guidance from the state. The next school year is getting closer by the day.

How long do you have to make a decision about September? Like when you got to make that call?

DUPREE CHASE: Like now. Like right now. Actually, we don't have much time because there has to be a point of planning, there has to be a point of then communicating that plan, because we do have parents who are apprehensive.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: With that apprehension in mind, Greenburgh is developing a plan to let parents who don't want their kids back at school before there's a vaccine, to continue to send to class completely online.

JOLAOLUWA HUSSEY, PARENT OF GREENBURGH STUDENT: I feel that we would have to wait until possibly, February.

MONIFA TIPPIT, PARENT OF GREENBURGH STUDENT: I think we should stay home until February when all of this virus is away so that everyone can be safe.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: Thank you, Evan. Now, schools around the country are weighing how to reopen and keep students, teachers, parents, all safe. The California State Superintendent for Public Schools there calls the spike in cases significant right now, and tells CNN he is tracking the data very carefully.

The former Secretary of Education under President Obama and Joe Biden supporter, as you can see, Arne Duncan, is joining us right now. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for joining us.

Even if the US does flatten the curve by the start of the school year, let's say in mid to late August or September, how do you reduce the chances of a second wave happening in the classroom?

ARNE DUNCAN, FORMER SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: You have to be very thoughtful, very careful, and put first and foremost the safety of students and staff. That's got to be paramount. So let me just walk through what I think will be most likely will happen. It will be in a hybrid situation, as the earlier speaker said. It's going to be even more complicated than that.

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There will be certain students who because their parents may be essential workers, they may have to be in school every single day. There will be certain students because of their own health or the health of their loved ones at homes, parents or grandparents who may not be able to go back to school at all in the fall. And so, we have to be able to have kids learn in school sometimes, and all kids learning at home part of the time as well.

BLITZER: You recently wrote an op-ed saying this crisis is an opportunity to rethink and restructure the education system here in the United States. So where do you start?

DUNCAN: Many places. So first of all, we shouldn't wait until the fall to start to educate kids. We have, you know, well-known summer slide, we obviously have the COVID slide. As we go into the fall, unfortunately, Wolf, you're going to have students that are six, seven, eight months behind.

So starting this summer again, virtually if it has to be, in person, if we can do that, we can have a massive tutoring program to help those children catch up who need that. We need to worry less about time. We need to focus on competency. Our students learn what they need and let them progress. And then we have to not just worry about the educational piece, we have to continue to feed children and take care of their social and emotional needs as well.

BLITZER: Yes, so many kids only get really healthy delicious meals when they go to school, and that's a fact here in the US. States across the country as you know, Mr. Secretary, are facing serious pushback, on even simple matters like wearing masks. Do you expect parents to accept changes, even drastic changes to their child's routine that we've all known for years in school? DUNCAN: They have to. All of us as parents, you know, have to do that, not just for our own children, not just for our health and safety but for the health of our teachers, our bus drivers, our custodians, our staff, for all the other children, their families, this is not something we can be selfish and think about what's right for us. We've got to think about every single child, every single adult, and this disease is wicked. This pandemic is wicked.

I've lost friends. I have friends going through some very traumatic stuff right now. And we have to take this very, very seriously. And keep, first and foremost, the health and safety of everyone, children and adults at the forefront.

BLITZER: All of these changes as, you know, have put an enormous burden on teachers. How does the country retrain an entire work force if the kids are going to start going back to school in August or September?

DUNCAN: Well, we have to continue, as you said, to help those teachers learn how to teach virtually. That's gotten better over the past couple of months. We need to continue to do that.

But, Wolf, what we really need is a massive investment in education from the federal government, and we're going to see significant cuts to school budgets on top of all these challenges already, property taxes, the sales taxes going down at the local and state level. The federal government has to step up and invest in our schools, invest in education, invest in our kids, and to your point, invest in the ongoing training and professional development of our teachers who are being asked to do so many different things right now.

BLITZER: Yes, it's a whole new world out there as far as education is concerned. With all of this in mind, Mr. Secretary, what is the current Education Secretary Betsy Devos need to say or do to help allay the concerns? And they are enormous of teachers, and parents, and students.

DUNCAN: Well, unfortunately, the current administration is basically missing in action, but as I talk to superintendents on a weekly basis, a couple of teachers, a couple of principals, mayor, that the lack of leadership at the federal level is daunting, it's a challenge. But we're seeing amazing, amazing leadership at the local level.

Vast people are creatively problem solving, figuring out their ABCD scenarios. Whatever scenario we go into with the fall, undauntingly, that's going to have to change as we get into October, November, December. And so, I'm really, really inspired and just doing everything I can to help support that local leadership. It truly has a heart for kids, a heart for staff, and wants to do the right thing for the right reason.

BLITZER: Secretary Arne Duncan, thank you so much for joining us.

DUNCAN: Thanks for the opportunity.

BLITZER: Coming up, before President Trump's rally a week ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There were stickers on the seats directing people to leave every other seat empty to discourage -- to encourage, I should say, social distancing. But you're going to hear why, and this is amazing, why those stickers were removed. That's next when we come back here in "The Situation Room."

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[21:33:58]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: In the middle of a pandemic when coronavirus cases are surging here in the United States, "The Washington Post" is now reporting that during President Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one week ago last weekend, his campaign actually directed the removal of thousands of stickers that read do not sit here, please. Stickers which were meant to keep people safe and establishing social distancing.

One of the "Washington Post" reporters that helped break the story is Joshua Partlow, joining us now.

Josh, tell us more about how all this unfolded a week ago in Tulsa.

JOSHUA PARTLOW, NATIONAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes, so there was a lot of angst in Tulsa and elsewhere in the days leading up to this event. A lot of people were worried that hosting a large rally inside would just accelerate the spread of the coronavirus.

The local health director in Tulsa had recommended that the event be postponed. There was a lawsuit trying to stop it. So, as part of that process, the event management at the arena in Tulsa had taken a certain number of measures to try to keep people safe.

[21:35:07]

One of these was they bought 12,000 stickers that said do not sit here, and put them on every other seat on the day of the rally. And this happened as they were putting these stickers in place, we were told that the Trump's campaign asked them to stop, and then began removing those stickers.

BLITZER: Has the Trump campaign, Josh, responded to your reporting?

PARTLOW: Yes. They didn't respond directly to this question of whether they removed the stickers. They did say they followed all local guidelines for the event and that they gave people hand sanitizer when they went in and a mask.

As you saw last week, it didn't appear that most of the people were wearing those masks. Some were. But, you know, so when the rally happened, you saw that people were not sitting a seat apart. Everyone who showed up was sitting next to each other.

There was a crowd on the ground floor in front of the President while he was speaking. You know, obviously the attendance wasn't what the President had hoped for. There were a lot of empty seats. Anyway, particularly in the upper level. But these stickers, this effort that the arena management had gone to to try to keep people socially distant was not in evidence when the rally actually started. And so we got a video tape showing the removal of these stickers in the hours before Trump arrived in Tulsa.

BLITZER: We know that everyone who attended that rally, the fire department there said about 6,200 people attended the rally in that 19,000 capacity stadium over there, they all -- whoever went had to sign a waiver, sign a waiver to their rights to sue the Trump campaign, if he actually came down with coronavirus. Did many rally attendees based on your reporting actually take their own measures to stay safe?

PARTLOW: From what I saw, there was, you know, not a lot of people who seem to be socially distant at that rally. I mean, we've been trying to track whether there has been, you know, whether this event has accelerated the spread of coronavirus like many people feared. It maybe is too soon to know that.

Some of the President's advanced staff have tested positive, at least six people including two secret service officers have tested positive for the coronavirus who were at that event. And then others, dozens of other secret service people have been quarantined since that event.

So I mean, you know, these cases, you know, take a while to show up. So, we'll know more in a little while. But, I mean, what we know so far is that, you know, there wasn't a rigorous effort to keep people apart while the rally was taking place.

BLITZER: Yes, we know a lot of people came in for about a time to attend that rally in Tulsa. And a lot of people from Tulsa obviously attended the rally.

We'll see what the numbers are as far as coronavirus cases in two or three weeks because it usually takes a while, as you pointed out to find out.

All right, Josh Partlow, excellent reporting as usual. Thanks so much for joining us.

PARTLOW: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Up next, the NBA is set to restart its season at the end of next month in Florida, a state that just saw its highest single day record of new cases is that too optimistic for the NBA. We'll get the latest when we come back.

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[21:42:43]

BLITZER: Welcome back to our coronavirus coverage in just a moment. But first there's more breaking news out of California. We're now learning that at least two people have died and four more injured at an incident at the Walmart distribution center in Red Bluff. An alleged shooting suspect was also injured, has been taken to the hospital. An official confirm to CNN that a car ramped into that distribution center causing a fire.

Local law enforcement tells CNN that dispatchers received multiple calls this afternoon reporting an active shooter and multiple shots fired. Official say the scene is still very active. They're working to try to clear the building which is very large. We'll continue to follow this story and update you when we know more.

Across the nation right now, sports have been central to the discussion about loosening coronavirus restrictions. Just yesterday, the NBA finalized a plan to restart the season on July 30th at the Walt Disney World Resort just outside Orlando, Florida.

On that same day, Florida set a new daily record for the number of new coronavirus cases, more than nine and a half thousand.

CNN Sports Analyst, Christine Brennan, is joining us right now.

Christine, the governor of Florida has now paused on reopening efforts in the state. Are NBA players, we're talking about the players, concerned about this bubble season as it's being called, being held in Florida at a time like this?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Wolf, they are. They are, the commissioner is concerned, everyone is concerned.

And I dare say that if they knew a few weeks ago about what they know now about Florida, they might not have picked Orlando and Disney World as this bubble location. It couldn't be worse timing.

And, for example, the Women's Soccer League that just kicked off, they're in a bubble in Utah, but the Orlando team is not there because they had six players and four staffers test positive while training in Orlando.

So, these athletes you can try to protect them, but I think the bottom line here, Wolf, is we have no idea what this is going to look like or even if they're going to be able to pull it off.

BLITZER: Yes, 22 of the 30 teams in the NBA, the top 22 will restart the season if it goes forward at the end of July.

Is there any chance based on what you're hearing, Christine, that the NBA will have second thoughts and actually get a pushback and alter further their plans and not necessarily let the players show up in early July for some training and then see the season restart?

[21:45:12]

BRENNAN: Wolf, is there any answer, absolutely. There is a chance for the NBA

I think for Major League Baseball, which is not playing in a bubble, and of course the NFL is looming out there. The antithesis of social distancing.

Sure the NBA was our bellwether. Right back on March 11th, the NBA was the first league to shut down. Say they were suspending operations, got our attention, shocked everybody and obviously then the dominos fell from that point on.

So the NBA showed us the way. The question is now, will the NBA show us the way back or will the NBA have to say, wait a minute, we can't start again with all of these new cases spiking around the country. Unknown. We just simply do not know the answer, but I think anything is possible.

BLITZER: And on top of all of this, Christine, 16, 16 NBA players have already tested positive for COVID. The league previously shut down in March after one positive test.

Are you confident the league will do enough to protect the players, the coaches, everyone else who are involved? There will be no fans in the stadium down there near Orlando, will they do enough to protect these players?

BRENNAN: They're certainly going to try, Wolf. There's a 108-page document with all of the health and safety protocols. And I've read it. And it is detailed. And it -- they're certainly going to do their best.

The question is can any entity, even as something as big as the NBA fight COVID-19? You know, can they beat it, with all of these people going in this bubble.

Here's another issue that's going to come up, Wolf, as you know, I know you're a big NBA fan, you've got the players and the coaches and the staff in the bubble, but you don't have the hotel workers. So the person that's going to be coming in the hotel, cleaning the rooms, delivering room service, they will go home every night. And that obviously presents another issue in terms of then coming back safely into the bubble every day, day after day.

So, I think -- I hate to -- I wish I could give you a positive and a certain answer but as we're seeing with this virus and this pandemic, the answer is that we absolutely cannot give a definitive answer on what's going to happen.

BLITZER: Yes. I do know based on my reporting a lot of these players are pretty nervous right now about the whole thing. They'll do it but they're nervous about it. Let's see if it goes forward.

Let's talk about Major League Baseball for a moment while I have you, Christine, they're planning a comeback. Teams are expected to report on July 1, opening day slated for July 23rd, July 24th, including my own Washington Nationals. What can you tell us about this time line? They're going to be playing in their home stadiums but no fans in the stadiums.

BRENNAN: This is exact opposite of what we're talking about with the NBA. And you mentioned the Washington Nationals and Mr. Washington National, Ryan Zimmerman is trying to decide right now if he is going to play or not.

He's concerned about his mom who has a preexisting conditions. He's concerned about his young children and his wife, and he doesn't know if it's worth it.

So, what we're going to see here is MLB teams, especially baseball team is traveling across the country, they're not going to be in a bubble. And what is that present is -- consider, you look at the spikes and you look at the cities, that's where MLB is. Major League Baseball is in those cities, many are having trouble right now with the virus.

BLITZER: Christine Brennan reporting for us.

Christine, thanks as usual.

We'll have more news right after this.

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[21:52:55]

BLITZER: 2020 is becoming a year of historic change in the fight for racial equality in America. For some, it's reminiscent of another year. Don't miss the special CNN original series event "1968" featuring back-to-back episodes, that's right, at the top of the hour.

Let me close tonight with a final thought on the critical yet simple way to save thousands of lives here in the United States in the coming weeks and months. It's not complicated at all.

Listen to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: We're not defenseless. These are in fact very powerful weapons, and it's our collective responsibility to recommit ourselves to put them into routine practice. Again, to stay six feet apart from each other as much as possible, to wear face coverings when we're in public, and to practice vigorous hand hygiene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Again, it's very simple. Wear masks, engage in social distancing, and wash your hands.

Unfortunately, those steps have become very political. The President and the Vice President have not taken an aggressive leadership stance in urging every American to simply follow those guidelines and the results as we all know are so sad.

Listen to this.

On March 5th, there were 11 confirmed coronavirus deaths here in the United States, and there were 35 in South Korea, a country of more than 50 million people.

Today there are more than 125,000 confirmed deaths here in the United States, and in South Korea, there are fewer than 300. More Americans die every single day than have died in South Korea over these past months.

Why? In South Korea, they immediately imposed a national strategy for the entire country that included the three above mentioned very simple and very basic steps, but also went further in organizing very intense testing and contact tracing for the entire country.

[21:55:06]

They didn't leave it up to the cities and the regions. Here in the United States, we unfortunately waited. There was no national plan, and there still isn't. So much of the details have simply been left to the states and the cities.

It's not too late to save thousands of American lives. We don't want those models that project 200,000 deaths in the United States by October to be accurate.

I'll be back tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for another special edition of "The Situation Room." Until then, stay safe, good night. Thanks for watching.

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