ROBERT MULLER’S REACTION TO THE
CONTROVERSIAL LIFELINE THE
PRESIDENT THREW ROGER STONE.
PLUS, OPENING UP.
WHY OMAROSA IS TAKING A RISK TO
COME ON THE PROGRAM TO TALK
ABOUT TRUMP.
>>> JUST MOMENTS AGO, FLORIDA
SHATTERING ITS CORONAVIRUS CASE
RECORD FOR A SINGLE DAY AND THE
NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING.
THE STATE REPORTING 15,300 NEW
INFECTIONS.
IT IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER ON
RECORD AND IT BRINGS THE STATE’S
TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES TO MORE
THAN 269,000.
SAM IS JOINING ME FROM LAKE BAY
NA VISTA, FLORIDA, WEARING A
MASK, WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT
THAN EVER.
ANY SENSE OF REACTION FROM THE
OFFICIALS AND PEOPLE THERE TO
THESE STAGGERING NEW NUMBERS?
>> MOST PEOPLE YOU TALK TO,
THEIR MOUTHS DROP WHEN YOU TELL
THEM 15,300 NEW CASES TODAY.
IN TERMS OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS,
THE GOVERNMENT NOT EXPECTED TO
HOLD A CONFERENCE TODAY.
HE DID YESTERDAY.
15,300 TODAY.
TAKING THE STATE’S TOTAL TO
ABOUT 270,000.
THE BIGGEST PREVIOUS SINGLE DAY
HIGH WAS CALIFORNIA FOUR DAYS
AGO, AROUND 11,600.
NEW YORK IN MID MARCH AT ITS
PEAK HIT ABOUT 11,500.
THIS IS WAY ABOVE THAT.
HOWEVER, THEY DID A LOT MORE
TESTS IN THIS LATEST BATCH.
THERE WERE 140,000 TESTS.
SO ALEX, IF YOU LOOK AT THE
POSITIVITY RATES HERE, THEY’VE
BEEN GOING DOWN THE LAST FOUR
DAYS.
IT WAS 20.7% FOR THE STATE
SEVERAL DAYS AGO THEN DOWN TO
ABOUT 15.
YESTERDAY’S BATCH, 13.6%, SO IF
YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE ANY SILVER
LINING OUT OF THE UNBELIEVABLY
OFF THE CHARTS STAGGERINGING
NUMBERS RIGHT NOW, IT’S THING
FACT A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF
PEOPLE ACROSS THE STATE ARE
TESTING POSITIVE.
TWO POINTS.
ONE, YOU SEE DISNEY WORLD.
AS THESE NUMBERS ARE EMERGING,
WHAT A JUXTAPOSITION, THEY’RE
ALLOWING VISITORS BACK INTO THE
MOST POPULAR THEME AND RESORT
PARK IN THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW U
AS CASES ARE SURGING.
THE VIDEO WE’RE SEEING COMING
OUT OF DISNEY WORLD AT THE
MOMENT ARE SHOWING SMALL CROWDS,
LOTS OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, BUT
STILL, JUST THE IDEA THAT THINGS
ARE OPENING NOW AS CASES ARE
EXPLODING, SHOCKING MINDS.
THE OTHER IS, LOOK AT MESSAGES
GOING ON IN FLORIDA WITH THE
GOVERNOR.
WHAT HE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT IS
MANDATORY MASK OR LOCKDOWNS. COMPARE THAT TO TEXAS, WHICH
COMPARE THAT TO TEXAS, WHICH
JUST CROSSED 250,000 CASES.
THE GOVERNOR SAID BOTH HE’S
THINKING ABOUT A LOCKDOWN SHOULD
THIS CONTINUE AND HE HAS ALSO
REQUIRED MASKS, SO VERY
DIFFERENT CONTRAST IN MESSAGING
IN WHAT LEADERS ARE DOING AS
THESE TWO STATES, TEXAS AND
FLORIDA, ARE WATCHING CASES
SKYROCKET.
>> IT DEFIES LOGIC WHEN YOU
THINK ABOUT THE SCIENCE AND HET
RISKS.
QUICKLY, HOW STEADY HAS THE FLOW
OF TRAFFIC BEEN INTO THE
ENTRANCE THERE TO DISNEY WORLD
BEHIND YOU?
>> YOU KNOW, IT’S HARD TO GAUGE,
ALEX, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE WAY
THEY HAVE IT STRUCTURED, THIS IS
THE MAIN ENTRANCE, BUT WE HAVE
TO GO A MILE OR TWO SBOT COMPLEX
TO GET TO THE THEME PARKS AND
RESORTS.
STEADY TRAFFIC.
TODAY, THERE’S NO RAIN.
YESTERDAY, IT WAS POUR INGING, S
WOULD EXPECT MORE NUMBERS TODAY
THAN YESTERDAY.
BUT IT HASN’T BEEN GANG BUSTERS
FROM WHAT WE CAN TELL.
THANKFULLY SO GIVEN WHAT’S GOING
ON WITH THE RATE OF TRANSMISSION
IN FLORIDA.
SAM BROCK, THANK YOU FOR THAT
REPORT FROM FLORIDA.
JOINING ME NOW, DR. NATALIE AZAR
WITH A WELCOME TO YOU.
I KNOW WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT
A NUMBER OF THINGS IN A MOMENT,
BUT CAN YOU PUT THESE FLORIDA
NUMBERS INTO PERSPECTIVE?
ARE YOU SURPRISED?
THIS JUMP IN CASES, OVER 15,000
IN A DAY.
COME ON.
>> YEAH, ALEX, IT’S A LOT AND
THERE WAS A LOT TO UNPACK THERE
IN SAM’S EXCELLENT REPORTING.
I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE SILVER
LINING THAT THE PERCENTAGE
POSITIVITY IS GOING DOWN, WHICH
IS WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE AS MORE
TESTING HAPPENS.
BUT THAT NUMBER NEEDS TO GET
SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER.
IT NEEDS TO DROP TO BELOW 5%
BEFORE WE CAN FEEL COMFORTABLE
THAT FLORIDA IS GOING IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION AND JUST A POINT
ABOUT THE WHOLE IDEA OF THIS
LOCKDOWN.
REMEMBER, THIS IS A SHORT-TERM
FIX.
THIS IS NOT A LONG-TERM
SOLUTION.
MAKING THE MANDATING OF MASKS
EVEN MORE IMPERATIVE FOR THE
STATE OF FLORIDA.
>> OKAY, SO YOU THINK MASKS WILL
DO IT, SOCIAL DISTANCING WOULD
HELP A LOT.
I REMEMBER YOU WORKING IN NEW
YORK CITY IN A HOSPITAL.
I KNOW YOU SPENT YOUR BIRTHDAY
THERE IN APRIL.
AND THIS IS WHEN THERE WAS THAT
SHORTAGE OF ICU BEDS AND
VENTILATORS.
THINGS WERE SO CRITICAL AT THAT
TIME.
HOW CAN THINGS TURN AROUND IN
FLORIDA, TEXAS AS A WELL, LIKE
THEY DID HERE IN NEW YORK?
>> WELL, ALL OF THAT, BY THE
WAY, THAT SURGE WAS HAPPENING I
THINK IN THE MIDST OF OUR HE
WILLTIVE SHELLER IN PLACE.
SO YOU KNOW, I THINK FOR THE
STATES THAT ARE BEING HARDEST
HIT RIGHT NOW, MOST PUBLIC
HEALTH EXPERTS WHO HAVE WEIGHED
IN HAVE SAID THAT NOTHING SHORT
OF A TEMPORARY LOCKDOWN WILL PROBABLY DO THE TRICK, ALEX.
PROBABLY DO THE TRICK, ALEX.
AS YOU USE THE PROVERBIAL GENIE
OUT OF THE BOTTLE NUMEROUS
TIMES, YOU’RE GOING TWO STEPS
FORWARD AND FIVE STEPS BACK WHEN
YOU JUST START MANDATING MASKS
AND SOCIAL DISTANCING NOW.
IT’S A BIT OF A A QUICK SAND
SITUATION FOR THOSE STATES AND I
THINK THOSE EXTREME MEASURES
MIGHT NEED TO BE ENACTED.
AGAIN, A SHORT-TERM FIX, THEN
RETRYING THIS EXPERIMENT OF
REOPENING, DOING IT WITH THE
PROPER PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE AND
RIGHT NOW, THE NORTHEAST IS KIND
OF A MODEL OF HOW THAT’S
WORKING.
I LIVE IN NEW JERSEY.
OUR GOVERNOR WATCHES THE METRICS
VERY, VERY CAREFULLY.
WE’VE KIND OF PULLED BACK ON
CERTAIN ASPECTS OF OUR
REOPENING.
WHEN WE SAW NUMBERS GOING UP,
YOU HAVE TO BE AHEAD OF THIS.
YOU HAVE TO BE AHEAD OF THIS
VIRUS.
WE KNOW JUST HOW CHALLENGING ONE
IT IS.
>> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
DON’T GO TOO FAR.