Return to Transcripts main page
NEW DAY SUNDAY
Political Battle Over Ebola Erupts In U.S.; Battle Lines Over Ebola Quarantine; Community Grieves School Shooting Tragedy
Aired October 26, 2014 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Alison Kosik in for Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 6:00 here on east coast. This morning, we begin with the new battle lines in the political fight over containing Ebola in the U.S. A federal official tells CNN that the CDC is, quote, "not happy" about mandatory quarantines now in place in New York and New Jersey.
KOSIK: The governors of those states have imposed a mandatory 21-day isolation for health care workers returning from treating Ebola patients in hard hit West African countries. Illinois has a similar rule. What they're trying to do is they're trying to protect public health. How the rules will be enforced that is still an open question.
Federal leaders worry the measures will wind up discouraging American health workers from traveling to Liberia where the virus has killed 5,000 people. Right now, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Amanda Powers, is on her way to the outbreak zone in West Africa.
BLACKWELL: Now one nurse is slamming the way she was treated after landing in Newark Airport in New Jersey. She writes in the "Dallas Morning News" that upon returning from working with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leon. She was isolated and then whisked away to a hospital under police escort.
Here's a quote from her op-ed. "I sat alone in the isolation tank and thought of many colleagues who will return home to America and face the same ordeal. Will they be made to feel like criminals and prisoners?"
And she asked this, "My blood was taken and tested for Ebola. It came back negative." New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told the "Associated Press," she was obviously ill and apologized for her, quote, "inconvenience." She will be quarantined for 21 days.
KOSIK: Meantime, the fiancee of a New York physician who is now being treated for Ebola. She is back home. Morgan Dixon arrived last night at the apartment she shares with Dr. Craig Spencer, who returned to Manhattan last week from Guinea.
She's been isolated at an east side hospital. Dixon is not showing symptoms of Ebola, but what is going to happen is remain under quarantine.
BLACKWELL: And Spencer is now reportedly entering a more serious phase of his illness and his condition has gotten worse. He received blood plasma from Nancy Writebol, one of the first two Americans diagnosed with Ebola. Doctors say Ebola patients often get worse before they recover.
It was Spencer's diagnosis last week just a day after he dined out, gone bowling, ridden a subway that sparked new quarantine policies in three states now.
Our Alexandra Field is outside Bellevue Hospital where Spencer is in isolation. Alexandra, why are state officials so concerned that would move them to this level of this quarantine?
FIELD: Well, Victor, they're responsible to the people in their state. So they're telling us they want to take every precaution in order to protect the residents. That means they are really stepping up their own guidelines.
This comes at the same time that the CDC is already announcing stepped up guidelines starting tomorrow. People returning from the hot zone will be actively monitored.
That means for the 21-day incubation period, they'll stay in touch with state and local officials that officials in three states are taking it a step beyond that and it's causing some friction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD (voice-over): A mandatory 21-day quarantine or hospitalization already imposed by New York and New Jersey and now Illinois is causing heated debate on handling the possible spread of Ebola. In an effort to ease public concerns, the three states announced the measures for any airline passenger coming in from the West African nation hit hard by the deadly virus.
A mandatory quarantine goes into infect for travelers who had direct contact with an infected person. In a statement issued by the state of Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn says, quote, "This protective measure is too important to be voluntary. We must take every step necessary to insure the people of Illinois are protected from potential exposure to the Ebola virus.
While we have no confirmed cases in Illinois, we will continue to take every safeguard necessary to protect first responders, health care workers, and the people of Illinois. In New York, where the state is already dealing with an Ebola case, Governor Andrew Cuomo says health care workers are ready.
GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: The workers feel that they've had the training. They have the equipment. We've gone through the protocols. We've drilled. We've drilled. We've drilled.
FIELD: That the mandates are causing concerns with the CDC and other infectious disease specialists. In a statement, the CDC says health care workers volunteering to combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa are heroes.
The epidemic there won't end without them and without their work. The U.S. will be at increased risk. We must protect their health, safety, and well-being, and treat them with respect when they return home while continuing to take action to protect Americans so Ebola does not spread here.
CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: I do have very real concerns especially since I'm somebody that is planning to go myself that this is really going to prevent some people from volunteering.
We're already having difficulty recruiting health care workers to go over. And if you're going to institute even what frankly feel like punitive measures against people who are volunteering their time, taking real risks, it just doesn't really feel right and fair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not have a vaccine. We do not have a cure. We only have treatment. And one needs to understand a virus constantly trying to mutate and constantly trying to find a new host to live on and as such quarantine is the only thing that breaks the link.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD: A lot of debate about the policy here, but certainly also great deal of concern for Dr. Craig Spencer, who is still here at Bellevue. His virus entered the next stage. He is getting different therapies, but he is awake and able to communicate still.
BLACKWELL: All right, Alexandra Field in New York, thank you.
KOSIK: And now want to bring in Dr. Joseph McCormick. He is the regional dean at the University of Texas, School of Public Health. Good morning to you.
DR. JOSEPH MCCORMICK, DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Good morning. How are you this morning?
KOSIK: Doing well. Listen, there's a lot of talk about whether or not this 21-day mandatory quarantine is needed. What do you think?
MCCORMICK: Well, I think that if it's going to be done, it should be done in a different way. I don't think that the way this nurse was treated is acceptable. She represents the best of who we are. She should be treated like a hero and given every due respect and not treated clearly the way she was.
I think there are alternatives to this. They could test her each day for the presence of Ebola virus as well as some other measures that would give a very early sign of whether somebody is infected or not.
And I think that that is another alternative to simply treating this person like they are threatening the entire health of the United States. Surely the governors didn't intend this. Why don't they put together a team, a group of people who will greet these people and treat them with respect and give them the services they're going to need if they insist on having this kind of quarantine?
KOSIK: Dr. McCormick, your idea about testing, let's say, testing this health care workers who come back from the hot zones every day, testing them every day. How would that work? So they would go to their home.
After they leave after doing that testing and if all seems OK, would those health care workers be OK to go bowling and go to the grocery store or would it be suggested that they stay in their homes?
MCCORMICK: They're going to pick up the virus in the blood long before they're ill. And so they're not a threat to anybody as long as they have no virus at all. And so they should be able to go about their daily tasks.
If they feel ill during that day, then fine, they can alert people and the measures needed, can be taken, but there are alternatives to the way this is being done. I think they should be explored.
KOSIK: Starting Monday, they're going to be new federal guidelines that take infect. They're going to be that all travelers coming from the U.S. from those Ebola hot zones, they're going to have to be actively monitored for 21 days. That sounds, you know, similar to what you're saying. Have you heard about this? What does actively monitoring mean?
MCCORMICK: I think it's taking advantage of what we know about Ebola. This virus is spread by close contact with bodily fluids. It's not spread by any other means. And so we can take advantage of that knowledge in order to have a maximum way to monitor people without making them criminals as seemed to be the effort with this nurse.
KOSIK: Do you think that the U.S. should even go further and enact a travel ban from patients from Ebola stricken countries?
MCCORMICK: Not at all. I think that would be counterproductive. We would have even less effective way of detecting people, who might be coming such as Mr. Duncan. We would not have seen him with this method. He might well have traveled in some other way that would have gotten him into the United States when he was disease-free.
So that I don't think that would help at all. I want to point out that none of Mr. Duncan's close contact circulating around became infected at all.
KOSIK: OK. Dr. Joseph McCormick, thank you so much for your time this morning.
MCCORMICK: My pleasure.
BLACKWELL: All right, so trying to get some answers there and also in Washington State, relatives of the Marysville school shooter, they're trying to get some answers. They say that the shooter was close to the two cousins he shot. So why did Jaylen Fryberg do it?
Also in Hawaii, look at this, this lava is threatening to destroy homes. We'll tell you how many people may be affected.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Our Susan Candiotti joins us now live from Everett. Susan, what do we know about the shooters relationship with his cousins? I mean, initially when we learned that these were friends, it was horrible enough, but this is now family. Any clues yet to the motive behind this tragedy?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. The grandfather of the cousins, who were injured in this says, yes, indeed, they were related to the shooter and that they were all very close. That they hung out together. They lived close by.
They even went to a school dance recently in which the suspected shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, was named the homecoming prince. The grandfather can't explain what happened.
He says he forgives the shooter for what happened and eventually would like to meet with his family. As for the motive, if authorities know what happened here, they're not saying.
Might it have had something to do with a reported recent breakup with a girlfriend or a suspension from school? We simply don't know at this time.
In the meantime, at the school, students were allowed to return on Saturday. They left flowers on the fence there and they were permitted to go inside the school and their classrooms to retrieve their belongings.
The community is still reeling from what happened here and still trying to make sense of it with their families. I spoke with the mayor about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JON NEHRING, MARYSVILLE, WASHINGTON: I put my arms around them and hug them because, you know, I hadn't done that on their way out the door to school that day. I think, you know, you have families that their kids aren't coming home. And that's what comes through your mind.
You just want to love on them and hug them. One of the things is to say, if you need something to talk about, don't hold it in. Talk to us about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: And at this time, police have not yet officially released the name of the shooter or the teenage girl who was killed.
KOSIK: Susan, it's Alison. A new teacher at the school we're hearing is being hailed a hero in all this. She apparently attempted to stop the shooter. Do you know about that?
CANDIOTTI: Yes, the police have said that that's what happened although they're not releasing any more details about that. We have reached out to the teacher that they mention, but she said she didn't want to talk about it at this time, and in fact, even tweeted about that.
So we'll have to wait and get more details on that, but according to police, she did apparently try to stop him at one point.
KOSIK: OK. Susan Candiotti, thanks.
BLACKWELL: All right, Susan, let's get to the morning read now because there is a lot going on this morning. A nurse who is being held in quarantine in New Jersey says, she was left in isolation for hours when she arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Writing in the "Dallas Morning News," Casey Hickcocks says she is scared about how other health care workers, who return to the U.S. after caring for Ebola patients in West Africa will be treated.
KOSIK: Officials in New York, New Jersey and Illinois say, they are trying to protect public health. The "New York Times" is reporting that western ISIS captives are tortured before being beheaded.
American James Foley, the first western hostage to be beheaded by ISIS on camera had been singled out for particularly harsh treatment. The "Times" says they compiled the information by interviewing five former hostages, local witnesses and colleagues of the detainees.
BLACKWELL: In politics, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is slamming the level spending by outside groups in this year's race for Senate in North Carolina. She was in the state campaigning for Democratic Senator Kay Hagan. So far campaigns and outside groups have spent close to $80 million on that contest.
KOSIK: In sports, the Giants rallied from behind last night to even up the World Series at two games apiece. The Kansas City Royals jumped to an early lead in San Francisco. But the Giants offense rallied in the sixth eventually blowing out the Royals 11-4. Game five kicks off tonight at 8:00.
BLACKWELL: And up to 50 homes in Hawaii are preparing for the possibility of forced evacuations because of this, lava from a volcano that is heading their way. Hawaii's governor has already asked for a presidential disaster declaration. This lava is 2,000 degrees. It threatens to destroy roads, homes, schools, anything in its path.
And stunning pictures of massive flooding ripping through the streets of Athens, Greece, sweeping away -- look at this. Hundreds of cars like this. As bad as it looks, it may get worse.
And later, question, hero or villain? Critics are lashing out at the New York doctor with Ebola for mingling in public after returning from the hot zone in West Africa.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: We're shining a spotlight on the top ten CNN Heroes of 2014. Of course, as you vote for the one, who inspires you the most at cnnheroes.com.
KOSIK: Meet this week's honoree, Dr. Wendy Ross.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. WENDY ROSS: Going to new experiences with my son is a gamble. You are on edge all the time.
When he's having a meltdown on the floor and the whole entire store is looking at you like you're a bad mom, you just want to go and crawl under a rock. It's challenging.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I stay in sometimes because it's easier for him to be around all of his toys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm afraid.
ROSS: A developmental pediatrician, I do a lot of diagnosing of autism. When I heard my families were afraid to go out, I felt I need to find a way to help them. Every day experiences like going to a baseball game can be a challenge for kids with autism, music, lights, and the noise. There are a lot of unexpected sensory things happening.
Are you ready to go? I work with the Phillies to train all 3,000 people that worked at the ball park. Autism is a social disability so it needs to be addressed in the community.
We prepare the families with story book of experiences that may happen at the park and then we provide supportive game experiences sort of like a safety net. If you start taking steps outside of your door, your world gets bigger and bigger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One success means more success.
ROSS: It's about more than a game. It's about opportunity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hopefully there will be zoos in our future and aquariums. The world is our oyster.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: And Dr. Wendy Ross is one of our top ten honorees who may become CNN Hero of the Year and receive $100,000 to further her work.
BLACKWELL: Go to cnnheroes.com online and your mobile device to vote once a day. You can do it every day, for the most inspirational hero.
KOSIK: Attorney General Eric Holder made it official. The federal government now recognizing same-sex marriages and a half dozen more states. What sparked the decision? BLACKWELL: And three states are cracking down on people who may have contact with Ebola patients in certain West African countries. But how will they enforce these mandatory quarantines? And is it even possible, so many questions, so many gray areas. We're going to try to get clarity next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
