Cnn newsroom. On the night when joe biden and donald trump were supposed to share the same stage for the second debate, the two candidates held competing town halls on rival networks at the same time. You will see the sharp contrast between them in a moment. For biden, it was a familiar territory, he stayed to talk with voters off camera. Contrast the president while he was more combative, trumps responses to pointed questions about the pandemic, White Supremacy and conspiracy theories that were largely defensive and peppered with falsehoods. Voters were hoping to find out what President Trump plans to do, if he wins a second term. He did not exactly give them a clearance. We have more from cnns jim accosta from miami. The voters did not get a lot of straight answers from President Trump during the town hall that took the place of a president ial debate with joe biden, given multiple opportunities to doe announce the false conspiracy theory, qanon the president avoided the question and would not say what he knew about the group. I know nothing about it, i know they are very much against pedophilia a pedophilia, they fight it very hard. They believe its a satanic cult run by the dnc. What i do know about is antifa and the left, and how vicious they are. And how they are burning down cities. Ben sasse said qanon is nuts and leaders call conspiracy theories as conspiracies. I dont know about qanon. You do know. No, i dont know. I dont know. The president gave evasive answers and the biggest opportunity was when the president would not say when his last coronavirus test was, leaving open the possibility that he walked in to the last president ial debate with joe biden potentially symptomatic for covid19. Jim acosta. Biden faced tough questions from voters in a town hall moderated by george stephenopolous, while his responses were heavy on policy, there were a couple of times he dodged rather than give a straight answer. Reporter 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 not supporting biden or trump. And one of the most noteworthy exchanges came in 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 the town hall take a listen. Im not a fan, it depends how it turns out. Im open to considering what happens from that point on. You know, you said so many times in the course of your career, its important to level it is, but george if i say no matter what answer i gave you, if i say it, thats the headline tomorrow. It wont be about what is going on right now, the improper way they are proceeding. Dont voters have a right to know where you stand . They do, and they will know before they vote. So you will come out with it before election day . Yes. He said that he wants to see how the nomination with Amy Coney Barrett had wiwill move f and will give more of an answer toward election day. He has criticized the president for the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and was asked about a Coronavirus Vaccine and whether it should be mandated. Biden said there should be a discussion of making it mandatory and acknowledged there could be legal issues with actuallyi implementing that, he stayed policy focused as he was presenting his agenda for abide enadministration. Offering a contrast to the president without the president being on the stage. Now, on friday, joe biden is heading to michigan where he will have two stops in that critical battleground state as early voting is under way and he is trying to get people to head out and vote. Back to you. At the town halls both candidates were asked about the personal covid testing regimens. Biden confirmed daily testing and described the test. President trump would not give specific details and refused to say if he took a test before the first president ial debate, days before he was hospitalized with the virus. Did you take a test on the day of the debate . I probably did, i took a test before, and the day before that, and i was always in great shape. Do you take a test every day . No, no, but i take a lot of tests. You dont know if you took one the day of the debate . Possibly i did. Possibly i didnt. Before coming here, i took the deep test, and i take it every day, because i want to know if i if i had not passed the test, i didnt want to come here and not, you know, expose anybody. And i just think its, its just decency. We are joined from london, where she is the head of the u. S. And Americas Program at Chatham House, thank you for joining us. I want to talk about something which, well, maybe the president doesnt want to have keep coming up. You know, the qanon thing, we know the president doesnt want to alienate supporters who hold fringe positions, but in not condemning them in that question is that, just creating yet another distraction for him late in the campaign when the attention could be better focused elsewhere . Well, i think to be very honest, distraction is a very mild word for something that is very dangerous potentially, in the words of the president , they speak miles to those who were listening and for q, and for permission. So, yes, its certainly a distraction for him if he is trying to get that 5 of the eelectric tore ate that has not fully decided who they intend to vote for. If he is trying to persuade them, its a president that will ensure, you know, security and safety in americas streets, then i think its a distraction. Its far more potentially damaging and destabilizing because it sends a signal to groups that the president is, is granting them permission to remain active. All right, lets turn to biden now, why the sort of waffling middle ground of not taking affirm position on Court Packing until later . Yeah, this has been very interesting and we saw also, the Vice President ial nominee Kamala Harris in the debate with mike pence deflect the question also. 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, all of these are critical questions. What we did hear last night is that biden will make a decision before the debates, before the election. So, theres a commitment. But it is true that they have not wanted to very clearly say what their position yet is. And this is a very important, very important issue. Obviously for democrat voters and trumps base. America is polarized andthey feel passionately about issues in different ways. And the Supreme Court is the lightning rod for that division. Thats no question looking at them, of the two town halls the president got the greater grilling of the moderator, we heard them tweet about it after and its all they were talking about on fox, that and hunter biden. Will his supporters see this town hall as the real debate, the debate that trump is engaged with every day, a debate not against biden, but against the left wingpress, intent on destroying him, watching it will 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 is beyond a shadow of a doubt the narrative that has really taken hold for several years now, its not new, that the president has not been given that fair platform that he has been attacked by the media, and we have seen this, i dont its going to change anything to do with the turnout or voting. It may drag more people to be sure that they vote. But remember, we are on track for a record turnout in the United States. David wasterman, is anticipating between 150, and 160 million americans will turn out to vote. That subpoena from 137 million in 2016, so, people are already passionate, they are passionate on both sides and absolutely, his supporters will see him as being attacked again. It will drive turnout, and a lot of what is happening right now on both sides of the aisle is about ensuring that people stand in those very, very long lines that they mail in their ballo s that they exercise their right to vote and its important, and its important for the candidates to ensure that people do turn out and vote, as i said before, theres only 5 of the e electorate that have not made up their minds, for the rest of them, its just about making sure they vote. Almost 18 million americans so far have voted. Is it a reflection of the energy in the campaign, maybe for either side or a reflection of the covid realities that people want to get it done early, and you know, given the misinformation coming from the white house might be afraid of voting by mail . Its the combination of factors, i think people are aware that voting is complicated, that it may not go as smoothly as we would like it to go, that the lines are long, that the mailin balloting has been fraught, because the president has attacked the legitimacy of mailin balloting that he claimed fraud, people are worried if they had mail in the ballots they may not be counted. They may be contested. We have seen the litigation in the state of pennsylvania, a critical state. But i think people are just very certain of who they want to be president , they are passionate i mean, you know, the up side for americas democracy is people are passionately engaged, they are lining up because they want to be sure that their vote is heard. So, its you know, theres many positive stories coming out of what is a difficult time in american politics. Well said, thank you so much. Leslie with Chatham House in london. Appreciate it. Health officials are alarmed about a second wave of coronavirus cases engulfing europe, so just ahead, we will take you to lone on to find out about the new restrictions the british are imposing and we will talk about a virus expert to see what he sees of president s trump on mask wearing. That is just ahead, stay with us. Memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. Try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. I got this Mountain Bike for only 11. Dealdash. Com, the fair and honest bidding site. An ipad worth 505, was sold for less than 24; a playstation 4 for less than 16; and a schultz 4k television for less than 2. I won these bluetooth headphones for 20. I got these three suitcases for less than 40. And shipping is always free. Go to dealdash. Com right now and see how much you can save. What if i sleep hot . Or cold . Introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. Now temperature balancing, so you can sleep better together. Can it help keep me asleep . 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New warnings, this pandemic is taking a devastating toll on rural america. Tennessees health commissioner, sounding an alarm for her state. That has been startling to me and the team over the last several days. Our death rate in rural population is double that in the urban population. Reporter in kentucky, they have reported record high hospitalizations for a day, the governor said residents have to be jolted in to action. Everyone ought to be concerned and doing the right thing. And those out there that try to confront you for being a mask and being a jerk that is all they are, and they are putting your heth alth at risk. Reporter what is behind the spikes in rural areas across the u. S. . Some of the bigger mandates that happen in cities like mask wearing and physical distancing is not translating and going as far as rural areas. Reporter this is coming as 35 states are going upward in experiencing coronavirus cases, for the first time in moss, the country recorded 60,000 new cases in one day. The trends, number one, fall weather brings colder temperatures and that means more people are doing indoor activities which is high risk when it comes to virus transmission. Or seeing some restrictions loosening in several states. Reporter meantime, americas top voice on the pandemic, citing the dangers of household gatherings told abc, this year, more americans may have to forego bringing their extended Families Together for thanksgiving. We have to be careful this time and each individual family evaluate the risk benefit of doing that. And theres new push back to the idea of socalled herd immunity. Letting the virus run unchecked through communities so more people contract covid19t thought being some could later develop resistance to the virus. Its been promoted by some scientists interest some people in the trump administration, but 14public Health Organizations are condemning the idea. If you just let things rip and let the infection go, no masks, crowd, it doesnt make any difference. That quite frankly is ridiculous. And theres no concern that another great fall institution in america, college football, could be in some jeopardy. The biggest name had in the sport. Alabama head Coach Nick Saban has tested positive. The coach of the university of mississippi said is his team is quote, having issues with covid after having played alabama last saturday. And a big game between florida and lsu slated for this coming weekend has had to be postponed at least until december, after several members of the Florida Program tested positive. Brian todd, cnn, washington. Now, of course, the u. S. Is not the only country with coronavirus numbers heading in the wrong direction. We are getting some troubling new numbers from germany during the past 24 hours the country reported daily case record of more than 7,000 new infections and other european nations are ramping up restrictions as cases go up. In paris, they will have a cure few starting at 9 00 p. M. And the case numbers were a record with almost 9,000, and in the uk, london plans to increase the alert level from medium to high. We have all those angles covered for you this hour. Starting with you first in the uk, we are joining now on the new restrictions. Several regions including london, where you are moving to tier 2 lock down, what does that mean . Yeah, so its london, but more than that, its more than half of englands population that will live with tougher new restrictions from this weekend in most of the affected regions, nothing is being forced to closed but peoples personal lives will be impacted. The key change is from saturday, tomorrow, people who dont live together will not be allowed to spend time together in doors. So, no hanging out with friends, and family in homes. Restaurants, cafe, anywhere that is inside. They can still socialize outside in groups of up to six. That will be lesses practical as the winter deepens. What it means is people will find it tougher to maintain, to access and draw support from key personal relationships. Londons mayor said its necessary because the virus is running out of control across and spreading rapidly across much or every part of london, he said. This is not just london, in the north of london, liverpool is in a higher alert category where pubs and bars and other businesses have been forced to close. The government wants manchester and others to close, and they are resisting saying that they need more Financial Assistance to do it. The tiered approach to dealing with the coronavirus through the winter is just recently been announced and its got a great deal of pressure. On one side, you have those who believe the existing measures are inadequate, that they are weak, that they will not significantly slow the virus and they are pushing for a national move like a shortterm lockdown to get ahead of the virus and then on the other hand, you is a growing number of critics in the conservative party that are fed up with restrictions all together and who openly question, whether they do any good at all. All right, phil, back in london, appreciate it. Well, for more on the surge in coronavirus cases around the world, lets bring in an associate professor of moleculor virology. You are in a region that was one of the hardest hit. We saw some 2,000 students in universities there in the northeast test positive in the last week or so. How big a factor has students been going back to school been in the surge that we are seeing in so many countries including, you know, here in the u. S. . So, back be in august, we saw many case cans of outbreaks and in universities and colleges in the United States, and other times it became clear that, it was a major risk for any country in the world that the congregation of young people in the settings of schools and colleges would increase transmission. And there were warnings back then that we will see ongoing transmission in the community and that would lead to the cities being infected and risk of death of death or permanent disability or loss of quality of life because of the virus. Unfortunately governments worldwide did not seem to learn from that situation. And not taking the necessary decisions to prevent the transmission. I am first and foremost an academic and an education focused person. I want to be next to my students to teach them, i enjoy that process more than anything but before that comes the health and the health of society. And unfortunately the place we are withstanding right now is not supporting the health of students or the health of society. So you say in Person Education should not continue . Is that the