As we stand here today, all 50 states and territories across the country are opening up safely and responsibly. Well, thats incorrect. Its factually incorrect. Theyre not. 11 states are currently on pause. Some of them are actually backtracking and closing some things down on plans to reopen. Texas and florida specifically, they are rolling back reopening plans. Fwof knorrs of the other nine states saying theyre not moving forward with reopening. That was incorrect. Then the Vice President went on to make this claim. The truth is we did slow the spread. We flattened the curve. So, he says we flattened the the curve. So, let me just show you americas curve. So, you see the surge, right, and then in march, and then you see the plateau. And then you see, you know, the jump there at the end, where we are now, getting to 40,000 cases today. That was a plateau and its on its way back up. I want you to compare the graph to these other graphs. These are countries around the world. They have the surge at the beginning, uk, germany, france, italy, south korea, European Countries measures thousands of cases, asians in hundreds. Look what happens at the bottom. They go all the way back down and stay that way. Ours never went down, right, and now its going back up currently with the same staepness of stoep as it did at the beginning. And yet the Vice President was taking a victory lap during todays meeting and he made sure to credit person number one. Under the leadership of President Trump. As the president s made clear as credit to our president. The president made that decision. So, where was the president during this briefing . Well, he was somewhere in the vicinity but he was on twitter talking about confederate statues, tweeting this picture. He was writing many people in custody with many other being sought for vandly zags. It was hours later that the president did finally Say Something about the pandemic thats raging right now in the United States like nowhere else. Here he is. We have a little work to do, and well git done. Well, thats an understatement. We are learning tonight that people traveling from the United States most likely will not be allowed to enter the European Union, banned, because the United States has not gotten the virus under control. Kaitlan collins is live at the white house. Kaitlan, they came out and said everything is opening safely and responsibly and opening in 50 states when thats factually undraw. Yeah, it wasnt the message that some people were expecting the Vice President to project from that briefing today after wednesdays Coronavirus Task force briefing and after youre seeing these numbers from this week including yesterday setting a record high of cases per day since the month of april of course which is the last time that they had these coronavirus briefings. You would think they would have taken more questions. The Vice President instead only took a handful of them but before he started taking questions, you saw him arguing saying that he doesnt want the American People to think that because of these new surging infections that the United States is where it was two months ago even though the case numbers a day are mirroring that or beating it. The Vice President went on to talk about what precautions americans should be taking. He ticked off a list of things that the cdc has recommended but he notably left out wearing a mask when a reporter asked about the fact that masks can become this political issue. He told people he should be following local or state guidance, ignoring the fact that the cdc has recommended people wear masks when they are out in public and within the vicinity of the other people. He also defended the rallies that he and the president have been holding and encouraging their supporters to come to where thousands of people are put indoors with very little social distancing saying it was peoples right to the first amendment, characterizing it more as a personal decision than something theyre organizing and urging people to come and to attend. I do want to note two of the most striking things out of that briefing today was the Vice President offering a rosie assessment of these numbers and dr. Fauci getting up there and having a very soeb erg warning about whats to come and personal responsibility in this. But also erin, the Vice President saying he believed its inarguable that the reason there are more cases in the United States is because theres more testing. Dr. Birx got up and was going through these slides, and one of the ones she pointed to was of texas where it showed in may as they were increasing testing, their positive test rates were going down. In the last two and a half weeks, theyve continued to increase testing, but now those test rates are going up and that refutes what the president and Vice President had been telling people and governors for the last several weeks. Thank you very much, kaitlan make it is crucial point. The percent test rate is what theyre looking at. If you have 20 of them positive, thats the relevant point. Its not the absolute number. And kaitlan, a appreciate your time. Let me go to dr. Sanjay gupta and dr. Jonathan reiner who advised the White House Team under george w. Bush, currently in the cath lab at gw. The Vice President today came out and presented an alternate reality. He said all 50 states and territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly. That is a quote. Obviously you now have double digit states halting, stepping back their reopening altogether. Big steps back. Yeah, i dont even know where to begin with this particular briefing. You would think two months we havent had a briefing. Theres obviously some real trouble spots in the country, and im saying that almost euphemistically. I thought there was going to be an acknowledgment that, look, we have some problems, significant ones, and here is our plan to address them. Heres what were going to do. Were convening the Coronavirus Task force to address this. We didnt see that at all. So, theres the last task force briefing. You can see what the numbers were at that point and obviously just you see how the numbers have grown even over the last few weeks. So, it was a real concern, and there were a lot of things that were said that were just basically a whitewash of whats actually happening in the country. And thats what i think worries me. How are you going to fix a problem if you dont even acknowledge it. Right. Well, thats the thing. If youre in complete denial about it, you dont have a plan to fix it because you dont believe its there. When the president actually gave a nod to this this afternoon, his comment was making a lot of progress with the whole situation, but e have a lot of work to do. But he did not attend the briefing. Instead he was tweeting about confederate monuments. So, you know, the Vice President there was talking about all the encouraging news, his words talk about coronavirus. So, what do you make of this . And specifically the president s refusal to be there. Yeah, the president in that tweet about the monuments seems to be more interested in protecting longdead confederate traders than he is in protecting americans right now. Yeah, i was really appalled when the Vice President today said, well, weve all heard the encouraging news. The encouraging news, really . There have been 125,000 funerals. Its the equivalent of three jumbo jets of americans crashing every day, and we hear, weve all heard the encouraging news. I want to hear the plan to fix this. The plan is social distancing, universal face masks, ramping up testing, and selective closing of municipalities when the virus is surging. Thats the plan, and thats what our leaders should be saying to this public, not weve all seen the encouraging news. Im really tired of this sycophantic bout. It is stunning too that even when their own task force has said that masks are equivalent to a vaccine, the Vice President of the United States didnt even have the courage to state the fact that the people should be wears masks. Its the sort of thing thats incensing. A source close to the task force told you a real schism has developed over the issue of testing. I wanted to play something dr. Fauci said about testing in an interview earlier today. No way is it good news when you think there are ten times more people infected than you thought there were. I think thats something we need to address which gets to what i was saying of things that i brought up actually months ago to consider start literally flooding the system with testing so you really get a good handle about what is going on in the community. So, sanjay, just to take a step back here, a lot of people do think it is good news that you had ten times more people infected. And they think it is good news because more people have had it and because it takes the death rate down. Explain why that is wrong. No, that part of it is true. If you have a lot more people out there who have had the infection and didnt know it, they didnt have much in the way of symptoms that will bring the death rate down. What dr. Fauci is talking about and what the schism is about is the fact we have not really gotten the testing right in this country. Were sort of extrapolating the numbers you just provided. The reality is we kind of the cdc acknowledges we screwed up testing in the beginning. It wasnt a good test released. We got way behind as a result of not having good testing in the beginning. The question is now, middle, end of june why dont we is are the widespread break through in testing that the task force themselves were talking about two months ago, antigen type testing that people could even have in their homes or at least available, give you quick results. Theres questions like how do you do that . Could you do it and have accurate results . What my sources have told me have said look, we have had some of the best scientists in the world at our disposal. How have we not figured out how to get widely available rapid accurate testing. If you do that, it would be like you could get tested on a regular basis and we could start to have some of our lives back. We would have to do the masks and physical distancing but that would go a long way. The fact the cdc hasnt done that is a source of some of this friction. Right. I went, it was hours long wait to get one if you wanted to wait in line with people, some of whom were visibly sick. Then you would have to wait three to five days. Thats me going in new york. Thats now. I mean, i think that might surprise people to hear that. Dr. Reiner, i want to show you a tweet today from congressman liz chaney. Its a father of her father, the former Vice President dig cheney, wearing the mask with the caption dick cheney says wear the mask, realmenwearmasks. Obviously you know the former Vice President well. He wanted to send a message. Well see me wear masks more times than we both would care to remember. I think thats where he got the thought that real men wear masks. I was really glad to see that. There are a lot of people that really listen to the former Vice President. Parts of this country where the virus is raging, places like texas, is cheney country. They lived in texas for a long time. And hes modeling the behavior that we like to see. I was proud of him. And real men do wear masks. Sure do. Thank you both very much. Outfront next, the most populous county in texas under its highest state of alert tonight. Everyone is now urged to stay home except for essential needs. So, whats really happening in houston . A doctor on the front lines is my guest. And its a simple question, what is President Trumps agenda for his second term . I didnt know very many people in washington. It wasnt my thing. I was from manhattan, new york. Now i know everybody. That was his answer to the question about the second term. Why would that be your answer . And breaking news, President Trump just tweeting he has signed a quote, very strong executive order to protect monuments including those confederate statues. Can my side be firm . And my side super soft . Yes, with the sleep number 360 smart bed on sale now, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. Come on pup, time to go. Can it help me fall asleep faster . Yes, by gently warming your feet. But can it help keep me asleep . Absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. So you can really promise better sleep . Not promise. Prove. Its our weekend special, the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only 1,299, save 400. Plus 0 interest for 60 months on all smart beds. Ends sunday. You turn 40 and everything goes. Tell me about it. You know, its made me think, im closer to my retirement days than i am my college days. Hm. Im thinking. Will i have enough . Should i change something . Well, youre asking the right questions. I just want to know, am i gonna be okay . I know people who specialize in am i going to be okay. I like that. You may need glasses though. Yeah. Guidance to help you stay on track, no matter what comes next. And right now, is a time for action. So, for a second time were giving members a credit on their auto insurance. Because its the right thing to do. Were also giving Payment Relief options to eligible members so they can take care of things like groceries before they worry about their insurance or credit card bills. Right now is the time to take care of what matters most. Like weve done together, so many times before. Discover all the ways were helping members at usaa. Com coronavirus tonight one official says hospitals in Harris County, texas, the the most populous county in the state and home to houston could see capacity out in one to three weeks as officials put the county under highest threat alert as coronavirus cases surge there. Erica hill is outfront. Today we find ourselves kareening toward a catastrophic and unsustainable situation. Reporter Harris County texas elevating its threat level to red, urging people to stay home, banning large outdoor gatherings. The outbreaks are worsening. Health care surge is not only likely but is already in progress. Governor greg abbott pausing the states reopening, closing bars and cutting restaurants back to 50 occupancy as new cases continue to surge. Pausing will not make things better. Staggering numbers in florida, nearly 9,000 new cases reported on friday. Governor ron desantis says the spike is simply result of more testing. Really nothing has changed in the past week. Reporter the state banning onsite Alcohol Consumption at bars friday, one of at least 11 states now rolling back or pausing reopening plans. You will see with the death rates, theyre lagging. Reporter the Vice President painting a much different picture. Were in a much stronger place. The truth is we did slow the spread. We flattened the curve. Reporter the curve is actually going up. Nearly 40,000 new cases recorded on thursday, an alltime high and a new peak. 32 states moving in the strong direction over the past week. Its 20 positivity in tests taken in arizona. Just 12 of arizonas icu beds were available on thursday. Of those in use, nearly 40 occupied by covid19 patients. If we dont extinguish the outbreak, sooner or later even ones that are doing well are going to be vulnerable to the spread. The White House Task force now considering full testing, combining multiple samples to find and isolate infections more quickly because in the words of dr. Anthony fauci, somethings not working. Sharply different story in the northeast where plans for inperson learning are now on the table in several states. The maximum number of kids that can be in school, that is our goal. As officials cautiously watch the spread. If anyone thinks this is over, look at the data coming out of the states in the south and southwest. Reporter one of those states in the south to keep an eye on opened early is South Carolina where today we learned the highest number of hospitalizations were reported and the second highest day for cases in that state. Governor says hospitals are 75 capacity. When they hit 80 , thats when they go into surge capacity. Younger people among the positive cases, under 40 specifically the 30 to 35 demographic. When it comes to masks, the governor says he will not mandate them in the state calling it impractical, saying it would be tough to enforce. Thank you very much. I want to go to an emergency room doctor is houston. Doctor, i appreciate your time. Youre in Harris County tonight. Tell me what its like. When youre in the er, what are you seeing . The ers are full. My er both the public and private Emergency Departments are full. Patients are waiting for wbeds. The general feeling is one of tension and overachieved concern. People are worried. People are stressed. Youre talking about the ers are full, people waiting for beds, hospitalizations at record highs in the state of texas. Again, where you are in houston, Harris County, the top official says they have less than a week to three weeks before they run out of all hospital capacity. Are you worried about that happening . I think everybodys worried about that running out of resources when it comes to taking care of patients during this uncredible spike that we seem to be in the middle of. We dont really know how high the number of cases will go and if our resources that are limited will be outstripped by the need and the number of patients who are sick. Right now i can tell you that we are blessed in houston. We have a giant texas med