Georgia Reopening Despite Prediction That Daily Deaths Peak Is Still Five Days Away; Some States Begin To Reopen Despite Health Risk Warnings
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the U.S. death toll crosses 50,000 lives lost, some businesses reopen to a new world.</s>BRIAN KEMP, GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA: We will get Georgians back to work safely.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are trying to keep our business alive and keep my staff able to survive.</s>DONNA WHITFIELD, BARBER: These are our gloves. We'll probably run out by the end of next week.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of my managers has three little girls. We all have to know what we're going home to at the end of the night is safe.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so much confusion. People are asking is it safe? You know, I don't know what to do.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to try it. I just feel like us as a country, we're going to have much bigger problems financially if we don't.</s>CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We are always so grateful to see you. Welcome to you here in the United States and around the world. I'm Christi Paul.</s>VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for being with us. This morning, striking that balance. You've got the health, physical health, mental health, on one side, on the other side the economy. States beginning to reopen and right now, according to Johns Hopkins University, at least 51,949 Americans have been killed by the coronavirus.</s>PAUL: Now yesterday we got our first glimpse of what reopening would look like. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, despite having this barrage of criticism against him, moved ahead with the most far-reaching effort to restart the economy. We know there are several mayors across that state who are not happy with this plan. They voiced that and the plan contradicts guidance and models often cited by the White House. Those show Georgia shouldn't reopen, even begin to reopen until June 22nd, but the governor insists that they're ready.</s>KEMP: We've laid our plan out to meet the phase one criteria. I think it's the right move at the right time, but I'm really appreciative of all they're doing for us. I've had multiple conversations with him and the vice president.</s>BLACKWELL: Unlike what we've seen in other states, Michigan, Wisconsin to name a few, in Georgia, the protesters are pushing back against the lifting of restrictions. You see here some of the dozens of people who blasted their horns and waved signs as they drove by the governor's mansion yesterday.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say that it's supposed to be two weeks of decline and we haven't seen that. He's not even following White House guidelines. Even Trump says this is too soon. If he's saying that, then you know that says a lot.</s>PAUL: CNN's Natasha Chen's been meeting with Georgia business owners to talk about the dilemma that they're facing as to whether to open.</s>NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ... on Friday for the first time in almost a month.</s>ERIC GREESON, BARBER: Sterilize your chairs between customers. As you can see, we have the benches marked. These are disposable here.</s>CHEN: Georgia's governor says the state is ready.</s>KEMP: We will allow gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers.</s>CHEN: Barbers like Eric Greeson who happens to be diabetic.</s>GREESON: As a barber, what we have to do and I definitely would not have opened anything against the health officials' recommendation or the president.</s>CHEN: The president, who initially supported states to, quote, "liberate," pulled a 180, issuing a public rebuke of the Republican he once endorsed.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't like to see a lot of things happening and I wasn't happy with it and I wasn't happy with Brian Kemp.</s>CHEN: The state won't see a peak in daily COVID-19 deaths until next week according to widely accepted data.</s>GREESON: Everybody's scared of it basically, but we're also afraid that if we don't open, then the person down the street will and then we won't have business.</s>CHEN: This barber shop was one of two that were open out of the 10 Donna Whitfield visited on Friday morning.</s>WHITFIELD: These are our gloves. We'll probably run out by the end of next week.</s>CHEN: She's a barber and beauty supplier in Georgia and Alabama. It was her first day back in the truck in a month. She'd rather not risk bringing the virus home to her husband who has cancer, but she also can't afford not to work.</s>WHITFIELD: I'm just kind of on the fence, you know? I don't know, you know -- I hope we're doing the right thing.</s>CHEN: The right thing for Randy Hicks is making sure his 25 employees at Southern Lanes bowling alley could still support their families and he knows people may criticize his decision.</s>RANDY HICKS, OWNER, SOUTHERN LANES: I'm sorry for that. I hope -- I hope they don't hold it against us for no reason. We're not trying to hurt anybody. If you look, we just want to get our business going.</s>CHEN: Fellow owner Deborah Holland is a cancer survivor.</s>DEBORAH HOLLAND, OWNER, SOUTHERN LANES: I'm conscientious about what we have, the cleanliness that we have, the exposure we have because I don't want to have to go to the hospital with this virus or anything. I'm missing half a lung.</s>CHEN: The phone kept ringing with eager customers who all had to do temperature checks before coming in, could only use half of the 32 lanes and were limited on the number of bowlers per lane. Even with restrictions, there was a strong sense of relief.</s>HOLLAND: I literally felt the burden being lifted off my shoulders.</s>CHEN: And many of their regulars felt the same, like Leon Perpignan who came before doors even opened.</s>LEON PERPIGNAN, BOWLER: I just want to do something that I enjoy doing, that I haven't done in awhile. Besides all the honey to-do lists are all done.</s>CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Douglasville, Georgia.</s>BLACKWELL: Our thanks to Natasha for that report. Now, there are other states that are beginning the process of opening up their economies.</s>PAUL: Yes. There are a few others and they're taking steps that may look a little bit different than what Georgia's doing. CNN's Cristina Alesci is with us with that story. So walk us through what these other states -- well, which states they are and what they're doing differently.</s>CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, it's a real patchwork for the most part, but life for many Americans will start to look different as their states really take the measures to ease some of those social distancing restrictions that have been in place now for nearly two months. Now, the most open that we have -- we've been reporting on is clearly Georgia. Oklahoma as well also letting some personal care businesses like nail salons and barbershops open up. Alaska as well and then there are other states that are more measured in their approach, for example Colorado and Texas. They're allowing curbside retail. Texas already started doing that. Colorado is going to do that on Monday. Now, look, there are some local officials that CNN has talked to that are questioning the wisdom of doing that, especially with all of the discussion about the availability of testing and contact tracing and these local officials, these mayors even in these states are telling us that they're worried and that the irony is that, in the one hand, the states are doing this because they're facing this grim financial reality of being closed down, but on the other hand, they are risking a potential spike in cases, a potential resurgence that might undermine the confidence in the economy. So there's a real debate going on and bottom line, the bigger picture here is that it is a patchwork and there's no one uniform way of doing this. So there's going to be some confusion and people asking questions, but make no mistake about it, states are feeling the financial pressure and that's what's driving some of these decisions here, Christi and Victor.</s>BLACKWELL: Yes. Talking about financial pressure, this is going to cost a lot. Do the states have enough money? Do they have the money to fight the virus and get the economies back going again?</s>ALESCI: Yes, Victor, you are pointing out an issue that is going to be the issue going forward in the -- in the days and weeks ahead. States are asking the federal government for $500 billion and that issue was the source of contention between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo this week who exchanged some very heated words over this because Mitch McConnell suggested in a media interview that states perhaps should file for bankruptcy instead of seeking federal help. Here's what Andrew Cuomo had to say about that.</s>GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): The morality of it and the ethics of it and the absurdity of it and the meanness of it. Legally a state can't declare bankruptcy. You would need a federal law allowing states to declare bankruptcy. Your suggestion, Senator McConnell, pass the law, I dare you and then go to the president and say sign this bill allowing states to declare bankruptcy. You want to send a signal to the markets that this nation is in real trouble?</s>ALESCI: So despite that heated exchange, my colleagues on the Hill and I have been hearing that there are some Republicans who realize that financial aid to the states is going to be part of the next aid package. Keep in mind Congress has already passed funding to the tune of $3 trillion for other things related to fighting coronavirus. The next package will likely include aid for states, Christi, Victor.</s>BLACKWELL: Cristina Alesci for us there in New York. Thank you, Cristina.</s>PAUL: Thank you, ma'am. So among the businesses that are allowed to reopen in Georgia now are gyms and this is a place that's very familiar with our next guest who is a bodybuilder, also a nurse practitioner and he survived a fight against COVID-19. He was in a really dire position with that virus, but we're happy that he's here with us now.</s>BLACKWELL: Yes. We spoke with him a couple of weeks ago and he really has been on this mission to make sure that you know that even someone who's young and fit is at risk of contracting this virus. So let's bring back now Lequawn James. He's with us. Lequawn, good morning. You look good. How you feeling?</s>LEQUAWN JAMES, NURSE PRACTITIONER, BODYBUILDER WHO SURVIVED COVID-19: Good morning. How you guys doing today?</s>BLACKWELL: We're good. How are you?</s>JAMES: I'm doing great. It's shocking, but I feel a 100 percent even before I contracted the virus. So it's very overwhelming, but I'm glad to be here.</s>PAUL: So when you say it's shocking, what are you referring to, Lequawn?</s>JAMES: I'm referring to the fact that I look at my pictures all the time of when I was in the ICU and to recently get cleared by the echocardiologist saying that I can resume all activity that I was doing before I contracted the virus, it was just surreal. Like it's less than a month later and I'm back to fully working out the way I used to. My heart is back to normal function. It's like I never got the virus in the first place. My health has returned 100 percent.</s>BLACKWELL: Wow. Fantastic, fantastic news. I'm glad we brought you back for that update, but we also want your perspective because you've got this interesting perspective, this angle of being both a healthcare professional and a COVID-19 survivor. So now that Georgia, where we are, is opening up, what's your reaction to the availability of people going back to gyms and restaurants on Monday, movie theaters and the rest?</s>JAMES: I was completely shocked because, you know, I wanted to address the governor myself in a video saying, hey, do you want more people to look like this guy right here in the ICU who was near death? That could be the possibility. Even myself, I'm not going back to the gym. What I did was I just found some gym equipment and rented a storage unit and I go there to work out and I just work out there alone. So there are ways around it, but, you know, right now is not the right time.</s>PAUL: So what do you say to people who argue, you know, they need a job, they cannot pay their rent or their mortgage, they are on the verge of not being able to feed their children? Do you see a balance here?</s>JAMES: I don't, but in my eyes, three to four weeks of not working is hard, but it would be harder to close the casket on your loved one forever. So that's the way I see it and I mean, I know money is what people need to survive, but at this time, you won't be able -- you may not be around to spend it if you contract this virus. Who's to say you don't end up like me or worse?</s>BLACKWELL: Yes. We have heard from Governor Kemp that he expects that there will be more cases, although he says that this is the right time and they're doing this the right way. Lequawn James, it's good to know that you are back to 100 percent, you're doing well, working out. I saw your video on Instagram at the storage unit and thanks so much for being with us this morning.</s>JAMES: Thank you for having me. You guys have a great day.</s>BLACKWELL: You too.</s>PAUL: You as well.</s>BLACKWELL: So one day after making the wild inquiry about testing, potentially injecting disinfectant to kill the coronavirus, sources say that aides are pushing the president to stop doing these daily task force briefings. We've got details for you.</s>PAUL: And we're still talking about small businesses in Georgia that are divided over returning to work. They're trying to figure out how to best protect themselves and their employees and their customers. We're talking to a tattoo artist about the reality of maintaining social distance in his place of business in a tattoo parlor. Is it possible? That's ahead.