good afternoon. i'm ayman mohyeldin. here are the facts as we know them at this hour. today brazilian president jair bolsonaro announced he has tested positive for coronavirus after he began feeling unwell on sunday. in the first week of july, the u.s. has added more than 250,000 new cases of coronavirus as the number of americans who have tested positive approaches 3 million. over 130,000 people in the united states have died so far. and at least 10 states have broken their record single day highs as new cases are skyrocketing in california, florida and texas.

here's what top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci said about the rise in cases across the country. >> the current state is really not good. we are still knee deep in the first wave of this. and i would say this would not be considered a wave. it was a surge or a resurgence of infections. superimposed upon a baseline that really never got down to where we wanted to go. >> florida is facing an ex exponential surge with the number of daily infections repeatedly shattering records in that state. to put this in perspective, the "miami herald" notes it took florida about three months to reach 100,000 coronavirus cases. it took less than two weeks to reach 200,000. a grave indicator of the infection's rapid spread. the pressure on hospitals is also concerning public health officials, according to the florida agency for health care

administration. 44 intensive care units across the state, they are now at capacity to try and curb the growth. another round of shutdowns is going into effect tomorrow in miami-dade county. the new shutdown will close restaurants, except for limited outdoor dining, takeout and delivery and moments ago, the county mayor announced that gyms can remain open. with me now this entire thundershower help us take a ho closer look, first aufshlll, te what's going on. although there's a spike in numbers we're seeing some beaches remain open and now as we just reported, at least gyms. gyms will also be allowed to remain open. i think what they are trying to do is really balance the public health concern with the business community's concern. that's what these mayors have been doing. meeting with restaurant owners and gym owners and trying to find some in between to satisfy

both parties. both the fact that there's a major, major spike in surge in cases here in florida and the fact that these businesses have been closed for months and now are going to face drastic restrictions. that's what a lot of businesses are struggling with. am i going to be able to continue paying my employees and my rent given these new restrictions coming back on. health officials say they really have no choice. when you are seeing a growth of 60,000 new positive cases in this state in just a week's time, they really can't take this lightly. they need to put security measures in place and the best way to do that is draw back on restaurants, gyms, large party venues and short-term rentals. airbnbs are going to be restricted here. they have closed over the july 4th holiday in miami-dade. there's some sense being outside and recreating is safer than being indoors and dining, but

this is a delicate balance they're trying to find here. the gyms are going to be able to reopen but you'll have to wear a mask if you want to work out inside. so they are trying to put those restrictions back in place to try and level out this curve and help these businesses reach a reopening that can stick. >> catie beck, stay with us. we'll rely on your reporting throughout the entire hour. we want to head out west for a moment. we have brand-new numbers from arizona showing another rise in daily cases. the department of health and human services reported an additional 3,600 new cases today, bringing the state's total to more than 105,000. this as many of the state's hospitals are nearing capacity. arizona health officials telling nbc news the state's recent rise in cases have a direct correlation to the end of the state's stay-at-home order back in may. joining me from glendale, arizona is msnbc correspondent

steve patterson. good to have you with us. what are officials there doing to catch up to this spike in cases that they are now attributing to that rapid reopening of the state back in may? >> well, let's talk about that correlation. it's undeniable. as soon as that stay at home order ended we saw that trend go up. the number of cases. it was first 10,000, maybe every few weeks. then it was 10,000 every week. and now we're in a situation where we're adding 10,000 cases in the state of arizona every few days. so what's being done? some say not enough. the messaging seems to be the biggest strategy. it's hammering on the fact of points we've been hearing since the beginning of this crisis from the federal government. wash your hands. social distance. stay six feet away. wear a mask. there's a mask mandate in most of the state. some 75% to 85% of the state is covered under some order to wear a mask. no matter where you are at all times. but there are segments of the

state that don't have that as well. a lot of this is directed towards the youth population because, as i've been saying all morning, a majority of the cases, the total number, that 105,000, a majority of that 60,000-plus are young people. people under 44 years old and even younger than that. and the problem with the correlation seems to be that after everything opened back up, and it opened very quickly, we saw images of bars and nightclubs and restaurants and malls and they were packed with young people. the direct messaging is now targeted. and that's the mission from the health department is to target the young people to tell them this is not okay. also, minority communities. those that are underserved, as they say, in certain places through arizona, the native population. navajo nation is being hit extremely hard. black populations. the hispanic community is 24% of the total cases. so to deal with that, i spoke to

tomas leone. he deals with outreach and health care for those underserved populations normally. right now he's basically putting on testing drives as much as humanly possible to get those testing numbers out so people can see where the spread is. when you're looking at the minority communities, which are testing deserts. i spoke to him about what it takes. here's what he said. >> you can't just be testing. you have to implement education component, provide the testing, provide the follow-up care consultation, and mask distribution. and connections to community essential services because people trying to survive this pandemic. >> so i spoke to those health officials. why not institute a mask order for the entire state? why doesn't the governor do that? why not include another stay-at-home order if things are really this bad? they say it's case by case.

they're taking the community as a whole and those are last-resort options but they think they can slow the curve by messaging alone. things are looking really bad here in arizona. >> steve patterson live in glendale, arizona, thanks for that. texas has seen over 83,000 new coronavirus cases in the last two weeks. and it lags behind 42 other states in per capita testing. harris county, home to houston, currently leads the state with over 37,000 coronavirus cases. and as cases surge, houston mayor sylvester turner is urging the state gop to hold a virtual convention after the party affirmed their plans to hold an in-person convention on july 16th. joining us now is executive director and local health authority for harris county public health, dr. omar shah. he'll be testifying tomorrow on the response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. great to have you with us. there's been a lot of reporting

about this new -- i don't want to use the word wave. but this new resurgence or spike in numbers if you will. what type of patients are you treating right now? what are your biggest concerns about them? >> thanks for having me, and we are concerned, as a community, what's happening in harris county. obviously here there's a lot of activity happening. we are seeing in the health care system a couple of things. one is that we are seeing individuals who are testing positi positive, who are going into the health care system that are a younger population than we've seen previously and we have minority populations that are also entering the health care system. it doesn't mean that this is not a pandemic and everybody is potentially impacted, but those are the trends we're watching. >> let me get your thoughts on something dr. mark boon, the ceo of methodist hospitals in houston said earlier today on "morning joe." take a listen. >> i see that many of the older,

more vulnerable people have been more careful staying home and younger people ierroneously head this message that it's about old people and i don't get sick and die. let me run out there and do whatever i want to do. part of that message also came from the lieutenant governor of texas, dan patrick, who at some point suggested that this is an older generational problem, not worth losing the economy for. i'm curious to get your thoughts. are you seeing a higher number of younger patients in houston. and what do you attribute that to. >> well, again, i think we can speculate a lot, but i think it's very clear that there are concerns in our minds about who is heeding the message, right? if the message is being delivered by us in a very similar manner to everyone, look, we're all at risk. all of us, regardless of our age, regardless of our socio demographics, regardless of where we live.

and then you see an increase in those numbers and proportions in the younger population. then you start asking that question, well, is there something we're missing? i think dr. boom has a good point, which is that we have been giving this message, but whenever you have inconsistent messaging at federal, state, local levels, regardless of which level it's at, that's when you get unfortunately complacency or confusion or somebody says i'm just going to take a chance or a risk at the local individual level and that's what concerns us and maybe that's why we are seeing this increase in the younger population. we're trying to unpack it but that's the concern we have. >> you are expected to testify tomorrow before congress to the response to the covid-19 pandemic. give us a preview of what you're expected to say. and how would you characterize the response so far? i mean, where do you see our shortcomings? where does the federal government need to do better? >> there will be a few points i'll bring up.

it's a limited amount of time but one of the points is that, get this under control. if we do not do the things we have to do as a nation. we just had fourth of july. coming together. not about red or blue or left or right but fighting this from a health standpoint. we'll continue to be in trouble. it may get worse. number two is that we are very concerned about texas. we're very concerned about what's happening in our local community. and we want to make sure that efforts are focused here as well. and number three, it's this broader real discussion about public health. and this is really where i'm going to segue as you know, i was the previous -- not just the local health department here in harris county but previous president of the national association of county and city health officials which represents 3,000 local health departments across the country. we have underinvested in public health and prevention, and now that is really coming to bear as we're in the midst of a covid-19

pandemic. so my passage is that we have to make sure that health and medical and science and evidence are driving decisions and not politics. >> dr. shah, thank you so much. appreciate your time. let's go back to miami partner catie beck live in coral gables, florida. catie? >> ayman, business owners here are bracing for another negative impact as these new restriction comes back on. they'll have to adjust their businesses and adjust what their income and employees' incomes are going to be. joining me is annie, a business owner, a restaurant owner in miami. and sort of characterize for us how devastating the past few months have been for your business. >> the past few months have been crippling, to say the least. our revenues are at the very least half of where they should be. 60%, 70% to be honest with you. and then now with this new closure or attempt to close. thank goodness they're allowing outdoor dining because otherwise

it would be either full shutdown or only takeout and delivery. >> obviously, when you heard these restrictions would be coming back, what was your first thought? >> honestly, i felt like i got suckerpunched. i felt it coming. i should have expected it. but at the end of the day you always hope for the best. so, yeah, it's definitely a challenge. >> in terms of what you are seeing as a restaurant owner, are people largely wearing their masks and abiding by social distancing rules? that's what a lot of experts are saying. people just aren't following the rules. >> in our case, at our restaurant, they purpose we've gone out of our way to implement systems and set the tone for our guests. they really know what the rules are. we really haven't had that many challenges. but we set the tone for them. and that makes them feel safe. >> right. >> but you're obviously, like everyone else here in south florida, seeing these incredible numbers. >> yes. >> and knowing that something's got to give. >> something's got to give. and it can't be the restaurants

can't be responsible for policing people. the government should be responsible for policing and enforcing people and their mandates. not the restaurants themselves. at this point, i feel like restaurants are a scapegoat. >> you feel you need more help from local government in terms of -- >> absolutely. there's no strategy in place. it's fun for them to say we're going to close restaurants. but why? where are the facts? where are the statistics? how can you prove that restaurants are the cause of all of this? and if restaurants are the cause, then give us a solution. what else can we do? >> right. contact tracing has been a big proposal nationwide in terms of tracking this virus and its transmission. have you gotten any local support in terms of managing that aspect, contact tracing? >> thankfully we haven't had anyone fall sick in our restaurant, and we don't have anyone that's come in contact with anyone that has caught covid-19, so it hasn't been that much of an issue for us to be honest with you. thank god. it's not a matter of how -- it's

a matter of when at this point. so let's see. >> are you remaining hopeful, despite these new restrictions that business will at some point get back to normal or are you seriously considering what your next step could be financially if this doesn't -- >> no, you have to think of all the steps. we have to think of the worst case scenario and the best case scenario without a doubt. we don't know how long this is going to take. could be three months, six months. for sure i don't expect things to get back to normal for another six months so i think the next six months will be very challenging. we should all brace ourselves because a lot of my colleagues won't have restaurants. >> ani, thank you for sharing your struggle with us. it's echoed by a lot of other business owners here in south florida and across the country. ayman, we'll send it back to you. we'll check back in with you in just a moment. but up next, brazilian president bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus after downplaying

the dangers and spread of the virus in his own country for months. plus, a look at generational pover poverty. a struggle tens of thousands are up against. we'll talk about how to break that cycle. that cycle helps you redefine what's possible... now. from the hospital shifting to remote patient care in just 48 hours... to the university moving hundreds of apps quickly to the cloud... or the city government going digital to keep critical services running. you are creating the future-- on the fly. and we are helping you do it. vmware. realize what's possible.

we are following breaking news. brazil's president jair bolsonaro just announced he has tested positive for coronavirus. this comes after he spent months downplaying the severity of the

outbreak. in fact, the u.s. ambassador to brazil just had a private luncheon with bolsonaro on july 4th but so far is not experiencing any symptoms and said he'll be tested and will follow screening protocols. joining me now is nbc news chief global correspondent bill neely. you were in brazil in may. you know the kind of messaging that president bolsonaro was delivering to his people. what more do we know right now about his diagnosis? >> yes, ayman, there are so many ironies about this story. probably no leader in the world has been dismissive as jair bolsonaro. now he's tested positive. just yesterday he eased the rules on brazilians about wearing face masks. today he didn't wear a face mask when he told reporters he tested positive. he began to feel, unwell, he says, on sunday with a fever and a cough.

he felt even worse on monday. he had an x-ray and said the x-ray showed his lungs were clear, whatever that means but today he announced he has, in fact, tested positive. it's the fourth time he's had a test. remember, he saw donald trump at mar-a-lago in march, and had three tests after that. and said, look, if i do test positive, it will be fine because it will be like a little flu or a little cold. and he then reminded everyone of his past history as something of an athlete and said that will keep my fine. well, he's in the very early days of his positive test so we don't know how this will pan out. he's 65. he's at higher risk than many people. and interestingly, ayman, on july 4th, president bolsonaro was at the u.s. ambassador's residence and there was a photograph, in fact, of him with his arm around the u.s. ambassador, chapman.

there were eight of them in the photograph. and the u.s. embassy in brazil says todd chapman doesn't show any symptoms but he will get a test as a result of president bolsonaro's positive test. as you say, he's dismissed this virus throughout. he has told people, forget about face masks. don't worry about social distancing. get back to work. when i was in brazil, 50% of the people were indeed not observing any lockdown or wearing face masks. a lot of them because they had to go to work. but brazil has an awful record. second only to the united states. we're talking more than 65,000 deaths and 1.6 million cases of which president bolsonaro is now the latest one. ayman? >> bill neely live for uthank you. i appreciate it. americans could be getting another round of stimulus checks. on monday, mitch mcconnell said

direct amounts aimed at helping low-income americans could well be a part of new legislation. >> i think the people who have been hit the hardest are people who make about $40,000 a year or less. many of them work in the hospitality industry. the hospitality industry, as all of you know, got rimracked. hotels, restaurants and so that could well be a part of it. i think we will do something again. i think the country needs one last boost. >> joining me now, nbc's leigh ann caldwell from capitol hill. good to have you with us. how likely does this look that we're going to see some kind of bipartisan help on the way? >> well, ayman, now you have the three parties in these negotiations agreeing on direct stimulus. the president has indicated that he wants to see something. democrats support this idea. and now you have the majority

leader mitch mcconnell coming out and saying that as well. but that's really where the disagreement ends. mcconnell, as he noted, wants it much smaller, much more targeted than it was in the last coronavirus relief bill. democrats on the other hand in the house-passed bill, they increase the amount of money for people. so while it's significant that they are on the same page in another round of this, there is going to be a lot of negotiations back and forth on this very politically popular program, ayman. >> according to federal data released on monday, a number of billionaires and big businesses received ppp loans. a list of the few there on the screen, kanye west apparel brand worth $3 billion and got up to $5 million. it was sold to the american people as a program that is going to help small businesses keep their lights on during the

pandemic by paying their employees. is this an accurate picture of what has emerged? is the ppp working as it is intended to from the perspective of those on capitol hill? >> well, it's not just billionaires that got the money. it was also washington lobby firms, people close to the president as well who also got these funds. so let's be clear. if you are politically connected if you know how washington works, if you know how the financial system works, the chances that you're going to get access to these loans are much greater. the small business administration says it is a success. it saved 50 million jobs. but the people that it didn't reach, according to anecdotes that i'm hearing and also what senator marco rubio's office is saying, are minority-owned businesses and they say that rubio's office is saying that that is going to be a big priority in the next round of

covid relief because they are the people, the smallest businesses and the minority owned businesses were the ones left out of this program. >> leigh ann caldwell on -- live for us on capitol hill. appreciate that update. we've been covering stories of inequality across the country. today we're taking a closer look at generational poverty in this country. nbc's blayne alexander joins us live with a story of two women who are trying to break that cycle and why it's so hard to do. blayne? >> ayman, that cycle of generational poverty. poverty in so many ways really say multilayered issue. in the same way that some people are born into wealth, other people are born into poverty. and often making that seismic shift to move out of it really requires resources. so we're talking about things that so many people would take for granted like a car or some extra income to be able to save or invest. and that's why, for so many people, climbing out can seem nearly impossible.

for years, every day was a struggle for carleta johnson. >> just being a single parent with no help, that was really, really hard. >> reporter: even harder with no car, little family support and only a part-time job which also meant for her no health care. she was relying on government subsidized housing and food stamps to feed her three children. as for her paycheck -- >> it was no more than six. >> $600? >> every two weeks. >> that's for you and your children. >> right. >> some days -- >> i would sit in the parking lot just crying. okay. get yourself together. >> reporter: but it was all she knew, raised by a single mother herself, forced to grow up fast to help care for her five siblings. more than 1,000 miles away in phoenix, arizona, jonia coleman has a similar story. >> i grew up in a single parent household with my mom and i had seven other siblings. my mom was on government assistance for a while to be able to help feed us. >> reporter: this is

generational poverty. >> people are often born into poverty and it's been poverty that their mother, their grandmother, et cetera, has experienced. >> reporter: for a family of four, it's defined as making less than $26,000 a year. more than 38 million americans live in poverty. for black americans, it's 1 in every 5. higher than latinos, asian americans and more than double the rate of white americans. and it spills into all aspects of life. more chronic health issues, higher rates of divorce and abuse or neglect. climbing out can seem nearly impossible. it often requires a new job or a degree, much harder with fewer resources like transportation and child care. that was jonia's reality until two years ago, thanks to live and learn where she gained support, new mentors and a new mind-set. >> they're trying to help me with my credit. all type of things that they offered to me to get myself back in order. >> having somebody that makes you feel safe. having a cheerleader.

an advocate. having somebody that is by your side no matter what happens. >> reporter: back in atlanta, carletta is also defying the odds, recently moving into her own home for the very first time. she got her certification and became a teacher. now with big hopes for her own children. >> my dreams for them is for them to grow up and just live a life. don't have to worry about things that i had to worry about as a child. >> reporter: hoping she is the one to finally break the cycle. one of the things we found when we were reporting this story, in addition to that other list of factors that we kind of laid out there is that so many people when you're living in poverty really just have not had a lot of exposure. so certainly children haven't had the opportunity to leave, go very far beyond the neighborhoods in which they were raised and kind of see a different way. so that's why the experts we spoke to say that it really is a two-pronged approach. you're talking about, of course, support resources.

the kinds of things that allow people to make differences, make changes in their situations but also the exposure and having somebody there to show them a different way and guide them through it. ayman? >> blayne alexander live in atlanta, thank you so much for that eye-opening report. catie in florida, back to you. >> we are near coral gables, florida, where local officials are putting restrictions back on businesses after a huge surge in covid-19 cases. we're going to talk to a local medical doctor about the impact on hospitalizations right after the break. stay with us. my life.

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welcome back. thanks for staying with us on msnbc. we're live in coral gables, florida. we are talking about local officials here that are putting restrictions back on businesses after a massive surge in covid-19 cases. of course, that surge is having an impact on hospitalizations as well which is why i want to drink in dr. nicholas namais. we appreciate you being with us. we're seeing these numbers as florida is watching them very closely. what does it look like from the inside? can you tell us what capacity is like in your hospital? >> yeah, the hospital --

[ no audio ] >> unfortunately, the doctor's audio is something that we need to work out there, ayman, but hopefully we'll be able to get back to him later and get some answers. >> for sure, catie, while we try to get that connection re-established. let me get your thoughts on the situation there because as we were talking earlier in the program, we were discussing a little of the contrast. the need to strike that balance between the health care workers -- sorry, the health care for those that have contracted coronavirus and at the same time the small businesses, as you were interviewing. there was from some accounts a little contradiction that over the july 4th weekend, balances were constrained, the beaches were closed. but at the same time, beaches this morning were reopened. and so some people were saying that was sending a mixed message and could once again contribute to the problem. >> right.

i think the issue here really is that the local leaders are trying to do their best to please everyone. they are listening to medical experts. they're also listening to business owners and average people that want to get back to normal life. and it's a really difficult balance to strike, especially in the face of the numbers that we're seeing in florida. when you see 60,000 new reported cases you have to be thinking, we're doing something wrong here. we've got to adjust. the best adjustment they've come up with is to restrict restaurants, to restrict gyms, restrict large party venues and short time vacation rentals here in florida. so those are the things that i think officials are trying to work on but it's never going to be a perfect balance. always one side or the other that feels they should be doing more. catie, back live for us in florida. coming up -- it's primary day in new jersey. and joe biden's home state of delaware. with coronavirus cases on the

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concerns that people are not taking enough precautions. joining me from dover, delaware, is msnbc political reporter ali vitali. what are we seeing play out in delaware both with the ballots and how the actual primary is being run? >> yeah, ayman, you just laid out the stakes here. voters in delaware are voting in the democratic primary where their own delaware native joe biden is the presumptive democratic nominee already. so a lot more focus on how this process is being run. joe biden, as you mentioned, voted by mail, using that absentee ballot. he and his wife jill biden dropping off their ballots in a ballot box drop-off place. that's something that election officials here have been urging delaware voters to do, whether it's voting by mail, just dropping it in the mailbox or filling out an absentee ballot and putting it in a ballot drop box. that being said, as we've been

out here all day, there's been a steady trickle of people coming in to exercise their right to vote in person. as i've seen them come out, i've asked them, did you feel safe coming here, given the pandemic? they said yes. they felt safe, though they did reserve the right to go back to their car and put hand sanitizer on as soon as they finished inside. all it takes is one walk through the building to see a lot of the hallmarks we've come to associate with voting during a pandemic are here. you go inside and see on the floor lines delineating where that six feet of social distancing might be if a line were to form. even before you go inside, there are signs on the door saying you can't come in if you're not wearing a mask. and after voters vote, those machines are being wiped down. a lot of precautions being taken to make sure that voters can exercise their right to vote and do it safely. of course, all of this coming against the backdrop as i've been talking to voters. yes, they're focused on this election in front of them now but they're looking ahead to

november, and a lot of them are wondering who vice president joe biden might pick as his own vice presidential running mate. listen to what woman told me she's hoping to see out of that pick. >> i'm a black woman. and as a black woman, we are the least protected and the least respected. a lot of us are hurting. and a lot of us need someone to speak up for us. so i think if he had a woman of color on the ballot, she would be our voice. i really think that would be helpful for the black woman. >> and ayman, of course, we know the former vice president has said he's going to announce his running mate pick around august 1st. so the calendar days are ticking down until that decision. >> ali vitali, thank you. let's cross over back to florida and bring in catie beck once again. catie? >> we are going to be talking about those surging cases here in the state of florida and the impact that's having on hospitalization. we'll try again to talk to dr.

nicholas nemias. i think we've got you this time. i'll ask that same question again. we are seeing these numbers from the outside. they are alarming, large, growing. what does that translate to on the inside? what does it look like inside your hospital? >> sure. it translates -- >> well, this is the beauty of live television. i guess the doctor's sound wasn't quite meant to be. we'll hope maybe we can get some of his thoughts in a later segment. >> times of technology. just not cooperating. let me ask you about hospitalizations generally. what's the status of hospitalization rates in florida in various parts. have they reached that maximum capacity we're seeing in other parts of the country with the surge? >> what we know right now is that there are several hospitals

in the south florida region that are at capacity right now that say they have no beds. we heard from most hospitals that they still have some room in the icu and that they still have some bed space, but the children is that if these numbers continue to rise at the level and pace they have been, that that space will quickly diminish. they're trying to avoid that in every way they can. >> catie beck, thank you. what you need to know about contact tracing from someone who is actually doing it. how accurate is it? and where and when can it be the most effective? and accounts from frontline medical professionals continue to stream into our newsroom. here's a nurse in south carolina describing what her patients are going through. >> just imagine not being able to breathe. you can't even get out of bed without losing your breath, let alone get to the bathroom or do any of your normal activities. and your body is achy.

you're fatigued. you have a headache. you might have some gi issues going on. some nausea. your temperature is through the roof. and you're hipoxic which means your lungs aren't working well enough to provide an adequate amount of oxygen to your organs that need it to function.

as the united nations fast approaches 3 million coronavirus cases, a tried-and-true method to slow the spread is being implemented across the country. that vital key to the fight against coronavirus is called contact tracing. officials say, if done correctly, it can save lives. joining mess now is kimberly jocelyn, the contact tracing supervisor with new york city hospital test and trace corps. first of all, tell us what an average day look like for you and the team of contact tracers that you are managing. how does it work?

>> as a plaintiffsor, i obtain information, as well as provide -- to also obtain information on systems, and provide resources, medical care services as well as social services that are necessary to separate, to not only protect them but to keep their loved ones safe and healthy as well as others. >> i wanted to bring in my colleague katie beck, who is in florida and has a question. >> okay. hi, katie. >> reporter: yes, we know how vibe at contact tracing can be. i think the he -- i know this is asking you to take sort of a broad view, but considering the need that's out there, do you

think or country could benefit from more? -- no doing the best we can -- >> i know that these numbers -- >> kimberly, how do people typically respond to your calls? what do you do to ensure that you get some compliance or accuracy when you contact them? >> effective communication is important. and very empty theic, compassionate. we utilize active listens, we also -- where they are.

so if they are -- i always encourage them to get tested, to utilize our services, to continue on with the interviews, to obtain information on how to separate and keep loved ones safe. when the opportunity does approach during a case of contact, and meet them where they are, and advise us to give us a call back, and want to support them, so whenever they're ready, to give us a call back. >> and encourage them to give us a call. >> we do care. we want to protect the nation. >> reporter: one of the questions we heard close to us is what type of experience doing need for a contact tracer? how does the training work?

>> it's very relevant. i have a master's in public health and masters in science in social work. but also very relevant training. to be sure we provide environment where collars don't field judged. we're actively listening, and what's not being said.

where do you believe it falls short, if anywhere? >> i encourage everyone to be transparent. that's very important. we do not -- we -- our priority is their health, but also protecting their privacy. it's primarily for public health use, nothing else. so it's very important for everyone to be transparent. to also be transparent. >> kimberly, thank you so much. a special thanks to daty as well.

of course, this week, don't forget live at 11 clk am every morning, we answer your questions, you can submit it via twitter, or e-mail us. we have this quick package we want to play for us right now -- i apologize. we are running out of time for that. that wraps up this hour. right now my colleague katy tur will pick up the coverage right after a quick break. k up the co after a quick break. your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting.

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good afternoon. it's 11:00 a.m. west, 2:00 p.m. in the east. here are the affecfacts at this. eight of those states, along with the u.s. virgin islands, have more than doubled their case count over the last two weeks. as case counts increase around the country, states that had already gotten a handle on the virus are starting to pause or reveres reopenings to protection against a second wave. the latest is connecticut, where they say the planned phase three will be delayed indefinitely. to rethinking summer plans, republican senator lamar alexander is the latest to announce he will not attend next month's republican convention.

he joins senator grassley. florida continues to break records as daily indicate counts, 16.7% of all covid tests in florida came back positive yesterday. that is the highest positive rate in the state so far, leaving hospitals in some of the state's largest counties -- state's largest counties - -- is still need deep. hospital rates are soaring, particularly across the southwest, with a number of states announcing unprecedented number of covid patients. one nurse told nbc news that her hospital is simply running out of space.

frankly we're running out of room. even the biggest hospitals have a finite number of supplies. it's becoming increasingly more difficult to do, as we keep getting more and more and more positive admissions. in texas, major cities like houston are seeing the medical resources spread dangerously thin as a result. some of the smaller cities look they are only days or potential weeks from the same fate. joining me now from el paso, texas is garrett haake. he's outside of umc el paso which has seen a 200% increase of hospitalizations over the past ten days. are there enough medical staffers, hospital workers, doctors, nurses to treat the influx of patients? >> yeah, katy, that's been the

real concern here with the folks i've spoke with. they have the benefit of having watched east coast cities go through surges, so they know what that will look like here, but you can't conjure experienced doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists out of thin air if you need them. the same isolation, relatively speaking that's helped protect el paso, this hospital is the only level trauma center in about a 300-mile radius. that could cause problems for el paso should that surge come and they need those extra people. all around the state people are looking at the decisions made to get us to this point. i have to tell you, democrats are laying this squarely on the shoulders of the state's governor greg abbott. >> this was a real moment to do it, to put partisan politics aside, put petty disputes aside and do the best by his citizens, by texans. well, he failed to do that.

he also failed to create a robust testing and tracing plan, failed to follow cdc guidelines before opening. we are at 1% of testing when governor abbott chose to open up the state. what we are seeing today in the state, in terms of the human devastation should not shock anyone. it should be no surprise. >> that's democratic congresswoman veronica escobar of el paso here. lately the governor has added a statewide mask order. they closed bars against. the question now is, can anything stop this spike we're seeing in the largest cities in eastern texas? and it appears to be making its way west here, katy. arizona is the latest state to cross 100,000 confirmed cases. as is often the case, the real

number is likely higher than that. it's lagging behind in testing, especially when it comes to minority communities, as cases continue to rise by the thousands, even with limited test a state official has confirmed that there is a correlation between the state's reopening and the new surge in cases. arizona's stay-at-home order expired the 15th, those governor doocey has closed gyms and clubs for the second time. steve, what is happening there in arizona today? >> well, it's another day with another surge of case overnight. last week that number dipped and then went right back up. so people are dealing with the situation in which some feel that the state may have opened

too early. some may argue the state could have done a softer, much more phased approach. some may be arguing that the state never fully met the requirements to reopen in the first place. others may argue -- and i can bear this out -- walking around in groups with no masks, that everything is fine. one of the things that tells the story that has not told anything else but the truth are the numbers. since that may 15th date, the number of positive cases have skyrocketed, katy. first you saw every few weeks or so an additional 10,000 positive cases. now it's 10,000 every few days or so. the rate is somewhere around 3500 every single day. i spoke to the health department, spoke to the health department direct or director e

corroborating that the numbers don't lie. icus are 90% full. hospitals are complaining mostly about staffing. they are hurting for more people to operate the specialized room, to operate ventilators and beds. they need help. that starts with people social distancing and wears masks. that's the one thing the health department has been consistent on. put a mask on, stay away from people, but it's in a true spiral here in arizona, katy. >> steve, the majority of these new cases are under the we keep hearing it's good news, because it's younger people, they have a better survival rate. is there an acknowledgement that the younger people could end up spreading it to the more vulnerable populations, and that

the death rate will be a lagging indicator? is there concern of what this state might see in the next two, three, four weeks? >> reporter: there's broad concern. that's a fallacy to think that just because young people are getting more infected than older generations that it's not having an impact. you're talking about 61% of the total number of cases are people 44 and younger. these people go home, these people infect their parents and grandparents, those people get sick, they end up in the icu, and they either die or take it from somebody else that could have used it. that is exactly what curbing or flattening the curve is all about. young people have to realize and the health department is saying this. in fact, they have specialized messages they want to put up to the younger generation, to say this is not working, these people need to practice social distancing, and they need to do it now. that's a strong message we heard from the health department here,

katy. >> even if you don't have somebody in your household, steve, if you're going out to get a cup of coffee, a grocery store, any interaction outside your small social group, then it could be transferred to that person, who transfers it to another person, and you just can't control who the largest circle spreads it to. so steve patterson, thank you for joining us. >> reporter: absolutely. the nation's top infectious disease expert characterized a recent surge and america's handle on it as, quote, really not good. dr. fauci made those comments with a facebook discussion with his colleagues. >> the current state is really not good, in the sense that, as you know, we have been in a situation where we're averaging about 20,000 new cases a day. two days ago it was at 57,500, so within a period of a week and a half we've almost doubled the

number of cases. so, in answer to your first question, we are still need deep in the first wave of this. and now health officials have flagged a new alarm. with the rise in cases, a shortage of supplies and a backlog at laboratories. the u.s. again finds itself on the brink of another testing crisis. let's bring in dr. mario ramirez, an emergency figures and served as pandemic and emerging threats coordinator during the obama administration. doctor, thank you very much for joining us. test, testing, testing. the president keeps saying we're testing more than anything else. if you live in new york, you might think that it's not a big deal. that is not the case around the kung.

what happened to all that time between what we saw in new york and what we're seeing in arizona, florida, texas, and again in california. where was the prep that was being done to scale up on tests? >> well, katy, you're making a great point. this is really a significant concern for those of us out there practices right now. what has happened is some cities are bringing testing inside their house and using their own labs. some sites can turn around test results quickly. but when you get outside the big academic centers and to places like arizona, south texas, parts of florida, you realize the testing lag has increased. here in nashville we used to be able to get results in 48 to 72 hours at the hospital. right now it's common we're waiting six and seven days for results. it's so impossible to isolate and contact trace people with

that lag. >> is there anything going on to expedite tests, to makes sure where march emerging hot spots, people can get tested and contact tracing even if there's apparatus set up? >> as you know, the federal government has sent out a couple strike teams to a few hot spot areas, including south texas. those are only active in about three spots, and they're trying to surge capacity in those areas. unfortunately that's not enough to help the rest of the united states. the fda just authorized one of the first antigen tests to come to market so people can do some rapid testing. antigen testing can be helpful. you get the results quickly, but the accuracy is much lower than pcr. that will change the sorts of information we're getting. my hope is we'll get results

faster. >> what do we know about where we assistant on a vaccine? for a few week ago we had dr. fouchi say there will be a vikings in early 2021. >> there are signs of progress, though it's muddled, katy. over the last few weeks we've seen a number of vaccines moving from phase two to three. one and two are earlier clinical trials, and whether or not the vaccine produces a immune response. phase three is whether you determine the vaccine works clinically like you're hoping for. we have three vaccine candidates around the a world. the hope is to get at least one

of those to work by december of this year. interestingly, one of the ones that's been highly touted as the moderna vaccine, they had to move their phase three trial back a few weeks. and i think there's some reporting about some of the reasons for that through reuters. as a whole, i think there are signs of process, but i know it's no sure bet we'll be there by the end of the year. >> dr. mario ramirez, thank you so much for joining us today. we appreciate all of your insight. brazilian president bolsonaro has tested positive for covid-19. the right-wing populace has been sought to downplay the outbreak. he's repeatedly appeared in public without a mask or one down around his chin. he fist bumps with children, gets close to people, and on saturday the u.s. ambassador to

brazil, todd chapman had a private meeting with bolsonaro and some of his staff. no masks and no social distancing in that picture. he tweeted that picture. he's now taking, our ambassador, that is -- precautions following the potential exposure. joining mess is bill kneneely, feel like if anyone had been watching bolsonaro, they won't be surprised that he contracted the virus. i guess the only surprise is that it took so long. >> reporter: absolutely right, katy, and oh the irony. there's probably no leader in the world who has been more dismissive of coronavirus than jair bolsonaro. now today he says he has tested positive. ironically, again only yesterday he relaxed the rules on wearing

face masks. today he appeared without a face mask and announced he is positive for the virus. he said he began to feel unwell on sunday, he had a fever, a cough, woke up monday morning, felt even worse, had an x-ray, the lungs were clear, he said, but today that test came back positive. as you say, on july 4th, he had lunch with the u.s. ambassador to brazil, todd chapman. they were frachd with bolsonaro's arm around mr. chapman. it's the fourth time he's been tested. he was tested three times in march after that visit to donald trump at mar-a-lago. after that, he said, look, if i test positive, i won't have to worry, because it's just a little cold, a little flu. well, let's see how this virus develops. he is 65, so he is more vulnerable than most. he says at the mint he's taking

hydroxychloroquine, and he feels normal. he says he would like to go for a walk, but his doctors have told him not to. bolsonaro testing positive for covid. bill neely, thank you very much. later this hour, congressman clyburn joins me. we'll also take you to the white house, where frustration is growing among the president's own aides, who say he must stay away from the third rail of politics. i wonder how that is going. stay with us. i wonder how that is going stay with us heading in a new direction. but when you're with fidelity, a partner who makes sure every step is clear, there's nothing to stop you from moving forward. a partner who makes sure every step is clear, ♪ ♪

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a senior white house officials tells nbc news there's growing frustration over the president's decision to exploit the country's divide over race for political gain. sources close to the president

say they would rather focus on the accomplishments, but the president sees his strategy as a winning one. with polls showing he trails, sources say he is, quote, going with his gut. joining me now from the white house is nbc news correspondent carol lee, so i get there's a faction of the administration that does not want to let trump be trump. >> reporter: there sure is, casesy. and not just one person, but multiple people. that he has a better argument to make about his accomplishments the feel that what worked for him in 2016 will work again in

2020. one officials telling us, quote, the reason he does this, quote is because he senses the victimization that a lot of americans feel. it sounds like he's not backing down from there. kellyanne conway just spoke to us, saying the president gave an interview today where he was asked about the confederate flag, and said this is a freedom of speech issue. privately you have officials say there's a lot of frustration that he's doing this. they thought he would move into july and take on a different message, and that's not happening, katy. >> carol, a quick question on the confederate statues. during 2016, he was asked about the confederate flag whether it should be taken down, and he said it belongs in a museum.

it's the same opinion, but a different opinion he's now holding. i wonder why he thinking he needs to fight so heart for this. is he just not believing that any of that matters? what is the thinking? >> reporter: i think the official who said he senses victimization on issues around race, particularly white americans, that's where he's coming from. that's the explanation. from the president's perspective, you know, the official said he gets animated by these cultural issues, and this is where he feels most comfortable, and it is a little different. he's not talking about putting the confederate flag in a museum. he's saying this is a first amendment issue, this is a freedom of speech, and these are the voters he thinking he's best suited to be speaking to now.

so apparently you're going to see more of this. >> monuments of men who fought a civil war to keep an entire race of people enslaved. it's 2020. carol lee, thank you very much. this week president trump continued to downplay the severity of a surge of coronavirus cases across the country, calls any suggestion that the u.s. isn't ahead of the pandemic fake news. health experts say the president is on the wrong side of the facts about the virus, but he also may be on the wrong side of public opinion. new nbc news polls shows that the majority are looking for leadership and that the leadership is not in washington. joining mess is steve kornacki. what is the story the numbers are telling? >> this is one here on the president's handling of the coronavirus, just a basic

approve/disapprove question. 43% approve and outright majority saying these disprouf. 43/55. it is striking, you get up to 60% approval compared to 37% who say they don't approve. then there's this question on trusting of the question on reopening businesses. again, only 25% for trump here. in fairness on this one, when you ask about issues that are more local to people, what is going on in your state or community, there's a bias there toward the officeholder closer to the scene. this is one of a number of polls we have seen about a nine-point lead there for biden on average.

this is from the "usa today"/suv fox poll here, on the coronavirus, it's overwhelming biden beats trump by 20 points. also, on race relations have been center state here, basically 2 to 1 for biden. massive advantages for biden. the third one, economy trump still has the advantage over biden, but that issue which had been his strong suit has been overwhelmed by these other two where he trails biden significantly. the campaign wants to run on the economy. they thinking that's the president's strongest suit, but they concede the economy is not good, and with the continued surges, it doesn't look like the economy will get better in time for the november election. steve kornacki, thank you very much. in a few minutes jim clyburn joins me live, to talk about

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we're following the latest coronavirus developments. here are the facts as we know them. australian authorities issued a new six-week longdown for melbourne residents. the largest daily increase since the pandemic began. residents will be allowed to leave homes for groceries, medical care, work or exercise only. international students will have to leave the country or transfer schools if classes only resume online, according to new guidelines issued by u.s. immigration and customs enforcement. governor cuomo announced three additional states qualify

for the state travel advisory that will require travelers to quarantine for 14 days if they come to new york. that includes delaware, kansas and oklahoma. the same travel advisory is in effect in new jersey and connecticut. florida's commissioner of the department of education issued an order to require all schools to open next month. schools will have to welcome all students at least five days per weeks. school districts are being asked to submit reopening plans to the state. meanwhile, schools across california are readying for the fall, also examining their ability to welcome students back to classroom, or if they're going to have to do so entirely online. that does also include the nation's second largest school district in los angeles, which still has not made a decision. universities are dealing with this as well. the university of southern california is currently planning on a hybrid of online and in-person classes, but that may still change before the semester

begins. joining me from los angeles is nbc correspondent gadi schwartz. when i've talked to heads of the university system, the cal state university system and other school leaders, they've said that one of the thing that will allow their students to get back in the classroom is if there's enough testing. sounds like there's not enough testi testing. >> reporter: yeah, there's the pandemic and what we're hearing from the president obviously. here at usc, they have changed their mind several times. earlier they wanted students in classroom teaching. they wanted to have kids coming back to campus. then they decided to try students to live offcampus and most online learning, and now there's a looming battle with what to do with international

students, whether they may have to transfer to a different institution. that's at play. on the local level you have lausd. california is getting worse and worse. we're seeing positivity rates up about 10%. and they're trying to try to figure out how to prevent kids from spreading coronavirus, which is going to be a herculean task. all those things at play, and obviously the president has been very, very insistsant he wants people back in the classrooms as soon as possible. katy? >> gadi schwartz, thank you very much. more than 100,000 small businesses have closed their doors for good. those that remain open now face a new crisis for employers and

employees alike. who will care for their kids when they are at who shall? about 17.5 million workers are taking care of young kids on their own and will be unlikely to make an in-person return to work full time until schools and day cares fully reopen. as a result some 13% of u.s. parents say they have already had to quit a job or reduce their working hours, because they didn't have child care. that burden is falling disproportionately on women. joining miss is bridget mcginty. thank you for joining us. you have a 6-year-old boy. walk me through the decision process you had to make between your kid and your job.

it wasn't just my kid. we all sat at the beginning thinking we were going to hire a teacher, have all the kids next door while the restaurant was open, but those dreams quickly faded. now we're at a situation where schools are talking about doing a mix of a bit of in person, distance learning, and all of us feel very ill-equipped to handle that challenge and homeschool our children. >> this feels like another situation where women are disproportionately affected. women who have children have a harder time in the workforce. if they have parental leave, they can be punished when they come back for it. there are all sorts of structural hurdles that women

face in order to maintain jobs in our society. the pandemic is exacerbating that, as you are describing with your restaurant. what do you wish the federal golf would do to step in and make it so that you, and women like you, can be a mom, but also be a entrepreneur, be a career person. it doesn't just have to be one or the other. >> right. i feel it's a struggle to be a mom, but right now i'm glad i don't have to fight with my husband deciding which parents gets to keep their job. i just feel like i have agreed with so much our governor of ohio has done here, but just recently he had said that unemployment was going to be top for people who simply could not

find daycare. i feel like my government has abandoned me. i lost my business because of the ppp loan going to all the wrong people and getting drained, and now i feel like, you know, my son is going to be personally affected by me having that choice of putting him in some kind of care or just not working. with the unemployment insurance you just mentioned, when that extra money runs out, what are you going to do? >> i think i'm lucky i want to be a writer, and that's something you can do from home. i think it will present a number of challenges having a child at

home with me, but yeah, it's very limited. i think about it all the time. i'm in a bad position. the money in my account is running out. i will need to be making a decision very soon on getting a job and being ability to pay for child care. we're in a bad position, too, where all the daycare centers are full, because they can only operate at half capacity. all the restaurant jobs are only operating at quarter to half capacity. there's just no relief in sight for someone like me. >> bridget mcginty, unfortunately you're one of many, and we're so sorry. our fingers are crossed for you. thanks so much for coming on and share your story. >> thank you so much. coming up, as the president

makes protecting confederate monuments a campaign issue, what will it mean for the movement to remove it. we'll talk about that and much more, to congressman jim clyburn of south carolina, next. clyburn of south carolina, next.

when pressed on the

president's view of the confederate flag, kayleigh mcenanny had a tough time with a definitive answer. >> reporter: why is he so supportive of flying the flag? >> i think you're mischaracterizing the tweet. >> reporter: the president said nascar saw bad ratings because they banned the flag. >> the whole thing was to note the incident, the alleged hate crime that was in fact not a hate crime. in his mount rushmore address, he made it clear that the preservation is monuments is a campaign priority. the party has targeted the statues in federal spending bills, and though the legislation is likely to pass in

the house, republicans control the senate. joining mess now is james clyburn. thank you very much for joining us. do you think the president's lack of support for removing these monuments is going to affect the way that republican senators are going to approach this bill? >> thank you very much for having me, katy. the fact is we're going to pass it, in the appropriations bill, homeland security, the defense authorization. we will pass, and wee see what manage connell will allow. the fact of the matter is we know history is history. nobody is trying to change history. we're trying to remove the honor that these people, who have

dishonored or country and our history, remove them to a play where it's proper. the flag should not be flying over public buildings so we'll see what the senate will do but i'll tell you, the senate is now in play. it's in play, in large measure, because most americans have decided that it's time for us to make the greatest of this country accessible and affordable for all of its citizens. we have not been at this place before. i'm a student of the '60s. i know what it's like to challenge the status quo in 1960, as we were sitting in having some victories. now, we see a total commitment

more than 70% of the american people are now believes that black lives do matter, not just with law enforcement, but health care, education, with the environment, black lives matter when you put poisonous air in black neighborhoods, you're killing black people. when you have these challenged environment issues in black neighborhoods their lives don't matter to you. this is a much broader thing than just law enforcement. i'm so produce of the black lives matter moving, but i'm proud of the fact that the majority of piano emwho are not black now believe it's something to be pursued. >> let me ask you this, why do

you think the president is running on protecting confess rat statues, running against the phrase "black lives matter"? what do you think he's doing? >> i think he's mimicking ronald reagan, who made his first speech after being nominated in philadelphia and mississippi, and known for only one thing and that was the murder of three -- they were not all black, one black, the other two white, people who are trying to register people to vote. he made a states rights speech at the moment, but ron reagan had a sophistication that this president doesn't have. he's mimicking wellsen. he was an intellectual that this president is not. this president is a throwback to andrew johnson who succeeded

abraham lincoln, and who started us to dismantling the reconstruction-era programs that held such great promise for america. so what he's trying to do is deconstruct so much of what barack obama and others did, to try to live out the meaning of this country. >> i have 100 other questions to ask you, i want to get to something that's affecting people. the unemployment insurance is running out at the end of the month. republicans don't want to re-up that. democrats do. i was speaking to a woman a moment ago, that is something that's helping to keep her afloat, because she had to choose between her child and her

job. what are democrats going to do? what is congress going to do to make sure when this extra unemployment insurance runs out that there aren't thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people who will not be able to pay their bills? >> well, we're going to pass it in the house. democrats are in charge of the house, we're going to pass it. we'll send it to the senate, and the american people can look and see what mitch mcconnell will do with it. i hope he will pass it. this is beyond politics to me. i hope the president will sign the bill. these are people, like the lady you just had on -- i talked to a group this morning. this is not about people not going to work. people want to work. people are proud when they have jobs to go to, but they also want to take care of their children. if the child care facilities are

not existent, what are they do do with their children? this is something we ought to be it worried about. i've seen my own battle with her children out of school. she had a bringing effort trying to take care of two elementary school kids or one preschool. so these people ought to be dealt with in a way that shows compassion and humanity and i would hope that mitch mcconnell would find some of both. >> can't just leefdave a 6-yeard child home alone. thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me. and if you think flying in the middle of a pandemic is a bad idea, are you not alone. we'll show you the changes one airline is making to its planes. next. severe rheumatoid arthritis.

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the tsa reports a record high number of travelers thiswe. nearly 3 billion were screpol 3 at airports. and so what are the airlines doing to make passengers safe? blaiyne alexander has more. >> reporter: if you have ever been on board delta, chances are at some point the plane has been in one of these hangers oiahang. this is where the maintenance happens. and you must wear a mask, but with more now getting back on board, there is a growing question just how safe is the air that you breathe while in flight. and so first let's talk broke h about how the air works. it is filtered through hepa filters, similar to what you would find in a hospital

operating room. and then mixed with fresh air from the outside and that is cycled in and out every two to four minutes. so we went inside the cargo hold to take a look at one of those filters being changed. take a look. air travel is once again starting to take off. how are you feeling today about getting back on a plane? >> pretty good. >> excited. >> reporter: but in the age of covid-19, fear of flying still linkers. >> i'm nervous. just being in an enclosed space with a lot of people. >> people coughing or sneezing. rrlts a rts are a . >> reporter: the air you breathe is a ckocombination of fresh ai and filtered air. the air flows from top to bottom, not side to side. meaning that it comes in from the vents above and is sucked out through the vents in the floor. it is run through the heavy

grade hepa filters and they pull out more than 99% of particles in the air. that is mixed with fresh air from outside. now delta air lines is taking new steps to ensure that cabin air is as clean as possible. >> so there is a completely new batch of air that comes into the aircraft aircraft every two to four minutes. >> and it may be dirty on top, but it will be clean on the bottom side. and that shes us thh s and that shes us thhows us that filter is working. >> and it turns out that the time on the airplane in the seat is actually the lowest risk. >> so the air on an airplane is actually cleaner than you would find inside of a grocery store? >> yeah, cleaner than probably most people's homes or in schools. >> reporter: brut nothing is foolproof. >> certainly we can't do all the physical distancing we want to

an airplane. so no such thing as zero risk. >> reporter: that is why are airlines are requiring masks and upping their sanitation routine. and the entire cabin is sprayed and wiped from top to bottom. and there is a commitment to block middle seats through september. >> there isn't any one action that we are taking that is the silver bullet. but when you layer in all of these mitigating actions, the probability with each layer, the probability of virus transmission goes down and done a down and down. and that has been our approach. >> and good news for my mother who lives in los angeles, i'd like to see her again. so would her grandson. that is it for me today. i'll see you back here at 5:00 p.m. for "meet the press" daily. "meet the press" daily.

good day. brian williams here with you. 3:00 p.m. here in the east.

happy to report nicolle wallace is back and will join us in a moment. donald trump is trying to get us to focus on other things, but this coronavirus pandemic is still ravaging our country. and it is worsening in some places. nearly 600 americans have died over the past 24 hours, that brings the death toll to nearly 132,000 souls and the number of confirmed cases about to pass 3 million, although the cdc says that the actual number could be at least ten times higher than that. a lot of states have infections are increasing with florida, texas, arizona seeing their case numbers double during that period. and 38 of our 50 states are seeing an upward trend. and the federal government responding to the spike by launching what they call surge testing in three communities in florida, louisiana and texas that have seen the most

significant increases. but the nation's top infectious disease expert, dr. fauci, says more needs to be done in regard to testing. >> we certainly are doing much, much better than we were during the problematic early months of this pandemic. but even though the numbers look good and this is the thing that is a little bit concerning, you say, well, now we have 37 million tests have been performed, the question is when you get on the phone and talk to the people in the community, there are still lapses there are the dots are not being connected. >> dr. fauci also had this message for people who believe that things are getting better because the mortality rate from the virus is getting lower. >> it is a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death. there are so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus.

don't get yourself into false complacency. >> fauci's comments come as the coronavirus has hit home for one ever president truof president closest allies on the world stage, brazilian president jair bolsonaro who like the american president was an early coronavirus denier told reporters today that he had positive -- he had tested positive for it. president bolsonaro wore a mask while he delivered the announcement, but as you see, he took it off a short time later. he is promoting hydroxychloroquine to the people of brazil as our own president has done over twitter in the last 24 hours. the news out of brazil comes three days after bolsonaro went to the u.s. embassy to celebrate the fourth of july with ambassador todd chapman. and chapman has tested negative and remains at home in

quarantine. with that, and with roughly the same frequency as a solar eclipse these days at long last we are together on the air again as i am joined by my friend and colleague nicolle wallace, host of deadline white house. good to see you and welcome back to the situation, which except for spiking numbers is the same as we left it. >> the same but so different. and you and i missed each other with kifdifferent weeks with ou family. but i am shocked by the change in tone and substance of tony fauci's messaging over the weekend. it was in that streaming interview with the nih when i think that he sort of dropped the harshest and loudest truth bombs. and my question now is who isn't listening at this point? we've talked for months about how donald trump has dealt himself out of the conversation,

out of the solution. you now see him dealing position out of the mainstream of the republican party who suddenly has become the biggest mask advocates around. and i hate to be cynical here, but i think that they see their political fates increasingly tied to surging numbers in their own states. and we have plenty of time to talk about what it means that they weren't mask advocates when it was our home states that saw surging cases and history will be the judge of that. but you just have to wonder if this is too little too late. we're having these conversations about school and about work that seem to exist in a parallel universe from what tony fauci is saying. the death rate is not to be a comfort. tragic death of people in their 40s, there has been a broadway actor in the news. and the spread. just the rampant spread of this virus is really scary to most people. >> also as i try to note all the time because we are customers,

we are stockholder, we are taxpayers, please note the comments by fauci you are talking about came as they always do these days in the context of a podcast or a private interview, not at a lectern behind the seal of the white house or the united states, not as part of any white house coronavirus task force briefing. those are few and far between. we went months until the most recent one. so i think that that is notable because let's not forget the public in public health. and let's also not forget these surges, the spikes in the numbers that fauci was talking about as the state of texas sees one of theirs, a huge spike in coronavirus cases. testing there remains a big problem. we want to bring in priscilla thompson who is with us from a community testing site in houston with more on that.

hey, priscilla. >> reporter: and here folks began lining up last night and camped out in order to get a spot in this line to be tested and by 9:00 a.m. when the site actually opened, the line was already at capacity and they had to begin turning people away. and you know, officials here tell me that this is the new norm. and i'm here with the testing director at this site. and talk to me about what you have been seeing over the past weeks as these cases are surging in terms of the amount of people coming to be tested. >> lately there has been a huge increase in testing. we have eight sites. and each site has been more longer and longer lines. and with that being said as well as the positive patients have increased, so i feel like if there is a measure to keep the mask on, stay safe, stay indoor, don't go anywhere you don't need to, so that is the best way to go on from now on.

>> reporter: and there is a big conversation about how much support the federal government, the state and local governments should be putting into this effort. i'm curious, do you feel like you're supported here, could they be doing more for you? >> i mean, there is always support from everybody, you know, we have hpd, government officials all the time. but more on the fact of again try to stay home and more on pressing matters of staying home, wearing a mask, keeping people safe. because there is a big positive increase and there are rooms filling up in hospitals. and more than all the hospital -- all the hospitals will be full. >> reporter: and so you hear echos of what we've been latering frlatehearing from hospitals all week. and we're in the texas heat and these health care workers are in 80 to 90 degree heat every day. it rained here earlier and they were still out here doing the testing. but i'm told that it is exhausting especially with the surges and high numbers of folks that they are seeing here. back to you, brian and nicolle.

>> thanks to priscilla. we'll continue to keep an eye on things there. joining our conversation now, phil rucker, white house bureau chief for the "washington post," and co-author of the best selling book a very stage stable genius. and also with us is an epidemiologist and a professor at the fielding school of public health. and doctor, i want to ask you, what do you hear -- i mean, i hear the alarm and the political crisis that we are in the middle of when i hear dr. fauci speak. but he was talking as brian said with the nih and what did he reveal in terms of the science and enteam y teempidemiology of? >> and i think that dr. fauci is highlighting what we've been afraid of, which is that the virus is spreading unchecked.

and we're not doing what we need to do to be able to stop it. and let's face it, as governor cuomo said the other day, we are literally with the political discourse that is going on enabling this virus to spread. it is not justfacilitation of t spreading. we know what it takes to stop it and we've had this discussion from the very beginning. i mean, my tune has not changed in the months that we've been having these discussions. we know how the virus is spread and we know we need to wear masks and do social distancing. and we know we need to have good hand hygiene and people not to not go out if they don't need to be somewhere because it is the only way that this virus is going to be able to keep -- the way the virus will keep spreading, it will take the opportunity to spread are. it doesn't care about politics, it doesn't care about anything other than finding another host. and most of us are successcepti

so the virus will continue to spread. >> and phil, we've had a lot of conversations about 2kud beidonp being on the other side of the 76% of americans. and there is another opinion, 70% of americans are very or somewhat worried about being exposed to the virus and 63% are concerned that businesses are reopening too quickly. what is the white house looking at when they double down on basically virus promise miss could you promise miss could youity, nobody wearing masks, what are they looking at that is different from public opinion polls? >> and another trump rally coming up this weekend in portsmouth. talking to sources in the white house and in the president's political orbit, you get a sense almost of fatalism, a feeling that they can't stop the virus to spread, they won't be able to get rid of the virus, so they

will try to live life with it and try to get the economy going irrespective of the public health threat and most importantly to the president focus on his own re-election campaign. that is one of the reasons why he has been traveling so much and will be traveling so much in the four months between now and the election. and is not a lot of discussion inside the white house and we certainly don't see it publicly at a briefing about best practices and recommend days for what people in the public should be doing. we very rarely hear from dr. fauci anymore, we very ratherly hear from dr. birx anymore. and instead there is a focus on cultural issues and racial animus and the re-election campaign. >> and i'm a witness to your previous point. you haven't changed your tune one bit since our first interview with you months and months ago. and here is a question i've asked you before about the math and the calendar.

if this indeed is what it appears to be and that is a second spike of the first wife, wave, in some cases they getting their first wife ave in somome , a lot of folks are concerned that we just compressed the summ summer. and that before we know it, the temperature drops and will that just be one elongated first wave or does a second wave potentially begin with the usual seasonal arrival of flu season? >> this is a really good question. and of course people are asking this over and over again. and you will get different answers depending upon what your definition of is wave is versus a surge, versus a spike. and in my personal opinion, it

doesn't really matter if it is a surge or a wave. normally a wave would mean that you would have a real decrease in cases over a period of time and then all of a sudden see this big uptick. we don't seem to be capable of having this sustained period of time without transmission given the way that the country has gone in terms of controlling the virus here. so my guess is that we'll just continue to see an upward trend, increased surge or just a spiraling upward of cases in the fall when people go from being outside to inside and we start having schools reopen and many more opportunities. as i said, the virus just wants to spread to susceptible people. and the closer in proximity people are, be the better the chance that virus has to spread. i mean, this is just simple science here. so when people get-46 when the weather starts to get cold and

people start going inside, people will have -- be creating opportunities for the virus to spread again. >> and at the risk of repetition, its that belast bee 16 hours since you and i last spoke and i asked you about the initiative of the white house floating out messaging that we'll have to learn to live with this virus. and part of this was a memo that chris christie sent to donald trump and trump apparently liked and distributed. how will that go in terms of messaging from the president and how will that messaging be any different from his kind of daily stance on this virus? >> you know, brian, we'll have to see how that all works out.

i don't imagine that the messaging from the president will be all that different from what we've heard so far. and what we're hearing now is a lot of grievance from the president, we're hearing him talk about the death numbers as opposed to the case counts pointing out that there aren't quite as many deaths day to day at the moment as we had in april at the beginning of the pandemic. but despite all of the cases spreading and trying to blame it on the media. i mean, he has taken this pandemic very personally and he's been very upset with the media coverage as negative and somehow affecting him politically. and he hasn't really stepped back to realize that this is a global crisis in the united states that is really now the only country that is not handling it appropriately when you look at all of the other countries in europe and asia that have come out from the back end of this and have been able to contain the spread in their country. that hasn't happened there. there are certain things that trump could have done earlier to

try to make that happen here, but here we are in july and the white house has very limited options for what they can do going forward other than another shutdown which they are obviously loath to do. >> we've also learned early this afternoon of the white house officially moving to leave the w.h.o. which certainly is a development in the public health world and effective while vastly imperfect organization to be sure. but that ends an era. our thanks to you both no joining us to start off our live conversation. and when nicolle and i come back, as the president in the mid ths of a pandemic goes deep on culture war, confederate icons and 9d like, trying to light up what he insists is a silent majority, americans across a broad spectrum agree

that it puts him on the wrong side of history. and later, a critical issue for plarents and teachers as th pandemic rages on. what does back to school look like this fall really? schools, colleges, universities, starting to release their reopening plans. is it safe to allow learning that is less remote? when we continue. s less remote? whene wcontinue i wanted more from my copd medicine, that's why i've got the power of 1,2,3 medicines with trelegy. the only fda-approved, once-daily 3 in 1 copd treatment. ♪ with trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3, i'm breathing better. trelegy works 3 ways to open airways, keep them open, and reduce inflammation

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welcome back. as our country grapples with the

most devastating health crisisct is showing his eagerness to talk about just about anything else. so he returned to his most reliable tactic, that is culture wars and race. just yesterday the president weighed in on a story surrounding the noose that nascar officials found in a garage stall, bubba wallace is the only black driver in the premiere circuit on nascar. and in a tweet the president demanded that wallace apologize fallsly being falsely accusing him of playing part in a hoax. and to be clear, bubba wallace has nothing to apologize for. it was nascar and not wallace that discovered the garage door rope in the shape of a noose unmistakably and the fbi that determined it predated his assignment to that talladega

garage. the "new york times" makes this note about the president effex' fixation on remarks like these. they are a pattern, he wants to stoke fear and resentment. and most of america wants to move beyond. and this is where the story line again sounds familiar, something we've heard for well over three years now. white house aides expressing their frustration over the president's desire to focus -- over the president's need to focus, rather, with less than four months to go before the election. and with a senior white house official telling nbc news that the president must refocus his attention on what he sees as his accomplishments and on his opponent that would be former vice president joe biden.

>> i never get tired of hearing from those brave staffers voicing their discontent with the racist president. joining our conversation is mark mckinnon, co-host of the circus. and also withis, elena beverly, with president obama's 2008 campaign. so mark, first let's go inside baseball here. the pro files and weakness, these people saying i wish the president would focus on not being a racist, these are people wringing their hands after charlottesville and now all that racism is polling at about 30% and dimming their process peblgts of re-election. >> well, we're right where we started. president trump's whole campaign started as a birther movement,

right? and what strikes me is that this is all about -- brian, you mentioned returning to the old order, president trump's whole campaign was premised on the notion of coming in backwards, not forwards. take you to an era where you were comfortable and people weren't taking your jobs away, where you weren't afraid of, quote, others out there that might change your quality of life. and what happened is we have these overwhelming systemic changes going on that as difficult as they are on issues of race, i think that there is a real sort of sense in the nation that recognition of the problem and that we must move forward. very broadly. beyond just people of color. i think that you see broad constituencies marching in the treat. and so the problem with trump, he is wanting to take us back be wards when really the country on issues of health dare for sure

a care for sure and issues of raise certainly want to move forward finally.for sure care for sure and issues of raise certainly want to move forward finally. >> and you are two of the best political minds in the country and it is true that elections are always about the future. and even trump's unlikely election in 2016 was in part about a move away from at least for his supporters away from elitism and things that he managed to bamboozle his supporters in to believing in. but aside from being on the wrong side of history, he is not really promising his own supporters any forward-looking message even on these horrendous issues that he's landed on. >> that's right. he has no unifying message. his voters are confused as to what they should be fighting for. his rhetoric of hate and division leaves no room for voters who see themselves as decent people to find a place in his campaign.

i mean, if you think about the contrast between what we saw with president trump over the independence day weekend and what we saw with presidential nominee joe biden over this weekend, biden penned an op-ed and he was talking about our pursuit of a more perfect union, he was talking about a return to civility, he was talking about returning to our nation as a nation of immigrants and about dismantling systemic ratesism whereas we saw trump continuing to foment hate and division. and we know that the majority of americans now see themselves in some way aligned with the "black lives matter" movement and we've seen that pew research has quantified it as 43% of americans of all races support the "black lives matter" movement in some way. and so donald trump going out there and trying to make the

notion that these movements that may be frankly the largest civile rights movement in our history, that everyone is participating in in some way shape or fashion, trying to demonize that, trying to stoke fear. it is out of touch with the people and what is required for a successful presidential campaign in 2020. >> and i've said on this hour before that prior to this, prior to watching the movement in the "black lives matter" numbers, the fastest moving public issue i watched in polling was gay marriage. so we can sit back and watch public approval grow and no one needs to remind you that with under 120 days to go until the election, pretty soon the conversation about pivot on turnout. and so that front, what you can tell the good folks watching? >> i can say that you are right. we are less than four months away to exercising our right to vote and lifting up our voices.

and it is time while, you know, donald trump's staff can hem and haw when the fact that he is not focusing proechappropriately ono execute a proper campaign, everyone else needs to see themselves as part of the campaign to save america which means focusing on providing their own voting plan, making sure that they are does youring absentee ballots, making sure that they have not been purged from voter rolls, and the shenanigans that are likely to come. this is all about making sure that everyone armed with what they need to turn out in november. and let's not get distracted. donald trump is focusing on race relations and trying to stoke division because he knows that right around the corner on july 25th, we'll see those unemployment additional $600 a week, that will expire. we'll see eviction moratoriums

expire. we'll see communities in severe pain because of the pandemic that he mishandled and they will be at increased risk because of those exposures -- or because of the expiring of those provisions in the c.a.r.e.s act. and so this is a way to feed his ego, but in other ways a way for trump to distract us from the reality that communities are in pain and we need policies that will provide relief and turn the ship around. >> and mark, let's talk about some republicans with have known and not quite loved. you are way too young a man to remember the goldwater campaign, but perhaps you have read that among his slogans was in your heart you know he's right. and it strikes me that trump would love to borrow some form of that because he also uses the nix nixonian silent majority, and his chief of staff went one

bigger last night and said that we're out to protect you, we're out to 3r0ek9 yoprotect your bu we're out to protect your home. and we've heard various versions of that, they are coming for you, they are coming for your stuff, they are coming for your family in less than successful campaigns over the years. >> well, i guess the up gate ed slogan would be is in your heart you know he's white. and i'll talk about 2004, we knew that if we just had exactly the same amount of votes that we had in 2000, we would have lost. we had to grow our coalition. our pollster walked in and said we got 41% of hispanic votes and if we get 41% again, we lose. and so what i i don't understand, it seems to be all about sub be tracks and energy guiding their base. but i guarantee you that there will be historic turnout on