[Cabrera:] We are six months into this pandemic now and yet according to one model cited by health officials, the worst may be yet to come, at least in terms of deaths. Unthinkable as it sounds, the University of Washington model predicts 410,000 Americans dead by the end of this year, meaning more than 220,000 deaths in the next 4 months alone after we've already endured nearly 190,000 Americans losing their lives. CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Celine Gounder, is joining us now. She is the former New York City assistant commissioner of health, and the host of "The Epidemic" podcast. Dr. Gounder, thank you as always for being here with us. Labor Day weekend, we saw what happened over Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July, there were surges that followed both of those holidays, and we're seeing images like this today in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Does anything from the first six months make you feel it is safer now for Americans to go to the beach or the lake this holiday weekend?
[Dr. Celine Gounder, Cnn Medical Analyst:] Ana, we know that if you are outside, your risk of transmission or being infected is lower, but it's not zero, and so that's why, for months now, we've been saying, it's about face masking and being outside and maintaining social distance, and for many of these people, maybe they're outside now, but they might go to the local bar or restaurant after they've been to the beach. And so this is not a safe trend that we're seeing, and if the previous two holidays are any indication, we're likely to see an increase in transmissions as a result of this.
[Cabrera:] This model that now projects a death toll of more than 400,000 Americans by the end of the year in part because mask use is declining, researchers say, and yet instead of national leadership, here is the president again this week finding a way to undermine his own health experts' guidance pleas, at this point, for Americans to wear masks.
[Trump:] But did you ever see a man that likes a mask as much as him? And then he makes a speech and he always has it not always, but a lot of times, he has it hanging down because you know what? It gives him a feeling of security. If I were a psychiatrist right? No, I'd say I'd say, this guy's got some big issues.
[Cabrera:] No doctor has the megaphone that President Trump has. What would it mean, medically, if he lauded mask-wearing as the most patriotic act you could do right now to save the lives of other Americans?
[Gounder:] I think that many more Americans would start wearing masks if they felt like they could do so without betraying their party and their social circle, and so I really think that the president should be advocating the wearing of masks. I would ask the president, what do you have to lose by asking people to wear masks, by you yourself wearing a mask? Is it simply that you don't want to admit that you have been wrong?
[Cabrera:] Another dangerous factor right now, of course, the weather starting to cool down a little bit, at least in some areas, and it will be in months to come. We also have school starting up, so new groups of kids are mixing. That creates higher-risk situations, obviously. If you were to advise my family, for example, what would you say? How do we sort of recalibrate during this next phase that we're entering into?
[Gounder:] Well, I would first start by asking what does the transmission infection rate look like in my community? So, looking at New York City, it's very different from looking at Houston, Texas, for example, where my little sister is a high school principal. And so you really need to be looking at how likely is it that you're going to be to encounter somebody who's infected and then what are the what are the measures being put in place in schools? Is everybody going to be required to wear a mask? How are they going to enforce that? What does the ventilation look like? How crowded are the classrooms going to be? So, all of this is going to vary tremendously from school to school, from region to region, even here in New York City where I have been advising some of our local leaders. One school is not the same as another. And so it's a very different situation.
[Cabrera:] All right. Thank you so much, Dr. Celine Gounder. As always, good to have you here with us and happy Labor Day weekend. I hope you stay well and enjoy. All right. Up to 40 million Americans could face evictions during the pandemic. As CNN saw in Houston, no one is being spared, not the elderly, not those with young children. This emotional report and how you can help, next.