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President Xi Says Coronavirus is Under Control; Residents in one Block in Hong Kong Evacuated; Democrats Awaits the New Hampshire Primary Results; Angela Merkel's Pick Changed Her Mind; U.K. Making an Emergency Law; Facial Recognition in a Blink of an Eye. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired February 11, 2020 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church.

The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has just reached a bleak milestone. More than 1,000 people around the world have now died from the disease. Most cases in mainland China.

The country recorded more than 100 deaths on Monday alone, and two senior health officials in the epicenter of the province have reportedly been fired. The government also says at least 2,000 patients from that region have been treated and discharged.

President Xi Jinping who's been largely absent during this outbreak made a rare appearance at a Beijing hospital on Monday, trying to reassure people the country will pull through.

Meanwhile, in Japan the number of infections on the Diamond Princess cruise ship has jumped 135. Authorities say they will not test all 3,700 people on board, but they will test people with fevers and those who had close contact with infected passengers.

And we'll go to Yokohama in just a moment, but first let's go to Steven Jiang who joins us live in the Chinese capital. Good to see you again, Steven. So, talk to us about the fact that President Xi has emerged and he's there trying to reassure the public across China that the country has this under control. Has he convinced everyone?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: You know the timing is interesting, Rosemary, as you mentioned two senior provincial officials just got sacked shortly after Mr. Xi's reappearance, which got a lot of attention because of the absence you mentioned during the past few weeks.

But you know, the fact that he is reemerging now really sort of goes back to send echoes this tradition we've seen in Chinese culture. That is whenever something goes horribly wrong in the provinces people tend to blame local officials while still thinking the central leadership is wise and good just unaware of what has been going on, on the ground.

Now, with this reemergence in the public view, mingling with local residents, wearing a mask, and waving at them, touring local hospitals or videoconferencing with medical workers from the frontline Mr. Xi is very much trying to re-answer this question that people have been asking during his absence, that he is very much in control of the government's response to this outbreak.

And that as the people's leader, as he has increasingly been described by state media, he cares about people, and by sounding confident and determined to fight this war against this virus, there is going to be some positive impact on people's perception about what he's been doing.

But the thing remains, Rosemary, until he shows up in Wuhan, which is 1,000 kilometers away from Beijing, a lot of -- a lot of skepticism will remain in terms of what the situation is really like at the epicenter of this outbreak. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Al right. Steven Jiang bringing that us that live update from Beijing. Many thanks to you.

And officials in Hong Kong have evacuated an apartment block where two cases of the virus have been confirmed. They're now checking to see if it's spreading through the building's air ventilation.

And our Ivan Watson joins us now from Hong Kong with more on this. This is a real concern, Ivan. What more are you learning about this very disturbing development and what it might reveal about this coronavirus?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, this apartment block over my shoulder here, the Hong Mei House, has been partially evacuated. Some people sent to hospital, to the isolation ward, other people that are asymptomatic have been sent to quarantine.

There is a codon here restricting access to and from the building, and we've seen police going in, in full white head to toe plastic hazmat suits as well within the last two hours.

[03:04:53]

This is all because Hong Kong's 42nd case of diagnose coronavirus, a 62-year-old woman was a resident in the same building. And she was diagnosed about a week and a half after a 75-year-old man was diagnosed with coronavirus who lives on a different floor of the same building.

So that has set off some alarms for the health authorities here in Hong Kong who have raised the possibility that perhaps there was transmission of the virus through cracks in the seals between a sewage pipe and an air ventilation pipe. And perhaps the virus could have been transmitted that way. So they are taking extra precautions here, they say that they're going

to have the entire building disinfected, and they've also published guidelines to people on what to do to make sure that they drain their pipes properly, of course washing hands, washing surfaces as well to ensure that community transmission -- we don't have another case like that taking place here in Hong Kong. The likes of which we're seeing in 2003 during the SARS epidemic.

CHURCH: Yes, Ivan, I wanted to talk to you about that, because there was an instance, wasn't it, back in 2003 with SARS where housing estates were affected in a similar way.

WATSON: Yes. In addition to the fact that there were some hospital and health facilities that had infections. There was also a terrible case involving Amoy Gardens. It was a housing estate for some 19,000 people and they had an incredible, they discovered an incredible cluster of infection of SARS in that housing estate.

Again, home to thousands and thousands of people, but it was clustered around one tower that had 41 percent of at least 329 cases. In all, 41 residents of that housing estate died as a result of the illness. And it was found that it was being transmitted in part through sewage pipes where there was contagion going into the air ventilation system, and a lot of the patients were suffering from symptoms that included diarrhea.

And that led to a great deal of panic and some real concerns, so the Hong Kong authorities are taking their lessons from that deadly outbreak. And applying them here just trying to make sure that a similar case may not be risk of developing here.

In all, Hong Kong has 42 confirmed cases of coronavirus, one death thus far from a patient who already had pre-existing health problems. And more than 2,000 people who have been placed in quarantine. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. A real concern there. Ivan Watson bringing us details on that situation live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

And health officials in the United Kingdom have now confirmed eight cases of coronavirus there. They believe a British man from Brighton travel to a business conference in Singapore where he caught the virus then spread it to several other people at a ski resort in France before returning to Gatwick Airport in London.

At least five people he infected are hospitalized in France. The man spent several days at an alpine resort with a group of other British citizens staying in two apartments in the same chalet.

And CNN's Scott McLean is live this hour in London with more details on this. And Scott, what it does teaches us is how easy it is to spread this coronavirus.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you are absolutely right. It is incredible to think that all of these go back to a sales conference that was held a luxury hotel in Singapore more than two weeks ago, as you said, this man then brought it to France and then on to England.

Now the man's company says he is not the only one who brought this virus home with him. There were other employees who went back to their respective home countries. The company says that is imposing on those employees, anyone who has been at that conference, self-isolation.

It also says that anyone else who is an employee who is showing symptoms will also have to do the same. The hotel for its part says that it is taking the temperature of every single guest at the hotel. It is also doing the same for its own employees twice a day. Amazingly though, none of its employees have come down with the virus.

Now that man took a flight from Geneva, Switzerland nearby that French ski resort to London's Gatwick Airport, that was 13 days ago as of yesterday. So today is day 14. EasyJet says that no one from that flight has shown any symptoms, no one has been diagnosed with the virus. So that is definitely good news.

He also visited a pub though, on England's South Coast after he got back, apparently not knowing that he had this virus, that pub though says it is open for business as usual, it has no signs that any of its employees have the virus.

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Now some British press have been keen to label this man is a super spreader. But experts that I spoke to say is not quite fair, now is it quite accurate. The WHO says the same. Listen.

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SYLVIE BRIAND, DIRECTOR OF PANDEMIC AND EPIDEMIC DISEASES DEPARTMENT, WHO: I think also what is very important, is to talk about spreading event and not people because it's not the person. It's really the circumstances and the situation that make the transmission increased and not the people themselves, so that we avoid also some stigmatization that is really unnecessary.

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MCLEAN: So, in other words, we don't know whether this person actually sheds the virus more readily than anyone else or if he was just in contact with more people thus upping the chances of passing on the virus.

And as you heard there, there's also this risk of stigmatizing someone by labeling them as a super spreader. And maybe the next person who has symptoms will be reluctant to come forward for fear of being labeled with the same thing.

Now the U.K. has now declared the coronavirus a serious and imminent threat to the public. That may seem strange considering there's only been eight cases in this country. But it essentially gives authorities the power to forcibly confine someone to forcibly quarantine someone suspected of having the virus. One of the things to mention of the four new cases that Britain

announced yesterday, two of those people are health care workers, they are now working urgently they sat to track down anyone they may have had contact with. Thankfully though, they say that number is low, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. That is good news at least. Scott McLean, many thanks to you bringing us the very latest on that from London. I appreciate that.

Well, New Hampshire is already voting in the first U.S. presidential primary of 2020. Three small towns kicked off the process at midnight Tuesday, and polls open in the rest of the state in just a few hours from now. We will have the latest political updates for you, next.

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CHURCH: In the United States the New Hampshire primary kicked off with a stroke of midnight Tuesday. With the residents of three tiny towns casting the first ballots of the contest.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unexpectedly got the most votes, and perhaps the most famous of the three towns Dixville Notch. He's not even officially on the ballot in the state, but overall Senator Amy Klobuchar led the early voting for Democratic presidential candidates with eight votes followed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren with four votes each.

The rest of New Hampshire will be voting in the coming hour, as the latest poll shows Senator Bernie Sanders is in the lead, both locally and nationwide, with 29 percent support in the CNN/University of New Hampshire tracking poll. And 25 percent in a new national poll from Quinnipiac University.

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And CNN's Ryan Nobles is on the campaign trail in New Hampshire and has the details.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The voting already underway here in New Hampshire, the second big contest of the Democratic primary and the first actual primary contest, which means we're not expected to have some of the issues that we had in the Iowa caucuses last week.

And this New Hampshire primary is very important, because this is when we can start to see the crowd of Democratic candidates really start to thin. And there is a lot at

For instance, Senator Michael Bennett, we haven't heard that much about him, he sticks this entire campaign on New Hampshire. There's a good chance that after the vote on Tuesday he won't be a presidential candidate anymore.

But it's not just him. Amy Klobuchar who is starting to see a rise in the polls. Can she have a surprise showing, shock some folks, and then maybe get on to some of these states further down the calendar. And then there is Elizabeth Warren who is from nearby Massachusetts.

She was expected to be strong here in New Hampshire. But at this point she has yet to really gain any momentum. Now, Warren situation is also interesting because unlike some of our other candidates, she has taken the route of not attacking any of her fellow Democratic opponents.

In fact, during her recent campaign stops here in New Hampshire she has said that she is going to stay above the fray because the most important thing is Democratic Party unity. And that gets us to the front runners. Because at this point, they have been attacking each other.

Bernie Sanders attacking Pete Buttigieg's wealthy donor base. Pete Buttigieg attacking Joe Biden and attacking Bernie Sanders saying they represent the extreme options in this race while he is a sensible choice.

And then there is Joe Biden, who is expected to be much stronger at this stage of the campaign. Instead, he is battling low poll numbers and attacks from both sides. So, he is now gone on the attack, accusing Sanders of being too extreme and accusing Pete Buttigieg of not having enough experience.

Right now, polls tell us that Bernie Sanders has the lead. It will be important for him to win here because like Warren this is a neighboring state and it's also a state he won by a big margin four years ago.

If Sanders is able to pull up this win it could be a key piece of momentum for him as we head into these states further down the calendar including Nevada, South Carolina, and then of course, Super Tuesday.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, Durham, New Hampshire.

CHURCH: And be sure to stay with CNN for the latest updates on the New Hampshire primary. Our special coverage begins at 4 p.m. on the U.S. East Coast. That is 9 p.m. Tuesday in London right here on CNN. Don't miss it.

Well, a political shocker out of Germany. Angela Merkel succession plan has collapsed now that her handpicked heir apparent says she will not be the next chancellor. The decision by Annegret Kramp- Karrenbauer, often referred to as AKK, could impact Mrs. Merkel's legacy.

CNN's Melissa Bell looks at the complex political background that led up to Monday's stunning announcement.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: AKK's decision to stand down came as something of a surprise in its sadness. Indeed, Angela Merkel confirmed that she hadn't even been informed of it before it was announced. But in many respects, it had been a long time coming.

Only last autumn she urged her party to back her or sack her so weak was she considered and her party so divided. The chosen successor to Angela Merkel who is due to take over as chancellor at the end of 2021 when Angela Merkel will stand down had been contested in her role as the successor for many months.

With the right wing of the CDU wanting to take the party further to the right than she was willing to take it in order better to take on the far-right AfD in the polls.

The latest scandal and the one that no doubt really put a nail in the coffin or for future as the potential chancellor came last week when it emerges in (Inaudible) that CDU Party members had voted with the AfD to keep the far left out of the local government there.

Now there is a long-standing agreement within German politics that the mainstream parties do not enter into any kind of political alliance formal or informal with the extremes on either wing of the German political spectrum.

And so, the announcement came, this is what AKK herself had to say about her decision.

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ANNEGRET KRAMP-KARRENBAUER, GERMAN CDU LEADER (through translator): Almost two years ago, the CDU Party conference in Germany elected me as its general secretary. And to that time, I gave up my heart one state office of prime minister of Saarland to serve the party. That was then and still my motto today. Because like many others, I have a lot to thank the CDU for.

I knew back then that this was going to be a difficult time and the past two years have confirmed that. For all these reasons and with the intention of strengthening the CDU, I have therefore informed the presidium and the federal executive board of my following decision today, I will not apply for candidacy as chancellor.

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BELL: The announcement no doubt opens a new period of instability in a country where for the last two years and for all of Angela Merkel's terms stability has been the norm.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

CHURCH: In the United Kingdom lawmakers are considering an emergency law which would prevent convicted terrorists from being released halfway through their sentences. Right now, they are set free without ever seeing a parole board.

Our Nic Robertson has more.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: To avoid this, newly released convicts committing frenzied knife attacks then shot dead by police. The government is doing this. New legislation keeping terror conflicts in jail longer. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT BUCKLAND, BRITISH JUSTICE SECRETARY: Introducing longer and tougher sentences for serious terrorist offenders, ending released for them before the end of their custodial term.

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ROBERTSON: Reaction has been swift pointing out problems. The government's own former reviewer of terror legislation says the new law keeping convicts longer than they, or the judge expected, may prove illegal.

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ALEX CARLILE, REVIEWED TERROR LEGISLATION FOR U.K. GOVERNMENT: What's proposed will definitely be attacked in the courts or declare that there will be litigation. And I couldn't possibly predict that the outcome will be favorable to the government.

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ROBERTSON: And not just illegal, missing a fundamental issue. Jails have become hot houses for radicalization, says former politician and counterradical organizer, Fiyaz Moghul.

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FIYAZ MOGHUL, FOUNDER, FAITH MATTERS: The fact is these prisoners are allowed to come together around some of the most charismatic Islamist extremist you have. That's got to stop.

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ROBERTSON: Terror convict Mohammed Wahabi was one of those charismatic prisoners, got deradicalized in jail. In this interview conducted 10 days before the most recent terror attack, he warned of dangers to come because government deradicalization in jails is failing.

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MOHAMMED WAHABI, DERADICALIZED TERROR CONVICT: Unfortunately, they haven't produced the results that you want because it's just turning everything into a machine conveyer belt.

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ROBERTSON: Usman Roger (Ph) who counselled and helped deradicalized Wahabi Mohammed also interviewed 10 days before the most recent attack had the same somber prediction.

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ROBERTSON: Is their radicalization taking place in jails?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is definitely radicalization taking place in jails. It's a massive phenomenon.

ROBERTSON: So, if we don't tackle this phenomenon, then there is going to be more cases like the Usman Khan getting out of jail and killing people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there is going to be more cases.

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ROBERTSON: Over the past year, successive governments have failed to successfully tackle radicalization in jails. The government's most recent reports in 2016 called for 69 changes. Only a fraction of those have been fully implemented.

And the problem is getting worse. A recent U.N. report predicts as many as a 1,000 terror convicts could be released across Europe this year. Not enough is being done to figure out what works, according to Lord Carlile.

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CARLILE: We don't know whether it's fit for purpose.

ROBERTSON: Why not?

CARLILE: Because there has not been the quality analysis that is needed to tell us whether it's fit for purpose. It certainly needs to be examined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: Bottom line, until new legislation is backed up by new deradicalization initiatives, experts say the public are still in danger.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

CHURCH: And still to come, artificial intelligence that can find you almost anywhere on the web with just your picture. More on the debate and concern over how that technology is used. We're back with that in a moment.

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CHURCH: Your Facebook or Instagram settings might say private, but let's face it, anything you post online is never really private.

Case in point, Clearview A.I., a program with powerful facial recognition technology that can match anyone's face to other images online. And the man behind it claims to have a massive database of billions of photos. And he is under fire from lawmakers and tech giants alike.

Donie O'Sullivan has more. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Wow, my God.

HOAN TON-THAT, FOUNDER, CLEARVIEW A.I.: Is that you or --

O'SULLIVAN: That photo is me. Yes.

TON-THAT: Now that looks like you that's when you are younger.

O'SULLIVAN: That's my face. A photo I haven't seen in years found in seconds by the facial recognition app Clearview A.I.

TON-THAT: Clearview is basically a search engine for faces.

O'SULLIVAN: Clearview has scraped billions of images from cites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google to use in a facial recognition system. He claims more than 600 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada are using it, though it's unclear how many have actually paid for it.

TON-THAT: So that's the photo of you.

O'SULLIVAN: So, this is a photo of me from CNN.com. Wow.

We are starting to see pictures of me that are not from that regional image. This is from medium --

Tech giants aren't happy about this, they say it violates their terms of service and have sent cease and desist letters. This A.I. technology is looking at what? It's looking at --

TON-THAT: The unique features, so it learns to ignore things a little bit like the beard, and focus on the features that say the same across different age.

O'SULLIVAN: You understand why people find this creepy?

TON-THAT: I can understand people having concerns around privacy. So, the first part to remember it's only publicly available information. We are not just making technology for its own sake. The reason and the purpose we found is to really help law enforcement solve crime.

GURBIR GREWAL, NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I was deeply disturbed. I was concerned about how Clearview had amassed its data base of images. I was concerned about its data privacy, and I was concerned that it was tracking law enforcement searches.

O'SULLIVAN: Are you concerned about taking it to those powerful as that out of the hands of law enforcement?

GREWAL: A facial recognition tool can be used properly if we understand how the database is created.

O'SULLIVAN: Clearview claims its app is 99 percent accurate. A claim that CNN hasn't verified. So, you think this is an area that should be regulated?

TON THAT: Yes, absolutely. I don't regulation is a bad thing. And we want to work with the government to create something that is safe and understandable, and keeps the whole public at ease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Just be careful. Thanks for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Inside Africa is up next. But first, I'll be back with the check of the headlines. You're watching CNN.

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