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Coronavirus In The U.S.; Grand Princess Passengers Test Positive With Coronavirus; Warriors Play NBA Game Tonight; Second Super Tuesday Coming Up; Idlib Families Survive Amid Devastation And Death; Fact-Checking Sanders Ad Featuring Obama's Words; Handshake Gets Elbowed Out By The Elbow Bump. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired March 07, 2020 - 20:00   ET

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

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: At least one cruise ship is in full lockdown mode off the California coast; 3,500 passengers and crew are on board the Grand Princess. At least 21 people on the ship tested positive for the virus. The cruise line is working with health officials on when the ship will be able to dock, but there's still no word yet.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the president is spending the weekend. And, Kristen, we heard from the president that he wanted a lot of these passengers to stay onboard, because he didn't want the numbers to double the cases of Coronavirus in the United States to double. What's the president saying about this health emergency now?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, that's right. So, just to touch on that cruise ship. There are people there who have loved ones who are here waiting for them to come home. They are stuck out at sea. And President Trump is, essentially, saying he doesn't want the numbers to look bad, and that's why he wants them to stay offshore of California right now.

So, really incredible here, juxtaposition when you're thinking about, these are people's lives. But, really, we've seen mixed messages from President Trump and the administration and top health officials since the beginning of all of this.

And tonight was no different. Just moments ago, President Trump was asked about a recent case of Coronavirus found by an attendee at a conference. A Republican conference that he spoke at just over a week ago. And here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE.)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will have tremendous rallies. And we're doing very well and we've done a fantastic job with respect to that subject from the virus.

(CROSSTALK)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've had tremendous cooperation with other countries and all over the world. And we've made it very, very tough, very strong, very stringent borders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you concerned (INAUDIBLE.)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you concerned that the virus is getting closer to the White House (INAUDIBLE.)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I'm not concerned at both. No, I'm not. No, we've done a great job with it. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: So, he says he's not worried. He also said that he's not going to stop having his rallies. He went on to talk about how big his rallies are.

Well, I want to tell you what the CDC came out with in the last few days. They said that elderly people should really avoid crowds. That they should paying particular attention. We know that a lot of President Trump's supporters are elderly. They are now being encouraged by President Trump, in some ways, to go to these rallies, to still have these big events there. And so, a lot of mixed messaging.

And the other big thing to note is the testing still. We cannot stress this enough. I cannot tell you how many people, Boris, have reached out to me, trying to get some idea of what is going on with the testing. We traveled with the president to the Centers for Disease Control yesterday in Atlanta. And he said, over and over again, that anyone who wants a test can have a test.

Well, here is the problem and it's twofold. The first being that there's only 475,000 people able to be tested at the time. That is because of the tests that we know have been manufactured and sent out. So, obviously, that is not every single person who asks to have a test.

But the other is what we heard earlier today from the Food and Drug Administration. They came forward to talk about this testing to clear things up. And we really thought it would be more of a streamlined messaging we've seen, probably like what we heard from President Trump. But it was a little bit different. Essentially, they said that you have to get a doctor to prescribe you to take the test. That they have to tell the clinic to give you the test. Again, it's just another hoop for people to jump through.

And one thing I've really noticed, in talking to a lot of people who are concerned is, one, the mixed messaging isn't helping. And, two, this seems like a little too late. They have gone to the hospitals. They've reached out to these labs. And they were, essentially, turned away at a time when the criteria was stricter. And they stopped. They gave up. They didn't self-quarantine. They just, essentially, went back to work. So, that's another huge component of all of this. Is there a whole group of people who's been walking around who might, potentially, have this virus and never got a test in the first place? Now, we're seeing that maybe it'll be more available by the end of next week. But that's still a long amount of time. A lot of people who might not be able to get the testing that they need.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And, Kristen, you're absolutely right about the mixed messaging. President Trump contradicting health officials on the mortality rate of the virus, on when we can expect a vaccine. Certainly not easing fears of just how bad this virus can make the situation in the United States.

Kristen Holmes reporting from Palm Beach. Thanks so much.

At least six new cases of Coronavirus have been confirmed tonight in San Francisco. And this comes as the San Francisco Department of Public Health is taking aggressive steps to prevent the spread of the virus, including issuing a warning to cancel large gatherings, specifically sporting events.

Despite that warning, the Golden State Warriors are choosing to go ahead and tip off tonight.

[20:05:02]

SANCHEZ: Just 30 minutes from now, fans are being allowed inside the arena. And joining us now by phone is Tim Kawakami. He's the Editor- in-Chief for the athletics Bay area coverage.

Tim, you're inside Chase Center Arena right now. Before the game could even start, a bit of a scare as super star Steph Curry, who just returned being off several months with a hand injury, was diagnosed with the flu. And the team was specific in their statement, making clear that this is influenza. That it's not related to the novel Coronavirus. Still, is that putting fans or the team on edge?

TIM KAWAKAMI, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE ATHLETIC BAY AREA: Yes, I think that was a bit of a hit. Everyone -- you know, when you saw that he was going to miss the game with an illness, you know -- you know, you're (INAUDIBLE) on the team. You know, you're thinking, it can't be. It can't be. But you want to know.

And the fact that the team has to send out a press release to say that their super star, the Bay's (ph) franchise, does not have the Coronavirus. It's just a sign of the times. A moment, you know, that, kind of, everyone's a little touchy, a little on edge. I would say the mood here at the arena is caution.

But it does hit you that, you know, a very important MBA team had to put out a press release today to say that their star does not have Coronavirus. That he has tested -- you know, he is clean from that. He has the flu. It is a remarkable moment and a -- and a lot of different moments throughout this.

There's a sign on the door, at least the entrance I went in, I'm sure it was on the entrance of almost everyone coming in, saying that, you know, if you came in -- you know, they were trying to make the arena as safe as possible. But if you come in the door, you're assuming risk that possibly you could get this.

SANCHEZ: Yes. We're actually --

KAWAKAMI: I've never seen that before.

SANCHEZ: We're actually looking at that statement right now. And you can read on the screen. It says, if you are attending tonight's game, you could increase your risk of contracting Coronavirus. By entering the arena, you voluntarily assume all risk. Are you seeing fewer fans out there? Are people wearing masks? Is there any indication that people are heeding these warnings?

KAWAKAMI: It's -- not a lot of people were in the arena when I last looked about, you know, six, seven minutes ago. But it's early. You know, it's an early game. A 5:30 start. You don't tend to get people all in the arena right, you know, at 5:00, 5:15. They come in a little bit late. I would say a little bit lighter than I usually see at this point in time for a game. Nobody that I saw with masks. Nobody -- you know, none of that.

I think if you're going to be someone like that, you probably wouldn't have shown up tonight. We'll see how many people actually are in here. It's a sold-out game. Definitely a little more scattered. I think people a little more quiet. They're not -- you know, no Steph Curry too. You got to remember, he made his debut last game, it was very exciting. No Steph Curry, too. You've got to remember that. He (INAUDIBLE) the last game was very exciting. And if no Steph Curry, that affects the mood also.

But I would just say mostly the mood is one of caution. You know, it's one of, kind of, everyone is out looking around. We're here. We walked through that door. I'm one of them. I walked through that door. I guess I'm assuming risk for it, too.

SANCHEZ: Right. Were there -- were there any additional sanitation measures or was there anything before you got through that, sort of, you know, checked you at the door to make sure that you weren't infected with something?

KAWAKAMI: Nothing like that. And I would imagine that's a few steps away. But there was some conversation that, you know, possibly, at some point, the media wouldn't be allowed in the locker room before games.

SANCHEZ: Right.

KAWAKAMI: We were allowed in the locker room for the game at the normal time. It was a pretty sparsely-attended locker room. But I guess players were not -- mostly not there.

But you do see additional people kind of walking around wiping down door handles. You do see that. You do see more hand sanitizer. And all the logical things. Nothing like testing you as you walk in or looking at you. I -- there's nothing like that. I imagine if somebody comes down with symptoms, there will -- there will be people pointing to that person.

SANCHEZ: Right.

KAWAKAMI: And there will be medical people coming forward. But nothing like that that I saw.

SANCHEZ: And, Tim, we're short on time, but I really want to get your take. The NBA has told teams that they should prepare to, potentially, play games without any fans in the stands. Lebron James has already said that that's a no-go for him. What's your take on that?

KAWAKAMI: I can see why they want to do it. I mean, they do it because they want to get him on T.V. You know, the T.V. deals are very important to them. I think it would be very strange. I think it would be very strange for the players. It would be very strange for everybody. It's a -- it's a big step to take.

I think Lebron's view is probably like a lot of the other players. Maybe some players would be in favor of having games. Just play them, even if it's an empty arena. I don't think that's going to happen. I think that's a big step for them.

The next step for me, I think, would be to have these games at all. That to me would be the next step, more than playing before an empty arena. That's just my opinion. That's my opinion.

SANCHEZ: Alright, Tim Kawakami from the Athletic. Thank you so much for the time. We appreciate it. Enjoy the game.

KAWAKAMI: You got it. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Now, we've got Dr. Peter Hotez now. He heads the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor University. Doctor, thank you so much for joining us. Today, alone, the number of infected cases topped 430, and the death toll in the United States also significantly rising.

But the CDC reporting a relatively low number of tests have been completed.

[20:10:03]

SANCHEZ: I have to ask you, are you worried? Should we be worried?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE: Well, the concern, of course -- well, first of all, thanks for having me on tonight. I mean, I think the concern is, do we really know the number of people that are infected in the United States? If we're not testing, if you don't like for it, you're not going to find it. So -- and we really need to increase the number. There's a part -- the hope is that we'll get to about a million tests. We're pretty slow in the uptake.

So, we really need to identify where the areas of community transmission are because that's the biggest concern right now. Because we know there's three or four vulnerable groups wherever we see community transmission. And we've already gotten a taste of what that's going to look like in Seattle. And, so far, it's concerning.

We've reported on this nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, where this virus ripped through it and caused 11 deaths. That's already a signal that wherever community transmission begins, that's our first priority is to protect our older citizens --

SANCHEZ: Right.

HOTEZ: -- in nursing facilities, especially if they have underlying debilitating illnesses. That's red flag number one. Red flag number two, we're seeing health care workers affected. We knew this from Wuhan, China, where 1,000 healthcare workers were infected in the hospitals in Wuhan. And the part that we need to emphasis more is of those, for reasons that we don't understand, 15 percent of them became severely ill and often required an ICU admission.

So, for some reason, when healthcare workers get sick, a higher percentage than you might expect actually get severely ill. So, we know we've got to protect them. We've got to protect our first responders. We're seeing too many already in Seattle in quarantine, so out of the workforce. So, what are we going to do about that?

And, interestingly, a fourth group that I wouldn't have anticipated, but I guess I should've, are the taxi drivers, Uber drivers, Lyft drivers. And that's --

SANCHEZ: Right.

HOTEZ: -- and that's an interesting population.

So, the point is this. As we start seeing pockets of community transmission, which we almost certainly will as we start increasing our number of the availability of kits, as we find those pockets, we have to rush in and really redouble efforts to protect those populations. And that's my concern tonight, as we're move forward in the coming weeks.

SANCHEZ: And, Doctor, I've seen a lot of misinformation online. Conspiracy theories. Talk about, you know, ways that this is transferred. The idea that this might be just a hoax. I would home that you can help us dispel some of the myths about Coronavirus. And, further, do you feel that we should be avoiding crowds or gatherings altogether?

HOTEZ: You know, I've get that -- I get asked that a lot. And here's my take. And that is, when areas where we're not seeing community transmission, I think the idea is to have as close to a normal lifestyle as possible. We may have to make some adjustments, in terms of social distancing. Once community transmission is identified in a place, then we're looking at something very different, like we are in Seattle. And that's how I'm breaking it down, at this point.

So, the good news is we don't seem to have a lot of community transmission outside those pockets in Seattle and a couple of others. The bad news is it may be going on and we're not picking it up, because we don't have those kits available. So, that is, really, a big priority.

And the CDC is aware of it, and the team and the White House is aware of it. But we've really got to now bring this up to speed pretty quickly.

SANCHEZ: All right. Dr. Peter Hotez, thanks so much for sharing your expertise with us. We hope you have a good night.

HOTEZ: Thanks so much.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

So, the 2020 race now. Joe Biden is back on top, and he's flush with cash, after launching his largest ad by ever. But can he keep up the so-called Joe-mentum? We'll discuss next.

[20:14:13]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. We're just days away from Super Tuesday round two. But this time there are just three names on the ballot. And, really, only two of them have a shot at the Democratic nomination, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

Six states are set to vote. And because the field has narrowed so dramatically, this might give us the best evidence of where Sanders' support stands now compared to 2016. Remember, last time around, he was able to win Idaho, Michigan, North Dakota, and Washington. The question is, can he win those states against former Vice President Joe Biden?

Let's bring in "The Washington Post" White House reporter, Toluse Olorunnipa, and senior editor for "The Atlantic," Ron Brownstein. Ron, let's start with you. Michigan is the grand prize Tuesday night.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

SANCHEZ: The most delegates up for grabs. Bernie Sanders narrowly won in 2016. If Joe Biden wins big, the way he did in South Carolina, can Sanders still get the nomination?

BROWNSTEIN: It doesn't even require winning big. I mean, I think that Michigan is pretty much of a must win for Bernie Sanders. Not only for its immediate effect, but for the radiating consequences. I mean, as you note, he won Michigan last time. He also won Wisconsin. He came very close in Missouri and Illinois.

Ohio is the only one of the big, industrial Midwest states where he did run well last time. It was a strength for him. It was a strength because he beat Hillary Clinton in all of those states, except Ohio among those blue-collar working-class white voters. He won those working-class white voters in the first four contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. But the bottom kind of fell out for him on Super Tuesday.

And I think if Sanders can't reverse that in Michigan, when he says that the core of his campaign is building what he calls a multi- generational, multi-racial working-class coalition, I think this could cascade away from him very quickly.

[20:20:00]

SANCHEZ: Well, Toluse, the turning point in Joe Biden's campaign, from my perspective, was the endorsement of Congressman Jim Clyburn. It catapulted him to that big win in South Carolina and beyond. Does Bernie Sanders really have a lot of options to try to counter that?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he has an uphill climb because a lot of the states that are voting on this this coming Tuesday have demographics that are similar to other places in the south. Mississippi is a place where Joe Biden is expected to do very well.

There are a lot of black voters in Michigan. That's part of the reason Bernie Sanders is there. And he's trying to make a message that's almost tailored specifically towards getting higher margins or getting a better result from the black community in Michigan. Because if he does not do well in places like Detroit, it's going to be hard for him to win the state.

And I think he is trying to figure out a way to very quickly appeal to the groups that he was not able to appeal to on Super Tuesday. We saw Joe Biden do very well, not only with African-American voters, but also with more moderate voters, with suburban voters.

And, right now, the big turnout that Bernie Sanders was relying on just has not showed up. We have not seen college students and young people turn out at a higher rate. And if he's not able to combine a higher rate of young voters with a better margin with black voters, he's just not going to be in a good position to do well on Tuesday.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And we should point out, Sanders had an event scheduled in Mississippi tonight that he canceled to stay in Michigan, hold another event there.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Ron, we have to talk about Senator Elizabeth Warren. She ended her campaign this week. She hasn't made an endorsement yet. Could her endorsement be the kind of game changer that Jim Clyburn's was?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think not endorsing, Boris, is, in effect, an important statement, because it is Sanders who needs the boost from an endorsement. If we think about the -- you know, in most states, certainly in these Midwestern states, there are three big blocks of the Democratic electorate.

There are African-Americans and Latinos in the Southwest. And, certainly as we've been saying, Joe Biden has been strong among African-Americans. Although it is worth noting that Bernie Sanders did run better among them in the Midwest last time than he did in the South.

The second big group are the blue-collar whites, who we've been talking about. Sanders ran well among them in 2016 and in the early states, can he replicate that?

But the third big group are those white-collar whites. And that's where Elizabeth Warren's support was heavily concentrated, particularly by the end. Even on Super Tuesday, when her campaign was, you know, functionally on its -- on its last leg. She still won about a quarter of white women with a college education. And they are a big block of votes that are now available for the other candidates.

And the question is, do you -- do you think their support was more ideological or sociological? If it's ideological, then most of them will end up with Sanders. I deemed to think it was more sociological.

They liked Elizabeth Warren because she was smart. Because she had plans. Because she was articulate. Because she seemed prepared. And I think those voters may be -- not as many of them may flow toward Bernie Sanders as conventional wisdom assumes.

Certainly, we saw in Michigan the kind of elected officials they look to as leaders. The governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and the two women who were elected to the House from the swing state (ph) to Haley Stevens and Elissa Slotkin. They all went with Joe Biden. So, it could be a problem for Sanders there.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and we've heard -- we've reported that Sanders and Warren have shared at least two conversations this week. No endorsement yet. I'm curious as to how that -- maybe that tiff that was exposed at the debate with Tom Steyer awkwardly standing in the middle now plays into the relationship.

We have to move on, though. Toluse, I want to play an ad for you that surprised a lot of people. It's Bernie Sanders really, sort of, showing that he has this buddy relationship with Barack Obama that a lot of people are questioning. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think people are ready for a call to action. They want honest leadership who cares about them. They want somebody who's going to fight for them. And they will find it in Bernie. That's right. Feel the Bern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A lot of that ad takes Obama completely out of context. Even that feel the Bern, wasn't that during a speech in which he vouched for Hillary Clinton? For Sanders, someone who's been critical of President Obama in the past, putting this kind of ad out, is this a sign of desperation?

OLORUNNIPA: Well, it's a sign that he needs -- he needs to do something very quickly to change the trajectory of his campaign. And trying to hug President Obama, trying to show voters who supported Obama, African-American voters, the coalition that Obama was able to put together in 2008 and 2012. Sanders is trying to recreate some of that by hugging Obama in this ad. It is something that he's gotten a lot of pushback for because of some of the contextual issues and just the fact that Joe Biden was Obama's vice president for eight years

If Obama wanted to come out with a video or with an ad for anyone, you would expect it would be Joe Biden, not Bernie Sanders using Obama out of context. But it is a sign that he's trying to reshuffle his campaign with, sort of, the last stand that he faces in Michigan on Tuesday.

BROWNSTEIN: Can I have one --

SANCHEZ: You know, there is -- sure, yes.

BROWNSTEIN: Real quick. Yes, I mean, I think from the Sanders' point of view, I mean, obviously, Joe -- all the limitations that Joe Biden had a week ago Monday he still has.

[20:25:05]

BROWNSTEIN: In terms of as a campaigner, his ability to, kind of, you know, mobilize the Democratic coalition. His speech Tuesday night on the best political night of his life probably was kind of a disjointed mess.

I think, from the point of view of the Sanders' campaign, they are just trying to survive on Tuesday. And they believe they get one more shot at resetting -- if they can do that, they get one more shot at resetting the race a week from Sunday -- a week from tomorrow in that CNN debate, when they will have a one-on-one debate with Joe Biden. Biden's often kind of receded for big chunks of these debates.

And the Sanders' campaign hopes that if they -- you know, if he has to kind of be front and center for two hours, that they can kind of make a case that they would be a stronger nominee against Donald Trump, particularly on a debate stage. So, I think their goal on Tuesday is just survival. But if they don't win Michigan, they come fall short of that bar.

SANCHEZ: Right. Let's shift gears here and talk about something completely different. Hillary Clinton sat down with Fareed Zakaria. The full interview is tomorrow. I do want to play a preview for you, though. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: If Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee, will you campaign for him?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will support the nominee of the Democratic Party.

ZAKARIA: But will you campaign for him? CLINTON: I don't know if he would ask me to campaign for him, Fareed,

because I have no idea what he is thinking about for a general election campaign. As I've said many times, I do not think he's our strongest nominee against Donald Trump.

ZAKARIA: Is that an endorsement of Joe Biden?

CLINTON: I'm not endorsing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Toluse, is this that, sort of, rare instance where an endorsement actually hurts a presidential nominee?

OLORUNNIPA: It could be. And I think there's no bad -- there's no love lost between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Even though Bernie Sanders did campaign for Hillary Clinton in 2016, there was a lot of consternation about the fact that his supporters did not rally behind her the way she wanted and the way that she would have needed in order to win. And I think there's still a lot of animosity in that relationship.

And I don't know that -- I think Bernie Sanders might not even welcome an endorsement of Hillary Clinton. He's been pushing against the political establishment and he probably sees her as a representation of that establishment. And I don't know that it would be sincere for her to campaign for him, after she has spoken very honestly about her feelings about him. And has really criticized him in the public sphere over the past several months.

So, I don't think that was an endorsement of Joe Biden, but it was probably as close as you can get, at this point.

SANCHEZ: All right, Toluse Olorunnipa, Ron Brownstein, gentlemen, thank you so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

OLORUNNIPA: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Looking overseas. CNN is on the ground in Syria as children who survived an air strike on their school are now terrified of where the next bomb may hit. This, as U.S. intelligence says the Assad regime may have, again, used chemical weapons. Details on the humanitarian crisis playing out after a quick break.

[20:27:58]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:32:22]

SANCHEZ: New to CNN this weekend. U.S. officials are investigating reports that Syrian troops used chemical weapons against anti- government rebel fighters in that country. The reports are based on communications that intelligence agents intercepted inside Syria. We'll make sure to update you if there are any developments from that investigation.

But meantime, this weekend, another ceasefire is in effect. And for now, it seems to be holding. Although every such deal made so far between Russia and Turkey has quickly disintegrated.

Our Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon is in the devastated city of Idlib.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The children smiles belied the depth of their trauma. The school is one of many sheltering the displaced. The blaring music temporarily drowning out the sounds of the explosions on the front line, just a 15-minute drive away.

Even at their tender age, they know death can come in an instant. Dara was trying to have fun, gingerly keeping her weight off her injured foot.

I was eating an apple with my sister and then the rocket head us, she remembers. I looked and I could only see dust and blood.

That's strike happened a week ago at the school just next door, where Dara's family along with others were living. A rocket slammed into the schoolyard, killing seven children and wounding many more. (INAUDIBLE) father shows us her bandaged foot, grateful his daughter is still alive, agonizing over how he is supposed to even protect his children.

I am used to the sounds of the planes hitting, Dara says. But since we got hit, I'm scared of it.

They've been training the kids on what to do if they hear explosions or the bombings come close. So one is, shelter in place, and then the other though is to follow the arrows painted on the walls to go towards the bunker.

It's not a real bunker just a room underground that used to store the now dust-covered school books. The skies outside the town are painted with the streaks of fighter jets. In the early hours the next morning, a chicken farm being used to house that displaced was decimated, crushing many of those who sheltered there in their sleep, including children.

Hospitals are overwhelmed, dealing not only with illnesses and disease but the constant flow of the wounded. There is no sanctity here, least of all for civilian life.

[20:35:00]

DAMON: In the last month, Turkey has upped its military involvement, battering regime positions. This group of fighters remained close to the front is mostly made up of young men who were in high school when serious revolution turned into a war.

The Turkish presence is preventing the regime from advancing on the ground, 26-year-old Abusad says. Our fight is about defending the population, my life, and my children.

But how to truly protect this population? It's not really in these fighters' control. It's in Turkey and Russia's hands. They, the main two powers bartering for Idlib's fate.

No matter what is negotiated, there have been too many promises, too many broken ceasefires, too many sham agreements. Pain haunts every street.

His son died right here. That's still his blood on the wall.

Mohammad was just 12. His older brother tells us they ran when they saw the plane, but Mohammad didn't make it.

I tried to pick him up, but I couldn't, Hasim remembers.

Mohammad died in his arms.

Even celebrations are bittersweet. These women are shopping for dresses for their relatives' wedding, but it won't be a lavish affair.

It is not the sort of happiness where you invite everyone," the groom's sister tells us.

It will be small with immediate family. There is just too much misery and fear that a big crowd will get bombed.

Since December, around a million have been displaced, cramming into any empty space they can find, even this prison. The families here sleep with their clothes on, not knowing when they might need to run out. Medi's father was killed fighting years ago.

He used to play a lot with us when he was alive, she remembers.

As we leave, we come across what is known as the graveyard camp where even the dead are displaced, buried as close as possible to the border with Turkey, in the hopes that at least, that they can rest in peace.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Idlib, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:41:32]

SANCHEZ: New York's governor has declared a state of emergency as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus there, just jumped to 89.

CNN's Polo Sandoval says fear of the virus is being felt the hardest in New York City's Chinatown. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Those who know the streets of New York City's Chinatown will tell you things have been too quiet lately, even for dreary day.

The slowdown in foot traffic resulting in serious business losses for shop and restaurant owners used to seeing crowds of tourists flocking into their establishment. You can blame it all on unfounded fears over the coronavirus, says Helen Ng.

HELEN NG, RESTAURANT OWNER: That people stop coming. They canceling the reservation. They're not coming in. They -- nobody is -- not even on the street.

SANDOVAL: Ng's tables are not the only ones that said mostly empty since the coronavirus outbreak began. Industry groups tell CNN, eating establishments in some of Manhattan's tourists heavy neighborhoods are experiencing a decline, but none as hard hit as Chinatown.

WELLINGTON CHEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW YORK'S CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP: Is not just anecdotal. We have our trash cans of data. And we can see the daily drop, the up and downs. And I can tell you, the foot traffic drop dramatically.

SANDOVAL: New York City officials suspect people may fear visiting Chinatowns around the world simply because the virus originated in China.

CHEN: We are not a virus. The virus is not just limited to Asian or just Chinese. Is -- you know, affecting human beings, and we should not be single out.

SANDOVAL: Local officials have tried giving Asian restaurant tours a leg up with Mayor Bill de Blasio, eating a meal at a Queens' Chinese banquet hall last month. In spite of the photo op, business continues to plummet.

Ng's losses have added up to 70 percent since February, she says. She's made the difficult decision of reducing staff in contemplating a reduction in business hours too.

NG: We are suffering now with nobody coming out to eat, and then, we have food that in the refrigerator that we have to throw away, but you know in certain time.

So, I'm just hope that everybody, you know, try to get to know more about the virus and then know how to prevent it.

SANDOVAL: Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Polo Sandoval, thank you. We have a helpful tool for you on coronavirus. When you're asking what to do, what to avoid, when you may have to go see a doctor? CNN's new podcast has answers. Join Dr. Sanjay Gupta for "CORONAVIRUS: FACT VERSUS FICTION". You can listen to it wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

A new ad from the Sanders campaign is touting former President Barack Obama's praise of the Vermont senator, but that doesn't actually square with Sanders' past criticisms of Obama. We'll take a closer look next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:48:43]

SANCHEZ: President Obama has made no endorsement in the Democratic race for president, but that hasn't stopped Joe Biden from repeatedly invoking his former boss's name, his friend, Barack on the campaign trail.

And now Bernie Sanders is pulling out some of the former president's past comments, hoping they'll pay off for him in this new campaign ad. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bernie is somebody who has the virtue of saying exactly what he believes. Great authenticity, great passion and is fearless. Bernie served on the Veterans Committee and gotten bills done.

I think people are ready for a call to action. They want honest leadership who cares about them.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They want somebody who's going to fight for them.

OBAMA: And they will find it in Bernie. That's where I feel the burn.

SANDERS: I'm Bernie Sanders, and I approved this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Were you listening closely? CNN KFile Senior Editor, Andrew Kaczynski was fresh off an appearance, off the Brooklyn Nets jumbotron. He's here to point out what you may have missed.

Andrew, Bernie Sanders hasn't always been eager to be connected to President Obama.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR: No, he was -- he was very sharply critical of President Obama from basically the time he came into office, until, you know, right around when he's going to run for president.

And his criticisms were that Obama was basically governing, you know, not as progressive, he was governing as the centrist. And what -- you know, it seemed like Bernie was very disappointed about this, because he argued that President Obama basically came into office with all this grassroots support when he was elected in 2008, and then, he didn't go far enough on health care, on -- you know, right after the financial crisis on Wall Street, on a whole host of issues.

And he, you know, he -- there's even an appearance on Bill Maher, and I think 2013 or 2014, where he -- if he was defending President Obama, and he said, look, this is coming from me, Bernie Sanders, and I'm not his biggest fan because of how he's been on all these issues as president.

SANCHEZ: So, I mean, he called for him to be primary at one point, right?

KACZYNSKI: That's right. On actually four separate occasions in 2011, he said that he thought that a primary to President Obama would be a good thing, because, again, this criticism that he had was that Obama was moving too far to the right. And if there is a progressive challenger, he could be pushed back to the left on a lot of these issues.

SANCHEZ: Right. And specifically, in this ad, there are a lot of sound bites from President Obama. They're sort of cobbled together from different sources. And I'm curious about that feel the burn moment.

KACZYNSKI: So, that line is from Obama's speech at the DNC in 2016. He's actually endorsing Hillary.

SANCHEZ: Right.

KACZYNSKI: What he's arguing there is trying to get Sanders supporters to vote for Hillary. And the rest of that ad is when Sanders ran for Senate in 2006, he was endorsed by Obama, he was endorsed by the Democratic Party, everybody basically backed him from Democratic Party in that campaign. And Obama winning campaign for him. That's where the first part comes in. And the second part is from that speech at the DNC.

SANCHEZ: Right. And quickly, what is the Sanders campaign saying about this? Because people are pushing back.

KACZYNSKI: So, we've seen a lot of these faux Obama endorsement ads.

SANCHEZ: Mike Bloomberg.

KACZYNSKI: We -- Bloomberg has with very prominently had one. Obama really hasn't said anything. He's staying out of the primary. What the Sanders campaign said to us was that Bernie is proud of so many of the accomplishments of President Obama, which is why he fought to protect the Affordable Care Act and Iran deal from Donald Trump's nuclear attacks -- Donald Trump's attacks.

And the other thing that they pointed out to us was that liberal organizations, left-wing organizations MoveOn.org, Progressive Campaign Committee, they also pushed President Obama and a lot of the same issues from the left as Bernie Sanders.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Andrew Kaczynski, thanks so much for the time and we appreciate it. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:57:11]

SANCHEZ: It's getting elbowed out of the way by a new form of greeting friends and strangers alike. CNN's Jeanne Moos has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the now dreaded handshake leaves you shaking your head. No. Our doctors and our politicians are elbowing their way in. From Senator Dick Durbin to the vice president. And not just once.

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, NBC: And there you go.

MOOS: Jimmy Kimmel has a name for it.

KIMMEL: It's called, the elbump.

MOOS: Something Jimmy practiced with his sidekick wearing a coffee filter mask.

Even a floor broker known as the Einstein of Wall Street is doing it. But you know who's not doing it? President Trump shook 10 hands on a single receiving lawn.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You don't shake hands are not going to like it too much.

MOOS: He says he's not taking protective measures that we must, at least, be doing what Stephen Colbert did.

STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS: Hey!

MOOS: If you're not into sanitizing jokey alternatives range from the booty bump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I'm getting people like --

MOOS: To the foot bump, the Vulcan salute. Even Germany's leader had her hands burned. And whatever you do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Start working on not touching your face.

MOOS: Maybe you better start working on it.

TRUMP: And I haven't touched my face in weeks. I miss it.

MOOS: You know what else is catchy? That Jeremy pen used to sign the coronavirus spending bill.

TRUMP: Here, Steve, this is for you.

MOOS: Toss to an unsuspecting reporter, there even pizza do's and don'ts. Don't lick your fingers and then touch the coffee lid. Do, do the elbow bump while wearing a pizza mask?

There someone noted, "Is that the same elbow that everyone is supposed to cough and sneeze into?

The "Daily Show" did a bit called watch those hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been looking around the room here, I can't tell you the number of you who've put your hands to your face in the last 20 minutes.

MOOS: Go ahead, lecture us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just be smart.

MOOS: Then rub it in. Jeanne Moos, CNN.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Corona bump my brother.

MOOS: New York.

QUEST: Thank you. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Never realized how hard it is to not touch your face. That does it for me. I'm Boris Sanchez. Ana Cabrera will be back tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Up next, it's the race for the White House LBJ versus Goldwater. And one more programming. Now, be sure to catch a brand new episode of "THE WINDSORS", about Prince Charles, Lady Diana, and the marriage that will change the royal family forever.

That airs tomorrow night at 10:00, right here on CNN. Thanks so much for joining us. Have a great night.