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China Reports Fewest Cases Since January 18; Entire Italy Now On Lockdown; Michigan Democrats Weigh Pick For Presidential Nominee; Coronavirus Outbreak; Spiraling Markets Triggering Recession Fears; Last Royal Appearance for Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 10, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to all our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paul Newton. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, China's President takes a victory lap in Wuhan where the coronavirus outbreak seems to be easing. But in Italy, there's a surge in the number of cases and a China-style lockdown. The entire country, more than 60 million people now being told to stay home.

And Asia markets are trying to stage a bit of a comeback following Wall Street's panic sell-off. The Dow ending Monday with its largest point drop ever.

So it may be that amid all the frightening headlines about the novel coronavirus, there is, in fact, a glimmer of hope. China is reporting the fewest new cases since mid-January. Also significantly, the World Health Organization says more than 70 percent of China's confirmed cases have now recovered. The situation, of course, is quite different in Italy where the entire country of 60 million people is at this moment in lockdown.

Israel meantime, is requiring a 14-day self-quarantine for everyone entering the country, that includes Israeli citizens and foreign nationals. And in the United States, the Dow plunged more than 2,000 points, the worst one-day point drop ever prompted by lingering fears over virus and an oil price war that's absolutely stunned markets right around the world.

Meantime, Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Wuhan where the virus was first identified last year. This is the first time he's been in the city since the outbreak began. CNN Steven Jiang joins me now from Beijing. A bit of a surprise in terms of when the pictures of his visit there first showed up, and yet this is quite a strong nationalist narrative for him. Something -- he seems to have been anxious to try and do.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right, Paula. This is really another sign of the authorities increasing confidence in terms of how things have been brought under control, including at the epicenter. They are confident enough to have the most powerful Chinese leader in decades in Wuhan because they can now ensure his health and safety there.

This, of course, is noteworthy because initially when the outbreak began, Mr. Xi had kept a relatively low profile amid allegation of mishandling and -- or even attempt to cover up at least at the local level. Now the authority's new confidence comes from the numbers you mentioned, Paula, 19 cases on Monday night nationwide. 17 of which came from Wuhan, a city just a few weeks ago was reporting hundreds, sometimes thousands of new cases on a day -- on a daily basis, so really quite a turnaround.

Now, we have seen some further evidence from official sources in just the past few hours supporting this trend. The authorities in the city now have closed off 14 makeshift hospitals. These were the facilities that were opened, converted from indoor stadiums or exhibition centers when the city's healthcare system was overwhelmed.

Now they had all been closed. And the provincial authority has also just announced they are relaunching a public health app to assess and track people's medical conditions within the province. And if you are deemed healthy, you will be given a green code that will allow you to travel within the province or at least within the city.

So, another sign that they may be starting to loosen up these very draconian lockdown measures that have been placed on Wuhan and in its surrounding province for over six weeks now. So Paula, all these factors really explain why Mr. Xi is there right now paying his first visit to Wuhan since the outbreak began. He's really trying to send a very strong signal to both the domestic and international audience that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak in China is over under his strong leadership. Paula?

NEWTON: Yes, definitely a political move but an optimistic one for those of us looking to see what the end of this virus could look like. Steven Jiang for us in Beijing, thanks so much. Now meantime, the lockdown in Italy is, in fact, one of the most drastic measures we've seen to fight this outbreak. CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman has details from Bologna.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All of Italy, a country of 60 million people is now effectively a red zone. On Monday evening, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the measures that had just been in place -- put in place on Sunday morning in the Lombardy region and 14 other provinces, an area with a population of around 16 million people would be extended to the entire country.

This means that schools and universities will be closed until at least the third of April. All public and private sporting events canceled, all public gatherings banned, only absolutely necessary travel between cities and provinces will be allowed. Now, what we heard also on Monday evening were the latest numbers when

it comes to coronavirus cases, they jumped another 1,800 approximately reaching one 9,172 cases, 463 people have died from coronavirus. Now, these mounting numbers are putting ever greater pressure on Italy's public health system.

CNN was able to speak to the coordinator for intensive care in the Lombardy region, who said that the public health system in that area, which is really one of the best public health systems in the entire country, is stepping towards collapse, that they are receiving, in his words, a tsunami of patients, and that intensive care is being provided in corridors of hospitals. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Bologna in northern Italy.

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NEWTON: Israel meantime now has 50 cases of the coronavirus. And as we mentioned, to keep that number from going up, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says everyone entering the country, even its own citizens must quarantine themselves for 14 days. Those foreign nationals who cannot self-quarantine will not be allowed in. Mr. Netanyahu says the policy will be in effect for at least two weeks.

In the United States, there are more than 700 cases of the coronavirus and 26 deaths so far. But the White House says President Donald Trump has not been tested for the virus despite being in contact with lawmakers who were in close proximity to someone who is now infected.

A White House statement reads, "The President has not received COVID- 19 testing because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms. President Trump remains in excellent health and his physician will continue to closely monitor him."

Meantime, the White House has laid out the U.S. government's plans to battle the economic impact of the coronavirus. CNN Boris Sanchez has the details.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: From what we understand, the President met with aides this afternoon going over a draft of different ideas, opinions of what an economic stimulus package would look like. The White House has repeatedly said that they would look to help the airline industry, the cruise industry, support tourism and travel in that regard. There's been speculation about a potential payroll tax.

It would also not be surprised if we see some kind of help for the energy sector as well with this price war over oil going on between Saudi Arabia and Russia. There's less demand for oil. We may see the White House try to boost that.

The big question on the horizon and we're still several steps from this, but it's an important one to keep in mind, how will Democrats respond to this? Are they willing to help the president pass an economic stimulus package that might turn the tide with the way that the White House has handled this coronavirus crisis and help the president boost the economy, avoid a slowdown going into November.

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NEWTON: Our thanks to Boris there. President Trump says he will discuss with lawmakers a wide-ranging aid package on Tuesday.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a lot of very important meeting set up. And we'll have a press conference sometime after that, and we'll explain what we're doing on an economic standpoint and from an economic standpoint, but they will be very, very dramatic. And we have a great economy. We have a very strong economy, but this came. This blindsided the world. And I think we've handled it very, very well.

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NEWTON: Meantime, a new CNN poll finds that 49 percent of Americans think the U.S. government has done a good job of preventing the spread of the coronavirus while 43 percent disagree. OK, at least 150 passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship are now back on land and in quarantine. Two buses and a van arrived at Travis Air Force Base in California Monday night. Those passengers from California will be quarantined at two bases in that state.

Meantime, 21 people on board the ship tested positive for coronavirus. The ship was kept at sea for several days until a plan was worked out to get the passengers off. CNN Nick Watt has the latest.

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NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Grand Princess pulled into port here in Oakland, California at around noon on Monday. The disembarkation process though will not be quick. It could take a couple of days. Now, front to the list, front to the queue, front to the line where people with acute medical problems. They were getting off first. After them, the 962 residents of California.

Buses are waiting to take them to serve the rest of their quarantine at Travis Air Force Base or at Miramar down near San Diego. Then other U.S. residents who will be flown to bases in Texas and Georgia. And also, there are a lot of foreign nationals aboard that ship. The U.S. government has been working with the Canadians and the Brits to get their nationals basically off of U.S. soil as quickly as possible. Apparently, they will be bussed onto the tarmac at local airports and put straight aboard charter flights taking them all the way home.

Now, there are about 1,000 crew members on board that ship and they will not be allowed to disembark. 21 people aboard the ship tested positive, 92 of them were crew. The entire crew once all the passengers are off, will take that ship back out to sea, and there they will serve the rest of their quarantine.

Also, final note, one Florida couple already filed a lawsuit against the cruise line looking for $1 million. They say that the ship was put to sea even when they knew it was infected by a prior passenger. The cruise line says health and safety has always been top of their list and they won't comment on ongoing litigation. Nick Watt, CNN, Oakland, California.

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NEWTON: Dr. Carlos Del Rio joins me now. He's a professor of medicine and global health at Emory University and the director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research. First thing. We see a lot more cases of social distancing throughout the world. I mean, now Italy the latest to just absolutely locked down the entire country. At what point does that look prudent in many different areas of the world?

CARLOS DEL RIO, MEDICINE AND GLOBAL HEALTH PROFESSOR, EMORY UNIVERSITY: It's -- you know, it's very hard to say. But in this -- in this kind of virus with transmission of this virus, trying to stop it by trying to stop it by closing borders and other thing, it's a little bit like trying to stop a hurricane, the wind is hard to stop, right. So you need to prepare and you need to be ready for what we call mitigation.

And one of the most effective non-pharmacological strategies is social distancing. And social distancing, what it involves is we need to do a couple things. Number one, we need to identify those infected, and that's why testing is very important because you allow -- you can test somebody make a decision to isolate somebody.

Number two, you need to then create a certain -- you know, you and I need to be at least six feet apart. I need to be careful not to cough on you. And if I have a fever or a cough, I should stay home. And then we should start thinking about avoiding, you know, big crowd events. I mean, I'm talking about going to Coachella, for example.

NEWTON: OK, but when do we do that? Where is the dividing line? Because we seem so shocked when we get these lockdown.

DEL RIO: It's different for -- it's different for everybody. It's different for different regions of the world. It's different for different age groups. I mean, if I -- if I was Italy, I think they're doing the right thing. But if I'm Atlanta, I don't think we're ready for that, right? Now, in Atlanta, you had 1,000 cases, maybe it's time to do that. So different regions of the world are going to have to implement this at different times.

The second one is age. If I'm 50 and healthy, I'm probably OK. If I'm 75 and have lung disease, I probably should isolate myself right now.

NEWTON: Why is this so much different than the flu? I know that this has a higher morbidity rate so far, and yet most people point out --

DEL RIO: Which flu? You know, because --

NEWTON: It's a good point?

DEL RIO: -- we have something called, you know, seasonal flu. And this is -- this is -- the transmission is about the same as seasonal flu, but the mortality is about 10 to 20 times higher. If you compare it to pandemic flu, which is the last time we had a pandemic flu outbreak worsened in 2009, the transmission and the mortality is about the same.

So it depends on which one you're comparing it to. So compared to seasonal, it's worse, compared to pandemic is kind of similar.

NEWTON: But the issue is why is the response so different from what we do annually from the flu?

DEL RIO: Well, for three reasons. Number one, seasonal flu, we all have certain degree of immunity. To this virus, we have zero immunity. Number two, we have a vaccine against the flu, we don't have a vaccine against this. And number three, we have medications between the flu, we don't have medications for this. So the response is different because the tools you have are very different.

NEWTON: Interesting. That's the most synced I've seen it put in a while. Now, I'm going to go through a certain area now with you in certain bits of information that we've gotten that we just want some more clarification. First thing is, new John Hopkins University study comes out and is now saying that it really sometimes could be five days. The average is now five days before you start to show symptoms, even when you're positive with the virus.

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DEL RIO: Yes, that seems to be the case that not everybody but in some individuals, you can have virus present and virus replicating and therefore the possibility of transmission before you develop symptoms, even five days. And not in everybody, but in some individuals. And the flue happens something fairly similar. I could be here with the flu --

NEWTON: Not know it.

DEL RIO: Get you infected I'm, you know, talking to you, and then tomorrow be definitely ill.

NEWTON: OK. WHO is saying it's going to take -- sometimes it takes six weeks to recover. Does that mean you're symptomatic through all that time?

DEL RIO: Well, not necessarily. That means that you know, your body has been, you know, hurt enough by the virus, it may take some time to recover.

NEWTON: If you get it, can you get it again?

DEL RIO: That's a really good question. I have not seen good data, you know, logically, but what we know about these viruses is that you probably develop immunity. Coronaviruses tend to produce this kind immunity. So, in fact, some people think that the frequent coronavirus infections -- different coronavirus, but a cousin of this virus that causes the common cold, freaking colds in children may actually give them some level of protection.

NEWTON: Which leads to my next question. It does seem, in fact, and you were pointing out that the elderly are the ones at risk here, children and younger people do seem to have an immunity to this.

DEL RIO: Or at least to not get sick or do a little better.

NEWTON: Right. Can you give it to your pet? Can you get it from your pet?

DEL RIO: No.

NEWTON: Definitively no.

DEL RIO: Definitely not.

NEWTON: We like that.

DEL RIO: And animals have corner viruses, but they're other species of coronavirus.

NEWTON: Right. Understood. And how long do we know right now that it can last on surfaces?

DEL RIO: A lot of data coming out. Some say no longer than a couple of minutes, 30 minutes or so some say? Maybe a couple hours, three to six hours? I think it depends on the ambient temperature. I think these viruses doesn't like heat. And I think it also depends on which is a surface.

So I would say that. A good strategy is hand hygiene, frequently hand washing, and you know, hand washing everywhere and do it a long --

NEWTON: Including your fingertips.

DEL RIO: Yes. And for 2020 seconds. You know, sing Happy Birthday as you're doing that. But number two, clean surfaces. If I put my hands here --

NEWTON: Clean it.

DEL RIO: Come off afterwards and clean it.

NEWTON: Yes. Finally, how will this virus and what do you believe is the most logical way is going to end?

DEL RIO: Well, I think it will and several ways. I think, you know, China is showing us that they were able to lock the country and control it. The number of new cases are coming down rapidly. I think public health strategies like that are going to make a big difference. And I think not without any -- it's not going to be painless. I mean, we're seeing pain in the markets, we're seeing pain in work and productivity. I think we're going to have to, to hunker down and just do what we need to do to contain it. Number two, you know, drugs are being developed. We may have drugs.

Number three, we may have a vaccine, but I don't think a vaccine is going to be ready for this to end. And number four, I think we're all hoping, you know, a lot of coronaviruses don't like warm weather, so we're kind of hoping for the warm weather to come.

But I want to remember you, I want to remind you that when the warm weather comes to the northern hemisphere, it gets cold in southern hemisphere. So this virus may migrate south. And then in the fall, come back and hit us again.

NEWTON: Yes. Which tells most of us no time to get complacent.

DEL RIO: Absolutely. And time to stay informed. It's very important to be informed.

NEWTON: And I'm hoping that's what we did with this time with you. Doctor, thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

DEL RIO: Delighted to be here.

NEWTON: OK, the worst single-day decline in more than a decade has led to recession fears on Wall Street. More on the aftermath of this historic dive ahead. And it's Super Tuesday round two. Why this race could all come down to Michigan for Bernie Sanders. That's next.

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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Happy Tuesday to you. I'm meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, CNN weather watch. And looking at parts of the U.S. here whether it's the Southwest, the Northwest, or even on into the Northeast here. Wet weather is the theme over the next couple of days, pretty impressive run a wet weather into southern California.

But you'll notice the eastern United States, some of these regions along the Gulf Coast, the last thing they want to see is additional wet weather. And it is at least the first shot that we think a multi- day event here with wet weather in the forecast. But the amounts of rainfall are considerably less than what we saw this time last week.

So, the heaviest rain shifts back towards portions of the state of Arkansas but much of say Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama see light to moderate rain at best over the next couple of days. So we'll keep it into the showers there for Atlanta into the morning about 19 degrees. Montreal, six degrees, also looking at some rainy weather while Vancouver takes some rain in Los Angeles, an unusual thunderstorm or two possible with highs just shy of 20 degrees across the southwest. And it continues there for at least a four to five day period.

Look in New York City, warms up, drops off, warms up again, drops off again. This is a telltale sign we are beginning to see that transition where spring is trying to sneak into the forecast. Wintery temperatures come back and show their force. And of course, we know spring eventually wins out here within the next four to six weeks. But Nassau, middle 20s, Chihuahua Mexico, thank you for tuning in, 27 degrees.

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NEWTON: OK, a big day ahead in U.S. politics. Six states are voting and what's essentially a Super Tuesday round two. Now, the two viable Democratic candidates are former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders both want to claim the bulk of pledged delegates from those six states, of course. For the last few days, they've both been stumping hard in the Midwest, particularly in the crucial state of Michigan, where there are 125 pledged delegates up for grabs.

Sanders is in no doubt wanting history to repeat itself. Remember he beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 in that Michigan primary, but there are different factors to consider in this race against Biden. CNN Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny has more.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Bernie Sanders just looking to Michigan for a campaign come back.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tuesday is a very, very important day and Michigan is the most important state coming up on Tuesday.

ZELENY: It's not only the biggest prize on Tuesday with 125 delegates at stake. The primary is seen as a trial run for November, as Democrats weigh who has the best chance of defeating President Trump. Democrats have neither forgotten or forgiven what happened here four years ago, as their blue wall of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania collapsed.

Trump is the first Republican presidential candidate to win Michigan since 1988, carrying the state by only 10,704 votes. That number is seared into the minds of many Democrats who believe it's time for Joe Biden to take command of the race.

Four years ago, you supported Bernie Sanders. What changed?

GARLIN GILCHRIST, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN: Well, the first thing is that Joe Biden is in the race. He wasn't in the race in 2016. Someone that has the record results in the relationships here in Michigan. That -- I didn't have that choice in front of me before.

ZELENY: Garlin Gilchrist is the state's first African American lieutenant governor. he admired Sanders in 2016 but now believes Biden is building the broadest coalition to defeat Trump. Four years ago, Sanders come from behind victory in the primary here injected new life into his battle with Hillary Clinton.

SANDERS: And if we win here in Michigan --

ZELENY: Today, he's trying to rekindle that spirit, yet conversations with some loyal Sanders supporters are taking a practical turn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to go as far as we can with the Bernie train. But if it comes down to Biden, I'll definitely vote for Biden for sure.

ZELENY: The fear of Trump winning reelection comes up again and again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the whole thing. You vote with your beliefs because we believe in everything in this platform or are you practical? So it's a -- it's a real struggle.

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ZELENY: Do you think that Biden has a better chance in a general election?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's more moderate. He can get a lot of those kinds of middle of the road voters and Bernie's going to have a harder time.

ZELENY: The Biden campaign is working to build on a Super Tuesday performance. Here in Michigan, that same coalition is key winning convincingly in the city of Detroit and showing strength across the sprawling suburbs. Since 2016, Lori Goldman has been organizing women voters in the battleground of Oakland County, awakening a new army of political activists. She liked Elizabeth Warren, but now is all in for Biden.

LORI GOLDMAN, FOUNDER, FEMS FOR DEMS: Tuesday will be a bellwether. If Biden wins, which I hope he does, I can breathe a small sigh of relief. If he does not, then I have to worry how Michigan's going to perform.

ZELENY: And the Biden bandwagon is growing. His former rivals taking the stage here in Detroit. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris trying to make the case that Democrats should rally around Joe Biden. Bernie Sanders is still pressing his case, but time and delegates are running out for him to be competitive. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Detroit.

NEWTON: All right, be sure to catch CNN's special live coverage as Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden go head to head in a series of key U.S. primaries. Tune in for Super Tuesday round two starting at 8:00 p.m. in London. That's 4:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, Wednesday, right here on CNN.

OK, record shattered, nerves frayed on Wall Street, the Dow's point drop a record on the worst day of trading in more than a decade. Now though, some signs of a slight rebound in those Asian markets. You see them there. We'll have a look at what's driving that ever so modest recovery.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: A day after a brutal day in the markets Monday, there are some signs of a rebound. Trading in Asia has been mixed but major markets rallied to recover some of the previous day's losses.

You see the trading right there, that follows Wall Street's worst day since the 2008 financial crisis.

Now the Dow dropped more than 2,000 points Monday, its largest point drop ever. It closed than more than 7 percent and so did the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Now U.S. futures are up though after President Trump said he'd push for a payroll tax cut and assistance for hourly workers who might suffer financially because of the virus.

Journalist Kaori Enjoji joins me now from Tokyo. I mean the recovery is tepid, but clearly they are reading into something here. Are all eyes on the Trump administration? Or is there something more at work here? Especially now that we start to see China recovering?

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: I think there is a lot of focus on what the U.S. administration is going to do, but I think also at the same time it's raised hopes that other governments will take similar measures to cushion the economic fallout and the blow from the coronavirus.

Particularly to individuals and smaller companies that have been forced in terms of individuals to stay home and can't make a living, for small businesses who basically -- some of them have been wiped out because tourism has fallen off so sharply. And industries like hotels and airlines and so forth.

And there's expectation that a tax break perhaps from these governments could help a little, at least in terms of offering short term relief.

And I think on top of that, the fact that you had three indices in the U.S. overnight tank 7 percent, you had a 5 percent drop in the Nikkei in Monday's trading. Market's trying to stabilize and in the case of Tokyo, we have still have 30 minutes of trading left to go, but it is starting to gain momentum.

We've also seen a significant move higher in dollar-yen. Remember this was a big factor on Monday. And the fact that crude is still at historically low levels but still not falling further. And I think that seems to be giving a little bit of relief to the markets as well.

I think you also have to remember that we are going into some key central bank meetings. The U.S. Federal Reserve later on this month, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank as well. So even though in some of these countries you're already at interest rate zero or negative, I think anticipation of these meetings, and some kind of concerted effort globally, to help the economies, is what's providing a little bit of relief today -- Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. And we should say futures are up in U.S. markets as well, so hopefully the momentum will continue. Kaori -- thanks so much, appreciate it. Rana Foroohar joins me now. She's CNN's global economic analyst and

the global business columnist and associate editor at "The Financial Times".

Rana -- I know this is one of these times where you do not want to be right. But for days you've been telling us really to expect something like this.

What's interesting is that I have a lot of questions for you -- economic questions, and yet the answers are all medical at this point. As in it is the uncertainty, right, that is really rattling markets?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, you know, it's a few things, absolutely it's the uncertainty certainly about the trajectory of the coronavirus and we were just seeing Italy shut the doors for the entire country for containment purposes.

We don't know how fast or how far it's going to spread in the U.S. -- all of that is a big deal.

But there's also the uncertainty of how those dominoes in the markets are falling. We have just seen the biggest dips since 2008. We are now seeing a lot of predictions about recessions, if things go the way as we think they might go.

But how will the dominoes fall? We know there is a lot of corporate debt out there. I'm watching in particular energy-related stocks because of course, with the big oil dip, I think that you're going to see companies with a lot of debt in the energy sectors and anything related to energy coming under pressure. That could then in turn put more pressure on the stock market which could fall farther, which could impact how people feel about consuming.

So this is a snowball effect. And there are lots and lots of points of uncertainty.

NEWTON: You know, with the virus we have been talking about mitigation. Let's talk about that in this realm as well. We've already had the Fed, and of course, a concerted effort around the world to get liquidity in and obviously the Fed lowering interest rates.

What about the other side of the equation -- you know, the fiscal policy? We are hearing the Trump administration talk about a cut in the payroll tax. But really what's interesting here is they're talking about as well is helping those people, who are sick and perhaps are losing income. How helpful if it works though do you think this might be?

[01:34:54]

FOROOHAR: Well, I think shoring showing up the social safety net across the board is a huge deal, particularly in the U.S. -- Paula.

I mean, you know, we just -- the coronavirus and this entire market crisis is kind of pulling back the veil on how fragile our workforce is. You know, so many people in contingent positions, without any healthcare, so many people that if they don't work they don't get paid.

So I think that that is a big deal. And I think -- you know, you hit the nail on the head, it's got to be fiscal at this stage.

you know, I'm seeing estimates -- recently actually I saw something from Goldman Sachs that even if the Fed were to continue cutting rates, and to even start buying assets again, it's going to have a fraction of the effect that it did in the last few years because they are simply out of ammos. Central bankers really can't do much more at this stage.

NEWTON: You know, a question that I get a lot is how much worse can this get? And I don't want to talk just about the stock market although that is a component.

So in your opinion, and I know you watch this carefully, what other red flags do you see that could exacerbate what is already a financial crisis?

FOROOHAR: Well, we've been talking a lot about the stock dip. We've talked a lot about corporate debt. The bond market, of course, is blinking red in a big way. I mean we are seeing long dated U.S. treasuries at record lows. What that says is the markets are very worried about long term growth.

You know, you are seeing the U.S. collar come under pressure. That is something I'm going to watch closely too. If you start to see foreign creditors beginning to sell off the U.S. debt, sell-off dollar- denominated assets, that could put pressure -- more pressure on U.S. stocks, U.S. asset prices.

That could again make the markets fall even further faster. So that's the kind of thing that you want to watch for.

NEWTON: Also a question here -- and I know most people are focused on the United States and what the United States can do in this situation. But Europe has a really vulnerability here, doesn't it?

FOROOHAR: 100 percent. And of course, you know, in Europe you're dealing with a multitude of countries, each responding differently, each with different policies. There is not a coordinated effort yet. So absolutely this is a huge deal.

The one thing I would say about Europe is that in many countries you do have at least a better universal health care system. And so, you know, you're not going to end in a situation that you might in U.S. where people simply don't go to get care, they can't get care.

I think that that is why getting a broad safety net in place, in terms of the health care system right now in the U.S. would be a very smart move.

NEWTON: And does it worry you though what is going on with Europe and how it could infect, you know, the rest of the financial community here. We've got Italy on lockdown and yet, even before that we know how vulnerable their banks where. We have Germany obviously who was always supposed to be the economic engine is now also faltering.

FOROOHAR: Yes. For sure. I mean Italy was already a major question mark in terms of their debt picture, their sovereign picture. I think I'm going to be watching sovereign spreads in Europe very, very carefully.

You know, I think until you get the sense that the coronavirus has leveled out, we are really not going to know where we are, and I think we're going to be into probably early summer, before we can say for sure what the -- you know what the effect just of the virus is going to be let alone all those market dominos.

NEWTON: And to that, before we wrap it up here, Rana -- do you think there is the real possibility that the United States will slip into recession. So not just one quarter of negative growth but two in a row.

FOROOHAR: Oh I do. I absolutely do. I mean if you look out at what the drivers of the global economy have been, in the U.S. and abroad in the last few years -- it's been a lot about travel and tourism. It's been a lot about services.

You know, we are so vulnerable here in the U.S., as in many rich countries, but particularly so in the U.S. Consumer spending is really the anchor of the economy -- that's two-thirds of the economy.

Now sure people can shift some of their purchases online, but you're not going to go to restaurants online, that was one of the biggest categories of job creation in the last jobs report.

You know, you're not going to be buying luxury brands. There are logistics issues. I mean there are so many areas here. Travel and tourism actually, in one way or another affects one out of eight jobs in the U.S.

So this is a big deal. And I think unless you get a real fiscal stimulus plan that is well-orchestrated, I can imagine definitely, this going more than a quarter or so.

NEWTON: Yes. And we've got all eyes obviously on the Trump administration in the coming hours and days, to see what that will look like.

Rana -- thanks so much, really appreciate it.

FOROOHAR: thank you.

NEWTON: Ok the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are done with their royal duties. The next adventure for Prince Harry and Meghan -- that's after the break.

[01:39:45]

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NEWTON: Ok. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are bidding farewell to their royal life. They had their last scheduled royal appearance Monday. And at the end of this month, they will officially step back as senior members of the royal family.

CNN's Max Foster was at Westminster Abbey for the event.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CDNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: This is an annual service where all the senior royals turn out in force. It's very close to the Queen's car but actually all eyes and ears were focused on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex today as we saw them amongst the rest of the family for the first time since they announced their departure as senior working royals.

Everyone was smiles. They seem to be getting on. And this is something that the royals do. They come together in public and they show a united front.

So the Queen will be pleased with what she saw today. What happens now is that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex go off and they build a new life, largely outside the United Kingdom, but without compromising that royal brand.

So the negotiation process around the departure continues. It will be reassessed next year and it will define how future royals can choose to opt out of royal duties as well.

So it is quite defining, but it's interesting seeing the couple back in the United Kingdom, a huge amount of support for them, also some detractors for the way that they have rushed this process through. That a historic moment in terms of British history at least -- we now find out how the couple will define themselves going forward outside the royal fold.

Max Foster, CNN -- Westminster Abbey, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton.

"WORLD SPORT" is up next.

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[01:45:07]

("WORLD SPORT")

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