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69,400+ Deaths Worldwide, 9,600+ Deaths in U.S. from Coronavirus; Trump Touts Unproven Drug to Treat Coronavirus; British Prime Minister Hospitalized Overnight for Tests; Drive-Through Funerals at Europe's Largest Cemetery; Tokyo Reports Highest Jump in Virus Cases in One Day; India Holds Candlelight Vigil as Cases Rise; California Unveils COVID-19 Housing Plan for the Homeless; Couple Scraps Wedding Plans, Gets Married Online. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 06, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes.

[00:00:27]

We are now entering what could be the most crucial week yet in the U.S. fight against coronavirus. The top experts warning it is going to be extremely painful. There are already more than 1,000 people dying each day in this country. The U.S. surgeon general making a startling comparison, likening the coming week to the two biggest attacks on U.S. soil in living memory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICE ADMIRAL JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: This is going to the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, quite frankly. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment; only it's not going to be localized. It's going to be happening all over the country.

And I want America to understand that, but I also want them to understand that the public, along with the state and the federal government, have the power to change the trajectory of this epidemic.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: We are struggling to get it under control. And that's the issue that's at hand right now. Just buckle down, continue to mitigate, continue to do the physical separation, because we've got to get through this week that's coming up, because it is going to be a bad week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The U.S. death toll now headed towards 10,000, making up about when 7th of all the fatalities worldwide. That's according to Johns Hopkins university.

Globally, the number of confirmed cases is approaching 1.3 million. Meanwhile, the U.S. president doubling down on an unproven treatment for the virus. Jeremy Diamond questioned him about that on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump on Sunday stepping out into the White House briefing room on Sunday talking about the grim reality that Americans are going to face over the coming weeks as it relates to the death toll for coronavirus.

But the president, at the same time, still saying that he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. So it was, once again, a story of mixed messages from the president.

But one other thing that the president was focused on, on Sunday, was once again touting the use of this drug hydroxychloroquine, which so far, there is no conclusive scientific evidence showing that this drug is effective in the treatment of coronavirus. I pressed the president on why he continues to promote this drug.

Why not just let the science speak for itself? Why are you promoting this drug?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not. I'm not. I'm just --

DIAMOND: But you are.

TRUMP: I'm not at all. I'm not, look. You know what I'm trying to do?

DIAMOND: But you're on here all the same, sort of talking about the benefits.

TRUMP: I want them to try, and it may work; it may not work. But if it doesn't work, it's -- nothing lost by doing it. Because we know, long- term. What I want, I want to save lives. And I don't want it to be in a lab for the next year and a half as people are dying all over the place.

DIAMOND: The president, of course, has been promoting that drug, appearing in the White House briefing room or the Rose Garden day after day to talk about the benefits of this drug, hydroxychloroquine.

Again, there are clinical trials underway, and some doctors are able to prescribe it off-label in emergency cases, but there is not yet a body of scientific evidence backing up the use of this drug. And that is why when Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, when he stepped up to the podium, I tried asking him about that. The president, though, would not let him.

And would you also weigh in on this issue of hydroxychloroquine? What do you think about this and what is --

TRUMP: You know how many times I've answered that question?

DIAMOND: But I'm aiming it for the doctor.

TRUMP: Fifteen times. You don't have to ask the question. DIAMOND: He's your medical expert, correct?

TRUMP: I've answered that question 15 times.

DIAMOND: Now Fauci, of course, has been on the record talking about this drug and saying that there is not yet conclusive proof that this drug is effective in the treatment of coronavirus. But I think it's especially notable, when you see the president there, acknowledging earlier in the day, that he is not a doctor as he doles out this advice about this hydroxychloroquine drug.

And then when you actually see a doctor at the podium, the top government expert on infectious diseases, it's notable that the president won't let him speak.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Meanwhile, the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, is in hospital. His office says he was admitted last night as what they call a precautionary measure, because he still has persistent coronavirus symptoms some 10 days after announcing he had, indeed, been infected.

Nic Robertson is in London for us. It's quite an unexpected development, precautionary, but the prime minister going to the hospital is pretty significant.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it is a very rare occurrence here in the U.K. And, of course, at this exceptional time and the prime minister exhibiting the symptoms of coronavirus now for 10 days, and that's believed to be a threshold that, if you're not recovering by that period, then -- then further tests are required. And that's what we're being told. The prime minister is having what's described as routine tests.

[00:05:15]

Now, there are no descriptions from Downing Street officials as to what those tests might be. Medical experts say that there's a possibility they could be blood tests or CT scans, or such like.

But whatever it is, Downing Street is describing it as routine. They're also saying that the prime minister remains in charge. The cabinet meeting this morning that's happening at 9:15 U.K. time, about just over hours from now will be chaired this morning, not by the prime minister but by Dominic Raab, who's the foreign secretary, but it's also the first secretary of state, the person you would expect to step up in the event that the prime minister were no longer able.

But the message, quite clearly, from Downing Street is the prime minister is in charge. He is having routine tests, but yes, he has admitted to a hospital. Precisely the ramifications and implications of that, we don't know. He's 55 years old. The medical assessments are that, once you're over 60 and if you have other underlying medical conditions, then this is a period of coronavirus infection, 10 days and beyond, that can be quite critical.

HOLMES: And then, meanwhile, Nic, I wanted to ask you also, the queen addressing the nation herself, a rare event. It really does speak to the gravity of the situation.

ROBERTSON: Hugely, hugely. And the queen has only ever spoken to the nation, including yesterday now, five times: 1991 before the Gulf War; 1997 after Princess Diana's death; 2002 after her mother's death; 2012, as well, on her jubilee. Absolutely rare.

And she -- it was quite a short message, but it was really one -- you know, there would have likely been done in conjunction with the prime minister's office, as well. It was one to speak to the nation and to encourage the nation to stay at home.

But her first comments were really huge thanks to all the medical healthcare workers, and all of those who are in the frontline fighting the virus.

But a very clear message for everyone at home, and this is one the government really wants delivered. That is to everyone at home, please stay at home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN ELIZABETH II, UNITED KINGDOM: I also want to think those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones. Together, we are tackling this disease; and I want to reassure you that, if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And she said that people, this generation, if you will, would be able to judge themselves and being judged in the future by how they've risen to this challenge.

And towards the end of her speech, she said, look, this is difficult, being separated from loved ones, but we will meet again. And that really, I think, struck a chord with most people in this country. Very reminiscent of -- of the wartime message in Britain during the Second World War. People were separated. It was tough. But we will meet again. That's what she said.

HOLMES: Yes. Nic, thank you. Nic Robertson there outside Number 10 Downing Street, where the prime minister is not this morning or this morning there in London.

All right. I want to go now to Dr. Emily Porter. She's an emergency physician. She comes to us from Austin, Texas.

It's great to talk to you. I wanted to start, if I could, about this hydroxychloroquine being hyped, no less by the president of the United States. Yet, far from proven effective, studies have been done that are flawed or inconclusive. But the president has been on a sales pitch. You know, what do you

have to lose? Try it, try it. Take it. What do you make of that?

DR. EMILY PORTER, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: Right. So the "Annals of Internal Medicine," which is the journal of internal medicine doctors which are taking care of hospitalized patients, they have a very strong opinion on this, which is that, you know, as doctors, we learn "primum non nocere," which means "first, do no harm."

At this point, we don't know that we're not doing more harm than good with these drugs. So if somebody is dying, then that's one thing. But we have -- we have a president who's telling people that they should go get their doctor to prescribe these so that they can prevent, you know -- prevent -- they're actually malaria drugs. And they're also used for autoimmune disease. But then it can prevent coronavirus.

There are people that have lupus and have rheumatoid arthritis that are in acute crisis, having, actually, kidney problems and rebounding off of their medications, because they're not available.

There are some physicians and other healthcare workers who actually have been hoarding these, which I find to be despicable. And there's only -- there are only two trials that were published before this announcement was made. One had 30 people in it out of France. It showed a little bit of benefit. And the other one was from China and didn't really show much benefit.

[00:10:09]

So we are so far from knowing that we are not doing more harm than good. In fact, we have people who have died, not only from COVID-19, it not working, but also, the people that were hurting who used the drugs for other things.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. And yet the president continues to promote it.

I want you to speak to the ongoing issue of testing. I mean, is widespread testing of every -- every American possible still a priority, in terms of wanting to isolate the virus, contact trace the way other countries have done? I mean, you said 25 percent of those who test positive are asymptomatic, and of course, they are the potential spreaders, without knowing.

PORTER: Absolutely, and that's what's really dangerous. So we are only testing. We tested 1.6 million Americans out of 331 million, which is less than a half percent. So we are -- the horse is out of the barn, though. Contact tracing, when you have people walking around, not sheltering in place, 25 percent of people are asymptomatic, just for practical purposes, you know, a lot of places, they're still only being tested if you're getting admitted to the hospital for coronavirus symptoms. So fever, shortness of breath, pneumonia, things like that. You're not getting tested if you're getting admitted to the hospital for something else.

And we had a patient in a local hospital who was pregnant, got admitted for a kidney infection, wasn't tested because she had a kidney infection, and then four days later, developed shortness of breath. She exposed over 20 healthcare workers, who are now furloughed for two weeks.

HOLMES: Wow.

PORTER: So now the gynecology and the O.B. patients are suffering, because they don't have enough physicians and nurses to take care of them. It's a big problem. We need to test everybody, and everybody needs to walk around with a mask and gloves on. If you are interacting within six feet of people that you have to act like you have the disease and that everyone else has it, as well.

HOLMES: Yes. I mean, that's a -- that's a terrible story to hear.

The administration's saying the next few weeks are going to be like -- and we played it earlier -- the surgeon general saying like another Pearl Harbor or 9/11. I am trying to visualize what that might look like. What's your take on the next couple of weeks?

PORTER: Well, so far, more than three times the number of Americans who died during either of those events have already died. So, Dr. Fauci says we're two and a half weeks behind. There's some hope.

New York had fewer deaths today and fewer new cases than they've had in the most recent days. So that's hopeful. I hope we can stay that way.

But the worst is still yet to come, because we have not exhausted our resources as ventilators, of hospital vents. The hospitals, especially in the really hard-hit areas, have done an amazing job of creating field hospitals and such, but it is going to get worse before it gets better.

But to compared it to those two days, we're already past that. And we have the potential to lose 100 or more thousand American lives, which is not even on the same, you know, level.

HOLMES: It is unimaginable. I mean, I also wanted to ask you this before we go. There is still no formal federal control over procurement and distribution of resources, masks, the ventilators. You've got the governors and the mayors right now literally bidding against each other and against the federal government as it's being reported.

Do you -- do you think there does need to be that federal control? Why do you think it hasn't happened? I mean, the president essentially saying states are on their own, and the federal government's not a shipping clerk?

PORTER: I think when we started out saying that we were behind the curve on this and everybody panicked, it was very hard to have a plan in place. We had a few months' notice.

Compare this to Ebola. We -- we sent -- CDC sent people down to West Africa two months before we had one Ebola patient that tested positive in Dallas, and we limited it to only four people that got sick in the whole country. Because we prepared. We sent people. We had a plan.

I think that, by the time people, started popping up left and right here and it went from one to 15 to 100, we were already behind.

HOLMES: So --

PORTER: I think if we catch up at this point, that's the problem, is everyone's just every mayor, every governor is trying to do the best for their people. And I do like to think that -- that, you know, President Trump is doing the best for his people, as well. I'm not saying that he's not.

But it's a hard fix now, because we're behind. I'm glad that other countries are helping us. There's, you know, Mexico, China and some other countries that aren't as quite -- hit quite as hard right now, are sending us supplies, and I'm very grateful for that. But it's only -- only God knows if there will be enough or not at this point.

HOLMES: Yes. It does seem crazy when you've got states bidding against each other and only driving the price.

Dr. Emily Porter, thank you so much. Great to have you on.

PORTER: Thank you.

HOLMES: Appreciate it.

Well, New York, of course, is the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. And on Sunday, that state reported fewer coronavirus-related deaths. Now, while that's encouraging, of course, Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN it is too soon to say it is a trend.

[00:15:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY) (via phone): Every day, we're waiting for this, quote unquote, "apex of the curve." And there's a theory that the apex is actually a plateau where you'll hit a high number. And then you'll stay at about that high number for some period of time, and then start to drop on the other side.

But it's the first time we've seen any drop at all. So, you know, in a place where we're just hoping and praying to see a light at the end of the tunnel, it was -- it was good news. We'll know better tomorrow, and the next day, when we see what those results are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: But the situation, of course, does remain dire. New York City still desperately short of medical supplies. The mayor says they only have enough ventilators to last until mid-week.

The virus is taking a toll, too, on New York police. Almost 20 percent of the force out sick over the weekend. And the force has lost its 11th officer from suspected coronavirus. Now, the hard-hit country of Spain has begun distributing its new

batch of one million rapid coronavirus tests. Officials say they have been performing as many as 20,000 standard tests every day, but they want to ramp that up.

The tests are going first to hospitals and also nursing homes. Globally right now, only the United States reports more confirmed cases than Spain.

And the virus has killed more than 12,000 people in Spain. It has also simply overwhelmed the cemeteries. For priests and family members who have lost loved ones, the process of laying the dead to rest is almost unthinkable.

CNN's Scott McLean, who was granted access to Europe's largest ceremony, with more on that aspect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every 15 minutes or so, a hearse pulls up in front of the crematorium at Madrid's La Almudena (ph) Cemetery. Father Edouard (ph), a Catholic priest, comes out to greet no more than five grieving family members, who keep their distance. Hugs and kisses are an uncommon sight.

The blessings and prayers last barely five minutes. The sealed casket is doused with holy water, and taken away on a gurney.

No eulogies, no visitation, no public burial. There's hardly even time for a goodbye. These are the rules under Spain's coronavirus state of emergency. A strange scene, even for one of the largest cemeteries in western Europe. It's been there through wars, famine, and the Spanish flu.

"I can't express the sadness that people are carrying. Not only because their loved one has died, but because the system is so overwhelmed, that they may have been taken to the ice rink for several days before they're brought here," he says.

In Madrid, the epicenter of Spain's pandemic, two ice rinks are now being used as temporary morgues. Cemeteries say they're burying two or three times as many bodies as usual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot do things by the book. Because there is -- unfortunately, there is no book.

MCLEAN: Felix Povera (ph) contracted the virus at a family gathering weeks ago. His brother and mom got it, too. All were eventually hospitalized. His mother, who was 77, died in the hospital. She was not given a ventilator.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know how to feel. I am alone here. My brother and sister, they couldn't come. My wife is not coming. Grandsons and granddaughters are not coming. Just me.

MCLEAN: It's not the kind of final sendoff anyone would hope for. Felix (ph) plans to have a funeral for his mother when the crisis is over. He's just not sure when that will be.

Scott McLean, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now Italy, on Sunday, reported its lowest rate of coronavirus deaths in at least two weeks. It does give a glimmer of hope for a country that has been struggling to consistently stabilize its number of new infections, even though Italy has been on lockdown for almost a month. It's overall death toll, nearly 16,000, still the highest in the world.

U.S. markets look poised to start the week up, but oil, plummeting. We'll have the details and how it all ties into the coronavirus pandemic. That's just a hint.

Also, we're going to take a look at a new California plan to shelter the homeless during the pandemic. We'll have that and more, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:23:24]

HOLMES: Welcome back, Wall Street looking to recover from yet another week of declines amid the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. stock futures point to a jump at the open for all of the major indices. The increase is driving Asian markets higher, as well.

Japan's Nikkei index leading the pack. You can see there on nearly two and a half percent. The Hang Seng up, as well. The Seoul KOSPI, two and a half percent.

But there is pain for oil, both U.S. and Brent crude up, plunging. You can see the numbers there. Investors reacting to the delay of an OPEC meeting, originally set for Monday.

John Defterios joins me now from Abu Dhabi. He knows all about it. Let's start with the numbers -- John.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, indeed, Michael. Let's start in this outlook of the coronavirus, and the influence on those numbers that you're talking about here. Glimmers of hope seen in New York, and Italy, as you were reporting. And also even in South Korea. Providing some solace. I don't want to overplay this, because it's early days here, what life will be like on the economic front, six to nine months down the road. And that's how we see the futures are trading up.

As you suggest, a very different outlook on the oil market here. We had quite a drama between Friday and Sunday playing out here. Let's talk about the three major players. It is Vladimir Putin of Russia; the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman; and Donald Trump.

Russia and Saudi Arabia were trading barbs about who started the price war in March and who was not adhering to the so-called OPEC plus agreement.

As a result, Michael, we were supposed to have this virtual meeting taking place today. That's been pushed to Thursday. And then Donald Trump weighed into the debate, saying that the two need to get their act together, OPEC plus needs to come together, and cut. And if not, we're thinking about putting tariffs on imported oil from Russia, Saudi Arabia, and OPEC players starting as soon as possible to protect U.S. industry.

[00:25:23]

So you can see the complexities playing out here. And I tell you, in the energy market itself, Michael, we went down eight percent at the start, it's stabilized. And it could have been much worse at the open. And the volume picks up in Europe. This is not the end of the day by any stretch of the imagination.

HOLMES: How difficult, in your estimation, will it be to get a deal?

DEFTERIOS: I think very. Because the timeline is so tight to Thursday, and again, as I noted, it was the original timeline of Monday. There's 23 players within the OPEC clause.

And Donald Trump threw a wildcard at everyone, because he was the one pushing to get a deal to cut 10 to 15 percent of supplies, Michael. That's a record if it comes off.

The problem is, from the OPEC plus standpoint, particularly from Saudi Arabia and Russia, they thought that the U.S. would be part of the equation. They're saying if you want a cut of that scale, we need the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Norway.

Some are willing to participate, but when President Trump met with his CEOs at the White House from the oil and gas sector. Apparently, it was not brought up. I'm not sure this is a negotiating ploy, or that's the true belief of Donald Trump at the stage.

So to get the sort of alignment, when they're used to maybe cutting one million barrels a day, and you're looking at 10 to 15 million barrels a day, by 30, it's a challenge.

But there is an incentive here, Michael. Despite the rally that we saw on Thursday and Friday, and the slight sell-off that we're seeing here on the Monday, the price is down better 50 percent since January, which in the oil market seems like a year ago, but it was only three months ago. How's that?

HOLMES: Yes, really. Yes. Last week felt like a year.

John, good to see you. Thanks for that. John Defterios, there is Abu Dhabi.

All right. We'll take a quick break. Tokyo records its biggest single- day jump in coronavirus cases, so could a state of emergency, or even lockdown be coming? We are live in Japan's capital coming up.

Also, lights among the darkness. India sparks a flame of solidarity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:50]

HOLMES: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

The U.S. bracing for a potentially very grim week in the coronavirus pandemic. America's top doctor says the days ahead will be like Pearl Harbor or the September 11 terror attacks but spread out across the country, of course.

According to Johns Hopkins, the pandemic has already killed more than 9,600 people in the U.S. More than 337,000 infected. At least, there were the ones who were being tested.

President Donald Trump again touting an anti-malaria drug, although experts say there is not enough proof to show that it works against the virus.

And in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been spending the night in the hospital more than a week after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Turning our attention to Tokyo, it is reporting its biggest jump of cases in a single day: 143 new infections on Sunday. That brings the city's overall total to more than 1000. Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, says the situation is not bad enough for a lockdown.

All right. Let's go live to Tokyo with journalist Kaori Enjoji. Yes, that -- that number is spiking, but there hasn't been a lot of testing. Some people thought Japan moved slowly in its response. But now there's talk of a state of emergency.

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: Michael, Japan is on the verge of declaring a state of emergency, and I think calls have been mounting over the last days, in particular as the death toll mounts, particularly in cities like Tokyo but also Osaka, that the government might not be doing enough to convey a sense of urgency and do more to contain the outbreak.

The number of sick getting -- testing positive for coronavirus, particularly in Tokyo -- (AUDIO GAP -- and the governor in particular has been urging for a more national response.

I do want to reiterate that if a state of emergency is declared by the prime minister, it does not mean that Japan is going into a lockdown. Legally, Japan can't go into a lockdown. The police can't go into the streets and clear off the people like you've seen in some European cities. That just is not possible from a constitutional perspective.

What it does do, if a state of emergency is declared, is that it gives a lot more power and authority to the local governors, who are now in charge, 47 of them around the country, to impose measures or ask residents to stay at home. It's a little bit similar to what we've been doing now, but there is a lot more authority given to these local governors.

HOLMES: Kaori, I wanted to also just touch on this, I mean, the human aspect, obviously, the most important. Postponing the Olympics, a huge financial hit for the government. What has been the overall economic fallout so far?

ENJOJI: Well, I think the economic fallout from postponing the Olympics is going to seem like child's play, given the downturn that we see in economic activity.

I mean, Daiichi, life insurance, the big life insurer, their economists there says that, if business is closed in April, as they are now, stay that way for the next four weeks, he sees an $80 billion dollar hit in the Japanese economy. This is a massive number at a time when Japan is more than likely to be in a recession already.

Add on top is that, you have the eight top Japanese automakers basically shutting down entirely, or partly, all of their operations here in Japan. They are one of the biggest employers and one of the most important industries in the country. And that is being played out in other sectors, as well. Airlines, department stores and the like.

So Japan was already starting in a very precarious situation, but if this is prolonged, this could all be but a huge dent into the economy. I'm seeing forecasts as low as minus a 7 percent reading on GDP in the months ahead -- Michael.

HOLMES: Wow. That is grim. Kaori Enjoji in Tokyo, appreciate it. Thanks for your reporting.

Let's turn to India now, where there was a candlelight vigil on Sunday. People across the country lighting a flame of solidarity amid the coronavirus. India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, said everyone should, quote, "ensure the dark clouds of the virus make way for the light of hope," adding that no one is alone in the fight.

[00:35:13]

Meanwhile a slim in Mumbai, the largest in Asia, is now a great concern for people testing positive for the virus.

For more, let's go to CNN's Vedika Sud, who's joining us live from New Delhi. A densely populated slum. One imagines a lot of fears about how it could spread there. Fill us in on that and also this candlelight vigil.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, that's a logistical nightmare, isn't it? Because we're talking about a population of at least one million people in Pahari (ph) slum alone, one of Asia's largest slums. And the -- the density of the population, believe it or not, is 30 times that of New York.

We have five cases there, you pointed out rightly. Four confirmed cases, one dead, that did take place, as well, last Wednesday. Now, the man who died was a 56-year-old man. He had no travel history. That is important. There was no travel history connected with the man who died last

Wednesday. He also was confirmed to have the coronavirus. Now, three more cases over the last two days have emerged.

We're talking about a huge density of population in the Pahari (ph) slum. This is a logistical nightmare for the simple reason that these people live cheek to jowl in that area. They don't have access to running water. They don't have access to toilets within their homes, Michael. So they actually have to walk out of their homes, even now, while a few areas are sealed off, and they have to walk to that public toilet. Fourteen hundred people to one public toilet in the slum of Pahari (Ph) is what we have as far as our statistics are concerned.

Now this remains a very, very big challenge for the Indian government. They're doing as much as they can.

As far as the candlelight vigil from Sunday evening is concerned, India responded massively to the prime minister's call that he made on Friday, asking people to come together in the dark hour that the nation is facing.

We saw people go to their balconies, to their doorsteps. They did light dias (ph), which are known as candles and lamps, otherwise, as well as used torches.

But you know what? There were a few people who didn't adhere to the call from the prime minister. They actually went ahead and burst firecrackers. That happened right outside my balcony, as well. And when I spoke to other friends, it was happening across other metropolitan cities. So clearly, it's not wise for people to actually go ahead and burst firecrackers but adhere to the lockdown call that ends in another 10 days from now -- Michael.

HOLMES: Vedika, thank you for that. Vedika Sud there in New Delhi.

Let's let's stay with India and continue the conversation with Dr. Randeep Guleria, who is the director of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. He joins me from Delhi, too. A very respected man in the medical field in India.

The 3-week lockdown, I think it ends in nine days now. But we've seen a spike, in fact. While Vedika was reporting there, India has passed 4,000 cases, 109 dead.

The economy is taking a beating, but can India, with a population of 1.3 billion, afford to lift that lockdown?

RANDEEP GULERIA, DIRECTOR, ALL-INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES: So my mind, we need to really look at the data critically because of the fact that, as you've just said, the number of cases is not that large, and maybe the effect of the lockdown is helping. And therefore, if we have a number of cases increasing, and we want to prevent community spread, especially in the area that you mentioned, like Mumbai. We need to have a more aggressive lockdown.

We could look at a graded lockdown. That is some areas where the rate of infection is low, based on the data, the lockdown may be partially lifted. But in the hot spots, where we have a large number of cases being picked up, I think we will need to look at a more aggressive lockdown so that community spread can be stopped in these areas.

HOLMES: How much testing is being done? I mean, one of the -- one of the sort of criticisms around the world, and particularly here in the United States, is we don't really know how many people have it or have had it, because the testing isn't widespread. Dose that need to happen so you know where the hotspots are? And also, can the medical system handle the numbers which could count?

GULERIA: So I think those are two important questions. The first is regarding the testing. Testing has been done in a graded manner. And we're looking at areas where we need to expand on our testing. It started off with people coming from abroad, because this virus came from outside and close contacts.

Now we're doing aggressive testing in people who have severe acute respiratory illnesses and picking it up in hospitals. There's also surveillance going on with what we call influence-like illness, ILI, across the country, to see whether there are hot spots or there is a spike in the number of cases of ILI or severe, acute respiratory illness being reported. And that area is being tested.

We're also now going to roll out the antibody testing in a large number of areas to see whether we are having some degree of mild asymptomatic community transmission in the country.

So testing needs to be rolled out, but basically to be done to answer the question, to help us to really see where we need to go ahead.

Regarding the hospital resources, it's a huge challenge. India is a huge country and we have -- hospital resources are going to be restrained.

What advantage we had is that we've had time over the last few weeks to start preparing. And a lot of work has gone into prepare a lot of forward hospitals, facilities, whether it be PPE, whether it be ventilators or whether it be trying to train our doctors to manage this.

But I suppose we need to see how we could flatten the curve, because if we had this huge surge of cases, as is happening in the U.S., it's going to be a big problem as far as India is concerned.

HOLMES: And just quickly, we've only got a minute or so. Your concerns about spread in these deeply populated, these densely populated areas, the Dhavari (ph) slums, as we were talking about. Your fears when it comes to these densely-populated areas? Because that's where things could be really bad.

GULERIA: That's true. So the most important thing there is to get community participation. Because this is an area which is very, very heavily populated. We will need to see how can we isolate these individuals and put them into an institutionally-based quarantine. Because they cannot quarantine themselves for too long. If you have a number of people living in one room, it's not possible

for them to have home quarantine or self-quarantine. So a facility which can hold them up for two weeks so that they don't spread the infection to others in their community is something that needs to be looked at.

In my mind, the control of this disease is going to be through the community rather than through the hospitals.

HOLMES: Great analysis. Doctor Randeep Guleria, thank you so much. Appreciate you joining us on the program.

GULERIA: Thank you very much.

HOLMES: All right. We're going to take a quick break. California trying to help the homeless survive the COVID-19 crisis. We're going to talk to an expert about the relief plan for a population at extremely high risk of exposure. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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[00:45:25]

HOLMES: Now, hundreds of thousands of people living on America's streets were already facing tough times, and now the most vulnerable among them are becoming infected by COVID-19.

But for the homeless in California, help is on the way. Governor Gavin Newsom unveiling a plan that will shelter at-risk and infected members of the homeless population in hotels. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay 75 percent of the cost.

And joining me now to discuss the challenges facing the homeless is Dr. Margot Kushel, the director of the University of California's San Francisco Center for Vulnerable Populations. Thanks for doing so. Obviously, the homeless have some pretty specific risks. It's hard to stay home when you don't have one.

DR. MARGOT KUSHEL, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA'S SAN FRANCISCO CENTER FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS: Right. Exactly. I think people experiencing homelessness face several risks.

One is a that they're just so much more likely to catch this infection because of so much of what we are trying to do to prevent people from catching this infection. It revolves around staying at home, keeping at distance from other people. That's obviously impossible to do if you don't have a home. Many people who are homeless live in crowded shelters or live outdoors, where they need to come together to get food or other resources. So it's extremely high risk of developing the infection.

HOLMES: You know, I was reading an article in "Wired," and you were quoted. And I actually just wanted to read it, because it encapsulates this so well. It's this, quote, "It's a calamity. It's our worst nightmare. It's an enormous crisis, super imposed on an existing crisis. Expand on that and how these were already among the sickest and most

deprived in society.

KUSHEL: Exactly. I mean, for us, in America, the homeless crisis has been an ongoing calamity for about the last 40 years. That we haven't really been able to get a handle on and to solve.

And people facing homelessness, even before COVID, had some of the worst health outcomes of all Americans. We saw a lot of early death, a lot of sickness, a lot of stays in hospitals, because it's just been really so hard to stay -- keep a healthy lifestyle or to stay healthy. And in some ways, an outbreak like this is our worst nightmare. It really intensifies the already numerous dangers of homelessness.

HOLMES: You also pointed out in the article that, when it comes to the homeless, I mean, if they are 50 or over, if they're 50, they are physiologically and medically, they look more like they're 70 or 80 because of the challenges of being homeless. That makes them doubly vulnerable.

KUSHEL: Exactly. You know, the homeless population in the United States and, really, worldwide is aging. So then in the U.S. right now, about half of the single adults are 50 and older.

And what we've found through our research is homeless individuals in their fifties and sixties have health profiles that look much more like people in their seventies and eighties. When you're then confronted with a virus like COVID, which -- which is particularly dangerous for older adults, that is just another layer of concern that we have.

So not only are people experiencing homelessness more likely to become infected, but they're much more likely to experience the very deadly and serious consequences of the virus.

HOLMES: We're nearly out of time, but I did want to ask you that, on top of the existing problem, you've got -- you've got 10 million people more applying for unemployment benefits over the last few weeks, people who lost jobs, likely facing, you know, precarious financial futures, perhaps including their housing.

KUSHEL: Right. Exactly. So right at the time when we are most aware of the dangers of homelessness, we're really preparing ourselves for what could be an enormous influx of new people experiencing homelessness, which would be a tragedy, really, at this time.

HOLMES: Really good to get your perspective, Dr. Margot Kushel, director of the University of California, San Francisco Center for Vulnerable Populations. An important conversation to have. Thank you so much.

KUSHEL: Thank you for having me.

HOLMES: All right. We're going to take a quick break. No wedding cake to order. No guests to worry about, and most importantly, no drama. Some weddings moving online to avoid the coronavirus pandemic. We'll have that after the break.

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[00:53:42]

HOLMES: A guitarist playing his instrument high above a nearly deserted square in Rome. The musician says he wants to give hope to people who are isolating in their homes because of the coronavirus. When his song ended, people within earshot applauded the impromptu concert, and the guitarist waved the Italian flag.

And our next story proves not only the coronavirus can stand in the way of love. CNN's Anna Stewart met a couple who moved their wedding online.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are now husband and wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may break the glass.

DAN KRAEMER, NEWLYWED: It's actually an old Duo (ph) bag or something, because in a pandemic, I couldn't get a nice one. But here goes. Look out. I don't want to step on you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mazel tov.

KREMER: Mazel tov.

ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Newlyweds Dan Kraemer and Linda Feldman (ph) planned to have a private wedding in Chicago in April.

KRAEMER: And all this corona stuff happening, and I saw all these people postponing things and canceling. And I said, Let's just move it up instead.

STEWART: Rearranging plans, the couple decided to take their ceremony virtual, via the video conference app Zoom.

KRAEMER: Instead of a secret wedding with no relatives there, no drama, yes, we kind of invited everybody.

STEWART (on camera): I know, and I've seen it. I loved it. I really enjoyed your wedding. Thank you very much.

(voice-over): Complete with musicians, officiants.

KRAEMER: Father Gross (ph), you got your camera on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think so.

STEWART: And Corona beer photos.

KRAEMER: Put a ring on it. That's good.

STEWART: Dan and Linda tied the knot in front of their friends and family across the United States and abroad, all from the comfort of their homes.

LINDA FELDMAN, NEWLYWED: It was just such a neat thing, to be able to have people from all over the country, and honestly, the world. We have friends that are abroad. And even, like, a 90-year-old lady that's in a nursing home that's quarantined that would have never been able to make it because of her health, cost, safety, was able to watch it enough to be able to figure it out on her iPad and attend. So that was just the coolest thing.

STEWART: And the two have a piece of advice for performing a virtual wedding. Don't forget the bride.

KRAMER: I'm sorry to interrupt. We forgot to bring the bring the bride in!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should probably bring the bride in. That's a good idea.

STEWART; Much like Dan and Linda, many others across the world haven't let coronavirus cancel their declarations of love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the midst of chaos, only love can stand as a beacon of light to guide us all and remind us of what is most sacred in the world.

STEWART: All to show that music can come from chaos.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(ACCORDION MUSIC)

KRAEMER: That was great. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Mazel tov to them. You've got to wonder, after all this time together, if there's going to be online divorces in a little while.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. Just kidding. I'm Michael Holmes. Up next, the CNN special report, inside the incredible fight against coronavirus. It is compelling. Please watch. I'll be back in another hour with more news.

You're watching CNN.

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