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taly And Spain See Signs Of Hope In COVID-19 Outbreak; COVID-19 Taking Toll On African-Americans; Wuhan Lifts Lockdown And Outbound Travel Ban; Death Toll in France Continues to Rise Despite Month-Long Lockdown; U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Nears 13,000; Trump Threatens the World Health Organization; New Zealand Is Squashing the Curve; U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Still in ICU. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired April 08, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, with the U.S. seeing its deadliest day of the pandemic so far, the president turns his fire on the World Health Organization, threatening to withhold funding.
Britain's prime minister still in the ICU while the man who he deputized may not have authority to make key decisions without the approval of the cabinet.
And in Wuhan, China, the place where the outbreak began, residents emerged from an 11-week long lockdown and take their first steps back to normality.
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VAUSE: We begin this hour in France, which has been on lockdown for almost a month but the death toll has continued to rise, now passing 10,000. Only three other countries have reached that threshold, Italy, Spain and the United States.
According to the French government, more than 1,400 people died Tuesday, the largest single day increase so far. Officials warn there is much worse to come.
By contrast, numbers out of Italy look promising with the lowest daily rate of new infections in almost a month. And Spain is expected to lift lockdown restrictions on Monday. The health ministry says they're looking to reopen parts of the economy, despite the number of new deaths and infections rising for the first time after declining for a week.
First, we head to France. Cyril Vanier is live.
To try and slow the spread of the virus, some cities and towns are even banning outdoor exercise.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: We are now in the 4th week of this lockdown. Everybody here is looking for signs that it is getting better. Unfortunately, what we got yesterday evening from the health ministry was the exact opposite.
It was the highest daily death toll France has had since the beginning of this pandemic, topping 1,400 dead. I think that number tells us two things.
First of all, sadly, it was to be expected because we had seen a spike in the number of new patients about a week ago. You know there will be a lag between the number of new patients and the number of deaths that usually follow, several days later.
Secondly, this reveals a crisis within the crisis.
And we have only just understood how significant this is that is, what is happening in the care homes around the country for the sick and the elderly?
There's about 7,000 such care homes. Only a minority have been infected but those that have paid a very heavy price in terms of human lives. When the virus got into these establishments, we are talking about people who are 70, 80, 90, who also have health issues.
When the virus got into these establishments, it has spread very fast and it killed very fast. I was struck by the story, the account given by nurses, who would leave at the end of the day, a patient that they believed was virus free, expecting to see them the following day, only to hear a few hours later that that patient had passed due to the coronavirus.
The reason I mention this is because, of those 1,400 people, more than half of the deaths yesterday come from these care homes, the most vulnerable section of the population.
VAUSE: Cyril Vanier live with the latest from France.
We will hear from reporters across Europe in the hour ahead.
We have seen it in China, Iran, Italy and Spain. Once this virus takes hold, every day the death toll is worse than the day before. So it goes until it peaks.
In the U.S., many are wondering just how bad it will get before it gets better. According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. saw its deadliest day since the outbreak began. More than 1,900 lives lost on Tuesday. The overall American death toll is shy of 13,000. Confirmed cases are now above 400,000.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This will be very painful of a week. And, next week, at least part of next week but probably all of it. If one person dies, it is a painful week. And we know that is going to unfortunately happen, this is a monster.
The strategy is totally working.
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TRUMP: Every American has a role to play in winning this war. And we are going to be winning it.
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VAUSE: The U.S. president also says he would love to reopen the country with a big bang. Nick Watt has more on the states that are dealing with the crisis and preparing for potential disaster.
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, in New York City, more than 800 deaths reported. Triple yesterday's total.
But here on the front lines, the new case count appears to be flattening.
DR. RODRIGO KONG, STATEN ISLAND UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: For the past couple of days, discharging more patients than we are admitting. But this is actually the time when we should redouble our efforts.
WATT: The battle is not over. The war goes on. The NYPD just announced a 13th member has now died from the virus. And more than 500 New York fire department personnel have it.
ANTHONY ALMOJERA, FDNY EMS LIEUTENANT: And I'm still getting EMTs and medics call because they're upset -- they are upset they got sick, because they're not out here. I mean, that's -- I don't know what to say. I mean, that's who's taking care of you.
WATT: Nationwide numbers still rising.
DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: A lot of the other parts of the country are not anywhere near flattening the curve. They're still rising exponentially.
WATT: Michigan one of few states keeping racial data. The black population there is around 14 percent, yet 40 percent of coronavirus deaths are in that black population.
TYRONE CARTER (D), MICHIGAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE: There's still a huge gap between races when it comes to health care and this is magnifying it.
WATT: In Chicago, black people make up 30 percent of the population, but 72 percent of COVID deaths; in Louisiana, similar numbers.
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES, FAMILY PHYSICIAN AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST: They are dying more, because they have -- our bodies have borne the burden of chronic disinvestment, active neglect in our communities. All of those insults on our bodies have given us more of these so-called pre- existing conditions, so once we are infected, we have more severe outcomes.
WATT: The administration is now looking for a light at the end of this tunnel.
DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Normal is going to be a different normal, whenever we do reopen. Once we get a vaccine, we can get more back to the way we treat flu season.
WATT: They are watching how other countries gradually reopen; just hours ago, severe lockdown restrictions were lifted in Wuhan. People are now allowed to leave. And four months after the first case in that city, China now claiming a whole day without a single COVID-19 death nationwide.
Here in California, the governor says the curve is bending and stretching. So it will peak sometime in May. In Los Angeles County, they've designated this stay home week. So we are a few weeks out from that peak.
So if we all stay home, hopefully, that peak will be as low as possible. Meantime, California is lending ventilators to other states in the U.S. that need them right now. These are loans, these are not gifts. The governor making it clear that, at some point, California might need them back -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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VAUSE: In the middle of the global pandemic, the U.S. president has threatened to withhold funding from the World Health Organization. As he often does, President Trump walked that back moments later.
But he has complained for weeks that the WHO criticized his decision in late January to restrict travel from China. Now that complaint has now grown, Trump accusing the WHO of failing in every aspect of this pandemic. CNN's chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta has more.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump spent much of his press conference on the coronavirus blaming the World Health Organization for the pandemic. The president blasted the WHO, accusing them of "calling it wrong" when it came to the global impact the virus would have.
The president was also occasionally wrong about the pandemic himself, at times telling Americans the virus would disappear by this month. At one point during the briefing, the president said he halt U.S. funding to the WHO. When he was reminded that would come during a pandemic, the president seemed to back away from that idea. Here is what he had to say.
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TRUMP: We are going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO. We will put a very powerful hold on it and we will see.
QUESTION: Quick follow-up. Is the time to freeze funding to the WHO During a pandemic?
TRUMP: Maybe not. I am not saying I'm going to do it but we will look at it.
QUESTION: You did say that.
TRUMP: No I didn't. We will look at ending funding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The president also weighed in on a memo written back in late January by his trade adviser, Peter Navarro, who warned the coronavirus could become a deadly pandemic, leading to scores of deaths in the U.S.
The president said he had not seen the memo and didn't look for it. The president has described the coronavirus as an unforeseen problem in the past -- Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
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VAUSE: What would have happened if some countries had acted sooner?
Implemented a nationwide lockdown?
What if business leaders supported a shutdown of the economy?
What if instead of lashing out at political rivals, the country's leaders worked together?
What if officials had not played down the threat but warned of potential dangers?
That scenario is playing out in New Zealand, where the government reports the number of confirmed cases has dropped for a third day for a total of just over 1,200. And the death toll stands at one. Not 1,000, not 100, one. We are joined by the deputy prime minister of New Zealand.
Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us.
WINSTON PETERS, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: You are welcome. Thank you for having me on.
VAUSE: When will the government know if it's the right time to start to ease off on these restrictions on movement?
There is a temptation I imagine to relax and help the economy and allow people to get back to their normal lives?
PETERS: The restrictions first went out on the 19th of March. They went to level 3 on the 23rd. Then we realized we should go to level 4. That is the top of the alert. We have 1,210 since it began. We started with 35 on the 19th of March. These were all from overseas connections.
Today, we have 12 in hospital, 4 in the ICU and one death. As you say, for the third day, the numbers are down. But we have to keep on testing people because absence of evidence is not evidence of the absence.
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VAUSE: New Zealand in many ways might be a case study in what should be done during a pandemic.
Was there a moment the government looked at what was happening in Italy and Spain and saw the grim predictions and said, we have to do something differently?
PETERS: We looked at all the responses from different countries, Wuhan, for a start and then other countries. We tried to put together as much evidence as we could from that, going back to the Spanish flu of 1918, 101 years ago.
So we put the best knowledge we could together and tried to, at the same time, this is extraordinarily difficult, get an economic analysis of where this will go. And we are still trying to with heightened testing deal get a better feel for the actuality of this event in this country.
We don't want to be coming out of a level 4 to a lower level in the future because we could have made a mistake. With the level of public confidence and taking the public with us will be a serious issue here. So when we move, we want to know if we are moving with as much certainty as we can.
VAUSE: It seems the plan was essentially that a lockdown had to come sooner or later. And you may as well do it quick and right and make sure there is broad support across the country.
PETERS: You're right. We decided to go early and go real hard and put the message out and help as many people as possible. We tried to show that people's economic livelihoods were preserved so that we get cooperation to get on top of this.
We are all dealing worldwide with something we have yet to put our scientific finger on, so to speak. In the meantime, populations are critical and cooperation of the population is critical for our success. We know that and we are grateful to these people.
They are cooperating and staying at home, keeping a social distance of 2 meters and are trying collectively to beat this plague.
VAUSE: There has been a zero tolerance policy for violating the lockdown. One of those violators was a government minister, called out and demoted by the prime minister. I want you to listen to what she said. You have heard, it many viewers have not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: Under normal circumstances, I would sack the minister. What he did was wrong and there are no excuses. Disrupting our current plans to take on this global pandemic by removing the minister of health, in my mind, was not in the best interest of New Zealand.
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VAUSE: How important was that the prime minister showed the country that everyone is accountable no matter who they are?
PETERS: It was very important. I am sure the prime minister found this a very difficult moment. His colleagues, fellow cabinet ministers, find this difficult. It is hard to understand. It was an action that had to have a reaction from the highest level.
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PETERS: But in this crisis of medical and health management it is still a priority for us. But we all make mistakes. We are going to make mistakes. But our job is to collectively learn from them. And the law applies to the highest in the country.
VAUSE: There has been this decision to include the leader of the opposition, the national party. In some ways, that has made this a national effort.
Has it removed a lot of the politics around this?
PETERS: Not entirely. And that is sad. But at least this is a committee where the they get to chair the committee and get to have the priority on the questions and it is an attempt in very conflated circumstances to hold the governors and ministers to account. It appears to be working but there is always a tendency, sad to say, for some people see political advantage during a crisis like this.
VAUSE: Before we go, the prime minister had some good news for children not just in New Zealand but around the world. Here it is.
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ARDERN: You will be pleased to know that we consider both the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny to be essential workers. As you can imagine, at this time, they will be particularly quite busy at home with their families as well and their own bunnies.
So I say to the children of New Zealand, if the Easter Bunny doesn't make it to your household, then we have to understand that it's a bit difficult at the moment for the Bunny to perhaps get everywhere.
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VAUSE: My takeaway is that, amongst the lockdowns and regulations, there are moments of humanity as well.
PETERS: Exactly right. You have to keep a sense of proportion. You have to remain common sensed, focused, feet on the ground, eyes wide open. But human compassion is a very critical component at this time.
VAUSE: Mr. Peters, the deputy prime minister of New Zealand, thank you very much.
PETERS: Thank you very much.
VAUSE: Nervous eyes are on London this hour. Just ahead, the prime minister is still in hospital as the U.K. braces for what could be its worst days yet in the pandemic. With Boris Johnson ill, the foreign secretary is filling in but the lines of succession in the U.K. are more complicated than you may think.
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VAUSE: To London now, where the British prime minister spent a second night in intensive care. Boris Johnson tested positive for the coronavirus almost two weeks ago. His declining health is adding to the anxieties of an already anxious nation. As the pandemic inches towards its peak in the U.K., there may be signs of hope.
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PATRICK VALLANCE, U.K. SCIENCE ADVISER: It's possible we're beginning to see the start of a change where we might see numbers flattening off. We won't be sure about that for a week or so. And we need to keep looking at it but it does begin to suggest that things might be moving in the right direction.
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VAUSE: For more on the health of Boris Johnson, CNN's Max Foster at St. Thomas Hospital in London. That's where the prime minister is in the ICU -- Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: The last update we had was 12 hours ago but it was more positive than previous updates because his condition had stabilized. He is not on a respirator. He doesn't have pneumonia. Let's wait and see what updates we get about his condition overnight.
This was his second night in intensive care. This is still a very serious situation. We also have the wider political concerns as well, the decisions that he cannot currently make. The big one looming is whether or not to review the lockdown currently in place in the United Kingdom. That decision is due next week.
Will Dominic Raab have to make a call on that?
Let's go to Nina dos Santos. Away from the immediate concerns of the prime minister's health, there
are political questions which will arise every day, decisions the prime minister can only make.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: That's right. Dominic Raab is deputizing as necessary but that doesn't necessarily mean he can encompass all of the tasks that are looming in the immediate future.
Those tasks will have to do with containing this coronavirus pandemic that, in the United Kingdom, you heard yesterday, according to the government, scientific advisers, maybe showing some signs of plateauing.
But that's only dependent on people adhering to the current rules, to stay inside your home, try and keep a far distance from other people and stick to those rules until the government tells you otherwise.
The problem they have is that we have a long Easter weekend looming. The weather has been pretty clement recently. That could tempt people outside. So far, things are holding. If they do, the government's scientific advisers hope this could be the start of a flattening curve.
Yesterday, we learned that more than 6,000 people are now dead in the United Kingdom because of coronavirus; 55,242 people have tested positive, 213,000 have been tested.
The country needs to ramp up those tests immediately for frontline workers of the National Health Service, who are most at risk and also traveling about. They have to get to their jobs, after all. They also need to mass text the population to have an idea of when it will be safety ease that lockdown and ease those restrictions -- Max.
FOSTER: Nina over there in Downing Street behind me. Thank you for joining us with that update.
Dominic Raab currently running the country; when required -- slightly murky this plan they have in place. The prime minister is in the hospital, he is still in charge. Then there is the question of who succeeds Dominic Raab if he gets the virus and ends up in a critical condition as well. Let's look at the murky succession plans with Nic Robertson.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Dominic Raab, now the U.K.'s de facto decision-maker, offers reassurance about the man he is deputizing for, Boris Johnson, in very good hands in a nearby hospital ICU.
DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: The government business will continue.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The country, effectively in Raab's hands now, effectively because, unlike the United States, the U.K. has no constitutional line of succession, no codified constitution. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If Boris Johnson is elected as the leader of the
Conservative Party...
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The country does not elect a leader. It elects a party, who pick their leader. That means it is the party's leader, Boris Johnson, who designates who takes his place.
Months ago, when drawing up his cabinet, he gave the nod to Raab as likely successor when he appointed him first secretary of state as well as foreign secretary.
BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I just want to say one crucial thing to everyone thinking about --
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ROBERTSON (voice-over): Despite being increasingly ill over the past few days, Downing Street has insisted Johnson was running the country, only finally handing some leadership powers to Raab before going into ICU.
MICHAEL GOVE, BRITISH MINISTER FOR THE CABINET OFFICE: The prime minister has designated foreign secretary Dominic Raab as first secretary of state. That means he takes on the responsibilities of chairing the meetings the prime minister would have chaired. We are all working together to implement the plan the prime minister set out.
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ROBERTSON (voice-over): Beyond Raab, no steps of succession are guaranteed, the expectation is that, after him, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will go to the home secretary, Priti Patel, then Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, will step up as needed. For now, the plan is clear according to Raab. The cabinet will work together following the prime minister's instructions.
RAAB: I have total confidence in the arrangements the prime minister has put in place so that I can discharge responsibility in deputizing for him while he is out of action. We hope that will be a limited period of time.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Johnson is not the first to hand over powers. Churchill did in 1953, reluctantly following a stroke he managed to keep secret for a while. Margaret Thatcher for hand surgery, John Major for flu, Tony Blair for heart surgery, all relinquished decision-making powers, briefly and conventionally.
They designated replacements who duly stood aside on their return.
When Johnson returns remains an open question. Best-case scenario according to doctors could be a week, perhaps two, depending on his recovery. Until then, officials here insist the government can cope with any eventuality -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FOSTER: Nick was describing previous situations. But it is just not the same. It is much more serious. We don't know -- those other situations were hand surgery, for example. We don't know how this will end. We don't know how long he will have to convalesce for. So there are great minds trying to figure out who is actually in charge.
VAUSE: It is a troubling situation and the lack of information coming from Downing Street is not helping. Max, thank you.
When we come back, the coronavirus is killing African Americans at a much higher rate than any other ethnic group in the United States. Right now no one knows why.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. There are signs of hope in Italy and Spain that maybe they've turned a corner in this fight against the Coronavirus. For more, Journalist Al Goodman is in Madrid, but we will start with CNN Contributor Barbie Nadeau in Rome. And Barbie, there's now this very difficult sort of balancing act. How much longer should these restrictions stay in place before the economy completely and totally collapses? How soon can factories restart without endangering lives from the virus?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. You know, all the papers this morning are talking about phase two and what that's going to look like. Currently, the lockdown is scheduled to end on Monday, April 13th, but nobody thinks that's going to happen. We're expecting to hear the Prime Minister later in the week layout what happens next.
And what they're discussing is how they could possibly open some of the factories and to kickstart the economy, and then eventually how they're going to let society back out. Now as this lockdown enters its second month, we're past 30 days now of the lockdown, you know, people are getting nervous about what's the -- what the future looks like. It's almost terrifying to go out again. You know, people are worried that contagion will start that it will just start all over, and we'll be faced with the same thing we were faced with a month ago.
So there's a lot -- a lot on the plate here, a lot on the table for the government to try to sort out but everybody's optimistic that we've turned the corner here in Italy, and that things are just going to keep getting better, John.
VAUSE: Barbie, thank you. Al, to you though in Madrid, what we're hearing from the government there, the numbers are fluctuating a small surge perhaps in the number of cases. But overall, they say, they expect that but the trend is what they're looking at, and that's downwards. AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: That's right. And they say that this slight increase in the number of deaths and new cases in the last 24 hour reporting period was due to probably a lag in the information coming into Madrid, from the Madrid regions. They're confident that the stabilization phase is on.
They're looking to phase two. The lockdown has been in place for almost a month. It's already been extended for another two weeks almost to the end of April. But the government is disclosing more plans about what has happens after all of this.
And the Spanish health minister at a press conference answering a question from CNN had this to say about what's coming after Easter. Let's listen.
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SALVADOR ILLIA, HEALTH MINISTER, SPAIN: Next Monday, we are going to reopen some parts of our economy. We're going to go back to the situation we had at the beginning of our decree at the 14th of March. And we are taking out the appropriate measures to avoid a spike in the cases.
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GOODMAN: And the way that they're going to try to avoid an a spike in the cases is they gradually open things up as they're going to test he announced 60,000 Spaniards, a representative sample of the population over the next three weeks to determine just how deeply the Coronavirus has penetrated into the society and for people who are not showing symptoms.
So that will give them a chance of how they will open up, where they will open up, and they're expecting that this will give them more ideas, they say, on how quickly they can open up and get things back to normal. Right now, everybody's waiting to see how it's going to look on Monday after Easter. John?
VAUSE: OK, we will hold our breath and wait. Al, thank you. Al Goodman in Madrid, Barbie Nadeau in Rome, thanks to you both. The Coronavirus appears to be taking a greater toll on African Americans in the United States compared with every other ethnic group. This racial disparity has emerged from early data on COVID-19 fatalities in Louisiana, in particular. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports on some of the reasons why.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ronald Lewis embodied the soulful spirit of New Orleans. He led the Big 9 Social Club, which hosts epics second line parades around his Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood. Hurricane Katrina took his home, but friends say he came back and became like a godfather of New Orleans culture.
RACHEL BREURLIN, FRIEND OF RONALD LEWIS: To love New Orleans, he understood the complexity of New Orleans. He brought out the best in us in our ability to come together. LAVANDERA: On March 18, Lewis was rushed to the hospital. Two days later, he died. It wasn't until the day of his funeral that his family says they learned he was infected with the Coronavirus.
BREURLIN: That was shocking. You know, he had just gone into the hospital. And I still really haven't wrapped my mind around it all the way.
LAVANDERA: Ronald Lewis' family says the 68-year-old suffered from diabetes and was recovering from a mild heart attack last year, but they never thought the COVID-19 infection would take his life. The mortality statistics across the country aren't jarring. In Louisiana, African Americans make up 32 percent of the population, but make up slightly more than 70 percent of Coronavirus deaths.
In Michigan and Illinois, African Americans make up about 15 percent of the overall population, yet account for about 40 percent of COVID- 19 deaths.
COREY HEBERT, PHYSICIAN: This is an abomination, but it's not unexpected. And I want everyone to understand that New Orleans is a microcosm of every urban center in America.
LAVANDERA: Dr. Hebert has worked as a physician in New Orleans for 25 years. He broke down the factors contributing to the high death rate among African Americans. Underlying health issues like heart disease and diabetes are prevalent. And if you drive around New Orleans, it's easy to find poor neighborhoods where people don't have access to healthcare. Many of these neighborhoods are also food deserts, where the best grocery store might be the corner store. It's a recipe for disaster says Dr. Herbert.
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HERBERT: When you are chronically oppressed, when you are chronically trying to get the scraps in the crumbs, that actually decreases your ability to have a good immune system because you're constantly in a fight or flight syndrome, constantly with cortisol levels and epinephrine levels because you don't know where your next meal is going to come from.
The odds of you say, I'm going to get some broccoli for that next meal versus, you know, a hamburger. That hamburger cost $0.99 and the broccolis $3.99 a bunch. You know that's a life or death situation for you, and some people just really don't understand it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we're not worried about it at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fake.
LAVANDERA: But as the Coronavirus started to spread around the world, social media conspiracy theories were spreading even faster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Minority can't catch it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Minorities can't catch Coronavirus. LAVANDERA: Clips like these went viral. Medical experts worry this
misinformation has kept and can keep many African Americans from getting life-saving information. Actor Idris Elba who announced in March he was sickened by the Coronavirus took to social media to fight back at the disinformation.
IDRIS ELBA, ACTOR: Please stop sending the conspiracy theory nonsense about black people not being able to get Coronavirus or COVID-19. It's dumb. It's silly. It's very dangerous. People need to know facts, need to understand the truth, so that they can protect themselves. Stop sending this stuff out. It's very dangerous for all.
LAVANDERA: And the number of deaths due to Coronavirus continues to jump here in the state of Louisiana. Health officials here report that in the last 24 hours, 70 more people have died. That is the largest increase in one day that this state has seen since this pandemic broke out. Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.
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VAUSE: Well, he volunteered for one the most crucial and most dangerous jobs at a hospital right now, putting COVID-19 patients on ventilators. We'll explain why he's risking his own life after a short break. Plus, some of the world's wealthiest tech tycoons stepping up for Coronavirus relief including one who's pledged a quarter of his entire fortune to charity.
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VAUSE: Sense of normalcy is setting over the place where this outbreak began. No one has been allowed to leave the city of Wuhan for 76 days, a draconian lockdown which will become a standard operating procedure to contain the virus there. Now anyone deemed healthy or low risk is actually allowed to travel. CNN Senior Producer Steven Jiang joining us again from Beijing.
Good to have you with us, Steven. It's important to note, in Wuhan in China, not all restrictions have been lifted. They've been eased. School, for example, is still out. They haven't returned to school. They don't know when. And many seem almost reluctant to return to business as usual. What's the situation?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, that's right. But still, the ease of the lifting of the travel restrictions was a big moment for the city. As you mentioned, millions of people have been trapped in their homes and residences for 76 days to be exact, really with the kind of lockdown measures wreaking havoc on their lives and livelihood.
That's why hours before the midnight reopening time, if you will, we saw cars lining up on expressways. State media actually interview the first driver in line. He was from a nearby town, only 80 kilometers away. But because of the lockdown, he had been stuck in Wuhan for over two months, separated from his family, missed Chinese New Year. That's why he arrived at the checkpoint eight hours before midnight. And that kind of eagerness is being echoed throughout the city.
But we are now seeing a mass exodus from the city because remember, five mi1llion people had already left town even before the January 23rd lockdown. So now the outbound traffic is mostly consisted of out of towners stuck in town because of the lockdown as well as the migrant workers trying to go back to their jobs and a limited amount of business traffic.
Now, the authorities are expecting some 65,000 people to leave Wuhan today on Wednesday, most of them will be taking trains. That's why we see local railway officials literally dust off their bullet trains making them shiny, clean, and disinfected. They're running 276 trains today from Wuhan carrying some 55,000 people bound for -- mostly bound for the manufacturing hub in southern China.
The city's Airport has reopened as well. They're running 54 flights on Wednesday. Only a fraction, obviously, of their normal operations before the outbreak, but still it's the first time in over two months. We see commercial flights take off and land in the airport.
But still, John, as you -- as you mentioned, this is nowhere near normal. Authorities are telling local residents most of whom are obviously still staying input that they should stay at home as much as possible and avoid non-essential travel and activities.
That's why you see even though parks and shops have reopened, a lot of most entertainment venues and other places remain closed, and you still see a lot of obsessive health checks throughout a city, not to mention that schools remain closed, as you mentioned, and a lot of access restrictions for both commercial and residential buildings.
So it's a milestone for the city. But we're nowhere near being normal if being normal means going back to the state of things before the outbreak. John?
VAUSE: I think that will be the case pretty much for everyone around the world. When this ends, it will not end the way we think it will. I guess things won't be normal for a while if ever. Steven, thank you, Steven Jiang in Beijing.
Wuhan celebrated the lifting of the lockdown with a midnight light show. Images of medical workers, first responders, and others who've kept the city running were displayed on skyscrapers and bridges of the Chinese provinces which helped the city were recognized as well.
We've heard a lot about a critical shortage of ventilators which has forced doctors in many countries to make life and death decisions. Who misses out and dies, who gets one and a chance to live. Before this pandemic, usually a patient would stay on a ventilator for up to five days. Now, doctors say it's between two to three weeks. And the grim reality of COVID-19 is that most patients who are intubated still won't survive.
Dr. Cory Deburghgraeve, an anesthesiologist at the Chicago Hospital wrote in The Washington Post about Watching Death in real-time. "It's a powerless feeling watching someone die. The oxygen level drops, the heart rate drops, the blood pressure drops, these patients are dying on the ventilator. And sometimes when they take away the body, the tube is still in the airways.
Dr. Deburghgraeve is with us now from Chicago. So Cory, thank you for taking time to talk with us. I guess where you are right now, the number of patients is still surging, and there's a lot worse to come. So at this point, how you and your colleagues are holding up on all this? How are you coping?
CORY DEBURGHGRAEVE, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Yes. So obviously, it's very challenging and it's a totally new challenge, you know. And medicine and especially with anesthesia, we try to be very forward-thinking and anticipate problems, but you know, who could have anticipated a pandemic like this? So, you know, we're taking it one step at a time trying to anticipate and come up with new kind of unique solutions to problems.
But you know, everyone's doing the best they can. It's very taxing physically, emotionally, mentally. So, you know, we have a good community within my hospital, a lot of us have been reaching out to the community for donations, for masks, for you know, people bringing us food, things like that just to be really supportive. But you know, it's taking a lot on us.
[02:45:31]
VAUSE: And one thing about this virus, it seems pretty brutal once it takes hold and the symptoms seem especially cruel. Has that sort of you know, surprised, have been a shock to you?
DEBURGHGRAEVE: Well, yes. You know, as an anesthesiologist, I'm used to seeing my patients, you know, they're not excited for surgery, but they kind of know what to expect and, you know, generally people are OK with the pain control and waking up after surgery. And with this, it's such a change because people really sometimes they come in with a cough a few hours ago, and then all sudden they're being intubated and put on a ventilator. So it's hard because it's a total change from what we're used to.
And you know, sometimes I walk into the patient's room and I have this entire what looks like a spacesuit on me. And it makes it hard to have that human connection with someone, you know, they're gasping for air, they're panicking, they look pale. So it's a lot on us.
VAUSE: There always seems to be in almost a sort of an article of faith. If o1nly we have in our ventilators, we're all going to be fine. That's not the reality. And here's how one doctor explained it to the New York Times how hard it is to keep someone alive. "Doctors are left wi1th impossible choices. Too much oxygen poisons the air sacs worsening the lung damage, too little damages the brain and kidneys. Too much air pressure damages lung, too little means the oxygen can't get in. Doctors try to optimize, to tweak."
You know, realistically, I mean, can this be maintained this sort of level of attention, the sort of care maintaining and tweaking, you know, with so many people in need, and so many more to come? DEBURGHGRAEVE: Right. And that's the concern. You know, each of these patients, what they're suffering is called ARDS or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It's not something that's unheard of. We've seen it with other respiratory viruses and illnesses. But typically, the average hospital I would guess, will only have a few at that patients that they're dealing with.
Now, we have ICU is full of these patients, and each one of them needs such tailored specific care. You know, it's not like, you know, there's one antibiotic for this infection and one treatment for that. This is really every patient is so individualized and has such different needs. So that requires lots of nurses, respiratory therapists, doctors going in and out of the room throughout the day to make small little tweaks here and there. It's taxing the system, no doubt.
VAUSE: And you mentioned just a moment ago about the protective gear that you have to wear, and you wrote about that in the Washington Post. And you also talked about that moment that you get this message on your pager that you are required. And you wrote, I grab my backpack of medications and my duffel bag of protective gear and run for the stairs. There isn't time to wait for the elevator. I go two floors up to the ICU, get into my protective gear outside the room, mask, face shield, hood, secondary hood, personal air filter, gown, two sets of sanitized gloves.
How many times a day are you being paged and intubating a patient? And in many cases, you know, this person, you could be the last person they ever see.
DEBURGHGRAEVE: Right. You know, to answer your second question first, it's a unique challenge for me because I expect all my patients to wake up usually. And in this case, you hope that they wake up, but you have no idea. It's difficult to predict. So you know, I take it very seriously that I may be the last face or voice they hear. And I try to spend some time with the patient if I can, and try to really show an extra level of compassion.
But to address your first question, how many times in a day, it really varies. I'm working overnight shifts generally, and it really varies. Initially, earlier during the pandemic, it was one to two. Now, we're seeing like four or five a night. And then we're just one small or one medium-sized hospital in the city. There's several hospitals that are experiencing the same thing. So it's quite a bit.
And you know, you put that protective gear on that you mentioned, putting it on as the easy part because you assume it's clean, taking it off after the intubation is what's really challenging because now it's contaminated, and you can't really -- you have to be really careful not to touch any part of your body with the contaminated equipment.
VAUSE: Because the rate of infection and mortality among healthcare workers has been much higher around the world compared with the general population. Again, I want to quote your op-ed because you made your end of life wishes clear to your family. And if you end up on a ventilator, you're doing OK. You said, just leave me alone, but you had this. If I'm going through liver and kidney failure, and if I'm cognitively impaired at that point, and if you can tell my body is failing, and I'm not going to get back to being who I am, dot, dot, dot, it was a hard conversation. I cannot imagine how hard.
But I guess one of main reasons you had that conversation is because you're a lifelong asthmatic, you have respiratory issues, which means if you're infected, you most likely develop severe life-threatening symptoms. And because you're a healthcare worker, the odds of getting infected are much higher. So why do this? Why did you volunteer?
[02:50:06]
DEBURGHGRAEVE: Yes. You know, it's an interesting -- it's an interesting question. And my family and loved ones have asked me the same thing because they know that it is an increased risk for healthcare workers and with my asthma. But you know, I've been training my whole life since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a doctor, and I just wanted to help people. And I just really idolized my heroes I saw on TV or in real life who were doctors.
And now that I'm in the profession that I love so much, especially with an anesthesia, when something like this comes up, and I see that it's going to really tax the system, and there's some of my colleagues are older, some of them have young children. I thought, I'm not taking care of elderly, elderly parents. I don't have young kids at home, so I'm happy to take this on.
It's a scary risk, no doubt, but I really am trying to think about my patients first and me second, and you know, while still, of course, taking care of myself and being very vigilant about if any symptoms develop. But I just -- I can't imagine not working during this time when I know that doctors are needed.
VAUSE: It's incredible. I wish you nothing but the best. Stay well.
DEBURGHGRAEVE: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: And to find out how you can help those who've been hit hardest by this pandemic and help those health professionals on the front lines as well as service workers, please go to cnn.com/impact. I should note this. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is dedicating more than a quarter of his wealth, $ 1 billion, to a new charity fund which -- with an immediate focus on Coronavirus relief.
His pledge follows similar efforts by other big tech names including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, who have both pledged $100 million to virus relief. One way to go to match Dorsey. Now the longer you're in quarantine it seems, the more challenges there are, like personal grooming, and for some, every day is fast becoming a bad hair day.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Normally, a report like the one you're about to see would come with a warning, please don't try this at home. But let's face it, most of us don't have a choice. Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Gentlemen and ladies, start your engines. Put on your kids lie in bed, but close your eyes so you don't see him coming at you with scissors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't go too high with the razors. OK, why are you going so high? Why are we going so high?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's getting nervous, folks.
MOOS: Even for a neurosurgeon, it's not brain surgery, it's harder. Say hello to uneven ends and a devil horns haircut. Even a long- distance dye job or a buzz cut by a stylist in a hazmat suit are technically off-limits. It's the age of do it yourself, #Coronacuts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no turning back now.
MOOS: The timid may opt for the trusty bold technique, but the bold go all the way. Take Jennifer Schansberg, take it off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This might not be for everybody. I literally have always been curious what I look like bald.
MOOS: Now she knows thanks to a dull pair of scissors and a razor wielded over two days. People say it brings out her eyes. When Star Trek after Anthony Rapp shaved off all of his hair, fans remarked at the droppings resemble the other worldly creatures notice Tribbles. The singer Pink gave herself a drunk cut.
[02:55:07]
PINK, SINGER: When I drink, I get really, really brilliant ideas. I can cut hair.
MOOS: Pink did herself and her eight-year-old daughter helped do dad. The kid says daddy now looks crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MOOS: On the bright side, to be fair, it's not too many barbers that would have three staff looking after you. Washington Nationals Relief Pitcher Sean Doolittle had his wife do maintenance on his mohawk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have band-aids?
MOOS: Things may seem like they're going downhill, but at least quarantine hair gives brothers an excuse to exchange digs.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You look like you've been cutting your own hair.
MOOS: Corona cuts not for the faint of heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy crap. MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was so liberating. I love -- I can't stop touching my head.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: We got an I-24, I-24. Oh, Richard is waving --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, that is actor Matthew McConaughey and family playing virtual bingo with senior citizens in Texas. McConaughey hosted bingo night on a video chat with the Enclave at Round Rock Senior Living Center north of Austin. So how did they get McConaughey to host? They asked him.
Apparently, McConaughey was willing to help out as a way to connect with the residents and raise morale. So it was a gateway to heaven number 27 for some before time for time tea, number 83.Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues next with my colleague and friend Rosemary Church after a short break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCONAUGHEY: I-24, I-24. Oh, Richard is waving his hand up high. We got Charles held his hand up high. We got two winners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and around the world, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
END
