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More U.S. States Easing Restrictions this Week; New York Governor Outlines Phased Reopening Strategy; Some Businesses to Reopen in Colorado this Week; States Report Rise in Calls About Ingesting Disinfectants; U.K. Prime Minister Back to Work After Recovering from COVID-19; British Prime Minister Asks People to Contain Impatience in Virus Fight; Italy to Allow some Businesses to Reopen May 4th. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 27, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead. Open for business. Despite warnings from health officials, more U.S. states start to loosen restrictions. We will have the latest for you on that.

Summer is almost upon us and millions of kids may have to stay inside. How to protect the mental health of our children.

Also ahead, North Korea isn't being very forthcoming about Kim Jong- un's recent high-profile absence but South Korea is weighing in and we will have a live report from Seoul.

Good to have you with us. In the coming hours, a number of states across the country will be easing restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. As governors push forward with plans to reopen and restart their local economies, those states stretch from Hawaii all the way to South Carolina. In Georgia where cases and the death toll continue to rise, movie theaters and restaurants now have the green light to get back to business under certain guidelines. Just days after nail salons and gyms were cleared to reopen. Tennessee is also allowing restaurants to reopen at 50 percent capacity. New York, the state hardest hit by the pandemic, is now looking ahead at when it can safely reopen. The governor is cautiously optimistic.

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ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: But there's no doubt but that we have at this point gone through the worst and as long as we act prudently going forward, the worst should be over.

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CHURCH: And CNN reporters are tracking developments across the United States. CNN's Evan McMorris Santoro is in New York where the governor has now laid out the state's phased reopening strategy. And CNN's Gary Tuchman is in Greeley, Colorado where some businesses are set to reopen this week. But let's start with Evan.

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EVAN MCMORRIS SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York's stay at home order began five weeks ago today. It's scheduled to end on May 15th, 19 days from now. There have been a lot of questions about just what will happen when May 15th comes, and today Governor Andrew Cuomo gave some answers. Laying out the potential for a phased reopening that would begin when the so-called New York pause ends.

There are a lot of caveats. Any reopening would first come to the state's less populous and less affected upstate region. Manufacturing and construction would reopen first and even then, only under strict new guidelines. But if that happens without a major increase in infections, Cuomo said other businesses can start to reopen too under their own strict new social distancing rules. The whole process would take weeks and it's unclear when New York City would be a part of it. It's a slow and careful shift. But potentially a big one for the state most affected by this pandemic. Evan McMorris Santoro, CNN, New York.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the city of Greeley in Weld County, Colorado, where many businesses will be open on Monday just like in the other 63 counties in Colorado. The governor has called for a reopening of retail businesses that were considered nonessential but that have filed safety protocols and will deliver goods to curbside. On Friday, on May 1, those retail stores will then allow people inside if they're still following safety protocols.

Also on Friday, barber shops, beauty shops, manicurists, tattoo parlors, other personal-care businesses will be allowed to open. What's different about this measure is that the 64 counties have some say in how this works out in the state. For example, Denver City and Denver County don't want things to reopen tomorrow, so they're allowed to postponement.

But other counties, like in Weld County want more businesses to reopen. They are supposed to ask for a waiver from the state to reopen businesses. As far as we know that waiver has been asked for, but county leaders here have told business leaders they can open up their stores.

So this place right here, this is a barber shop, it's called The Barber Shop, they're plan is to reopen on Monday. They say they have a full book of appointments between 9 and 6. You can see on his door there's a sticker. There was a cleaning crew that came in here April 26th to sanitize it, to clean up. They specialize in COVID cleaning, they say. So the plan is to open this business, this barber shop, even though the governor doesn't want barber shops to open just yet.

[04:05:00]

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: And health experts say and have said all along, that the only way to reopen safely is to test people on a massive scale. Testing everyone, people with and without coronavirus symptoms. The U.S. isn't there yet. The White House response coordinator said it's going to take something big.

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DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We have to realize that we have to have a breakthrough innovation in testing. We have to be able to detect antigen rather than constantly try to detect the actual live virus or the viral particles itself. And to really move into antigen testing. And I know corporations and diagnostics are working on that now. We have to have a breakthrough. This RNA testing will carry us certainly through the spring and summer. But we need to have a huge technology breakthrough and we're working on that at the same time.

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CHURCH: And President Trump has come under intense criticism for comments about potentially injecting disinfectants into people's bodies to treat the coronavirus. He insists he was being sarcastic but he may be adding to a dangerous trend. Health officials were already reporting a rise in poisonings from cleaners and disinfectants. And now some states say there's an uptick in calls to poison control centers after the president's remarks. A listen to the governors of Maryland and Michigan.

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LARRY HOGAN, MARYLAND GOVERNOR: We had hundreds of calls in our hotline here in Maryland about people asking about injecting or ingesting these disinfectants. Which is, you know, hard to imagine that people thought that was serious, but people actually were thinking about this. Was this something you could do to protect yourself?

GRETCHEN WHITMER, MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: All I know is this, when the person with the most powerful position on the planet is encouraging people to think about disinfectants, whether it was serious or not, people listen. And so, we have seen an increase in numbers of people calling poison control. And so, I think it's really important that every one of us with a platform disseminate medically accurate information.

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CHURCH: And amid the fallout of his disinfectant comments, there were rumors President Trump might look to announce a major shakeup in his cabinet. But it looks like the head of the Health and Human Services Department is keeping his job for now at least. CNN's Kristin Holmes has the details from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KRISTIN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump taking to Twitter Sunday night denying reports that that White House officials were looking into replacing HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Sources confirm to CNN on Saturday, that those discussions were taking place. It's important to remember that it had been a much speculation to White House aides for weeks over what was going to happen to Azar.

Keeping in mind that President Trump named Vice President Pence the head of the task force over Azar. We also knew Azar was butting heads with Seema Verma, another task force member. But more importantly, a close ally of Vice President Pence. And we had not seen Azar in any public briefing are doing any interviews for weeks.

But one thing to note is the timing of all of this. While the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been widely criticized, the last few weeks have been particularly bad, ranging from Republican governors begging the federal government for help with testing, to those comments on Thursday night about ingesting some sort of disinfectant to clear your body of coronavirus.

So this is a time of extreme tension, of blame shifting and of finger- pointing. But it does appear tonight that President Trump is saying that Azar will not be a victim of that blame shifting, at least he will not be a victim tonight. I do want to mention that sources also pointed out to us that there wasn't a huge appetite for a big shakeup at the White House during this coronavirus pandemic response.

Kristin Holmes, CNN, the White House.

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CHURCH: And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Still to come, Italy's squares and streets are empty but that will change very soon. Italian officials have a plan to begin the process of reopening.

Plus, as children in Spain get their first taste of the outdoors after weeks of being cooped up inside, we will discuss with an expert the effect of lockdowns on children. Back in a moment.

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[04:10:00]

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: -- longer than I would've liked and I want to thank everybody who has stepped up. In particular the first Secretary of State, Dominic Raab. Who's done a terrific job.

Once again, I'd want to thank you, the people of this country for the sheer grit and guts you've shown and are continuing to show. Every day I know that this virus brings new sadness and mourning to households across the land. And it is still true that this is the biggest single challenge this country has faced since the war. And I no way minimize the continuing problems we face. And that it is also true that we are making progress with fewer

hospital admissions, fewer COVID patients in ICU and real signs now that we are passing through the peak. And thanks to your forbearance, your good sense, your altruism, your spirit of community, thanks to our collective national resolve, we are on the brink of achieving that first clear mission, to prevent our National Health Service from being overwhelmed in a way tragically we have seen elsewhere. And that is how and why we are now beginning to turn the tide.

If this virus were a physical assailant, an unexpected and invisible mugger, which I can tell you from personal experience, it is, then this is the moment when we have begun together to wrestle it to the floor. And so it follows that this is the moment of opportunity. This is the moment when we can press home our advantage. It is also the moment of maximum risk.

Because I know there will be many people looking now at our current success and beginning to wonder whether now is the time to go easy on those social distancing measures. And I know how hard and how stressful it has been to give up even temporary those ancient and basic freedoms, not seeing friends, not seeing loved ones, working from home, managing the kids, worrying about your job and your firm.

So let me say directly also to British business, to the shopkeepers, to the entrepreneurs, to the hospitality sector, to everyone on whom our economy depends, I understand your impatience. I share your anxiety, but I know that without our private sector, without the drive and commitment of the wealth creators of the country there will be no economy to speak of. There will be no cash to pay for our public services, no way to fund our NHS. And yes, I can see the long-term consequences of lockdown as clearly as anyone. And so, yes, I entirely share your urgency. It's the government's urgency.

[04:15:00]

And yet we must also recognize the risk of a second spike. The risk of losing control of that virus and letting the reproduction rate go back overwhelm because that would mean not only a new wave of death and disease but also an economic disaster. And we will be forced once again to slam on the brakes across the whole country and the whole economy. And we impose restrictions in such a way as to do more and lasting damage.

And so I know it is tough, and I want to get this economy moving as fast as I can, but I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the NHS. And I ask you to contain your impatience because I believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict. And in spite of all the suffering we have so nearly succeeded. We defied so many predictions. We did not run out of ventilators or ICU beds. We did not allow our NHS to collapse.

And on the contrary, we have so far collectively shielded our NHS so that our incredible doctors and nurses and health care staff have been able to shield all of us from an outbreak that would have within far worse. And we collectively flattened the peak.

And so when we're sure that this first phase is over and that we're meeting our five tests, deaths falling, NHS protected, rate of infection down, really sorting out the challenges of testing and PPE, avoiding a second peak, then that will be the time to move on to the second phase. In which we continue to suppress the disease and keep the reproduction rate, the r-rate down but begin gradually to refine the economic and social restrictions and one by one to fire up the engines of this vast U.K. economy.

And in that process difficult judgments will be made, and we simply cannot spell out now how fast or slow or even when those changes will be made, though clearly the government will be saying much more about this in coming days.

And I want to serve notice now that these decisions will be taken with the maximum possible transparency and I want to share all our working and our thinking, my thinking with you, the British people. And of course we will be relying, as ever, on the science to inform us, as we have, from the beginning. But we will also be reaching out to build the biggest possible consensus across business, across industry, across all parts of our United Kingdom, across party lines bringing in opposition parties as far as we possibly can. Because I think that's no less than what the British people would expect.

And I can tell you now the preparations are underway and have been for weeks to allow us to win phase 2 of this fight as I believe we are now on track to prevail in phase 1. And so I say to you finally, if you complete going in the way you've kept going so far, if you can help protect our NHS to save lives, and if we as a country can show the same spirit of optimism and energy shown by Captain Tom Moore who turns 100 this week. If we can show the same spirit of unity and determination, as we've all shown in the past six weeks, then I have absolutely no doubt that we will beat it together. We will come through it all the faster and the United Kingdom will emerge stronger than ever before. Thank you all very much.

CHURCH: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson there at the front of 10 Downing Street on his first day back at work after fighting a debilitating case of coronavirus. And we heard him there referred to the pandemic being the biggest challenge the British people have faced since World War II.

[04:20:00]

Let's go to Isa Soares. She joins us now live in London. And we certainly got the message from Boris Johnson that he's not going to move quickly on this. So for anyone that's pushing him to open up the country, he made it very clear he's not doing it yet until they meet all of the requirements.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very much so. I think that's exactly the top lines. That message that we're hearing from the Prime Minister. Great to see him roaring again outside of 10 Downing Street giving that message, telling the British people thanking them for their grits as well as their guts, their fantastic spirit. But he said, like you said, that it's the biggest challenge the country has faced since the war but it is making progress.

Now no signal from the Prime Minister of if or when the lockdown will happen. It seems from what he said that perhaps the lockdown may be extended. This is just pure reading in between the lines, may I say, but he promises to share his thoughts in the coming days and to be much more transparent.

Now he did say that we're beginning to turn the tide -- and this is something we heard from the medical officers of NHS England here, Rosemary, saying the number of hospitalizations in the country has lowered. That's a good thing.

But this is also -- he said the moment of opportunity but it's also a moment of maximum risk. And I think he kept hinting there, time and time again that the fear, of course, says these five risks, those five tests the country has to take that the country is not there yet. That if they perhaps lift the lockdown too quickly, that may fear the risk of a second wave of infection and more strain on the NHS.

So a clear message from the Prime Minister to thank the British people for really staying the course, that the sacrifices that they're making staying at home after six weeks. That we're starting to see that being felt actually in the numbers were from the NHS, from the National Health Service here. But he said, look, contain your impatience, contain your impatience, I understand your impatience. I share your anxiety, he said, but we're coming now to the end of phase 1.

So it will be interesting to see later on that 12 p Eastern, 5:00 local when we get fresh numbers from NHS England. And we suspect the Prime Minister may speak today whether he will share more of his thoughts and strategy. Which is something have been lacking. And this is something that the opposition leader here has been calling for. An exit strategy, some sort of plan of how you exactly ease lockdown restrictions. So message to the British people, a message to the businesses also. He's understanding of the impatience but it's difficult to make a judgment. And it's a tough call to make. Colossal decision from the Prime Minister but clearly looking at the science and what that might mean if the lockdown is, indeed, lifted -- Rosie.

CHURCH: Yes, certainly got a sense that Boris Johnson is a changed man after his own personal experience, his own personal battle with the coronavirus. Because it's very different. His approach now, very different to the way it was some weeks back when he started fighting this pandemic. Of course, he made it very clear that he didn't want to throw away what people had already achieved with this lockdown. He's very, very conscious, very worried about a possible second spike.

SOARES: Absolutely, and his own, like you said, Rosie, his own brush with death and the fact that if you remember clearly, he said, you know, it was so risky for him that being in hospital with COVID-19 and what he faced. Clearly, we suspect that may influence some of his decisions given what he's seen. Of course, he is applauding people for staying at home and the efforts being made. He said, we did not need extra ventilators. Although there are challenges, he said, challenges the country has been facing and he said I'm minimizing the problems. And one of the problems here, Rosie, is the fact -- it's testing. It's

been one of the huge problems the country has faced. At the beginning of the month the Health Secretary Matt Hancocks promised they would have tests of 100,000 per day. That still hasn't been met. And that we've got four days or so until the end of the month. And the government still insisting they will meet those testing numbers. I have to say on Saturday, only 28,000 -- just over 28,000 tests were actually carried out.

So really Boris Johnson, that we saw there, you know, Boris Johnson full of vigor. Being very, very humble, very frank as well having gone through what he has gone through. And that I think will be interesting to see how he makes his decisions. Those within his own party, those conservative donors, Rosie, who are putting pressure -- tensions on the party, pressures on the Prime Minister to ease the lockdown. Because they believe that the health of the country is important.

[04:25:00]

But also the health of the economy tied into the health of the country. So he's got pressure from that but also from normal people who are impatient somewhat after five weeks of lockdown to get back out again.

Now the numbers we saw in the last 24 hours do suggest that numbers of hospitalizations and deaths are actually reducing, but I think we need to be careful here. Because the numbers of the weekend are said to be slightly lower. But worth reminding everyone right around the world, the U.K. is one of five countries that unfortunately has hit the grim milestone of, you know, more than 20,000 people dying. And worth remembering that every single number coming out of my mouth and that we've been saying on CNN, it is a name. It is a loss of life. It is a family that will never be the same. And I think the Prime Minister having being through what he has been, being so close to that point that he felt that he can breathe perhaps, that he saw for himself what life was like in the NHS, I think that perhaps may shape, may ground some of his opinion and his decision.

But it is a colossal decision he has to make. But from what he said, he will be looking at the numbers because what he says, there are real signs the country has passed through the peak. But I can tell you from what I heard there. It sounds to me that we're not seeing any lifting of restrictions on lockdown any time soon, at least from -- this is just purely reading between the lines -- Rosie.

CHURCH: Yes, I think you're absolutely right. And certainly, too, on the point that this is a changed man, a changed leader as a result of his own personal experience, and it will color the way he moves forward on this. And we will watch very closely. Isa Soares, bringing us a live report from London, many thanks.

Well meantime, Italy, the European country hit hardest by the virus, announces a plan to start reopening. Beginning May 4th, manufacturing and construction will resume. Bars and restaurants can offer take away services. Some travel restrictions will be loosened and funerals with up to 15 attendees can be held. There will also be more access to parks but social distancing must be maintained. That is critical.

So let's go now to Rome where we find CNN's Barbie Nadeau. Good to see you, Barbie. So how was this news received across Italy after a very long lockdown?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well I think everyone was really glued to their television last night when the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte laid out the roadmap for phase 2. People were a little bit disappointed that just the flood gates aren't open right away. But the idea that people can go out to exercise within the city. You know, we've been confined to 300 meters from your residence for so long now. Takeout and, you know, restaurant services, that's going to make a big change for a lot of people who own restaurants and also for the people.

The people really have their eyes now set on May 18th. That's the next phase of this reopening. And that's when we're going to see retail stores open. The Prime Minister said that of course social distancing has to be respected. There has to be ways to sanitize clothing and shoes if people try them on one client to the next. So many details to work out. The people in construction can go back to work. People in the fashion production industry can go back to work. A lot of people who have hourly jobs who haven't had a paycheck for a while will be able to go back to work next week. And that's going to change a lot of lives -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, you raise a lot of critical points there. Barbie Nadeau bringing us the latest there from Rome, many thanks.

And we'll take a short break here. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Still to come, hundreds of Americans return to work this week as states continue to ease their restrictions. We will look at how Wall Street is reacting. Back with that in just a moment.

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