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More Countries Approach Reopening; Some Retailers Reopen; France To Extend Emergency Measures For Two Months; Britain's Response To Deadly Crisis; Boris Johnson Names Son After Doctors Who Saved His Life; Congressional Leaders Decline Trump Offer For Virus Tests; U.S. Jobless Claims In The Past Six Weeks Hit 30 Million; Major Airlines To Require Passengers To Wear Face Masks; Thousands In Tokyo Become "Coronavirus Refugees"; Michael Jordan At His Greatest. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 03, 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]

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Parts of America are reopening this weekend despite some public health officials insisting it is too soon and too risky.

State and local governments in the U.S. are pleading for federal aid. Until they get it, hardhit cities are facing difficult decisions as their budgets dry up.

And later this hour, the GOAT's last dance. The Michael Jordan documentary that's leaving sports fans in awe.

Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen and CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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ALLEN: 4:00 a.m. here on the East Coast. Thank you so much for joining us.

Coronavirus infections and deaths still on the rise here in the U.S. and globally. Despite that, 32 states this weekend are either partially open for business or will be just days from now.

Texas is now allowing restaurants and movie theaters to reopen. You can go to church again in Idaho, visit a state park in New Mexico and go golfing in Pennsylvania. But around the country in areas where stay-at-home orders are still in effect, signs of quarantine fatigue.

Protesters gathering in California after the governor closed all of the beaches in Orange County. And this was the National Mall in Washington Saturday during a flyover by the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds to honor health care workers and first responders. The mall was crowded despite officials asking people not to cluster.

And New York City's Central Park, very busy on Saturday, despite the stay-at-home order. About 1,000 NYPD officers will be out reminding people to keep a safe distance from each other. They do look a bit spread out there.

Georgia has been at the forefront of reopening and its governor has gotten a heap of criticism over how aggressively he's been moving on it. But as businesses open back up there, shoppers are exploring the new normal. We're in suburban Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Georgia, the state that has taken the most aggressive measures to reopen the economy, the new month brought with it an entirely new place to get out of the house -- the mall.

ANIELA RESPRESS, AREA GENERAL MANAGER: First of all, it's been scary the first heard about it, but also exciting for our tenants to be able to open up.

CHEN: The state's shelter in place order officially expired Thursday night for most Georgians, though Governor Brian Kemp extended the order for the elderly and vulnerable populations to shelter in place through mid-June.

Still, his executive order allowed retail stores to open back up on Frida, about a week after restaurant, barber shops and even tattoo parlors. At Avalon, an upscale outdoor mall in Atlanta's suburbs, management readied the grounds for shopping in the socially distant era.

RESPRESS: All of the common area furniture have been placed six feet apart.

CHEN: And the walkways are one way only. But only about a fifth of about 100 shops at Avalon were open and many of those were either curbside pickup or by appointment only.

Altar'd State, a women's clothing store, was one of the few that had its doors open.

MADISON BURNHAM, "ALTAR'D STATE" ASSOCIATE: And of course there always is that fear of just maybe that one person will walk in who has it, but we are taking really good precautions to just make sure that doesn't happen and have a lot of sterilizing everything. We have the option to wear masks. We wear gloves at the cash wrap just to make sure we're not touching everything.

CHEN: New protocols include steaming every article of clothing that a customer tries on and regularly disinfecting the fitting rooms. And because only 10 people, including employees, are allowed inside at a time, there was a line of customers waiting outside. We found Kate Martin at the end of that line.

KATE MARTIN, SHOPPER: I'm a nurse, so instinctively I think still too contagious, it's a very contagious disease, so I still think it might be a little too soon so come back out and be this close together. [04:05:00]

MARTIN: So we'll see.

CHEN: But you're here.

MARTIN: I am.

CHEN: She's wearing a mask, which the mall is also giving to its customers, but still not everyone is.

MARTIN: They should be, but they don't take it seriously.

CHEN: The retired nurse had a message for the young and mask-less, who could have been unknowingly passing it to more vulnerable populations.

MARTIN: You might not get as sick, but they will. And they will get it from you. Do it for your grandmother.

CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Alpharetta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Florida is also looking to reopen but is taking a slightly more measured approach than its neighbor to the north, Georgia. Retail stores and restaurants will be allowed to open in Monday in much of the state. But some of its most populous counties will have to wait a bit longer. Our Rosa Flores is in Miami.

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Florida is taking a phased regional approach to reopening. Most of the state is going to reopen on Monday but it excludes the three counties of Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

These counties make up 30 percent of the state's population but account for 60 percent of the cases and the deaths. It's no surprise that the mayors of these counties got together to reopen simultaneously. They're excluded from phase one.

On Wednesday, they did reopen parks, waterways and other green spaces in their respective counties with restrictions. They are enforcing for parkgoers to wear face coverings and to social distance.

Not everyone is following the rules. We checked in with Miami Beach and learned from police that 1,500 warnings were issued to parkgoers not wearing face masks or were not social distancing.

For the rest of the state, phase one kicks off on Monday. This will allow restaurants and retailers to reopen at 25 percent capacity. Restaurants will also be able to have outdoor seating but seating will have to be at least six feet apart. Elective surgeries will resume but this is only phase one. So schools will remain closed and so will bars and also hair salons -- Rosa Flores, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Though some U.S. states are easing restrictions, the state of Michigan is keeping them in place. This despite heavily armed protesters filling the state capital to demand an end to restrictions earlier this week. Ryan Young is in Michigan.

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RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a conversation in the state of Michigan about when the state should open. The governor believes and has extended the order for stay-at-home to May 15th. The state of emergency has been extended to May 28th.

That didn't stop protesters showing up at the state capital to have their concerns voiced. These images have spread across the country, people concentrating to see what was going on.

You can see the open carry that was happening inside the state capital, men showing up with guns. That's actually allowed. Not allowed to bring signs into the state capital. There were lawmakers wearing bulletproof vests on the inside, worried about their safety.

But as the state moves forward, they've been hit hard by COVID-19. More than 43,000 people have been infected by COVID-19 and more than 4,000 people in the state have died from the virus.

So the governor is trying to flatten the curve. That is her main point, as they're in the state of emergency. That's what she was telling us when she talks about why the stay-at-home order has been extended.

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GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): We're not in a political crisis. We're in a public health crisis. We're in the midst of a global pandemic that has killed almost 4,000 people in our state.

We have to listen not to pollsters and people with political agendas, but listen to epidemiologists and public health care experts, listen to our business leaders who are worried about making sure that they've got all the PPE and protocols to keep their employees safe.

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YOUNG: There is some movement across the country. We're seeing that on May 7th, construction will be able to resume. Work crews will be able to get back out there. But there are some big moments that are being canceled, graduations for the major colleges and high schools have also obviously been canceled but there's a concern about how they move forward, especially in the state with such a high number -- reporting in Lansing, Ryan Young, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: President Trump is backing the protesters in Michigan saying and this is a quote, "These are very good people who want their lives back."

But Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the first Homeland Security secretary has quite a different view.

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ALLEN: He writes in "USA Today" newspaper, "In recent days we have seen images of Americans carrying weapons as part of their protest to immediately reopen society.

"What are they planning to do, shoot the virus with their AR-15s?

"These self-absorbed and selfish Americans complain they're irritated, anxious, bored, upset that their lives have been affected by this temporary restraint on their freedoms."

Listen to what he had to say earlier on CNN.

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TOM RIDGE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: In times of crisis, we've got 330 million Americans who really have to pull together and they're not wearing a traditional uniform. It's red, white and blue. We're in this together.

And for a very small selective group to be so self-absorbed, whether they're inconvenient or upset, that's not the point. We are a resilient country. We've demonstrated that time and time again.

The fact that they would use this opportunity to flex whatever muscles they think is important, they're not heroes or courageous to walk around with weapons of war at your side. I find it unconscionable, vile and it's not American. We're in this together. Same team, same fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Well said.

Here's another story that we're monitoring. There are reports of an exchange of gunfire across the Korean demilitarized zone. South Korean military said several bullets were fired toward a guardpost. It said it responded to the shots with a verbal warning and returned fire twice. But South Korea says no one was hurt.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. France is extending its emergency measures. We'll have a live report for you next.

Also, Britain's prime minister has said his battle with coronavirus could have gone either way. We are learning just how serious it actually was. We'll have a live report from London about that.

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[04:15:00]

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ALLEN: Here's something lovely. The Eiffel Tower sparkling and shimmering on Saturday. The lights, a show of support for the medical workers and others on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus.

They deserve all the sparkle they can get right now for what they're doing.

Meantime, France is moving to extend its coronavirus emergency measures for about two more months. The government says it will propose new legislation Tuesday to keep the emergency measures in place through July 24th.

On Saturday, the French health ministry reported the daily number of deaths from coronavirus continued to decline for the second day. CNN's Jim Bittermann is near Paris.

Hello to you, Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In fact, this extension is basically an extension of the government's authority to impose restrictions, emergency regulations because of the health crisis.

They were set to expire on May 23rd. The government is saying they want to extend the authority until July 24th. That doesn't mean that the basic restrictions in place right now are going to continue as they are until July 24th.

It means the government has the authority to impose those restrictions or any other restrictions after this month. We're expecting things to loosen up in parts of France beginning a week from Monday.

They're going to be -- first students are going to be going back to school that week, probably younger students first and older students later on. It's not been explained exactly how that's going to take place.

A couple of things that came out is that there are going to be new measures imposed like the wearing of masks in public, on public transit and things like that. That's going to be more than likely imposed.

Once the parliament takes this vote, there's going to be a quarantine measure which may be quite difficult for people coming into France. They will be quarantined for 14 days.

Anyone coming into continental France, people coming in from the French overseas territories but also from the island of Corsica, there will be new restrictions imposed. But some of the same restrictions staying and some restrictions will be loosened up on May 11th -- Natalie. ALLEN: It seems like overall they're trying to take very careful steps

here to keep people safe. Jim Bittermann for us. Always good to see you. Thanks very much.

British prime minister Boris Johnson is sharing more about his time in intensive care. He spent a week in the hospital last month fighting coronavirus. He told "The Sun" newspaper that he was given liters of oxygen to keep him alive. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in London for us and reporting on the situation that Boris Johnson just recovered from.

It seems like it was quite touch and go for him.

WALSH: Certainly. He's been not at all shy since he's emerged after his officials downplayed the seriousness of his condition of getting into the drama of what unfolded, referring to how "a death of Stalin" scenario had been devised.

And he grabbed the headlines with his personal drama while the U.K. sadly edges towards Italy as potentially having the worst death toll in Europe, bringing scrutiny as to what was done when.

Boris Johnson saying he was happy with the timing of the lockdown. But more facts are emerging bringing greater scrutiny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): Britain is close to having Europe's worst death toll.

So what did it do wrong or differently?

[04:20:00]

WALSH (voice-over): When global alarm bells were ringing loudly, the U.K. was clear it would not lock down too early and that some spread was unavoidable, even desirable.

PATRICK VALLANCE, U.K. SCIENCE ADVISER: If people go too early, they become very fatigued. It's not possible to stop everybody getting it and it is also actually not desirable, because you want some immunity in the population.

WALSH (voice-over): Hindsight always gives a clearer, unfair verdict. But new, updated government figures show the death toll, just in England, was a lot larger than known at the time in the days leading up to the lockdown.

And the prime minister said he was still shaking hands...

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I shook hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know.

WALSH (voice-over): -- and no deaths were announced; four had already died in England when Cheltenham horse races were criticized for going ahead, ended the U.K. toll was officially 10 when really 58 had died.

And when the lockdown slammed pub doors shut publicly, the toll was 359. But really 847 had died in England alone.

Should the U.K. have moved faster?

NIGEL EDWARDS, NUFFIELD TRUST: It is too early to tell. But there are some early signs looking at experiences in some other countries that if we'd gone a bit earlier, we might be looking at slightly better results now.

SIAN GRIFFITHS, CJHK: It's more likely to be next year when people in the cold light of day can look back at all the different countries and (INAUDIBLE) at the time what did and what didn't work.

KEITH NEAL, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM: If you take different measures at different times, then different people would become infected. If we had come in a week earlier, then probably less people would have died up until now.

But as the disease continues to spread to the population, the differences are that people will die.

WALSH (voice-over): Testing and contact tracing was a problem from the start partially dismissed and then heavily embraced.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 100,000 tests per day.

WALSH (voice-over): Many grand schemes were announced, home antibody tests, apps, a volunteer army. But this one actually happened, nearly on time, albeit late. It can't have helped decision-making that Boris Johnson was nearly killed by the disease, too, at its peak.

EDWARDS: Some of the messaging has not been as consistent or as clear as might have been helpful. I give the government a bit of the benefit of the doubt. These are somewhat unprecedented times.

WALSH (voice-over): Still, despite the huge toll, the U.K.'s health service was not overwhelmed. Even huge overflow hospitals like this one in London were barely used. Half of those who died in England, so far, were over 80.

Did U.K. not protect them enough?

Or was there little that could be done?

Tough questions that time and grief will answer -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

There's already introspection happening in the U.K., to some extent political but also an element of trying to learn lessons to inform the next steps. Boris Johnson is now wrestling with how to ease the lockdown.

Opinion polls are showing some Britons don't want to return to normal. Hanging in the background the fear of a second peak and the knowledge that so little is still known about what happened here -- back to you. ALLEN: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you.

Let's talk about Nick's report now with my guest, Sterghios Moschos. He teaches molecular virology at Northumbria University.

Good to see you.

STERGHIOS MOSCHOS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

ALLEN: I want to get your reaction to Nick's story there about the U.K. seeming to lack to get a foothold on this early enough.

What's your reaction to that?

MOSCHOS: I think there's a lot of us in the community of virologists and epidemiologists who were raising the alarm early and asking people to react.

Some of my colleagues initiated their own group lockdowns and instructed their employees not to go to meetings and universities, et cetera. I think, history will judge whether the decisions were right are wrong. But the numbers are quite bleak.

ALLEN: Exactly. And it's really unbelievable to see video of the prime minister joking about the coronavirus and then knowing that he was critically ill with it and is fortunate to have come out of it. He says that he's going to announce a new plan.

What would you like to see in that plan?

[04:25:00]

ALLEN: As we see that -- on track for the worst death toll in Europe needs a plan right now to try to slow the spread and save lives?

MOSCHOS: Overall, it looks like we have stabilized in terms of new cases and in terms of new deaths.

Frankly in the U.K., you cannot judge anything apart from looking at the death toll. What the announcement likely is going to be in the next few days is about how we will reopen the economy. You asked me a question of what would I like to see.

I would like to see a firm statement that we will not reopen the economy until we've had two full weeks of no transmission.

And for that to happen, we need to have testing at the scale that was promised and, unfortunately, was not reached and in the community. At this point in time, he's bowing to the measure to develop a plan. That's fine. But we need to have a firm and clear plan to stop the transmission.

ALLEN: Two full weeks of no transmission, that would be wonderful.

MOSCHOS: I think it's achievable. We have to point this out. We are reliant. If we collaborate with Ireland, because of the land border there, we can achieve lack of transmission in these countries.

ALLEN: That's very encouraging. I want to talk to you about another encouraging note, the drug approved by the FDA for treatment, that's remdesivir. It's not a cure but it's a hopeful sign.

MOSCHOS: How exactly it works, we haven't got the right idea yet. If you look at it from my perspective as a virologist, at the time that they're giving it, it should not be working. So it seems to be working from a mechanism different than what Gilead thinks.

No doubt it allows for people to come out of intensive care and out of hospitals faster and that means a huge amount for health care systems but also for individuals who don't have insurance to allow them to survive the situation and they're not going to medical bankruptcy.

So from that perspective alone, I think it's worthwhile, considering the size of this pandemic to allow this drug to go through as the FDA has. And I'm hoping the EMA will take similar steps.

ALLEN: Sterghios Moschos, we always appreciate your expertise. Thank you so much.

MOSCHOS: You're very welcome.

ALLEN: Parts of the United States are reopening but, amid this pandemic, nothing is certain for most U.S. workers but worry. We look at the concerns of out of work people coming up here.

Also, add air travel to the long list of things changing in the era of this virus. Richard Quest looks at what could be in store for the embattled airline industry. You're watching CNN. Much more ahead for you.

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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta.

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ALLEN: A White House adviser told FOX News Saturday that more coronavirus relief money may not be necessary if the nation's reopening goes smoothly. Congress has been working on a new relief package but as layoffs continue and many U.S. states say they're going broke, Americans are worried about how they'll pay their bills.

Here's Leyla Santiago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the mayor has announced that 40 employees have been furloughed. And she admits that these are drastic but necessary measures right now.

These are tough announcements that leaders from local governments are having to make and forcing families to make tough decisions.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): Like any mother, Jennifer Simmons just wants to make sure her little boy and family are safe and healthy. The security she once felt is now slipping away. She was furloughed as an employee from the mayor's office in Livonia, Michigan. She'll get her last paycheck this week.

JENNIFER SIMMONS, FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEE IN MICHIGAN: We live paycheck to paycheck which I think a lot of Americans do. I'm just not going to pay any bills, because I need to make sure that we have money for food.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): Simmons is one of the 234 government employees furloughed here, that's nearly 40 percent of the city's workforce is mostly in public works. Across the U.S., cities are dealing with more than a health crisis. Loss of revenue at the hands of COVID-19 has led many to a financial crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now they've been hit with a one-two punch. I mean lost revenues and increased tax (INAUDIBLE) because they got to be able to respond to this pandemic.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): In Portland, Oregon, the city furloughed about 30 percent of non-union employees, that's about 1,700 staffers. In Dayton, Ohio, the city furloughed 470 employees and that's about a quarter of the city's government's workforce. And in El Paso's 450 employees furloughed or laid-off. El Paso Mayor, Dee Margo, isn't shying away on the impact this will have on services for his citizens.

(on-camera): Do you worry about the next step? I mean is the next step furloughs of first responders?

MAYOR DEE MARGO (R), EL PASO: No, we're not going to deal with that at all. We're not going to open new swimming pools and things of that nature. We stopped all construction. We'll continue some design work but that's it. We're not going to do any construction, we're cutting everywhere we can.

SANTIAGO (voice-over): And the pain is widespread.

[04:35:00]

SANTIAGO (voice-over): In cities like San Antonio, officials suspended some street maintenance. Detroit scaled back bus services, in Knoxville, Tennessee, libraries closed, only digital access.

Congress is providing some aid to cities through the CARES Act, but Mayor Margo says he needs more flexibility on how money can be spend,

MARGO: We're not asking for money. We can live with what we've got. We just need to be able to spend it where we need to spend it.

SANTIAGO: A coalition of local governments is pushing Congress for another $250 billion to help municipalities this year.

ANTHONY: We will have to cut to the bone in order to provide the basic services. We'll have to make hard choices on health and public service needs.

SANTIAGO: Further pushing families like Simmons to the brink with one more paycheck on the way and a few hundred bucks in savings.

JENNIFER SIMMONS, FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEE IN MICHIGAN: A $1,200 stimulus payment is great. It helps. But it's not going to keep us afloat. It's not going to save our families from ruin.

SANTIAGO: So where do you see your family in a month?

SIMMONS: I don't know. A lot of -- like I said, a lot of it -- I think everybody is just kind of going day by day right now.

SANTIAGO: Day by day, that paints the picture of the uncertainty that so many families are dealing with right now. I spoke to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and they said that Jennifer's story is common right now.

They shared another one of a woman having to decide between putting food on the table or a medical operation that she needs. So certainly families feeling the impact of these decisions and ready to get back to work -- in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Leyla Santiago, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Business man Warren Buffett is striking a positive note about the future. Buffett told Berkshire Hathaway's first virtual annual shareholder meeting Saturday that America will recover from this pandemic. Buffett has long been bullish on the U.S. economy and stock market.

But Buffett also revealed that he had recently sold his company's entire stock investment in four major U.S. airlines. Air travel has been hit hard by this virus and there are many questions about how the industry will look in the post pandemic era. Richard Quest has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNNMONEY EDITOR AT LARGE (voice-over): Social distancing and air travel are contradictions in terms. With long queues, evaporating leg room and invasive reclining, air travel is particularly ill suited for our new coronavirus reality.

The pandemic has left global travel at a virtual standstill. And it's clear the way we fly will need to change before passengers will feel comfortable returning to the friendly skies en masse.

Before the crisis, there was this massive drive to maximize capacity on board, pushing the flying public ever closer together. Now airlines must embrace the exact opposite.

At the very least, it seems, the middle seat will probably stay empty for the foreseeable future even though that will make it almost impossible for airlines to make money. The International Air Transport Association's CEO Alexander De Juniac says ticket prices will have to go up.

ALEXANDER DE JUNIAC, IATA: In these conditions, there is no airline which is able to fly and make money on these flights. So it means two things, either we cannot fly or we have to increase the price of the tickets by at least 50 percent to 100 percent. So it is the end of cheap travel for everyone.

QUEST (voice-over): Airlines are ramping up other precautions. On JetBlue, Air Canada, Korean and Lufthansa, masks will be mandatory for the duration of flights. Emirates is limiting carry on baggage to only the essentials. Meals are doled out in bento-style boxes to reduce contact.

Even the in-flight magazines have been removed from seat back pockets in case they carry the virus. Expect to see cabin crews donning visors and gowns, full personal protection equipment could be the order of the day.

Qatar Airways says it's doing thermal screenings of its crew. In spite of all these measures, Barry Diller, the head of Expedia, believes flying and social distancing are simply incompatible.

BARRY DILLER, EXPEDIA: The idea that you can take the middle seat out of an airplane and have any kind of, quote, "social distancing" is absurd.

[04:40:00]

DILLER: You can't, it does not work. Social distancing works when it's complete. You can maybe clean planes better; yes, that would be good anyway. But social distancing in these kinds of arenas is a myth.

QUEST (voice-over): The Italian cabin design firm Avio Interiors gave us a glimpse of what the future could look like. This shield could be fitted on existing seats, putting a barrier between passengers to increase isolation.

A more extreme interior overhaul turns the middle seat around entirely to keep contact between passengers at a minimum. To be sure, the travel industry will reopen and we will take to the air again. However, for passengers like you and me, the experience we go through may never be quite the same again -- Richard Quest, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: The Philippines is taking new measures to prevent the spread of the virus. It's temporarily suspending all passenger and commercial flights to and from the country.

Authorities in Manila say that cargo flights and those carrying medical supplies will be allowed. The Philippines has reported nearly 9,000 confirmed cases of the virus with 600-plus deaths.

Forced out of the Internet cafes they called home because of the virus. Ahead, thousands of Japanese now find themselves without a place to sleep.

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[04:45:00]

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ALLEN: We have this from Japan. Officials in Tokyo were trying to close Internet cafes to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. But thousands of people actually spend the night in those cubicles as cheap overnight accommodations. Will Ripley reports on how the situation is creating a new type of homelessness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lines have never been longer for the weekend food handout in Tokyo Shinjuku Ward. Takahashi doesn't want to give his last name to avoid shaming his family.

(on camera): This is your first time ever receiving food like this.

Did you ever think that you'd be here?

TAKAHASHI, CORONAVIRUS REFUGEE: (Speaking foreign language).

(voice-over): I didn't think something like this could happen to me, he says.

This line is full of first timers like Takahashi, reluctant members of a growing group of coronavirus refugees. The pandemic putting companies out of business, people out of work.

TAKAHASHI: (Speaking foreign language).

(voice-over): I was forced out of the place I was staying, he says. Takahashi was evicted from his apartment, sleeping in a 24-hour Internet cafe. For thousands in Tokyo, a city known for sky high rent, these relics from the 1990s are the only housing they can afford.

When I visited one five years ago, I saw people eating from vending machines, sharing a common toilet and shower, sleeping in cubicles, packed together like a petri dish. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government ordered Internet cafes to close when a state of emergency was declared three weeks ago. The risk of spreading the virus in such close quarters just too high.

(on camera): You don't see people smiling here. It's a pretty depressing place, actually.

(voice-over): Takahashi's new sleeping spot at the bus terminal is even more depressing. He's down to his last 1,000 yen, around $9. He can't find a job because nobody's hiring right now.

TAKAHASHI: (Speaking foreign language).

(voice-over): It gets really cold after dark, he says.

(on camera): What do you think about a night when you're sleeping here at the bus station?

TAKAHASHI: (Speaking foreign language).

(voice-over): I try to suck it up. But to be honest, I'm really disappointed I ended up like this.

(on camera): This area here in Shinjuku is where a lot of the city's homeless live. Ironically, they're sleeping directly underneath the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

(voice-over): Several stories above, aid workers are putting in overtime.

(on camera): Is Japan and Tokyo prepared for this?

TOMOO ODA, HOMELESS AIDE OFFICIAL: (Speaking foreign language).

(voice-over): We're really concerned says Tomoo Oda. I'm scared to think about it every day, more people need help finding a place to sleep.

Tokyo is preparing up to 2,000 rooms. Homeless advocates say it won't be nearly enough.

(on camera): You have a whole new group of people who've never been out on the streets before.

REN ONISHI, HOMELESS ADVOCATE: (Speaking foreign language).

(voice-over): So many people are living off with little money they have says Ren Onishi. In the next few weeks, they'll end up on the streets. The number of coronavirus refugees is growing by the day, just like the lines of people desperate for their next meal -- Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

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ALLEN: And we have this from Russia. The number of new infections there is overwhelming frontline workers apparently. Authorities are reporting the biggest one day spike, more than 10,000 additional cases.

That's on top of more than 9,000 the day before. Health care workers have been treating more than 134,000 patients. There have been almost 3,000 deaths. But there are signs the death rate is slowing.

Coming up, they say music is the universal language and military bands from around the world came together to prove it.

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ALLEN: This pandemic postponed the NBA season but it is not stopping fans from enjoying basketball history. "The Last Dance" documentary on the '90s Chicago Bulls dynasty is getting rare, never-before-seen footage of Michael Jordan and his teammates. Don Riddell from CNN's "WORLD SPORT" spoke with the filmmaker.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the space of just 40 years, Michael Jordan defined himself as a global superstar, an NBA legend who transcended basketball and became a pop culture icon. The '80s and '90s were a never ending highlight reel for Jordan and the Bulls.

But since 1998 he has largely been off our screens, until now. "The Last Dance" is a new 10-part documentary series chronicling his final season in Chicago and a seemingly implausible sixth NBA title.

JASON HEHIR, DIRECTOR: He had the looks, he had the charisma, he was well spoken, he was intelligent and he was probably the most captivating performer in the history of the NBA.

RIDDELL (voice-over): Jordan agreed to let the cameras behind the scenes for that dramatic '97-'98 this season but the tapes have been under lock and key ever since.

HEHIR: It had been kind of production lore, urban legend. I watched 2- 3 hours of it and was blown away. So once I found out I had the gig, it was a dream job.

RIDDELL (voice-over): The drama unfolds over 10 episodes, 10 hours in all, revealing one of the world's most famous athletes in some of his more candid moments. It's a chance for younger fans to get to know him, an opportunity for those who lived it to be reminded of the legend.

DAN ROAN, WGN SPORTS ANCHOR: Michael and I came to Chicago in 1984. I was a couple of months ahead of him, so I was able to see him from the very beginning with the Bulls. And what a huge circus it was, Don, I would have to say. Covering those six Bulls championships was probably the highlight of my career here in Chicago.

RIDDELL (voice-over): It was an era of great change in the world of sport and business and the time before we were so obsessed with the Internet and social media.

ROAN: I was a charity event for the Bulls back in the day and I was sitting in the bar having a beer. And Michael walked in, sat down next to me, we talked for about 20 minutes about golf, about basketball and just shot the breeze.

And when you think back on that moment today, it's impossible to imagine that that would happen in the current time. It just would not happen that way.

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RIDDELL (voice-over): With a supporting cast of characters like Scottie Pippen, the irrepressible Dennis Rodman and the current Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, Jordan delivers a final title seemingly against all the odds.

HEHIR: To go back to these series and to see how close they were to everything falling apart and for him to put that team on his back time and time again, by the end of that '98 series, people were either physically or mentally checked out. And Michael has to carry the team once again.

If you wrote the ending to that series and if you wrote episode 10 in the script, you would be laughed out of a Hollywood office because it is so corny.

But it actually came true. And who better to orchestrate that than Michael Jordan himself?

RIDDELL (voice-over): Don Riddell, CNN.

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ALLEN: "The Last Dance," must see TV and we all have time to watch it these days.

It was International Jazz Day earlier this week but, don't worry, thanks to the U.S. Air Force band in Washington, you can replay the celebration anytime online.

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ALLEN: How nice is that. The Air Force collaborated with other military bands from seven different countries to perform the classic 1938 song, "I'll Be Seeing You." The commander said they chose the music because it represents a message of conviction and hope across the world.

I'll be seeing you, I hope, for another hour of CNN NEWSROOM right after this.