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Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Robert Redfield And Dr. Stephen Hahn Quarantine After Virus Exposure; Forty-Seven U.S. States Reopen; Virus-Linked Illness Strikes Children; U.K. Prime Minister To Announce Next Phase; Computer Modeling Helps Officials Plan; Spain Relaxes Lockdown Rules; Johns Hopkins: Coronavirus Tops Four Million Worldwide; Virus Hitting Hard in Latino Communities. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired May 10, 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): It is a milestone nobody wants. The number of coronavirus cases around the world now tops 4 million.
Top U.S. health experts quarantined, the result of White House staffers testing positive.
Also this hour, a fax machine?
You thought they were gone, one first world country is still using them to report coronavirus cases.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world and happy Mother's Day, moms. I'm Natalie Allen and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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ALLEN: Thank you so much for joining us.
Unfortunately, we begin with another staggering number. What began as a handful of coronavirus cases last December in China has now infected more than 4 million people around the world and killed almost 280,000.
It was just five weeks ago that the 1 million milestone was reached. Data from Johns Hopkins University show the number of confirmed infections worldwide has been growing by 1 million cases every 12 days or so. Yet more and more countries are looking to end their long lockdowns.
British prime minister Boris Johnson will unveil his plan for the U.K. in the coming hours. Johns Hopkins has tracked 1.3 million cases in the U.S. alone, accounting for one-third of the global total.
The virus has even made it into the Trump White House now and potentially sidelined several key health officials. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has this from the White House. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Three top doctors on the White House Coronavirus Task Force are now going to be teleworking, working from home and carrying out some form of self- quarantine for the next two weeks after coming into contact with someone at the White House who tested positive for coronavirus in just the last week.
That is Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration; as well as Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has become one of the most public faces of this White House's response to the coronavirus.
All of them announcing that they will be working from home for the next 2 weeks. Dr. Anthony Fauci telling our colleague Jake Tapper that he will be undergoing a, quote, "modified quarantine" for the next 14 days, working from home and wearing a mask at all times of the day.
Though he does note that if he is called to the White House from Capitol Hill, that he will go but will take every precaution necessary.
A similar message we are hearing from a spokesperson for the CDC, saying that Dr. Redfield would go to the White House if he had to fulfill any responsibilities with regards to his role there. But he would be wearing a mask.
Of course, very notable that we are seeing these 3 top medical experts on this Coronavirus Task Force, all of which are undergoing some form of self-quarantine. What we have not seen is a sort of unified, centralized approach from the White House as to how to deal with this.
Earlier this week, a White House spokeswoman, Katie Miller, she tested positive on Friday. A couple of days before that, we saw one of the president's personal valets also testing positive, a Navy official.
Again, no message from the White House about whether anyone who's come into contact with them should go into self-quarantine. It seems to be much more of a piecemeal approach.
What is clear, though, is that, as the country begins to reopen and many workers are being asked to come back to work, even here at the White House where there are the most strict protocols, officials coming into contact with the president now being tested daily. Temperature checks being conducted for anyone coming on to the White House grounds. Even here, the coronavirus is seeping in -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.
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ALLEN: A risky balancing act is underway across the United States. More and more communities are trying to reopen without triggering another wave of infections. For the latest on this, here is Natasha Chen.
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NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By the end of the weekend, all but three states will have eased quarantine restrictions in some way, even in once hard hit Rhode Island, where the governor said Friday her state will be the first in the northeast to lift a stay stay-at-home order.
GOV. GINA RAIMONDO (D-RI): If you look at the facts on the ground, the data on the ground, we're doing better. And so therefore we're in a better position so we can start to lift our restrictions a little bit sooner.
CHEN: Restrictions are lifting from coast-to-coast. In North Carolina retail stores have reopened, but at 50 percent capacity. In Delaware, stores can now offer curbside pickup. That goes for California as well, where stores can also now deliver just in time to send flowers for Mother's Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me as a small shop, I'm not going to let anybody in. But at least I can operate, cannot just open everything, because we will have a second wave and then we will go back to square one.
CHEN: San Francisco has decided to keep businesses closed until May 18th. But the rest of the state has some businesses reopening with modifications.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stay out of the politics. I need to open. We're ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what we have right now for takeout.
CHEN: Nevada and Alaska have now joined more than a dozen states to resume dine-in services in restaurants with restrictions. People can also now get a drink at a bar in Alaska at 25 percent capacity. In Arizona, people can get their haircut by appointment only. Same for Texas, with owners eager to open doors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything is ready and my clients are more than ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything, I lost everything. Destroyed my business. I lost my business. That's what it has done.
CHEN: In Iowa, people can go back to the dentist, go to campgrounds, the drive-in movies and tanning facilities following special guidelines. Tennessee now joins Georgia in allowing people to go to bowling alleys. Pennsylvania is taking a county by county approach to reopening. Welcome news to this chocolatier in the town of Williamsport.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hoping that the people, especially those who are, let's say, under age 60 come out more because, again they -- you need to just get out I think. CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.
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ALLEN: That sounds like a good place to try and go to.
Now we know what Barack Obama thinks about the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic. The former president was uncharacteristically blunt in a private call that was leaked to the media.
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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty. And it would have been bad even with the best of governments.
It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset of "what's in it for me" and "to heck with everybody else," when that mindset is operationalized in our government.
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ALLEN: Three former Obama administration officials confirmed to CNN that the audio is authentic. President Trump has yet to personally weigh in on the criticism.
But the White House press secretary offered this statement, "President Trump's coronavirus response has been unprecedented and saved American lives. There has been a bipartisan recognition of President Trump's leadership and the American people have taken notice."
The state of New York is still the American pandemic hot spot. The governor called the death rate "infuriatingly constant," although the number of new cases does appear to be going down.
But now there is a disturbing new twist, an illness that might be linked to COVID-19 has struck dozens of children, killing three of them. Here's CNN's Polo Sandoval.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: New York's governor Andrew Cuomo calling these recent pediatric hospitalizations as not new but as disturbing, particularly for parents. At least 73 children in and around New York that have been hospitalized with symptoms that, according to the governor, are similar to toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease.
The governor being very clear that these are likely or possibly related to COVID infections. Still many questions relating to these recent hospitalizations, including 3 children that have not survived.
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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Now these are children who come in and do not present the symptoms that we normally are familiar with, with COVID. It is not a respiratory illness, they are not in respiratory distress. But the illness has taken the lives of 3 young New Yorkers so this is new and it is developing.
SANDOVAL: These hospitalizations are certainly getting the attention of health professionals, not just here in New York but across the country, especially since, from the beginning, we had heard that it was perhaps some of the younger people who were possibly not as vulnerable to this illness.
But now this new information that is being released by governor Andrew Cuomo is suggesting otherwise.
We should finally mention that the CDC is working with the state of New York. Their main goal is to try and develop some kind of criteria that would be applied across the country as they continue to look into these illnesses -- reporting in New York, I'm Polo Sandoval.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: The British prime minister reportedly has a lockdown exit strategy. In a few hours, he's set to reveal it in a televised address. We'll have that and more after the break.
Also, sights and sounds that will not return to a Spanish island. How Ibiza is coping with the virus that has crashed the party.
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ALLEN: U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson is set to unveil his lockdown exit map in a few hours. He'll deliver a televised national address Sunday evening local time. He's expected to loosen coronavirus restrictions and introduce a new COVID-19 tracking system.
Let's go live now to London. CNN producer Milena Veselinovic is standing by.
Good morning to you.
What are we expecting from the prime minister?
MILENA VESELINOVIC, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Natalie. As you said, it will be a road map for gradual easing of these coronavirus restrictions. And the prime minister is expected to announce the launching of a kind of an alert system, tracking the danger of COVID- 19 on a scale of one to five, based on the data, which will be adjusted. It will be available only in England initially.
We're also expecting that message, "Stay home, stay safe," which has been promoted by the U.K. government in the last few weeks, to be revised and the rule that you can only go out once a day will probably be scrapped.
But beyond that, changes are likely to be only small and incremental, that's what the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said early on this week. And he and other officials have really tried hard to dampen down any type of excitement or expectation that, on Monday, Britain will be returning back to normal.
That will not be happening, they say and that's because social distancing will stay as a core strategy of this government's dealing with the coronavirus outbreak because data shows that's what brought the infection rate of the virus down.
This will present challenges, for example, in the transport system. The transport secretary said, even at full capacity, in order to comply with social distancing rules, the transport system will only be able to accommodate about a 10th of the passengers.
And for those people who were hoping that Boris Johnson will give them, you know, license to go out and have a drink, finally, and after many weeks have a meal at a restaurant, they will be bitterly disappointed because reopening pubs and bars and restaurants is not like to be on the government's agenda anymore soon.
ALLEN: All right. Milena Veselinovic, thank you so much. We'll wait and hear what he says.
Let's talk more about it. We head north from London to Manchester, England. Ian Hall joins me now. He works at the University of Manchester.
Mr. Hall, thank you so much for being with us. I want to ask you, first, the prime minister is set to warn the nation the U.K. is entering the most dangerous battle past the peak.
What are you looking to hear from him on this tracking system?
IAN HALL, READER OF MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS, UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER: I think it's the most dangerous phase simply because it's the point where complacency might enter the population, may start to relax.
The hard work that we've been doing as a community and as a nation in controlling the disease. Now the numbers are going down in sort of the mortalities, in the deaths and the cases, there will be a desire to get back to normal as quickly as possible.
But we can still see that there are frail and vulnerable populations that are still at extreme risk of severe outcomes from disease.
ALLEN: You are part of a team using computer modeling expertise to advise the government on how to best protect the population right now.
How does it work and what are you looking for?
HALL: Well, there's -- it's a very big team of mathematical modelers and computer scientists from many universities. And we are -- the models are only as good as the data and the assumptions that go into them.
But models can really be used in two ways. One is to understand disease dynamics and the other is to predict what might happen in the future. And so the models are being used in both ways.
At present, we're trying to forecast what might happen in the short term. And in the longer term that's challenging because we're not quite clear the role of different interventions as we relax things.
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HALL: And really one of the key challenges is the assumptions we've made in the models and how much they actually reflect reality. So if you have, say, a spatial model, then you have to put in some belief about how the population will mix and how people will travel around.
And clearly a lot of that is based on historical data, on commuter movements and leisure work that may not be the case under lockdown. So actually, the tracking app may well provide some situational awareness as to how people are moving differently and, yes, that's really where that might lead us.
ALLEN: You talk about disease dynamics.
How do the myriad unknowns about this virus which seems to present new medicine obstacles affect your modeling?
HALL: That's one of the great challenges we face. We really don't have the -- there are two big challenges. One is the severe outcomes in the very elderly and of the age spectrum. And the other is the fact that the mild cases are -- seem to be spreading the disease.
And so if you can't see a case, if you can't see they're symptomatic and if the cases don't know they've got the disease, that means they might go around behaving as they would without the disease and, thus, have more contacts. And the key thing is really limiting those contacts. So that's the big challenge.
ALLEN: We look forward to hearing what the prime minister has to say. We appreciate your expertise, Ian Hall, thank you so much for answering our questions.
HALL: Thank you. Cheers.
ALLEN: Spain is a day away from easing more lockdown restrictions for most of its population but the new normal is quite different from how things used to be. The island of Ibiza knows that all too well. It's not expecting its once popular nightclubs to be packed anytime soon. Scott McLean looks at how the island is adjusting.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Ibiza is known for one thing, it's this. The pulsing music, near constant sunshine and beautiful beaches attract tourists by the boat load. Back in the harbor front, the streets of the old town and of course, the clubs. This year all of the biggest venues were promoting the most famous names in house music -- Guetta, Van Buren, Black Coffee. 2020 was building up to be a banner year, then COVID-19 arrived.
(on camera): Looks like the morning after a pretty wild night out.
ROBERTO DE LOPE, CLUB MANAGER: It's quite like a hangover.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Roberto de Lope, is a manager for the company that runs Hi nightclub and Ushuaia we told 7,000 people.
DE LOPE: We are already May, the season is here. The summer is here. And there are no flights. And there are no boats. There are no -- there's no movement between borders and Europe. It's quite difficult. It's very difficult.
MCLEAN: Especially when your business involves thousands of people packed shoulder to shoulder on a dance floor. Even when Spain lifts its lockdown, its new normal will still require social distancing.
(on camera): Is there any way to social distance at a nightclub?
DE LOPE: No. There's no way to do this without any vaccine
MCLEAN (voice-over): In the meantime de Lope's boss is working on a virtual reality clubbing experience. And the famous Pacha club is hosting literal house parties. Famous DJs spinning on zoom for thousands in their living rooms.
VICENTE MARI, PRESIDENT OF IBIZA ISLAND COUNCIL: They in part has turned over. The only industry we have is the tourist industry. Now there's no people coming.
MCLEAN: Vicente Mari is the President of the island which welcomes more than 3 million visitors every year, a vast majority from abroad. They're cut off from the mainland by the Mediterranean, Ibiza have had only 186 cases and 13 deaths. Mari wants to see tours return ASAP -- just not the virus.
MARI: It is necessary to make controls in all the airports to control that the people who comes is free of virus.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Testing.
MARI: The testing is the only way to have tourism again.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Until then Ibiza's night life would have to wait.
DE LOPE: Without music and without clubs is different. I mean, you can enjoy Ibiza for sure. But you are not going to feel the same. You are knocking to feel the real Ibiza.
MCLEAN: Scott McLean, Ibiza, Spain.
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ALLEN: Ibiza is among the areas set to enter the next phase of Spain's de-escalation plan.
[04:25:00]
ALLEN: It will join more than half of the country's population in phase one on Monday. The prime minister is touting the progress made so far for the country but is urging people to remain cautious. Al Goodman joins me live from Madrid.
That will be the big question.
How are you doing?
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. The reason that Ibiza and places like that around Spain moving to phase one is because they have lower infection rates and the hospitals are able to deal with a second wave.
That's not the case here in the Spanish capital and in Barcelona, which will remain back. These were the hardest hit areas. In Ibiza, they will be able to, starting Monday, people will be able to go out to outdoor restaurants and they will be able to have a coffee or a beer with up to 10 people they don't live with, family members or friends. That hasn't been possible now for these past eight weeks.
Stores will have people inside to a third of their capacity. There will be worship. But here in Madrid, this restaurant and all of the others stay closed. No outdoors seating right now, Madrid have takeaway service and many of them haven't opened for that. The stores you have to have a prior appointment.
Going back to the summer idea, in beaches here on the mainland of Spain, a couple of towns have devised plans for limiting the amount of people on the beaches to allow social distancing, splitting up the beach in a grid pattern.
One of these towns near the city of Valencia famous for its paella, would require you to go onto a mobile app and make a reservation in advance to have one of these spots on the beach, like you would pick seats at a movie theater.
When you get there, an usher will take you to your place. In the other town, they will have a similar grid system. It will be first come, first serve and you can't stay all day. This is the new normal. It really doesn't look like the old normal -- Natalie.
ALLEN: Certainly not. Al Goodman in Madrid. Thank you so much.
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a heavy toll on people of color. That is essentially evident among Latino communities in the U.S.
What is causing the disproportionate impact?
We'll take you into a hard-hit Chicago neighborhood to find out next.
Also ahead here, new developments in the inquiry into the death of a black man jogging in Georgia who was shot. Investigators say they're looking at additional video evidence of the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
There are now 4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world and counting. Johns Hopkins University says that milestone was reached on Saturday and there's little sign this pandemic is slowing.
From the time the first cases were detected, it took about three months to infect one million people. Less than two weeks later, 2 million had the virus. Much of it has been here in the United States. The country now accounts for about one-third of the global total.
We've reported how the coronavirus pandemic is taking a disproportionate toll on communities of color, especially black Americans. The virus also is having a devastating impact on Latino communities, both in terms of health and family finances. CNN's Omar Jimenez has our story from Chicago.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Chicago's Little Village, the majority of the population is Hispanic, in a zip code hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic than anywhere else in the state.
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ALEX 'DEMO' RAMIREZ, STORE OWNER: I said they're moving around and I couldn't breathe.
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JIMENEZ: Alex 'Demo' Ramirez (ph) is sick with coronavirus. And says he isn't surprised to see the pandemic's impact on the community. He says no one took it seriously enough in the beginning.
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RAMIREZ: let's just throw off like it's not real because it hasn't affected them.
JIMENEZ: A lot of the guidelines have been, stay home, don't go to work. How many people do you know are actually able to stay home and not work?
RAMIREZ: Not a lot of people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) JIMENEZ: For those who have to, testing is among their only defenses. This community testing site has seen lines at times around the block since they opened weeks ago.
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JIMENEZ: Were you surprised to see the amount of people that were lined ready to get tested when you first opened up?
JEROME MONTGOMERY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROJECT VIDA: Things don't seem to be slowing down. We had a 47 percent positivity rate. Where anecdotally, the provider at the time when he screened the individuals said only really one-third of those individuals that have showed symptoms. Since then our positivity rate has come up to a 57.21 percent.
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JIMENEZ: Across Chicago, Hispanic residents make up nearly 39 percent of all confirmed coronavirus cases but make up less than 30 percent of the population. Statewide, the governor's office says, Hispanic residents are testing positive about 60 percent of the time.
In other parts of the country like California, 70 percent of all coronavirus related deaths within the 18 to 49 demographics are Latinos. Despite making up just 43 percent of the population.
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GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): That's the occupational side of this. Disproportionate number of black and brown community are not teleworking, are not home working. They are on the front lines.
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JIMENEZ: In New York City, Hispanics are dying at a higher rate than nearly all other groups and more than twice their Asian counterparts.
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FRANKIE MIRANDA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, DIRECTOR, HISPANIC FEDERATION: These are the delivery food people, the people that are the day workers, the farm workers. These are people that are working at restaurants. They are essential services. They are not enjoying the protections that maybe in other industries people can have.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): But it's not just health. As unemployment soars to levels not seen since the Great Depression, the Hispanic unemployment is at nearly 19 percent, a record high and higher than any other demographic. And even for those who are just holding on, life is difficult.
[04:35:00]
PATTY NAVARRO, MANAGER, BOUTIQUE NOVIAS DAVILA: We're struggling. JIMENEZ (voice-over): Patty Navarro is the manager at the Boutique Novias Davila. With proms and weddings on hold, they shifted to making masks, donating over 10,000 of them, but now selling for $5 each.
NAVARRO: In this crisis, this is what we get to. OK, this -- this pushes you to do things that you never did before.
JIMINEZ (voice-over): This isn't easy.
NAVARRO: Not easy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are losing people out here. You now hardly see a loved one. You can't help them. That's the most painful for my family and my friends. They can't do anything for me.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): It's a new reality for an American community devastated by the coronavirus pandemic -- Omar Jimenez, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: New developments in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot while jogging in February here in Georgia. State investigators say they have additional photographs and video evidence they're poring over.
In the meantime, the lawyer for the man who filmed the disturbing cell phone video of the shooting is speaking out. Martin Savidge reports.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ever since the horrific video was released on Tuesday that showed the death of Ahmaud Arbery, there have been questions about whether there could be additional video.
And the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a statement today on the very subject saying, quote, "We are indeed reviewing additional video footage and photographs as part of the active case. It's important to note that this footage was reviewed at the beginning of the GBI investigation and before the arrest of Gregory and Travis McMichael."
In other words, it's not new video but it's video that had been in the case file that they continued to analyze further. They're also asking for any additional information the public may have and that they come forward and tell them.
That got us thinking about Bill Bryan or William Bryan. He is the man who took the now infamous footage on that terrible day.
And one of the questions that we wanted to know was, is it possible there is additional footage on his phone?
We spoke to his attorney and I was surprised to find out that authorities hadn't confiscated his phone. He was still in possession of it and the attorney wasn't quite sure if there might be more to be revealed from it.
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SAVIDGE: The video that now everyone has seen.
GOUGH: Yes.
SAVIDGE: Is that the video entirely?
GOUGH: I'm still looking into the authenticity of the video and the details surrounding it. And when I have more I'll be glad to share that. Mr. Bryan, ironically, until he hired a lawyer, never occurred to him that he was anything other than a witness. And, frankly, if you had asked him on Wednesday, he would have let you have his phone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: The attorney for Mr. Bryan denies emphatically that his client in any way participated in the chase or the death of Ahmaud Arbery.
Also today there was a huge demonstration, the second, actually, in a row of days. The one on Friday was more out of frustration, when people were still angry about how this case has evolved
But the one today was much more a celebration of Ahmaud's life. There were families there, there were people from all backgrounds and there was barbecue and music. So it was more just a recognition of a life that was lost and acceptance of a case that has now begun -- Martin Savidge, CNN, Glynn County, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: A spike in coronavirus cases in South Korea linked to a nightclub and the president of the country has a dire warning about that.
Also, doctors fighting the coronavirus in Japan face a different challenge, outdated technology. You may not believe what they're using. We'll have a live report in Tokyo.
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[04:40:00]
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ALLEN: Brazil is officially the coronavirus hot spot in Latin America and amongst the top 10 globally. Once the first infection set in, the virus took off. Today, the country has more than 150,000 confirmed cases.
But Brazil's president is in denial, pushing against health officials lobbying for stricter lockdowns. President Bolsonaro is not alone. His supporters blocked streets in the capital dancing and chanting. They were protesting against mounting criticism of his handling of the pandemic and allegations of police interference.
Over the weekend, Brazil's coronavirus death toll surpassed 10,000. Between Friday and Saturday alone, more than 700 people there died of COVID-19.
South Korea reports troubling new data, 34 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed Saturday. That is the biggest single-day jump since April 9th. Authorities say they believe the spike in cases is linked to people going out to Seoul's nightclubs and they've ordered them closed.
President Moon Jae-in is urging South Koreans not let their guard down. He's saying the country should brace for a potential second wave of infections.
In Japan, doctors on the front lines saying they're being slowed down as they try to help patients because outdated technology is getting in the way. CNN's Will Ripley joins me now from Tokyo.
Dare I ask what technology this is, Will?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a throwback from the 1980s, Natalie. The fax machine is still popular here in Japan. It reminds them of the times of the bubble economy, when the money was flowing.
But Japan never gave up the fax machine. It's still a vital part of business and now doctors are saying it's slowing them down as they try to track the pandemic.
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RIPLEY (voice-over): As other nations track coronavirus with 21st century tech, Japan relies on a relic that peaked in the 1980s.
"We have to fill out paper documents by hand and send them in by fax machine," says this doctor. "Our system has not changed for decades."
His Twitter tirade about his pile of coronavirus paperwork quickly went viral, getting the attention of Japanese lawmakers, like this man, a deputy minister in charge of I.T. policy.
RIPLEY: You are an I.T. guy.
Is it frustrating for you that this country still clings to Baby Boomer era technology?
"Yes. I'm frustrated," he says. "I think the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic exposed the problem of digitalization in Japan."
[04:45:00]
RIPLEY (voice-over): Not just the government; most Japanese companies still rely on fax machines. Documents have to be hand stamped with traditional seals. Outdated business practices make working from home nearly impossible for most Japanese.
Prime minister Shinzo Abe has been trying to make the system more efficient. A challenge, says Japan economist Jesper Koll.
JESPER KOLL, ECONOMIST: Coronanomics is doing what Abenomics could not achieve, fundamentally change Japanese behavior. The reality is that the fax machine was a brilliant technology in the early 1980s. But now it is the equivalent of the steam engine.
RIPLEY (voice-over): And this is Japan. They invented the bullet train. Nearly everyone has a smart toilet, not to mention all of the robots.
RIPLEY: When I lived here there was this joke that Japan will invent a robot to carry your fax to you.
KOLL: Right.
RIPLEY: Why are they still using them?
KOLL: Japanese salary men (ph) are incredibly resistant to change. It is about time they start to embrace digital culture as passionately as Japanese teenagers.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He says the pandemic may be changing deeply entrenched rigid behavior, finally bringing futuristic Japan into the 21st century -- Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
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RIPLEY: In all fairness, Natalie, Japan is not the only country that people think is clinging to outdated business customs. For example, people in Asia think it's crazy that Americans are carrying credit cards and writing checks. It goes to show, sometimes, you want to have something in your hand. In the U.S. It might be checks and in Japan, they love those faxes.
ALLEN: They certainly do. If I had a fax machine, I would fax you a happy birthday greeting. Happy birthday.
RIPLEY: Thank you, Natalie.
ALLEN: Like that report.
The International Olympic Committee is moving forward with plans to hold the Tokyo games next year. The committee and the Japanese government had already postponed the games until July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now the head of the IOC games says there's no plan to push back the Olympics any further.
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JOHN COATES, AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: This is a massive exercise and we are working through now getting the same venues, the same 43 venues. We're proceeding on the basis that there's no plan b of deferring the games again. MATT CARROLL, AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Sport need to take it
carefully, safe for the athletes and safe for the community. The last thing we need is for sport to cause an outbreak of the virus in the community. So we're taking it carefully and one step at a time.
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ALLEN: Johns Hopkins University says Japan has more than 15,000 cases of the virus and 600 deaths.
Coming up, this Mother's Day won't be what it usually is and an enduring symbol of the holiday is showing strain. We'll show you how flower production is, well, wilting in this pandemic.
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ALLEN: Mother's Day is traditionally big business for the flower industry and Colombia is the second largest exporter of flowers in the world. But because of coronavirus, the industry is on the verge of collapse. Journalist Stefano Pozzebon reports for us.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The flowers are in full blossom in the orchards of Colombia. But business is far from blooming. In the last 3 months, the country has been badly hit by the coronavirus.
Colombia is the second largest flower exporter in the world, an industry that generates $1.5 billion every year. It creates about 140,000 jobs, according to the local association of flower growers.
Flores Las Acacias is a company in the outskirts of Bogota, flies 95 percent of its products to the United States. But half their orders for the past month have been canceled. To make things worse, the virus hit right when the industry was gearing up for one of its busiest days, Mother's Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Mother's Day is essential for us. Together with Valentine's Day. Valentine was good but having to lose Mother's Day will affect us for the rest of the year.
POZZEBON (voice-over): This company takes the virus very seriously. Workers and visitors alike have to go to a thorough security protocol, including temperature checks and a clinical questionnaire before entering the greenhouses.
Inside, production never stopped to keep the plants healthy, even though it meant many flowers had to end up in the bin. To accommodate losses, they reduced working hours, spreading the staff in several turns, about one in every 10 workers have been kept isolated at home because they are from at-risk environments, such as over 50 or pregnant.
POZZEBON: The flower industry is such an important sector for the Colombian economy that, in February, the president himself went on state television to announce the launch of a big investment plan that will see Colombian flowers exports double in the next 10 years.
Of course, all those ambitions have been put aside as most of the productions in the last 5 weeks or so didn't go anywhere.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Business is only now picking up again with a partial reopening of flower shops in Europe. But the concern in the long term remain strong. Flowers are almost entirely exported by plane, which means as long as air traffic will not return to normal, orders still will be canceled.
AUGUSTO SOLANO, ASOCOLIFLORES: We produce flowers every day so we need to sell them. So we want to see how the markets will open, especially the United States.
POZZEBON (voice-over): But not all of the flowers are going to waste. These bouquets are being donated to workers who are delivering aid to quarantined in town, a gesture for those on the frontline against coronavirus -- Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.
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ALLEN: Flowers or no, Happy Mother's Day again, everyone.
I want to tell you now about a remarkable young man in Kenya. He's created an invention to help people stay germ free. Steve Wamukota is just 9 years old and is the designer of this machine. It's powered by a foot pedal so people can wash their hands without using their fingers, like, duh, what a great idea.
Steve says his device is created from scrap materials and said it only took a few days to make.
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STEVE WAMUKOTA, INVENTOR (through translator): On the first day I collected timber, nuts and nails and, on the second day, I started making this machine. I continued on the third day and, on the fourth day, my dad helped me to finish it.
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ALLEN: Steve says he got the idea after watching people in his village repeatedly touching the same items while trying to keep clean, 9 years old. He's our inventor of the day.
Speaking of inventive new ways, here's a graduation ceremony.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Julie, we're so proud of you.
JULIE: Thank you.
ALLEN (voice-over): Arizona State University is celebrating its class of 2020 with robots. Grads in gowns and mortarboards were prerecorded from their homes and appeared on a video screen on a remote controlled robot at the university. The dean even virtually handed them their diplomas.
The students and their loved ones will be able to stream the whole ceremony edited together on YouTube on Monday. Pretty cool.
I'm Natalie Allen. You're invited to follow me on Instagram and Twitter @AllenCNN. I'll be right back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
