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President Trump Wrongly Claims That Anybody Who Wants A Test Can Get One; Trump Says He Mandate Testing In Nursing Homes; Shanghai Disneyland Reopens With New Health Measures. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 12, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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


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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Anna Coren.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM.

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DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Over the weekend, we saw signs of the challenges that may lie ahead.

COREN (voice-over): The beginning of a second wave: South Korea, China and Germany recording an uptick in cases of coronavirus.

Plus:

TRUMP: America has risen to the task. We have met the moment. But testing certain is a very important function and we have prevailed.

COREN (voice-over): Despite new cases, at the White House the U.S. president is still pushing the country to reopen. We will have the latest from Washington.

And:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The antibodies are binding entities (ph) much smaller and much more stable.

COREN (voice-over): Do llamas hold the key to saving us from COVID- 19?

Some scientists think to seem to think so. We'll have that story coming up.

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COREN: We begin with backtracking and damage control as new COVID-19 clusters emerge. World leaders worried that this would happen. Medical experts warned it would if countries reopened too soon.

Now we have flare-ups in places like Germany, which just reported a big one-day surge, almost 1,000 new infections. China and South Korea also rolled back restrictions, only to reinstate them at some of them. The World Health Organization says countries should not be criticized for being alert and that extreme vigilance is required.

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DR. MICHAEL RYAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The virus is still here. So even as we lift lockdowns, even in low incident situations, even in a place like Korea where the incidence or the number of cases had dropped to a very low level, they did not let their guard down. They knew the virus is still here.

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COREN: The WHO warning that most of the world is still susceptible to the virus. It has infected more than 4 million people and killed over 286,000. Almost a third of those cases and fatalities are in the U.S.

South Korea is racing to contain a new spike in cases, believed to have originated in the Seoul nightclub district. More than 100 infections are being reported, as the nation tests thousands of people, who visited clubs in the area. Paula Hancocks joins us now from Seoul.

So, Paula what progress are authorities making?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, they have a figure of more than 7,000 people they have already tested. These are people within the neighborhood of the nightclub for a 2 week period. They are not just looking at the nightclub where that 29 year old man visited and then tested positive later.

They're looking before that to see who may have been in contact with an infected person. They say they've done tracing through mobile phones, credit cards and police cooperation.

They have pinpointed almost 11,000 people who would have been in that area, around that time. So they are trying to get in touch with everybody to make sure that they can try to contain this outbreak.

As you said more than 100 people have tested positive, believed to be linked to this one incident. We've heard from the Seoul city mayor, who said that 36 percent of those tested positive were asymptomatic.

So basically they had no symptoms before testing positive, which shows how important is tracing and tracking is when it comes to this kind of enough to contain this outbreak. The mayor says the next days are critical to try and contain it. Anna.

COREN: Paula, it is a shocking oversight by authorities, to allow the reopening of nightclubs.

Has there been any explanation given? HANCOCKS: Well, it is certainly a question being asked, why clubs were open before schools for example. Schools were scheduled to start from Wednesday. It was to be the third year of high school and then a phased introduction of students in the coming weeks.

That has now been pushed back a week by the education ministry. They say it is not the time to reopening schools.

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HANCOCKS: You have this cluster of new cases within the capital. Social distancing rules had been loosened and some clubs had been told to stay closed but the order actually had been lifted. So people are asking now if that has been done too soon.

And the owners of the club have been saying that they took social distancing into consideration, they did not have as many people inside, they took names and numbers of those who came into the club.

But officials themselves have said that many people gave false information. So when they were trying to track people down, they did find it difficult.

COREN: Paula Hancocks, joining us from Seoul many thanks.

China is also dealing with new cases. Authorities in Wuhan, where the outbreak was first detected, will conduct citywide testing of citizens to be completed within 10 days. Five new cases were confirmed there on Monday. But no new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.

There are 11 new cases in China's northeast, in a province which borders Russia and North Korea, raising concerns that new cases could be important. Steven Jiang is in Beijing.

What are authorities doing to stop further infections?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: Well, Anna, you know -- the mass testing of 11 million people in Wuhan was one such measure.

According to state media they were still working on the details but they said that they're going to prioritize testing for the more vulnerable groups, including the elderly and people in the older neighborhoods.

But this is a response to the reemergence of transmitted cases and you mentioned six of them over the weekend. And all of them actually occurring within the same residential compound, which had previous confirmed cases but that was sometime ago.

Most of these new cases were asymptomatic for a long time, so all these details, of course, raising new questions about the virus. But the question is the case in Shulan, that northeastern city. More than a dozen cases in that city since last Thursday are all domestically transmitted.

So now the city of 700,000 people are on lockdown, the draconian measures that we have previously seen in Wuhan. Residents are now required to stay home and each household can only send one member to buy groceries on a daily basis.

Schools and businesses are shut and transport into the city is suspended. Authorities are baffled by patient zero, this laundry lady. Apparently she had no travel history and no contact with other confirmed cases.

That is why they are doing extensive contact tracing, trying to figure out how she actually contracted this virus. All of this, of course, is another reminder of what remains unknown about this virus, as well as a very stern warning against complacency, not only here in China but around the world as well.

COREN: So we're seeing this lockdown in Shulan.

If there are further outbreaks, do you anticipate a return to lockdown?

JIANG: Experts and medical professionals here say they're not expecting that, given the rigorous containment measures still in place in China, health checks and continuous monitoring. But if it returns, Shulan show that they are willing to go all the way they can again to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading further.

COREN: Steven Jiang, thank you.

Top U.S. health officials will be grilled in the coming hours by the Senate Health Committee. They want to know if the country is ready to reopen; 48 states plan to be back in business starting at the end of this week.

President Trump is insisting it's safe to restart the economy. Johns Hopkins University says more than 80,000 people have died from COVID- 19 in the U.S.. But the president still claims that the number of people died from prolonged social distancing measures could be even higher.

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TRUMP: Don't forget, people are dying the other route. You can go with the enclosed route, everything's closed up, you're in your house, you're not allowed to move. People are dying with that too.

You look at drug addiction.

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TRUMP: You look at suicides, you look at some of the things that are taking place. People are dying that way, too. You can make the case it's in even greater numbers.

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COREN: Mr. Trump obviously wants to move on. But learning to live safely in the age of COVID-19 means that small businesses need to know how to navigate the new reality. Nick Watt takes a closer look.

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NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today in Kentucky, horses are training again. They will race this weekend but with no one watching; 48 states now on the road to reopen this week, Friday in New York, our epicenter.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): This is the next big step in this historic journey.

WATT (voice-over): Landscaping, tennis, drive-in movies and the like will be allowed statewide and a regional phase reopening will begin.

CUOMO: You are going to increase activity. Depending on how intelligently you increase activity, will be the possible effect on the spread of the virus.

WATT (voice-over): The projected death toll does tick up as we reopen, according to that well-known University of Washington model. It is now over 137,000 by early August.

ALI MOKDAD, IHME: As people started moving second week of April, which is of course, increasingly circulation of the virus. Unfortunately, the number of deaths.

WATT (voice-over): In Arizona, projected deaths near tripled today. Restaurants can reopen across the state for dine in.

In Florida, projected deaths just jumped a third. Today, hair and nail salons can open across that state.

And restaurants and retail reopened with limited capacity in hard hit Palm Beach.

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR: The lack of adequate testing, I think, along with reopening and people getting together more, projects a pretty grim outlook over the summer.

WATT (voice-over): Look at this. A packed Mother's Day at a Colorado restaurant and a New York to San Francisco flight packed full, tweeted by a doctor flying home after helping fight the virus.

CUOMO: Now we are worrying about -- we have 93 cases that we are investigating of young children who have COVID related diseases.

WATT (voice-over): For most, kids COVID-19 is mild. But we are now discovering that for a small minority, there might be a toxic shocklike reaction. For Juliet Day, her heart stopped beating properly.

JULIET DAY, COVID-19 PATIENT: My mom told me everything that was happening and it was pretty hard to comprehend and it was a lot.

WATT (voice-over): Three have died already in New York. The challenge ahead: reopen and stay safe. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe we can do 2 things at once. The

coronavirus will be with us throughout the rest of the year. We need to learn to live with it.

WATT (voice-over): One Ohio restaurant prepping for its reopening, still 10 days away, hanging shower curtains between tables -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

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COREN: As countries begin lifting restrictions, you may have heard the term herd immunity. It's a concept of the overall health of a group, often at the expense of an individual. When it comes to applying that idea to the coronavirus, the WHO says that is a very dangerous calculation.

On Monday, a senior WHO doctor said, humans are not herds. He warned that herd immunity can lead to a brutal arithmetic which does not put people, life and suffering at the center of the equation.

On top of that, the director-general of the WHO cautioned that most people in the world are still susceptible to the virus.

Joining me now is Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, an associate professor and infectious disease specialist at Australian National University's Medical School.

Great to have you with us. The WHO seems to be having a dig at Sweden, who has adopted the herd immunity concept.

But with the reopening of many countries, that health professionals believe is premature, is that the model the world is turning towards?

DR. SANJAYA SENANAYAKE, AUSTRALIA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: Hi, Anna, thank you for having me.

I think a lot of countries, as well they're being naturally concerned about their economies as well as their health, that is why we are seeing some countries open up when perhaps why they still have a significant outbreak there.

The problem with herd immunity is, depending on how infectious you think this virus is, using its reproduction number, we might need at least 60 percent but up to 80 percent of the population to become infected.

I don't think most countries, even Sweden, have come close to that. And on top of that, even if that percentage were to get infected, we don't actually know that this infection gives everyone protection from a second infection.

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COREN: This is so much unknown. And Dr. Anthony Fauci, America's top infections disease expert, he will be telling the Senate later on that Americans would experience needless suffering and death if they open up too early. None of the 48 states reopening have even met the White House guidelines.

What do you expect to see in the coming weeks?

SENANAYAKE: I might even talk about it from Australia's perspective, Australia is in a different position to the U.S. We have controlled our outbreak pretty well. We are getting about 10-20 cases a day. In population equivalence, that's like the U.S. getting 200 cases a day, instead you're getting about 25,000.

We have taken this very slowly and we are in phase one of lifting restrictions. And we are very nervous and we are expecting to see a surge in cases.

But the U.S., even though your epidemic curve might just be starting to flatten, still 25,000 cases a day, your most popular states, like California and Texas, Illinois, are still seeing rising epidemic curves.

Florida is fairly flat, New York is coming down but still seeing 2,000 cases a day, so you have a lot of disease there. And if you get a flare, on top of your current disease, it will be a major problem.

COREN: The former director of the CDC, Dr. Thomas Friedman, said, we are not reopening based on science, we are reopening based on politics, ideology and public pressure and I think it is going to end badly.

What do you think?

SENANAYAKE: Australia would not have opened with those sorts of numbers. Some other countries are, Russia is about to do it, Austria opened in April, lifted some restrictions. They've only seen 0.2 percent rise in cases in the first couple of weeks since doing that.

But I would say that is not ideal with the situation that they have in the U.S. There are some states which are doing a lot better than others. But even if they lift their restrictions, if people travel from states with lots of infections to their state, that could lead to another surge. So you have to be really, really careful.

COREN: Obviously, where we are seeing outbreaks in South Korea, in China, in Germany as has been reporting, countries that have contain the virus and, like you say, where you are in Australia, there will be easing restrictions this week, outbreaks are taking place in these countries. They are a cautionary tale for countries looking to reopen.

SENANAYAKE: They are a cautionary tale and as I said, in Australia we are expecting to see some increase in activity. But Germany said they will have an emergency brake, if they have more than 50 cases per hundred thousand population, over a 7 day period. They will put on a brake in those restrictions. So I think that is important.

And it is really important, if you are lifting restrictions, you have the testing capacity for enhanced surveillance to identify early the surge in cases and the public health infrastructure through good contact tracing to identify those cases and stop them from infecting other people.

COREN: Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, joining us from Canberra, Australia, great to get your perspective, many thanks to you.

SENANAYAKE: Thank you.

COREN: Well, Germany is on guard, with coronavirus infections on the rise, shops, cafes and restaurants open their doors, to the public.

And the United Kingdom is seemingly disconnected. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland disregarding the British prime minister's plan to reopen. More than that in a moment.

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COREN: It's a sight all too common for London, crowded tubes full of those rushing to work. Now these images feel foreign, like a different planet to our current coronavirus reality.

However, these videos were taken just on Monday as London begins to slowly ease restrictions. Many questions still remain over the U.K.'s disconnected plan to reopen. Steps to begin easing lockdown measures this week will only be applied to England after Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland extended their restrictions.

For more let's bring in CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.

These new British guidelines are causing so much confusion, why is the U.K. government struggling to get its act together months into this pandemic?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: It is an enduring question as to why it was on Sunday that Boris Johnson made this massively publicized trailed nationwide speech to all four countries in the United Kingdom.

It didn't really have the detailed advice ready to go straight off the back of it. There's some things that were part of that advice, like being able to meet one person not from your household in an outdoor space but he didn't mention that his ministers later did.

And while it is safe to say that the guidance has that has now been issued, it's not perfect but this is a sprawling, constantly changing series of guidelines. It has to impact every single part of life in the United Kingdom and they are relatively detailed but the gap between his speech and the release of these guidelines caused an extraordinary gulf of anxiety, confusion and people wondering if they can go back to work or not and how they could do that. And they're told to avoid public transport as much as possible. That

really led to a lack of confidence in some degrees, certainly in the short term in the government's message here in the United Kingdom.

The impact will be felt as they try to deliver further advice in the months and weeks ahead. Make no mistake, they're trying tweak the lockdown to restart the economy here as quickly as possible while trying not to have a second peak.

COREN: So the people you've been speaking to, what has been the reaction amongst Brits with easing of restrictions, do people feel safe?

WALSH: Predominantly, I think most of the polling and much of what you hear from individuals is concern of what potentially this virus could still do. People are reluctant to go back to work to some degree.

But then there are others frankly as well, who are skeptical of the need for the lockdown and you can't balance these two basic dynamics in the society, safety and the need to get the economy going.

Without the economy can't pay for the things that you need for safety and without safety you can't get the economy going. The thing for the United Kingdom, initially they were relaxed about it.

And now coming out of the lockdown, they have explicitly said how complicated this will be and how dangerous it is for a resurgence of the virus. But that has not been reflected in how the message is being delivered. And it's baffling as to how it was possible for the my prime minister to speak on Sunday night.

[02:25:00]

WALSH: Then he fully well knew that the advice was not going to be delivered until he gave it to Parliament on the Monday afternoon in great detail.

That gap left people baffled, confused and concerned and I think it will impact the ability for this advice to be delivered in the weeks ahead. We are going to see schools, reduced class sizes at best, in June and non essential stores closed until then.

And hospitality industry not until July, small ideas about what people should be doing in between. But many people feel part of this government advice is leaving people to make their own choices. It's advice of what you should and should not do.

But your own safety is down to that of your employer in providing what is called a COVID safe environment and at the same time your own judgment as to your own economic needs and whether you can work from home or not.

So it's a complex picture but at the same time here, the government is dealing with unprecedented circumstances, a complicated messaging strategy at the best of times. Sadly, it really hasn't that for them at all.

COREN: Nick Paton Walsh, joining us from London.

Well Mr. Johnson's confusing plan to reopen became a viral punchline with British comedian Matt Lucas poking fun.

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MATT LUCAS, COMEDIAN: "So, we are saying don't go to work, go to work, don't take public transport, go to work, don't go to work." "Stay indoors, if you can work from home go to work, don't go to work." "Go outside, don't go outside. And then we will, or won't, something or other."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Well, Germany has just reported 933 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, a rough sign for a country that has been held up as a model for how to deal with this pandemic. Early on, widespread testing helped Germany's curb the spread but since they have been allowing shops and cafes to open since last week, infections have been on the rise. Fred Pleitgen from Northern Germany.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Walking through the pedestrian zone in Rostock in Northern Germany, you could almost forget this country is in the middle of a pandemic. Most shops are open and, now, so are the cafes and restaurants.

At the Old Western steak house, owner Borwin Wegener says he is thrilled to be serving customers again, but he doesn't think he is making much money.

BORWIN WEGENER, RESTAURATEUR: I am not even dreaming about making a profit right now he says, but if we are operating at about plus or minus zero for the moment and then we could make a profit when things pick up again, that would be great.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Like all restaurants in Germany, the old western has to adhere to strict hygiene measures. Tables have to be at least 1.5 meters or about 5 feet apart, meaning the restaurant can only be filled to about half of its usual capacity.

Patrons who come to eat here don't even have to wear masks, only the staff wears masks, but you do have to fill out this form here. Now, it ask you for your name, ask you for your address, your phone number, the table that you sat at and the date you are here.

And the reason for that is, should there ever be a coronavirus case in this establishment, the authorities want to know exactly how to trace everybody who is here.

Across the country, Germany is easing many of the measures meant to combat the novel coronavirus. The area at the rugged Baltic Coast is gearing up to welcome tourist back to its beaches soon. While in other parts of the country, people are working out to get in shape for the beach. After gyms in some regions had been allowed to open.

"It is awesome," this man says, "but I am a bit concerned about how many people are in here."

Angela Merkel is concerned as well, telling Germans not to get complacent, or risk a new spike in infections and possibly a harsh new lockdown.

"We are entering a new phase of the pandemic," Merkel said, "and it will be very important that, despite the easing of restrictions, we ensure that people adhere to the fundamentals of physical distancing and wearing masks."

But many are fed up with the physical distancing measures, police made several arrests this weekend, as thousands protested across Germany, against what they feel is an infringement on their civil rights which they say it needs to end now -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Rostock, Germany.

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COREN: Coming up, small business owners in the U.S. are struggling. And they say the rules of the Paycheck Protection Program are making it hard to get any relief.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a gigantic pothole, it is dark and you have no idea how deep it is or how long it is.

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COREN: Welcome back. As the U.S. death toll from coronavirus tops 80,000, President Trump says the country is leading the world in testing. But his message is misleading since several other countries are performing more tests per capita than the U.S.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America has risen to the task. We have met the moment, but testing certainly is a very important function, and we have prevailed.

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COREN: The President also said that if somebody wants to be tested right now, they'll be able to be tested. But health experts say that's just not true, and the U.S. is nowhere close to where it needs to be to reopen. In fact, even the White House is struggling to keep its own employees healthy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a lot of people in the White House and we had one, basically, we had one person. So, we had a lot of people that work here. This building is shocking if you looked at the numbers and it's also tremendous numbers of people coming in. Normally you wouldn't do that.

But because we're running a country, we want to keep our country running. So we have a lot of people coming in and out. Many of those people, most of those people have tested depending on what portion of the Oval Office area they're going in. Everybody coming into the president's office gets tested, and I felt no vulnerability whatsoever.

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COREN: And while the president says he does not feel vulnerable inside the White House, staffers are being ordered to wear face masks when entering the West Wing. CNN Kaitlan Collins reports.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House announced to staffers on Monday it's implementing a strict new mask policy basically telling people that if they are coming into the West Wing, they are going to have to be wearing something covering their face. And then if they have a permanent desk or office inside the West Wing, they do not have to wear it as long as they can be socially distance.

And that change in policy from the White House in just a week ago where staffers were not wearing masks comes after two people who interact closely with the President and the Vice President both tested positive for Coronavirus. However, the question is whether or not the President and Vice President are going to follow their own new policy.

President Trump appeared in the Rose Garden Monday at a press conference. They're supposed to be focused on testing. He wasn't wearing a mask and the vice president was there, which is a pretty rare move for someone who typically does attend these press conferences when he's in Washington, which he was on Monday.

Now, the President said the mass policy change was his idea, though he didn't get into whether or not he's going to wear one. But this press conference was supposed to focus on the administration's ramped-up efforts on testing.

However, it quickly devolved at the end into the president storming off because he did not like the questions that one reporter was asking him about what he was saying about how the U.S. ranks globally compared to how it's testing with other countries, and that question I followed up on. The president though, he did not let me ask a question in the end and instead stormed off, turned, and did not answer any more questions after that and went back into the Oval Office. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)

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COREN: Well, we want to show you that heated exchange during the news briefing that Kaitlan was referring to here -- referring to in her report. Take a look.

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WEIJIA JIANG, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CBS: Why is this a global competition to you if everyday Americans are still losing their lives, and we're still seeing more cases every day?

TRUMP: Well, they're losing their lives everywhere in the world. And maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question, OK. When you ask them that question, you may get a very unusual answer. Yes, behind you.

JIANG: Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically that I should ask China?

TRUMP: I'm telling you. I'm not saying it specifically to anybody. I'm saying if anybody that would ask a nasty question like that.

JIANG: That's not a nasty question.

TRUMP: Please go ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, you can read more background about the contentious exchange at cnn.com Mr. Trump says he might make coronavirus testing mandatory for nursing home residents. And the White House Coronavirus Task Force says it would like governors to complete this testing in the next two weeks whether the states have reached phase one of reopening or not. CNN's Brian Todd takes a look at why testing in nursing homes is so important.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leland Gebhardt is fearful about his 69-year-old mother who lives at this Phoenix area nursing home. His mother doesn't have any symptoms of coronavirus at the moment, he says, but the facility says about four dozen residents there have tested positive, and at least seven have died.

LELAND GEBHARDT, SON OF RESIDENT AT GLENCOVE NURSING FACILITY, ARIZONA: It's definitely been very fearful because all you can do is just wait and just hope that nothing happens and hold your breath.

TODD: There are shocking new numbers on the ravaging toll COVID-19 is taking on American nursing homes. Nationally, long-term care facilities are linked to 11 percent of reported cases and more than one in three deaths according to a tally by the New York Times. In recent days, CNN has reported on individual states with spiking

numbers that are simply flooring. In New Jersey, more than half the state's deaths from coronavirus have come at long term care facilities. And in New Hampshire as of a few days ago, nearly 80 percent of the deaths were at nursing homes. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo is trying to head off further disaster.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): This virus uses nursing homes. They are ground zero. They're the vulnerable population and the vulnerable location.

TODD: Governor Cuomo is now requiring that nursing home staff members be tested twice a week for coronavirus, and says hospitals cannot discharge a patient to a nursing home unless the patient test negative. But nursing homes still present what one expert calls a perfect storm of factors which put their residents at higher risk. In addition to the fact that many of them already have chronic health problems--

JENNIFER LEE, FORMER DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY FOR HEALTH, VETERANS ADMINISTRATION: These residents are confined to where they live, and many of them live in pretty and interact and close spaces. And so that puts them at higher risk because they can effectively distance.

TODD: And staff shortages at nursing homes, which one expert told us were a problem before this outbreak are now making the risks even greater for staffers and residents.

JAMES PHILLIPS, DIRECTOR, DISASTER AND OPERATIONAL MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Within a nursing home, the nurses and the technicians that work there could be dealing with tens of patients at a time. What that means is you've got one person going back and forth between all the rooms and all the different patients.

TODD: Those conditions have led to scenes like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better, same, or worse?

TODD: Relatives have to check on their elderly loved ones through the windows of those facilities. In mid-March, the federal government issued guidance banning nearly all visitors and communal activities at nursing homes.

At a nursing home in Pasco County, Florida relatives couldn't get anywhere near their mothers and grandmothers to celebrate Mother's Day so they had to drive by, honk, wave from a distance, and call them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, she can't. She's emotional. All right.

TODD: But the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that federal regulators are drafting new guidelines to allow visitors to return to nursing home facilities under multiple phases and with very strict standards. Reached by CNN, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would not comment on the journal report, but they did not refute it. Medical experts are warning not to open these facilities too soon. And

nursing home industry groups are also warning that these places need a lot more resources like protective gear before they should reopen. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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COREN: U.S. House Democrats are pushing for another coronavirus economic recovery package. The Trump administration and Senate Republican leaders are opposed to the idea after Washington gave out about $3 trillion in recovery programs this spring. But as states begin to reopen, some small business owners say the Relief Program has not helped them so far. CNN's Phil Mattingly explains.

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The government's small business rescue program was designed as a dream lifeline for business owners.

LAURY HAMMEL, CEO AND FOUNDER, LONGFELLOW HEALTH CLUBS: I actually think they did the right thing.

MATTINGLY: But for some ravaged by the pandemic like Laury Hammel who owns a series of health clubs in Massachusetts and Utah, it has become a nightmare.

HAMMEL: We're in a situation where all of a sudden, we find out that that we don't have the ability to spend 75 percent of what we got from the PPP.

MATTINGLY: After a rocky rollout, the program has kicked into gear. More than 4.2 million loans, more than $500 billion to save small businesses. All of which can be forgiven if certain rules are followed. But those rules that 75 percent of the funds must be used on payroll, 25 percent for things like rent and utilities, and all within eight weeks have become a dramatic problem with businesses like Hammel's still unable to open on states orders and many of their furloughed workers making more money from enhanced unemployment insurance.

HAMMEL: I'm not going to be paying all these people money for not coming to work. Not only because it doesn't help them out because if the business isn't around, they're not helped.

MATTINGLY: And the business saving program has created yet another desperate moment. The SBA's own Inspector General said: "Tens of thousands of borrowers won't be able to have their loans forgiven due to the rules."

MARK HARMAN, PRESIDENT STANZ FOOD SERVICE: Basically, how I describe it to people is it's this gigantic pothole and it's dark and so you have no idea how deep or how long it is. And you need to have something to fill that pothole. MATTINGLY: Mark Harman, the president of Stanz Food Service, a distributor based in South Bend, Indiana has watched not just his business but the restaurants it serves struggle with the program's rules.

HARMAN: They're all decimated. They seriously are decimated. And the PPP loan, while its intent was, I think, good. It's not practical for what they do.

MATTINGLY: Harman contacted Indiana Senator Todd Young with his concerns. And Young, a Republican, along with Democratic Senator Michael Bennett have drafted proposals to try and address the issues. The question now, is it too late?

HARMAN: What has happened with this kind of a pandemic, essentially, it's catastrophic what it's doing to our industry. And it's going to be really, really hard to come back from if we're not saved.

MATTINGLY: Phil Mattingly, CNN, Washington.

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COREN: As Saudi Arabia tries to boost its struggling economy; all eyes are on the kingdom's top oil producer and its upcoming earnings reports.

[02:45:00]

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COREN: Oil producer Saudi Aramco is expected to release its first- quarter financial results within the next hour. Some analysts predict low earnings and a decrease in cash flow. Others expect the company to cut its payments to the government. This comes as Saudi pledges more cuts in oil production in an effort to revive the crude market.

Well, CNN's John's Defterios joins us now from Abu Dhabi. John, good to have you with us. Yesterday, the Saudis state slash benefits and raised taxes. Why so much focus today on Aramco's earnings?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, it is the number one exporter in the world, the most profitable company as well, and it makes a lot of money for the state of Saudi Arabia. And it's this first publicly traded quarter that's being reported here after going public, late in 2019. And they kind of beat us to the punch here in terms of the dividends.

They just came out in the last 10 minutes, Anna, and they're slightly below expectations. We were expected a number about $17.5 billion. They came in at $16.7 billion. Not bad knowing the market conditions right now. And also, importantly, they're suggested they'll pay nearly $19 billion of dividends from the first quarter into the second quarter. So good for the Saudi state and the Saudi investors that invested in the IPO at 1.7 percent of the total company here.

But this is not an easy time for Saudi Aramco, of course, because production is down due to the OPEC plus cuts. Prices are about half of what they were last year. And the year before, they paid $88 billion to the state overall, in terms of earnings. 73 went direct to the coffers of the state for operating expenses.

So that's why we're watching this very carefully. This is not a really clear picture because the coronavirus kicked in in March of this year as you know. This led to the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and those impacts will probably show up more severely in the second quarter -- the current quarter that we're in right now.

COREN: John, as we know, oil prices went negative at last month before a slight recovery to $30 a barrel. What sort of pressure is this putting on the major producers of the Persian Gulf?

DEFTERIOS: Yes. So one of those would be the UAE and the other Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, kind of the big three and the Gulf -- as long as too is Iraq as a major producer of better than four and a half million barrels a day.

To give you a sense of what took place, and we talked about it yesterday, but they actually tripled the VAT tax to 15 percent, it's only two years old, cut benefits to the Saudis citizens, which costs government workers about $300 a month. And then we saw the Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, he decided to push ahead with another cut of a million barrels a day.

So from 12.3 million barrels a day, Anna, the heat of the price war with Russia and the United States. We're just under 7.5 million barrels a day, so the lack of production will hit revenues, but they're hoping that prices can bounce back. We had an average price of over $60.00 last year. We're hovering at $30.00 today.

COREN: John Defterios joining us from Abu Dhabi, as always, many thanks. Well, Tesla has decided to reopen one of its production factories in California, openly defying health guidelines still in place to contain the coronavirus.

CEO Elon Musk, a fierce critic of stay-at-home orders says workers returned to production lines on Monday and that he would be joining them. Local officials are now urging the company to scale back its operations or they try to work out an agreement on how and when to reopen safely.

Disney began reopening theme parks this week starting with Shanghai Disneyland. No days has been announced for when Walt Disney World in Florida will open. Visitors can make reservations beginning on July 1st. CNN's David Culver takes a look at how Shanghai is getting back to business.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Disney cast members lined the entrance to welcome guests back. The Shanghai Park reopening Monday after three and a half months. It closed as the novel coronavirus ravaged parts of China. The latest government figures claim for fewer cases particularly in Shanghai. Disney felt confident to reopen the gates limited mission to 30

percent capacity or 24,000 guests. But Disney CEO has said far fewer guests will be allowed initially. And on day one, CNN noticed a smaller crowd in the massive park coupled with several new safety measures.

ANDREW BOLSTEIN, SENIOR V.P. OF OPERATIONS, SHANGHAI DISNEY RESORT: And we have cast members here, monitoring the queues all throughout asking guests to maintain that respectful social distance at all times.

CULVER: Senior Vice President of Operations Andrew Bolstein says temperature screening starts before guests walk in. All visitors need to register online and booked for a specific arrival time to keep from congregating. To enter, you must have a green Shanghai Q.R. health code. That's the government's high-tech way to track potential exposures.

Inside the park, reminders to keep your distance. Yellow tape added two lines for attractions and restaurants.

Safe space in even for the performances. This is one of the stages. Look here in the crowd. Pick a box. That's where you and your family unit will stand, keeping that distance.

Every other table blocked off to space out diners. After stepping off each ride, you'll find a row of hand sanitizer stations.

One thing that stands out to me is constant sanitation.

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BOLSTEIN: So we have a very dedicated team of custodial cleaners that we've even increased the numbers of those throughout the park that are constantly wiping down all the surfaces.

CULVER: And for now, you can no longer hug Mickey or Minnie, not even a high five. A safe selfie distance will have to do along with facemasks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so excited.

CULVER: The new measures have not deterred Disney fans.

To me, it means the magic starts again, she tells me. But the joy here is not felt everywhere in China. As Disney reopens in Shanghai, a city in northeast China has gone into wartime mode, locking down to stop a recent spike in cases. And at the original epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan, after weeks without any new cases, the city has reported six over the past two days dimming the festivities a bit at Shanghai Disneyland.

They've tried to balance celebration with remembrance, creating tributes to frontline health care workers. This is a projection of gratitude. Disney says that they are sold out for the rest of the week as they

have now imposed this new online ticketing system. So you reserve that block of time so that not everyone is rushing to the front gate at the same time to go into the park. It seems like there is demand. However, the question will be going forward, can they increase that capacity?

As of now, they're keeping well below that 30 percent government regulation. And it seems that people we talked to were comfortable with that. And not only made those who were visiting this park feel safer, but also those who are working here. David Culver, CNN, Shanghai Disneyland.

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COREN: Some of the frenzied research to develop a Coronavirus vaccine is centered on an unexpected animal.

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BERT SCHEPENS, VIB CENTER FOR MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY: Llama antibodies, their binding entity is much smaller and much more stable.

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COREN: How existing research on llamas could help scientists now.

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COREN: A llama in Belgium may provide the key to developing a coronavirus vaccine. CNN's Nic Robertson went to Belgium to get the details.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Say hello to Winter. Not just any llama, her blood might save us all from COVID-19. Researchers have discovered that llamas produce a type of antibody that could be vital in fighting the coronavirus infection in humans.

SCHEPENS: Those llama antibodies, their binding entity is much smaller and much more stable.

ROBERTSON: The eureka moment at this tiny Belgian lab came January 20th. They realized research with llamas a couple of years ago could catapult them to cure fast and scaled up immediately from two to 20 staff.

[02:55:05]

NICO CALLEWAERT, VIB CENTER FOR MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY: So we've worked really, really long hours, especially in February and March when we were racing to get the antibody.

ROBERTSON: Now, they're racing to test their antibodies on mice and hamsters. Everything here is happening at much faster speed than normal, but it still takes time. That white flask there contains billions of antibodies that can be used in about 100 animal tests. But even that can take up to 10 days to produce.

Unusually for an academic lab this small, they're working parallel tracks, refining the antibodies as they go, planning to pick the best and scale up for humans as soon as they can.

SCHEPENS: We have to do multiple other studies like toxicity, repeats on animal experiments. And then hopefully by the end of the year, everything should be in place to do the first clinical test.

ROBERTSON: The biggest benefits fisheries could be the elderly, because generally their immune systems are weaker. The lab's antibodies could aid the effectiveness of vaccines already being tested.

SCHEPENS: So it could be that the vaccine might protect healthy adults, but might be less useful on elderly. And in this way, just by providing the antibody itself directly, you might protect the elderly as well.

ROBERTSON: But many people are impatient. At a llama farm in the U.K., owner Bobby Schuck is already getting calls about the healing possibilities of llamas.

BOBBY SCHUCK, THE LLAMA FARM: We have had rather silly people in my opinion, who phoned up and ask can they come take blood from the llama to drink it. But no, we're not going to let people drink their blood.

ROBERTSON: And if they did, it wouldn't help. That's not how antibodies work. What worries the researchers in Belgium is they may be running of time as lockdowns begin to ease.

CALLEWAERT: If you look at the daily case numbers globally, it's just flat. It's just we have about 100,000 cases every day --

ROBERTSON: Across the world.

CALLEWAERT: For the last month, yes. It's pretty clear that as soon as we do relax things with international travel, it's going to come back. And so we need to be ready for that.

ROBERTSON: Winter, on the other hand, can take it easy. Her job gifting her antibody code is done. Nic Robertson, CNN, Ghent, Belgium.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, thanks so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren. The news continues with my colleague Rosemary Church after this short break.

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