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Health Experts Warns of a Deadlier Second Wave; President Trump Portrayed a Mission Accomplished on Testing; Local Transmission Reported in China's Hubei Province; South Korea Postpone Reopening of Classes; Boris Johnson Criticized for Lack of Details; Coronavirus Pandemic, Doctor Returns Home On Full Flight; U.S. Democrats Push For Another Massive Stimulus Plan; U.S. Small Businesses Seek Changes To Relief Program; Payroll Protection Program Guidelines; Saudi Aramco Profits Slide 25 Percent in Firsts Quarter; Germany Sees Large Single- Day Surge In New Cases; Angela Merkel Urges Caution During New Phase Of Pandemic; Infections Rise In Germany As Lockdown Is Eased; Vladimir Putin Announces Russia To Ease Restrictions As Cases Surge; Turkey Records Fewest Daily Cases Since March 26; Turkey Reopens Hair Salons, Malls; Quebec Schools Take New Precautions As They Reopen; English Premier League's Crunch Talks; Llamas Role In Vaccine Research; Llama's Antibodies Could Be Key To Vaccine. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired May 12, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WHO HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAMME: I'm really concerned that certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Warnings becoming reality as countries begin lifting lockdown restrictions. Coronavirus cases jump back up, threatening a potential second wave.
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BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If we come to take small steps back to normality, as we are now, that clearly the message becomes finer and more complicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More complicated indeed, while the U.K. goes ahead with its easing of lockdown restrictions, many people are left confused as to what that actually means.
Plus, Nelson Mandela said once that sport has the power to unite people, and it may just be uniting football fans vert soon as the English Premier League discusses plans to renew the season.
Good to have you with us.
Renewed fears and even renewed restrictions in some parts of the globe as new clusters of COVID-19 emerge. Those cases showing up over the last few days in Germany, South Korea and China where stay-at-home measures have been eased and other lockdowns have been lifted.
The World Health Organization is now urging vigilance and warning countries against any rush to reopen as cases around the world climb well past four million.
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TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: To protect lives and livelihoods, a steady lifting of lockdowns is key to both stimulating economies while also keeping and vigilant eye on the virus so that control measures can be quickly implemented if an upswing in cases is identified.
RYAN: Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly as equation as I've seen. And I'm really concerned that certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And those global fears stretch to the U.S. where nearly every state has made plans to partially reopen some businesses even as the death toll tops 80,000.
In Washington the White House is now dealing with its own outbreak after two staffers tested positive.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the details.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Scrambling to contain a coronavirus outbreak among top officials, tonight, the White House is countering with a new West Wing mask policy after a presidential valet and Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller tested positive within days of each other. The White House now directing officials to wear a face covering while inside the West Wing and restricting visits from outside guests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Just about everybody I've seen today has worn a mask. Yes? Please go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you the one who required hat, sir?
TRUMP: Yes, I did. I did. I required it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Three top doctors on the Coronavirus Task Force, the CDC director, the FDA commissioner, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, all entering some form of self- quarantine within a day of Miller's test result. But on Monday, Fauci was spotted inside the West Wing wearing a mask.
Vice President Mike Pence and coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx also return to the White House joining a video conference with governors from the White House grounds. This time from separate rooms. Dr. Birx is in a situation room with some staff. "I'm in a separate room on my own." Pence said at the top of the call according to a recording obtained by CNN, touting appropriate countermeasures.
While Birx wore a mask, the vice president returned to the White House on Monday mask-less. A Pence spokesman telling CNN the vice president will continue to follow the advice of the White House medical unit and is not in quarantine.
That decision flying in the face of CDC guidelines which advice those who have had close contact with someone who test positive for coronavirus to stay home for two weeks. Concerns among aides are rising.
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[03:04:56]
KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ECONOMIC ADVISER: It's a very scary for everybody. We've all been exposing ourselves to risk, you know, under the best guidance we could possibly have to keep us safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Meanwhile, President Trump is concerned that the outbreak of coronavirus at the White House could undercut his calls for Americans to get back to work according to a person who spoke with him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open, and we have to get it open soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: But CDC guidelines to help businesses reopen still in limbo after the White House rejected draft guidelines last week, calling them overly prescriptive. Today, the White House looking to instill confidence in the U.S.'s testing capacity and readiness to reopen.
The White House also taking aim at China, once again raising the prospect of seeking financial compensation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER: I strongly believe and I
think the American people strongly believe that China inflicted trillions of dollars of damage on this country and there should be some form of compensatory damages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Amid rising tensions with China and a coronavirus outbreak at the White House, President Trump focusing his energy on his predecessor. Falsely tying Obama to the prosecution of his first national security Michael Flynn. That tweet storm coming after Obama slammed Trump's response to coronavirus during a call with former staffers.
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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster.
(END VOICE CLIP)
CHURCH: All right. So, let's explore those testing levels Jeremy was just talking about there.
In the last few hours, we saw the U.S. president trying to pull off a mission accomplished moment on testing as the death toll in this country rose above 80,000 people. Speaking earlier in the White House Rose Garden, Mr. Trump stood in front of this sign and said this.
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TRUMP: America has risen to the task. We have met the moment, but testing certainly is a very important function, and we have prevailed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: In fact, the United States seems a long way from victory. Right now, it's carrying out around 300,000 tests a day, whereas more than a month ago, Mr. Trump insisted he would get capacity up to five million a day by now. That's not even close. And far short of what experts insist we need in this country.
The director of the Harvard Global Institute says the U.S. has to ramp up testing to around 900,000 a day by May 15th. That would mean tripling capacity in three days. But those details don't seem to matter so much in the White House. As the president insists anyone who wants to test can get one.
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TRUMP: If people want to get tested, they get tested. But for the most part they should want to get tested. There is no reason. If they feel good, they don't have sniffles, they don't have sore throats, they don't have any problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, it's hard to square that with the reality of what we are seeing. On Monday, the president repeated his claims on testing after he had been corrected by his own people. His testing chief Admiral Brett Giroir clarifying that anyone who needs a test can get one. Not want but need. An important distinction there. But it's been this way for a while since the start of this crisis.
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TRUMP: We are testing everybody that we need to test.
Anybody that want a test can get a test.
We took over an obsolete broken testing system.
There is not a lot of issues with testing.
The governors are supposed to do testing.
We are lapping the world on testing.
We have so much testing. I don't think you need that kind or testing that much testing.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The notion that everyone needs to be tested is just simply nonsensical.
TRUMP: We've done more testing than every other country combined. So, in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad.
I've always said testing is somewhat overrated.
Something can happen between a test where it's good and then something happens and all of the sudden, this is why the whole concept of tests aren't necessarily great.
But testing certainly is a very important function and we have prevailed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: OK so, you can see a pattern there. But let's go back to something we heard a moment ago from Mr. Trump. Let's talk symptoms because people who don't have sore throats or the sniffles as he put it, can have and even more importantly, can spread the virus.
In fact, we now know that many people are most contagious before they show any symptoms. Take a listen to the admiral on why that matters.
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BRETT GIROIR, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: So, the CDC guidelines really says that if you are in close contact just testing negative on that one day doesn't mean you won't be positive later on. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And that is why testing levels are so important. And it's why there is so much testing going on at the White House right now.
[03:10:02]
Mr. Trump, was asked about the two staff members who have tested positive. Katie Miller, the vice president's spokeswoman and the wife of top Trump aide Stephen Miller, and a White House valet. The president clearly trying to downplay that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can you ensure Americans that it's safe to go to their own workplaces when the most secure place in the country, the White House, cannot contain the spread of the coronavirus, it's infected some of your own staff.
TRUMP: Well, when you say some, so we have a person and the person got, something happened right after test was done. Three other people met that person, came into relative contact, very little contact and they are self- quarantining. That is not exactly not controlling it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: All right, but you can't downplay these pitchers. Staff in the West Wing now have to wear masks with one big exception.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well if there are certain distance from me or if there are certain distance from each other they do, and in the case of me, I'm not close to anybody. So obviously in my case I'm very far away from everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So, let's talk more about all of this with CNN medical analyst, Dr. Celine Gounder. She is also an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist in New York. Thank you so much for talking with us.
CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: My pleasure.
CHURCH: Now we know of course with the COVID-19 outbreak at the White House and the U.S. death toll at more than 80,000, President Trump called a news conference Monday and declared the U.S. has prevailed in testing for the virus, and said if a person wants a test, they can get a test.
Has the president met the moment and prevailed on testing, as he suggests, and can everyone get a test if they wanted?
GOUNDER: Well, sadly, Rosemary, this is a promise that has been made for a couple months now by the president that everybody who wanted a test could get a test. And unfortunately, that is still not the case in many parts of the country.
We don't have enough tests, we still don't have the supplies necessary to allow you to collect specimens, to perform the test in some parts of the country. And so, this remains a real, very important bottleneck.
We want to be able to test everybody who has symptoms, everybody who wants a test, and everybody who has come into contact with somebody who's had COVID-19 or symptoms concerning for that. And we're still not at that point yet.
CHURCH: And of course, extensive testing is critical to opening up the country. And we know that 48 states are expected to reopen partially at least across the country by the end of this week. Where should the level of testing be in the United States? At 200,000 tests a day, as they are right now or 900,000 a day as Harvard University says they should be?
GOUNDER: Well, no one knows exactly how many tests we need but we know for sure we need more than the 200 or 250,000 tests a day that we are performing right now. So, you know, we really need to dramatically increase the amount of testing we have. And as part of that too, we also really need to be hiring people to do contact tracing.
So that means to follow up on everybody who has been potentially exposed, to screen them for symptoms, to offer them testing, and to isolate them in a safe way so that they are not potentially exposing others.
CHURCH: And why do you think the United States has been unable to get ahead of this, it's almost playing catch-up right now. We're seeing other countries across the globe getting starting to get back to some new normal at least, but we are stuck in this situation in the United States where people are still dying at an incredible rate. So, what does that say about the United States?
GOUNDER: Well, I mean, take for example, Germany, they were much more strict upfront about their social distancing, they are much more aggressive about contact tracing and testing. And that is now allowing countries like that to reopen more quickly.
I think unfortunately the U.S. has not taken this seriously. We did not institute social distancing and lockdown measures strictly enough and quickly enough. And then in the meantime, when we finally did, it wasn't as rigorously. We didn't use that time to scale up testing and contact tracing, and so now we still find ourselves very much behind.
And I think honestly, Rosemary, this is because of who is dying from this, who is getting sick from this? And it's largely people of color in this country and people who are working in service and, you know, less well paid jobs. And they just are not valued in the same way in this country as others.
[03:14:58]
Look at the White House, if somebody wants to be tested every single day in the White House, that kind of testing is available to them. That is just not available to the average American.
CHURCH: And the FDA has given emergency approval for new antigen test that will apparently be cheaper, faster, and simpler for COVID-19 testing. How will that work exactly and improve the fight against the virus? And when would it be available to everyone who wants or needs it?
GOUNDER: So, antigen testing is a bit simpler than the testing we've been using up until now. So up until now we've really been testing for the genetic material of the virus. The antigen testing is really just testing for components of the virus. Protein of the virus.
And it's a much simpler test. It can be done much more cheaply, and more rapidly. It could be done as a point of care test, for example, when you do a urine pregnancy test that's the kind of test you're doing.
And so, these tests are not perfect. They are not as sensitive as the PCR test which check for the genetic material of the virus. But they are quite good still. And so, if you are really looking at trying to scale up access and do this quickly, you know, this is a really breakthrough technology.
Now, how long will it be, you know, until we have that available to everybody? There are a few other companies that are getting into the mix in addition to the one that just had the FDA emergency use authorization.
By the fall I think we are going to have a number of companies in the mix, but this really is going to allow us to scale up testing, to do much more intensive testing. For example, in places like nursing homes, and jails, and prisons, and homeless shelters where we really need to be much more focused right now.
CHURCH: Dr. Gounder, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.
GOUNDER: My pleasure.
CHURCH: And at Monday's press briefing, there was an ugly moment when Mr. Trump bristled at a question from an Asian-American female reporter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEIJIA JIANG, CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS: Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives, and we are still seeing more cases every day?
TRUMP: Well, they are 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Well, meanwhile, China is waging a 10-day battle to deal with new coronavirus cases. Authorities in Wuhan will conduct citywide testing that must be completed in 10 days. That is according to the Chinese state media.
Six people have been confirmed with coronavirus in the past two days in China's Hubei province. However, today, China is reporting there have been no new positive cases in Wuhan in the past 24 hours.
Steven Jiang is in Beijing, he joins us now. Good to see you, Steven. So, what's the latest on these new clusters of cases in Wuhan and in Shulan in the northeast?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, in Wuhan, the original epicenter the latest is the mass testing of 11 million residents you just mentioned. Now the authorities according to a state media are still trying to work out the details but they are -- but they say they are going to prioritize testing for the more vulnerable groups, including the elderly and people living in crumped conditions in the city's older neighborhoods.
This obviously a response to the reemergence of locally transmitted cases after the city reporting no new cases for over a month. Now these six new cases you mentioned occurring in the same residential compound where they had previously confirmed the cases, but that was some time ago. And also, most of these new cases were asymptomatic for a long time. So, these details really raising new questions about this virus.
But the situation in Shulan in the northeast part of the country is even more alarming, that city of 700,000 people is now under lockdown. The kind of draconian measures we have previously only seen in Wuhan at the peak of the outbreak.
Meaning, residents are now required to stay home, each household is even, is only allowed to send out one member to buy groceries on a daily basis. Schools and businesses are shut and transportation into the city suspended.
All these measures because the authorities there are very much baffled by there are more than a dozen cases since last Thursday especially around the patient zero who is a laundry lady at the local police station. She apparently had no travel history and no contact with other confirmed cases.
So that's why they are doing extensive contact tracing and there are other investigations trying to figure out how she contracted this virus before spreading it to others. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. Steven Jiang bringing us the very latest from Beijing. Many thanks to you.
Well, meanwhile, South Korea is reporting more than 100 new infections linked to the night club cluster in Seoul. The city's mayor is warning there have been multiple cases of secondary infection.
[03:20:03]
More than 36 percent of the cases are asymptomatic and it's spreading fast. South Korea will also postpone reopening schools by one week due to a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
And CNN's Paula Hancocks takes a look at what South Korea is doing to contain this renewed outbreak.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials in South Korea are scrambling to try and contain the latest outbreak which originated in Seoul's nightclub district.
Now at this point officials have said that more than 100 people have been confirmed positive with coronavirus link to this one incident. It started with a 29-year-old man, according to officials, who went to the nightclub district of Itaewon in Seoul and visited a number of clubs. Later on, he realized that he had tested positive for coronavirus.
Now what we heard from Seoul city mayor is that the next two to three days are critical to try and contain this outbreak. He has said that secondary infection is already a big issue so it's not just people who have been to these clubs or potentially been in contact with this individual that are now testing positive but also their friends and family as well.
He said 36 percent of them as well are asymptomatic, meaning they have no symptoms. So, if they haven't been told to go and get tested because they've been in the vicinity, they simply wouldn't have known that they were carrying the virus. Saying that the rate of spread is very high.
Now officials are using a number of techniques to try and find out exactly who was in that region. They have a two-week period. They're looking at in this area and they say there's almost 11,000 people that they have identified either through mobile phone usage, through credit card records or with police cooperation as well.
This is the way that South Koreans have been tracing this virus really from the beginning. They say more than 7,000 of those have already been tested but they are asking many more to come forward and to make sure that they can try and contain this.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
CHURCH: In the land of hope and glory, tension and confusion. The British government hit with backlash over its latest message on easing the lockdown. We are live in London. That's next.
And the world's most valuable domestic football league wants to save its season but how would that work?
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Well, back to work for some in Britain. This was the Monday morning commute on the London underground before transport officials issued new guidance a few hours later. Now travelers on the tube are being urged to wear face masks and avoid peak times if possible.
Transport for London managed to spell out what it expects from commuters, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under a heavy fire over a muddled message to restart the U.K. economy.
[03:25:09]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: But it's a very, obviously a very simple message, you know, it couldn't be stay-at-home. Now it's when you come to take small steps back to normality, as we are now, that clearly the message becomes finer, and more complicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, Mr. Johnson was short on detail on how the gradual easing of the lockdown will work in England. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are all going their own separate ways.
So, Nick Paton Walsh joins us now live from London. And Nick, the U.K. government is under increasing pressure to get this right but now there's mixed messages. How did this happen and how will they correct this?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Well, essentially, the Sunday night speech was heavily trails, heavily out of ties, meant to be a prime time address long awaited by the U.K. nation and frankly, people were looking for detail. That's something that Boris Johnson didn't deliver that particular night.
And the speech had some of the key changes to the lockdown in it, but not every single one. And that in fact detailed advice wasn't published until it was given to parliament in the U.K. the next day in the afternoon.
Leaving a gap, frankly, during which people were encouraged to go back to work not using public transports if they couldn't work from home.
And we saw those scenes on Monday. And then slowly on Monday, and increasingly now too, the detailed advice is emerging. The documents are substantial. They are detailed. They don't deal with every eventuality and they do at times seemed to contradict themselves or present confusing situations.
You are, for example, allowed to go for an unlimited drive to exercise outdoors, but then at the same time too, you are only allowed to meet one person who is not from your household in an outdoor space so that you can't possibly meet one after another after another. It's an unprecedented situation for which frankly no singular government document would suffice. But the gap between Sunday's speech and the details we're still
getting now, and the fact that it appears some of the message -- message Boris Johnson was suggesting should be taken on Monday morning in fact now aren't thought to be necessary to be taken until tomorrow morning.
That's damaged essentially the cohesion of the government message, the confidence that the British people have in it, and of course, made the government's job more complicated in the weeks ahead.
Today we will hear from the chancellor, the sort of finance minister of the U.K. on how they intend to deal with the furlough scheme here. They are using to pay -- they are using to have the government pay salaries to those who are temporarily out of work.
It's a huge economic damage like every government that the U.K. now has to weigh versus the safety of the people who keep that economy running. You simply cannot satisfy both of these demands simultaneously.
So, a very complex task, but one they haven't frankly made easier for themselves in that gap between the Sunday speech and the Monday advice. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Hopefully they'll send out a clearer message. Nick Paton Walsh, many thanks for bringing that report from London. I appreciate it.
WALSH: I've lost, I believe.
CHURCH: As Turkey eases its restrictions, hair salons are among the first businesses to reopen. And that means lockdown locks are getting a trim.
CNN's Arwa Damon was one of the first in line and looks at the new safety measures now in place.
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[03:30:00]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A doctor, who went to New York to help treat coronavirus patients, tweeted this image of a crowded trip home. United airlines says, they flew a group of hospital workers to and from New York for free, however the ride back to San Francisco, alarmed some passengers as nearly every seat was filled. United says it is not a signing some middle seats, but can't guarantee that people will have an empty space next to them.
Welcome back everyone, will that image of course, helps capture the struggle, between businesses getting back to normal, filling out and making money, and the struggle to deal with the health crisis in front of us all. We have spent the first half of the show looking at all the health crisis issues, and now we want to look at the economic impact.
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 finds out why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The government's small business rescue program, was designed as a dream lifeline for business owners.
LAURY HAMMEL, CEO AND FOUNDER, LONGFELLOW HEALTH CLUB: 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 in Utah, it has become a nightmare.
HAMMEL: We are in a situation where all of the sudden we find out, that we don't have the ability to spend 75 percent of what we have 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 had 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. And not only because it doesn't help them out, because if the business is not around, they're not going to help.
MATTINGLY: And the business saving program has created yet another desperate moment. The SBA's own inspector general said quote, 10s of thousands of borrowers won't be able to have their loans forgiven due to the rules.
MARK HARMAN, PRESIDENT STANZ FOOD SERVICES: Basically how I describe it to people is people it's a gigantic pothole and its dark and so you have no idea how deep it hurt or how long it is. And you need to have something to fill up pothole in with.
MATTINGLY: Mark Harman, the president of Stanz Food Services, distributor based in South Bend, Indiana has watched not just his business but the restaurants t it serves struggle with the program's rules.
HARMAN: They are all decimated. They seriously decimated and the PPP loan, while its intent was looking good, it's not practical for what they do. MATTINGLY: Harman contacted Indiana senator Todd Young with his
concerns and Young, a Republican among with Democratic Senator, Michael Bennett have drafted proposals to try to address the issues. The question now is it too late?
HARMAN: What has happened with this kind of the pandemic essentially, it is catastrophic, what it is doing to our industry? And it is going to be really, really hard to come back from it if we're not saved.
MATTINGLY: Phil Mattingly, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, the world's most valuable company, has posted its financial numbers for the first quarter. The oil giant Saudi Aramco, owned by Saudi Arabia, watched its profit slide some 25 percent over the last few months. That's as the coronavirus, and a price war with Russia, sent the cost of the barrel of oil into freefall. So, let's bring in CNN's emerging markets editor, John Defterios in Abu Dhabi, he joins us now live. Good to see you, John. So, did the results live up to expectations with that steep sliding profit?
[03:35:00]
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, you know, Rosemary, because of the state of play in the energy market right now, the bar has been set pretty low for Aramco and this is quite an extraordinary period of time, because it is the first quarterly results as a publicly trade company, having gone to the IPO at the end of 2019.
As you should suggested here a 25 percent slide, they came in at $16.7 billion. Versus expectation of something about a billion dollars higher, but at this time last year they made over $20 billion, but they made money, again in the quarter international oil companies that don't have access to this cheap supply -- abundance supply of crude are not making money right now for example in the United States were they are laying off workers. That's not the case with Aramco at this stage.
But this chaos that you talked about in March, with the coronavirus hitting demand by about 30 million barrels a day in April, then the price war that happen with Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States. That won't be felt until the second quarter. So, the current quarter they're in right now, when they produce the results later in the summer months will be terrible.
Let's call it like it is, because we had negative prices in April, and we are hovering about $30 a barrel right now. Finally, this does fill the (inaudible) with the state that made $88 billion in all of 2019, and $73 billion was paid as a dividend to the kingdom.
CHURCH: And so John, what sort of pressure does this price today put on, not just Saudi Arabia but all the other Arab producers?
DEFTERIOS: Yes, I think it's a point worth underlying, because everyone says well they are low cost producers, they're still making a lot of money, but their budgets are high. So, countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and the Gulf, Iraq is a major producer here in the Middle East, they were living off of prices about $60 a barrel for the international benchmark last year.
We are looking at $30 right now. Maybe an average price of $35 this year as you are looking at about a half in terms of revenues for the countries. As a result, the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman took with so seen as drastic measures overnight by announcing the fact that he is tripling the VAT tax, a 15 percent.
Even though it is two years old, wipe out benefits to government workers that were worth about $300 a month in terms of the cost of living adjustment gone. He's eldest brother, Abdulaziz Bin Salman. The respected minister of energy, ask for another cut of a million barrel. So, Rosemary, from that price war and production of 12.3 million barrels, huge output, we are down to about to 7.5 million barrels a day. Cutting about five million barrels in a span of less than two months.
So, in a desperate times and very tough decisions coming from Saudi Arabia, but that decision on the VAT was so alarming here in the UAE, the ministry of finance said, we are not going to do the same. There is a little bit of panic because of the low oil prices throughout the Middle East region.
CHURCH: All right. John Defterios bringing us up to date from Abu Dhabi, many thanks.
Well, Germany is reporting a large one day spike in new coronavirus cases, more than 900. Infection rates have been inching up in the country, which was considered a success story in containing the virus early on, but while Germany is starting to reopen, lockdown measures could be reinstated locally, if there is a surge. Chancellor Angela Merkel is reminding people to remain cautious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): It's very important to me to raise awareness again that we are entering a new face of the pandemic. And that it will be necessary that with all the lifting of restrictions, we have the security that people stick to the basic rules, keeping a distance, wearing face masks, showing consideration for each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And German restaurants, are adapting to a new normal as restrictions are eased, CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports from northern Germany
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 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 steakhouse, owner (Inaudible) says he is thrilled to be serving customers again, but he doesn't think he is making much money.
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.
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.
[03:40:02]
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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Russia is also easing restrictions this Tuesday, that's despite data from the Johns Hopkins University, showing more than 10,000 confirmed new cases every day for the past week. With Monday the worst day yet. President Vladimir Putin announced regional governors will decide which measures can be gradually lifted. Mr. Putin added that Russia's fight against covid-19 has not yet ended.
And Turkey is easing restrictions after recording the fewest daily cases of coronavirus since March 26. Travel restrictions have been lifted in nine provinces, but the country will implement another curfew over the coming holiday weekend. Turkey has opted for curfews, instead of a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. Hair salons are among the first businesses to reopen in Turkey, and CNN Arwa Damon was one of the first in line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Turkey says that it is now entering the second phase in the fight against coronavirus. The slightest easing of restrictions and what is being called controlled socialization, with some businesses being allowed to open, like hair salons.
Full disclosure, I actually booked one of the first possible appointments because, right now, it is by appointment only. And then we decided to shoot. And you know, there's all sorts of restrictions in place here, the temperature checks, the social distancing. (Inaudible), this is Ethol (ph) he cuts my hair, and this is exactly why I wanted to get back in here.
So it has been quite tough on the staff here, obviously. As it is for kind of all sorts of businesses, not knowing if they were going to be able to recover and stay open through all of this. You can see the chairs have the red tape on them that is to ensure social distancing among clients. So, right now, maximum, they would open up at half capacity, and Ethol was telling me that, you know, some of their clients wanted to come in right away, some are still wanting to stay at home and wait.
And, you know, like everybody, the questions he is asking himself, they are asking themselves is when is this going to end? We have been talking about how, as all is saying, you know, it's interesting how you mentally adjust to this sort of new normal. You adjust to living at home, but he has a two year old son. So that has been quite difficult, trying to keep a kid that age confined inside.
Well, that's definitely a lot better than when I walked in here. I can guarantee that I am completely incapable of trying to even replicate this at home. And you know, the sense now with this first day of this new phase is that there are still a lot of anxiety, there is a lot of unknown. This isn't being viewed by many as being a normalization, as much as it is an entirely new mental adjustment to what is now potentially going to be normal. Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Quebec, Canada, will soon become one of the few places in North America, to reopen at schools and as CNN's Paula Newton reports, students will have to adjust to a very different learning environment.
[03:45:08]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After two months of home schooling, the Brown family is getting a whole new education, and a different kind of distance learning. Some kids in Canada, these were clearly tentative steps into a new reality. Hundreds of thousands of kids in kindergarten to grade six were invited back to class in the province of Quebec this week, it was voluntary, and some schools put out videos to let kids know what to expect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, kids. Don't be alarmed, this is what we are going to look like when you return back.
NEWTON: And it's not just the teachers who will look a little different. Six feet between desks in all classrooms, no sharing school supplies, play structures are off limits, and --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gym, library, NPR, cafeteria, all are closed.
NEWTON: Posted on YouTube just last week, this school video has already been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. A measure of the curiosity and apprehension some are feeling about a return to school.
MELANIE PRIMEAU, HOWICK ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL: It's like the first day of school with new rules, and we need to show them those new rules and make it so that they're as happy as possible so that they can learn.
NEWTON: This mother says that it was a nerve-racking decision to come back, but --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: September is coming, and I said, you know what, let's try. Will get things going, to get back into reality. We'll get them back into somewhat of a routine. And to realize what is going to be the new reality.
NEWTON: And this exhausted parent said she had had enough with home school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are dairy farmers as well, so that hasn't stopped at all. The cows don't know that there is a pandemic going on.
NEWTON: And as the pandemic continues for now, this is what a covid classroom will look like.
Fewer than half of the students showed up for school. Parents are still quite reluctant. In fact, in Canada, most schools remain closed. So this offered a first glimpse into the future of education during this pandemic. Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And coming up next, crunch talks for the world's most valuable domestic football league. Can the English Premier League season be saved? We are live in London.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, all 20 English premier league clubs want to get back on the pitch, of course, the British government has given professional sport the green light as of June 1st, and the Premiere met with their shareholders on Monday, to discuss how they can get football back up and running. The current campaign has nine rounds of matches still to play.
So, let's bring in CNN World Sports, Christina MacFarlane. Great to see you, Christine. So, this will put a smile on many faces of course. How will the English Premier League season be save though? And how could this potentially work?
[03:50:09]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a really complex question Rosemary, it's been described as something like a Rubik's cube. But it's a good analogy, because what we need to is get all the stakeholders to agree on one path for within that is the thing. That is going to be unfolding this week. You mentioned that meeting that happened yesterday, of 20 Premiere League Cups, well they did come to one consensus, and that is that they are united in wanting to complete their season. That's according to Chief Executive Richard Masters.
So how will they do this? Well, the first idea is the matches to take place at neutral venues that is in order to prevent crowds from gathering at stadiums which is a huge concern. But we know from the meeting yesterday, there are already clubs in opposition to this. There are six clubs in the Premier Leagues said that this would create an unfair advantage for some clubs. And we know that they have actually asked the Premier League to go back to the government, to inquire whether it would be possible to play at home, and the way fixtures behind closed doors.
Instantly behind closed doors is likely to be a best case scenario for the Premier League at this point. They still have some 92 matches left to play throughout the season, and a failure to see throughout the season will o, result in losses of up to $1 billion, but all of this pales really when you consider the biggest thing -- the biggest driver in all of this, which is health and safety.
Now, we know that the league, have apparently yet to finalize their medical protocol and reportedly some club doctors are concerned by some of the plans put forward yesterday. These protocols of course, are not just in place for match day, but also how to practice safe training as well. But all of this is amid points, of course, if the players themselves do not feel comfortable with the health and safety measures being put forward. Remember they are scattered at the moment.
Many of them in the Premier League, across the globe due to turn to return home to take up their training positions. And you know, we understand a meeting taking place this Thursday, with the players will have their say, and their consent, of course, is going to be vital to keeping project restart on the road.
We spoke to one former player this week, former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, here's what he had to say about the current situation, and of course the competition as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWIN VAN DER SAR, FORMER MANCHESTER UNITED GOALKEEPER: I am sure they -- they will make a wise decision, to keep on playing, or if the league stops, what the results will be, defending for championship places, delegation, or willing to die (inaudible). In my view with the type of football they played, and the points, they are ahead. It will be extremely harsh if the league doesn't resume. I presume, it will be OK if whoever wins the title.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: All right, we appear to have lost Christina MacFarlane, bringing us up to date there on the situation, still waiting on a final decision. But some of the Frenzies research to develop a coronavirus vaccine, it is centered on llamas. What they have got that scientists can use. We will take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:55:00]
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone, a llama in Belgium, may provide the key to developing a coronavirus vaccine. Her antibodies, are central to research that picked up pace quickly, when the threat of covid-19 became clear. CNN Nic Robertson went to Belgium to get the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 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.
NICO CALLEWAERT, VIB CENTER FOR MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGICAL: Those llama antibodies, they're binding entity is much smaller and much more stable.
ROBERTSON: The eureka moment at this tiny Belgian lab came January 20th. They realize research with llamas a couple of years ago could catapult them to a cure fast, and scaled up immediately from two to 20 staff.
CALLEWAERT: So, we 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 a much faster speed than normal, but it still takes time that white flask there contains billions of antibodies that can be used in about a 100 animal tests, but even that can take up to 10 days to produce.
Unusually for an academic lab this small, they are working parallel tracks, refining the antibodies as they go, planning to pick the best and scale up for humans as soon as they can.
CALLEWAERT: You have to do multiple other studies like toxicity, repeat to some 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 beneficiary could be the elderly, because
generally, their immune systems are weaker. The lab's antibodies could aid the effectiveness of vaccines already being tested.
CALLEWAERT: So, it could be that a vaccine might protect healthy adults but it might be less useful in elderly, and this way, just by providing the antibody itself directly, you might protect 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 (inaudible) and ask can they come and take blood from the llamas to drink it, but no, we're not going to let anyone 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 out of time as lockdowns begin to ease.
CALLEWAERT: If you look at the daily case numbers globally, it's just flat. We have about 100,000 cases every day for the last month, it's pretty clear that the sooner as we do it relax things and 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)
CHURCH: And thanks for joining, us I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news in just a moment, do stay with us.
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