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U.S. States Reopening As Death Toll Exceeds 84,000; Sources: Trump Camp Questioning If COVID-19 Death Toll Is Inflated, Fauci Says It's Likely Too Low; Thousands Return To Work As The U.K. Eases Restrictions; Fed Chair Warns U.S. May Need New Stimulus; Push for Contact Tracing to Track Virus Infections; Tracking Night club Cases Key Concern for South Korea; COVID-19 Policies Impact Town on Belgium- Netherlands Border; Brazil's Sao Paula Favelas Struggle to Combat Virus; Can Sports Leagues Resume Games without Virus Risk; Naomi Osaka Opens Up While Tennis is on Hold. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 14, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Wherever you are around the world, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for being with us. I'm John Vause. Ahead this hour, the growing disconnect between Donald Trump and the fact-faced World. More testimony expected from a senior government official about a public health crisis only getting worse for the President falsely brags about a successful response to the pandemic. Stunning images of just how fast the Coronavirus can spread indoors, as parts of the U.S. get serious about contact tracing, with restaurants and grocery stores now asking for personal details. And with the U.S. Fed warning of an unprecedented hit to the economy, the next round of financial triage from Congress stalled bipartisan politics.
More than 100 viable vaccine trials are underway right now for COVID- 19. And some are showing promising signs of eradicating the threat from this virus entirely. But what happens between now and then, when and if the vaccine is ready for widespread distribution. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization warned, it may never go away, and that without a vaccine, it would take years to build a global immunity. And expect another grim warning in the coming hours when a senior health official appears before Congress. Dr. Rick Bright expected to testify that by this coming December, without a coordinated national response based on scientific fact, this country will be facing its darkest winter in modern history.
The current numbers are bad enough, more than 4.3 million worldwide diagnosed with the virus close to 300,000 dead, almost a third of them in the U.S. And nearly every single state is pushing ahead with plans to reopen. Here's CNN's Erica Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Shopping, restaurants, the beach, signs of pre-COVID life returning, as experts warn the virus itself may be here to stay. DR. MICHAEL RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WHO HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAMME: This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities. And this virus may never go away.
HILL: The CDC preparing to alert doctors to a new inflammatory illness in children, possibly linked to COVID-19, which can present weeks after the virus.
DR. ESTER CHOO, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: We just have to remember we have more to learn about the virus than we have yet learned.
HILL: New York State is now investigating more than 100 cases, prompting new questions about what school could look like this fall if children can return to the classroom.
GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): Probably smaller classrooms, more distancing. Teacher probably wearing a mask.
LILY GARCIA, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: I have 39 kids in my classroom one year. How are you going to socially distance 39 kids?
HILL: Across the country, grocery prices are rising to their highest levels in nearly 50 years. New cases in Georgia and South Carolina, two of the first states to reopen, mostly flat over the past week. South Dakota posing some of the highest spikes along with Arkansas and Delaware. New Orleans, once a major hotspot, allowing some businesses to return this weekend. Restaurants told to keep customers contact information for 21 days to aid with potential contact tracing, as the push for a measured approach continues.
DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: Opening up prematurely just sets us up for big outbreaks which will force us to shut down again. So, if you care about not being shut down, we should really let science drive how we open up safely.
HILL: Washington DC extending its stay-at-home order today through June 8th. Colorado's tourism office asking out-of-state visitors to stay home, as Miami Beach offers a plan to reopen more than 1600 businesses and restaurants.
RICKY ARRIOLA, COMMISSIONER, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: Every day that we keep these folks out of business, it just prolongs that -- not just economic suffering but the suffering of the families that work in these establishments.
HILL: Arizona and Florida announcing professional sports can return to their states.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): There's been reports that Major League Soccer may want to have their season in Orlando. Do it. We want to have you here. We want to have the basketball practicing again. We would love to have the Major League Baseball.
HILL: New CNN polling shows Americans are split on whether players should suit up. Locally, some teams are experimenting with a socially distant baseball.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's weird.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it definitely doesn't feel normal.
HILL: Disinfectant in the dugout. Distant umpires and fans. Weird but worth it.
More and more states announcing plans for reopening. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy says, people can start to gather in larger groups in their vehicles. So, he's talking about things like drive-in movie theaters, and even worship services. The governor however notes that if your vehicle is closer than six feet to the one next to you, your windows, your sunroof, and if you're in a convertible, the top of that car needs to remain close. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:13]
VAUSE: And as the death toll in the U.S. heads towards 85,000, the U.S. President and his enablers are suggesting the number is too high because of over reporting. This comes a day after Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infectious diseases in the U.S. said the death toll is likely too low. And that's just another reason he says why caution is needed when it comes to restarting the economy. We have more details now from CNN's Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much. It's great --
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: After weeks of simmering tensions, President Trump is taking some overt swipes at one of his top health experts, Dr. Anthony Fauci. The President says he disagrees with Fauci's advice to carefully reopen schools across the U.S.
TRUMP: To me, it's not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools. Lucky wants to play all sides of the equation that don't consider our country coming back if the schools are closed.
ACOSTA: Fauci just warn lawmakers not to be Cavalier with the health of the nation's schoolchildren.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think we've got to be careful if we are not Cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects.
ACOSTA: With the enormous weight of the pandemic hanging over the White House, sources tell CNN, administration officials are questioning the accuracy of the Coronavirus death toll in the U.S. And whether the number of dead is being overcounted. But that would fly in the face of testimony from Fauci. Some said deaths are likely being undercounted, as some residents in hard-hit New York died at home and were never counted as COVID-19 fatalities.
FAUCI: So, in direct answer to your question, I think you are correct, that the number is likely higher. I don't know exactly what percent higher, but almost certainly is higher.
ACOSTA: The President suggested New York's number of dead was too high last month.
TRUMP: I see this morning where New York added 3,000 deaths because they died and then now saying, rather than it was a heart attack, they're saying it was a heart attack caused by this --
ACOSTA: Trump allies on Fox News have zeroed in on Fauci as an obstacle to reopening the country, blasting the doctor's cautious approach to the pandemic.
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Is this the guy you want to chart the future of the country? Maybe not. This is a very serious matter, the decisions we're making right now. Tony Fauci has not been elected to anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fauci to be very blunt is the face of this failed administrative state. I think you've got to question the entire premise of this.
CARLSON: With the chief buffoon of the professional has --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Anthony Fauci also seems to favor what the Democrats want. And that is massive restrictions with no end in sight.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: With all due respect to Dr. Fauci's expertise, no one elected him to anything.
ACOSTA: But there's one big problem for the White House, a CNN poll found a solid majority of Americans trust Fauci, not the President when it comes to the pandemic.
DR. RICK BRIGHT, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE BIOMEDICAL ADVANCED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: Hospital Preparedness.
ACOSTA: Another public health official to watch Dr. Rick Bright, a top vaccine expert who was removed from his post, he says, in an alleged act of retaliation. Bright who was set to appear before a House subcommittee Thursday, warns the U.S. must prepare for the pandemic to get worse, saying in his prepared testimony, "Without clear planning and implementation of the steps that I and other experts have outlined, 2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history." Mr. Trump is brushing off Bright as an unhappy employee.
TRUMP: To me, he's a disgruntled guy, and I hadn't heard great things about him.
ACOSTA: With such dire predictions, the President's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was asked whether the November election might be postponed.
JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: The elections will happen on November 3rd. It's not my decision to make, so I'm not sure I can commit one way or the other. But right now, that's the plan.
ACOSTA: Kushner later released a statement saying, "I have not been involved in, nor am I aware of any discussions about trying to change the date of the Presidential election. But the damage done to the economy is beyond question. According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who adds, working Americans are taking a major hit.
JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD: Among people who are working in February, almost 40 percent of those in households making less than $40,000 a year had lost a job in March. This reversal of economic fortune has caused a level of pain that is hard to capture in words, as lives are upended amid great uncertainty about the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Our thanks to Jim Acosta for that report. PolicyLab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He's also a professor of pediatrics. Dr. David Rubin, thanks for being with us.
DR. DAVID RUBIN, PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA (via Skype): Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Here's a reminder of what Dr. Fauci actually said on Tuesday to that Senate committee. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: And we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children. Because the more and more we learn, we're seeing things about what this virus can do that we didn't see from the studies in China or in Europe. For example, right now, children presenting with COVID-16 -- no, COVID-19, who actually have a very strange inflammatory syndrome, very similar to Kawasaki syndrome. I think we better be careful if we are not Cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:12]
VAUSE: You know, on face value, it's seems sort of very much sort of Joe Friday the facts. This is what we know; this is what we don't know. And that's the answer, which we think, you know, that President Trump described as basically being unacceptable. So, when you talk about the lives and the safety of children, surely more precaution is better than less. So, what did that answer would be unacceptable?
RUBIN: Well, it's hard for me to disagree with Dr. Fauci. This is a very serious syndrome that we're seeing in kids. We're still early in terms of understanding the spectrum of illness that we're seeing here, but it is very serious. The same time, I would caution that it still seems to be fairly rare. We're not seeing a lot of children with significant COVID disease, but we are seeing this significant proportion of those who we do see are coming in very sick with this inflammatory syndrome. The challenge as you try to respond to it is to recognize that, you
know, the children aren't immune, as Dr. Fauci says. And that as we think about reopening schools, while we recognize this is -- this may be a rare complication and a rare important complication of COVID disease in children, it just behooves us to be very careful as we consider strategies to protect kids as they return to school in the fall.
VAUSE: Yes, I just want to -- because you and your colleagues at the PolicyLab have been building models to predict outcomes in states which open early compared to saying locked down for a week or so longer. That blue graph, as you can see, it peaks then the line goes on and the number of cases really flattens out, and that's if the lockdown stayed in place for, you know, just a couple of weeks longer until June. Other scenarios there for May, as well, and earlier. But the bottom line is that, basically, the longer the lockdown, the lower the death toll.
But the news outlet Axios looked at the seven-day averages of a number of states and found that the surge in cases from opening early had not happen. In fact, they say, "Florida's new cases have actually declined by 14 percent compared to the previous week. Georgia's fell by 12 percent. Nevada leads the pack with a 44 percent reduction." So, in George's case, for example, it's been almost three weeks now since the tattoo artists and the manicurists and hairdressers were allowed back at work. Do these numbers surprise you? Do you think they're accurate?
RUBIN: No, it don't surprise me. I mean, if you actually look at what we were saying in the PolicyLab study, states have two -- you know, had a few choices. And the decision to reopen has not been binary. Even in these southern states, the governors are being cautious reopening some industries but not others, maintaining selective social distancing in certain -- in certain places. And if you look at our study, we acknowledged that as states reopen selectively across their counties, they had two choices. They could either, you know, to do this safely, they could either delay the opening, particularly in their hardest-hit areas, or if they were going to open, go slowly and cautiously.
And so, those are two different choices. And to the degree to which they've gone cautiously and slowly and taking advantage of some of the warming temps and favorable weather down in the south, and the ability to distance a little more because they tend to be less densely populated areas, I think I'm not surprised that we're continuing to see declines. It reassures me that people are still remaining somewhat cautious and vigilant, despite the reopening. And so, you know, I acknowledge that that was a scenario that could happen, and reassured and somewhat optimistic that people are staying vigilant.
VAUSE: We had this warning from the World Health Organization on Wednesday that the virus could be a permanent feature, could be here to stay and could lead to this type of scenario. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: This is what we all fear, is a vicious cycle of public health disaster followed by economic disaster followed by public health disaster followed by economic disaster. And there is some magical thinking going on that lockdowns worked perfectly, and that unlocking lockdowns will go great. Both are fraught with dangers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And here's an example of just how quickly this virus can spread on a plane, for example. You know, it is incredibly contagious and can, you know, transmit quite easily, and the more we know about it, it seems the more (INAUDIBLE) this transmits so much faster and quicker than we thought before. So, to your point earlier, without social distancing, this will quickly spread again, but the question is, is social distancing more effective in certain situations compared to others?
RUBIN: Well, in general, the foe here is crowding. Densely crowded conditions in situations when there's poor ventilation, are where we're seeing the most transmission. And so, the strategy here is really an individual level within our workplaces to mitigate transmission by either distancing people or using -- individually using masks, hand sanitizer, frequent disinfection.
[01:15:05]
And the goal as we move forward, is not to see this as an on off switch but to see this as a dimmer switch that because of our actions that we can manage transmission. Much like we're seeing in Southeast Asia, so that we don't have to have these dramatic moves to shut down the economy and then have the indirect impacts of COVID in terms of joblessness, and all the -- and all the pent up demand for health care for other conditions unrelated to COVID, and conditions that are not being treated right now, as people are afraid to go to the hospital.
And so, you know, what we're trying to urge at PolicyLab is to urge people to remember that our cautiousness and our vigilance is what's going to prevent these wild swings of opening and closing if we actually all buy into protecting our families, to each other within the workplace. We're going to be transferring responsibility somewhat from our governments to us individually to actually be prepared this time as we head to the fall, and as we head to the months ahead, so that we don't have these dramatic swings.
VAUSE: We're almost out of time. But very quickly, this, to me, just comes down to how crucial it is and how important it is for people to be wearing masks.
RUBIN: Particularly in indoor locations. You know, I really do believe as we begin to leave the confinement of our homes, that's the number one -- the number one intervention where we are, you know, effectively maintaining some distance and particularly when we're in a crowded market, but when we're outside on a beach, and we can maintain distance, we can take that mask off, because it appears that the risk for transmission is less. This is about recognizing the situations that you might be at risk, and then selectively choosing to put that mask on to protect each other, to protect our workers who are in those environments, whether on a mass transit platform, or in a grocery store.
VAUSE: Doctor Rubin, we're out of time, but I very much appreciate you being with us and sharing your thoughts, and the results of your work. Appreciate it very much.
RUBIN: You're welcome.
VAUSE: If you have questions about the Coronavirus, be sure to tune in for our next global townhall, hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper. Among the special guests, climate activists Greta Thunberg, that's Thursday 8:00 p.m. in New York, 8:00 a.m. Friday in Hong Kong. "CORONAVIRUS FACTS AND FEARS" only on CNN.
For England, it is seeing its first signs of life with restrictions now being eased after a seven-week-long lockdown, but a unified nationwide response has faltered when Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland rejected plans put forward by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Meantime, there are new signs of the economic impact from this pandemic with the economy contracting nearly six percent in March, and April will likely be even worse. And with a struggling economy, the prime minister is facing growing criticism for his plans for the reopening with some saying they're vague and confusing. CNN's Nina dos Santos has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR: London's usually bustling King's Cross Station looked more like a ghost town. A few commuters outnumbered by railway staff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The trains are totally empty and everything's fine.
GARY TUNSTALL, CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER: It's really quiet. Normally, London is just absolutely here even 24/7 (INAUDIBLE) really.
DOS SANTOS: Elsewhere in the city, there were more signs of life. Traffic clogging roads and buses packed as parts of the U.K. begin to tentatively ease coronavirus restrictions.
From Wednesday, those who can't do their job from home like construction workers, manufacturers, even garden center staff are being allowed to return, avoiding public transport when possible.
BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: I don't want to see crowding on a mass transit, public transport in our capital or anywhere else.
DOS SANTOS: It's a mixed signal for many low-paid Londoners who have no other way to get around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a risky strategy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. This thing is ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone is really excited to go out and it kind of doesn't help because no one is really following any rules for even the second phase now.
DOS SANTOS: While British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists that common sense will prevail, his Sunday address appears to be Britons even more confused than they had been before.
KEIR STARMER, LEADER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY: After the confusion of the last few days, gaining public confidence in them is crucial, crucial. The prime minister says his decisions were, and I quote, driven by the science, the data, and public health. So, to give the public confidence in the decisions, can the Prime Minister commit to publishing the scientific advice that the decisions were based on.
JOHNSON: Your own sage advice is published in due course. I think people can see exactly what we're trying to do as a country and they can see that everybody is still required to obey the social distancing laws.
DOS SANTOS: Many aspects of the lockdown remain in place. And even the small relaxation could be revoked if infections spike again.
[01:20:05]
JOHNSON: What we are doing is entirely conditional and provisional. The U.K. has made a huge amount of progress. The people of this country have worked incredibly hard to get this all done. We cannot now go back to square one.
DOS SANTOS: Even within the U.K., there's no consensus on how exactly to get back to business. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with their own public health powers, are continuing to tell their residents to stay home. A message that's more clear cut than England's advice to stay alert. Nina dos Santos, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, another depressing U.S. jobs report is just hours away, and the head of the Federal Reserve is warning of dire consequences if Democrats and Republicans can't quickly agree on another financial rescue package.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve says the pandemic has delivered an economic blow without modern precedent. On Wednesday, Jerome Powell warned the White House and Congress needs to create quickly on the next round of financial support. But President Trump says the Democrats' $3 trillion stimulus plan is dead on arrival. And stark warnings sent U.S. stocks down for a second day. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is more optimistic in the long term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I think what the chair was saying is that there could be significant downside risk. But on the other hand, I think if you look at the economy, and again, this is not a traditional situation of economic issues. So, as I've said before, the economic models don't really predict this that if we open up carefully, and we open up in a safe way, I think you're going to see this is going to be a pretty bad quarter, but then we're going to recover and we're going to have a sequence of better quarters. And as the President said, our expectation is we're going to kill this virus. And next year, we'll be back to having a great economy just like we had before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's John Defterios is live in Abu Dhabi for us. So, John, you know, if there was one lesson from the financial crisis, you know, about a decade ago, moments like this, it seems you cannot go too big. There's a bigger danger of going too small, then there is of going to big. And right now, this is where it seems to be the point of contention between the Republicans and the Democrats when it comes to the depth of this crisis.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, I find it ironic, John, because it was a Trump administration that came out with all the firepower. Their point is, let's wait three to four weeks before we start pulling out more money, but they're the ones that have been the prolific spenders, if you will. And I think it's testing the will of those on Wall Street because they were expecting as the Treasury Secretary was suggesting there, Steven Mnuchin of a recovery in 2021. And I think even the interview you did earlier in the program, talking about the WHO's alarm about this continuing, is clearly going to play out on Wall Street at the same time.
[01:25:04]
Jerome Powell could not be clearer about the pain of those who can least afford it, if you will. Nearly 40 percent making under $40,000 a year losing their job in the month of March, it is unprecedented. And he also said that the monetary toolbox that the Federal Reserve has been using about keeping interest rates low and potentially going to negative interest rates not going to be around forever. He doesn't like negative interest rates. And this is where Steve Mnuchin and the Fed Chairman disagree. And it's not good when you have those divisions. They have a $4 trillion budget deficit this year. Long-term debt is $25 trillion, John, and growing.
So, the Mnuchin view is like we have these low interest rates, let's restructure our debt. And then we often talk about the U.S. and China and the tensions you have here. China and the other foreign governments hold about 37 percent of the U.S. debt. So, any time you see those tensions rise, this creates some jitters on Wall Street for that very reason, John. So, you can see, it's a complicated mix. But investors yesterday were saying with the losses of 1-1/2 to 2 percent. Hey, this is not clear sailing. That's what the Fed chairman is suggesting here.
VAUSE: Yes, and look, this is uncharted territory in so many ways. But we're looking at the jobless rate going down, I guess from like, horrendous to just tragic and terrible. And what this seems to illustrate is just the limitations that the Federal Reserve has. It can pump as much money as it likes into the economy, but it can't get it to those people who've lost their jobs.
DEFTERIOS: Well, it's a great point you bring up there, John. Number one, the Fed Chairman was suggesting we're a lender, not a spender. So, we can only do so much. That is, we can provide liquidity to the banking system, but it's up to Congress and the White House to provide more funding. And he was in the camp that we may need more money going into the second half of this year and into 2021. That's how bad he thinks the situation is. Now, the jobless rate 6.9 million claims were filed at the end of March. That was the top, of course. And then, it's a staircase lower, John, the expectations if you take a look at the number today is about 2-1/2 million. That is not a small number.
This number from jobless claims used to swing, maybe 100,000 to 250,000, not 2-1/2 million. And it would take the total to 36 million since the Coronavirus has started. And this is why Powell was saying it's unprecedented. We can't get relaxed. And as we open up the economy and get a snapback in the virus, it will hit economic growth and retrench consumer spending. And this is the problem, if you don't have confidence in the consumer, they don't go out and make purchases, and we could be in this cycle well into 2021.
VAUSE: Yes, that's the thing is that, you know, it's a demand problem, it's a supply problem, it's a confidence problem, it's everything coming together. And yes, this is uncharted territory for -- in so many ways, John. Thank you, John Detroiters for us in Abu Dhabi.
DEFTERIOS: Uh-hmm.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, we've heard a lot about contact tracing, but how does it work? How can it help curb the spread of the Coronavirus? We'll take a closer look in a moment. We'll also be heading to Seoul for authorities, who are using contact tracing to curb a cluster. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:40]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.
The World Health Organization is warning the world may never see the end of this coronavirus. On Wednesday officials said it may become another endemic virus. They believe a vaccine would give us a fighting chance but it would have to be made widely available. So far more than 4.3 million people have been diagnosed around the world, close to 300,000 people have died.
Now from the U.S. to South Korea, success towards curbing the coronavirus infections is being attributed to contact tracing. To explain exactly what it is and how it works, here is CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A viral hot spot erupts in the South Korean nightclub district. Dozens come down with COVID-19 and quickly authorities trace the origin to one man. How did they find him? They analyzed the GPS signal of his phone and saw everyone he'd been near.
In China millions are being watched in a similar fashion and now in the U.S. too vigorous efforts are under way to expand contact tracing. In New Orleans, anyone eating in a restaurant will be required to hand over their information.
MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL, NEW ORLEANS, LOUSIANA: Restaurants should retain a name and contact number for over 21 days.
FOREMAN: Contact tracing whether through electronic apps or interviews with the patients consists of sorting out the physical, social network of an infected person then asking or maybe even compelling exposed people to quarantine. Health officials says it certainly works.
In this Japanese experiment a group of diners was unaware one of them had an invisible paint on his hands. But when a special light was turned on it was clear how many have been symbolically infected.
Real world studies found the same thing with COVID-19. Professor Erin Bromage (ph) knows one diner in a restaurant infecting nine others nearby. An outbreak in a call center jumping from one worker to the next to the next.
GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMP (R), GEORGIA: I want to strongly encourage you to participate in the contact tracing program.
FOREMAN: So many government officials argue contact tracing is essential.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the next major step in our effort to defeat the COVID virus.
FOREMAN: But privacy advocates say the same tool for tracking the virus could be used to discover political activity, religious affiliations, private relationships. And a "Washington Post" poll found, "nearly three in five Americans say they are either unable or unwilling to use the infection alert system under development by Google and Apple".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trust really matters in combatting a pandemic. And people won't feel trusting of the system if it's not based on a public health need, and there are not very robust privacy and security protections built into any tool that we might use.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN's Tom Foreman with that report.
And CNN's Paula Hancocks has been keeping a close eye on South Korea's nightclub cluster. She's with us now live.
So Paula -- where are they at this point now with contact tracing there? How many people have they managed to get in contact with? How many people have tested positive?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John -- at this point they have tested 35,000 people and this is since May the 6th. Just yesterday alone on Wednesday, they tested 15,000 people.
So this is one of the tools really that South Korea uses very well. The sheer number of people that they are testing. Out of those 35,000 so far, 133 have tested positive and they've all been linked to this one case in the nightclub district.
Now, what they are doing at this point is trying to obviously contact trace within those -- it's not just people who'd been the club or been in that area that have been infected but also people or friends and family of those that has been in the area.
So there was plenty of secondary transmission at this point including one teacher, we understand. It's a private academy instructor who lives just west of Seoul and said he was unemployed when he had been asked what his job was that they have since realized that he went back to that institution and has infected a number of more people including some of the students.
Now, we know that there will be legal proceedings against him according to city officials. And if he is found guilty of withholding this information he could actually be jailed for up to two years. That is the maximum penalty.
[01:34:57]
HANCOCKS: So it's the testing. It is the tracking, the tracing, the credit card usage, the mobile phone usage, the interviews with the individuals, the CCTV and on top of that the South Koreans do have this increased penalty if people are not honest and accurate about what they've done and where they've been -- John.
VAUSE: On the other hand, is there any pushback from, you know, civil liberty groups, form rights groups saying that, you know, we understand you have got to track the virus but there is, you know, a right to privacy?
HANCOCKS: Inevitably yes, there has been. And in this particular occasion on the nightclub district, I mean local media had said some of these clubs were gay clubs. And there were worries by many of the people that had been in the area that they would fact discrimination if they came forward.
And there was rising homophobia within the country which is not the most commendable country when it comes to gay rights as it is. But what the mayor of Seoul has done is he has implemented anonymous testing. And he says that the number of people who have come forward is significantly higher now. Now, they know that their details will not be taken. That they won't be put in some database unless of course they are tested positive and then they will have to be tracked.
But yes, there is always a backlash on this. But the privacy laws here were changed a few years ago -- back when the MERS outbreak happened. That wasn't handled particularly well by this country. They did not have these strict contact tracing processes in place.
So they had a dress rehearsal for this, if you like. They have managed to lessen those privacy laws. Yes there are those who do not appreciate that the information is kept by the government and that they have all this information on people, but it does mean that they can trace people a lot quicker.
VAUSE: Paula -- thank you. Paula Hancocks, live for us in Seoul.
Well, China has reported three more locally transmitted cases of the virus in two northeastern provinces. The region has seen a new cluster of infections in recent days prompting officials to increase testing and impose tight restrictions. Nationwide officials have confirmed 12 new asymptomatic cases in the past 24 hours.
Next up on CNN NEWSROOM -- different countries, different rules for handling the coronavirus.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I have to boycott my customers? Who is paying my bills?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The challenges to one town on the border between The Netherlands and Belgium.
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VAUSE: Well, the European Commission has unveiled what travel might look like for the coming northern summer. Sweeping new guidelines will be in place for social distancing, contact tracing across borders and travel bubbles between countries where infection rates are low.
But the E.U. blueprint to save the summer holidays may have little impact. The International Air Transport Association says a return to 2019 passenger levels will take four years.
[01:40:02]
VAUSE: Meanwhile TUI, the world's biggest travel operator warns it may lay off 8,000 employees. Ultimately the E.U. transport commission's message, "Travel at your own risk."
Back on the ground the coronavirus has upended common rules and open borders across the European Union.
Nic Robertson reports on how it's affecting one town partly in the Netherlands, partly in Belgium.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Once seamless borders, now controlled. Europe's unity facing new strains. And nowhere starker than the border enclave town of Baarle.
This is Belgium over here and the Netherlands over here BNL (ph). And the border crisscrosses this town right through the middle of the road creating a dizzying array of divisions. The coronavirus lockdown is driving to previously unseen proportions.
Belgium's lockdown tougher than the Dutch. And here the border runs right into the school. I'm going in.
Artist Sylvia Reijbroek loves her special border status but not the uneven lockdowns. Her shop, despite the obvious division, is technically Belgium.
SYLVIA REIJBROEK, SHOP OWNER: Now it's a big problem because the law said you can open only for the Belgian people.
ROBERTSON: So you can only sell to Belgian people.
REIJBROEK: Yes.
ROBERTSON: But you're in Belgium.
REIJBROEK: It is a really strange rule to ask people where you are from. So I have to boycott my customers? Who is paying my bills?
ROBERTSON: In the weekly market, on the Dutch side the cheese seller is hurting, too.
Normally you have a lot of people from Belgium coming here to this market to buy your cheese?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes at least 20 to 30 percent. And now we don't see a Belgian.
ROBERTSON: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Borderline is closed so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're the most peculiar municipality in Belgium and Netherlands.
ROBERTSON: Caught in the middle the town's twin mayors.
FRANS DE BONT, BAARLE-HERTOG, BELGIUM MAYOR: People are shocked out there -- personal but also the countries, Europe. I think they are shocked together.
ROBERTSON: Both in lockstep about who is suffering most.
DE BONT: In Belgium, it was stronger. The shops were closed. The playground for the children, they were closed. We closed the border over there.
ROBERTSON: And both in agreement it's not right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We tried to make them listen to us.
ROBERTSON: She explains they pleaded with their own national governments and the E.U. to fix the imbalance now and make sure it can't happen again.
For some here the fix can't come soon enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 90 percent of the house is Dutch. 10 percent, only the toilet --
ROBERTSON: It's Belgium.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's Belgium.
ROBERTSON: So on coronavirus lockdown are you doing Dutch or are you doing Belgian?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Official, Belgium.
ROBERTSON: Because his front door is in Belgium.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see now, the difference from the countries about the corona. Belgium, Dutch, Germany, England --
ROBERTSON: All different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- all different.
ROBERTSON: So is it a union anymore?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe not in a union.
ROBERTSON: Experience has taught the townspeople a lot. When Europe is well, so are their lives. Now in its worst crisis since World War II, the evidence in Baarle shows how quickly fundamental of the European project -- openness -- can be undone.
Nic Robertson, CNN -- on the Dutch-Belgian border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, for 11 consecutive days, Russia has reported more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases. And now comes another setback. Russian made ventilators are being recalled and removed from hospitals after starting two fires which left six patients dead.
The same type of ventilator was sent to the U.S. early last month, a goodwill gesture from Russia at the time. But apparently they were never used, and have since been sent back.
Brazil reported its highest count of confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday more than 11,000. With nearly 200,000 cases in Brazil overall, the virus is proving to be more troublesome than a little flu as President Jair Bolsonaro has often dismissed it.
Sao Paulo is the epicenter in Brazil and some of the worst hit areas are the crowded, sprawling favelas where social isolation is next to impossible.
CNN's Shasta Darlington has more.
[01:44:51] SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brazil is setting tragic new
records every day. The health ministry reported a new record number of confirmed cases -- 11,385. But some communities are feeling it more than others.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARLINGTON: Offices in the heart of Sao Paulo shuttered. Bars closed and restaurants open only for delivery. But on the edge of the city in the precarious Favela Brasilandia, residents say they can't afford to stop working even if that means risking their lives.
Nair Barbosa (ph), a house maid who lost her job, waits in line for over an hour for an unemployment benefit worth $100 a month. The system crashes when she gets to the window.
"I will have to go home and come back later today," she says.
Sil Francisco (ph) keeps his bar open, defying a state order to shut all but essential businesses.
"I have to pay the bills, the bills keep coming," he says.
Dejair Bautista (ph) fishes for customers with the door half closed to his hair salon.
"If you stay at home, you will just starve to death. We have to find a way to survive," he says.
Bautista says he has to feed his sister and niece but business is down 60 percent.
With 260,000 people Brasilandia is one of Sao Paulo's biggest favelas. Now in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it's also the most deadly.
Already more than 120 residents here have died from COVID-19, according to city officials. As with many Brazilian favelas, there are public clinics, but no big hospitals. And living quarters are tight, this woman says.
"Isolation doesn't exist in our community, not even in our houses. It's just too small to remain in isolation."
The Sao Paulo health secretary says coronavirus may have started with wealthy travelers bringing it home, but it is the poor who will be hit the hardest.
"Where people are dying is on the outskirts of the city. That is why social isolation is so important," he says.
But here in Brasilandia many people can't afford to do that. Others won't. The result? Too many people still gambling with their lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DARLINGTON: And many are egged on by President Jair Bolsonaro by himself, who insists Brazilians must go back to work, or the economic fallout will be worse than the virus itself.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Shasta -- thank you.
We will take a short break. When we come back worldwide sporting leagues are eager to get back in the game. Just ahead, the novel approach taken by professional sporting teams in the age of the novel coronavirus.
Also this --
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NAOMI OSAKA, TENNIS PLAYER: I actually did an Instagram live work out with Venus just now, and it was kind of more intense than I thought it was going to be.
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VAUSE: Tennis champion Naomi Osaka on how she's dealing with the pandemic with matches on hold. Her interview with CNN Sport after the break.
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[01:49:43]
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MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: I would love nothing more than to see the Yankees and Mets play again and all the major league teams. But Wolf -- certainly not with fans in the stands anytime soon. That is much farther in the future according to our very careful, slow reopening.
But if they can find a way to do it that is really safe, we would love nothing more, of course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That's Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York, which is home to both the Yankees and the Mets.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, he says if teams are not allowed to play in their home states, he's got this offer -- come to Florida.
As Brian Todd reports, baseball is not the only sports struggling to figure all of this out.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The crack of the bat may soon return. The roar of the crowd won't. Major League Baseball has a plan that could allow regular season games to start around the 4th of July weekend, according to multiple news outlets, including "The New York Times" and ESPN. They report the season would be cut roughly in half to 82 games. The games will be held without fans, and played in team's home stadiums, but only in jurisdictions where the local governments and health officials would allow it.
BARRY SVRLUGA, SPORTS COLUMNIST, "WASHINGTON POST": They might have to move some teams away from home stadiums in places like California where the restrictions are likely to be more stringent to someplace like Arizona, where already the governor has said that they are open for business for major league sports.
TODD: Florida governor Ron DeSantis is also courting major sports teams from hard-hit areas of the country, where local officials may not want to resume sports yet.
GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: We will find a place for you here in the state of Florida because we think it is important and we know that it can be done safely.
TODD: Baseball's plan still hasn't been agreed to by the players union. The challenges for baseball to return this summer are enormous. Starting with ensuring the health of everyone involved.
BOB COSTAS, HOST, MLB NETWORK: The safety of the players is going to be a concern for the Major League Baseball Players Association; not just the players, but only ancillary people, even without fans, you have got a large contingent of people who are not in uniform as players.
TODD: Other major sports leagues are struggling to navigate a return. ESPN reports top NBA executives are discussing ways to resume this season but weighing the health risks.
The NFL plans to hold its 2020 season as scheduled with fans in the stands.
Germany's top soccer league is returning.
England is considering it.
Top doctors warn those contact sports carry significant risks.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKI, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: They are leaning against each other. They are breathing within each other's spaces. They're less than six feet apart. That is certainly fair game for a virus to transmit from one person to another.
TODD: Experts say players would have to be tested almost every day. Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC Sports those who test positive would likely have to be segregated from the others.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Those who are positive, you know, are taken out of commission for 14 days until they become negative, then that's a possibility.
TODD: And there's a huge debate over when to let fans back. When our major sports return in earnest, could it look like South Korea where the only fans at their baseball games are painted on seat coverings?
WALENSKY: I think until we have real control over this epidemic, and perhaps even a vaccine, I hate to say it, it is going to be hard to fathom how we can safely have thousands of thousands of people gathered in one space.
TODD: And sports analysts say in order to return safely, the major sports teams are going to have to navigate the dynamics between their players. Maybe one player on the team will be eager to get out there on a given night but another player might say they have a pregnant spouse at home or small children and they don't want to play to risk infecting them.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, like most of us, two-time tennis grand slam champion Naomi Osaka has had a lot of free time of late. So we asked CNN's Christina MacFarlane to find out what Osaka has been doing for her time out series. And some of that downtime has involved superstar Beyonce.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's a two-time grand slam champion from Japan -- a global sports star taking a lock down one day at a time.
Naomi Osaka speaks to me from her home in L.A.
OSAKA: I feel like I want to take this time to like learn something new or improve because I'm pretty sure I won't have this much free time ever again.
I've been drawing a lot. I try to like buy paint and stuff, but it was sold out in every store, so I think everyone else has the same idea as me. But yes, just trying to sketch and I don't know, I can send a picture, but like it is really odd to explain.
I am trying to like put what I see in my brain on paper?
MACFARLANE: You said have been unable to play tennis during this period. Is it concerning to you at all that, you know, you have not been able to keep up the regularity of that?
[01:54:42]
OSAKA: Part of me is a bit concerned, but also, I know that like other players are in the same position as me probably. And I just think that it's not like I'll forget how to play tennis. And I also don't want to train like five hours a day right now, because I think that is how you get burned out and you never know when tournaments will start again.
MACFARLANE: Have you been keeping in touch with any of the other players?
OSAKA: I actually did an Instagram live workout with Venus just now. And it was kind of more intense than I thought it was going to be. For some reason I thought we were going to be stretching. But yes, we were doing like a bit of movement drills and lunges, and stuff.
MACFARLANE: I want to ask you about something you posted on Twitter. You spoke about the fact that you are done with being shy. What prompted you to tweet about that?
OSAKA: I don't know. I think people know me as being really shy. Like anyone that could see me in the very beginning of my career would know like even going into the locker rooms I was very shy, and I wouldn't know what to do or where to put my things.
And I want to also take like the quarantine time to just think about everything and for me I have a lot of regrets just when I go to sleep, and most of the regrets is due to like I don't speak out about what I am thinking.
MACFARLANE: I think (INAUDIBLE) you mentioned that you bumped into Jay Z and Beyonce on holiday but that you are so shy you could only give one word answers.
If you had the confidence, what would you have liked to have said to them?
OSAKA: I mean the Jay-Z one is kind of a big one just because I wanted to know what he was going to keep talking about. And then Beyonce, they were together in that moment, but just like thank them for making music that motivates me, because there is a period of time in my life that I just watched Beyonce performances and to get motivated. Just getting the chance to like tell people I appreciate them while I can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Christina MacFarlane reporting there.
Well, professional sports to have the stadiums filled with enthusiastic face-painting, drunk and obnoxious fans just isn't the same. German football club is now offering fans a virtual seat, $20 will buy a life size cardboard cut out of the fans likeness then placed in the stands. The club has already filled 4,500 seats with the cardboard cut outs. So far no reports of racist taunts, drunken behavior or brawls.
Another 12,000 are on order. Fans form rival teams can even buy a virtual seat in the away section. And proceeds for each purchase will go towards coronavirus relief.
You've been watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Thanks to your company. I'm John Vause. We will hand over to Hong Kong and Anna Coren after a short break.
You're watching CNN.
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