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China Stock Market Gets Hit Due to Virus Scare; Coronavirus Surpass SARS Death Toll; Democratic Presidential Candidates Push Campaign Slogans Ahead Iowa Caucus; Senate's Looming Acquittal of Trump as Senate Vote on Articles of Impeachment; Terror Attack in London, Suspect Shot and Killed; Kansas City Chiefs Wins Super Bowl LIV. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 03, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here on the United States and from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: And I'm George Howell. This is "CNN Newsroom." And ahead this hour.

CHURCH: Stocks sink in China as the markets open for the first time in more than a week and made the coronavirus fears as the first death outside China is recorded.

HOWELL: The U.S. presidential election season kicks off Monday with the Iowa caucuses. Democrats running for president will set the tone for the race for the primaries.

CHURCH: And after 50 years, they are Super Bowl champions again. We will go to Miami for a live report on the big win for the Kansas City Chiefs.

HOWELL: All around the world, good day to you. We start with the Wuhan coronavirus spreading across China and stoking fears in that country's stock market. Trading got back underway in mainland China Monday after the lunar New Year break. Markets have just closed after plummeting as much as 9 percent there you see.

CHURCH: As stocks fall, the number of infections keeps rising. China now confirms more than 17,000 cases and 361 people have been killed. That means that this outbreak has killed more people in mainland China than SARS back in 2003.

The first known death outside of China has been confirmed in the Philippines. Well, for more, journalist Kaori Enjoji is live in Tokyo but let's go first to CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing. So Steven, with more than 17,000 people now infected, what is China doing to contain and fight this virus? STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, their focus right

now is still containment in the epicenter, that's Hubei province, and with Wuhan being the provincial capita, because when you look at the numbers, Rosemary, the majority of confirmed cases still happens in Hubei.

On Sunday, for example, Hubei reported more than 2,000 new confirmed cases and 56 new deaths. And there is also one worrisome trend there in the province. That is now more than half of the cases happen outside of Wuhan. Why is this alarming?

Because that means more cases now happening in smaller or poorer places with even less of a health care infrastructure to deal with or to cope with this kind of outbreak. That is what you are seeing authorities further tightening their quarantine measures in this province, which of course already locked down almost 60 million people.

In one city for example next to Wuhan, the authorities there are now requiring every household, only sending out one representative every other day to buy groceries. Everyone else has to stay in.

Now, of course, they are also addressing the problem, the shortage of medical supplies and the personnel and other resources throughout the province. Already we see more than 8,000 medical workers from the rest of China being sent in to reinforce over worked local doctors and nurses.

The authorities, of course, are also building two brand new facilities on the outskirts of Wuhan, one of which just got completed. And they are now open as we understand, with the Chinese military taking over this facility with more than 1,000 hospital beds ready to receive patients on the outskirts of Wuhan, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Steven Jiang, thanks for bringing us up-to-date on the situation there across China. Appreciate it.

HOWELL: And now live in Tokyo, Kaori Enjoji is following the story there for us. And Kaori, look, people are certainly nervous, staying off the streets and that is having an impact on the economy throughout Asia.

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: Absolutely. This is as expected. A knee jerk reaction in the capital markets today with billions, hundreds and billions of dollars wiped out from the equity markets in China. Shanghai Shenzhen opening down very, very sharply and still languishing around those levels.

We are seeing reaction one week of closures in these markets and they're playing catch-up to that. But it's not just the equity markets that are responding like this. We have seen a sell off across the board. Take a look at commodities, iron, ore, copper, crude oil, all down very sharply in Asian trading.

And on top of that, you're seeing a reaction in yields as well. I think the big litmus test is going to be how Wall Street opens because it was down already on Friday.

[02:04:58]

They've had all this time to digest it and see whether or not these new cases of the coronavirus are going to wreck havoc on that market again when it opens later on today.

The central bank of China in times like this, central banks are worried that rates are going to spike so they flood the money markets with cash. And that's exactly what they did today and to try and stem this off low.

And their -- this injection what they call of liquidity is the biggest we've seen by the People's Bank of China since 2004. That's the market reaction. I think the longer term focus will be on the supply chain and this is worrisome.

I covered the earthquake in 2011 here in Japan. I covered the Thai (ph) floods that wrecked havoc on the chip industry and it took months for supply chains to come back. And this is a very different environment we're now in 2020.

Industries are much more specialized, which means that there might be a chip factory. There are lots of chip factories in Wuhan that makes a particular chip that a company, electronics device maker needs. And if you can't get your hands on that, even if the capital markets start to resume, this kind of resumption in business could take a long time.

Not to mention if the cities are on lockdown, even if the factories come on board, how are you going to move them outside into the places that need them? And so I think the longer term implications are going to be fairly significant.

But having said that, let's take a look at numbers because you want to know exactly what kind of impact we're talking about. Take a look at the Chinese economy. Chinese economy now is eight times larger than it was during the SARS outbreak.

So, that gives you a little bit of sense of scale. Take a look at the exports that are coming out of China. Exports are six times larger than they were in 2003. That means the impact compared to the SARS situation in 2003 could be more significant. And then of course you have the impact on sentiment. Our consumers really going to be spending after an outbreak like this, guys.

HOWELL: To your point there, Kaori, China just a much bigger player at this point. So, certainly these numbers, the concerns among people there will have an impact. Kaori Enjoji, thank you for the reporting.

CHURCH: And later this hour we will have a live report from Ivan Watson in Macau where the coronavirus has turned the gambling mecca town into a ghost town. All right. Well, the first major contest, the 2020 U.S. presidential race is just hours away.

HOWELL: We are talking about the state of Iowa caucus-goers there. We'll make their pick for president and take a look here. The numbers, you can see the number of candidates that they'll have to choose from. A lot of candidates on the Democratic side.

CHURCH: Yes. And many of those White House hopefuls held rallies across the state this weekend, making their case to supporters as well as undecided voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The future of this country is dependent upon what happens in November. And it all begins tomorrow night here in Iowa.

ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But that's the key. Get in this fight because this moment will not come our way again. This is the moment that we will be measured as a nation and as a people. This is the moment.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We choose unity over division, and we choose truth over lies. There is not a single thing we can't do. When we do it together we've never, ever, ever, ever failed to be an objective. We need to set our mind to it and did it together.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-IN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you ready for that sunrise as we put this presidency behind us? Are you ready to tell your friends? I believe you are going to make me the next president of the United States, and if you do I will work all day every day to make you proud.

AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So join us, caucus with us. We are going to do this and we are going to win.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HOWELL: All right, from Iowa and now to Washington, D.C., in just a few hours time, closing arguments will start in the U.S. president's impeachment trial. And after that, the vote on two articles of impeachment will happen on Wednesday.

CHURCH: And it's looking more than likely the U.S. president will be acquitted after the Senate voted 51 to 49 to block testimony from new witnesses. One key senator, Republican Lamar Alexander who voted no on witnesses explains why he thinks President Trump should be acquitted.

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SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN): Well I believe he did, one, was that he called the president of Ukraine and asked him to become involved in investigating Joe Biden. The second thing was at least in part, he delayed the military and other assistance to Ukraine in order to encourage that investigation. Those are the two things he did.

[02:10:01]

I think he shouldn't have done it. I think it was wrong. Inappropriate was -- the way I'd say improper, crossing the line. And then the only question left is who decides what to do about that?

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: Well, who decides what to do about that?

ALEXANDER: The people -- the people is my conclusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: All right. Joining me now from London, Leslie Vinjamuri, head of the U.S. and the Americas Programme at Chatham House. Thank you so much for joining us.

LESLIE VINJAMURI, HEAD, U.S. AND THE AMERICAS PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Thank you Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. So, quite a week in politics in the United States. Monday of course, a big night for Democrats with the Iowa caucuses. Polls show Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders neck and neck, but some Democrats haven't even made up their minds yet which is extraordinary. What is your sense of who might come out on top and why is Iowa still so very important?

VINJAMURI: Well, Iowa is important first because it's starting it out. It's always been a barometer of where things will go, although, obviously things could change and I think especially this time quite dramatically.

But you know, it's really -- this is a state that voted for Obama twice, then voted for Trump. It is a swing state. It tells us a lot about the divisions in the nation. It's an aging state, but it has very important younger demographic as well.

And I think if you look at those polls, you know, it's very -- even the pollsters, the best pollsters will say it's very difficult to predict, but we have Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden coming at the top in many of the polls.

And this in some ways represents, you know, what we are all seeing in the Democratic Party, which is that divide between a very progressive base represented by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and a more moderate side which is what Joe Biden represents.

And the fact that they are both pulling strong, I think tells us a lot about what we know very much about the Democratic Party. So, this is one that everybody will be watching, but even afterwards things will continue to develop.

CHURCH: It does, but for the Democrats, they are really looking for the person that can beat President Trump, and which one of them, if it comes down to Biden versus Bernie Sanders, which one could do that?

VINJAMURI: Yes. That is the $100 million question. And I think, you know, a lot of people that are watching this assume that right now the nomination is Joe Biden to lose and that across the board he might have the better chance.

But again, this is a very difficult thing to call. And as we, now this election is likely to come down to just a few states. And so it's not about looking at a popular vote. It's about looking at what will happen in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania when comes to November, so, a lot of play.

A very specific electoral set of institutions, but I think there is a big question about whether Democrats will unite, whether they will turn out for the candidate that eventually merges on the Democratic side. That will really make all the difference to what happens in November.

CHURCH: All right. So, let's turn now to the impeachment trial. Of course, it's looking more likely now that President Trump will be acquitted Wednesday. So, what all did this impeachment trial achieve and have the Democrats inadvertently strengthen President Trump's hand here?

VINJAMURI: Well, I think this has been, as we know, a remarkable period in America's politics. Remember, the Republicans have moved. The people have not moved. It looks as you said, very much like it will go towards acquitting the president.

But the fact that so many Republican senators now even recognize that the president did put pressure on Ukraine, that he withheld that military aid. And the argument now is who decides? Is this something for the Senate to decide or is this something for the people to decide.

So, I think even having gone through the process, having heard the arguments, it's changed the historical record of what we will come to know about this period of American politics, about President Trump.

And it will undoubtedly influence voters when they go to the polls. Now, I think there is a big question about independent voters. Remember that 66 percent of American voters wanted to see witnesses called. We know that they won't be called.

But a lot of independent voters, right, that number remains extremely high amongst independent voters who wanted to see those witnessed called. So the fact that they weren't, may well have an influence on how independent voters think about this and how they vote when it comes to November.

CHURCH: Right. And extraordinarily, only two Republicans dared to vote with the Democrats last week to bring in new witnesses. That vote of course, failed. But how surprised were you that Republican Lisa Murkowski and Lamar Alexander voted against hearing from new witnesses?

[02:15:04]

What does that tell us about the way Republicans think now and their support for Mr. Trump?

VINJAMURI: Well, I think, you know, we have seen this for Trump's entire presidency with a few exceptions. We have seen the Republican Party really coalesce right around the president, come out in support of him, even on issues that we would not have expected the Republican Party to support the president on. Obviously trade is one of those. But on this trial I think that, you know, the writing has been on the wall for some time. It had looked from the start that the Republican Party would really back the president. Part of that comes down to this argument of executive privilege that the Republicans really pushed on

Part of it comes down to, you know, tight politics in their own local constituencies; concerns about, you know, re-elections. And then it does come back to this broader question of trying to read the American people which remained very, very divided on that question of impeachment and wanting to leave the choice with the American people.

The American people have seen the evidence. They've seen the trial. And they will decide when it comes to November what they think of President Trump.

CHURCH: We'll see what they do decide in the end. Of course, Leslie Vinjamuri, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

HOWELL: Still ahead, a day of routine shopping turns into a terror attack and a shooting. Coming up, how London police were able to respond as quickly as they did.

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(WORLD SPORTS)

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CHURCH: Police shot and killed a 20-year-old terror suspect after a stabbing attack in South London.

HOWELL: That suspect, Sudesh Amman, was already under police surveillance when the violence started. He had done prison time for possessing and distributing extremist material. CNN's Nic Robertson has details.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, police is describing this incident as isolated. They say they have it contained. They have named the 20-year-old man, a former terror convict, Sudesh Amman, who they say was shot dead at the scene. They say that he was subject of an ongoing police operation. Indeed, there were police following him on foot when the events unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUCY D'ORSI, DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: The suspect had been released from prison where he had been serving a sentence for Islamist related terrorism offenses. The officers saw that a device was strapped to his body and called in specialist explosive officers and armed officers to deal with a potential threat that posed.

Cordons were put in place and it was quickly established that this was a hoax device. Initial first aid was provided to victims by our officers and London ambulance service continued their treatment once they were able to do so safely. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: What is unclear yet is how this all took place on a very busy thoroughfare in the middle London on a Sunday afternoon where there were lots of people walking about going to the shops. This would be a big cause for concern not just for the police, not just for the public, but for politicians as well.

And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he is going to address the issue of terrorism prisoners and their release from jail. This particular person, Sudesh Amman, had been released after serving only part of his sentence.

Very clearly he was still a danger to the public and this is a very big ongoing political issue right now and something it appears the prime minister is going to address in what can be expected to be very strong terms on Monday. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

HOWELL: Nic with the reporting, thank you. And now for context, let's bring in Glenn Schoen. Glenn, a security management consultant and security and terrorism expert, joining via Skype this hour from the Hague. Good to have you with us.

GLENN SCHOEN, SECURITY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT: Thank you.

HOWELL: Look, we've seen these attacks so many times. This one very similar, a busy area in London, people could only react when they realize what was happening. What if anything can be done to protect people when it comes to these soft targets?

SCHOEN: Well, it's extremely difficult. I mean, from what we have heard so far already, the context here again is what was going on with surveillance. In other words, we hear that this person was on the radar. Authorities we hear there was undercover officers near him.

It's not clear who they were yet, if that was security service MI5 or police agency. It could be several different organizations, but when we're looking at following somebody in this context, the big question here becomes what's the purpose?

Was it just for investigative purposes to figure out who someone was connected to or do they also have a role to intervene and is that what they did in proper fashion here? That's one of the big questions coming out of this.

Related to that, we have this question of the revolving door of justice. This person was sentenced to three years, only did a year and a half and came out again and was a threat to the public and again, acting in the center of a major city here. So we've got sort of two key questions I think authorities are looking on for that.

HOWELL: You know, one thing that definitely stood out as I've understood the details of what happened here, the fact that he had a fake device with him, which obviously raise the level of concern of what he might be capable of doing. How critical was that in those moments? SCHOEN: Well, I think it's certainly a factor George. We have seen

these devices -- before these fake devices. We've seen it in France. We've seen it in the United Kingdom and outside the region. And it's a key factor in the sense that it requires a bigger response protocol and it requires essentially law enforcement to respond differently with deadly force.

[02:25:00]

When we look at how police are trained to intervene in these situations, of course, you don't want any kind of explosives to go off so you have -- you're sort of forced to try to contain the person. On the other hand, you are forced literally to take the person out.

So this brings in an added element of danger because you're wrestling assets to the scene at the same time you're trying to get everybody in the area safe in a big hurry.

And there will be gunfire and there might be an explosion (inaudible) the person if it turns out the bomb was real of course, it's a major threat both to officers and bystanders. So, even a fake bomb situation causes much more disruption and consternation than one without.

HOWELL: And we also know the police were following. They were monitoring the suspect as soon as he was released. Talk to us about that practice here and how important was that in this particular incident.

SCHOEDN: Well, we're yet to hear the details on this particular one, but in general, you sort of put a package together depending on what U.S. law enforcement or a security service want.

Do you want to figure out what the network of this person is, where this person is going? Who this person is talking to, to give you leads into other organizations or do you simply want to monitor this person and make sure that this person isn't doing anything for instance buying explosive bomb components or buying knives or buying fake firearms to use in an attack.

So, maybe a combination of that. And quite often, these operations are a mix of people on the street, literally observing, but sometimes also cameras hung in static positions an other means of virtual surveillance. So, we have yet to hear what the situation was here.

HOWELL: All right. Glenn Schoen, we appreciate it. Thank you.

SCHOEN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, for the first time in 50 years the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champs. On Sunday, they rallied from a double digit deficit against the San Francisco 49ers to pull off the 31 to 20 (inaudible).

HOWELL: (Inaudible) happy at Kansas City. Let's talk about it now with Andy Scholes. Andy was at the game. He is live in Miami. Andy, a lot of anticipation around this game and guess who won. ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Yes, George. This was one of the most

anticipated Super Bowls in a very long time. And I'll tell you what, the 49ers and Chiefs played a great game. It definitely lived up to all of the hype.

And in the end, Chiefs fans leaving here from Miami with a big smile on their face because for the first time in 50 years, they are Super Bowl champions. But there were plenty of nervous moments for those fans in this game because the 49ers jumped out to a 20 to 10 lead in the second half.

And the Chiefs like they've had to do all playoffs long, had to dig out of that hole. And Patrick Mahomes, what more could you say about him but he is a fantastic leader, just 24-years old, and made some incredible throws to keep the Chiefs in this game.

One to Tyreek Hill in a 3rd and 15 that kept that drive alive. Later in that drive ended up finding Travis Kelsey for a touchdown and that made it 20 to 17.

Then he would lead the Chiefs down the field once again and getting a touchdown to Damian Williams that put the Chiefs up for good. They go on to win 31 to 20. Patrick Mahomes, the MVP of the game. He's the first quarterback in NFL history to have an MVP award and a Super Bowl trophy before turning 25-years-old.

HOWELL: Andy Scholes for us live. I'm sure they'll celebrate --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: -- finding a way to win in the end with these guys I have around me. We'll enjoy this for a long time. I mean, it's really is historic to be here and to win this game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: All right.

SCHOLES: Yes. And George, Patrick said that he had always dreamed of winning a Super Bowl and standing on that stage and saying I'm going to Disney World, and he did just that.

HOWELL: Well, he deserves it. Andy Scholes thank you.

SCHOLES: All right.

CHURCHL: Well done. All right. Well, Macau is a major tourist hub known for its casinos of course. But right now, it's telling some tourists to go away. How the Wuhan virus is impacting the so-called Las Vegas of Asia. We'll have that just ahead.

[02:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOWELL: Welcome back to viewers here in the United States and around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm George Howell.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check the headlines for you this hour. In just a few hours, caucus-goers in Iowa will make their picks for U.S. President in the first major contest of the 2020 race. Democrats vying for their party's nomination, held rallies this weekend hoping to gain more support. The winner in the contest usually enjoys a lot of momentum heading into the primaries.

HOWELL: Terrorists have played out in London. London police say the 20-year-old Sudesh Amman stabbed two people in South London Sunday. Amman had been under surveillance at the time and police shot and killed him. He was recently released from prison after being convicted of possessing and distributing extremist material.

CHURCH: The streets of Wuhan have been nearly abandoned as China faces the escalating coronavirus outbreak. The country has confirmed more than 17,000 cases along with 361 deaths. That's more deaths than it reported from the SARS outbreak back in 2003.

HOWELL: Macau is known as the Las Vegas of Asia for its casinos. But with the coronavirus threat, officials say that gambling revenue is down. Tourism for the Lunar New Year is also down. It dropped around 80 percent. CNN's Ivan Watson is in Macau and has the latest on this. Ivan, this is a big deal. Certainly, you get a sense of the fact that people are just not spending money.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: No, and it is a big deal because Macau is a relatively small city in Chinese context which has a population of about 600,000 people. It's just found its eighth case of the deadly coronavirus. And the real struggle here is that Macau relies on millions of mainland Chinese coming across the internal boundary to this semi-autonomous corner of China. And they're mostly drawn by the casinos here and the hotels.

And now Macau has to figure out how to function as a city and as an economy without having these mainland Chinese tourists import more of the coronavirus. And that is the dilemma that this former Portuguese colony is facing.

[02:35:20]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: This is what the coronavirus crisis looks like. An ambulance delivers a patient to the emergency room in the tiny former Portuguese colony of Macau. Health Workers fully protected against the new disease.

The authorities in Macau aren't taking any chances. They are informing the public that if you suspect you have symptoms of coronavirus and that you've been in touch with somebody that you fear may also be sick somewhere in mainland China, call for an ambulance which will deliver you here to the emergency entrance of the city's main public hospital. Images from inside the isolation ward, at least seven patients are

being treated here. The health emergency has had a startling impact on this semi-autonomous corner of China. Macau with its small population of around 600,000 people is normally a major tourism hotspot, welcoming nearly 40 million visitors last year alone.

The main draw Macau's towering casinos. This is the gambling capital of the world with a casino industry that dwarfs Las Vegas. But since the coronavirus outbreak, tourism to Macau dropped 87 percent in January compared to the previous year.

You've never seen it this empty before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, never.

ALBANO MARTINS, ECONOMIST: I never saw something like this.

WATSON: Albano Martins is a Portuguese economist long based in Macau.

MARTINS: You go to the streets, I never saw streets empty. You go to the main square, totally empty. I never saw this in my life and I am here from 1981, so too long. Never. I think people are scared. Maybe scared because of the speed of these infections.

WATSON: The Macau authorities say they have been rounding up every visitor from the Chinese province of Hubei, the origin of the coronavirus. Those people get a choice, either leave the territory or go into quarantine. But they're drawing a line when it comes to the critical engine of the city's economy.

Would one of your health measures be to close the casino?

We do not rule out this possibility, the city's economy secretary tells me. But at this point in time, the casinos in Macau are totally safe.

For now, Macau's glittering gambling houses are still open. But like the rest of China, this city is struggling with a new virus, and everyone here agrees this is just the beginning of the crisis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: George and Rosemary, it's pretty startling measure that the Macau authorities undertook which was to send police to dozens of hotels here rounding up everybody they could find from Hubei province. The chief of police last Friday said that there were still more than 100 people from Hubei still at large somewhere in this city, and they wanted those people to turn themselves in again, either for deportation or for quarantine.

The head of a casino workers union here has called multiple times publicly for all the casinos and hotels to be shut down. She is arguing that this is a health threat to the workers at those casinos. And it's worth noting that across the internal boundary, the very nearby city of Zhuhai in mainland China, they have recently diagnosed two more cases of coronavirus. And those two people worked in and around the casinos here in Macau.

Macau doesn't just rely on mainland Chinese tourists, it relies on labor that comes across the border every day as well. And that potentially could also transmit more of the virus back and forth, one more avenue that the authorities have to keep their eyes up for. George and Rosemary?

HOWELL: Ivan, to see these major casinos essentially empty, you know, as people are concerned about this virus, it certainly does give a sense of what's happening there. Ivan, thank you.

CHURCH: Yes, the outbreak has spread to more than 20 countries and territories infecting more than 170 people beyond Mainland China. And a number of countries are holding travel to and from China, one of the latest is Russia which is suspending all rail services with its southern neighbor.

Joining me now is Catherine Worsnop. She is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Thank you so much for being with us.

[02:40:17]

CATHERINE WORSNOP, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: I'm glad to be here.

Now, I do want to point out your background is political science, not public health. So with that, let's start with the likely impact of the various travel bands that have been put in place. And of course, with China confirming more than 17,000 cases of the coronavirus and 361 deaths so far, a travel ban seems to make perfect sense. But you and the World Health Organization disagree. Why?

WORSNOP: That's right. So yes, it does seem like a common-sense public health measure. But on the one hand, public health folks will say that it has actual -- actually limited evidence that these measures stop diseases spread or limit disease spread. On top of that, these measures can also cause a range of harms that can undermine outbreak preparedness and response to this current outbreak and to future outbreaks.

CHURCH: How do you convince countries that travel bans are not the best way to deal with this situation when most politicians, they want to show their citizens that they're making every effort to stop potentially infected individuals from arriving in their country? And it's counterintuitive to think, just let people keep coming in. So how do you explain that to people?

WORSNOP: Sure. Yes. So it is a real communication challenge. It turns out that normally viruses move too quickly for these bands to have an effect on the overall number of cases. But in addition to that, they can actually really encourage countries to conceal or downplay the extent of outbreaks.

And this is a real concern for global cooperation during these events and for actually all of our security from this outbreak and future outbreaks. We need countries to want to be open and transparent.

CHURCH: It's going to be a very difficult sell to individuals to say, hey, let's not do the travel bans because it's not fair to that country of origin because of trade and various other issues. How do you sell that?

WORSNOP: Right. That's a very good point and it's tough. A few things would have to change. So first, all of the messaging around these measures needs to be very carefully calibrated. It can't just be we're not doing these bands in order to protect the target country. It actually needs to be reframed in terms of these bands undermining all of our security from these events, specifically, because they encourage a lack of transparency.

Also, in this specific case, others have reported that these travel bans could actually disrupt supply chains, which actually could be really problematic. So how do you change behavior? First, this messaging needs to change in the way that I just described. Second, you could actually kind of publicly name and shame countries that do not comply with their commitments to the International Health Regulations. Who could do that? Well, the World Health Organization first and then also other states.

CHURCH: It's a tough sell, no doubt. We're out of time, unfortunately, but Catherine Worsnop, thank you so much for explaining this to us. We should watch and see what these various countries that have put travel bans in place, what they do next. Many thanks.

WORSNOP: Thank you.

HOWELL: Still ahead, a small town in Israel is protesting President Trump's Middle East peace plan. They say he could rob them of their citizenship.

[02:45:00]

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CHURCH: Well, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is meeting in Jeddah Monday to discuss the U.S. President's Middle East peace plan. The Arab League already rejected it at their meeting over the weekend.

HOWELL: Objections are also coming from inside Israel. Many among the country's Arab population are protesting that plan for its proposed borders. Our Sam Kiley has this report.

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Israelis demonstrating against Donald Trump's peace plan, which he believes could lead to a Palestinian state alongside Israel. But they're not Jewish, they're ethnic Arabs and make up about 21 percent of Israel's population. They're saying no to a plan, which among other things, proposes redrawing the boundaries of a future Palestinian state.

Among the proposals coming from the Trump administration is to incorporate Israelis who identify as Palestinians into a future Palestinian state. That means moving the boundaries between the two, from there, maybe to here. Now that's a journey of only about a mile, but it incorporates a population of about 50,000 people.

That's in this town of Taibe alone. The total number of people who could end up being moved into a new Palestine could be over 250,000, human rights groups say. Dr. Jaber-Awida's family has lived on this boundary between Israel and the West Bank for decades.

So if there was going to be a movement of Palestinian ownership, if this town was going to be moved into a future Palestinian state, that fence effectively would have to be moved. From there to somewhere over there.

AMANI JABER-AWIDA, SOCIOLOGIST: Yes, yes, certainly.

KILEY: And how many people in your town?

JABER-AWIDA: We have about 50,000 people, Palestinian people living in Taibe.

KILEY: Who get fenced into a new Palestinian state?

JABER-AWIDA: Yes. Along with the other neighboring you know, towns.

KILEY: These youngsters are Israelis. Removing their citizenship could violate the Geneva Conventions. Ahmad Tibi leads the mainly Arab joint list. It's the third-largest block in Israel's parliament.

AHMAD TIBI, ARAB MOVEMENT FOR REVIVAL: It's racist, because they are sending signals and the message for the Arab citizens of the state of Israel, because you are saying that you are Palestinians, you can be moved or transfer for other sovereignty. It's so ridiculous, and so un-Jewish.

KILEY: The ruling liquid party has authorized only Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to comment on the Trump plan. It includes a U.S. green light for unilateral annexation of Jewish settlements on the West Bank and of the Jordan Valley. Netanyahu stood next to Trump when he said the plan will double the amount of land and the Palestinian control.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL: Mr. President, Israel wants the Palestinians to have a better life. We want them to have a future of national dignity, prosperity and hope. Your peace plan offers the Palestinian such a future. Your peace plan offers the Palestinians a pathway to a future state.

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KILEY: But these Israeli citizens are insisting that they don't want to be forced into being part of it. Sam, Kylie, CNN in Taibe.

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CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. Still to come, the BAFTA Film Awards are under fire over a lack of diversity. Still to come, we'll find out what some actors had to say about (INAUDIBLE). We're back in just a moment.

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HOWELL: Britain's BAFTA film awards had a firm favorite. 1917 dominated Sunday's ceremony, winning and impressive seven awards including Best Picture. Joaquin Phoenix took home Best Actor for his role in Joker and Renee Zellweger won Best Actress for Judy.

CHURCH: But this year, a lack of diversity overshadowed British film's big night. Not a single person of color was nominated for the main acting of wards and no female directors were nominated for the seventh consecutive year. Actor Scarlett Johansson spoke out from the red carpet.

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SCARLETT JOHANSSON, ACTRESS: It's pretty disappointing especially because there were so many great films this year that happened to be directed by women. I think it just goes to show us that we're, you know, still a part of a system that holds women back and you know, we're -- we have to keep pushing against that. It's really important to be mindful of it.

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CHURCH: Parasite, the South Korean film that has riveted audiences around the world took home Best Foreign Language Film and Best Screenplay. Well For Sama -- For Sama won Best Documentary at the BAFTA. The movie documents the filmmaker's experience living under siege in the Syrian city of Aleppo. She has a baby while her husband runs one of the only hospitals left standing.

It's a rare look inside the war in Syria which the filmmakers hope will help others understand why many are forced to seek refuge in other countries. Isa Soares caught up with them on the red carpet before their win.

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WAAD AL-KATEAB, FILMMAKER: I'm very honored and I'm so grateful from BAFTA, how they really like this film in this great way. For BAFTA nomination, the most like documentary ever had nomination. So I'm just like, kind of speechless about this.

HAMZA AL KATEAB, FILMMAKER: My main message is Syria is not about terrorist, it's not about like refugee crisis, that there was (INAUDIBLE) just want to finish. I just want -- please watch the film to understand what led to have six million refugees in your countries --

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOWELL: That's CNN Isa Soares there on the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall in London. And in his closing remarks, Prince William BAFTA's president went on to talk diversity saying the fact that it is still an issue can't be right in this day and age and absolutely cannot be right in this day and age.

CHURCH: It's exactly right? Yes, it was spot on.

HOWELL: Thank you for being with us for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. We'll be right back with more news next. You are watching CNN. Do stay with us.

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