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Coronavirus Pulling Down Stock Markets in Asia; China Not Pleased by U.S.' Reaction to the Virus Spread; Man Jailed for Three Years Commits Another Crime; President Trump Expects His Acquittal by Wednesday; Kansas City Chiefs Won Super Bowl After 50 Years; Closing Arguments Are Set in the U.S. President's Impeachment Trial; China Slams U.S. Response to Coronavirus Outbreak; Macau's Gambling and Tourism Suffer as Virus Spreads; Four Turkish Soldiers Were Killed in Shelling by Syrian Forces; Arab League Rejects Trump's Middle East Plan. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 03, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Live from studio seven at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN Newsroom.

Ahead this hour, coronavirus contagion. China's financial markets plunged as investors get their first chance to react to the Wuhan outbreak.

HOWELL: In London, police say the man suspected of two terror-related stabbings, he was released from prison just days ago after serving time for disturbing extremist material.

CHURCH: And hail to the Chiefs. Kansas City comes from behind for a thrilling Super Bowl win.

Good to have you with us. So, we start with the Wuhan coronavirus spreading across China. And this word just coming in from China's foreign ministry which is slamming the U.S. for its response to the outbreak. It says, the U.S. is overreacting with its temporary travel ban and has not provided any substantial assistance to China.

HOWELL: This comes as the virus sends shock waves throughout the Chinese markets. Mainland China just wrapped up its first day of trading after the lunar New Year break and stocks plummeted there.

The Shanghai Composite Index down almost 8 percent and the Shenzhen did even worse.

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

HOWELL: And CNN covering every angle of this major story across East Asia.

CHURCH: Yes. CNN's Steve -- Steven Jiang is tracking the spread of the virus from Beijing, and journalist Kaori Enjoji is watching the markets from Tokyo.

So, let's go to Steven first in Beijing. And Steven, more than 17,000 people infected as we said, how is China planning to contain and fight this virus?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Rosemary, they are, of course trying to focus on their containment effort in the epicenter which is Hubei province.

But interestingly, you mentioned some of the number, 17,000 cases here in China from this virus. But the foreign ministry that you mentioned, their statement slamming the U.S. They actually mentioned some members about the U.S. as well.

A spokeswoman said look, this -- in this season alone the flu has infected 19 million Americans and killing some 10,000 according to the U.S. CDC.

So it's very interesting the Chinese have really decided to come out and lash put at the Washington administration's response to this outbreak, with the spokeswoman using some very harsh language accusing the U.S. of going directly against the WHO advice not to impose travel or trade ban, and saying that U.S. is doing nothing but creating and feeding mass hysteria and fear around the country.

It's -- the spokeswoman said the U.S. not only has not provided any assistance to China but was the first to evacuate its consulate staff in Wuhan, the first to start a partial withdraw of its embassy staff and also the first to impose this travel ban.

I think this is really showing that Chinese government's growing concern that they are being increasingly isolated globally as the U.S. started this decision and followed of course by a number of, a growing number of other countries. This, of course is not only making a challenging for Chinese to go anywhere outside of -- outside of its borders but also having major economic consequences on a lot of Chinese companies.

[03:04:59]

But still, of course, as of now, Rosemary, the Chinese authority's effort is in Hubei trying to contain the virus by making more testing kits available to make the confirmation results quicker for a lot of patients.

They're also having more medical supplies and resources poured in from all over the country to Hubei by, for example, building two brand-new hospitals on the outskirts of Wuhan with the first one just opening on Sunday with more than 10,000 hospital beds and now ready to receive patients. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. That has to be the number one focus here. Steven Jiang joining us from Beijing. Many thanks.

HOWELL: And now the view from Tokyo with journalist Kaori Enjoji following what's happening across Asia with this and the Markets. And certainly, the markets are plummeting.

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: Yes, a vicious kneejerk reaction, George, as the Chinese equity market play catchup. This is the first-time trading is happening in Shanghai and Shenzhen since January 24th.

And the Shanghai market just closed about an hour ago, it is down 7.8 percent, that is a huge selloff. It opened down more than 9 percent with hundreds of shares going limit down.

But it's not just the equity markets in China. We are seeing commodity prices like oil, iron or steel. All of these sings -- things, excuse me, plummet as trade resumed after the lunar New Year holiday. You are seeing 10-year government bonds in China also move sharply lower.

In response to this the central bank of plunk in a lot of liquidity into the short-term money markets to try and prevent a spike in interest rates. This is customary for all central banks at a time of crisis like this.

I think the litmus -- litmus test, excuse me, will be to see how Wall Street opens. It already had a really bad week last week. Worst week in six weeks. So that reopen will be closely scrutinized.

I mean, diplomacy aside, if the factories don't reopen up on the tenth in some parts of these areas and the 14th in areas like Wuhan, these are the two dates that we have now, this is going to be a huge challenge not just for the world's second largest economy, China. But all the companies around the world who rely on components that are manufactured in Wuhan.

This is an industrial core for China. And let me just take one example. We recently heard from SsangYong Motor - this is the fourth largest South Korean automobile company. They say they are going to close their factories for seven days because they could get a wiring harness part.

I mean, that may seem like just one component but I think that gives you a big picture of if you don't have that one particular part that maybe only manufactured in Wuhan where they can't get an alternative for a while, this is going to cause a major supply chain shortage.

And when you consider the Chinese exports are just so much larger now than when the SARS epidemic broke out in 2003, the economy as a whole is a larger pie as well, this will have months of implications on the global economy. And I think that is what people are worried about and of course, the mental impact as well with consumers. Are they really going to open their purses after an incident like? Guys?

HOWELL: All right. We're seeing the impact certainly across Asia. And the question now, Kaori, to your point, how much further does that spread along with the virus that they're trying to contain.

Kaori Enjoji, thank you for the report.

CHURCH: All right. We turn to Britain now where what should have been a routine day of Sunday shopping turned into a violent terror attack in South London.

HOWELL: That's right. Police say that a 20-year-old man stabbed two people in London. A third person injured by glass, shattered glass. That's when police open fire. They're already saying that they've been watching that suspect when the violence started.

CHURCH: And CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from London with the very latest. So Nic, what more are you learning about this terror attack, and of course the suspect at the center of it?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the suspect has been convicted in 2018, sentenced to more than three years in trail but the authorities released him just days ago on terrorism, from the terrorism charges. He was convicted of possession and distribution of terrorist-related material, including about stabbings.

So, he was released because there was no legal authority to hold him. He was still considered a danger, and that's why there was an active police operation surveilling him at the time.

It's not yet clear precisely why the events that transpired on this busy high street at 2 o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday took place there, why the police hadn't intervened with him at another location. Why the events unfolded then are not clear.

The police shot him because he was wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest. Police later said that turned out to be a hoax. But what -- the picture that is emerging here for the authorities at least is very worryingly similar to the London Bridge attack in November of last year.

[03:10:04]

And that is that a terror convict recently released from jail is still a threat to society and perpetrates an attack before he is shot dead by police.

And we are expecting the British Prime Minister today, Boris Johnson, to make a statement about how he is going to handle this sensitive political issue, this very sensitive security issue of terror convicts being released from jail. And in some cases, released much earlier than their original sentences would dictate.

The police also today searching three premises in and around London.

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Nic Robertson bringing us the very latest there from London. I appreciate it.

HOWELL: A thrilling finish at Super Bowl 54. The Kansas City Chiefs rallied from behind, they accomplished something they haven't done in half a century.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well, in just a few hours, closing arguments will begin in Donald Trump's impeachment trial in Washington. This will be followed by a vote on the two articles of impeachment Wednesday.

[03:15:01]

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.

HOWELL: In the meantime, Democrat Adam Schiff won't say whether the House will subpoena former national security advisor John Bolton to testify. But he did say that he will hold senators accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I'm not letting the senators off the hook. We are still going to go into the Senate this week and make the case why this president needs to be removed. It will be up to the senators to make that final judgment, and the senators will be held accountable for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, many Republican senators are shying away from directly criticizing President Trump's actions on Ukraine. Take a listen to what Senator Joni Ernst had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Assuming President Trump is acquitted on Wednesday and assuming you're going to vote to acquit him.

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): Right.

TAPPER: Yes. Are you confident that he won't do this again, that he won't try to get another foreign country to look into a political opponent, whether it's Elizabeth Warren or Pete Buttigieg or someone else?

ERNST: I think that he knows now that if he is trying to do certain things, whether it's ferreting out corruption there in Afghanistan, whatever it is, he needs to go through the proper channels. So, again, using the DOJ and other international organizations to get to that corruption.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Well, in the coming hours, the first major contest of the U.S. presidential race gets underway in the state of Iowa.

CHURCH: Yes, caucus goers will gather Monday night and choose between a crowded field of White House hopefuls.

As CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports many of the Democratic candidates have been campaigning across the state making their case to voters.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The Democratic presidential candidates taking one final lap around Iowa on Sunday as they head into the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. The first stop on what they hope will be the road to the White House.

The Iowa caucuses are ending a yearlong campaign without a consensus for who the nominee should be to take on President Trump. These candidates are in two distinctive lanes. Bernie Sanders is ending his campaign there in a position of strength. Arguing that it's time for major structural change and, in his words, a revolution.

Elizabeth weather Warren is touting herself as a candidate of unity. Saying she can bridge the gap between progressives and moderates. Of course, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar all making the case that a more middle of the road candidate would be a stronger candidate to take on President Trump.

Now, the Iowa campaign will not finish the discussion. It will simply begin the discussion. On to New Hampshire next week, Nevada and South Carolina this month. the question, will Mike Bloomberg jump into the race on super Tuesday? He's already spending hundreds of millions.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Des Moines.

HOWELL: Jeff with the reporting, and now let's bring in Jacob Parakilas with context. Jacob, an associate at LSE Ideas, a foreign policy think tank at the London School of Economics live this hour from Lagos, Nigeria. Good to have you with us.

JACOB PARAKILAS, ASSOCIATE, LSE IDEAS: Good morning.

HOWELL: Looks though it's going to be a busy week stateside when it comes to U.S. politics. The State of the Union, then the president's likely acquittal to follow. Republicans are calling this a win, but the way things stack up, Mr. Trump will not be able to claim that he is free and clear of impeachment when he delivers that State of the Union.

PARAKILAS: That's right. And I think the -- what you're likely to see will be a repeat of what happened after the Mueller report. The Mueller report (Technical difficulty), this did not exonerate the president. We simply weren't able to within the confines that we had demonstrate conclusive basis of a prosecution.

I think what's likely to happen after the very, very likely acquittal vote will be that the Democrats will make the case reasonably enough that the trial in which there were no witnesses, in which witnesses were prevented by the White House from speaking either in the House or in the Senate, doesn't represent a fair hearing of justice.

And the Republicans in Congress will try to move on as quickly as possible, whereas Trump will broadcast that he has been exonerated by his likes. And I think with all due respect to Senator Ernst who was quoted earlier, I think the likelihood that he'll take this as a chastening is unlikely given the behavior that we've seen him in the past. I think he will see this as a victory and I think he will engage in more behavior of a similar kind.

HOWELL: But you can already hear Democrats saying, what about those e-mails, right, the e-mails that came to light that showed the president's direct involvement in withholding Ukraine aid despite the fact that it won't be considered evidence given what we know about them. What's the overall impact there on public perception?

PARAKILAS: Well, the public polling has shown a fairly clear story that a significant majority of the American people wanted to hear from witnesses.

[03:20:03]

This was depending on the pollster anywhere from high 60s to high 70s percentage of Americans wanted to hear witnesses, they wanted to hear from Ambassador Bolton, they wanted to hear as much of the story as it was possible to tell in public. And that hasn't happened.

So, I think the -- that there is a good chance that this will rebound on Trump and the Republicans in the short term, but, of course, the short term these days is very short. And whether anyone will still be talking about this, whether it will still have any impact 10 months from now when people actually go to the polls in November, I think is a very open question.

HOWELL: All right. Let's get out of Washington and get out in the states on the campaign trail. The state of Iowa, it is going to be a big week there. Talk to us about how important that primary is for these Democratic candidates.

PARAKILAS: It's both very important and not that important. Let's start with the not that important side because the number of delegates that will be assigned from Iowa is a tiny fraction of the total number of delegates that are required to actually gain the nomination.

And what's more, given that the Democrats rely on proportional representation and the fact you have a fairly tight cluster of forefront runners, the actual number of delegates between the winner and second and third place is probably not going to be that much -- there is probably not going to be a significant numerical difference.

But there will be a huge boost in terms of visibility, in terms of the impact on media commentators, the public, party elites, donors. You know, to be able to say I won Iowa is a major feather in the cap even if numerically it doesn't make that much difference.

HOWELL: It's all about that momentum, right? So, look, this will certainly be a defining moment between candidates that are more centrist and candidates that lean more to the left. Who do you see as a front runner in either there?

PARAKILAS: Well, the polls are telling -- the story the polls are telling have either Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders on top, and Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg not too far behind.

But the critical thing here is that, a, they're all clustered quite closely together. And, b, the caucus isn't a primary election. So, supporters of candidates who don't make the 15 percent viability threshold can then move over in the second round and support another candidate.

So, both Buttigieg and Warren have relatively high favorability ratings amongst Democrats generally. I mean, to be clear, both Biden and Sanders do, too, but they're more likely given the polling to cross that 15 percent threshold in the first instance.

But you could see a late surge in the second round towards Buttigieg or Warren from people supporting other candidates who haven't made the 15 percent cut off. So, I think -- I think it's anyone's game or at least it's anyone's game within that top four.

Out of that top four it's a much lower tent that somebody could break into the lead or even the second-place position, but I think it's very hard to tell at this stage what the likely outcome or the narrative coming out of Iowa will be.

HOWELL: Nine twenty-wo a.m. there in Lagos, Nigeria. Again, thanks for being with us this morning and giving the context around what's happening this week here stateside.

CHURCH: All right. Super Bowl 54 is now in the books, and what a game it was if you're a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.

HOWELL: A lot of people were watching this game. They scored 21 straight points in the second quarter to beat the San Francisco 49ers. Thirty-one twenty led by MVP Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs earn their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years.

CHURCH: Unbelievable. So, let's get more from CNN's Andy Scholes. He's live in Miami where the game was played, of course. Andy, after 50 years, a great win for the Chiefs. What are the fans saying about all of this?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Rosemary, I was actually sitting right behind some Chiefs fans when it was pretty certain they were going to win this game. And I saw a grown man break -- start breaking into tears. He started crying. So, I saw other Chiefs fans you see embracing each other because they've been waiting their whole lives for this moment.

You know, 50 years, many of them, most of them have never seen the Chiefs win a Super Bowl but they did today. And the emotions involved in this game is one of the reasons why it was such a joyous moment for Chiefs fans.

They were down 20 to 10 with just seven minutes left in this game. But like the Chiefs have done all playoffs long, they found a way to rally. Patrick Mahomes he wasn't his best in this game. But when it mattered most, he was able to come up with the plays, a

big third and 15 completion (Inaudible). That he hits Travis Kelce for a touchdown. And Damien Williams on another touchdown to give the Chiefs the lead for good.

Mahomes, your MVP. He's now the only quarterback in NFL history to have an MVP award and Super Bowl trophy before turning 25 years old. And our own Coy Wire was on the field and caught up with the Super Bowl MVP.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, SUPER BOWL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Hey, when we're coming home, it's going to be amazing everybody out there for the parade, we can bring the Lombardi home.

[03:25:04]

ANDY REID, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS COACH: I got a bunch of guys, man. They're phenomenal. So, I could coach another 20 years with this group.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Come back here, how?

REID: Heart, man, you know, that it's heart. So, I'm proud of them.

WIRE: You're just the third African-American quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl. What does your story -- what does that message send to kids all across America?

MAHOMES: I think it means no matter where you come from, no matter -- no matter how you were raised or what race you are, that you can go out and follow your dreams. That's what I've always believed. No one thought I was going to be a football player. Everyone thought I was going to be a baseball player. But I followed my dreams and now I'm here winning the Super Bowl with all my teammates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three straight post-season wins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, the Chiefs were the sentimental favorite in this game. And the main reason was their coach Andy Reid. He coached in the NFL for 21 years but had never won a Super Bowl. He was always thought of as the best coach to never win the big game. But he's a Super Bowl champion now and his players could not have been happier to make that happen for him, guys.

CHURCH: And so much energy there in the stadium. Of course, a lot of excitement for all of us watching from the newsroom. Andy Scholes, thank you so very much bringing us up to date on the situation there. I appreciate it.

HOWELL: All right. And thank you for watching around the world. Super Charged is next.

CHURCH: And if you're watching here in the United States, of course, do stay tuned. We'll have more news for you after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

CHURCH: Good morning and welcome back to our viewers here in the United States. You are watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this morning. Closing arguments are set Monday in the U.S. president's impeachment trial. This followed by a vote on those two articles of impeachment on Wednesday. That means President Trump will be delivering his state of the union speech Tuesday before his likely acquittal by the Senate.

CHURCH: In the coming 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 contest winner usually enjoys a lot of momentum heading into the primaries.

HOWELL: The coronavirus, China's foreign ministry is angry, slamming the U.S. for its response to what's happening there, the outbreak. The move comes as a temporary U.S. travel ban takes effect. It denies entry to all foreigners who have been in China for up to 14 days before traveling to the United States.

One city, that is the Vegas of China, Macau, it is certainly on the radar with this, but with the coronavirus threat, officials say gambling revenue is down. Tourism for the Lunar New Year also dropped around 80 percent. CNN's Ivan Watson now has more on what that city is trying to do to turn things around.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

(On camera): 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.

(Voice-over): 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 hot spot, welcoming nearly 40 million visitors last year alone.

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

(On camera): You've never seen it this empty before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, never.

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

WATSON (voice-over): 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 (voice-over): 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.

(On camera): Could one of your health measures be to close the casinos?

(Voice-over): 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, the city is struggling with the new virus, and everyone here agrees this is just the beginning of the crisis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Now, this morning, I went into one of the bigger casinos here, the Galaxy Casino. It was pretty surreal because everybody is wearing a mask there, except when you actually enter the premises when the security guards ask you to drop your mask and then they film you with a thermal camera to see whether or not you have a fever.

[03:35:00]

WATSON: And then inside, everybody, the dealers, the people at the roulette tables, the bartenders, the waitresses, everybody is wearing a mask, including a very small number of customers that I saw gambling there.

Now, the president of a casino workers union estimates that the casinos right now in Macau have less than 10 percent of their normal customers and she is publicly calling on Macau to close all of these casinos and hotels to protect the workers and employees from the deadly coronavirus.

As you just heard, the Macau authorities insist that these establishments are still safe. However, two people from the neighboring mainland city of Zhuhai that both work in and around the casino industry have been diagnosed with coronavirus and that adds another risk factor for this former Portuguese colony.

Not only are there many Chinese tourists that typically come here that could bring the disease, there are also many non-resident workers from across the internal boundary that cross every day and that could be another avenue for bringing this deadly disease to this small city. Back to you.

HOWELL: Understanding what it means there for Macau certainly gives viewers around the world a sense of how concerning this is for people. Ivan Watson, thank you for the report.

CHURCH: And with nearly a dozen cases of the virus in the United States, officials here are not taking any chances.

HOWELL: That's right. Americans are traveling back to the United States on evacuation flights. Well, they face two weeks of quarantine when they return. CNN's Lucy Kafanov has this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the focus now might be on that second evacuation flight taking Americans out of the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, but at least one U.S. official who's been briefed on the matter told CNN that this is not likely to be the last flight out. We could see more planes taking Americans out of China due to the high demand.

Most of the Americans in Wuhan at the moment are ordinary citizens. The diplomatic staff and their families were able to get on that first flight which landed right here at the March Air Base. They are housed here under quarantine now for 14 days. They are expected to be here just to make sure that nobody is contagious, that nobody has the illness, that folks are safe.

Now, the Pentagon is preparing four additional bases to house Americans who need potential quarantine. Two of them are right here in California. There is also at Fort Carson in Colorado, as well as the Lackland Air Base in Texas. The Pentagon is preparing for up to 1,000 people to be housed at those locations if need be.

Now, officials had bumped up the number of days folks need to spend under quarantine from three days to 14 days. That is because we are now learning that someone infected with the virus could be contagious long before symptoms appear.

I did manage to speak to one American who is housed right here at the March Air Base. He said that folks are keeping their spirits high, that the base actually organized a Super Bowl football watch party for the 200 or so Americans who are under quarantine here. It's a barbecue party. It was intended to help people feel a little bit better about the fact that they are away from their families, away from home for so long.

And while he says most of them do want to get back to their families, they want to get out of here, most of the folks here understand the importance of remaining under quarantine in order to keep this disease from spreading.

Reporting from the March Air Base in California, I'm Lucy Kafanov.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: 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.

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

CHURCH: 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 bans that have been put in place. 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 disease 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.

[03:39:55]

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

WORSNOP: Sure.

CHURCH: How do you explain that to people?

WORSNOP: So, it is a real communication challenge. It turns out that normally, viruses move too quickly for these bans 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. 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.

WORSNOP: Right.

CHURCH: How do you sell that?

WORSNOP: 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 bans in order to protect the target country. It actually needs to be reframed in terms of these bans 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.

WORSNOP: Yeah.

CHURCH: No doubt. We're out of time, unfortunately. Catherine, thank you so much for explaining this to us. We shall 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, in Northern Syria, four Turkish soldiers were killed in fighting.

CHURCH: And we will find out who Turkey says is responsible when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back. We now know that in Syria, four Turkish soldiers have been killed and nine more wounded in heavy shelling by Syrian regime forces in the country's Idlib province.

CHURCH: Yeah, Turkey retaliated by destroying targets in the region. The Turkish defense ministry added that Syria carried out the shelling despite being notified about Turkish positions beforehand.

Well, President Trump's Middle East peace plan is being met with criticism in the region. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation is meeting in Jeddah to discuss the proposal Monday. It comes after the Arab League already rejected it at their meeting over the weekend.

HOWELL: In the meantime, objections are also coming from within Israel. Many among the country's Arab population, they are protesting the plan for its proposed borders. Our Sam Kiley explains more.

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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

(On camera): 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.

(Voice-over): That's in this town of Tayibe 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. Amani Jaber-Awida's family has lived on this boundary between Israel and the West Bank for decades.

(On camera): 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 (on camera): How many people in your town?

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

KILEY (on camera): Who would get fenced into a new Palestinian state?

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

KILEY (voice-over): These youngsters are Israelis. Removing their citizenship could violate the Geneva conventions. Ahmad Tibi leads the mainly Arab Joint List. It is the third largest block in Israel's parliament.

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

KILEY (voice-over): The ruling party (ph) 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 under Palestinian control. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF 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 Palestinians such a future. Your peace plan offers the Palestinians a pathway to a future state.

KILEY (voice-over): But these Israeli citizens are insisting that they don't want to be forced into being part of it.

Sam Kiley, CNN, in Tayibe.

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[03:50:00]

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HOWELL: Welcome back. Want to get back to that story we're following in Syria in Idlib province there. Four Turkish soldiers have been killed and nine more wounded in heavy shelling by the Syrian regime forces.

CHURCH: And for more on this, we want to turn to Arwa Damon who is joining us from Istanbul. Arwa, what more are you learning about this deadly attack on these Turkish soldiers?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this is the first time that we have seen this kind of casualty being caused by a confrontation between the Turks and the Syrian regime. Now, in response to this -- and we just heard from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- he said that their country has identified 40 targets and that they already neutralized, as they say, 30 to 35 people on the other side.

They're saying that this is an ongoing operation, that it is well within Turkey's right to respond in kind, and that Turkey would continue to potentially use (INAUDIBLE) artillery and even F-16.

This really, Rosemary, is an indication of just how frustrated and angered Turkey -- angered Turkey has become because for months, even more so in the last few weeks, we've really been seeing an intensification of rhetoric from the Turkish side, warning the Syrian regime to stop pushing forward.

[03:55:00]

DAMON: Because in the last few weeks, there's really been a very rapid push forward with the regime and the Russians, using airstrikes to literally obliterate entire areas to then allow ground forces to push forward. All of this, of course, has caused a swell of internally displaced people within Idlib province itself.

Look, the province is already home to well upwards of 3-1/2 million people, many of them internally displaced from other parts of Syria. As the regime and the Russians have been advancing, this flow of humanity has been crushed up against the border with Turkey. Turkey has been warning of this growing humanitarian crisis. Those who are arriving there don't have adequate shelter. The temperatures are freezing. Illnesses are on the rise.

And Turkey is also very worried about another potential refugee influx into Turkey itself, saying that it cannot handle this. Turkey, again, has been warning and it seems as if with the Turkish -- with the Syrian regime, launching this artillery strike that ended up causing deaths among Turkish forces, that is what prompted this retaliation by Turkey.

And of course, the big question right now is going to be is this the beginning of another potential strategy by Turkey? Is Turkey going to actually now going to take a more active role to protect the civilian population and stop sharing government troops from advancing?

CHURCH: All right, Arwa Damon, bringing us the latest on this deadly attack from her vantage point there in Istanbul, many thanks. And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. "Early Start" is next.

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