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Bong Joon Ho's Parasite Big Winner On Sunday Night; CNN Poll: Sanders, Buttigieg Lead In New Hampshire; Buttigieg Gets The Most Delegates In Iowa; Global Death Toll from Wuhan Coronavirus Tops 900; Citizen Journalist Reporting from Wuhan Disappears; Patients Recovering in Japanese Quarantine Wards; Northern Europe Battered by Heavy Winds and Rain. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired February 10, 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]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello to you. Welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. We appreciate it. I'm Natalie Allen.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We do indeed. I'm Michael Holmes. Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. A historic night at the Oscars. Parasite wins Best Picture, becoming the first non-English language film to ever take home the top prize

ALLEN: We will talk about that coming up. Plus, as the death tolls skyrockets. Once again, China is struggling to contain the coronavirus from spreading. Now it's finally getting some help.

HOLMES: And for passengers' quarantine on that cruise ship docked in Japan, the news just gets worse. New cases and fears that their locked down could be extended.

ALLEN: Thanks again for joining us. We're going to begin with the Oscars because they had quite an ending. Usually, you're like, get it over with.

HOLMES: Exactly. It was great, and we were watching. For the first time in the history of the Academy Awards, you had a non-English Language Film taking home, the top prize of Best Picture.

ALLEN: The film and it's director Bong Joon-ho were also honored for Best Director, Best International Feature Film, and Best Screenplay for Parasite.

HOLMES: The win sure to create a lot of excitement in the picture's home country, South Korea. And just so happens our own Paula Hancocks is there in Pyeongchang in South Korea to talk about it. A happy story for you to report on for a change. I imagine they will be -- they will be some champagne corks popping in South Korea.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Michael. I mean, social media has gone crazy. Koreans are delighted with this. This is a director, Bong Joon-ho, who is very well known here in South Korea. His films are very well known. But now he is well known and making his name internationally, so Koreans here are delighted.

There are some Korean actors as well over -- Korean American actors in Hollywood who are responding to this. Sandra Oh, for example, saying just how proud they are that this has happened. And of course, there is some shock as well. Even though this is a film and the director that was picking up awards left, right, and center at the previous award ceremonies before the Oscars, it really was felt that the World War One epic 1917 was the front runner. So there's a feeling that the underdog has won this accolade.

Now as Bong Joon-ho also won Best Director, we did hear from him speaking to the audience then, and he was paying tribute to other directors. He was paying tribute to Martin Scorsese saying he studied him when he was at school saying that it was his inspiration that allowed him to get to this point. And he, Martin Scorsese stood up as he said that, the entire arena stood up.

So there was a standing ovation at that point. So this is an absolutely delightful evening for the cast, for the director. We've been hearing Bong Joon-ho's friends as well saying that he really feels like he's been in a dream this past few weeks, as he has been collecting all of these accolades. But this is the big one. This is the one that makes history, Best Picture, the first time that a non- English language film has done that.

HOLMES: Yes, and as you say, you know, I mean, Kristie Lu Stout, our colleague was tweeting earlier, and a lot of people don't know but she said go see Okja, go see Snowpiercer, go see The Host. These are all his other films. So he's been enormously popular in South Korea with quite a performance. But this is going to be a big boost for the South Korean film industry writ large surely.

HANCOCK: Absolutely. And we were speaking to people when preparing for the Oscars and after the BAFTA just a week ago where he did particularly well. And they were all saying that this isn't just going to boost Korean cinema, this is going to boost non-English language cinema around the world.

And one of Bong Joon-ho's who's also a director we spoke to, he was saying that before people didn't want to watch films that had -- that had subtitles. They felt that that was some kind of impediment to them enjoying the film. That's now changed with the likes of Netflix, with the likes of YouTube and watching different clips and different films. People around the world in the English-speaking world have got used to subtitles, he said. And so that has opened up a whole new world of films to the Western audience, to the English-speaking audience.

And what this also does, Michael, one Interesting point is the Oscars' other awards have come under a lot of criticism recently in recent years for not being diverse. It is always the white Americans or other English-speaking films that do well. This has changed that.

[01:05:18] HOLMES: It certainly has a real boost. And Bong Joon-ho, he said, I'm going to drink until morning. So it'll be interesting if you can catch up with him next time. It's going to be a rough night I think for him. Paula Hancocks in South Korea, thank you so much. We'll check in with you later.

ALLEN: Well, Michael. Our Stephanie. Elam caught up with him before he started drinking. So here's her interview with Parasite director, Bong Joon-ho.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello.

BONG JOON-HO, DIRECTOR, PARASITE: Hello.

ELAM: The wanted turtle has been found. Good to see you, too. Your hurdle has been hot, and the glass ceiling has been broken. You said that you're feeling pretty good. How are you feeling right now?

BONG (through translator): I think we destroyed the barrier too much. We should have taken our time actually.

ELAM: Wait, wait, wait. Why should you've taken your time?

BONG (through translator): I mean, he just needs some time to adjust but I think it's great in life to have things happen so fast and that's what's happening tonight.

ELAM: So when you won, I think it was after screenplay, you stop and you look at your Oscar off to the side like you didn't believe what has happened. Like you look like you left us for a minute.

BONG (through translator): Like the Oscar trophy was staring at me so we locked eyes for a second.

ELAM: And that was before the drinking.

BONG: Yes. I was sober, totally sober.

ELAM: I'm so thrilled for you all. Congratulations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: He's a happy man. And that's --

ALLEN: He's cute.

HOLMES: Yes. And that translator is going to be famous too. She did a fantastic job, did she not? OK, let's recap the major winners of the night. As we just said, Parasite has won for Best Film. Bong Joon-ho is taking home the Best Director Award for the film. Joaquin Phoenix, he won Best Actor for his performance in Joker, and Renee Zellweger was honored with Best Actress for her performance in Judy. ALLEN: Brad Pitt won for Best Supporting Actor in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He really wrapped up this award season. Laura Dern, she did as well taking home Best Supporting Actress Award for marriage story.

All right, let's talk about though the big ending to this award show with Sandro Monetti. He's the editor in chief of Hollywood International Filmmaker Magazine. Sandro, what did you think? I actually kind of tell when Jane Fonda said, and the winner is, and she paused, Parasite, you know.

SANDRO MONETTI, EDITOR IN CHIEF, HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER MAGAZINE: Oh, Jane Fonda is always known about the use of the dramatic pause. And yes, it turned out to be paradise for Parasites and a turning point in movie history, I think. 11 times before non-English language films had been nominated for the Best Picture prize, but it was Parasites which was able to get it done.

And let's break down what are the key reasons why. A lot of credit goes to the Oscar Academy. A couple of years ago in response to the Oscars' so white controversy, they expanded their voting membership to 8,000 and did so by taking in many more international members. The membership used to be New York and Los Angeles dominated. But by bringing in more voters from around the world, this has helped the academy voters take a much bigger look at international films.

It's pretty much a disgrace that in 92 years, of all the great foreign films, none of them has one. But Parasite has really shown the way and it's great to report a night of history.

ALLEN: Yes. And again, does this kind of mean Hollywood may not be the center of the filmmaking universe as we push on?

MONETTI: It's interesting you asked that question because so few major movies are made here in Hollywood. Hollywood has given up on anything above $80 million. It's because the support systems, the technicians, the special effects houses tend to be in other places around the world. And this win has sent the message loud and clear that international filmmaking is about a lot more than just what's turned out in Hollywood. So, props to the Academy. You got this one, right.

ALLEN: Right. And for those of us who haven't seen it, what is so good about Parasite? What is so compelling?

MONETTI: Well, for a film with subtitles, it's got a very relatable theme. It's about rich and poor. It's about class divide. Every society can understand that. For those who haven't seen it, I don't want to give too many plot points away, but it's about the relationship between a poor family and the wealthy employers, and that relationship taking a very dark turn.

And you know, there is a big future for Parasite because it's about to be turned into a T.V. series. So, yes, Adam McKay, who's involved in producing Succession for HBO has had talks with the makers of Parasite about making that show. So that's going to be fast-tracked. So yes, it's -- Parasite will live on. [01:10:40]

ALLEN: Bong Joon-ho, he seems like he's got quite the personality too and quite a guy.

MONETTI: He's a great director. Legends are born at the Oscars. And, you know, he's established himself as one of the great filmmakers in the world and we can't wait to see what he's going to do next.

ALLEN: All right, yes, quite a night. All right, so fun to talk with you Sandro Monetti. Thanks so much. We're heading out to sea Parasite.

MONETTI: Enjoy.

HOLMES: All right now, turning our attention to China. The effort to contain the Wuhan Coronavirus about to get a big boost. The World Health Organization says a team of experts has been sent to the country to investigate and help with the outbreak.

Now this coming as the number of deaths and infections continues to climb. The global death toll from the virus has jumped past 900 now. All but two of those cases in mainland China. 871 people have been killed in Hubei province alone, the epicenter of the outbreak. So obviously that is the concentration there.

Meanwhile, the number infections worldwide now exceeds 40,000. Again, the main vast majority really are in China. Meanwhile, thousands of passengers on a cruise ship in Japan remain under lockdown as the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb onboard. There were six new ones confirmed on the Diamond Princess Sunday, bringing the total number to 70. Once the ship docked in Yokohama, several people were taken to hospitals for quarantine.

ALLEN: Our Matt Rivers has been covering this story from the start. And he joins us now from Yokohama with more on the saga of the people stuck on this ship. Matt?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Natalie and Michael, you know, the wait goes on for the people on board this ship who will remain in quarantine until February 19. The new information that we have coming out from Japanese health authorities is that they are now considering testing every single person on board that ship for this virus.

Now you might say well, maybe they should have done that in the beginning. That would seem logical. But generally, protocol in these situations would suggest that you don't need to test thousands of people, you would just test the people who either A, are showing symptoms of the virus or B, have come in very close contact with people who have already been confirmed to, you know, pull with a positive diagnosis.

And yet Japanese health officials say they are considering doing that for all 3,700 or so passengers that remain on board. At the same time, we're also hearing from Japanese health officials that they are running out of masks here, those surgical masks that you've seen people wearing all across Asia really, and countries that have been affected by the coronavirus. And kind of cruel twist, a large chunk of the world's production capacity of these kinds of surgical masks are in Wuhan, in the outbreak center for this disease.

And so as a result, productions supply chains have been limited, meaning that you know, people can't get as many masks as they want. So the Japanese government said they're working with companies here domestically to try and ramp up production of those surgical masks to meet the outsize demand that's been created as a result of this outbreak.

So that's what's going on here, the latest in Yokohama as that ship continues to sit in that harbor just behind me.

HOLMES: All right, Matt, thanks so much. Matt Rivers there in the Yokohama. I appreciate that. Thank you.

ALLEN: Well, thousands of people gathered at a vigil in Thailand to warn the victims of Saturday shooting at a shopping mall and in military base.

HOLMES: Yes. And monks leading the prayers as you can see there. Mourners left flowers in memory of the 29 people killed, and at least 58 others who were wounded.

ALLEN: During the saga, police tried everything to bring it to an end, including they brought in the gunman's mother hoping she could get her son, a Thai soldier, to surrender. But he refused to speak with her. Police killed him after a 12-hour standoff.

With the Iowa caucuses finally behind them, U.S. Democrats running for president are ready for New Hampshire.

HOLMES: We'll tell you who's ahead in the latest polls. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

[01:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Hello everyone, I'm CNN Meteorologist Karen Maginnis and this is your weather watch. The deep south will be struggling with very heavy rainfall over the next several days while the interior west is going to be cold with a snow showers in store. Denver minus two for a high. Atlanta rain not just for Monday but going to Tuesday and Wednesday most likely. Dallas some showers and nine, Miami in 27, and for Los Angeles a nice forecast 23 degrees.

And the green shaded areas from the Tennessee River Valley back across the (INAUDIBLE) region. This is where between 75 and 150 millimeters of rainfall is likely. Already rivers and streams at bank full because of so much rainfall in the previous week or so. Here comes the rain. It's going to be very persistent as well, while across sections of the Four Corners region and the central Rockies is going to be a snowmaker there. All right, we expect that rain and snow to continue as we go

throughout the afternoon and evening hours, all the way from the south-central U.S. into the deep south, across the Ohio River Valley. And for Boston, may start out as a rain-snow mix and changing over to snowfall. So fairly messy weather picture there. And New York City single digits until we go into Thursday. And then we're looking at a high temperature to comfortable 13 degrees.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: It all started with the excitement of Iowa and then it went down. But now after days of waiting in confusion, the Iowa Democratic Party says U.S. Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg has won the most delegates in their caucuses.

HOLMES: Delegates. You see Bernie's people are angry because he won the most votes. It's always confusing in the U.S. The updated numbers show though that the former South Bend mayor -- Indiana has a slim lead. You look at that. It's a point -- it's a tenth of a percentage point. The Sanders campaign does say that it is going to be asking for a partial recanvas of the results on Monday.

ALLEN: After the democratic debacle in Iowa, voters in New Hampshire will go to the polls Tuesday not for a caucus but for the first primary this election year.

HOLMES: Yes, Bernie Sanders leading the pack in New Hampshire, Pete Buttigieg is in second place, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, third and fourth, respectively. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now on those numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: A little more than one day remaining before the New Hampshire primary campaign voting begins. Bernie Sanders leading this race over Pete Buttigieg by about seven percentage points in our latest poll. Notable that Elizabeth Warren falling behind. Of course, she was one of the leading competitors here to Bernie Sanders throughout the last year in this New Hampshire primary.

Joe Biden also trailing even below that. That is a central question here in New Hampshire. Has he been able to change the dynamic to vote him back into the conversation? He placed fourth in Iowa, that certainly was a stinging defeat. He now is going aggressively hard after Pete Buttigieg urging New Hampshire voters to consider his experience or in the view of the Biden campaign, his lack of experience to be president.

[01:20:33]

Now the New Hampshire primary campaign can often deliver surprises. So the Sanders team is not taking anything for granted. But there is no question that Bernie Sanders is certainly enjoying the moment where he believes he's rattling the Democratic establishment. Of course, we'll see what happens when the voting comes on Tuesday. And then this race goes on to Nevada and South Carolina is just

beginning, but the question, will all these candidates remain in. Certainly, that is unlikely. That's why the voting on Tuesday is so, so important. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Hanover, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And joining us now from California Thomas Gift, lecturer in political science at University College London. Good to see you, my friend. Let's start with New Hampshire. Who's got to perform well? Who's got to have a breakthrough? Bernie Sanders has a comfortable lead and Pete Buttigieg coming out of Iowa which of course was 85 percent white. I don't know how things are going to change there. Who's got a boost?

THOMAS GIFT, LECTURER, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, I think that Biden needs to do better than expected. I don't think that they're in panic mode yet but each certainly wishes that it could have done better in Iowa. And what struck me from this week was that Biden was really trying to downplay expectations in New Hampshire. He said he took a hit in Iowa and he was likely going to take one in New Hampshire as well.

I think a lot of that is trying to reassure voters that he's still a candidate with national deal and he shouldn't be discounted simply because he was off to a slow start. I think that expectation gain can work to some extent. But he has to ensure that he doesn't finish near the bottom here in New Hampshire simply so that his candidacy doesn't get stuck in neutral.

HOLMES: Speak to the Bernie or bust a factor. I mean, it was interesting that in the last election, a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters, they voted for Donald Trump when their man didn't get the nomination. What about this time around? Is there a sense there that Bernie or bust attitude among a slice of his supporters could be an issue going forward?

GIFT: Yes, that's really a great question. And so, you've seen some data out there about what percentage of candidates' supporters would, you know, vote for the other candidate. You know, that's really hard to say. I think that Bernie, of course, has this very devoted, loyal following, and he appeals to a lot of independent-minded Democrats. And so where those candidates would go up there not supporting him, I think that's just really tough to say.

HOLMES: We've touched on Pete Buttigieg, and I mean, he's the one who's got everything to lose after having a good showing in Iowa. As I said at the beginning, that's an 85 percent white state. Where is his problem in terms of attracting African American votes going into the states in North Carolina, South Carolina, and so on and so forth? I mean, he polls generally around zero in African American support.

GIFT: Yes. That's really been his big challenge since the outset. And one of the points that Joe Biden made in the last debate, essentially arguing that the Buttigieg isn't equipped to mobilize the black vote which is a huge part of the Democratic constituency. I think the real test of that ultimately will be in South Carolina

where there is a very significant African American population. Of course, Pete Buttigieg has tried to make appeals to the black community suggesting why he would represent their interest. But to this point, you're absolutely correct that his polling numbers don't suggest that he's making very (INAUDIBLE) votes.

HOLMES: Now he's not in New Hampshire, but it could play a dark horse role. And I've been interested in your thoughts about Mike Bloomberg. You know, there's a guy with wads of cash and an inclination to fight Donald Trump the way Donald Trump fights, and that is to say dirty. He's got some ads out there already because he's got the money to spend on them that really good at Donald Trump's personality and clearly get under his skin.

What role do you see him playing coming forward, a spoiler among the Democratic candidates or perhaps as somebody who might come through the field?

GIFR: Yes, that's another great question, Michael. You know, he essentially took this interesting strategy because you entered the race so late that he was going focus on what he referred to as Super Tuesday and beyond. So he's not even competing in these early primary states. But I don't think that you can discount anybody who has $50 billion in the bank to spend.

You know, he is putting a lot of this money into ads in lots of different states that will be coming up going forward. And you're right, he seems to get under the President's skin. He has a very clear agenda and a record that he's running on from being mayor of New York City. Gun Control is a big issue. for him. He's trying to make the case that he's a safe choice, he's electable, he's someone who can beat Donald Trump in 2020.

But if you look at the polling data, the one on one hypotheticals with he and Trump, he actually does extremely well relative to some other Democrats.

[01:25:47]

HOLMES: Yes, just finally, Donald Trump, how do you think he's doing at the moment? I mean, he tweeted and retweeted and tweeted dozens and dozens on Sunday alone, many of them of course misleading or untrue. But he was bashing Mitt Romney again who was voted against him in at least one of the impeachment charges, and going after Joe Manchin who's a Democrat in a vulnerable situation in Virginia too.

You know, there was -- it was said that when he lost, they would be heads on a pike and Republicans freaked out about that. When you when you're wrapping these guys with Lieutenant Colonel Vindman and Ambassador Sondland, there seem to be a few heads on pikes.

GIFT: Yes, I think that's absolutely an understatement. It's kind of scorched earth policy for Donald Trump. And it seems to be, you know, a policy of vindictiveness. I mean, he's looking at all of these individuals who testified against him, Gordon Sondland, Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, and there may be others as well going forward. So Donald Trump is really kind of pushing on that agenda.

You know, I will say Donald Trump's approval ratings since the acquittal have gone up. And so if you look at new figure from Gallup, his approval ratings are now 49 percent, which is the highest they've been since becoming president. Of course, that's still very much a polarized number where virtually no Democrats are supporting him and a huge percentage around 93 to 94 percent of Republicans are. So you know, ultimately, this is the candidate the Democrats will have to face.

HOLMES: Still the first president to never hit 50 percent. Will he do so before November? That's going to be interesting, Thomas Gift, thanks so much as always. I appreciate it.

GIFT: Thank you, Mike.

ALLEN: Well, next here. If you're a white-knuckle flyer, we've got some landings for you. Big wins in yes --

HOLMES: Down, down, down.

ALEN: Yes, in London.

HOLMES: Yes, no, we'll go again.

ALLEN: More about it coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:16]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Natalie Allen.

Here's a check of our top stories for you.

Thousands of people gathered at a vigil in Thailand to mourn the 29 victims of Saturdays shooting at a shopping mall and military base; at least 58 others were wounded.

Highly unusual event here in Thailand, the gunman was a Thai soldier. And police killed him after a 12-hour standoff.

HOLMES: Voters in New Hampshire will go to the polls Tuesday for the first primary of the 2020 U.S. election cycle. In a new CNN poll, Democratic hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders leads in the state with 28 percent support. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg second. Followed by former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

ALLEN: The number of people who have died from the Wuhan coronavirus has jumped past 900 worldwide with all but two cases coming from mainland China. The disease has also infected more than 40,000 people all around the world, again with the vast majority in China. Meantime in Wuhan, another person who spoke out about the virus appears to have disappeared.

Steven Jiang is live in Beijing with this. This, of course, Steven -- following the death of a doctor, considered a whistleblower who first recognized the virus.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right -- Natalie.

The case of this citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi, has reminded a lot of people about the doctor you mentioned, Dr. Li Wenliang, who of course, passed away last Friday after contracting the very virus he was trying to warn others about back in December.

Now this journalist, who was a former lawyer, 34 years old, had been roaming around in Wuhan, documenting a very grim reality there, the situation there in his camera lens the desperation, the helplessness of the people there, as well as how overwhelmed local hospitals and morgues had been, often in sharp contrast to what was presented in state media. That, of course -- according to his friends, his family -- made him a troublemaker in the eyes of the authorities.

Now, we are hearing from his family and friends he has, indeed been taken away by local police and placed under forced quarantine. Now they're worried about his safety because of what he had done in Wuhan.

But still, despite the fact like his social media accounts have long been closed by the government in China, he managed to upload and show his videos to people around the world on YouTube. And this, of course, is happening at a time when the government here is ramping up their propaganda effort to try to control the narrative of this outbreak, when they are cracking down on independent journalism in the country, censoring posts online.

And in the eyes of many critics, the government is now not only trying to control the flow of people in their efforts to contain he virus but also control the flow of information -- Natalie.

ALLEN: That cannot be helpful for trying to fight this and knock it down.

All right. Steven Jiang for us there in Beijing -- thank you.

HOLMES: Well, the Japanese government is treating patients in dozens of hospitals meanwhile.

CNN's Will Ripley spoke with one passenger from the Diamond Princess Cruise ship who has the virus and is now recovering in a quarantine ward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing outside one of the hospitals here in Japan that is treating coronavirus patients. And I have to say, when we arrived I was surprised that there is no signs, no additional security that lets you know that coronavirus patients are inside this hospital which sits in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood here in Tokyo.

[01:34:56]

RIPLEY: But when we actually spoke with one of the patients, an American named Rebecca Fraser (ph), from the U.S. state of Oregon. She tested positive for the virus. She was taken off of the Diamond Princess cruise ship and she was brought here.

I was able to speak to her. She actually was able to wave to us from her hospital room, and I have to say, she's doing very well. She's not showing any symptoms at all, they're not even giving her fluids or any sort of medication to treat coronavirus, because it is simply not an issue.

And she was telling us about some of her friends on the ship who have also tested positive, and they are in a similar condition.

And so I think this is one of the under-reported angles of this story. This is absolutely a global health emergency that needs to be taken very seriously. People need to be washing their hands on a regular basis, mindful of protecting their health.

And some of the stories coming out, particularly out of China and Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, they are just heartbreaking. But what we often don't hear about are the vast majority of other patients who have this virus who, you know, maybe have some symptoms, or many of them are not showing any symptoms at all, and they're going to recover. They're going to be ok.

And hopefully hearing from Rebecca will help dial back some of the hysteria, some of the fear that people are feeling right now.

You can see that interview on CNN's "NEW DAY" on Monday morning in the U.S.

Will Ripley, CNN -- Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We're going to take a break.

When we come back, powerful winds, pounding rain and a travel nightmare in northern Europe.

ALLEN: Oh my God. More on the storm that's battering the region and nearly knocking people off their feet. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Ok. There's wind and then there's wind.

HOLMES: Look at that.

ALLEN: Powerful winds ripping across northern Europe, thanks to the storm Ciara. These beachgoers barely holding their own in the Netherlands. HOLMES: Wow. Getting sandblasted at the same time.

And this is in Denmark. Some drivers lucky to escape when a strong gust of win, you see there, knocking a caravan onto its side. That storm meanwhile has grounded hundreds of flights right across the region.

ALLEN: Yes. And for one and particular, the situation Sunday was really touch and go.

Milena Veselinovic reports from Heathrow. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILENA VESELINOVIC, CNN PRODUCER: It's been a day of travel misery in the U.K., many flights canceled both here at Heathrow and across the country.

Spare a thought for the passengers of this plane, it attempts to land at Heathrow about Sunday afternoon local time. It wasn't able to on its first attempt. You can see just how ferocious these winds are. Thankfully, witnesses say it was able to land successfully on its second attempt.

Further north at Manchester Airport, its runway was pummeled by extremely strong gusts of wind of up to 86 miles per hour, that's around 130 kilometers per hour. So that was an extremely rough ride for those passengers that were actually able to take off or land on Sunday in Manchester as well.

[01:39:50]

VESELINOVIC: Now, ironically, these very strong gusts of wind which have caused all these cancellations and disruptions -- well they have actually helped break a record for the fastest subsonic flight from New York to London. It was done by a BA Boeing 747.

It covered the route in just four hours and 56 minutes. Normally it takes just over six hours to do it. BA says that its pilots were able to take advantage of the strong tailwinds created by this major storm, and deliver the passengers to Heathrow, around two hours ahead of schedule. Now that was very lucky for those passengers.

But the picture around the U.K. is grim. There has been a severe flood warning to the north of England, indicating danger to life after a river burst its banks. Many people's homes have been flooded. There's been widespread power outages.

Authorities are warning people to look out for flying debris because of these extremely strong winds. And they're also cautioning not to walk anywhere near any coastal parts, because there could be strong waves that could potentially sweep them out to sea.

In fact, the highest gust of wind was recorded in the Isle of Light (ph) off the southern coast of England and it reached 150 kilometers per hour, which is nearly 100 miles per hour. So a really strong, extremely ferocious winds.

This storms has also caused destruction to sporting events. There was supposed to be a Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and West Ham United today. It had to be canceled, so many disappointed fans there as well.

Milena Veselinovic, CNN -- Heathrow Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And meteorologist Karen Maginiss joins us now with more.

Pretty ferocious stuff, you know. We were talking to Derek Van Dam yesterday about a cyclone in Australia that had winds of 200 kilometers an hour. You don't hear about that in England very often.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, not often at all. As a matter of fact, the last storm system where they saw anything this remarkable was back in 1993. And this was ferocious, not just for how powerful it was but just how broad an area it affected. Not just across the United Kingdom and into Ireland but now impacting the mainland of Europe.

We'll start to see the wind and the rain traverse a little bit more towards the east. So areas that previously have not been affected will so going in to the next 24 hours.

We will expect to cross the Highlands and to Scotland -- also across Ireland to be fairly gusty winds with snow, could see near blizzard conditions or blizzard condition, and widespread rainfall.

This wasn't just a wind event that we saw, this was also a very powerful or very heavy rainfall. It took down trees, took down power lines. Thousands without power having been reported. Some wind gusts over 200 kilometers per hour. We are seeing that rainfall continuing into Monday, going into Tuesday. I think the wind by Tuesday is going to be less powerful than what we have seen over the last 24 hours.

But look at these high waves crashing in across that lighthouse. This gives you some image of just how powerful Mother Nature has been. The powerful impacts from Ciara. The flash flooding across Ireland, Northern Ireland and the southern United Kingdom and into Wales. Now moving into the lowlands. Also affecting Paris.

I saw one report of a tree down in Paris. I think before it's all said and done, there's going to be more than one tree down. We'll see some brisk winds. Here you see some of the latest reports coming out of the U.K.

Guys -- I have to say, this is really one for the record books.

ALLEN: All right. Karen -- thank you so much.

HOLMES: Going to be nasty, huh.

ALLEN: Yes.

Thank you so much for watching us.

HOLMES: Thank you. No -- you.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie. No -- you.

HOLMES: No -- you, you.

I'm Michael Holmes. She's Natalie Allen.

They're playing the music like it's the Oscars and we have to go.

ALLEN: We have to get up (ph) now. See you around.

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