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Diamond Princess To Be Quarantined Until February 19; North Korea Has Not Reported Any Cases Of Disease; Many Angered By Loss Of Motorbike Taxis In Lagos; China's Hubei Province Reports 242 New Deaths from Coronavirus; Crisis in Syria; Trump Defends Convicted Adviser Roger Stone. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 13, 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]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Just ahead, as the coronavirus death toll rises in China, the government cracks down. Beijing shakes up the top leadership and Hubei province, the center of the outbreak.
Emboldened and looking for payback, the president who survived impeachment goes after perceived enemies and protects those who stood by him.
And ghost towns in Idlib: hundreds of thousands of Syrians on the move again. They've left everything behind but their destination and fate are unknown.
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CHURCH: Good to have you with us.
The number of deaths and infections from the coronavirus outbreak has skyrocketed in China after officials thought the situation was starting to stabilize. On Wednesday Hubei province reported more than 240 deaths, the largest single day increase yet, pushing the overall death toll past 1,300.
The number of suspected infections worldwide also jumped to at least 60,000 with nearly 15,000 new cases in Hubei.
Why the sudden spike? Well it's because officials are now counting cases they've confirmed through testing as well as patients observed and diagnosed in clinics but have not necessarily tested positive.
The World Health Organization say it's normal for countries to do this during outbreaks.
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DR. SYLVIE BRIAND, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It's normal during the course of an outbreak to adapt the case definition. The situation is evolving. So when you have few cases you have a very sensitive and specific case definition because you really want to tackle each and every case.
When the situation is evolving, you change our definition just to make sure that you can monitor the disease accurately.
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CHURCH: Chinese officials, though, are looking on the bright side. They say thousands of patients in Hubei province have recovered and are being discharged from hospitals. CNN's David Culver has more on that.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a rising death toll and a growing number of confirmed cases, these are the images most often associated with the novel coronavirus. Firsthand accounts confirm the deadly virus can be beaten.
Chinese state media shifted much of the coverage to these images, showing patients who survived the illness, flowers in hand as they leave the hospital, their faces blurred as even Chinese state media acknowledges the stigma associated with those infected even after they have recovered.
CULVER: We connected with two patients not part of the media op. They asked that we not reveal their identities. But CNN did review their medical records, showing they had been diagnosed and since recovered from the coronavirus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First my results, it's positive, so I have been (INAUDIBLE).
CULVER (voice-over): This 21-year-old college student, who asked we call him "Tiger Yi," says he was attending language courses near the Wuhan seafood market. He started feeling sore and sick to his stomach in mid-January. Initially he tried treating it with cold medicine but it got worse with each passing day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I realized maybe something wrong has happened. So my dad urged me to get back home immediately.
CULVER (voice-over): He started running a fever and went to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a real mess. It's a lot of people. A lot of nurses and doctors in the fever (speaking Japanese).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fever clinic.
CULVER (voice-over): He eventually found a less crowded hospital willing to test him. His positive diagnosis gave him quick access to anti-viral drugs, which he says proved effective. Within a week, he said he was already feeling better.
Video chatting with us from a nearby city, this 31-year-old Wuhan engineer describes his initial diagnosis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was scared and fearful, having contracted this disease.
CULVER (voice-over): He said getting tested took days because of scarce hospital testing resources. When his case was finally confirmed and he was admitted for treatment, he felt confident he could battle through the illness.
[02:05:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think for the young and the strong, the disease is more like a heavy cold, only it's highly contagious, so it causes panic.
CULVER (voice-over): The road to recovery varies for each person. Both men we spoke with said they finished their treatments but no flower bouquet sendoff back home. They're current in government monitored hotel quarantines, getting tested regularly to make sure the illness does not return -- David Culver, CNN, Beijing.
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CHURCH: Let's get more now from CNN's Steven Jiang. He joins us now from Beijing.
Good to see you, Steven. So as the death toll and infections surge inside Hubei province, China went after local officials who clearly dropped the ball.
What is the latest on all of this?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: That's right, Rosemary. In the past few hours we have learned the most senior official in Hubei province, the Communist Party chief, was replaced by the mayor of Shanghai, who is a trusted protege of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Also replaced was the Communist Party chief in Wuhan, the provincial capital. We're expecting to see more heads to roll in the coming hours and days. This is not entirely surprising giving the scathing criticisms these officials have been receiving for their handling of the outbreak.
I think it is also in the best interest of the central leadership, including President Xi Jinping, to keep the kind of anger and frustration from people at the local and provincial level.
Despite the change in leadership in the province and the change in methodology officials there are using to tabulate their figures, what hasn't changed though is the grim reality at the epicenter. We continue to hear from people on the ground about how desperate and
helpless they feel, many people extremely sick and displaying full- blown symptoms of the virus still unable to get tested or treated.
And they, of course, are now resorting to posting their information online and trying to seek the attention of the authorities and at least one suicide case related to the situation has been reported by the state media outlets here.
Right now, of course, Rosemary, the thing is, even officials there acknowledge they continue to face a severe shortage of medical supplies, personnel and facilities. Unless until those issues get resolved, I think it's unlikely the picture on the ground will improve anytime soon -- Rosemary.
Many thanks, Steven Jiang again live from Beijing. Many thanks.
Will a cruise ship with more than 2000 people on board will finally be allowed to dock in Cambodia?
Despite the Westerdam not reporting a single instance of the coronavirus, it was turned away from multiple ports.
Holland America, the company that owns the ship, says Cambodian officials are now on the board and the cruise line says it will arrange and pay for all passengers to fly home in addition to a full refund for the cruise and a future cruise credit.
Thousands of kilometers away in Yokohama, Japan, it is a completely different story for the more than 3,700 passengers and crew of the Diamond Princess. They face almost another week of quarantine. Meanwhile a number of confirmed cases on board have grown to more than 200.
Let's turn to CNN's Will Ripley, who joins us from Yokohama standing very close to -- you were standing very close to where that ship was.
Passengers no doubt relieved to know they will be able to leave on February 19. You can't help but feel the longer they stay on board, the more at risk they become.
What are the Japanese authorities saying about that?
Who is being allowed to get off the ship right now?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The holiday from hell in its final week, rose, but with every day there is growing concern because the number of coronavirus cases on board the Diamond Princess continues to increase; 44 new cases reported just today.
Every single day, the number seems to go up. And those numbers have some passengers questioning whether they are safe on the ship, whether there are more people than we know about infected people, who may not actually be getting tested for coronavirus because of the fact the Japanese government says they have a limited ability to process the coronavirus test kits and they're only testing people who are showing symptoms, which means fewer than 500 people have actually been tested.
And that actually includes the people who had been tested more than once. The number is actually significantly lower. If you think about it, fewer than 500 tests conducted and now you have well over 200 people who have tested positive. You can understand why passengers are saying that you should test everybody.
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RIPLEY: What we do know is that people who are over the age of 80 who have not had direct contact with the coronavirus patients are now given the option of perhaps getting off the ship and going into a quarantine that is supervised by the Japanese government. Over the age of 80, that's part of a high-risk group.
People who are older or with pre-existing conditions could have a serious case if they do contract coronavirus. Everyone else is asked to sit on the ship and wait it out.
CHURCH: Understood. Will Ripley, bringing us up to date on the situation there. Appreciate that.
Of course this outbreak has also forced the cancellation of one of the world's largest tech events. The Mobile World Congress was supposed to take place in Barcelona later this month but organizers say the travel concerns and other circumstances make it impossible to host the event.
It's not just the tech business; other industries across the world have also been impacted as Clare Sebastian reports.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The coronavirus continues to ripple through global business and that includes the business of sports. The postponement of the Chinese Grand Prix was not unexpected, given the many other sporting events that have been canceled already or delayed there.
But if it does end up being canceled, it could be costly for Formula 1, which relies on hosting fees and advertising revenues from its races.
Formula 1 says it is studying the viability of alternative dates. None have yet been set. A key factor for the event organizers in China is travel and tourism remains at a standstill and we've got more evidence of the impact of that Wednesday.
Carnival Cruises, which is canceling a number of voyages in China and other parts of Asia, issued a profit warning, saying the coronavirus will have a material impact on its 2020 results.
Meanwhile Chinese tech companies are stepping in to help with the growing number of displaced workers in the country. E-commerce giant JD.com says it's opening up 20,000 jobs to workers from closed hotels or restaurants, offering warehouse, courier and driving jobs, of course temporary. Alibaba is also offering temporary jobs to those from the hospitality
industry. This, of course, may be much more than an act of patriotism. E-commerce has been on the rise in China during this outbreak as people shy away from going out shopping in stores -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.
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CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. Still to come, Turkey threatens to stop the violence in Syria by any means necessary as the humanitarian crisis there grows to a scale not seen before in nine years of war. That's just ahead.
Plus Donald Trump turns to the Justice Department to help his longtime advisor and convicted felon, Roger Stone. Why he says he's done nothing wrong.
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CHURCH: I want you to take a look at these pictures.
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CHURCH (voice-over): This is a hospital or used to be. It was targeted by Russian airstrikes in the latest weeks along offensive in a town in northwestern Syria as people tried to escape into the dark of night. Another airstrike hit. Then another. That town now a ghost town, the streets filled with rubble.
Rescuers are looking for survivors and for bodies.
And this is a different town in northwest Syria, suffering the same fate; from a bustling city to a ghost town, paying the price of war.
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CHURCH: Turkey says it will close the skies above northwest Syria to aircraft targeting civilians there and it will in turn target Syrian regime forces attacking those civilians. Syria calls the warnings "hollow and ignorant."
Caught in the middle, as you saw, the Syrian people, including more than 1 million forced to flee their homes in the past year. Arwa Damon has that.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Turkey most certainly seems as if it is upping the ante when it comes to military involvement. There have been convoys going in. Turkey saying it's going to more
actively assist the forces to push regime troops back to what was the originally demarcated line meant to create a deescalation zone in Syria but it never happened.
The situation is extraordinarily dire there. Many of those living through it and even those observing it struggle to find adequate words to properly describe just how catastrophic the situation really is.
Now I'm joined by Mark Cutts, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for the Syrian crisis.
Thank you so much for joining us.
How do you put into words with the civilian population is going through there right now?
MARK CUTTS, U.N. HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR SYRIA: Well, this is a massive humanitarian crisis. We haven't seen anything on this scale in Syria during the nine years of this war.
There's more than a million civilians who had to flee their homes in northwest Syria in the last year, 700,000 of them in the last two months alone. These are people, many of them had fled from Aleppo and Homs and other parts of Syria during the long war.
They came to this area thinking they would be safe and now they themselves are under attack. It's a shocking situation on the ground today.
DAMON: And it's freezing even right here where we're standing. I mean, how is this further compounding the risk for these people, for
these families, for the children?
CUTTS: Well, it's freezing where we are right here. For people who are living in tents and out in the open, people sleeping on the backs of trucks and in schools without heating at the moment, it's horrific. We're already getting a lot of stories about babies and elderly people who are dying as a result of this cold weather.
It's snowing today. There's ice on the ground. We hear stories of people, they're burning shoes and plastic bottles and they're sewing up car fires to stay warm. They're inhaling toxic fumes and dying of that. It's a desperate situation.
DAMON: The big question is, where is all the aid?
You were saying you are sending in around 1,000 if not more trucks a month. But then we talk to people inside who say they're not receiving anything and there's a severe lack of humanitarian assistance.
CUTTS: They're right. The needs are so enormous and they far outstrip our capacity to respond. We have a massive aid operation, more than 1,000 trucks have released supplies, going in every month. But when you have a crisis of this scale, 1 million people who fled their homes in the last year, we need to scale this operation up a lot more. DAMON: And your teams on the ground and are also facing challenges.
CUTTS: Well, it's very difficult for them to respond at the moment. We had three of our humanitarian workers were killed in the last two weeks. A humanitarian warehouse was bombed and destroyed. Hospital workers have had to flee.
More than 70 hospitals and health centers and medical facilities have stopped functioning in the last two months because of the fighting.
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CUTTS: This is a relentless campaign of airstrikes and shelling and ground forces, emptying out entire cities and towns and villages. It's just on an unimaginable scale.
DAMON: Thank you so much for joining us and helping us try to better understand what's happening.
And as you're hearing, this is a conflict perhaps unlike any that, at the very least, those in Syria have had to go through up until this stage. There is a desperate need for more support from the international community, for more money to be sent for the humanitarian effort and for all parties who have the capability to do anything to stop the bloodshed to take those actions.
But the sad reality has been that, when it comes to Syria, every one has failed. Countries that could have done something to try to reduce, if not end, the bloodshed have failed to do so.
And those who have been responsible for the bulk of the bloodshed, the Syrian regime backed by the Russians, backed by the Iranians, have shown no desire to do so. Right now, those who are trapped in Idlib province have nowhere left to run.
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CHURCH: Arwa Damon with that report.
Italy's former interior minister has lost legal immunity from a criminal investigation. Italian senator Matteo Salvini could now face trial over his treatment of migrants in 2019.
On Wednesday, the Italian senate voted to lift his immunity as Salvini defended himself.
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MATTEO SALVINI, ITALIAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): I think I have defended my homeland. I did not ask for a prize because I received a salary for that. But if there must be a trial, so be it. It's protecting Italy, its honor, security and dignity, a politician's duty or a crime that deserves up to 15 years in prison?
I want someone to put an and to this surreal debate.
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CHURCH: Salvini is accused of abusing his powers when he prevented 131 migrants from leaving an Italian Coast Guard boat last July as he waited for E.U. states to agree to take them in. If he is tried and found guilty, Salvini could face up to 15 years in jail.
Well, it's been one week since the U.S. Senate acquitted Donald Trump and his impeachment trial.
So what has the president learned?
He says the lesson is Democrats are crooked and vicious and now he is testing his limits in other matters. CNN's Jim Acosta has our report.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president is all but blowing a kiss to the Justice Department for intervening in the case of the former campaign adviser Roger Stone who is facing a longer prison sentence for his role in the Russia investigation until Mr. Trump started complaining. The president claims he didn't meddle in the case.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank the Justice Department for looking into this horrible thing. And I didn't speak to them by the way.
ACOSTA: The Justice Department's decision to seek a lighter sentence for Stone prompted four federal prosecutors to quit the case. But Mr. Trump didn't seem to mind.
TRUMP: He was treated badly.
I don't know what happened. They all hit the road pretty quickly.
I'm not concern about anything. They had to go back to school.
Nine years in jail is a disgrace. In the meantime Comey is walks around making book deals.
ACOSTA: Earlier in today the president tweeted "Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought." The president is not ruling out a pardon for Stone.
TRUMP: I don't want to say that yet.
ACOSTA: Critics say the Stone case is just the latest example of Mr. Trump's apparent campaign of retribution after the impeachment trial. Not so say the administration officials who claim there was no revenge sought against Alexander Vindman and his brother after they were pushed out of the White House. Pay back critic say for the Lieutenant Colonel's testimony.
ROBERT O'BRIEN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: And it was just time for them to go back. And their services were no longer needed and so they've gone back to the Department of the Army. And so that's where they'll continue their career.
I can absolutely tell you they were not retaliated against.
ACOSTA: That doesn't quite line up with the president who said he was unhappy with Vindman.
TRUMP: No. Well, yes, I obviously wasn't happy with the job he did. And the military can handle him anyway they want.
ACOSTA: But there are signs the president's latest fixation on the Stone case. The White House suddenly withdrew the nomination of Jessie Liu, a federal prosecutor tapped for a top job at the Treasury Department. She oversaw the office handling the Stone case.
The president is also targeting the judge presiding over the Stone trial, Amy Berman Jackson, tweeting, "Is this the judge that put Paul Manafort in solitary confinement, something that not even the mobster Al Capone had to endure?"
Democrats say the president is out of control.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) MINORITY LEADER: Left to his own devices, President Trump would turn America into a banana republic where the dictator can do whatever he wants.
[02:25:00]
SCHUMER: And the Justice Department is the president's personal law firm.
ACOSTA: The president's top defenders are pushing back on that.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: He should not be commenting on cases in the system. I've said that a bunch. And if I had thought that he had done something to change the outcome inappropriately, I'd be the first to say.
ACOSTA: Still some Republicans are unsettled by the president's moves after Maine Senator Susan Collins said she thought the president had learned a lesson after impeachment.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R) MAINE: He was impeached and there has been criticism by both Republican and Democratic senators of his call. I believe that he will be much more cautious in the future.
ACOSTA: Alaskan GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded "There haven't been any strong indicators this week that he has."
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ACOSTA: And the president is also making it clear he doesn't plan on modifying his behavior after his impeachment trial. Asked by reporters earlier today what he has learned, he responded that it's the Democrats, he says, who are crooked and that he should have never been impeached -- Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
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CHURCH: Even though the impeachment trial is over, the partisan divide in Congress is still as deep as ever. House Republicans on Wednesday decided to boycott an intelligence subcommittee hearing unrelated to Ukraine or the Russia investigation. They're angry the chairman, Adam Schiff, has not called a hearing on surveillance warrants on Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
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REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT), MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: This is a sad and dangerous moment. Even as this committee was the epicenter of the polarizing impeachment debate, this committee has always succeeded in compartmentalizing the emotions and arguments of impeachment from the critical work we do on the behalf of the American people.
Not so today. That Rubicon has been crossed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Congressman Schiff tweeted this, "Republicans boycotted the oversight hearing, protesting the lack of oversight hearings. We've had fully 67 oversight events this session."
More than 200 people have tested positive for the coronavirus on a quarantined cruise ship in Japan. Now passengers and crew fear things could get worse if they're forced to stay on board any longer.
And North Korea has not reported a single case of the coronavirus but one doctor who defected said there is a simple explanation for why. We are back in a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check the headlines for you this hour. Turkey says it will close off the skies above Northwest Syria and target Syrian forces attacking civilians there. Syria calls the threat hello and ignorant. It comes as the humanitarian crisis there gets even worse. The U.N. says in the last two months, 700,000 civilians fled their homes to escape the bombardment.
Donald Trump says he's learned a lesson from impeachment, Democrats a crooked and vicious. And on Wednesday, the U.S. president thank the Justice Department for backing off a seven to nine-year recommended sentence for his longtime political adviser Roger Stone.
The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus is now over 1,300 with at least 60,000 cases reported. The number surged in China's Hubei province on Wednesday largely because they're now counting both cases confirmed through testing as well as patients who were diagnosed in clinics but not necessarily tested.
More than 3,700 passengers and crew must remain quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess for almost another week. And every day they're tormented by the thought they might catch the virus if they stay there. CNN's Matt Rivers talked to one of them.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing everything in our power to maximize your comfort during your extended stay with us.
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Wednesday announcement for passengers aboard the Diamond Princess as the captain seeks to reassure them all is OK saying the air onboard is clean. But amidst his crew, there is palpable fear that the virus is spreading.
CNN spoke with a crew member aboard the ship Sonali Thakkar. Speaking behind the mask, her message is urgent.
Are you concerned that the virus is spreading amongst the crew right now?
SONALI THAKKAR, CREW MEMBER, DIAMOND PRINCESS: Yes, it is. Because the number of crew members who are infected is also increasing now.
RIVERS: At least five crew members have already tested positive for the virus. Sonali said she's had a fever and chills since Monday. She says her boss told her to stop work and stay in her cabin. She's scared she's got it too.
And how does that make you feel?
THAKKAR: We just want to get back home safe without this infection. That's all we want.
RIVERS: When we talk, she'd been waiting to see a doctor for two days. Meanwhile, about 1,000 of her colleagues kept working because there's over 2,600 passengers on board that had been put in mandatory quarantine by Japan's government forced to stay in their rooms most of the day, but the ship still needs to run so the crew works side by side wearing masks and gloves though Sonali says mealtime is most dangerous.
THAKKAR: We all remove our mask and gloves when we are eating. So we're all sitting in the same place, and having food and it can spread.
RIVERS: CNN has spoken to multiple infectious disease experts who express skepticism that the current quarantine system is the best way to contain the virus.
ERIC RUBIN, PROFESSOR OF IMMUNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I think a lot of thought went into what to do with the passengers, but it puts the crew at increased risk.
RIVERS: Japanese authorities continue to defend their actions saying they believe anyone who tests positive contracted the virus before the quarantine went into effect. Anyone who test positive is brought off the ship and sent to local hospitals. Earlier this week, we asked a Japanese health official if the crew was safe.
Is everyone on board the ship being treated the same way? What do you say to their concerns?
GAKU HASHIMOTO, VICE MINISTER OF HEALTH, JAPAN (through translator): We're trying to treat all the people equally. However, we also know that crew members don't have private rooms like the passengers have, and they still have to work and help people on the ship. So it's not all equal. However, we're giving everyone on the ship guidelines for prevention.
RIVERS: Princess Cruise is saying it's following Japan's quarantine guidelines saying the "Japan Ministry of Health has been the lead defining the testing protocols for all guests and crew. But the fact is, as long as Japan continues to insist on quarantining passengers onboard the ship, the danger will remain because the crew has to keep working. There's mixed reaction from passengers on board.
ROSE YEREX, PASSENGER, DIAMOND PRINCESS: The crew are being so good and I know they're worried as well.
GAY COURTER, PASSENGER, DIAMOND PRINCESS: I do not feel the quarantine is working. It's a failed quarantine.
RIVERS: During our phone call with Sonali on Wednesday, she had to hang up.
Are you still there?
A doctor had finally come to test her for the virus. She'll find out soon if she tests positive. How do you feel now that the doctors came room?
[02:35:00]
THAKKAR: I'm still scared because I don't want to be positive.
RIVERS: The Diamond Princess will remain in quarantine until February 19th. Until then, the crew will keep working, more exposed to the virus than the passengers they're taking care of. Matt Rivers CNN, Yokohama, Japan.
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CHURCH: And North Korea has not reported a single case of the coronavirus just by sharing a long border with China. It could be because the border was shut down soon after the outbreak was reported, or perhaps the government is unable or unwilling to say. Well, CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Seoul in South Korea. So, Paula, how likely is it that the coronavirus has already infected some people inside North Korea and we just haven't heard about it, haven't been told?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, it is impossible to know for sure. What we do know is that North Korea act quite quickly it did also, we understand from the World Health Organization told us, had asked for help. So the WHO has sent in some personal protection equipment, they've sent in masks, goggles, things that medical people would need, and also officials trying to disinfect areas. So they have actually asked for help, which is something they don't often do. But of course, it is very difficult to know for sure.
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HANCOCKS: North Korea was swift to react when news broke of a novel coronavirus in neighboring China last month, shutting its borders to foreign tourists, mostly Chinese on January 22nd, suspending all air and train routes to China nine days later, and very publicly declaring a state emergency, unusual for the secretive state.
SONG IN BOM, HEALTH MINISTRY OFFICIAL, NORTH KOREA (through translator): Just because there is no case of the novel coronavirus in our country, that doesn't mean we can let our guard down. We need civil awareness to work together for prevention.
HANCOCKS: State-run media has reported on the virus almost every day showing the regime's efforts to disinfect public facilities, educating the public on how to stay healthy, and sending Red Cross volunteers to the border for house to house checks. With confirmed cases in the Chinese border regions and increasing unconfirmed reports of cases inside North Korea, some experts fear the virus may already be inside the Hermit Kingdom.
NAM SUNG-WOOK, PROFESSOR, KOREA UNIVERSITY: About 90 percent of North Korean trade is with China. You can see so many people as well as trucks and trains connecting the two countries on a daily basis at the border before North Korea shut its border. It's very likely North Korea has infected cases already.
HANCOCK: An outbreak of any kind could be very dangerous for the country with a limited ability to test or treat patients. North Korea shut its borders during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the Ebola outbreak in 2014, suggesting Pyongyang is aware of the limitations on its medical system. One former doctor who defected from North to South Korea says they may not even admit to having cases.
CHOI JUNG-HUN, FORMER DOCTOR, NORTH KOREA (through translator): Based on my experience, I believe North Korea does not have test kits or medical devices to confirm what the virus actually is. Even if quarantine facilities exist in North Korea, the basic food supply is hard to maintain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: We also, Rosemary, haven't seen the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the public eye on state-run media for a couple of weeks now, and that could well be telling as well, certainly, for the regime that will be of the highest priority to keep the leader safe.
CHURCH: So, Paula, how likely is it that the North Korean regime hasn't been totally transparent about all of this?
HANCOCKS: Well, North Korea is not transparent. We've known that for many decades. I mean, the famine that they suffered back in the 90s, there's still only estimates of how many people died within that famine. Potentially a million or two were unconfirmed reports, but that the regime was never honest and open about how many people had died.
And we have seen in the past that they have not been transparent on a number of different issues. The very fact though that they are taking this seriously, we're hearing from the Red Cross, we're hearing from the World Health Organization, does show that they do appreciate just how serious it could be.
And of course, the other issue you have is you have a number of foreign diplomats within Pyongyang as well. We did hear from the German Foreign Ministry saying that as trains and planes have been canceled in and out of the country, they say that they have noted travel restrictions for their diplomats with concern. And they are trying to talk with the North Korean government as well to find out what can be done for foreign diplomats.
So it is known that the North Korean government is not transparent. And of course, there have been unconfirmed reports that the virus is already inside North Korea. It could be a matter that we never really know whether or not this virus was inside the country, but we are seeing outwardly and publicly they are trying to show that they are taking this seriously.
[02:40:08]
CHURCH: Our Paula Hancocks bringing us the very latest from Seoul in South Korea, many thanks as always. And we have a lot more on the coronavirus outbreak online. Our Web site has a live page that constantly updates with all the information we're getting on this. So do keep an eye on that at cnn.com and other digital platforms.
The United Nations is under fire for publishing a database of companies doing business in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The vast majority of the 112 firms are Israeli, but some well-known international names made the list as well including Motorola, Solutions, General Mills, Trip Advisor, and Airbnb.
The database took more than three years to compile after a mandate from the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2016.
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RUPERT COVILLE, SPOKESPERSON U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: It's important to note that it is not some claim a blacklist, nor does it qualify any company's activities as illegal. That would be a separate and highly complicated determination and it's something which ultimately could only be decided on a case by case basis through a competent judicial process.
Now, we're fully aware of the sensitivity of this report for people on all sides of the debate and for, of course, the companies themselves. And for this reason, we've taken particular care not to go beyond the remit set down for us by the Human Rights Council.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Israeli leaders call the database and anti-Israel blacklist shameful and discriminatory. Listen to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): The U.N. Human Rights Council resolution to mark companies in Israel is worthless. They are marked. Whoever boycotts us are boycotted themselves.
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CHURCH: Under international law, settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal. The U.S. and Israel dispute that characterization. Well, it just got harder to get around in one of the world's most congested cities. Lagos in Nigeria has a population of more than 20 million people. It's now banned the popular motorbike taxis known as tuk-tuks from most of the city. And losing those means some major headaches. CNN, Stephanie Busari has our report.
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STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN PRODUCER: On a normal day, this area would be packed with motorbikes, and tricycles, fairing commuters to their various destinations. But the Lagos state government has banned these commercial vehicles from major routes in the city leaving commuters angry and frustrated.
Lagos is already Must was legendary gridlocked roads known locally as go slow. And these bikes and tricycles were lifeline for many here.
FOLASHADE OLUTE, CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST: It's insensitive because we had a whole lot of staff who came in late this morning because they couldn't find a way to work. And we had some who were injured because they were struggling to get -- to get a bus.
BUSARI: But they were not just a means of getting around. They were also source of desperately needed jobs in a city with a high rate of unemployment. I met with a young man Samuel who was sunk his life savings into the tricycle business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have budgets. We family that we are using this work to feed our families. (INAUDIBLE)
BUSARI: The government says the bad was necessary because these bikes are dangerous. And of course, hundreds of deaths and thousands of accidents. But commuters here are angry about the lack of alternatives that has left them stranded walking miles to reach their destinations. But people in Lagos are known for their resilience and life here must go on. Stephanie Busari, CNN Lagos.
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CHURCH: Well, the Pope releases his ideas on problems in the Amazon notably absent while answers to some bold proposals he had requested himself. We'll explain when we come back.
[02:45:00]
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CHURCH: Pope Francis has effectively rejected a proposal to allow married men to be ordained as priests in the Amazon. The Pope sidestepped the idea on Wednesday when he released a document on problems in the region. Our Delia Gallagher has more now from Rome.
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DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: There were high expectations surrounding the Pope's decision ever since last October when Francis convened at the Vatican meeting to discuss issues in the Amazon such as a shortage of clergy there. There are many Catholics in the Amazon region who do not have a regular Sunday Mass to go to because of a lack of priests.
So Francis told his bishops last October to make bold proposals, and they did that. Two of those proposals, one of them being to allow married men in the Amazon to be ordained as Catholic priests, the other to allow women to be ordained as deacons, which is a sort of priests have been on the Pope's desk since October. But on Wednesday morning, Pope Francis published his reflections on the proceedings, and he did not endorse either of those proposals.
You can imagine that for progressives, this is a disappointment, while for conservatives it is welcome news. And in fact, some Vatican experts say that the conservative backlash ever since last year against these proposals may have weighed into the Pope's decision. There were some top Cardinals including the Pope Emeritus Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, who wrote articles and books in support of traditional Catholic priesthood and celibacy.
Another factor that might have weighed in the Pope's decision, experts say, is the fact that if he had made the exception for the Amazon, he would probably also have to make it for the rest of the world. And we might mention what Francis himself is reported to have said about his decision. Some U.S. bishops reported they met with him a few days ago. And the Pope told them the Holy Spirit wasn't in it. In other words, it just wasn't the right time.
Whatever the reasons, the Pope has decided that for the moment anyway, there will be no changes to the Catholic priesthood. Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rome.
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CHURCH: Counterfeit medicines can be dangerous or even deadly for patients, but new technology being developed in Africa could help detect knockoff drugs. (INAUDIBLE) joins us now with what's been going on with this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you reach for a package of painkillers or antibiotics, you probably don't worry that what you're taking could do more harm than good. But according to the World Health Organization, sham medicines are one of the world's most lucrative counterfeit trades, worth up to $200 billion worldwide. Africa accounts for over 40 percent of the world's reported cases.
Ashifi Gogo Founder of Sproxil is developing technology to help pharmacies and patients on the continents take back control.
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ASHIFI GOGO, FOUNDER, SPROXIL: We do this using technology that consumers are able to access which allows them to avoid buying potentially harmful and counterfeit products.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While studying for his Ph.D., Ashifi was inspired to stop Nigerian suffering due to substandard drugs. He knew from the start that fully solution to make a difference, it would need to be convenient to use. Ashifi's solution with Sproxil defender and the free service that tells people if they medication is fake.
GOGO: Defender leverages serialization. At the point of purchase, the consumer uses cell phone to send in the code to Sproxil and get a response right there at the point of purchase indicating if the product is from the right factory or if the code indicates that it's a suspicious product.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sproxil first client was Nigerian pharmaceutical company Biofem. Its founder, Femi Soremekun said Defender turned the company's fortunes around.
FEMI SOREMEKUN, FOUNDER, BIOFEM: When Sproxil came around and the way, you know, touting this idea of, you know, using technology, we, you know, took the plunge and said, yes, we're going to walk with you only because we've lost over 50 percent of our sales so we didn't have many options.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ashifi says collaboration with regulators and brand owners, plus consumers trust, help Sproxil to grow. With international accolades to chauffer it, he has bigger plans for the future.
GOGO: We've been able to serialize over 2.4 billion products that have been verified by over 25 million patients. We're expanding across multiple industries and also adding additional countries. And as we incorporate more advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and augmented reality in the offerings, we will make life so much easier for patients and consumers around the world.
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CHURCH: That is one of the world's leading pianist Angela Hewitt playing Johann Sebastian Bach on a precious handmade piano. Hewitt has performed her music on that unique instrument for years now until movers dropped it. Beloved piano valued at almost $200,000 made that said and when movers were taking it out of a recording studio.
The Canadian Virtuoso says the beloved Fazioli was smashed and destroyed. She explained it this way on Facebook. "It makes no sense financially or artistically to rebuild this piano from scratch. It's kaput. I adore this piano. It was my best friend, best companion. Now it is no longer." Hewitt said she had used the Fazioli for almost all her recordings over 17 years, making sounds like this in Toronto in 2015.
And Hewitt told CNN she would not be commenting further while the insurance cycle is still in motion, but she said she will choose a new Fazioli in the next few months writing, "I hope my piano will be happy in piano heaven." Well, posing for pictures, going on late night T.V., people shouting your name, running for political office is of course almost like being a rock star. Our Jeanne Moos takes a look at why the U.S. presidential candidates should stick to their speeches.
[02:55:42]
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For presidential frontrunner, getting critiqued on your dance moves is a rite of passage especially if you don't pass. Pete Buttigieg tried to raise the roof and ended up raising eyebrows. That roof is going to collapse. His movements were compared to a robot, to the stars of the office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My hump, my hump, my lovely lady lump. Check it out.
MOOS: Mayor Pete's roof-raising partner has made this her signature move after she did it at last year's State of the Union. Congresswoman Annie Kuster was spoofed on SNL.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Annie "Raise the Roof" Kuster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Raise the roof and break that glass ceiling.
MOOS: Now she's outperforming Pete. And check out the Elizabeth Warren supporter with her son trying to but into Buttigieg's shot. No one expected the candidate to actually raise the roof. Dancing is always hazardous to a politician's pride. But you're a stick in the mud if you don't groove to the music.
STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: Wow, she is really rocking every chaperone at the eighth-grade dance vibe.
MOOS: Instead of raising the roof, Mayor Pete raised a lot of questions. For instance, what does it really look like he's doing? This is a stick-up.
JIMMY FALLON, COMEDIAN: You're raising the roof or you're being held up at gunpoint.
MOOS: This is me when I'm not sure if I remember to put deodorant on.
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the less people see me dancing, the better.
MOOS: He so adorkable, tweeted one fan. If you're trying to win that dork demo, maybe it pays to shake your --
CROWD: Buttigieg! Buttigieg!
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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CHURCH: OK, he definitely needed some new moves there. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church and I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Do stick around.
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