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Americans Evacuated From Japan Quarantined Again In U.S.; Flooding Strikes Parts Of the U.K.; Democrats Campaign Ahead Of Saturday Caucuses; China under Fire over Coronavirus; American Evacuees Test Positive for Virus after Leaving Cruise Ship; China's Mass Detention of Uyghur Muslims. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 18, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Outbreak on board: as more people test positive for coronavirus on the quarantined cruise ship in the port of Yokohama, several governments are stepping in to help their citizens.
The head of America's Justice Department accused of damaging the rule of law. New calls for the attorney general's resignation.
Plus, leaked Chinese government documents reveal the systematic surveillance of Muslims and how they justify keeping them detained.
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CHURCH: Chinese health officials say the coronavirus has just killed a hospital director in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. The global death toll has now jumped to at least 1,800, with most cases from China.
But the country says some 12,000 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. Right now, half of China's population or 780 million people are under travel restrictions. And officials are monitoring people who have bought fever medicine in Hubei province since January.
Meantime, CNN has learned that around 160 Americans who are evacuated from Wuhan and quarantined in California will be released on Tuesday. But 14 other Americans evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan have been sent to medical facilities after testing positive for the virus. They were flown back to the U.S. Monday morning. So let's get more now from our correspondent, Steven Jiang, joining us from Beijing and Matt Rivers is in Tokyo.
Good to see you both.
Matt, some passengers are set to disembark from the Diamond Princess cruise ship on Wednesday, that is in Yokohama.
How will the process work?
Who gets off first?
Who gets tested before they leave?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everyone has to get tested before they get off the ship, Rosemary. That's what we're hearing from Japanese health officials.
As far as the testing process, they started with the people they would declare the most vulnerable, which, in these cases, would be people with known chronic medical conditions or those ages 70 and above. Those are the people receiving the first tests.
Assuming those tests come back negative, those would be the first people to be allowed off. What Japan's health ministry is saying is they do need tests and it takes at least two days to get the test results back. So they are still doing the testing process. They're expecting a testing process to be done by the end of the day today.
But if you received a test this afternoon, the earliest you are getting off the ship would probably be the 21st. That is why Japanese health officials are saying the disembarkation process, despite officials saying for the entire length of this quarantine that it would end on the 19th, the reality is, for some people who didn't receive these tests, it will not be over until the 21st.
As for what happens as these people get off the ship, we know that certain governments have arranged evacuation flights. The Italians have. The Canadians have. The Australians have. But there are other nationalities on board.
What happens when they get off the ship?
They walk down and they'll be on their own?
Will they be taken to a hotel?
Is the government going to help them?
These are the details we are still trying to figure out.
What exactly happens when the passengers who test negative are allowed off?
And if people test positive, they will be doing what they've done this whole time with positive diagnoses. They will put those people in quarantine and isolation units and local hospitals.
CHURCH: Will there be a number of people left on the ship at this stage?
This process is going to take some time, isn't it?
RIVERS: Yes. There will be people on the ship all the way through the 21st. The other thing the health ministry said was, let's say I am sharing a room with someone else. I do not test positive but the person I'm sharing the room with does. That means I am going to have to remain on the ship for an undisclosed amount of time. My quarantine would continue.
So that is going to happen for people, because the number of cases is almost assuredly going to go up. We have seen that trend daily. It's also worth noting that there's some 1,000 crewmembers or so that have been working for the passengers. They will have to start their own quarantine process after all the passengers are off the ship.
The crew of the ship has to do their own quarantine process on board the ship. So this process is far from over for hundreds of people who will be remaining on board.
CHURCH: And then someone has to feed and look after them as well.
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CHURCH: Matt Rivers, bringing us up to date on that situation from Tokyo. Many thanks to you.
Let's turn to Steven now, joining us as we said live from Beijing.
Steven, the global death toll has risen to 1,800, most of them in China. One of them, a hospital director in Wuhan, the epicenter of this crisis.
What more are you learning about all of this?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: We have learned from the authorities that the hospital director died after contracting this virus while working on the front line. He was a 51-year-old neurosurgeon, the director for a major hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter.
His death was not the first. Remember, we have been talking about the death of a young ophthalmologist, who passed away more than a week ago after contracting this virus he was trying to sound an alarm about.
The government has since announced that they have now recorded more than 1,700 cases of medical workers being infected with this virus. At least six have died. That number climbed to seven with this latest death.
This illustrates the danger to these doctors and nurses on the front line in terms of them being overwhelmed and underprotected.
This alarming trend probably also explains why the increasingly draconian quarantine rules are being implemented across China but especially at the epicenter now in Wuhan and a number of cities in Hubei province.
People are being confined to their homes 24/7, not allowed out at all. Food and other daily necessity items will be distributed and delivered to them by local officials. Also, more strikingly probably, these rules are being implemented in
other parts of the country, even when the authorities insist the situation has been improving steadily.
Here in Beijing, a city of more than 20 million people with fewer than 400 cases, the government has implemented a mandatory 14-day self quarantine rule for anyone who comes from out of town, in addition to making all the residential compounds limited to residents only. They are sending mixed signals in terms of how they are controlling the situation.
Now the latest impact we have seen is not only economic but also political. The government announcing that they are considering delaying the National People's Congress. That is the yearly gathering of almost 3,000 national legislators here in Beijing. It was due to open March 5th. Now it looks like it will not be held anytime soon -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Steven Jiang bringing us up to date on the situation there from Beijing, many thanks.
Tech giant Apple says the coronavirus has hurt its business more than previously thought. The company told investors the outbreak has limited the number of devices it can make and sell in China, especially the iPhone. Now it no longer expects to meet its revenue goals for this quarter.
But Apple says it is working with suppliers and health experts as the outbreak continues. It expects the business disruption to be temporary.
Well, 116 million Chinese citizens are expected to return to work by Tuesday. But the bustling and busy streets of Shanghai have turned into a ghost town as people are still afraid to go outside because of the coronavirus scare. CNN's David Culver has the details.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside Beijing south railway station, passengers sporting a range of plastic protective attire. This man dressed in a raincoat, hair net and goggles.
Another woman donning a plastic veil of sorts, purple latex gloves as she thumbs through her phone determined to keep from contracting the novel coronavirus. Everyone abiding by the requirement to wear a mask.
Security patrols the terminal in hazmat suits, as one worker sprays a liquid bleach like substance around the feet of travelers. This is what train travel has become in China.
Arriving in Shanghai, passengers file through a round of temperature checks. Then using smartphones you are required to register your health and travel history. Only then can you enter the city.
The normally vibrant financial hub subdued. We stroll down the popular Nanjing road. Most stores closed. The shops that were open, eager for business. To walk in you go through what's become a standard temperature reading. Inside the look on some of the employees faces suggested they are desperate for a return to normalcy.
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CULVER (on camera): We are in the heart of Shanghai's financial district and just look how slowly things are moving. There's hardly any traffic in what is normally a very busy circle. And as far as the lunch time rush, well we've seen maybe a few folks are out and about. But this certainly does not feel like a city coming back to life.
Is that unusual?
YENA LEI, WORKER IN FINANCE: No.
CULVER (voice-over): Yena Lei tells us this elevated pedestrian plaza is normally packed, mostly with tourists trying to snap a skyline photo. As someone who works in finance, Yena says this strange silence will come at a cost.
(on camera): Do you think it's going to have a long impact though economically?
LEI: I think that overall the impact will be from April, May.
CULVER: Do you feel nervous?
LEI: A little but not too much. Just a reminder -- even my family is a take care. Because out of your control, out of your own country.
CULVER: China's state council had estimated that some 160 million people would be traveling in what was a post extended Lunar New Year holiday.
However, as we made our way here from Beijing to Shanghai, it seemed as though those numbers may not come to fruition. At least walking around here, you also get the feel that the city is not yet ready to restart -- David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
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CHURCH: To the United States, now the latest controversy involving the Trump White House is intensifying. Jim Acosta reports on the growing number of bipartisan calls for attorney general William Barr to step down after he intervened in a high profile case.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials from both parties have signed on to a letter demanding that attorney general William Barr step down and the list is growing.
The officials accused Barr of politicizing his department with moves favorable to Trump associates, like the president's convicted dirty trickster, Roger Stone. "Those actions," the officials write, "and the damage they have done
to the Department of Justice's reputation for the integrity and the rule of law required Mr. Barr to resign."
Democrats are seizing on the letter as a sign of an administration that's gone rogue.
JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Something unprecedented has happened, 1,100 former Justice Department officials, who in fact are Republican as many -- as well as Democrats, call for his attorney general to step down for the abuse of the office.
Now folks, I am serious. No one has ever, ever weaponized the Justice Department like he has.
ACOSTA (voice-over): In a separate op-ed in "The Atlantic," former Republican deputy attorney general, Donald Ayer went further, writing, "Bill Barr's America is not a place that anyone, including Trump voters, should want to go. It is a banana republic where all are subject to the whims of a dictatorial president and his henchmen."
Over the weekend, top White House officials defended the president's close relationship with Barr, saying they work, quote, "hand in glove."
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: The president of United States has not asked or directed his attorney general privately to do anything in any criminal matter, including Roger Stone.
Number two, he works hand in glove with the attorney general as we all are privileged to do on any number of matters that affect this country.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Aides to the president say there is no way Mr. Trump will stop tweeting his opinions about federal cases, even as critics note those social media posts involve friends he wants spared in court and enemies he wants punished by prosecutors.
MARC SHORT, PENCE CHIEF OF STAFF: It is something to help the presidency. It's one of the things the American people love about him, is they can communicate directly with him. He's going to keep doing it. It's what he's done from the beginning. And I think it's a very effective way for him to communicate with the American people.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The president fired one alarming tweet over the weekend, likening himself to a king, as he quoted a recent article in "The New York Times."
"Ralph Waldo Emerson seemed to foresee the lesson of the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump. When you strike at the king, Emerson famously said, you must kill him."
That was not the only hair-raising tweet from Trump world, after the president took what his supporters described as a victory lap at the Daytona 500, his campaign manager Brad Parscale got wrecked on Twitter, tweeting a majestic photo of Air Force One at Daytona.
But there was one problem. The photo was from 2004, when then president George W. Bush visited the racetrack. Parscale deleted the tweet.
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CHURCH: That was chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
President Trump will head out West for fundraisers and rallies this week in two key states, Arizona and Nevada.
Leaked documents are shedding new light on China's detainment of Muslim minorities. Coming, up we will speak with a Uyghur activist about what he is calling modern-day ethnic cleansing.
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CHURCH: Over the past four years, China says it has been trying to root out Islamist extremism and terrorism in the western region of Xinjiang through what it calls a massive vocational training program.
But critics and survivors of that program say it is actually a mass internment policy, targeting members of the country's Muslim minority.
CNN's Ivan Watson obtained rare leaked documents from inside Xinjiang. They reveal an extraordinary level of surveillance and show China rounding up and containing its citizens for the most arbitrary reasons.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Growing a long beard, making an international phone call, having a passport. These are all reasons that can land you in what U.S. officials are calling concentration camps in China.
Chilling revelations detailed in what appears to be a Chinese government surveillance report on its citizens, leaked from Xinjiang. That is a region in western China, where a mass internment policy has forced up to 2 million Muslims, mostly from the country's ethnic Uyghur minority, into detention.
WATSON: The documents are spreadsheets of data on more than 300 families living in one neighborhood of Karakash county. They provide highly detailed, personal information, including national ID numbers, home addresses, history of foreign travel, religious practices and whether or not they are a threat.
WATSON (voice-over): The authors, believed to be Chinese government officials, then decide whether to keep individuals in what the Chinese government calls vocational training centers.
Beijing wants the world to believe this mass job training program is rooting out violent extremism. But several survivors tell CNN, the reality is, these camps were crowded, prisonlike facilities where inmates were subjected to torture.
Due to China's crackdown and a heavy curtain of censorship, independently confirming anything in Xinjiang is incredibly difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why you're here?
On a recent visit to the region, Chinese security forces harassed and blocked CNN 's Matt Rivers from visiting the internment camps.
However, a CNN investigation tracked down Uyghurs living in exile, who verified the identities of at least eight of the families profiled in the leaked report.
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WATSON (voice-over): The investigation takes us to Istanbul, Turkey. Here, I meet Rozinsa Mamattohti, a mother of three from Xinjiang, whose name is on the documents.
ROZINSA MAMATTOHTI, EXILED UYGHUR (from captions): Rozinsa Mamattohti.
WATSON: Rozinsa Mamattohti. That is you, that's your name.
(Speaking foreign language).
MAMATTOHTI: (Speaking foreign language).
WATSON (voice-over): Her name appeared under case number 358, which also revealed that her younger sister, Patem, was sent to a camp in March of 2018 for supposedly violating China's family planning policy; that is, having too many children.
MAMATTOHTI: (Speaking foreign language).
WATSON (voice-over): She says this is the first information she has had about her family in Xinjiang since 2016. Many Uyghurs living overseas say communication with their family back home was completely cut off when China intensified its crackdown in Xinjiang.
But some Uyghurs are risking their lives to expose this sensitive information.
WATSON: This is the first time you are speaking publicly about these documents?
TAHIRJAN ANWAR, UYGHUR ACTIVIST: Yes, it is the first time.
WATSON: Tahirjan Anwar is a Uyghur activist living in exile in the Netherlands. Last summer he received this trove of documents from a source in Xinjiang that he won't identify for their safety. ANWAR: That was my birthday. I got the attached document and was very
surprised.
WATSON (voice-over): And it is Anwar, along with a patchwork of other Uyghurs living in exile, who are sharing this information with the outside world.
ADRIAN ZENZ, VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION: This document is like a microcosm of what is happening all over Xinjiang.
WATSON (voice-over): Adrian Zenz is a U.S.-based academic who has been studying what he is convinced are internal Chinese government documents.
ZENZ: This is the future of authoritarianism. This is the future of changing populations who do not agree with the main regime in terms of ideologies, virtuality (ph), political identity or other criteria.
WATSON: CNN's data analysis reveals that among at least 484 people sent to camps, five were detained because they communicated with people overseas; 25 were detained for holding a passport without visiting a foreign country.
And the most, 114 people, were labeled a threat for simply having too many children. Those Uyghurs were sent to four different camps, all apparently located within the same community.
Using other open source Chinese government documents, we were able to find the locations of the four facilities, including the number two training center, located near the Karakash train station.
WATSON (voice-over): This is where Rozinsa Mamattohti's second, older sister, Rozniyaz, was sent, according to case number 597.
Her offense?
Having a passport and giving birth to too many children. Rozinsa fears her family could be punished further because she is going public.
WATSON: Why are you showing your face to the outside world?
MAMATTOHTI (from captions): Because I love and miss my parents and my family so much. Because I want to know what happened to them. I want to know if they are alive and well. But if they are dead I need to know that as well.
WATSON (voice-over): CNN reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry and Xinjiang regional government in writing with detailed questions. But Chinese officials did not respond.
In the past, Beijing has strenuously denied allegations of mistreatment and arbitrary detention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
WATSON (voice-over): As for Tahirjan Anwar, he hopes that sharing these documents will force Beijing to ease its crackdown in Xinjiang and lead to information about his own missing loved ones.
ANWAR: This is my father. He is now in the jail. I do not know what exactly crime of him. China's government, let's free my father immediately and let's free all Uyghurs immediately.
WATSON (voice-over): -- Ivan Watson, CNN.
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CHURCH: Our next guest has a unique perspective on all of this.
[02:25:00]
CHURCH: Nury Turkel is a Uyghur rights activist and attorney who was born in a reeducation camp in Xinjiang.
Thank you so much for talking with us.
NURY TURKEL, ATTORNEY: Thank you very much for having me.
CHURCH: As Ivan Watson's report reveals, China's government appears to be rounding up and detaining members of the country's ethnic Uyghur minority population in western Xinjiang. But China calls that fake news and says it is just trying to root out Islamist extremism and terrorism.
What is actually happening there?
TURKEL: As a lawyer, as a Uyghur rights advocate, as someone who has been following the news and also as someone who was born in a reeducation camp at the height of the culture revolution, I can tell that this is another evidence for what China's government has been doing with genocidal intent.
As we speak, on the world's watch, the Chinese government is holding around 3 million Uyghurs in the modern-day concentration camps.
CHURCH: Why does China feel so threatened by the Uyghur minority population?
TURKEL: Throughout the history, the Chinese government has treated the Uyghur people as different. Being different is bad. As such, being different is unacceptable and, in the more recent policy initiatives, specifically targeting to make the Uyghurs to go through human engineering to forcibly assimilate them into China proper.
If anyone standing in the way, either will be locked up in the concentration camps or will be punished in the real prisons that they set up.
CHURCH: And as Ivan Watson reveals in his report, there are spreadsheets of data on more than 300 families living in one neighborhood of the county, detailing personal information, including addresses and ID numbers and details on whether an individual poses a threat.
The crime can be something as little as having too many children or talking with someone overseas.
What should the international community be doing about this?
TURKEL: You can imagine the worldwide reaction, condemnation, recalling ambassadors, canceling meetings, tabling resolution if any other country has done anything remotely similar.
Let's say, thousands of Muslim citizens of their respective countries. What we have here is, since 2017, the Chinese government enacted what is called deextremification (ph) measure, that basically sanctions 48 behaviors. That includes a growing a beard, foreign travels or having foreign contacts.
So in the daylight, the Chinese government is collectively punishing people with a very specific intent to stamp out Uyghurs' centuries-old ethnonational (ph) identity, that the Chinese government sees this as a sign of disloyalty and also as a potential political threat to Chinese state security.
CHURCH: As you pointed out, you were born in a reeducation camp.
How similar was your experience to what is happening now?
And what was your experience there?
TURKEL: During the cultural revolution, the Chinese Communist Party had one objective, focusing on ideology. But this new wave of repressive policies implemented in the Uyghur region has a genocidal intent, which is to put through the Uyghurs into this transformation.
As the Chinese ambassador to Washington pointed out in his interview, quite shamelessly, his government is trying to transform Uyghurs into normal human beings.
What is most jarring about this whole thing is the silence of the international community. Only the United States government has spoken up at the legislative level and executive level.
Last October, the U.S. government entered into entity list, added about 28 entities into the entity list and also imposed visa sanctions. And the U.S. government, U.S. Congress is also considering at least two pieces of legislation to address the ongoing atrocities.
It begs the question, where are the Europeans?
Where are the other countries that have experienced fascism and Nazi Germany?
We are looking for leadership around the world to rally international support to address this modern-day ethnic cleansing.
CHURCH: Nury Turkel, we appreciate you coming on and explaining in detail what is happening there. Thank you so very much.
TURKEL: Thank you very much for having me. CHURCH: We will take a very short break here. Still to come, Americans exposed to the coronavirus on a cruise ship in Japan are back in the United States. But their journey back home felt like they were trading one ordeal for another. We will have the details ahead.
Plus, floodwaters are keeping emergency services busy in the U.K.
Is this situation about to get even worse?
[02:30:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Plus, floodwaters keeping emergency services busy in the U.K. Is the situation about to get even worse? We will check the forecast and see if more rain is on the way.
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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check the headlines for you this hour. The U.N. says the humanitarian crisis in Syria is reaching a horrifying new level. 900,000 Syrians have fled their homes since December as Syrian forces make rapid advances in Aleppo. President Bashar al-Assad said the war is not over the games are a prelude to the rebels eventual defeat.
More than 2,000 former U.S. Justice Department officials are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign. They posted a statement after Barr overruled the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Trump. Stone is said to be sentenced this week after he was convicted on seven counts including lying to Congress and witness tampering.
The coronavirus has now killed more than 1,800 people worldwide including a hospital director in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. At least 73,000 cases have been reported globally, most of them in China. And nearly half the country's population or about 780 million people still facing travel restrictions.
Well, the 14 Americans evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship who tested positive for the virus are now being treated in the United States. More than 300 Americans were flown back to California and Texas on Monday where they will be quarantined for about 14 more days. CNN's Will Ripley has more on their long journey home.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Daybreak in Yokohama, Japan, the final day on the Diamond Princess for more than 300 Americans evacuated by the U.S. government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a converted cargo 747. So there is less insulation than a regular passenger jet. So bring extra layers to stay warm.
RIPLEY: American health officials try to prepare passengers for a long, uncomfortable journey. A journey Karey Maniscalco from Utah is reluctant to take. She and her husband already endured nearly two weeks of quarantine on the cruise ship.
[02:35:02]
KAREY MANISCALCO, QUARANTINED, DIAMOND PRINCESS: I didn't like that answer.
RIPLEY: Now they're about to do it all over again at a California military base.
MANISCALCO: They have sent over a dozen e-mails assuring us that there would not be an additional quarantine. And they just told us that we'd be re-quarantined for 14 more days. I just lost a whole month of my life.
RIPLEY: She's angry at the U.S. government. Angry, they waited so long to evacuate the American passengers. Others like Gay Courter from Florida are grateful.
GAY COURTER, QUARANTINED, DIAMOND PRINCESS: And I wanted to go somewhere where I can feel safe. And I just want to thank President Trump and the U.S. government. There's been a lot of silence on this. And now we know the silence has been putting together a brilliant plan.
RIPLEY: Executing that plan will take nearly 10 hours even though the airport is just a 20-minute drive from the ship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The buses are starting to line up.
RIPLEY: Once they get on, there's no getting off, not even to go to the bathroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The best I can do is go find out where a bathroom is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go find out.
RIPLEY: As the hours drag on, this health worker tries to break the tension.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you call a witch on the beach?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A sandwich.
RIPLEY: Passengers are beginning to feel like the joke is on them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just waiting. I don't really know what we're waiting for, but we're waiting indefinitely.
RIPLEY: Finally they're allowed off the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. RIPLEY: And onto the tarmac, boarding two converted 747 cargo planes.
The cabin best described as bare-bones, no windows, makeshift toilets, temporary seats.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is first class, baby. First-class.
RIPLEY: Luxury aside, Maniscalco feels anxious.
MANISCALCO: It's not good conditions. No one on here has had their temperature taken by the federal government or any government for that matter. So we're all in really close tight quarters already sitting next to each other. I have a girl sitting here in just a minute. This seems dangerous and not safe.
RIPLEY: The U.S. government says they are safe even though 14 passengers who tested positive for coronavirus are allowed on the flight, all showing no symptoms. They're put in a specialized containment area isolated from the other passengers. Just after daybreak, both planes finally take off. A long sleepless night, followed by a 10-hour flight.
Now they've arrived in California and Texas. One ordeal ends, another begins. Will Ripley, CNN, Yokohama, Japan.
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CHURCH: So how did health officials decide who needs to be quarantined and who got to fly back to the United States? Well, here's what CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta told us earlier.
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SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The way this played out, they were -- you know, this ship docked February 3rd, the people were supposed to go into quarantine until February 19th. But these passengers coming off the ship today, as they're sort of in route now to be -- to be evacuated, test results from two to three days earlier come back as positive.
As you mentioned, they're not sick at all. So the decision is made to essentially go ahead and let those patients still fly home. I want to answer the question about the quarantine in a second, but take a look at some of these images. It's a 747 charter plane. I just thought this was so interesting. Airflow is from the nose to the tail of the plane, crew staff, they're in the front of the plane.
That's -- you know, they're doing the staffing of the plane. Passengers sort of in the mid-body of the plane. And what they created in the back of the plane was an isolation area on the plane. So they take these passengers who have been diagnosed with the infection, the test came back positive, and essentially these tests foot tall plastic sheets are set up around these chairs. People can only get into that area one way, they can only get out one way. So they essentially created an isolation area on a 747 plane.
Now, am I surprised that people are still getting infected on the ship? Two things. First of all, a quarantine is not the same as isolation. We know people were still able to get out and about. They limited their activity, but people were still out and about getting fresh air. We know the -- there's 1,000 crew members on the ship that were not in quarantine, you know, who is possible that they could have been spreading the virus. It's also possible that these people who are infected got infected before the quarantine, and we're just seeing them at the sort of end of their incubation period.
The bad news, the tough news for them though, even if they remain asymptomatic, after all this time having been quarantined in the ship, they're now going to be quarantined for another 14 days here in the United States because that's again, the incubation period resets as far as the clock goes.
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CHURCH: All right, to turning now to the U.K. which is still grappling with the fallout of a severe winter storm. Storm Dennis has prompted a record-breaking number of flood warnings across Britain. As workers rescue residents by boats in waist-high waters. Dennis strikes Britain nearly a week of the storm Ciara wreaked havoc leaving thousands without electricity.
So let's turn to our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. He's been watching this very closely there at the international weather center. So Pedram, is there any relief inside?
[02:40:32]
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Tuesday, it looks like the better day when it comes to some relief. But we know more storms, Rosemary, are on the horizon here going from Wednesday into Thursday. Of course, we know the South Wales Valleys, this has become a historic flood event across this region. In that particular area, we've seen the highest water levels in some four decades.
Overall, upwards of nearly 500 properties have been taken on some water and some flooding has been reported. And we know over the past five years, the U.K. is actually increased the amount of funds allocated towards weather emergencies from a $3 billion to a little over $6 billion moving forward. So it kind of speaks to what has essentially become more and more typical what you expect here for additional rainfall, for additional flooding has been experienced in the recent years across this particular region.
And of course, here's some of the views out of the area with storm Dennis and what is left in its wake. But, as you noted here, hundreds of flood warnings and flooded alerts in place, nine of which are still considered severe at this hour. And you kind of notice the flood concerns moving forward over the next couple of days. Plenty of coverage here from the Midlands region, towards Wales, towards the northern portion of the country where we do have at least some risk in place over the next couple of days with additional flooding expected.
And we know the groundwater supply has been on the increase. That in fact that's kind of pushed above the water table. Any additional rainfall we get becomes surface flooding and that's the biggest concern moving forward here because again, we do have another system on approach, the strongest which comes in. We think Wednesday night into Thursday, a lot of wins again in store with these particular storms.
So with all the saturated soil, Rosemary, it doesn't take significant winds to bring down trees and that's another concern here after multiple weeks of strong storms across the U.K., Rosemary.
CHURCH: Unbelievable images there. Pedram Javaheri bringing us up to date on the situation, I appreciate it. We'll take a short break here. Still to come, in U.S. presidential politics, the focus is on Nevada. And that is where frontrunner Bernie Sanders is facing opposition on his signature campaign issue. We'll take a look.
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CHURCH: Campaigning in Nevada is in full swing ahead of the caucuses on Saturday. The result will offer clarity on the candidate's support in a diverse stage. Frontrunner Bernie Sanders is trying to solidify his lead while the outcome could signal a turning point for Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden. Jeff Zeleny has our report.
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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With your help, we're going to win here in Nevada.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The fight is on for Nevada.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is so wonderful to be out of the snow and in this beautiful sunny state of Nevada.
ZELENY: The first 2020 Democratic contest in the West.
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that people in Nevada are taking your responsibility, your influence, your power, that thumb on the scale that you have so seriously.
ZELENY: Five days before the state's caucuses, early voting is already underway in the most diverse test yet for the Democratic field. Front and center is a familiar debate over health care but with a new twist. The state's powerful Culinary Workers Union strongly opposes Medicare for all, saying abolishing private insurance would take away their hard-fought health insurance plans.
It's one of the biggest challenges facing Bernie Sanders who support for Medicare for all is at the heart of his candidacy. His rivals are trying to capitalize on the divide, hoping to slow his surge.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one should be able to tell them they can no longer have that plan. And I'll be damned if we're going to erase the Union's efforts. ZELENY: Joe Biden is trying to revive his campaign in Nevada after
lackluster showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. The former vice president said he was counting on the diverse electorate of African American and Latino voters in Nevada and beyond to weigh in.
BIDEN: I think that we were just getting there and we've had less than two percent of the vote taken so far. And now we're here in Nevada and it's going to be up to you to decide how many of us move on.
ZELENY: Naomi Lovato has been uncertain about Biden's strength. But after seeing him today, she believes he still has what it takes to win.
NAOMI LOVATO, VOTER, NEVADA: Before, you know he was a little bit kind of -- he didn't come across that fire in the gut, but this time he really did. He can do it. I truly believe that in my heart. I really do.
ZELENY: One candidate not competing here is still hanging over the race, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. His Democratic rivals are piling on the self-funded billionaire
SANDERS: Mr. Bloomberg like anybody else has a right to run for president. He does not have a right to buy the presidency.
ZELENY: Now, Michael Bloomberg is one qualifying pull away from making that debate here later this week. We will find out on Tuesday at midnight if he does qualify. He is preparing for that debate, his democratic rivals are as well ready planning their attacks. They say they have a long record of his to go over and he won't be able to control his own narrative as he has been so far in the race. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Reno, Nevada.
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CHURCH: An American racecar driver has been hospitalized after getting into a fiery crash at the Daytona 500. It happened during the final lap of the Florida event. Ryan Newman was in first place when suddenly he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a wall. His car flipped several times and was sent flying into the air. T.V. commentators say he was taken directly to the hospital after being removed from the course.
A statement from Newman's racing team says he's currently in serious condition, but does not have any life-threatening injuries. Well, some racist fans try to steal the spotlight in European football, but other fans are taking a stand to end the abuse. More when we return.
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CHURCH: Well, it was not a good weekend for European football. A fan of Germany was ejected from a game after making monkey noises aimed at defender Leroy Kwadwo. Others in the stands quickly identified the offender and started chanting Nazis out in response. Players embrace Kwadwo and show their support as the abusive fan was taken out of the stadium. Kwadwo thanked fans for their support, praising them for their reaction to the racist remarks. The abusive fan has since been arrested.
Another racist incident occurred in Portugal Porto Striker Moussa Marega walked off the field after fans made monkey chants in response to what would become the game-winning goal. Christina MacFarlane brings us that story.
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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: This was the moment Moussa Marega had had enough. The Porto striker from Mali the targets of racist abuse and monkey chance after scoring their winning goal. Pointing to the color of his skin and raising middle fingers to the crowd, Marega attempted to walk off the pitch after being punished by the referee with a yellow card for his reaction. His teammates attempting to stop him while the club manager reacted angrily to the fans attacking his player.
SERGIO CONCEICAO, MANAGER, FC PORTO (through translator): We are enraged by what happened. I know the passion that exists here in Victoria for the clubs, but I'm sure most fans don't identify with the attitude of some people who sit on the stands tonight's insulting Marega since the warm-up.
PEDRO PINTO, INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL PUNDIT: They are taking it very seriously here in Portugal. It's a country that has not seen that many episodes like this one yesterday. This is very rare here. And people are not even beginning to trying to accept it, condemning it, and they want to punish those who are -- who are guilty.
MACFARLANE: The 28-year-old Marega later took to Instagram writing, I would only say to those racist idiots in the stands, go F yourselves. He also accused the referee of giving him a yellow card for merely defending the color of the skin.
PIARA POWAR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FARE NETWORK: We are seeing players who are hearing sort of abuse, who want to walk off. And then there is other individual teammates who want to stop them or the club who disapprove the one sort of action. This is not new. This is something that players are facing every week in international competitions across Europe.
MACFARLANE: Police have now opened an investigation to identify the fans responsible, and the club have called it one of the low moments in the recent history of Portuguese football. Even Portugal's President issued a strong condemnation on Monday. As football continues to grapple with the scourge of racism, this yet another reminder of how players are often left to confront it head-on. Christina MacFarlane, CNN, London.
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CHURCH: The issue was confronted at the Laureus World Sports Awards on Sunday. Many in attendance spoke out about the racist incidents and the lack of diversity still present in some sports. Our Alex Thomas has more now from Berlin.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR: It will be wrong to say the latest incidents of racism in football is overshadow this jovial occasion. There's always plenty of smiles and laughter at the Laureus Sports Awards as they celebrate all the achievements over the last 12 months.
Nonetheless, plenty of former footballers here who will be concerned, one of them is Ruud Gullit, a former Dutch international who won the European Championships with his country. He's a former Champions League winner as well, when it was known as the European Cup. And he suddenly felt that Moussa Marega could have got more support than he did from his teammates.
RUUD GULLIT, FOOTBALL LEGEND: I was disappointed that the players didn't back him. Normally, if a player in your team getting kicked or whatever, you help him. And here, there was no help of his teammates. They just tried to persuade him to stay. I think they should have made a stand, if also the opposition would say look, go in, you know, just take a -- take a moment. And this would be a time also for all the videos to watch these people who are doing it and get them out of the stadium.
The authorities, the politics has to do something about it. It's not only the responsibility to players, the coach, and the club, but also politics. They have to make laws that this is going to be prohibited. And if you do it, you have to get out.
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THOMAS: And there's lots of fine words. And they say there are protocols in place, but nothing seems to change.
GULLIT: No, that's the point. So, therefore, this is again, a possibility to do something.
THOMAS: Would you encourage players to keep taking it into their own hands and saying enough is enough, as a -- as a mechanism for change?
GULLIT: Look, you know, you should protect him. You should say, hey, this is ridiculous. Come on, get off here. This is not what we tolerate in our sports because it affects you as well. Not only the player, it affects you. So you have to stand up together. Also, the opposition say hey, this is ridiculous. We don't take that anymore. is not part of football, not supposed to be part of football, and you have to get these people out of the stadium, lifetime time ban.
THOMAS: That was Ruud Gullit speaking to us before the Laureus Sports Awards got underway. When they did, we saw some notable winners, someone like Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA legends who retired from the Dallas Mavericks last year, winning a Lifetime Achievement Award, thoroughly deserved. One of my fondest memories of 2019 was the Rugby World Cup in Japan. And the winner of that competition, South Africa, won Team of the Year for their inspiration on the pitch and for helping to unify the rainbow nation of South Africa.
As for the Sports Woman of the Year, well, that went to gymnasts Simone Biles yet again. And for the first time ever, we had a tie for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Lionel Messi got it, and so did Lewis Hamilton, the Formula 1 World Champion. He's won it six times. Messy has been FIFA World Player of the Year six times. Certainly, a nice bid of symmetry. Hamilton, as well as being pleased and emotional, also using this platform to make the points there needs to be more diversity in Formula 1.
LEWIS HAMILTON, RACE DRIVER, FORMULA 1: I'm so, so grateful for what has provided me. But I've actually grown up in a sport that has very little to no diversity. And I think is an issue that we're continually facing. I think it's all -- it's our all of our responsibility to use our platform for that, just that, for really pushing for gender equality, for inclusivity, and for really just making sure that we are engaging and really trying to represent what the world is -- where the world is today.
THOMAS: So that wraps another Laureus Sports Awards, the 20th anniversary of this glitzy occasion has become known as the sporting Oscars. We have got, of course, the Tokyo Olympics coming up later this year. So plenty more to look forward to when we meet again to celebrate the best in sports in 12 months-time. Back to you.
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CHURCH: Thanks for that. And I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Do stick around.
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