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Californians Protest Beach Closings; Britain's Response To Deadly Crisis; Russia Reports More Than 10K New Cases; Top Court To Hear Challenges To Netanyahu-Gantz Deal; U.S. Jobless Claims In The Past Six Weeks Hit 30 Million; South Korea To Loosen Social Distancing Orders; Australia Wants Inquiry Into Outbreak; NYC Residents Ponder Moving From The City; Boris Johnson Names Son After Doctors Who Saved His Life. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired May 03, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Set up and cooped up. U.S. states are facing new challenges to keep people inside as the weather gets warmer.
Also top U.S. lawmakers decline President Trump's offer of coronavirus tests for Congress as senators prepare to return to Washington on Monday.
And the U.K.'s Boris Johnson revealing just how intense his stay in intensive care really was when he had coronavirus.
We're live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
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ALLEN: Thank you for joining us.
Coronavirus infections and deaths still on the rise here in the U.S. and globally. Despite that, at least 32 states this weekend are either partially open for business or will be just days from now.
Texas is now allowing restaurants and movie theaters to reopen. You can go to church again in Idaho, visit a state park in New Mexico and go golfing in Pennsylvania.
But around the country, signs of quarantine fatigue, protesters gathering after the governor closed all the beaches in Orange County.
And above Washington on Saturday, a flyover by the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds to honor health care workers first responders, it was breathtaking. But the mall was crowded, despite officials asking people not to cluster to see the jets.
Multiple states have loosened coronavirus restrictions, despite warnings from public health experts that it is too soon to reopen safely. This weekend, spring weather also brought out crowds in many cities, which made for a worrying mix. Here's more from CNN's Karen Kaifa.
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KAREN KAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At Maryland's Prince George's Hospital, just outside of Washington, D.C., a quick break for a salute in the skies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really nice to be appreciated.
KAIFA (voice-over): The Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds flying over Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Atlanta to honor first responders and health care workers Saturday.
Crowds on the National Mall to watch the show drew concerns as the District of Columbia stay-at-home order is still in effect. Crowds also headed to Central Park despite New York's continued pause order. And Governor Andrew Cuomo says the state is still losing nearly 300 people a day to the coronavirus.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): That number has remained obnoxiously and terrifyingly high.
KAIFA (voice-over): New York City mayor Bill de Blasio says the city and police were prepared.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: If everyone follows the rules, that is great, but if not there's going to be very intense enforcement.
KAIFA (voice-over): While New York's pause order remains in effect, Americans in more than 30 other states are seeing relaxed restrictions this weekend, including open retail stores in Texas and Georgia.
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy allowed state parks, county parks and golf courses to reopen. He says it's up to residents to follow the rules to help them stay open.
GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): Let's make sure we have a good weekend and a safe weekend.
KAIFA (voice-over): By May 10th, more than 40 states will have partially reopened -- in Washington, I'm Karen Kaifa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: To California now, where the leaders of some Southern California beach communities are engaged in a fight with the state's governor. They want the beaches open. Governor Gavin Newsom says it's not safe. Paul Vercammen has more from Huntington Beach.
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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here on Huntington Beach, Surf City, an eerie scene ,the beach completely empty after a judge let stand Governor Newsom's closure of Orange County beaches.
Attorneys for Huntington Beach and (INAUDIBLE) and others have launched a legal assault against the governor, arguing, among other things, that he was violating their constitutional rights, saying that he made his decision from a podium in San Francisco and had used compressed photos from the ground that did not reveal what Newport city officials say from the air which was that there was social distancing last weekend.
Basically what happened in the end is the judge upheld Governor Newsom's order but not before some heated arguing, especially by the Newport Beach city attorney.
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MICHAEL GATES, CITY ATTORNEY, HUNTINGTON BEACH: Huntington Beach has done an absolute remarkable job.
[05:05:00]
GATES: And notwithstanding, the governor issues this order shutting our beaches.
We feel targeted, I think it's punitive and if he -- if it was really a matter of statewide concern which is his purview, he would have close all the beaches up and down the state, but he didn't.
He's picking on Orange County, he's picking on Huntington Beach. And the empirical data, the data about spread and cases and deaths here in Huntington Beach Orange County absolutely do not support the beach closure.
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VERCAMMEN: A deputy attorney general arguing for the governor says this is not a case of singling out Orange County. This is more of a need to social distance in the middle of a pandemic.
Also in Orange County, sporadic protests popping up in various cities, all of them asserting that Governor Newsom had overstepped his bounds.
Perhaps if there's any silver lining in all of this, he indicated that he may start to reopen parts of California beginning as early as Monday -- reporting from Huntington Beach, I'm Paul Vercammen, now back to you.
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ALLEN: As far as the struggle to find a treatment for the virus, we've been telling you how the antiviral drug remdesivir has been prescribed for treatment. Last hour I asked molecular virologist Sterghios Moschos to explain more about it.
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STERGHIOS MOSCHOS, PROFESSOR, NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY: How exactly remdesivir works, we haven't got the right idea yet. If you look at it from my perspective as a virologist, at the time that they're giving it, it should not be working. So it seems to be working from a mechanism different than what Gilead thinks.
No doubt it allows for people to come out of intensive care and out of hospitals faster and that means a huge amount for health care systems but also for individuals who don't have insurance to allow them to survive the situation and they're not going to medical bankruptcy.
So from that perspective alone, I think it's worthwhile, considering the size of this pandemic to allow this drug to go through as the FDA has. And I'm hoping the EMA will take similar steps.
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ALLEN: In another story we are following, there are reports of an exchange of gunfire across the Korean demilitarized zone. South Korea's military says several bullets were fired from the North toward a South Korean guardpost and hit the post wall.
It says it responded to the shots with a verbal warning and returned fire twice. But South Korea does say no one was hurt.
U.S. president Trump says he's glad to see Kim Jong-un back and well after the North released the first images of its leader in almost three weeks. A U.S. official says analysts thinks the pictures are legitimate. There had been widespread speculation about Mr. Kim's health while he was absent from public view.
Britain's prime minister has said his battle with coronavirus could have gone either way and we're just now learning how serious it actually was. We'll have a report from London ahead about that.
Also from Russia, a staggering new number of coronavirus cases setting another single day record for that country. We'll talk more about it right after this.
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ALLEN: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is sharing more about his time in intensive care. He spent a week in the hospital last month fighting coronavirus. He told "The Sun" newspaper that he was given liters of oxygen to keep him alive and officials were putting together strategic plans in case he didn't make it.
Across the U.K., the coronavirus death toll is rising and soon could surpass Italy which has the deadliest outbreak in Europe. Nick Paton Walsh is in London for us.
And Boris Johnson has his work cut out for him. NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Certainly. We
have seen the prime minister, while he was in hospital, officials played down the severity of what was happening.
Talking in much more dramatic terms, grabbing headlines with the idea that it was a tough time indeed and also that, quote, "a death of Stalin" scenario was being prepared by his aides, suggesting they would conceal him from the public.
And he faces an extraordinary challenge and some criticism as well. As you said, death toll is rising in the day or so ahead, it may become the worst death toll in Europe, surpassing Italy. That is leading to increased scrutiny of exactly what Boris Johnson's administration did and when.
Did they know enough and increased calls for an inquiry into how Britain's handled this.
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WALSH (voice-over): Britain is close to having Europe's worst death toll.
So what did it do wrong or differently?
When global alarm bells were ringing loudly, the U.K. was clear it would not lock down too early and that some spread was unavoidable, even desirable.
PATRICK VALLANCE, U.K. SCIENCE ADVISER: If people go too early, they become very fatigued. It's not possible to stop everybody getting it and it is also actually not desirable, because you want some immunity in the population.
WALSH (voice-over): Hindsight always gives a clearer, unfair verdict. But new, updated government figures show the death toll, just in England, was a lot larger than known at the time in the days leading up to the lockdown.
And the prime minister said he was still shaking hands...
BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I shook hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know.
WALSH (voice-over): -- and no deaths were announced; four had already died in England when Cheltenham horse races were criticized for going ahead, ended the U.K. toll was officially 10 when really 58 had died.
And when the lockdown slammed pub doors shut publicly, the toll was 359. But really 847 had died in England alone.
[05:15:00]
WALSH (voice-over): Should the U.K. have moved faster?
NIGEL EDWARDS, NUFFIELD TRUST: It is too early to tell. But there are some early signs looking at experiences in some other countries that if we'd gone a bit earlier, we might be looking at slightly better results now.
SIAN GRIFFITHS, CJHK: It's more likely to be next year when people in the cold light of day can look back at all the different countries and (INAUDIBLE) at the time what did and what didn't work.
KEITH NEAL, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM: If you take different measures at different times, then different people would become infected. If we had come in a week earlier, then probably less people would have died up until now.
But as the disease continues to spread to the population, the differences are that people will die.
WALSH (voice-over): Testing and contact tracing was a problem from the start partially dismissed and then heavily embraced.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 100,000 tests per day.
WALSH (voice-over): Many grand schemes were announced, home antibody tests, apps, a volunteer army. But this one actually happened, nearly on time, albeit late. It can't have helped decision-making that Boris Johnson was nearly killed by the disease, too, at its peak.
EDWARDS: Some of the messaging has not been as consistent or as clear as might have been helpful. I give the government a bit of the benefit of the doubt. These are somewhat unprecedented times.
WALSH (voice-over): Still, despite the huge toll, the U.K.'s health service was not overwhelmed. Even huge overflow hospitals like this one in London were barely used. Half of those who died in England, so far, were over 80.
Did U.K. not protect them enough?
Or was there little that could be done?
Tough questions that time and grief will answer.
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WALSH: A lot of the introspection already happening is political. As you heard, one of the scientists saying, these lockdowns, they shift the timeline in which disease moves through a population, possibly to mean some people never actually get it because of vaccine or treatment is in fact available.
But Britain now has extremely tough decisions to make in the days ahead. They will soon -- the Boris Johnson administration -- roll out how they plan to ease the lockdown. And there's a poll that Britons don't necessarily want to go back to life as in the past because they fear the virus, certainly when it comes to restaurants, bars and clubs.
Some polling this morning in British media suggesting that. So tough moves ahead for the U.K. to get the economy going, to try and suggest that they have adequate measures ahead of them to avoid a second peak this winter. That's the major fear here.
All this done with an absence of testing until now in a major scale and, because of that, a lack of knowledge about who has had the disease, who has it now and what needs to be done going forward, to prevent the rest of the population who have been infected. All of the most vulnerable here in the U.K. for succumbing to it.
ALLEN: So many questions about how to proceed and they can look to the United States and the states opening up when everyone is saying that they should not. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for your reporting.
Across the Channel, France is moving to extend its coronavirus emergency measures for about two more months. The government says it will propose new legislation Tuesday to keep the emergency measures in place through July 24th.
On Saturday, the French health ministry reported the number of deaths from coronavirus declined for a second day.
But in Russia, the coronavirus pandemic is escalating at a staggering rate, the country reporting more than 10,000 new cases, setting a new single-day record. CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now with more about it.
Good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Within the past few hours, the Russian statistical office has come out with its latest update on the number of people that have been infected with coronavirus in the country. It's more than 10.5 thousand in a single day, which is the biggest daily jump we've seen in Russia.
After a run of the last four to five days of there being record daily increases, that gives the impression of the disease still very much on the incline in the country, on the increase in the country.
It brings to more than 134,000 the number of people who have been confirmed as infected in Russia. But there's a good deal of skepticism about those numbers. It's a vast country and we know the virus has spread to every corner of the world's biggest country.
And the expectation is, even amongst the Kremlin, which has spoken publicly about this, is that the peak of the viral infections in Russia has not yet been reached.
[05:20:00]
CHANCE: And according to Vladimir Putin, there's still a very traumatic time ahead for the people of that country.
Remember, amongst the infections, it's not just spread through every corner but every social level as well. The country's prime minister has recently been confirmed as having been infected with coronavirus as well and he's been hospitalized.
I think as Russia embarks on its annual may holidays, the message is grim indeed for the country when it comes to the potential for that virus, Natalie.
ALLEN: Matthew, do you have a sense of the pressure this outbreak and these numbers are putting on President Vladimir Putin?
Is he facing criticism for his handling of the crisis?
CHANCE: I think he probably is in the sense that, look, so many people are being infected.
Was the country prepared enough for this outbreak?
It almost certainly wasn't. Just a few weeks ago, Vladimir Putin came out in front of the country and said, we have the virus under control. He was exporting PPE to countries like the United States, to Italy, to Serbia, almost bragging that they could handle the situation.
Now we're seeing medical workers come out on social media, in a country that doesn't -- you don't see much dissent. You're seeing medical workers post complaints on social media that they haven't got enough equipment, that people are dying.
You're seeing pictures of medics in one hospital in southern Russia, that were -- that were -- had got ill and they were put in a cupboard that was meant for laundry storage, just to give a sense of how overwhelmed the system is.
And the Kremlin itself admits that the peak is not behind them. That situation is going to get worse and with it the criticism is pressure on Vladimir Putin to deliver better results.
ALLEN: Matthew Chance in London for us. We'll be watching this story closely. Thank you so much, Matthew.
Israel is letting some schools reopen this Sunday but some local leaders are not taking any chances. CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem right now.
There are concerns that this is too soon?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are some concerns that it's too soon but it's not from the perspective of health. It's more from the perspective of readiness.
Israel's numbers, when it comes to the coronavirus, are quite good, compared to Europe, England or the United States. There are more than 16,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country and about 230 confirmed deaths as a result of coronavirus.
But crucially, the number of recoveries at this point outstrips the number of infections. The question about reopening is more of how much of a heads-up were cities given. The decision was made on Friday and it's a couple of days later. Some of the biggest cities in the country have simply said we're not
opening schools today. We need a few more days. And the government said there's no problem with that as it is a gradual process.
There are some pretty serious restrictions here: face masks have to be worn, temperatures of students have to be taken, no more than 15 students in a class. It's a gradual process.
If the government sees numbers moving in the wrong directions, restrictions could be back in place and the country could move backwards in terms of the restrictions that are being lifted at this time. So it is a very gradual process.
Meanwhile, schools in the ultraorthodox community have so far refused to open as have schools in the Arab sector. There are still parents who are hesitant and only about 55 percent of students are in attendance. It's a gradual process and one not everyone is comfortable with at this stage.
ALLEN: One can understand. All of this -- this pandemic is happening there while Israel's political saga drags on. The high court will hear challenges this week to the formation of the Netanyahu government. Tell us about the latest.
LIEBERMANN: These are high court arguments about the coalition agreement that is leading to the national emergency government between these two.
First, can Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under indictment be tasked with forming a government?
That's the first hearing going on right now. Tomorrow's hearing will focus on the agreement itself. There are fundamental changes to Israel's basic law that are required for this coalition agreement to pass.
And the high court will weigh the question of can you change Israel's law in that way and in this time?
Basic law is the closest thing Israel has to a constitution.
[05:25:00]
LIEBERMANN: So these are fundamental questions to the nature of Israeli politics and how the government works. That will be what the high court decides.
According to the coalition agreement, which was signed by Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, if the high court strikes down any part of this, that means the country is headed back for elections.
If this process isn't done by Thursday, that means the country is headed back to fourth elections. If Netanyahu can't get the necessary 61 to back him, more elections. It doesn't seem likely that the country is headed that way. There are still a number of avenues that Israel is headed to fourth elections. And the key question there is what does Netanyahu want?
Polling right now shows him doing very well in a fourth election.
ALLEN: A fourth election, my goodness. Oren Liebermann, we appreciate you explaining it to us.
Some U.S. states and cities are reopening but millions are out of work. Americans still need so much help. We'll talk with a furloughed worker worried about what the next few weeks hold right after this.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. As some states begin easing their stay-at-home orders, lawmakers are negotiating an additional stimulus package to help jump start the economy. Congress has passed trillions of in relief for the pandemic but Democrats say additional funding for states and cities needs to be a priority.
[05:30:00]
ALLEN: However, one White House economic adviser says that may not be necessary.
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KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: I think right now because there's been good news that the opening up is starting to happen faster than we expected, it appears to be doing so safely, there's a chance that they won't really need a phase four.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Those comments did not sit well with New York City's mayor. He says the relief money is desperately needed for frontline and emergency workers.
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MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: Is this guy serious?
If we have to lay off firefighters, police officers, health care workers, teachers, sanitation workers, is he saying it's our fault that the coronavirus came to our shores, to our city?
That's outrageous and that's inappropriate. And anyone who says that bluntly should be fired because it's disrespectful to the first responders and the health care workers who have been the heroes in the crisis and wondering if their job is going to be there in a few months.
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ALLEN: As layoffs continue and many U.S. states say they're going broke, Americans are worried about how they'll pay their bills. With that story here is Leyla Santiago.
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LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the mayor has announced that 40 employees have been furloughed. And she admits that these are drastic but necessary measures right now.
These are tough announcements that leaders from local governments are having to make and forcing families to make tough decisions.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Like any mother, Jennifer Simmons just wants to make sure her little boy and family are safe and healthy. The security she once felt is now slipping away. She was furloughed as an employee from the mayor's office in Livonia, Michigan. She'll get her last paycheck this week.
JENNIFER SIMMONS, FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEE IN MICHIGAN: We live paycheck to paycheck which I think a lot of Americans do. I'm just not going to pay any bills, because I need to make sure that we have money for food.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Simmons is one of the 234 government employees furloughed here, that's nearly 40 percent of the city's workforce is mostly in public works. Across the U.S., cities are dealing with more than a health crisis. Loss of revenue at the hands of COVID-19 has led many to a financial crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now they've been hit with a one-two punch. I mean lost revenues and increased tax (INAUDIBLE) because they got to be able to respond to this pandemic.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): In Portland, Oregon, the city furloughed about 30 percent of non-union employees, that's about 1,700 staffers. In Dayton, Ohio, the city furloughed 470 employees and that's about a quarter of the city's government's workforce. And in El Paso's 450 employees furloughed or laid-off. El Paso mayor, Dee Margo, isn't shying away on the impact this will have on services for his citizens.
(on-camera): Do you worry about the next step? I mean is the next step furloughs of first responders?
MAYOR DEE MARGO (R), EL PASO: No, we're not going to deal with that at all. We're not going to open new swimming pools and things of that nature. We stopped all construction. We'll continue some design work but that's it. We're not going to do any construction, we're cutting everywhere we can.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): And the pain is widespread. In cities like San Antonio, officials suspended some street maintenance. Detroit scaled back bus services, in Knoxville, Tennessee, libraries closed, only digital access.
Congress is providing some aid to cities through the CARES Act, but Mayor Margo says he needs more flexibility on how money can be spend,
MARGO: We're not asking for money. We can live with what we've got. We just need to be able to spend it where we need to spend it.
SANTIAGO: A coalition of local governments is pushing Congress for another $250 billion to help municipalities this year.
ANTHONY: We will have to cut to the bone in order to provide the basic services. We'll have to make hard choices on health and public service needs.
SANTIAGO: Further pushing families like Simmons to the brink with one more paycheck on the way and a few hundred bucks in savings.
JENNIFER SIMMONS, FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEE IN MICHIGAN: A $1,200 stimulus payment is great. It helps. But it's not going to keep us afloat. It's not going to save our families from ruin.
SANTIAGO: So where do you see your family in a month?
SIMMONS: I don't know. A lot of -- like I said, a lot of it -- I think everybody is just kind of going day by day right now.
SANTIAGO: Day by day, that paints the picture of the uncertainty that so many families are dealing with right now. I spoke to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and they said that Jennifer's story is common right now.
They shared another one of a woman having to decide between putting food on the table or a medical operation that she needs. So certainly families feeling the impact of these decisions and ready to get back to work -- in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Leyla Santiago, CNN.
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[05:35:00]
ALLEN: That kind of economic pain and uncertainty is being felt all around the world. In Japan, thousands find themselves unable to afford housing and among the hardest hit, those who used to take shelter in now shuttered Internet cafes. Will Ripley joins me now from Tokyo.
You've been looking into this, Will. Hello to you.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is one of the more interesting phenomena that you see in Tokyo, where apartments are expensive and some people actually live in these relics from the 1990s, these Internet cafes, where they sleep in cubicles. It's only $10-15 a night and they can get food from vending machines.
Yet when the government ordered all of those cafes to shut down, people who had a roof over their heads, albeit a very unpleasant and uncomfortable one, are now left for the first time in their lives, in many cases, out on the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RIPLEY (voice-over): The lines have never been longer for the weekend food handout in Tokyo Shinjuku Ward. Takahashi doesn't want to give his last name to avoid shaming his family.
(on camera): This is your first time ever receiving food like this.
Did you ever think that you'd be here?
TAKAHASHI, CORONAVIRUS REFUGEE: (Speaking foreign language).
(voice-over): I didn't think something like this could happen to me, he says.
This line is full of first timers like Takahashi, reluctant members of a growing group of coronavirus refugees. The pandemic putting companies out of business, people out of work.
TAKAHASHI: (Speaking foreign language).
(voice-over): I was forced out of the place I was staying, he says. Takahashi was evicted from his apartment, sleeping in a 24-hour Internet cafe. For thousands in Tokyo, a city known for sky high rent, these relics from the 1990s are the only housing they can afford.
When I visited one five years ago, I saw people eating from vending machines, sharing a common toilet and shower, sleeping in cubicles, packed together like a petri dish. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government ordered Internet cafes to close when a state of emergency was declared three weeks ago. The risk of spreading the virus in such close quarters just too high.
(on camera): You don't see people smiling here. It's a pretty depressing place, actually.
(voice-over): Takahashi's new sleeping spot at the bus terminal is even more depressing. He's down to his last 1,000 yen, around $9. He can't find a job because nobody's hiring right now.
TAKAHASHI: (Speaking foreign language).
(voice-over): It gets really cold after dark, he says.
(on camera): What do you think about a night when you're sleeping here at the bus station?
TAKAHASHI: (Speaking foreign language).
(voice-over): I try to suck it up. But to be honest, I'm really disappointed I ended up like this.
(on camera): This area here in Shinjuku is where a lot of the city's homeless live. Ironically, they're sleeping directly underneath the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
(voice-over): Several stories above, aid workers are putting in overtime. (on camera): Is Japan and Tokyo prepared for this?
TOMOO ODA, HOMELESS AIDE OFFICIAL: (Speaking foreign language).
(voice-over): We're really concerned says Tomoo Oda. I'm scared to think about it every day, more people need help finding a place to sleep.
Tokyo is preparing up to 2,000 rooms. Homeless advocates say it won't be nearly enough.
(on camera): You have a whole new group of people who've never been out on the streets before.
REN ONISHI, HOMELESS ADVOCATE: (Speaking foreign language).
(voice-over): So many people are living off with little money they have says Ren Onishi. In the next few weeks, they'll end up on the streets. The number of coronavirus refugees is growing by the day, just like the lines of people desperate for their next meal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: On Monday, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce that the nationwide state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic will be extended by possibly another month, which means a lot of businesses are staying closed and, unfortunately, some people are losing their homes and more and more people every day, Natalie, are ending up in a situation like the people who we met in that food line, just out on the streets for the first time.
ALLEN: Such a dire situation. That poor man, he's down to only $9. I hope he gets the help. Thank you for your reporting, Will. Appreciate it. See you soon.
We have this coming into CNN, South Korea will relax its strict social distancing rules starting May 6th. Those measures have been in effect since March 22nd. The country's prime minister says the decision comes as the number of new coronavirus cases has remained low in the country.
The prime minister says facilities will reopen gradually and events and gatherings will be allowed as long as they abide by disinfection guidelines. Local governments can however flexibly adjust their orders, that's according to local circumstances. That's just in from South Korea.
[05:40:00]
ALLEN: Tensions between China and Australia are escalating over the global COVID-19 outbreak. The diplomatic spat coming as Australia considers loosening restrictions there. More about that ahead.
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ALLEN: Scenes here of how life is slowly returning to normal in China after months after stay-at-home orders. Several tourist sites have reopened in honor of the May Day holiday and officials say over 1 million people visited the city for the first two days of celebrations. This video gives you a sense of how crowded hotels got there in Shanghai.
Australia's prime minister says officials are considering easing lockdown restrictions earlier than planned. However, Australia wants an inquiry into the pandemic and that is creating tension with China where the virus first emerged. Simon Cullen has our report.
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SIMON CULLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the coronavirus outbreak has taken hold in the United States, President Donald Trump has regularly pointed the finger elsewhere.
TRUMP: It comes from China, that's why. It comes from China. We are not happy with China. We are not happy with that whole situation.
CULLEN: It's a message that has resonated although more diplomatically with Australia's prime minister. He has been pushing for an international inquiry into the pandemic.
"Just got off the phone with president Donald Trump," Scott Morrison tweeted last month, adding that the pair spoke about working together to improve the transparency and effectiveness of international responses to pandemics.
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We will need an independent inquiry that looks at what has occurred here so we can learn the lessons. I would certainly hope that any other nation, be it China or anyone else, would share that objective.
[05:45:00]
CULLEN: China is not happy, accusing Australia of pandering to Washington's desire for a scapegoat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Chinese government has released information related to the COVID-19 in open, transparent and a responsible manner. And we have worked closely with other countries.
Its embassy in Canberra has been releasing tit-for-tat statements with its host country, say it doesn't play petty tricks. But if others do, we have to reciprocate.
MORRISON: Australia will continue to, of course, pursue what is a very reasonable and sensible course of action.
CULLEN: The diplomatic comes as many parts of Australia ease restrictions.
In Queensland, residents are allowed outdoors to go shopping for non- essential items but the new freedoms come with warnings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want to see those beaches and the national parks shut. It's going to be on people to take that responsibility seriously.
CULLEN: Nationally, the country has kept the number of coronavirus deaths below 100, a sign of success and one it's not willing to put at risk -- Simon Cullen, CNN, Australia.
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ALLEN: South Africa is easing out of its strict lockdown over the coronavirus but the economy remains in rough shape. Thousands lined up for aid Saturday, with many people waiting overnight for food, masks and disinfectant.
South Africa's president has announced an economic package and social support measures worth more than $26 billion.
Coming up here, a mass exodus from New York City as people flee to live a suburban life.
Is the pandemic the reason?
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ALLEN: A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit by the U.S. women's national soccer team asking for equal pay. The team said they are shocked and disappointed but not giving up the fight. They will appeal. They're seeking pay equal to what the men's national team makes.
The team is getting support from former Vice President Joe Biden in a tweet. The Democratic presidential candidate told the team, "Don't give up this fight. This isn't over yet and to the organization, U.S. Soccer, equal pay now or else. When I'm president, you can go elsewhere for World Cup funding."
After weeks of stay-at-home orders all over the world, many people are probably feeling cramped in their homes. But in New York, it seems some people are feeling confined by city life all together. Athena Jones has our story.
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CHLOE JO DAVIS, NEW YORK RESIDENT: I've been inside for 48 days, now with three little boys.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lifelong New Yorker Chloe Davis never imagined leaving her beloved city until now. DAVIS: The challenge for me as a parent and for the kids themselves.
JONES: Davis and her husband were already used to working from home but weeks spent cramped inside their rented two-bedroom apartment, homeschooling their three young sons and caring for rescue pets have changed her calculation.
DAVIS: In a way our life has changed the least of all our friends because we're so used to being at home together, but also it's scary and you don't know what's to come down the pipeline, you know, financially.
JONES: Her family is now looking to leave the density of New York City where the coronavirus has confined them indoors for the space available in the suburbs. They hope to move to a less expensive home with a yard in Connecticut or Westchester. Davis acknowledges they are fortunate to have the means to even consider such a move. But even for them, it has been challenging to find an affordable match.
DAVIS: The problem is, is that there very few rentals in these places. So once again goes back to, you know, the class issue of who can run out and buy a house right away versus who can rent.
JONES: The Davis' are not alone and their desire to flee a crowded city. Alison Bernstein, whose company's Suburban Jungle helps city dwellers relocate to the suburbs says she's now fielding three times the call she was this time last year from families in search of greener pastures. Fewer crowns, more space and a better quality of life.
ALISON BERNSTEIN, FOUNDER, SUBURBAN JUNGLE: There's no end in sight. So, if somebody said, hey, this is six weeks and you're going to be fine, it would be a different animal. But these people are like what happens to the second wave (INAUDIBLE)
JONES: After years of growth, New York City's population had already begun to slowly decline in 2017.
WILLIAM FREY, BOOKINGS INSTITUTION DEMOGRAPHER: It's not just to New York thing, it's a kind of softening of growth among cities all over the country.
JONES: Chicago and Los Angeles saw similar trends as the economy picked up in the suburbs and elsewhere. But some fear COVID-19 could supercharge the trend here. Already budget officials estimate the city could shed nearly half a million jobs by early 2021 due to the COVID- 19 crisis, leading to nearly $10 billion in lost tax revenue which could force steep cuts to basic services like schools, transit, law enforcement and trash collection.
As well as things like parks and museums, making the city less attractive, much as it did during the steep population declines of the 1970s.
FREY: As a quality of life goes down in New York, you know, it will spiral, more people won't want to come here. New Yorkers will likely leave and so, you know, it's absolutely important for the city to hold on to its population and keep that exodus from happening.
JONES: Still, there is reason for hope.
FREY: New York has been counted out before and after 911. And after the Great Recession, New York came back stronger than ever.
JONES: And Gen Zers could lead the way.
FREY: Once the economy comes back just a little bit, cities are going to be very attractive the Gen Zers, just like cities were attractive Millennials back when the Great Recession was at its peak.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN New York.
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ALLEN: We're all pulling for New York City, for sure.
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ALLEN: British prime minister Boris Johnson is thanking health care workers in a big way. He and his fiancee announced the birth of his son. They named him Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas, named after doctors who saved his life after he contracted COVID-19.
It was International Jazz Day earlier this week. Don't worry, thanks to the U.S. Air Force band in Washington, you can replay the celebration anytime online, take a listen.
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ALLEN (voice-over): The Air Force collaborated with other military bands from seven different countries to perform the classic 1938 song, "I'll Be Seeing You." The commander and conductor said they chose the music because it, quote, "represents a message of conviction and hope across the world."
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ALLEN: I will be seeing you next weekend here at CNN. Follow me on social media, please. I'm Natalie Allen. "NEW DAY" is ahead. Have a great week.
