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European Stocks Higher On Reopenings, Recovery Proposal; India And Bangladesh Prepare For Super Cyclone Amphan; Navajo Nation Surpasses New York's Infections Rate. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired May 19, 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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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi, welcome, thank you for joining us all from around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow.
Just ahead here on the show, the U.S. president is expecting to pull funding for the World Health Organization. The assembly gets ready to vote on a probe into the pandemic.
And Germany and France are trying to break the deadlock over a massive European recovery package.
And coronavirus cases and deaths may have slowed in the U.S. But experts have new warnings about the risks of reopening too quickly.
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CURNOW: Great to have you, thanks for joining me.
So in the coming hours, members of the World Health Organization will vote over a resolution calling for an independent review of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. We know more than 100 countries support an investigation. Including the U.S., which has long blamed China for the pandemic, and says WHO failed to hold him accountable.
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ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: In an apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak, at least one member state made a mockery of their transparency obligations with tremendous cost for the entire world.
We saw the WHO failed at its core mission of information sharing and transparency when member states do not act in good faith.
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CURNOW: Meanwhile Donald Trump is escalating his criticism of the WHO, threatening to make his temporary funding freeze permanent unless they make major improvements within the next 30 days. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: But I think they've done a very sad job in the last period of time. And again, the United States pays them $450 million a year. China pays them $38 million a year.
And they are a puppet of China. They are China-centric, to put it nicer. But they are a puppet of China.
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CURNOW: For its part, China insists it's been transparent all along. President Xi Jinping says he supports an independent review but to be done once the virus has been contained.
Steven Jiang has more on China's response.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: China now says it's supporting this resolution, including an international inquiry, on the global response to the pandemic. But Beijing says this an impartial evaluation led by the WHO based on science and professionalism and to be conducted after the pandemic is under control.
Xi Jinping addressed the forum on Monday and highlighted the positive role China has played in this fight against the virus.
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XI JINPING, PRESIDENT OF CHINA (through translator): All along, China has acted with openness, transparency, and responsibility. We have provided the information to the World Health Organization and relevant countries in a most timely fashion.
We released the genome sequence at the earliest possible time. We shared control and treatment experience and we have done everything in our power to support and assist the countries in need.
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JIANG: Mr. Xi has made pledges, including $2 billion to the fight against the virus and trying to set up a logistics center to ensure flowing of medical supplies around the world, especially to Africa, where the Chinese are trying to build a regional HQ and debt relief.
All these moves are viewed to be very strategic, especially by U.S. officials, calling the pledge a token to distract from a growing number of nations demanding investigation into the Chinese response. The African initiatives also being viewed as a move to counter backlash that the country has experienced because of these containment measures, targeting African nations by some Chinese cities.
But despite all this, the Chinese are really trying to project the image of being open and transparent and responsible in stark contrast, to the Donald Trump administration, which is now threatened, to pull out of the WHO. So as the U.S. continues to retreat from these global institutions, this has created an opening for China and Mr. Xi. [02:05:00]
JIANG: And they try to step in and they are increasingly successful not only in reshaping the narrative on China but on these global institutions long dominated by the U.S. -- Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.
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CURNOW: Thank you for that, Steven.
Meanwhile on Monday, President Trump casually made a stunning statement.
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TRUMP: I happen to be taking it, I'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine. Right now, yes. A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it. Because I think it's good, I've heard a lot of good stories. And if it's not good, I will tell you right, I'm not going to get hurt by it.
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CURNOW: So hydroxychloroquine is the anti malaria drug that has long been touted by the president for the coronavirus but not only is it unproven in treating the virus, Mr. Trump's own health regulators, have warned it could be dangerous and can cause serious heart problems and should not be taken for COVID-19.
CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, says his announcement is troubling for many reasons.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is no evidence that it works, there is potential harm, this flies in the face for all of his own medical organizations, including the FDA, saying it shouldn't be used outside of a medical trial or patients that are hospitalized.
There's no proof that it works either for treatment or prophylaxis. Dr. Reiner, who worked at the White House before, brought this up and said did the president have an exposure that is significant and that's why they're very concerned about him?
He's in his 70s, he's got evidence of heart disease, he's had exposure, what's going on here?
It doesn't make sense and I'm worried that it sends the wrong message to people.
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CURNOW: Sanjay Gupta there.
Meanwhile a key model used to project the spread of the virus in the U.S. lowered the predictions of deaths this summer to 143,000. States continue to loosen restrictions and more Americans are getting out and about. So the lead researcher in that model talked to CNN about that.
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DR. CHRIS MURRAY, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: The fraction of the population in different states that are wearing masks, we think that's really the key difference there, both their behavior and mask wearing.
Forty percent of the U.S. wears a mask all the time. About 80 percent wears a mask sometimes, and that's probably helping separate out that impact of rising mobility from turning into increased transmission all over the country.
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CURNOW: There's also another hopeful development, a vaccine being developed by Moderna is showing early promise in clinical trials. But a vaccine is a long, long way off.
So Dr. Esther Choo is an associate professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, she joins me now live. From Portland.
Thank you so much it is great to have you on the show. And I do want to get your take, on this vaccine there's a lot of hope on this one that's been touted at the moment. At the moment eight people have taken, it and it's shown to develop antibodies. But this is just one of I think over 100 vaccines.
DR. ESTHER CHOO, OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: That's right it really is a global race to the vaccine at this point and it's got everybody's attention, because of the positive results right now.
But this is phase one clinical trials, it is the first step in a series of trials that we need to make sure that this is really ready for primetime. Only 8 people phase one trials are just meant to study a certain range of doses and make sure there are no big safety issues. There were 8 patients and these were healthy patients that were naive to the virus. They have not been exposed before. And they did develop immune response, did well in a laboratory setting in a petri dish against the virus.
We still have phase 2 and phase 3 trials, to go through those they're more complicated trials, they take time and also the majority of medications that make it to phase one trials are never seen on the market because they are filtered out, usually by the results downstream.
So just cautious optimism, when we talk about any virus and it is still so early in the process.
CURNOW: Exactly, such early days still. We also have seen a slight downward trend here in the U.S., even though people have been going out and about. And you heard, one of the people who model that, saying that it might be because folks are wearing masks and they are social distancing.
What do you think as a doctor?
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CURNOW: Do you think this is perhaps some type of lag effect and are we going to be hit by more cases in a week or 2?
CHOO: I do think that there is still a lag. Most places have changed the extent to which businesses are open and people are socially reengaging. Just in the past week or 2, we know it takes time for disease transmission.
And what we are following is really the downstream stuff and the deaths and it just takes time for those downstream endpoints to accumulate.
I also think, that it is a complicated thing, that the U.S. is a big place and it has different communities, every state taking it differently, just because you open your doors don't mean that people feel safe enough to go out and engage.
And when you see pictures, of these dramatic moments of people gathering but actually what I'm hearing from my friends and family around the country, is that people are more cautious of these announcements of reopening.
They really want to make sure their safety measures in place. And mask wearing is becoming more popular and accepted. And people are doing their duty by wearing masks for the most part. Not everybody but for the most part, maintaining social distancing. Avoiding large gatherings, doing good hygiene.
So I think it won't be 100 percent one way or another. I think there will be a lot of factors influencing it. June will tell us, it will really tell us the story, of what happened in may. If we are successful or not.
CURNOW: I agree with you, even here in Georgia, which is open so early, certainly people themselves have been conservative, no matter what the regulations were. That is certainly something I noticed here.
I just want to get your take, as a doctor, listening to the president say he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, unclear whether it is a prophylaxis or why he is taking this.
Just to be clear from your point of view the medical advice hasn't changed has it?
CHOO: The medical advice has not changed, it's really puzzling what he would be taking it. Also, I worry about the example that it sets, that it seems kind of good you may want to take it and the evidence is not there, the evidence for harm is certainly there, it can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and can interact with other medications people are on. It's not something to be taken lightly because it has been around for a while. I had the opportunity to have a clinical trial of health care workers, to see if it provides any protection preventively and I decided not to participate.
Looking at the data I was skeptical and knowing the known side effects, it was not something that I was interested in. So it's not true that health care workers are jumping to take this medication.
I think there should be a lot of caution. Also we have to remember, that there are evidence based indications for this medication and we shouldn't, I'm worried that we will put drug supply at risk, if people are taking it willy-nilly and for unclear reasons, just because there is a general fear of COVID-19 wanting to do something.
And then we're going to take those medications away from people who really need it for autoimmune diseases and have been stable on this medications for a long time and then it's popular for no clear reason and the supply will go down.
CURNOW: Yes, self medication is not good at any circumstances, even if the president is taking it. But it's fascinating that you made a decision as a health care worker not to take it. And decided it would be healthier for you not to take it and take your chances of COVID.
Thank you so much, I appreciate you joining us and giving us your expertise. Have a great day.
CHOO: You, too.
CURNOW: So the British government we know is ramping up COVID-19 testing and expanding who qualifies. Now anyone over the age of 5, who is showing symptoms, is eligible. Also the loss of a sense of smell or taste has been added to the official list of COVID-19 symptoms.
Health officials are aiming to conduct 200,000 tests per day by the end of the month. Anna Stewart is live with more on all of that.
And these new guidelines as to who can be tested. Tell us more.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Robyn, that will be huge relief, to so many people in the U.K., because, before, unless you were in hospital or unless you were vulnerable or a key worker, you could not get tested.
So people have been self isolating with initial symptoms, so this will hopefully soon allow anyone over the age of 5 to get tested. It's an important part of the strategy to ease lockdown.
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STEWART: The other side of that strategy, has to be of course, contact tracing. This is something the government in the U.K. is very keen on. They have an app that's on trial now so that not only will you know who has had the virus but who have they been contact with. That app is being trialed, it doesn't appear to be ready yet, we're
not having any updates on when that will be rolled out. But looks like the U.K. is finally getting to grips of testing, which has brought on a lot of heat within the U.K. due to lack of testing throughout the pandemic so far.
CURNOW: Thanks for that update now, Anna Stewart in London.
Brazil is reporting the third most coronavirus cases in the world, more than half of all the deaths in Latin America, have been in Brazil. But the president does not seem to be taking the outbreak very seriously. CNN's Shasta Darlington explains.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brazil topped 250,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, surpassing the U.K. and making it the third highest in the world. The death toll is over 16,000.
In Sao Paulo, the mayor has warned that the health system is on the verge of collapse if residents don't start respecting social isolation measures. He said 90 percent of intensive care beds are full but less than half of the population is sheltering at home. The situation is similarly dire in hospitals from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon. [03:25:03]
Meanwhile, President Jair Bolsonaro is participating in anti-lockdown rallies. On Sunday, he was seen taking pictures with supporters and even doing pushups with a group of men in red berets and camouflage. His health minister resigned on Friday, Bolsonaro has yet to name his replacement -- Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.
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CURNOW: Shasta, thanks for that.
Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, as U.S. states reopen, crowds are returning. And in some places, masks and social distancing are going right out of the window. Take a look at these images, we'll show you what's happening over the U.S.
Plus, some dogs can sniff out cancer and malaria, why not coronavirus?
How Britain is training canines.
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CURNOW: Officials tell us the Trump administration plans to extend strict border controls and travel restrictions, those measures put in place for the pandemic.
[02:20:00] CURNOW: But also it also had the effect of curbing immigration. This is almost all U.S. states that are in some phase of reopening. Brian Todd looks at how it's going.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On New York's Upper West Side, a cluster of people gathers outside a newly reopened bar. In L.A. County, thousands flock back to re-open to beaches, many not appearing to the rule to keep moving.
On some of Hawaii's most popular beaches, the crowds have returned. Beachgoers appear to avoid gathering in large clusters, but many are not wearing masks.
In Wisconsin, social distancing went out the window. People crowding into a bar in Oshkosh. With so many states and cities reopening and people eager to get out, it seems like the one in Wisconsin are becoming more common. But in some cases worrisome to health experts.
WILLIAM HANAGE, EPIDEMIOLOGIST HARVARD UNIVERSITY: People are crowded together in bars like what happened in Wisconsin. And people here in a noisy place, shouting, leaning into each other's ear -- shouting to each other's ear, stuff like that. Those kind of things, especially in poorly ventilated areas are absolutely -- those are the kind of conditions where the virus thrives.
TODD: But some establishment aren't leaving it up to their customers. At the fishtails restaurant in Ocean City, Maryland, they have made individual tables for customers, attached to large inner tubes to ensure distancing, but are these measures working? Most indications are that new coronavirus cases and deaths in the United States have slowed in recent days.
The broad scope restrictions across the country, in place since early March, seem to have made a significant difference. A new study, published in the journal health affairs, calculates that the state of Kentucky would've had far more cases by now if no lockdown or distancing policies were put in place. Nationally, the numbers could have been 35 times higher. The study's chief author told CNN which measures they believe worked best.
CHARLES COURTEMANCHE, ECONOMIST, UNIVERISTY OF KENTUCKY: The shelter in place order had the largest effect. The other restriction that had a clear impact was the closing of these entertainment related businesses like restaurants.
TODD: The jury is still out of whether the states which had the earliest reopenings made the right call. Georgia made some of the earliest and most extensive moves to reopen, cases there have remained steady over three weeks. But in Texas, where places like this Houston gym have been open for a couple of weeks, there has been a recent spike in cases.
The confusion could be due to uneven testing rates. One health expert predicts these early reopenings, with more people moving around will lead to an uptick in coronavirus infections. And he spoke about when we could see that larger second wave.
HANAGE: That second wave. That second surge could be on us sooner than we think. However, if it is not coming in the next few months, we should be absolutely prepared for it to be coming in the fall.
TODD: But the leader of that study published in health affairs says we are on dangerous ground right now with these early reopenings and the intermediate restrictions in place.
He says that new cases could shoot up dramatically if we get some of those intermediate measures wrong. And he says it's absolutely critical to go slowly with the reopenings -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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CURNOW: Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you.
So with some European countries looking to lift their travel restrictions, Norway is sticking with a simple message, now is not the time to come on holiday. The Norwegian prime minister said travelers will be sent home if their trip is not business related and she laid out the path ahead.
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ERNA SOLBERG, NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER: We are discouraging people to leave Norway and if you don't have a work reason to come to Norway, you will be sent back when you arrive to Norway these days.
They may have said that we will look at a careful lifting of this, meaning the northern countries, the first other European countries afterwards and then hopefully we can stop the -- lift the restrictions earlier on.
But it depends on how the disease is developing and we still have to take care that we don't import more infections and make sure that we still can handle this (ph).
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CURNOW: More shops and churches in Italy are allowed to open their doors after 10 works in lockdown. Ben Wedeman looks at the restrictions still there to keep people safe.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Monday, Italy entered the next part of phase two, the reopening of the country. What's different today is that bars, restaurants, hair salons and shops can reopen again with restrictions. There are requirements for maintaining high, strict standards of hygiene.
Social distancing must be maintained, at least one meter between tables. And as far as shops go, there are limits on the number of people allowed in. [02:25:00]
WEDEMAN (voice-over): What's also different is, as of today, churches can hold masses for the public and, in fact, Pope Francis today held his first public mass in almost two months. Also reopening, Italy's museums. And because there are almost no tourists in the country, the lines are surprisingly short.
Also some more good news for Italy; today the statistics are that in the last 24 hours, only 99 people died from coronavirus. The total is now, as far as the dead are concerned, 32,007 but the numbers are continuing to drop.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has warned, that the reopening is a calculated risk and there is still very much the danger of a second wave of deadly infections -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Rome.
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CURNOW: Staying in Italy, the world's famous gondolas of Venice are back. The city's canals are filled with gondoliers wearing protective masks and gloves as Italy announced are allowing some businesses to reopen. But tourists were in short supply.
The fight against COVID-19 may look odd in the future. The U.K. is going to see if specially trained dogs can sniff out the disease early before symptoms appear.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: This dog is being trained to detect prostate cancer. She is presented with urine samples and rewarded when she identifies the correct one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good girl.
FOSTER: This dog, is able to identify the odor of malaria sufferers. Their next mission here, is to train dogs to sniff out people infected with COVID-19.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way we're going to do that is by collecting using face masks and we're asking people to wear this face masks for a few hours and we carefully collect those. And the other thing we're going to do, is get people to wear nylon socks that sounds a bit strange, but we know from previous experience, that this is a real way of collecting odors from people in such an easy way to that.
FOSTER: If the training is successful, one of their first deployment is likely to be airports. Where dogs are already used to sniff out drugs and other contraband's. If they help reopen the travel industry, that could be the boost to international trade. That governments everywhere have been looking for -- Max Foster, CNN, outside London.
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CURNOW: You're watching CNN. Still to come, France and Germany propose a new plan to boost the European economy, details on a $500 billion initiative.
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CURNOW: I'm Robyn Curnow. It is 30 minutes past the hour. Thanks for joining me wherever you are in the world. Now the leaders of France and Germany have proposed a recovery fund to boost the European economy. The European Commission has welcomed their plan. It would offer $500 billion in grants to E.U. countries hit hardest by the pandemic. The money would eventually be repaid by all E.U. members. Well, Chancellor Angela Merkel says this crisis has transcended borders.
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ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR, GERMANY (through translator): We are both convinced that the only answer is if Europe acts together. The lone national state does not have a future. What is clear is that Germany can only be successful if Europe is successful. And that means peace, freedom, a strong economy, and prosperity.
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CURNOW: Well, the announcement gave European markets understandably an extra boost. Stocks closed sharply higher on Monday. There you go. Look at those numbers. I haven't seen that in a while. Investor confidence also rose as countries continue lifting restrictions.
Well, John Defterios joins me now from Abu Dhabi with more on all of that. A lot of green arrows pointing that way. We haven't seen that, especially for European stock. Investors are confident, hoping for economic recovery in the second half. I mean, is there a little bit of danger of getting ahead of yourself here?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Exuberance, that was the word I would use to describe that, Robyn. You're absolutely correct because the markets are not cheap, these price-earnings ratios. And they're pricing in smooth sailing here in the second half on a recovery. And we don't know about the snapback levels of the COVID-19 virus. That's the reality today.
But let's see why these markets rally because we have a lot of forces come together. You talk about the European recovery plan. That was stuck for a couple of months there because of the resistance of Angela Merkel, so it's positive that they did have a breakthrough. The number one and two economies Germany and France, coming together and being in an alignment.
And then the early signs of this act of vaccine trials that we've seen in the United States. We even had the U.S. Federal Reserve Board chief say that is again, a positive sear for rebuilding confidence going forward.
So the Asian markets have picked up where Europe and the United States left off. We're off the highs today, but still pretty decent gains. As you can see here, Tokyo, up around one and a half percent, sold the big gainer. China, Shanghai is struggling a bit because of the tensions between the U.S. and China and particularly Huawei, but Hong Kong again joins the rally.
Now, this package has been put together in Europe by Chancellor Merkel and Emmanuel Macron is over half a trillion dollars. 27 percent of that is going to be picked up by Germany. Again, Germany was reluctant, Robyn, to transfer the money from the core of Europe down to the south, Italy, Greece, and Spain.
We see Greece started open up the tourism, same thing, as Ben was reporting with Italy today. And by the way, Moderna, that stock company that's making the vaccine, the equity was up better than 20 percent in trading yesterday. It's based in Massachusetts. And again, because of a small trial, you can't get overly exuberant, but a pretty clear sign of positivity.
CURNOW: Yes, it certainly is. But that doesn't, you know, take away from the fact that we've seen these massive, massive unemployment rates, high jobless numbers, certainly hitting all aspects of the economy, consumer confidence as well, and are some serious warnings about how this will affect global trade. I mean, what do you think the damage is going to look like? It's hard to scenario a plan on this one.
DEFTERIOS: Yes, I think you hit this right on in terms of the tone, Robyn, because it's consumer confidence that has to rebuild and it's hard to do so. We could see jobless numbers in terms of unemployment claims, for example, in the United States of 50 million by the end of June.
Is the end of the second quarter the worst of it? That's what the market is pricing in at this stage. Moody's Investors Service was kind of aligned with the World Trade Organization saying we could see a drop in trade like we haven't seen for nearly 50 years. 13 percent on the low side, 32 percent on the high side, based on the fact there's going to be a consumer strike, because they don't have any money because the jobless rates are so high right now.
Also, we have to factor U.S.-China trade tensions. Also, we see China and Australia wrestling over trade and putting tariffs on Australian goods going into China particularly foreign products right now. We're going to hear from Jerome Powell, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chief, and Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary at the Senate.
We're going to listen very carefully whether it's more fundings needed. That's the position of Powell. Mnuchin has been resistant, saying we've already put in the $3 trillion. Let's let it play out. Let the opening of the economy come to bear before we add more money. You know, there's a house bill worth another $3 trillion, numbers we've never seen before in our lifetime.
CURNOW: No. A lot of money is swishing around there. Thanks so much. I appreciate it. John Defterios live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, John.
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DEFTERIOS: You bet.
CURNOW: So Apple is getting back to business but the shopping experience really it's more than 500 Global at locations promises to be rather, rather different. So far, we know 100 Apple stores around the world have reopened with extensive changes. Now you'll be matched with temperature checks at the door and you'll need to be wearing a face mask if you want to enter. The company says its China's doors have been open again for several weeks and they've learned what needs to be done in the new COVID era.
And as John mentioned, Australia's deteriorating relations with China are suffering another blow. Beijing has announced an 80 percent tariff on barley import. Australia's agricultural minister tell CNN affiliate Sky News that he's considering approaching the WTO, the World Trade Organization over that decision.
Well, let's go to Australia. Simon Cullen is standing by and stand open and you know, can talk us through with more and all of this. Certainly, at these trade tensions are significant.
SIMON CULLEN, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Robyn. They are. And it's crucial to point out though that Australia itself is not calling this a trade war. They have no interest in talking this off at the moment. Obviously, China is Australia's largest trading partner, so there is significant money involved.
But tensions as you say, between the two countries have already strained. That's because Australia has been lobbying for an international inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic. Now, these crippling tariffs on Australian barley were announced just hours after the Chinese President addressed the World Health Assembly yesterday to give his support to such an inquiry.
But both sides are saying that there is no link between the two issues. There's no link between the barley tariffs and coronavirus inquiry. But that hasn't stopped some lawmakers in Australia becoming concerned that these tariffs are economic payback for Australia's lobbying effort.
Now, the Trade Minister Simon Birmingham today said that he would appeal against the decision. He wouldn't retaliate. He would appeal against the decision to the World Trade Organization if necessary. Here's a little bit of what he had to say.
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SIMON BIRMINGHAM, TRADE MINISTER, AUSTRALIA: China's decision is one that does concern us deeply because it appears to have been based without a proper understanding of the facts or the evidence. It just doesn't stack up in terms of any analysis of Australian farming and our barley production.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CULLEN: So that's the trade minister Simon Birmingham speaking there. Now, barley exports to China, Robyn, are worth $600 million a year. China accounts for 50 percent of Australia's worldwide barley exports. So these types of tariffs would effectively shut down that market.
CURNOW: Yes. And what does this mean for Australian farmers? I mean, it was earlier on this year that they were really hit hard after that pretty brutal wildfire season. So how are they handling this new blow? Not easily, I'm sure.
CULLEN: Absolutely, Robyn. It's been a very difficult sort of six to 12 months for Australian farmers. And the National Farmers Federation here is urging Australian lawmakers to be diplomatic about how they deal with this latest stash. Of course, last week, we had China's announcement that it was suspending imports from four major beef producers. And that, of course, prompted renewed concern about the relationship between the two countries.
But all the -- all the voices in the farming industry here are urging caution. They also don't want to trade war, Robyn.
CURNOW: OK, Simon, thanks for that update there. I appreciate it. So a super cyclone is racing towards India and Bangladesh. Next up, how the two countries are preparing or trying to prepare for this natural disaster amid the global pandemic.
Then, the U.S. President fires a government watchdog because he says he's top diplomat wants him to. We'll explain what Mike Pompeo may have made staffers do and why President Trump has no problem with it.
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CURNOW: So, India is beginning mass evacuation efforts as a super cyclone strengthens to the strongest storm on record in the Bay of Bengal, as you can see from these sad images. It's expected to make landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh on Wednesday. The Cyclone is piling immense pressure on emergency services are already grappling with the coronavirus.
Well, let's go straight to Pedram Javaheri who joins me now with more on all of that. That is certainly a very ominous looking image on the screen by you.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: It is. It's a remarkable storm system not by just the sheer size. As you mentioned, the intensity of the storm, the strongest we've ever observed across the Bay of Bengal. And of course, this is among the most vulnerable areas, among the most lowest-lying areas there on the coastal communities where this storm system is poised to move in the direction of.
But you'll notice just east of Visakhapatnam at this hour, it is favoring that Western periphery there of the Bay of Bengal which has an element of good news associated with it. But notice the intensity of the storm and how rapidly it intensified in the last couple of days. A 24-hour increase of winds that went from about 140 kilometers per hour to the strongest on record at 270 kilometers per hour, a 129 KPH increase in intensity in just one day.
Now, the good news is because of that Western periphery on the Bay of Bengal and its interaction with the coastal communities on the eastern side of India there, it'll cause the storm system to weaken, take on some drier air, of course, at the expense of bringing in some heavy rainfall on that coastal region.
But the area of landfall, we think somewhere around Wednesday afternoon, around the West Bengal region. And Bangladesh, Kolkata, one of those areas where you could be looking at landfall again Wednesday afternoon here with a storm that could be anywhere from say, 150 to 175 kilometers per hour at landfall point there.
So this could be a category three equivalent system as it makes landfall across this region. And with that said, a storm surge of say four to five meters or essentially the top of say, a one storey buildings along the coastal regions here really going to inundate some of these coastal areas.
We know Bangladesh among the most densely populated nations on our planet, about 170 million people live here. You'll notice the rivers and tributaries, 24,000 kilometers of waterways around this region as well. So we're going to see a deluge here of heavy rainfall and a significant storm surge.
And of course, as you're well aware, Robyn, across this region of Cox's Bazar there in southern Bangladesh, it is home to the largest refugee camp in the world with about a million people residing there. So this is certainly going to throw an incredible wrench into the system here as the storm moves ashore on Wednesday afternoon.
CURNOW: Yes. And it's going to be difficult for people to try and stay safe. Thanks for that. Keep us posted throughout the week. Pedram Javaheri there, thank you. So here's some news. The FBI has linked the Saudi military trainee who killed three U.S. sailors to suspected al- Qaeda operative.
He was killed by law enforcement opening fire in a Florida military base last year, if you remember. Investigators just discovered the connection to al-Qaeda after cracking the encryption on his iPhones. According to the think tank, New America, this would be the first time since September the 11th that a foreign terrorist group trained or directed a deadly attack in the U.S.
And Donald Trump is elaborating on why he fired a U.S. government watchdog.
[02:45:09]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I don't know him at all. I never even heard of him. But I was asked to by the State Department, by Mike. I offered -- most of my people, almost all of them. I said, you know, these are Obama appointees, and if you'd like to let them go, I think you should let them go, but that's up to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: The State Department's ousted Inspector General was actually investigating where the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had staffers performing personal chores for him, but the president clearly thinks it's no big deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And now I have you telling me about dog-walking, washing dishes. And you know what, I'd rather have him on the phone with some world leader than have him washed dishes because maybe his wife isn't there or his kids aren't there. You know, what are you telling me? It's terrible. It's so stupid. You know how stupid that sounds to the world? Unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: But the alleged dishwashing a dog walking weren't the only reasons Pompeo was under investigation. Alex Marquardt now picks up the story. Alex?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been accused of refusing to sit down for an interview in an investigation by the recently fired Inspector General for the State Department Steve Linick. Linick, as far as we know, was carrying out at least two investigations into Secretary Pompeo. The one that he was just wrapping up had to do with $8 billion worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Linick was investigating Pompeo his role in fast-tracking that arms deal to Saudi Arabia at the time last year, the Trump administration had declared an emergency in order to circumvent Congress which had blocked arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Now, Secretary Pompeo was asked about the firing of Linick. He did not give an exact reason for why it was carried out but told the Post, I went to the president and made clear to him that Inspector General Linick wasn't performing a function in a way that we had tried to get him to that was additive for the State Department.
Now, there's also a second investigation Linick was carrying out, one of a more personal nature. He was investigating whether Secretary Pompeo had used a political appointee for personal tasks including walking his dog, making a dinner reservation, and picking up dry cleaning.
Now, Democrats in both the House and the Senate have launched an investigation into the firing to determine whether or not it was legal. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
CURNOW: Thanks Alex. So, you're watching CNN. Still to come. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELISITA JONES, NAVAJO MOTHER: I don't want to leave my kids behind because I had so much to do with life for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Surviving the virus in a Native American territory. How minority communities are reeling under the weight of the pandemic. That's next.
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CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robin Curnow. So here in the U.S. the Navajo Nation which spans Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah has surpassed New York and New Jersey with the highest coronavirus infection rates per capita. That's just the latest sign of the pandemics disproportionate impact on minority communities as Sara Sidner now reports.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The beauty of the Navajo Nation masks the vengeance coronavirus has exacted on its people even in the most remote places. In this household --
JONES: Out of nowhere, it came about and just went through us.
SIDNER: Felisita Jones is one of five people in her family who has contracted the virus that takes your breath away.
JONES: I was just -- but I didn't want to go to the hospital.
SIDNER: How afraid were you when you realized that your mom had it, that your sisters had it, and then you had it.
JONES: I don't want to leave my kids behind because I had so much to do with life for them. I have all together nine kids.
SIDNER: She didn't want to go to the hospital because too many people she knows never made it back home alive. This is one of the hospitals where members of the Navajo Nation would be brought if they needed to be in an ICU for example.
The nation is now reporting nearly 4,000 COVID-19 cases in a population of 175,000, which means they surpass New York and now have the highest infection rate per capita in the U.S. This is partly because the Navajo Nation says it's tested more people than any other state, 11 percent of its population. But unlike New York, just getting to a hospital with these kinds of resources can take hours.
KELLY MANUELITO, NURSE: It's really hard for them to get the care they need if they need to be intubated. They've got to have someone transport them from a facility to like Albuquerque. Phoenix is where we're starting to send people because our ICU is only eight beds. SIDNER: The Navajo Nation spans 27,000 square miles. There are no
short distances here, which is one of the difficulties with getting resources to all of its people with the exception of here. I'm standing in the four corners, where with one step, you can walk into four different states.
But with the vast distances, self-distancing might seem easy. It isn't. Because mostly everyone shops at the same stores.
JONATHAN NEZ, PRESIDENT, NAVAJO NATION: There are a lot of people living here.
SIDNER: The president of the Navajo Nation says infrastructure and resources long ago promised by the federal government were never realized. And now, there's a perfect scenario for the virus to spread.
NEZ: 30, 40 percent of our citizens here on the Navajo Nation don't have the luxury of turning on a faucet.
SIDNER: They don't have running water?
NEZ: They don't have running water.
SIDNER: Also, generations of families often live in one home. So, if someone gets the virus, isolation is often impossible, nevermind frequent hand washing.
NEZ: And we can change that with the help of the federal government.
SIDNER: For now, he's placed the strictness of measures on his people. 8:00 p.m. curfews on weekdays, and on weekends, a 57-hour lockdown. Not even the gas stations are open. And they're lucrative tourism and entire gaming industry are closed down until further notice.
JT WILLIE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NAVAJO NATION DIVISION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: We're talking more than tens and millions not just amongst the gaming, not just amongst the tourism, but also all of our other enterprises throughout the Navajo Nation.
SIDNER: The COVID-19 battle Native Americans are facing is just like the rest of the nation, except on their tribal lands, the suffering is more acute. 40 percent of families here already live below the poverty line. So when the tribal government traversed their nation handing out healthy food and bottled water --
Why is this important for me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me to eat, and my family to eat.
SIDNER: The line seemed endless. Many were gathering items to help others survive like Felisita Jones, still self-quarantining after a bout with COVID.
How are you feeling now?
JONES: Right now, I feel great. SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN in the Navajo Nation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks, Sarah, for that. Changing tack slightly, one of the world's most profitable football leagues will now take some tentative steps to get back to restarting the season. The English Premier League football teams will begin holding training sessions in small groups after all 20 clubs voted to do so. All professional football in England is currently suspended indefinitely and has been for months.
And as the U.S. economy struggles to survive in the new COVID era, the pandemic is breathing new life into a cultural classic. Our Tom Foreman shows us how the humble drive-in is once again becoming a haven for American movie lovers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even with Virginia rain coming steadily down --
JAMES KOPP, DRIVE-IN OPERATOR: I hate it when that looks like this.
FOREMAN: Business is up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. Which movie?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Invisible Man.
FOREMAN: -- for James Kopp's Drive-in Theater.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, what's the first name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right-hand lane.
FOREMAN: Just in the nick of time.
KOPP: Small business is a self-won. If it wasn't for my retirement accounts, we would -- we would not be able to put a show on. People are seeing it as a safe environment, a safe way to come out to see the movie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which movie?
[02:55:04]
FOREMAN: With traditional cinemas in Hollywood itself reeling from lost income, drive-ins appear to be offering a rare and surging bright spot for the industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh man, we got online ticket from TicketLeap.
FOREMAN: And for fans --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We drove from Washington D.C.
FOREMAN: -- weary of sheltering at home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe about an hour to get here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the first time out of the house in a couple weeks.
FOREMAN: Drive-ins were started way back in the early 1900s as an alternative to the stuffy cramped conditions in some early theatres. They boomed in the 50s and 60s, then fell into decades of decline. But now that old idea, complete with popcorn, suddenly seems new --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You must provide space between that vehicle.
FOREMAN: -- and needed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely worked out in this pandemic time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're six feet away and, you know, we can -- we can stay in our cars if we need to.
FOREMAN: And not just for movies. Country star Keith Urban days ago staged a tribute concert to health care workers at a drive-in.
KEITH URBAN, SINGER: God bless the health care workers.
FOREMAN: Suggesting live entertainment may find a home in the automotive amphitheaters too.
URBAN: Well, first of all, thank God the drive-ins is still happening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of the essential workers out there --
FOREMAN: At Kopp's, moviegoers expressed their support for hospital staffers with a blast of horns. Then the light faded, the projector came alive, and for at least a little while, people sat apart but felt close. And in the dark, the future seemed brighter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It helps to make things seem not as bad in the world.
KOPP: To me, it's like, yes. Oh, my goodness. It's like we're back here. We're bringing the community back together. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American drive-in theater rides again.
FOREMAN: They're still practicing social distancing, telling people to stay apart. They're limiting the number of people who come in. People have to make advance reservations. But for a lot of people, this is a really good option for a night out after so many nights in. Tom Foreman, CNN, Bethesda, Maryland.
CURNOW: It certainly is. Thanks to Tom and his little CNN pillow there. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks for joining me. I'll be back the same time tomorrow. The latest news is just ahead with my colleague Rosemary Church. You're watching CNN. Don't go anywhere.
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