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Kremlin Denies Putin Received Experimental Vaccine; Effects of COVID-19 Can Be Felt for Months; U.K. Suspends Hong Kong Extradition Treaty; Dominic Thiem Says He'll Play in U.S. Open. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired July 21, 2020 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, another potential vaccine for the coronavirus appears safe and effective after human trials.
Around the world, it seems wearing a mask has become a way to show our true selves.
And after his secret police cause chaos in Portland, the U.S. president says Chicago is next.
Also to come this hour on CNN NEWSROOM, the long term prognosis for COVID-19 survivors. What we do and don't know about the long term impact on the human body.
I'm John Vause. We begin with the breakthrough why British scientists and their vaccine candidate for coronavirus. After the first round of human trials, their experimental vaccine appears to be safe while inducing a immune response.
Human trials from other vaccine makers have produced similar outcomes. But researchers say it is too soon to know if the vaccine is safe for widespread use. As the number of cases continues to rise, 15 million reported worldwide, so too is pressure to develop a working vaccine. Researchers from Oxford partnered with the drugmaker AstraZeneca to say that, if all goes well, the candidate could be ready by the end of the year. CNN's Anna Stewart has details.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Promising results, the vaccine being developed here by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. This was phase one and two of human trials. There are over 1,000 people on the study. It showed a strong immune response in terms of antibodies and T-cells. There were some side effects.
That's not uncommon actually and we've seen that in other phase one results from other candidate vaccines. What is so promising about this one is that it's one of just three that has already entered phase three of human trials.
AstraZeneca, which has partnered with the University of Oxford, says that it could produce the first vaccine as early as September. And it plans to make hundreds of millions of doses by the end of the year if successful. Two billion doses by end of next year.
They've already reached an agreement with the E.U., the U.K., the U.S., India, and developing nations through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations or CEPI, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Serum Institute of India to ensure that this vaccine is distributed all around the world -- Anna Stewart, CNN, Oxford.
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VAUSE: Adrian Hill, a lead researcher from Oxford, says that even if a vaccine is developed, we still have a long way to go until this pandemic is contained.
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ADRIAN HILL, OXFORD RESEARCHER: I think getting a grip on coronavirus will be next year and having a vaccine distributed hopefully will be before the end of this year. Remember, distributed is anything from producing 1 million doses to 2 billion doses. And as soon as we can get efficacy results that are positive, the faster we can scale up.
So I think it is likely that we will know by the end of this year or a few months before that, that some vaccine works. Having hundreds of millions of doses immediately afterwards is unlikely; millions, certainly; tens of millions possibly. But it is going to be a graded response.
So we are going to have to prioritize certain populations, maybe the older population or maybe people who are first responders.
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VAUSE: And Hill says they want to test the virus in the United States because infection rates here are continuing to soar.
With more than 360,000 cases, Florida is one of the worst-hit states in the U.S. Despite that, the governor is pushing for schools to reopen this fall. But now educators are suing the government to prevent classrooms from opening too soon. CNN's Nick Watt has more on that, as well as how local leaders are managing this crisis.
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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): ... be a better option because ...
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NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): In Florida, the governor was heckled today. Florida's average death toll doubled these past two weeks. Monete Hicks lost two of her children to COVID-19, Byron Francis and Mychaela, in the space of 11 days.
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MONETE HICKS, LOST SON AND DAUGHTER TO CORONAVIRUS: Honestly, I can't say where they got this virus from because they basically was homebound. I mean only thing I'd say we went to Orlando for a vacation and all of a sudden they came home sick. Wear your mask. If you don't have to come out, stay home.
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WATT (voice over): But the governor still won't mandate masks. So in Miami, the city will fine those with uncovered faces.
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DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: It's bizarre that we have turned the mask wearing into something political. Imagine you were an alien coming to planet Earth, you would be totally astounded, puzzled, amazed. You'd wonder what is going on here?
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WATT (voice over): Nationally, we're now seeing three times the number of new cases every day compared to mid June and nearly 60,000 Americans are right now hospitalized with COVID-19. Getting close to the grim record set back in April.
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ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, M.D., ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH: There is no question that we're having a surge right now. It really is all hands on deck. This is serious, but we know how to stop this.
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WATT (voice over): And in this graph, there might be some optimism. Average new case counts are flattening just a little in our hotspots; California, Arizona, Florida and Texas. Let's hope that holds. A possible reason ...
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since the mask order went into place, I have seen more people in my community who are wearing masks, who are doing more social distancing. I think some of these individual behavior changes are driving some of the improvement that we're seeing.
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WATT (voice over): As New York City moves into phase four opening today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a message aimed at young party goers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): I'm telling you in plain New York speak as a born and bred New Yorker, it's stupid what you're doing. It is stupid. Don't be stupid. What they're doing is stupid and reckless for themselves and for other people, and it has to stop.
WATT: And he has a message for police departments. Make people wear masks.
CUOMO: They have to enforce the law. That is the only line between anarchy and civilization.
WATT: Here in Los Angeles County, four days in the past week we've set a new record for the number of people in the hospital with COVID. The mayor here is saying we're on the brink of going back to stay-at- home orders. And the governor of California says that across the whole state, the next few weeks are going to be critical -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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VAUSE: Finally, after months of divine science and the advice of his own health experts, the U.S. president tweeted on Monday a stark black and white photo of himself wearing a mask.
"Many people say that it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance and there's nobody more patriotic than me, your favorite president."
Yes, that's the same president who gave tacit encouragement to some to lash out angrily at the idea that somehow wearing a mask is a threat to their freedom.
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DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: I am pleading with your viewers, I'm begging you, please understand that we are not trying to take away your freedoms when we say wear a face covering.
And we are not trying to take away your ability to go out when we say keep restaurant capacity under 50 percent. We are saying, if we do these things, we can actually open and stay open.
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VAUSE: The White House plans to restart the daily coronavirus task force meetings and briefings on Tuesday. They stopped back in April when Mr. Trump repeatedly found himself sparring with reporters and going off on tangents, like injecting disinfectant to fight the virus.
This comes as U.S. lawmakers prepare for big negotiations over a massive economic stimulus package. Some Senate Republicans are splitting with the White House over key points of the plan, meaning President Trump wants to block new money for COVID-19 testing and tracing.
That's aside from the fact that Republicans and Democrats are not even close to agreeing on how to stimulate the economy and help American citizens, health workers as well as business owners.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: For the sake of our nation, if we want to continue helping the American people in the next several weeks, we will need to look a lot more like March and a lot less like June.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Leader McConnell three times tried to force a partisan bill down the Senate's throat and it backfired every time. The Republican bill not come close, not even come close to meeting the moment of this great crisis.
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VAUSE: The U.S. president and surgeon general did not see the need to mandate mask wearing. Other countries and some companies do. France is now requiring masks in all indoor spaces. Violators could be fined $150.
Same for Walmart, the largest U.S. retailer. The company says its health ambassadors will stand at the entrances to its door and try to enforce those rules. Each country is taking a different approach to slow the spread and our correspondents point out there are a multitude of factors at play here. We start with Eleni Giokos in South Africa.
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: I'm Eleni Giokos in Johannesburg. And here in South Africa, if you walk outside without a mask, you will not only get a disapproving look but it's also mandatory.
So whether you're walking in the streets, going back to school on in a mall like this one, you have to wear a face mask. And you're reminded of it by these signs: social distancing, sanitizing and even stores controlling the number of people that are allowed to enter at any one time.
When you enter a store, you are greeted with a spray of sanitizer and you have to be wearing a mask or you're asked to leave. No legal action can be taken against you if you don't adhere to the rule. But government is now considering taking legal action against store owners and managers as well as taxi drivers that allow people on their premises without a mask.
They could face jail time and even a fine. Now South Africans have largely been adhering to this rule as we head into the peak. We currently have over 320,000 cases of COVID-19 in the country. As for the president, he happily wears a mask in public, even before live broadcasts, driving the message home.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matt Rivers in Mexico City, which has begun to reopen in earnest, places like restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, markets all allowed to reopen. Although there are some restrictions.
For example, all of those places have capacity restrictions and many places are required to take temperatures and also give out hand sanitizer upon entry.
A lot of businesses are putting pads like this one with a bleach mixture there that you have to step on before you walk inside. But perhaps, most importantly is that any business that wants to reopen is required to have their customers wear masks.
It's mandated citywide, which can go a long way when you're talking about being in Mexico City, the hardest hit area of the entire country. Having been all over this massive city recently, I can tell you that mask wearing, it's not the political issue that we are seeing in other places like the U.S.
There's no major movement against masks here, people have largely adopted them as part of this new normal that we are all in. And that is a good thing because the outbreak here in Mexico has shown no major signs of slowing down -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Will Ripley in central Hong Kong. This is a very busy retail and business district and you can see that it's pretty much business as usual. But one thing you notice whenever you step outside, everyone is wearing a mask.
It's hard to find somebody who is not. You can get a fine if you're not wearing a mask on public transportation. And they're expanding those requirements possibly to include areas around town.
There are other precautions that people are taking, which has seen its biggest spike to date. Every time you walk into a business, you get a temperature check and there's also hand sanitizer at the door.
These are the businesses that they are allowed to stay open. There are a lot that are closed right now, like restaurants after 6 pm for dine in service, bars are closed, gyms are close, even Hong Kong Disneyland, all in an attempt to keep the virus from spreading even more in the city.
They're also upping testing, 10,000 people a day as they try to locate and isolate the COVID-19 cases and keep the outbreak from spreading out of control in this densely populated city.
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VAUSE: Breaking news from Brussels: the E.U. has agreed on a massive financial package to stimulate the economy hit hard by a pandemic induced recession. Leaders agreed on an unprecedented budget, over $2 trillion , that includes more than $850 billion in grants and loans.
And more from John Defterios joining us live for all this.
This took a while but they got a pretty big package in E.U. history.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: As you suggested, it did not take as planned but 5 days to grind it all out. And the challenge is that the European Union structure, 27 member states, that all have to agree.
So at the end of the day, it's the largest package that they put together, $2 trillion , $850 billion for the COVID-19 recovery plan. And as a sigh of relief, the European Council president put out one word on social media, "Deal!" with an exclamation point.
Putting his formal comments, saying, it's a strong deal and one that Europe needed to do right now because there was a logjam over the balance between grants to less developed member states or loans.
They started with the grants at a 2:1 ratio versus the loans and they almost went to a 50-50 split. We had major divides between the north and the south, the so-called frugal four from the north, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Sweden.
And they wanted some governance on the money that was going to the less developed states, Italy, Spain, Greece and Cyprus.
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DEFTERIOS: They obviously had to work out that language to say, if we give you grants, how are you using them?
If you break the rules, will there be any fines?
I find it fascinating with the European Union structures and I've covered many summits in the past, it ends up on the core of Europe, Germany and France, with Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron having served as the bridge builders between north and south and they got there.
You can't forget that this is a recession of 6-7 patient, so credibility was on the line. You need to get some cash injected into the system. But it's also, John, very important in 2020, ahead of Brexit in 2021, that Europe stays united and sends a signal to the rest of the world but also the U.K., we are not busting up here during the most challenging times. We can put a deal together.
VAUSE: Basically it's being sold as a win for E.U. unity but who pays for it?
DEFTERIOS: Well, they have this huge budget and they are working on a multi year plan for the budget. But it's similar to the United States, that, at the end of the day, the taxes will probably go up in each one of the member states. But they needed to stimulate the less developed countries, that have
the strain on the medical systems. And they did their own domestic program but they needed to have that E.U. wide system, for the wealthier states, to give money to the poor states.
That's what they delivered. But there are caveats. The frugal four held out until the very end to say we have to have the right governance so it's not cash going out with no credibility.
VAUSE: John Defterios, thank you for being with us and we will catch up to you next hour.
Brazil is second only to the U.S. in confirmed cases and fatalities. And as Matt Rivers reports, other countries are also seeing a dramatic surge.
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RIVERS: Well, the death toll, as a result of this coronavirus in Brazil, has now topped 80,000 for the first time, according to health officials in that country. The overall number of confirmed cases is now more than 2.1 million.
Of those cases, we know two Brazilian ministers -- it was on Monday that both the Brazilian minister of education and the minister of citizenship, announced that they had each tested positive for the coronavirus.
And they join their boss, President Bolsonaro, who has himself tested positive for the virus. Despite that, for the last few days, we have seen the president walk on the grounds in front of the presidential palace in Brasilia, where he was greeting supporters from a distance.
Meanwhile in South American neighbor, Colombia, concerning trends that we have our eye on, in terms of newly confirmed deaths and cases. Colombia has passed 200,000 cases for the first time, as weekly averages. Both newly confirmed cases and deaths continue to be at all- time highs.
And in the Caribbean, in the country of the Dominican Republic, the president there said he was imposing a state of emergency for the next 45 days as a result of this virus. He didn't say what specific measures would be going into place. But we do know officials have closed beaches recently because of concerns of the spread of the virus.
But it's not just the Dominican Republic, the DR borders Haiti, another country the World Health Organization says has seen a significant increase in cases recently and they expect them to continue as the border area between the Dominican Republic and Haiti continues to be of grave concern -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
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VAUSE: Well, a threat from President Trump, his unidentified secret police and their violent tactics against protesters consume the (INAUDIBLE) Chicago as well as other Democratic-run cities. More on that we come back.
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VAUSE: Well, there is growing opposition from local officials in Portland, Oregon, to the presence of federal troops on the streets of their cities. Mostly peaceful protests have been taking place for weeks.
But the Department of Homeland Security describes those incidents as acts of violence and terrorism. So Trump had sent in troops from the Department of Homeland Security and the Prisons Department, I believe, as well as the Customs and Border Enforcement Agency.
So joining us for more on this is former CIA operative, Bob Baer.
Bob, the Department of Homeland Security, this is a massive organization which was made in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. On its website, it has a mission statement, "With honor and integrity we will safeguard the American people, our homeland and our values."
So for the past week or so in Portland, one person was shot in the head with what's called a "less lethal round" and required facial reconstruction surgery.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing?
Use your words, what are you doing?
VAUSE (voice-over): Then these same troops, refused to identify themselves when they were arresting protesters and then they beat a retired Navy veteran when he was asking a simple question. Here he is.
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CHRIS DAVID, U.S. NAVY (RET.): I stood in the street, in front and I started asking them if they thought it was OK to violate their oath of Constitution. They kept hitting me with batons and I think they decided that wasn't going to work, so they took two pepper spray hits, I think I took. And that ended that. That was not fun.
They are playing me up as an Iron Man and a Superman and that's not all -- I'm a 53-year-old overweight man on blood thinners and I have a lot of physical damage from my time in the military. I'm not made of steel at all.
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VAUSE: You know what is happening in Portland cannot be further from the original aim of the HHS and its mission statement. And there are some serious ramifications coming for this election.
BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: John, I think we can see where things are going. This is the beginning of martial law. There's no other way to describe it. The paranoid, months ago, said this was coming and it's here.
The president has the full authority to send in Homeland Security or the military into Portland and other cities. And apparently this is what he intends to do.
You know, frankly, John, this reminds me of Egypt, you know, during the Arab Spring, when the military went in and just took over, closed down the riots.
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BAER: We are heading in a bad way.
VAUSE: You say they had a right to go in but they operated under this mandate to protect federal property from graffiti.
Is this what the DHS is set up to do?
BAER: Oh, absolutely not. It was to protect us from terrorism, that was it was for. It was set up after 9/11 and it was to coordinate information and responses. And all these agencies were put under there to protect us but not to turn against civilian population.
And, John, I've got to say something that really bothers me is the way these guys were dressed. They've taken their uniforms from Special Forces, from Delta Force and the SEALs. I mean, they are there for combat, not for riot control.
VAUSE: I want you to listen to how the president warned other cities that they would be next.
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TRUMP: We're looking at Chicago ,too. We're looking at New York, look at what's going on. All run by Democrats. This is worse than Afghanistan by far. This is worse than anything anyone's ever seen.
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VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) this guy just say whatever pops into his head, no matter how stupid it is?
BAER: Well, he is clearly losing his mind and this is what is so scary. He will not give up this election, even though when he is thoroughly beat. He will not leave that office and, I hate to say this, but under force he will. That's the only way. And he contested the 2016 election which he won.
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BAER: So what is he going to do when he loses? He will simply say there was fraudulent voting and he's going to -- the guarantee act -- the guarantee clause of the Constitution, he's going to say it wasn't fair. This is the way it is heading. He will not leave that office peacefully. I truly believe that.
And if you listen to the acting deputy Homeland Security secretary, Ken Cuccinelli, you get a hint of that. Because he laid out terms, when troops would be sent in and when they would leave. Here he is.
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KEN CUCCINELLI, ACTING DIRECTOR, CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES: We will maintain our presence. When the violence recede and the threats recede, that's when we would ratchet back down to what I would call normal presence, defending and protecting federal facilities.
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VAUSE: They have a situation where the mayor, the governor and (INAUDIBLE) had these federal forces come in and make the violence worse and then Cuccinelli says I'll decide when there is calm and they will leave.
BAER: Well, John look, he said in meetings in the White House -- and I have this from a reliable source -- I'm going to burn the place down if I have to, i.e. the United States. I truly believe he's heading there.
It just sounds terribly alarmist but every action he's taken in the last couple days is heading that way. And we are heading for a constitutional crisis.
VAUSE: While the attorney general of Oregon is now suing the administration and the mayor is also warning all Americans and they said he could be next. You know, in some ways this is sort of the Pinocheting of the United States.
BAER: It is Pinochet. I mean he is going in and he said it, he's going after Democratic cities. It's not the cause of the virus, he's going after peaceful protesters and you know these cities are not out of control.
Yes, there is some rioting but he didn't go after Charlottesville, after the white supremacists started killing people there. It is very clear, where he is heading.
VAUSE: And the legal justification for this, it just seems to escape me, you know there is this edict that attorney general Bill Barr signed, the protection of monuments and federal property and the executive order that the president signed.
And that is basically the authority to go in but they're going way beyond the perimeter, of these federal properties. That surely can't be legal.
BAER: It is illegal, they've lifted habeas corpus, they've been picking people up, not reading people their Miranda rights, holding them for indefinite periods and letting them go without telling them what they've been charged with.
This is a flat violation of the Constitution. It doesn't seem to matter. He has the attorney general he wants and he has the rest of the country, frankly, intimidated and no one right now is standing up.
And these demonstrations, these peaceful demonstrations are going to turn violent. And when they are confronted by federal troops, dressed like soldiers and are shooting lethal weapons at them. It's inevitable, this is the way these things always go. And someone has to stand down very fast or we are in a lot of trouble.
VAUSE: Does it get to the point where these federal troops can be confronted by a state no-deal or a local police force or some kind of standard?
BAER: You know it's usually called a civil war, when the police start firing at the military and federal forces. God help us if that happens, because when the violence starts, who is going to stop it?
VAUSE: Is that possible, a possibility?
BAER: Yes, I never thought I would say that about our country, I thought it was impossible. I always thought that happened other places that weren't as strong as we were constitutionally or democratically.
But now it is getting worse by the day, John, that's what scary. And that's what's bothering me and who is going to stop it?
This man is determined to hold on to that office and if he has to incite riots in the cities and declare martial law, he will.
VAUSE: You were right a couple of months ago and we talked about this, you're right a couple weeks ago and I hope you're wrong now.
BAER: Thank you.
VAUSE: Thanks, Bob.
Well, investigators say the man who shot a federal judge's family over the weekend has killed himself. Den Hollander, himself a lawyer, posed as a delivery man opened fired at the home of Judge Esther Solis in New Jersey.
Solis was not injured but her husband, a former prosecutor, was wounded and their 20 year old son was killed. Den Hollander's body was found on Monday. Authorities say he shot himself.
He had called himself an anti-feminist lawyer, who argued one case for Solis and disparaged her online.
The speculation around the vaccine program in Russia, is like something out of the original 007 franchise. The latest plot twist in Vladimir Putin getting an experimental jab himself.
Also ahead, unraveling one of the mysteries of COVID-19, why some patients are still having trouble months down the road.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Russia has the fourth highest total of COVID-19 cases in the world, nearly 800,000. And the country's race to develop a vaccine has attracted a lot of suspicion.
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CNN's Matthew Chance reports.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, denial from the Kremlin that Vladimir Putin has been given an experimental coronavirus vaccine being developed in a secretive Russian lab. His official spokesman telling reporters, quote, "It probably wouldn't be very good if the head of state used an uncertified vaccine."
The question came amid speculation that members of Russia's political and business elite are being given early access to a trial vaccine before it's been made available to the general public. The Kremlin says it's not aware of reports that heads of large companies took part in testing the vaccinations.
But the head scientist who created a Russian vaccine says that he injected it himself before human trials officially began. And one senior Russian official in charge of funding much of it, Russia's vaccine research, told CNN he had also taken it, along with this elderly parents.
KIRIL DMITRIEV, CEO, RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: Yes, Matthew, exactly. I injected myself, and I injected two of my 74-year-old parents. We developed very strong antibody level. We are now several times the antibody level of a person who actually just had COVID. We can actually be, officially, plasma donors. And this is how much confidence we have in this vaccine.
CHANCE: And what negative side effects have you and your parents experienced?
DMITRIEV: Frankly, not really. There was a little bit of a high temperature, around 7 (ph) degrees on day one of the first injection. But otherwise, everything was very normal and regular.
CHANCE: Well, all of this amid allegations denied by the Kremlin that Russia hacked into U.S., British and Canadian research labs, fueling concerns that it's cutting corners in a rush to produce a vaccine.
Russian officials say their rapid progress is because their vaccine is just a modified version of an approved older drug, used to protect against other diseases.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: One thing is becoming increasingly clear about the coronavirus. For some, once they've had COVID-19, the symptoms can linger: pain, fatigue, trouble breathing. Just some of the problems that patients say they've experienced for months. Now doctors are racing to find out why.
CNN's Isa Soares has this report.
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ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Emiliano Pescarolo is taking each day one breath at a time. With every exercise, a chance for this professional diver to train the muscles in his chest, which have been weakened by COVID-19.
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EMILIANO PESCAROLO, RECOVERING FROM COVID-19: The strength is less than before, so if you go for a walk, you have to take two or three hours to rest later.
SOARES: Three months since he contracted the virus --
PESCAROLO: Even simple things like walking for a couple of miles, it's like running a marathon.
SOARES: And after spending 17 days in hospital --
PESCAROLO: I cannot do the same things I've done in the past.
SOARES: He needs to pause to catch his breath.
He's one of dozens of COVID-19 patients being evaluated by a team of doctors at this rehabilitation institute in Genoa, Italy. And while the peak of infection may have passed here, medical professionals are only now coming to grips with the long-term effects of the virus.
DR. PIERO CLAVARIO, DIRECTOR, ASI 3 COVID REHABILITATION CENTRE, GENOA: COVID patients, they have three main problems. The first one could be the lung problems, and this is the fear of most of the doctors. But the other one, less known, probably, is the loss of strength, the fatigue that they very easily feel. And the -- the last one is the psychological problems.
SOARES: As in Italy, here in the U.K., Professor Chris Brightling, who is leading a major study into the long-term effects of COVID-19, tells me he's also been seeing patients with fatigue and chronic pain but is now investigating other potential conditions.
CHRIS BRIGHTLING, PROFESSOR OF RESPIRATORY MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER: It might be that they actually develop new problems, such as scarring on the lungs. And in some people, we've also observed that the blood becomes more sticky, making them more prone to getting clots, which can then occur in the lungs and in the brain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands and thousands of us have been struggling --
SOARES: This is all very unsettling for people who have suffered for months on end with the virus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of us have been held throughout, with others having relapses.
SOARES: This video, made by an 8,000-strong Facebook support group, who are calling rehab, research, as well as recognition.
CLAUDIA DE FREITAS, SENIOR INTENSIVE CARE NURSE: As you can see --
SOARES: Senior intensive care nurse Claudia de Freitas is one of them.
DE FREITAS: Good things about today will be, made it through the day.
SOARES: Like so many others, she's been meticulously jotting down her symptoms since she first fell ill with a cough and chest pains in mid- March.
DE FREITAS: I felt like I was going to have a cardiac arrest. That's how I felt, the way that my heart was. And I get quite upset, because it just takes you back to --
SOARES: It's clearly been a very long and difficult medical journey for Claudia.
DE FREITAS: You just get -- sorry.
SOARES: Four months on since the onset of her symptoms, she tells me she's finally coming out of it.
(on camera): Are you feeling better now?
DE FREITAS: I still have the chest pains, but very mild. But I feel much better. So I think I'm recovering.
SOARES (voice-over): Like so many others, she hopes this will be the end of the battle with suspected COVID-19. But with so much we don't know about this virus, research into its long-term consequences can't come soon enough.
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining me now, Dr. Zijian Chen, medical director for Mount Sinai Center for Post-COVID Care; and Dr. David Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System.
DR. DAVID PUTRINO, DIRECTOR OF REHABILITATION INNOVATION, MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM: Thanks for having us.
DR. ZIJIAN CHEN, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, MOUNT SINAI CENTER FOR POST-COVID CARE: Thank you for having us. VAUSE: You're welcome. Now, we have this desire in our world. We like
to order everything, and it seems with COVID-19, we have two columns. There are those who die and those who recover.
But Dr. Chen, first to you. Recovery doesn't actually mean a full recovery, doesn't? It seems more like they didn't die. And for some patients, the effects of COVID-19 can linger for a very long time. So I'm wondering, what are you finding out? Who does this mostly affect, and do you have, like, a number of patients who may see these long- term effects?
CHEN: I mean, that's absolutely correct. There are now, we think, three groups of patients for COVID-19. The ones who are succumbing to COVID-19, and then there are patients who recover completely. And then what we're seeing, as we have more clinical experiences, a very large group of patients that have lingering effects from the COVID infection.
We've been seeing patients for months now since the peak in New York City. And what we're seeing is that there are many patients with, you know, many different symptoms, post-infection, including pulmonary, cardiac and neurological symptoms. And the more -- the more patients we see, the -- you know, the range of symptoms that they have are ever increasing.
VAUSE: And Dr. Putrino, I guess the assumption would be that those who had the most severe symptoms would face the longest road to recovery, but that's not necessarily the case. I think there's been some recent studies which suggest that those who suffer the mild symptoms are the ones who are likely to see symptoms to last longer. Do we know why that is?
PUTRINO: Yes, that's correct. We -- we're suddenly seeing -- seeing the people who are experiencing long-term symptoms sort of spreading out into two tales. There are other people who had very severe symptoms and are now deconditioned and need to slowly recover, and we are working with that group of individuals.
[00:40:12]
But there's also a new group that has been emerging that we're getting more and more evidence around every day. And this is a group of individuals that had mild to moderate symptoms. Maybe, you know, they weren't too concerned about their symptoms when they were in it, but following recovery, they started to develop a new set of symptoms. And these symptoms are really troubling.
They're experiencing high heart rates. They're experiencing extreme fatigue. All sorts of G.I. symptoms, all sorts of breathlessness and dizziness and changes -- rapid changes in blood pressure. And all sorts of very scary signs and symptoms.
And this is a group of people who were young, previously healthy, and you know, this level of debilitation is very new to them.
VAUSE: Dr. Chen, to you. How important is it to know the difference here between long-term effects from treating the disease, like lung damage from being on a ventilator, compared to the shortness of breath which Dr. Putrino is talking about, which is very common amongst lots of others?
CHEN: Well, we need to know the difference. Because, you know, this is something that's completely unexpected. For patients that are admitted to the ICU, we do expect that some -- some of them will have long- lingering disease form their ICU stay.
However, when we look at these patients who have mild symptoms, as Dr. Putrino described, it's very unexpected from them to have very, very long-term symptoms. And because of that, we need to identify these patients and give them the appropriate treatment.
And we need to identify them, because sometimes it's unexpected for the general public to have mild disease and then, you know, have these long lingering symptoms. So part of it is about educating the public to know that some of their symptoms may be treatable.
VAUSE: You know, the U.S. defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, years ago, who was talking about the limits of U.S. intelligence, he told reporters there are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. So Dr. Putrino, is there -- When you look at the unknown unknowns, you know, is there a concern out there which keeps you up at night?
PUTRINO: Well, I mean, we're learning every day. And I think that the main message that has to go out to both patients and to doctors is all of this is unknown. We're slowly learning. We're -- we're all learning together.
And in cases of new diseases emerging, I think it is so important that we go right back to basics, which is listening to patients when they come in and they tell us what their lived experience is. Patients being patient with doctors when a doctor is sort of scrambling to find a proper intervention for a patient, because they've never seen what they're seeing before.
I think that there are a lot of unknowns in our path, and we really just need to work together to grow our body of knowledge as quickly as possible so that we can treat all of these new signs and symptoms that are emerging from COVID.
VAUSE: And last question for Dr. Chen. We're almost out of time. But the -- we're looking at a couple of promising vaccines being developed right now. Do we know what effect a developed vaccine would have on people with those long-term symptoms?
CHEN: I mean, currently, the knowledge of these vaccines is, you know, very limited at best, because many of the vaccines are still under early human trials, if they are even in human trials.
And given that, we don't know what their effect on -- will be on the initial infection, let alone these long-lasting symptoms. That -- and that's the unfortunate thing that we will not find out until we have the vaccine. VAUSE: We'll put that in the unknown unknown category.
Dr. Chen and Dr. Putrino, thank you so much for being with us. And thank you for your work, too. It's very much appreciated.
PUTRINO: Thank you for having us.
CHEN: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, the U.K. suspends its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. The British foreign minister has some strong words, as China warns Britain will pay the price.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:46:59]
VAUSE: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in London and will talk pandemic, China and Hong Kong with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson.
The U.K. has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and will no longer export lethal weapons to the region. That's after Beijing passed a controversial national security bill which effectively increases the mainland's control over Hong Kong, a breach of the so- called one-country, two systems, which was the basis of the 1997 handover deal with Britain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: The specific measures I've announced today are a reasonable and proportionate response to China's failure to live up to those international obligations with respect to Hong Kong, and I commend this statement to the House.
There remains considerable uncertainty about the way in which the new national security law will be enforced. I would just say this. The United Kingdom is watching, and the whole world is watching.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong for us.
Kristie, last week, harsh words for the United States. This week Beijing is telling London to mind its own business or else.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We heard immediately from China's embassy in London, criticizing the British government over its actions, calling it gross interference over China's internal affairs.
On Monday, the British government announced that it would end an extradition treaty with Hong Kong over fears that anyone extradited from the U.K. to Hong Kong could be easily handed over to mainland China under the new national security law. Also on Monday, we learned that the British government plans to extend
an arms embargo that's been in place since 1989 with China. They plan to extend it to Hong Kong, which would stop the export of items including smoke grenades and firearms.
We heard that criticism from the Chinese embassy in London. Additional criticism from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. Listen to what its spokesperson said on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANG WENBIN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): We urge the U.K. not to make further steps down the wrong path in order to avoid further damage to the bilateral relations. I would also like to add that China will make resolute reaction to actions that interfere in China's internal affairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: As tension rises, we know that the U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is in London for a two-day meeting. He plans to meet with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, as well as the prime minister of the United Kingdom.
A number of items on the agenda, including coronavirus, trade, but China is definitely at the top. Secretary Pompeo is expected to congratulate the U.K. for its recent ban on Huawei 5G products, as well as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the controversial national security law.
In fact, Secretary Pompeo plans to meet with Chris Patten. That meeting to take place later today. He is, of course, the last colonial governor of Hong Kong, who has been very vocal about the perceived erosion of autonomy here in Hong Kong.
He's also called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator.
Secretary Pompeo also expected to meet with Nathan Law. He's the student activist, the former lawmaker, as well as the pro-democracy activist who fled Hong Kong to go to the U.K., effectively living there in exile on the back of that new national security law -- John.
[00:50:09]
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. It should be an interesting meeting for Mike Pompeo, and Boris Johnson and everybody else. We'll see what happens.
Our Kristie Lu Stout there, live for us in Hong Kong.
Well, Israelis will soon receive about 200 --
Israelis will soon receive about $220 in coronavirus relief. That's from the government. Critics say only those in need should be receiving financial assistance, but the Israeli government has been under pressure from protesters, unhappy with the way it's handled the virus as a second wave of infections crosses the country. Now on Tuesday, restaurant owners plan to rally for looser
restrictions for indoor dining.
Well, no fans in the stands, but a national treasure will be on the mound when Major League Baseball finally gets back this week. We'll tell you who's throwing out the ceremonial first pitch when we come back.
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VAUSE: Welcome back. The National Football League in the U.S. has reached a deal with the players' union on COVID-19 testing. Players will be screened at the start of training camp, tested daily for two weeks. After that, the league might move to testing every other day.
A league source tells CNN every player will need to test negative multiple ties before entering team facilities.
Teams report to training camps a week from today.
The world's third-ranked tennis player says he knows what he'll be doing in August. Dominic Thiem says he has every intention to play in the U.S. Open. Fresh off an exhibition victory in Germany, Thiem spoke to CNN's Patrick Snell about tennis in the age of coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOMINIC THIEM, WORLD #3 TENNIS PLAYER: Temperature checks every day, and then when we arrive here we got tested, and until we got results we are obviously in the hotel. And once everybody was negative, we were allowed to move from the hotel to the side, from the side back to the hotel so we were basically living in the bubble. And along from safety measures, it was a great tournament and also probably a role model for everything what's coming up.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORT: We've got the U.S. Open in New York City coming up, starting late next month. Is that going to be safe? Are you going to play?
THIEM: If it's going to happen, I'm very sure that it's safe, and then I'm also going to play, because I guess it's time that the normal tour is coming back. And I think that what's -- what's happening here, in a very small way, I think it's possible to do it, like, with 250 players, as well, in New York.
SNELL: Yes, imagine a Grand Slam, if you will, without fans. Can you even relate to that? Can you imagine?
THIEM: It's hard to imagine. I think I played 24 Grand Slams now in my career, and if you experience it, I mean, every day, 50, 60,000 fans on site, and it's with zero fans it's tough to imagine. But at the same time, it is how it is, and we have to deal with it.
I think the main thing is that the tour and the tennis slowly comes back. SNELL: There were fans, of course, at the Adria Tour recently. When you look back on that, Dominic, how much regret when you reflect on it all?
THIEM: Well, I mean, it was obviously a mistake. Everybody who got positive there is healthy again, which is a very good sign, as well; and I'm happy for everybody. I think everybody learned from that mistake.
[00:55:06]
We came there. It was kind of -- (AUDIO GAP). In reality, we saw happy fans. We saw happy kids. And then we kind of forgot to -- to keep the distance, to not make pictures, to not hug the kids and everything. And it was a mistake. Everybody regrets this, of course,. But it's time to -- to look in the future.
SNELL: Do you think the criticism was unfair on Novak? Because everyone's heart was in a good place, right? Have you talked to him? Was it unfair on him?
THIEM: Of course it was unfair to him, because he didn't break any law. And as well, he didn't force us. He didn't force any player to come there. He didn't force any player to interact with the fans. It was, everything, our own decision. So I think it was unfair to put him in so much (AUDIO GAP). And the whole event was for a -- for a very good cause, as well.
SNELL: Athletes in general, Dominic, have been showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement. How important is it that tennis does the same, as well now, moving forward?
THIEM: It's very important in general. There is no place for racism in no department of the whole world. And I mean, I think I can speak out for every tennis player. It doesn't matter from -- from where he comes, what skin color he has. I mean, it's -- everything the same, no? And especially us, this sport is super global.
We are basically all around the world every week, so I think we have a pretty good view on that. And racism is just -- it's something that is not acceptable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infectious diseases, who has already found themselves at odds with the U.S. president, could soon be on the naughty list again. Fauci is a huge fan of the Washington Nationals baseball team, so he naturally was thrilled to accept an invitation by the Nats to throw out the first pitch on Thursday. That's the opening night of the season.
But the ceremonial honor is typically done by presidents, but Donald Trump has never done it, never invited. In fact, he was booed simply for turning up at game five between the Nats and the Astros during the World Series a few months ago. Watch this space.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. A lot more news after a very short break.
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