Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Alarm Bells Raised by Dr. Anthony Fauci on Coronavirus Vaccine; Coronavirus in the U.S. Now Nears Four Million; California the New Hotspot State; President Trump Ordered to Close Chinese Consulate in Houston; Victoria's Lockdown Measures Not Working. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 23, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Certainly, we are not winning the game right now. We are not leading it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: America's top medical expert warns the coronavirus isn't going anywhere as President Trump attempts to continue to form his own narrative on the pandemic. We will let the numbers speak for themselves.
Plus, the U.S. orders the closure of a Chinese consulate and officials warn of more shutdowns to follow. How is China he reacting? We'll have a live report.
And championships during a pandemic. Some Liverpool fans celebrate their title in dangerous style. We are live in London.
Good to have you with us.
United States is rapidly closing in on four million total cases of COVID-19. That's a million more infected people than just two weeks ago. Nearly 69,000 new cases were reported on Wednesday, and for the second straight day, the death toll surpassed 1,000.
As a virus explodes from coast to coast, more than half of the country has halted or rolled back reopening. Face mask requirements are in place or planned in at least 41 states. That could help save thousands of lives in the coming months according to the latest computer model.
Even so, America's top infectious diseases doctor warns the virus is probably here to stay, even if there is a vaccine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: I don't see this disappearing. The reason I say that is that it is so efficient in its ability to transmit from human to human. I think ultimately, with a combination of good public health measures and a vaccine, that we may not eradicate it, but I think we will bring it down to such a low level that we will not be in the position that we're in right now for an extended period of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well U.S. President Donald Trump resumed his coronavirus briefing for a second day Wednesday. Notably absent were the medical experts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I don't think we really got an explanation yesterday on why the health experts are no longer joining you at these briefings. Can you explain why?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Because they are briefing me. I'm meeting them. I just spoke to Dr. Fauci. Dr. Birx is right outside. And they're giving me all of everything they know as of -- as of this point in time. And I'm giving the information to you, and I think it's probably a very concise way of doing it. It seems to be working out very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And with schools set to reopen soon, the president said he is comfortable with his own son and grandchildren back in the classroom. He suggested children are at low risk for the disease. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I would like to see the schools open. Open 100 percent and we'll do it safely, we'll do it carefully. But when you look at the statistics I just read having to do with children and safety, they are very impressive. They have a very strong immune system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you would understand the children who go to school then go back to home. They're with, some live with their parents.
TRUMP: True.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, there is a real risk. Would you understand if something goes --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Well they do say that they don't transmit very easily, and a lot of people are saying they don't transmit. And we're looking to that. We're studying, John, very hard that particular subject that they don't bring it home with them now. They don't catch it easily. They don't bring it home easily. And if they do catch it, they get better fast.
We are looking at that fact. That is a factor and we are looking at that very strongly. We'll be reporting about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well the president also boasted that the U.S. has carried out some 50 million tests for COVID-19, even as he downplayed its importance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I personally think it's overrated, but I am totally willing to keep doing it. You know, we have so many more tests than any other country by far. It makes us look bad, but they say it's good. I don't mind looking bad if it is a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And California has emerged as the latest epicenter in the United States. It reported a record number of new cases on Wednesday. More than 12,000 people with most of the outbreak in the southern half of the states.
[03:05:00]
And Texas has been another stop in hot spot. It marked 197 deaths on Wednesday, the highest yet in a single day.
CNN's Nick Watt has the latest from across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Around 20 percent of tests across Florida are coming back positive. A sign the virus is out of control in the sunshine state. Seven weeks after the governor announced bars were back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): People go, enjoy, have a drink. It's fine. We want to kind of not have huge crowds piling in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: In Texas, the navy now sending medical personnel to the hard- hit Rio Grande Valley. Doctors report a tsunami of patients.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN MELENDEZ, HEALTH AUTHORITY, HIDALGO COUNTY, TEXAS: I want to put someone on life support, to intubate someone who is my 6-grade school teacher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Nationally, the number of COVID patients in the hospital is inching ever closer to that grim April peak. The national COVID daily death toll just topped 1,000 for the first time in two weeks.
But there is some optimism. Take those vaccine trials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: We have well over 100,000 people that have already signed up as volunteers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: The U.S. government just pre-ordered 100 million doses of Pfizer's potential vaccine. It might be ready for regulatory review as early as October, it might be available by the end of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BURKHARDT, HEAD OF DRUG SAFETY R&D, PFIZER: We are optimistic. We are hopeful. Things can go wrong. It can slow a project. So those are optimistic things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Meanwhile, this is California's current normal. You can get a haircut, but only outside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost a lot of customers. They're scared to come out, you know, for one. You know, two, they lost their jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: The state now leads the nations with the most confirmed cases. Over 400,000, just surpassed New York. But look how each state got there. New York, a brutal early spike. California, a steady climb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIZUHO MORRISON, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: We saw a slow title wave coming, right? And in emergency medicine we actually call this time to prepare the golden hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: That time and the lessons learned from New York helped a lot. Similar case counts but California's death toll, less than a quarter of New York's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORRISON: We're hoping this is the peak, but of course we're all dreading the upcoming flu season. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: In some other hotspots, Florida, Arizona, average cases are right now plateauing high, but flattening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: We are certainly not at the end of the game. I'm not even sure we are halfway through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: And here in California, an all-time record 12,807 new cases in a 24-hour period. Now, here in Los Angeles, they've been threatening us with a return to a full stay at home order for quite some time now. They have just said that it will not happen this week anyway because for now there is still capacity in the hospitals.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
CHURCH: And joining me now is Dr. Anish Mahajan. He is a chief medical office officer at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Thank you, doctor, for being with us and for everything you do.
ANISH MAHAJAN, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: My pleasure.
CHURCH: Now California set a new record adding 12,807 cases in one day, surpassing New York with the most infections in the country. It is the leading cause of death in your state. What's your experience on the front lines with the surge in hospitalizations, and how are you coping with all this?
MAHAJAN: Well, what I would say is it's deja vu. We saw a surge in California in late April and early May. We had a lull and now we are back. And this time I would say it's even more challenging.
On the ground, we and our public hospitals that serve underrepresented minorities and low-income population in Los Angeles. We are at high water marks of in-patient COVID patients that are critically ill.
Alongside of this, though, why it's more challenging than the first surge, is that we're also at the same time taking care of many other patients who don't have COVID as a problem but have really significant needs that need to be cared for. And so, this has been a double challenge.
CHURCH: Right. Understood. And doctor, President Trump held his briefing with no medical or science experts in attendance. This is the second day after 90 days of no briefings. He again said Dr. Birx was in the other room and that it was enough for him to get briefed by the experts and then relay the information to the American people.
And he also said his administration has a national strategy to deal with the pandemic. As a doctor, are you satisfied with that five months into this health crisis? MAHAJAN: Not at all. Unfortunately, we've had a systematic failure of
leadership at the highest levels in our country. We have had systematically no national strategy for testing. We have no national strategy for contact tracing.
[03:10:05]
And perhaps the worst thing, which has led to this resurgence of cases that we are seeing across the country, is that we have had no national leadership on how we reopen safely. With the highest levels of leadership, not modeling the right behaviors, not providing a safe plan that's scientific for how we reopen carefully and safely.
They did not provide the needed leadership and guidance to the governors and the mayors across our nation to reopen carefully and slowly. And the result is what we have now.
CHURCH: Right. And you mentioned reopening, because President Trump also said at his briefing that he wants all U.S. schools, a 100 percent to open up for classes. And he is happy he said for his son and grandkids to go back to school. He says kids deal with this well and won't spread it like adults do. Of course, a South Korean study disputes that claim.
So how smart is this move? To send kids and teachers back to school in the midst of these surging cases, hospitalizations and indeed, deaths?
MAHAJAN: I understand it's very difficult for parents and children. This prolonged pandemic -- it's been five months and it's going to go on much longer is very challenging for kids and parents.
Now it is irresponsible to reopen schools when we have so much community transmission of the pandemic occurring, while at the same time, we simply don't have enough testing to go around. And so, this is a very dangerous time to reopen schools, especially in those states and jurisdictions that are so heavily affected.
CHURCH: Now I also wanted to talk to you about the key model from Washington University because that projects nearly 220,000 U.S. deaths by November. That's about 5,000 fewer than their last forecast due to mask mandates in some states. It also predicts that if there is a national mask mandate that another 34,000 lives could be safe.
So how important is it to you that President Trump makes that call for national mask mandate?
MAHAJAN: It's everything. At this point, we don't have very effective treatments for COVID. We certainly do not yet have a vaccine, but we do know for a fact that masks work. Masks work in protecting others and they work in protecting you from contracting coronavirus.
We have seen it in so many other countries across the world where they are wearing their masks and they are socially distancing. They don't have anywhere close a problem we have here in the United States.
CHURCH: Dr. Anish Mahajan, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
MAHAJAN: My pleasure. Thank you.
CHURCH: And Latin America and the Caribbean have collectively reported more than four million cases of COVID-19 according to a CNN tally of data from Johns Hopkins University.
The 33 countries in the region have also reported more than 173,000 deaths. Notable in the area is Mexico, which holds the fourth highest death toll from the virus worldwide. The country has reported 5,000 cases or more every day for over a week.
Argentina has also broken its record for new daily infections for the second day in a row. And Brazil also broke its daily record for new cases, yet, its health ministry says the virus seems to be under control. The country reported nearly 68,000 new cases on Wednesday, with over 16,000 in Sao Paulo alone.
The interim health minister blames the winter weather for the ongoing rise in cases, but promises to increase testing.
Shasta Darlington tracks the latest developments from Sao Paulo.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brazil registered a record number of new cases on Wednesday, more than 67,000 new infections in 24 hours. Bringing the total to 2.2 million. Brazil also reported 1,284 additional deaths as the death toll topped 82,000.
The interim health minister expressed his solidarity with families who have lost relatives and said the government is working to provide emergency equipment and care where it's needed. While the rate of infection appears to have plateaued in urban centers like Sao Paulo, the virus continues to spread in smaller cities and towns in Brazil's south and inland overwhelming health systems.
In the meantime, Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive a third time for COVID-19 on Wednesday, just over two weeks after his initial tests came back positive. Bolsonaro has been working in semi- isolation from the presidential residence since July 7th when he first announced the infection.
On Wednesday evening, he donned a mask and greeted supporters during a flag lowering ceremony as he has done several times in recent days.
[03:15:02]
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.
CHURCH: And sill to come, President Donald Trump ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, but it's not the first time Mr. Trump has complained about China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I've been saying China is taking our jobs, our money, our base, our manufacturing. I just tell the press. And we owe them, think of it. They've taken our money and our jobs, our manufacturing. But they've taken everything.
The days of the United States being taken advantage of are over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As far as closing additional embassies, it's always possible. You see what's going on. We thought there was a fire in the one that we did close, and everybody said there is a fire, there's a fire. And I guess they were burning documents, or burning papers, and I wonder what that's all about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: President Donald Trump there on the forced closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas. By Friday, it has to be done soon after that order. Houston fire officials say they responded to reports that documents were being burned in the consulate's courtyard.
U.S. officials say the order to close came after a slow build up and in response to a growing number of disputes between the two countries. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN BIEGUN, U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: We find the China- U.S. relationship today weighed down by a growing number of disputes including commercial espionage, intellectual property theft from American companies, unequal treatment of our diplomats, businesses, NGOs, and journalists by Chinese authorities.
And abuse of the United States academic freedom, and welcoming posture towards international students to steal sensitive technology and research from our universities in order to advance the PRC's military capabilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me now from how Hong Kong. So, Kristie, how is China reacting to this order to close its Houston consulate, and of course threats to do the same in other parts of the U.S.? And how will it retaliate, do you think?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. With diplomatic tension between the U.S. and China is just so high right now, Beijing is threatening to retaliate. And right now, we are closely monitoring events at the Chinese consulate In San Francisco where U.S. prosecutors are seeking a Chinese scientist accused of visa fraud. They say that she lied about her links to the Chinese military and is hiding out in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco.
Now on Wednesday, Beijing vowed to retaliate after the force closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston. Chinese state media has been pointing to possible closures of American consulates across China as a way for China to strike back.
Now I want you to listen to this. The Chinese consul general based in Houston spoke to reporters overnight. This is the consul general Cai Wei.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:20:05]
CAI WEI, CHINESE CONSUL GENERAL: Speak from the facts. OK? Do not fabricate something. OK? And even if the U.S. some arrogance on the fact. And of course, I would say all activities of this consulate general have done under the rule of the Vienna Convention, rule on consular affairs.
And those are under law of bilateral between China and U.S., the consulate treaties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now the U.S. State Department said it ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston because it wanted to protect American intellectual property as well as American's private information.
This comes just days after that indictment was been sealed with U.S. prosecutors charging two Chinese hackers for their role in a sweeping cyber espionage and cybercrime campaign that U.S. prosecutors say it's backed by Beijing and was targeting COVID-19 research.
It's still not clear right now whether these two episodes are linked. But clearly, tension is ratcheting up. We're waiting to see in here, not only China's reaction, especially to what's happening in San Francisco, but how exactly it's going to strike back. Rosemary.
CHURCH: Exactly right. Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong, many thanks.
Joining me now from New York is CNN global affairs analyst Max Boot, he is also a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a columnist for the Washington Post.
Good to have you with us.
MAX BOOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be here.
CHURCH: So, Max, just hours after the U.S. accuse China of hacking its COVID-19 data, Washington ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston. We don't know what exactly prompted this, but the U.S. says it was to protect American intellectual property and private information.
Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that this consulate is a central node of the Communist Party's vast network of spies.
So, what are you learning about all of this, and was the hacking of COVID-19 data the trigger for this closure?
BOOT: I'm not sure that we can say that for sure. I mean, there is no question that espionage takes place in Chinese consulates. But guess what? Espionage takes place in U.S. embassies and consulates as well. That's how the game is played.
It's hard to avoid the bigger picture here, which is that President Trump is trying to ratchet up a cold war with China I think in large part to distract from his own failures in dealing with the coronavirus here at home, which he calls the China flu or even the kung flu in a pretty racist manner.
And so, it's -- it's -- you know, this just seems to be more evidence of Trump trying to demonize China and there is no question China has done a lot of wrong. But Trump's motives I think are highly suspect, and you can also suspect whether closing their consulate is actually going to achieve anything because the likely result is going to be, they'll close one of our consulates in China and what do we gain out of that?
CHURCH: Yes. I want to ask you about that because China calls this an unprecedented escalation in recent actions taken by the U.S., and says this is political, as you mentioned there, and violates international law.
But Beijing has of course played its part in this escalation of tensions with the trade war, and the pandemic.
Let's just listen to former national security advisor John Bolton had to say about this closure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the statement by the government about why the consulate in Houston is being closed to protect our commercial information tells you a lot about what that Chinese consulate was doing. So, I don't -- I don't doubt they will respond in kind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So, he's agreeing with you that they'll probably close embassies, they'll respond in kind, but what other form of retaliation what you expect to see and where do you see all of this going?
BOOT: Well, where this is going is a very good question because I mean you've seen this kind of tit-for-tat ratcheting up of tensions between China and the United States over the last few months.
Really, as the coronavirus has gotten -- become this horrific pandemic here at home, and you know, Trump is trying to blame China for what's happening. Now China I think also has a lot of culpability because Xi Jinping has been acting much more aggressively, you know, abusing the Uyghurs, violating Hong Kong's autonomy, getting into a clash with Indian troops in the Himalayas. China is doing a lot wrong. But I'm just not sure that President Trump
has any kind of game plan for dealing with the Chinese challenge, and it seems like a lot of what he's mainly concerned about is to create this new enemy that he can claim to be defending as he seeks reelection.
If President Trump were serious about standing up to China, we would have to work a lot harder to get our own house in order, because, you know, the Chinese economy is growing again. They have coronavirus under control. We don't.
[03:24:58]
The coronavirus is still rampaging out of control. And Trump is really abdicating America's global responsibility pulling out of World Health Organization, pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, pulling out of every international obligation you can think of, and that's essentially creating a vacuum that China is able to fill.
And you know, in the meantime, we are going through these kinds of tit-for-tat responses with China. It doesn't make a lot of sense. I don't see a strategy here beyond the obvious political strategy that President Trump is following.
CHURCH: And just very quickly, you say that this is just a distraction to get all of us to take our eyes off what's happening with the pandemic. Will he succeed in that, do you think?
BOOT: I don't think so, because if you look at the polls, the public knows who to blame. I mean, there's no question that the coronavirus started in China, and they did not do a good job of stopping its spread, and they were deceitful early on. But now China has contained the coronavirus.
And it's not China's fault that America has -- is the world's center of the coronavirus that we have more cases and more confirmed deaths than any other country. That's really due to mismanagement here at home. And I think a lot of voters have figured that out, which is why President Trump's approval ratings have gone down over the last few months.
CHURCH: Max Boot, great to talk with you. Thank you.
BOOT: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: And this is CNN Newsroom. Coming up, despite being in lockdown for two weeks, cases in the Australian state of Victoria are still surging.
And in New Delhi a new study suggests COVID infections are much more widespread than it's being reported. A live report from India's capital.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: The Australian state of Victoria has been trying to stem a coronavirus outbreak for weeks now, but the situation shows no sign of improving. More than 400 cases were confirmed on Wednesday. The third highest since the pandemic began.
Melbourne is now two weeks into a six-week lockdown. Masks are now mandatory in public places in the city.
So, let's turn to our Anna Coren. She is following this from Hong Kong. Good to talk with you. Good to see you, Anna. So, of course, once a success story, Australia is now struggling to contain these new outbreaks in Victoria, even after this lockdown, although it does continue.
But what's behind these rising numbers?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's fascinating, isn't it, Rosemary? Obviously, very alarming for those in Victoria, particularly in Melbourne. As you say, they are two weeks into the six-week lockdown, but the numbers are just continuing to rise.
[03:29:59]
Today, 403 new cases. That's down slightly from 484 yesterday, which was a record for Victoria, if not for the country, a daily record. But it seems that it's complacency that is driving these numbers north.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, he addressed the media and said that people who are sick are not staying home. They are going about their normal lives. And he gave that (ph), he gave the cold hard facts in which nine out of 10, so 90 percent of people who are feeling sick from the time when the symptoms begin to the time when they are tested are not self-isolating.
He went on to say that those who are then tested to when they receive their results, more than 50 percent are not self-isolating. So, there is that feeling, I can get tested, but I can continue to go about my daily life.
And as you say, masks are now mandatory in Melbourne, certainly in public areas but it is obviously not doing enough. They've got about 60 cases that they know of of the 403 today that come from a cluster. The rest are unknown. They are being investigated. So this is spreading like wildfire. Take a listen to what Daniel Andrews had to say yesterday about the riots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL ANDREWS, PREMIER OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: Unless we have people who get tested, staying at home and isolating until they get their results, then we will not see those numbers come down. They will continue to go up and up. And a six-week shutdown will not be for six weeks. It will run for much longer than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COREN: Now, Rosemary, there were five more deaths overnight in
Victoria taking the state death toll to 49. The national death toll related to coronavirus stands at 133. And I know that is miniscule compared to other countries around the world, certainly places like the United States, but as we have been discussing, Australia has been extremely aggressive in the way that it has tackled this pandemic, shutting down national borders, shutting down those state borders. You know, Victorian's can't leave Victoria, but it is not doing enough. This is still rising. And as you heard from the Premier, that lockdown will continue until they can flatten the curve.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And they have only just started that mask mandate, so hopefully in the days, weeks and months ahead, that will have some sort of impact.
Anna Coren, joining us live from Hong Kong, many thanks.
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now calling on the military to prepare for a quadruple threat this winter, fearing a second coronavirus spike along with a seasonal flu outbreak. They are working on a new contingency plans. Other big worries include possible winter flooding and disruptions as the U.K. transitions out of the E.U. All of this at once could overwhelm national resources. A British army officer says these plans will be set by the end of August.
We turn now to New Delhi, where nearly one in four residents may have contracted the virus. That is according to an Indian government study. Only 125,000 cases have been recorded in the capital city, which has a population of nearly 17 million. But a random sample of blood tests suggests infections there are much more widespread.
And our Vedika Sud is live in New Delhi, she joins us now. So, Vedika, nearly 25 percent of New Delhi residents may have this virus. So, what is the Indian government doing about it since they've done this report?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Well, in a press conference, the Indian government representatives went on to say that in a way it is well contained in Delhi and that the containment zone should be where they are as of now.
But the worry is when you speak to the medical fraternity that while you talk about 25 -- almost 25 percent of Delhi already having COVID- 19 antibodies according to the study that has been conducted with the sample size of over 21,000 people, which has shown that about 23 percent or more have COVID antibodies in them. What about the other 77 percent? Which means they are absolutely vulnerable at this point in time.
Also, as you pointed out, the official statistics state that Delhi has over 126,000 cases currently. But if you go by the survey and its findings, it shows that almost 4 million people across Delhi already have had COVID like symptoms. That's the worrying factor.
Also very quickly to give you. the national statistics that have come out as of today to be once again, unfortunately, for India has seen the highest jump in COVID-19 numbers over the last 24 hours with over 45,000 cases being reported, the second highest number of deaths also being reported over the last 24 hours there (ph).
[03:35:09]
So, cases are going up at this point in time, especially now in southern India. Initially, the focus was on the state of Maharashtra and Delhi, but now has seen the cases also increased in the south, which is another worrying factor for the Indian government and it needs to contain it as soon as possible, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Yes. The reason why a vaccine cannot come soon enough. Vedika Sud joining us live from New Delhi, many thanks.
And tune into CNN for a CNN global town hall, coronavirus facts and fears hosted by Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta with special guests Bill Gates, and that is Thursday at 8:00 in the evening in New York, 8:00 Friday morning, in Hong Kong. You must watch it.
All right, you are watching CNN Newsroom. Still to come, President Trump threatens to send federal officers into cities he says are badly policed, and coincidentally, run by Democrats. Local leaders are not happy about that. We will tackled it on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In recent weeks, there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle, and dissolve our police departments. Extreme politicians have joined this anti police crusade, and relentlessly vilified our law enforcement heroes.
To look at it from any standpoint, the effort to shut down policing in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders, and heinous crimes, violence. This bloodshed must end, this blood shed will end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: President Trump on Wednesday describing some Democratic-led cities as rife with crime and violence. He said he has no choice but to get involved, and is sending hundreds of federal agents to Chicago and Albuquerque in what he says is an attempt to crack down on crime.
Federal agents are already in Portland, Oregon. They were sent to tempt down protests, but local officials there say, it's actually caused a rise intentions and violent clashes.
Meantime, some critics say the move is a ploy to bolster the president's law and order campaign, promise -- his law and order campaign promise and paint Democrats as weak on crime since many of these cities are led by Democrats. With growing concern among some city leaders, Chicago's mayor slammed the president and said she will not hesitate to take legal action to stop any unconstitutional action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D-CHICAGO): What he cares most about is trying to change the subject from the failure of his leadership on an issue of a pandemic of our lifetime where people are suffering. If he cared about cities, if he cared about Chicago, there are meaningful ways that the president could actually help. Instead, it's denigrate, divide and disparage. That's not leadership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:40:22]
CHURCH: And leaders around the nation are calling for the White House to remove federal officers from their cities, some of the largest cities want them gone immediately. They are making it known that they will not stand by and be a stage for unconstitutional behavior or furthering a political agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D-LA): It's frightening to see folks carrying M- 16s with unmarked, you don't know what agency, police uniforms, putting people into unmarked rental vans. This feels likes it something out of a science fiction dystopic series about a police state in America, but it's real, and now in Chicago. This is completely outside their lane. It may be unconstitutional.
SEN. MARTIN HEINRICH (D-NM): We work with the feds in New Mexico all the time as a matter of course. What we are not used to seeing is a kind of action that we saw in Portland, where people are unidentifiable, where it's hard to tell whether they're actually law enforcement or not. We don't need that in our communities.
We love our city, we want to bring down crime, and we will bring down crime with anyone who wants to partner with us. But we will not be a backdrop for a campaign commercial that doesn't do anything to solve the underlying problems, and the underlying systemic racism and inequality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And other leaders are saying that a federal presence is fine, but it needs a specific reason that allows local police to lead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS (D-MO-KS): I think there's a way that you can say we still have -- we like having support from federal law enforcement to do things like investigations of unsolved murders, investigations of ballistics, those sorts of things, that our distinct, where our police department is still leading. That's the situation with the federal involvement here and every one of our cities. We have FBI agents, ATF agents, etcetera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And as mayors of other cities grow increasingly concerned about the deployment of federal agents, CNN's Omar Jimenez reports that crime in Chicago is rising and certain federal resources may be needed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The surge of federal agents in cities across United States comes as the city of Chicago is set to see one of its deadliest years in decades over the course of 2020.
Now, for starters, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot does not expect what she described as a Portland style deployment of unmarked vehicles and or officers. What she does expect is an influx of federal resources that will fold into existing federal partnerships they already have in place, which is in line with what Attorney General Bill Barr has said, that these resources are meant to augment the agents that are already in place, working to suppress violence, violence that has been especially deadly this year in Chicago.
Shootings have been up more than 40 percent compared to this time last year, with murder up more than 50 percent compared to this time last year. And Attorney General Barr points to a demonization of police in the wake of George Floyd's death as being one of the primary reasons for that, but the reality is a little bit more nuanced, specifically Chicago Police Departments Superintendent David Browne points to a cycle of violence spurred on by gang activity here in the city of Chicago.
That is happening within an umbrella of a coronavirus pandemic that is distributing what the mayor has described as ecosystem of public safety, that's jails, ports, jails, courts, community groups, first responders, including police. So, for the federal agents to had any sort of real impact on how things have been trending here, the mayor says that's going to come from true partnership and not in her words dictatorship.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joe Biden took his sharpest aim at President Trump Wednesday, directly calling him a racist. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee made a remark at a virtual town hall with an employees union.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What President Trump has done and going -- his spreading of racism, the way he deals with people based on their color of their skin, their national, origin where they are from is absolutely sickening. No sitting president has ever done this, never, never, never. No Republican president has done this, no Democratic president. We have racist and they've existed and they try to get elected president. He is the first one that has.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Now it should be noted, there were 12 U.S. presidents who owned slaves and other who made racist remarks. Well, President Trump responded with a snipe at China before pointing to pre-virus unemployment numbers.
[03:45:15]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Prior to the China plague coming in, floating in, coming into our country and really doing terrible things all over the world, doing terrible things. We had the best African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, almost every group was the best for unemployment. The unemployment numbers were the best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Mr. Trump also said he had done more for black Americans than anyone with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln. And coming up here on CNN Newsroom, Japan should have been starting the Olympics this week. Instead, they are counting down to a rescheduled start. More on that on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: To Northwest England, and it took 30 years, but Liverpool finally hoisting another English championship trophy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest lift for Liverpool. Back on top in England.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: There it is, the Reds actually clinched the Premier League title almost a month ago. The earliest in top-flight history, but they didn't get their hands on the trophy until Wednesday despite all this partying in the bubble, the festivities were somewhat muted due to the coronavirus. Fans were urged to stay home and not gather outside the Anfield stadium. Manager Jurgen Klopp promises a proper party when it is safe.
So, let us turn to Alex Thomas. He is covering this all live from London, there in his home. Alex, better late than never, we have to say, of course for Liverpool. How did all of this play out?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Yes, I did manage to get out of my home at some stage, Rosemary. Get out (ph) last month where they mathematically clinched the title. But it was a strange feeling, because not only where fans not in the stadium, Liverpool weren't even playing that night. They won the title, courtesy of their closest rivals Manchester City losing ironically to Chelsea, the team that Liverpool beat on Wednesday night.
So, now they had a chance finally to lift the trophy. That is always the big moment whenever a team has clinched the title. Often it happens at the end of the very game in which they have mathematically got too far ahead to be caught. But this time they've had to wait ages, it's been a few mental slip ups along the way. They can no longer earn a record point's total.
But it was a thrilling game on Wednesday at the famous Anfield Stadium in Liverpool on the edge of Stanley Park, where fans couldn't help but gather even though they've been asked to stay away. It was Three-nil to Liverpool. Chelsea got a goal just before halftime through Olivier Giroud (ph) and then effectively two all in the second half. So, 5-3, the final score in Liverpool's favor. They had set up a special podium and stage for a big trophy presentation on the cup, the name for the famous (inaudible) where the most passionate fans stand.
There is always been a special link between the players that had been in Liverpool and the fans particular at the cup end of the stadium. And it was Jordan Henderson, the current Liverpool captain who was handed the trophy by Kenny Dalglish, a legend from the previous Liverpool teams to be crowned English champions 30 years ago.
[03:50:05]
Lots of fireworks, pyrotechnics to try and make something, some atmosphere really, because normally when you lift the trophy, you hear all the fans in the stadium when none in there, of course. It was an important game for Chelsea too. If we look at the Premier League table we can see that Liverpool now on catch (ph) 96 points, they could get to 99 points, one short of the record set by Manchester City a couple of years ago.
Chelsea now go to a nervous game on the final day of the Premier League season. This is the late Premier League season on Sunday. They will have to win against Wolves to a hope less to lose to Manchester United, to clinch a champions league spot next season. Liverpool now has gone three successive seasons, unbeaten at home. Even the great Liverpool team in the seventies and eighties didn't do that. Some fans did gather outside of, Rosemary, even though they were told by police not to. They had to be disperse. You can understand that were just desperate to try and celebrate with their heroes.
CHURCH: Yes. We did not see a lot of social distancing there. I have to say, or masks. But Alex Thomas, thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.
Well, in a normal world, all eyes would've been on Tokyo this week for the opening of the Olympic Games. That of course isn't happening. The global pandemic sorted that. But the games are now due to take place one year from today, and that milestone comes as Japan breaks its record for the most coronavirus cases in a single day for that country.
So, let us turn to journalist Kaori Enjoji, she joins us now live from Tokyo. Good to see you, Enjoji. So, Kaori Carrie, sorry. So Japan is suffering this record increase in COVID-19 cases despite doing so well in containing the virus in the early stages. What is behind this new outbreak?
KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: Well, they are saying that they are testing more people, so they are testing about 5,000 with these numbers that are coming out. And the latest is that Tokyo has seen 366 new cases today on Friday, which is a record high. We do not have the national tally yet. Yes they are testing, but still, far below the levels of testing that we are seeing in other parts of the world.
What is interesting to note is that two weeks ago, Rosemary, the Japanese government decided to open up the sporting stadium. So, football and also baseball opened up their stadiums to 50 percent capacity. Now we are two weeks after that. OK, it is very difficult to make a direct correlation, but there is the sense that perhaps they have opened up the economy far too soon.
I mean, look at the streets behind me. This is the beginning of a four-day long weekend. And the Governor has said to everyone, please stay home as much as you can. But very few people are listening, because there is no state of emergency. That was lifted more than a month and a half ago. So, in this climate, I think everyone is asking whether or not the Tokyo Olympics next summer can and should go ahead as planned.
Normally, as you pointed out, there would be much fanfare surrounding the state, but there is no public events scheduled. The new national state stadium that cost millions of dollars to build stands empty. There will just be a short video performance for the media only, with no members of the public allowed in. So, there was a poll after poll in recent weeks that said the Japanese public thinks that these games should either be canceled or postponed.
I speak to athletes as well who have very mixed feelings about whether or not these games should go ahead at a time where they're not allowed to practice and whether or not they can qualify is under question as well. So one year to go, Rosemary. There are still a lot of maybe's surrounding the Summer Olympics.
CHURCH: Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Kaori Enjoji joining us live from Tokyo. I appreciate it.
And China is catching up in the race to Mars. Just a short time ago, Beijing launched what it hopes will be its first successful mission to the red planet. Its probe is supposed to reach Mars in February of 2021. And this comes just days before the U.S. launches its own mission.
CNN's Ivan Watson has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Space, the final frontier.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For more than 60 years, nations have competed to see who can be first to go where no one has gone before. The country that leaps ahead in the great space race gets bragging rights and so much more. The Soviet Union shut the world when it launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the earth in 1957. And followed up with an even bolder feet in 1961, putting the first human in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
The soviets successes, embarrassing for the United States. Already in the throes of the cold war with the USSR. You got in accomplishment prompted U.S. President John F. Kennedy to famously declare his vision of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
[03:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
WATSON: And go to the moon they did. In what would be the defining moment that led to U.S. dominant since space exploration for more than 50 years. It may have been late to the game, but China is now hoping to change that as part of its 13th five year plan that singles out space exploration as a top research priority.
Under the President Xi Jinping, Beijing has invested billions of dollars in its space program. And in 2016, Wu Yanhua the Deputy Chief of China's National Space Administration declared, our overall goal is that by around 2030, China will be among the major space powers of the world. Now just four years later and fresh from the success of being the first nation to send a rover mission to the foresight of the moon, China is looking to raise the competitive bar with its first mission to Mars.
The scientific team behind China, Tianwen-1 which means quest for heavenly truth, say their probe is different, because it is quote, going to orbit, land and release a rover all on the very first try, and coordinate observations with an orbiter. This is unlike NASA, which launched its Mars missions in stages and plans to send its 7th Mars mission later this month.
If successful, China's, Tianwen-1, NASA's perseverance, and the United Arab Emirates hopes the heir of world's first inter planetary mission will all three reach the red planet in February 2021. And while scientists look to work together to uncover the planetary secrets of Mars, China and the U.S. have put their space programs into overdrive. Signaling more competition between these rival superpowers.
Each hoping to pull off the biggest breakthrough in space exploration. Such as putting a man or a woman on Mars, perhaps as early as the 2030s. Both hoping to be the first --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- to boldly go where no man has gone before.
WATSON: Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And thank you so much for joining us. I am Rosemary Church. I will be back with another hour of CNN Newsroom in just a moment. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
