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Huge Explosion Rocks Beirut; Georgia School District Quarantines 260 Students and Eight Teachers after First Week of School; Can You Catch COVID-19 Twice?; Air India Plane Crashes in Kerala after Skidding Off Runway. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired August 08, 2020 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:03:18]

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): More pledges of humanitarian aid as international experts arrive in Lebanon. There is still no evidence that the blast was the result of an attack.

Also, too far, too soon: U.S. schools begin to reopen and some students and teachers already testing positive for coronavirus.

And plane crash in India: more than a dozen killed when an Air India Express overshoots the runway.

Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM everyone. I am Michael Holmes.

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HOLMES: Rescue and recovery efforts still underway four days after a deadly explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut. It is 10:00 am there right now. Crews continue digging through massive piles of rubble.

The death toll has risen to 154, although that number is expected to rise. Let's go to senior international correspondent Sam Kiley in Beirut.

Sam, what have you been seeing there today and what's the state of the investigation?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rescue efforts continue as do the cleanup efforts across Lebanon, out to nine kilometers. This massive explosion, a lot of it actually blocked by those grain silos. So, things could have been a lot worse.

[03:05:00]

KILEY: It is experts that have been picking over and watching all of the freelance video effectively of people who've been filming, were filming when all of this occurred.

And it's clear to the experts that at least the detonation of the ammonium nitrate, 2,750 tons of it, was accident. But the question is why was a potentially volatile substance stored at this port for 6-7 years, since 2014?

And the answer to that is going to be here on the street, something that the population simply find absolutely incredible, that it should have been allowed to stay there. And it could have been, we understand, collocated with fireworks, which would have been -- served as a potential ignition point for all of this.

As a consequence of the outrage on the Lebanese street, so the government here has frozen the assets of a number of people working in the port area. And they have also detained 16, including the current head of customs and a former head of customs, both of whom had actually officially applied to the judiciary for a court ruling to force the removal of that massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate from the area just in front of the silos there, which has now been blown up.

There used to be a warehouse where there is now water and that's because an area about the size of a football field has been completely evaporated as a consequence of the detonation of this ammonium nitrate.

So simultaneously, though, of course, the government here trying to distance itself from any real responsibility of what occurred, Michael.

HOLMES: Extraordinary when you see the aerial, that whole area around that point just gone and filled with water now. Sam Kiley in Beirut, thanks for that.

Medical workers treating the injured say they have never seen anything so horrible, not even during the Lebanon civil war. They have been working around the clock, tending to hundreds of victims in hospitals that sustained damage themselves from the blast.

Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has more on the battle to save life and limb. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like any anxious father about to be (INAUDIBLE) wanted to capture every moment.

But not this. All the horror of Tuesday's explosion converged on Beirut's hospitals. Overwhelmed by thousands of wounded, many of the injured had to be treated outside.

Rula Altani was the supervising nurse that night at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, who received about 200 wounded.

RULA ALTANI, SUPERVISING NURSE, RAFIK HARRIRI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Usually in the disaster, it was the longer, you know, it's two hours, maybe. Rush hours, you work hardly. It never ends. This night was about 7:30 and it's 2:53 in the morning and I'm always working.

WEDEMAN: As he scrambled from one patient to another, Dr. Jihads Bulqaie (ph) was torn between duty and family. "They were waiting to hear from me and me from them," he recalls.

"Here I was busy treating the wounded. It was painful."

The memories of that night remain vivid.

MUSTAFA KHALIFA, NURSE, ICRS: Usually a disaster you could manage, because your adrenaline level is so high, you will not sit. But whenever you stop, you will fall apart.

WEDEMAN: This is the main hospital treating COVID-19 patients in Beirut. With Lebanon in economic freefall and new coronavirus cases hitting record highs, Tuesday's blast brought home just how dire are Lebanon's prospects. Yet the hospital's director general insists his staff must remain focused in their calling.

DR. FIRASS ABIADD, GENERAL MANAGER, RAFIK HARIRI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: It's clear that we are, if not at the breaking point, very much near it. But somehow when you are staring into the abyss, you don't think about that. All of your concentration is, I need to do more and more and more.

WEDEMAN: The explosion severely damaged many of the city's hospitals, forcing them to send patients to other facilities in Beirut and outside the capital.

One postscript: Ed and his wife, Emmanuelle, now have a baby, George. He is well -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

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HOLMES: Human Rights Watch is calling for an international investigation of the blast. Aya Majzoub joins me now to talk about that. She is the Lebanon and Bahrain researcher for the group.

[03:10:00]

HOLMES: We really appreciate you being with us. I read something you wrote, you said, quote, "Given the Lebanese authorities' repeated failure to investigate serious government failings and the public's distrust of government institutions, an independent in the investigation with international experts is the best guarantee that there will be justice."

Explain the damage wrought on Lebanon by those government failings over years and that lack of public trust.

AYA MAJZOUB, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: What's important to note is that even before this horrendous explosion, the situation in Lebanon was incredibly dire and people were saying that it could not possibly get worse.

You had more than half of the population plunged into poverty. You had people savings swept away. You had the national currency value depreciating by almost 80 percent in about 6-7 months. You had less than 20 hours of state electricity per day. All of this because the ruling elite has for decades been plundering

the state, stealing people's money, engaged in corrupt dealings. And not only that but even after they have bankrupted this state, they refused to take responsibility for it and they refused to take the necessary reforms needed in order to get an IMF program and donor money.

HOLMES: You specifically criticize the judiciary. You know, you said Human Rights Watch expressed serious concerns about the ability of the Lebanese judiciary to conduct a credible and transparent investigation on its own.

That's a Human Rights Watch quote from you.

What should a competent, trustworthy investigation look like, one that is going to get to the truth?

Because so often these investigations do not.

MAJZOUB: You know, investigations should include why and how, such a huge quantity of highly combustible and potentially explosive material came to be stored in Beirut's port for years. It should identify all the officials who knew about this storage and those who failed to act.

Unfortunately, what we have been seeing today from the investigation is that they are trying to pin the investigation on port officials. Of course, port officials are responsible as well. But the responsibility goes much higher.

Evidence seems to already show that the president, by his own admission, was aware of the existence of this material. There are rumors circulating that every single prime minister who assumed power since 2013 was aware of this material. Various ministers were aware.

So you know, this -- the investigation should not pin the blame on low level court officials. The investigation needs to be much broader and it needs to investigate the entire political class, whose corruption and incompetence led us to this horrific tragedy.

HOLMES: Quickly, Human Rights Watch also expressing skepticism that the government would provide assistance to the people equitably.

How should international aid be distributed, who should be handling where it goes?

MAJZOUB: What we have seen on the ground has been incredibly troubling. In the last few days, cleanup efforts have been primarily led by volunteers and community organizers.

There has been an noticeable lack of presence for the Lebanon state. They have not picked up the rubble, they have not cleaned people's homes. They have not matched up people who have been displaced with other shelter. They have not been providing food and water to the victims of this explosion.

Instead, everything is being done by young people, volunteers and community organizers. For this reason, we don't think that the international community should be funneling any aid to the Lebanese government.

There are organizations working on the ground, who deserve this aid much more. If the aid goes to the government, the fear is that the fate will be like that of the billions of dollars that the international community has previously given the Lebanese government, which is it will be squandered by the elite.

And very little of this money will trickle down to people who need it.

HOLMES: Hopefully, if one thing comes out of this tragedy, it could be reforms that Lebanese people have so long yearned for. Aya Majzoub with Human Rights Watch, thank.

MAJZOUB: Thank you very much.

HOLMES: Ahead, can you catch coronavirus twice?

Some experts say antibodies are the committee to immunity but how long will they last?

We hope to put that to the test, coming up.

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[03:15:00]

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HOLMES: A new model projects the coronavirus could kill nearly 300,000 Americans by December. That coming as the top infectious disease doctor in the country says he is going to repeat the importance of public health principles until he is exhausted.

And with many schools already starting to open, Dr. Anthony Fauci says there is no way the country can fully reopen safely without people wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding crowds.

In Europe, cases are flaring up again as well. France reporting more than 2,200 cases in the past 24 hours and Germany reporting that 1,000 cases there for the third straight day.

In Italy, they are also extending some of the social distancing restrictions in areas with rising cases.

And Ireland announcing new regional lockdown measures in several counties.

In Hong Kong, the city's chief executive says they will introduce a universal voluntary testing program for all citizens.

As we said, in the U.S., schools are either reopening or trying to figure out when they can. Athena Jones takes a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's back to the classroom for millions of students in New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo clearing the way for all schools to reopen for in-person learning if they choose, including the country's largest school district, New York City.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): By our infection rates, all school districts can open everywhere in the state. Every region is below the threshold that we established.

JONES (voice-over): New York was once one of the highest risk states in the nation but now the COVID test positivity rate has hovered around just 1 percent for weeks, down from nearly 15 percent at the beginning of May.

The school year is already underway in some states like Georgia, where there are new concerns about safety after dozens of students and staffers tested positive for coronavirus in just the first few days. Teachers are concerned about in-person classes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will consider it being safe if we absolutely go digital for the first nine weeks. We have to do this based on scientific research. It cannot be any other way.

JONES (voice-over): A sophomore was suspended after tweeting this photograph of a crowded hallway at a school where masks are not required. The school later reversing the suspension.

HANNAH WALTERS, NORTH PAULDING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I was concerned for the safety of everyone in that building and everyone in the county because the guidelines of the CDC has been telling us for months now weren't being followed.

JONES (voice-over): The debate over schools in America rages as the World Health Organization warns the pandemic is skewing younger; 64 percent of cases worldwide, occurring in people ages 25-64. The proportion of reported cases in teens and young adults has gone up sixfold.

The share among very young children and babies, while still small in raw numbers, has increased sevenfold.

Meanwhile, as daily nationwide deaths average over 1,000 for the last 11 days, with 1,250 deaths reported on Thursday.

[03:20:00]

JONES (voice-over): Five former CDC directors in a forum on ABC News, calling for a national science-based plan and a consistent, coherent message to get the virus under control.

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC: We are the wealthiest nation on the planet and we see countries all around the globe that have been able to take measures to get this under control in ways that we haven't even come close to.

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Americans are voting with their clicks. There have been 1.6 billion clicks on the CDC website.

JONES (voice-over): Athena Jones, CNN, New York.

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HOLMES: Well, while millions of people around the world have caught COVID-19, the million-dollar question is, can they catch it again?

While experts say that the chances of that are highly unlikely, one woman in the U.K. tells CNN's Anna Stewart that it is not impossible.

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SUE STANTON, RECOVERING FROM COVID-19: To be honest, the symptoms have never gone away.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sue Stanton thought she was one of the COVID long haulers.

STANTON: The fatigue, the extra pains and brain fog.

STEWART: Suffering symptoms for weeks after her infection in late March. Two negative PCR tests in April seemed to signal the road to recovery, then in July, she tested positive for the virus again.

STANTON: It was quite shocking to be perfectly honest.

STEWART: A shock too for England's public health organization which ordered further swap testing.

STANTON: I have absolute hopes that they'd be able to identify whether it was a new infection, or whether I caught it again or whether it was a relapse from my first infection. To my understanding is that they've not been able to determine that.

STEWART: To date, there are no confirmed cases of reinfection anywhere in the world. Epidemiology experts think the vast majority of people do develop protective immunity once they've had the virus at least for the short term, but perhaps not all.

DANNY ALTMANN, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON: These stories we are hearing are the exceptions and perhaps -- we know that if you look at levels of antibodies in different people, it's like firing a scatter gun on the page, that some people are way up there with their levels (ph) of antibody and some people are way down there with almost none.

And what if these are examples of people who had almost none, who are unlucky and meet the virus again and just don't have protection on board?

STEWART: I had a positive test for antibodies at a private clinic in May, having been ill a few weeks with COVID-19 symptoms. So, I am back three months later to see whether my antibody levels have dropped. Recent studies have shown that these antibodies can declined rapidly

after infection, bringing into question just how long-lasting this type of protective immunity is.

Here, we have my results from last time and here we have it today. Now you could see that my IG is negative, which I would expect. I don't think I'd be infected recently. My IGG has come down, but it's still positive. So, I hope I have some level of immunity still, although how much protection antibodies ultimately give is still unknown.

ALTMANN: If I knew I had antibodies on board, it probably wouldn't make me go and stand shoulder to shoulder in a crowd a glass can real something (ph) because I just don't want to have my kind of confidence quite that far. But I wouldn't expect to get re-infected if I was an average sort of person.

STEWART: While experts still stress, reinfection is highly unlikely, it offers little hope for people like Sue Stanton, despite two positive PCR tests over three months apart. She's never tested positive for antibodies.

STANTON: Is this something that I am going to have ongoing?

Is this something that you know, I'm never fully going to recover from?

Or what are the implications for that?

Will I be ever be able to go back to work?

What are the consequences of that?

I mean, my children, it's something that I try not to think about too much.

STEWART: Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

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HOLMES: We will take a quick break on the program. When we come back on CNN NEWSROOM, tragic, shocking scenes from India where a plane skidded off the runway and broke in two. The latest, as investigators get to work. That is when we come back.

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[03:25:00]

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HOLMES: To India, where aircraft investigators are preparing to look into exactly what happened in Friday's plane crash and why, now that the flight data recorder has been recovered from the wreckage.

It was an Air India Express jet that skidded off the runway and broke in two, killing 18 people. CNN's Vedika Sud with the details.

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VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): A scene of chaos in India's southern Kerala state, where a passenger plane has broken in two. On board the destroyed aircraft, 190 passengers, including 10 infants, two pilots and four cabin crew.

Not all survived. Dozens more are injured. The passengers were Indian nationals stranded abroad by the coronavirus pandemic being repatriated by the Indian government. They returned home on an Air India Express flight IX-1344, ended in a crash landing.

After departing the Dubai (ph) route, to the Kozhikode International Airport, upon arrival, it skidded off the tabletop runway in heavy rainfall. Its fuselage shearing apart and falling into the valley 9 meters below.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pilot had tried to land earlier and then did a turnaround. The aircraft would not be brought to a halt by the end of the runway. And there is a 35 feet drop in a gorge. Fortunately, the plane did not catch fire.

SUD (voice-over): The prime minister says in a tweet, he is pained by the accident, offering condolences and assistance, to those affected. As of now, there are few answers about what exactly happened in the crash landing.

It appears weather could have played a role. The crash landing comes during a heavy monsoon season, which has led to deadly landslides elsewhere in Kerala state.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Runway construction, runway pavement isn't a very exacting science. You have to have it scored and marked in such a way so that you will get traction when you touch down in rain. Of course, we don't know at this point where the plane actually touched down on the runway.

SUD (voice-over): In May of 2010, an Air India Express flight overshot an airport runway in the country's southwestern city of Mangalore (ph). It killed all 158 people on board. Now 10 years, later Friday's crash in Kerala marks a similar tragedy with many unanswered questions -- Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.

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HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. Thank you for spending part of your day with me. There will be more news in about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, "AFRICAN VOICES CHANGEMAKERS" coming your way.