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U.S. Attorney General on Election Threats; Germany: Navalny Poisoned with Nerve Agent Novichok; U.S. Officials Urge Caution ahead of Holiday Weekend; U.S. Approves Emergency Use of Convalescent Plasma; Biden Beating Trump in CNN National Poll 51-43. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 03, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow here in Atlanta.
Ahead, attempted murder: Angela Merkel says testing proves that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned. We are live in Moscow with Russia's reaction.
Also, politics before science: the CDC is telling states to prepare for a coronavirus vaccine by November. But members of Trump's task force says that is not likely.
Also the U.S. attorney general says he believes China is more of a threat than Russia to the 2020 election. We will have China's reaction on that.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: The international community is demanding answers from Russia about the poisoning of an outspoken opposition leader. Germany has concluded the Soviet era nerve agent Novichok was used in an attempt to kill Alexei Navalny.
His chief of staff says the use of Novichok in particular is tantamount to Vladimir Putin's signature at the crime scene. Well, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Moscow must explain itself.
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ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): We are informing our E.U. and NATO partners about the results of the findings. We will deliberate together and, depending on the Russian reaction, we will decide on an adequate common reaction.
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CURNOW: Matthew Chance is in Moscow with the latest on all of this.
You've been tracking the story.
What more can you tell us, Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a really serious development. The fact the Germans have announced they have unequivocal proof that Novichok is the substance that was used to poison Alexei Navalny.
It's a very powerful chemical nerve agent. It's a substance that Russia has been accused of in the past of using against its enemies. In 2018, Sergei Skripal, a U.S. -- sorry -- a Russian spy who defected to Britain, was poisoned along with his daughter in Salisbury, causing international outrage.
The British authorities back then pointed the finger of blame squarely at the Kremlin. They even identified members of the Russian GRU, Russian military intelligence, as being the perpetrators of the actual poisoning.
This time, as you mentioned, the fact that Novichok has been linked or said to be the cause of the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, people close to him, his supporters, his chief of staff saying that's tantamount to Vladimir Putin signing his autograph at the scene of the crime.
The Kremlin for its part, though, is not accepting responsibility. They have a long history of denying categorically any connection to these malign activities they've been accused of over the years.
The Kremlin says, as far as they're concerned, there was no toxic substances found on Alexei Navalny before he went to Germany. The Russian foreign minister is accusing Germany of megaphone diplomacy, complaining they still have no official notification from the German state that this is the conclusion of the investigation into what's happened to that leading Russian opposition figure.
CURNOW: In many, ways that's no surprise. The English intelligence services will say it's not like Russia accepted responsibility for what happened there, no doubt the Germans not expecting much either in terms of accountability, though.
But the other question is and certainly British intelligence seems to get a clear idea of what played out hour by hour in Salisbury a few years ago, do we have any sense of how this was deposited on or swallowed by Mr. Navalny?
Was it en route between Siberia and Moscow?
Do we have any sense of where he might have been attacked?
CHANCE: Well, we know he was pictured drinking a cup of tea in an airport cafe just before boarding a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk, in the far east of the country, back to Moscow. He had been in the far east, campaigning and digging out corruption allegations, which is part of his regular working process. He got violently sick on board the plane about three hours in, on the
way back to Moscow. And the plane had to make an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where he was hospitalized.
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CHANCE: Absolutely terrible images of him being taken off on a stretcher, onto an ambulance, on the tarmac and whisked away to the hospital there.
I suppose the big difference about what happened in Salisbury in 2018, of course that Britain, that was a foreign state, as far as Russia is concerned and the authorities had access to all the surveillance video, they were able to pinpoint the individuals, they think, who carried out the poisoning.
This has taken place on Russian soil and you, know of course, if there is a connection with the Russian state, and that's the suggestion at this point, it's unlikely the Russian authorities are going to make that kind of evidence available.
Whether or not Alexei Navalny or how closely he is monitored is something that's been discussed quite a lot in the media here over the past couple of weeks since he was poisoned.
And it seems that, virtually every step of his way is closely monitored by members of the security services. So the idea here is that, if he was poisoned, it's almost certain that somebody in the Russian authorities may have been aware of it.
CURNOW: Matthew Chance, always good to speak to you. Thanks so much. Live from Moscow.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say U.S. states should prepare to distribute COVID-19 vaccines as soon as October, late October, assuming one of them is ready by then. Now the head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health says it's quite unlikely that a vaccine will likely be ready but he still supports the CDC's effort.
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DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NIH: I think that's unlikely but I defend the CDC and their effort to try to be sure people are prepared. This is like the Boy Scout motto, "be prepared."
Even if it's very low likelihood, if everything happened to come together really beautifully, and we had an answer by then and we knew we had a vaccine that was safe and effective, wouldn't you want people to be ready to figure out how to do the distribution?
That's all the CDC is saying. Keep in mind, the likelihood of that is pretty low.
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CURNOW: Meantime, America's leading expert on infectious diseases offered his own vaccine prediction. Take a listen.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I believe that, by the time we get to the end of this calendar year, that we will feel comfortable that we do have a safe and effective vaccine.
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CURNOW: And it comes, of course, as colleges and universities continue to see more cases in the U.S. So far more than 20,000 infections have been reported on college campuses in at least 36 states.
And for the most, part of the number of new coronavirus cases across much of the U.S. is on the decline, except for states in the Midwest. As you can see here, they have seen a surge in recent weeks.
Well, now, the overall numbers remain staggering high. Officials are also worried this progress could be wiped out in just one day. The Labor Day holiday is this coming weekend. It's on Monday. And the country's top COVID expert is imploring Americans to follow health guidelines to avoid another holiday surge in coronavirus cases, as Nick Watt now reports -- Nick.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That's the message for all of you holiday weekenders out there, mask up. Here's why.
That's the national new case count going into Memorial Day weekend and watch within a month case counts soared. A summer surge sparked in part by carefree holiday hoards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No mask.
Why you got to mask on?
WATT (voice over): Nationwide, average case counts have been falling recently but are they now plateauing somewhere around 40,000 new cases every single day. That's roughly twice as many cases suffered by South Korea throughout the entire pandemic.
FAUCI: Right around 40,000 new cases that's an unacceptably high baseline. We've got to get it down. I'd like to see it 10,000 or less.
WATT (voice over): By the way, the president has a new coronavirus advisor Dr. Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution. But some experts now questioning his qualifications.
CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Dr. Atlas is a neuroradiologist. So unless they're looking to have a lot of brain MRIs read as part of the Coronavirus Task Force work, he is completely unqualified for the advice that he's giving right now.
WATT (voice over): Meanwhile, Iowa is now our epicenter, 22 percent of COVID tests coming back positive.
WILLIAM HASELTINE, PHD, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I see a tragedy unfolding for the people of Iowa.
WATT (voice over): Iowa Senator, Joni Ernst, suggesting doctors might be inflating the coronavirus virus death toll. She spoke with "The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier."
SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): I can't actually look at that information but I have heard it from health care providers that they do get reimbursed higher amounts if it's a COVID-related illness or death.
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DR. GLENN HURST, FAMILY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: I find it to be incredibly offensive. It's an offensive attack on some of the best Iowans out there on the front lines.
WATT (voice over): At least 260 cases now confirmed stemming from that masks optional rally in Sturgis, South Dakota last month.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're ready to ride. Everybody is cooped up from the coronavirus.
WATT (voice over): They rode free. Many now sick and today one biker confirmed dead.
WATT: Dr. Deborah Birx, who is on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is touring the country and she just said if you need evidence that masks and distancing work, look at the southern states of the U.S.
They implemented masks and distancing. People are still going to stores, going on vacation, eating out but they are wearing masks and the numbers have fallen. She said that this is no longer theoretical; this is a fact. Masks and distancing work -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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CURNOW: Amen to that, Nick.
Now as you heard in his piece, Iowa senator Joni Ernst has been taking heat for suggesting coronavirus death tolls are overcounted. Now she appears to be backpedaling, although she hasn't specifically retracted her comments.
She did acknowledge America has a high death toll of over 180,000 people, still, she hasn't responded to CNN. But her suggestion that medical professionals fraudulently inflate coronavirus numbers to make more money.
Well, I want to go to Dr. Scott Miscovich, a family physician and a national consultant for COVID-19 testing and he joins me from here in Georgia.
Scott, good to see you again. I want to talk about this vaccine because we are hearing that, from the CDC, you know, which is the erstwhile institute where people take their guidance when it comes to health, that there could be a vaccine in late October, early November, in time for the election.
Do you think that Americans will trust a vaccine if there is one?
And on the other hand, medically, is that even possible to greenlight a vaccine in such a short time?
What are the dangers of rushing it here?
DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Thanks, Robyn, I think the problem, there's a very big problem with this because this has been rushed. These are -- they are rushing phase 2 and phase 3. The number of individuals they're using to approve these vaccines are not quite adequate from what we would like to see.
And overall, this is problematic for us, very problematic. So we don't believe is something that should be rushed to the public at this point. And I don't think America will use it at this point.
CURNOW: That's interesting. And that doesn't do anyone any favors down the line either. Let's talk about the flu season. The flu season about to hit here in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere has just gone through a pretty cold winter.
Does there need to be more coordination in how authorities in the U.S. and U.K. and Europe hand out flu shots, do the tests and, possibly down the line, vaccines?
MISCOVICH: I have a real strong opinion on this. I have been running COVID-19 testing in my home state of Hawaii, where we've done over 100,000 tests. Now I'm consulting all over the country. And I'm proposing we are very aggressive with our flu vaccination program.
I would like to see a start to have the flu vaccinations distributed in the drive-through testing lines that we are seeing and basically use that same process that is well established in our country to get a flu vaccine.
Here is the reason: as physicians, we are now challenged to find if someone comes in with a fever or a cough, symptoms, is it COVID-19 or not?
The last thing we need is flu ripping through our country and then having that dual choice, is it flu or is it COVID?
If we can kind of keep the flu at bay, we might have a better chance of isolating what is the more deadly disease that we need to identify. It will save us testing resources, it will save us all time in the office, emergency rooms and hospitals.
CURNOW: And even just in the pharmacies, I suppose, just going to get your flu shots. What you are saying, is have some sort of combination in terms of getting tested and getting your flu shot at the same time.
I also want to ask you about mixed messaging. There seems to be a lot of that going on, whether it's about vaccines but also about the plasma theory.
What do you say about that?
MISCOVICH: Most of us in the field do still believe that convalescent plasma has been effective, especially when it's used in a very critical case, when someone is in that near-death experience.
So I think, if you look at the global use, it goes back. We have to blame this on the CDC and a higher level.
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MISCOVICH: There's been such poor leadership to really say this is exactly when you use it and when you don't use it. So we have had facilities freewheeling it and when you take that and globalize the studies is will give you mixed messages.
But my colleagues and most of the high-level facilities using it are feeling it has saved the lives of those people who are really on the edge. So it depends on the message and who's doing the study, I believe.
CURNOW: As you say, the timing of perhaps when it's administered, Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you very much for joining, us and thanks also for all your good work. I appreciate it.
MISCOVICH: Thank you.
So one number shows us just how bad the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Americas: 13.5 million cases. That's according to the region's public health agency. And Brazil, as you can see here, is one of the hardest hit and now closing in on 4 million cases. Patrick Oppmann takes a closer look at one reason the region's outbreak has gotten so out of control -- Patrick.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly 570,000 health care workers in the Americas have fallen ill with the coronavirus, according to the director of the Pan American Health Organization. One in seven of those health care workers are in the United States and Mexico and a staggering 270,000 Brazilian health care workers have fallen ill with coronavirus.
On Wednesday she said that as the outbreak swept into many countries in the Americas, that just too many doctors did not have access to the proper protective equipment or they had to reuse things like masks and gowns because they just did not have enough of them. So she painted a picture of health care workers that were essentially
left to themselves, to defend themselves from this virus as they were treating this barrage of people coming into the hospitals.
She said the rate of infection seems to have stabilized in the U.S. and in Brazil but those two countries still see more deaths related to the coronavirus than any other country in the world.
Other countries in the Americas as well seem to have flattened the curve like in Chile and Uruguay but in the Caribbean, countries in the Bahamas have seen a surge in cases. More than half the cases in the Bahamas has, she said, reported in the last two weeks.
She also called on the United States of take part in an initiative that would share a potential vaccine with poor countries. Those countries that might not have a vaccine developed on their own or buy a vaccine, giving them access to a lifesaving vaccine, more than 170 other countries have done so.
But so far, the United States has refused to commit to initiatives to share an eventual coronavirus vaccine -- Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
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CURNOW: Thanks, Patrick, for that.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the E.U.'s public health agency says COVID cases there are almost back to the high levels seen back in March when the outbreak was just starting to peak in Europe. The agency's director says, while hospitalizations are once again on the rise, reopening schools should not pose any new risks.
Right now, Spain has the highest infection rate in Europe and Germany's top research institute has labeled it a, quote, "risk area." Travelers entering Germany from high-risk areas have to get tested for COVID and may have to quarantine.
And a short break right now but when we come back, a new CNN poll shows just how much of a bump Donald Trump and Joe Biden got from their parties' conventions.
Plus, the U.S. attorney general reveals which country is most aggressively trying to meddle in November's elections. Stay with, us you are watching CNN.
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CURNOW: To the race for the White House, a new CNN poll which shows the Democratic and Republican conventions apparently didn't do much to change voters' minds. Joe Biden leads Donald Trump 51 percent to 43 percent nationally.
The race is within the margin of error in 15 key battleground states. That's pretty important, as Jeremy Diamond now explains -- Jeremy.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two months out from Election Day, President Trump is on the trail in the key battleground state of North Carolina, pivoting away from the pandemic and turning to the economy and law and order.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: American warriors did not defeat fascism and oppression overseas, only to watch our freedoms be trampled by violent mobs here at home. We stop those violent mobs very easily. These people only know one thing and that is strength.
DIAMOND: With U.S. coronavirus cases topping six million, sources telling CNN that Trump and top White House officials have all but given up on suppressing the virus, focusing instead on doing just enough to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed, while waiting for a vaccine.
One senior administration official telling CNN, "You can't stop it."
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The idea that you're going to be able to get the economy back on track without getting COVID under control is completely counterintuitive.
DIAMOND: Democratic challenger Joe Biden also preparing to counter Trump's visit yesterday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, announcing he will hold a community meeting there tomorrow.
BIDEN: We have spoken to all the leaders up there. And there's been overwhelming requests that I do come, because what we want to do is, we got to heal. We got to put things together, bring people together.
DIAMOND: Meanwhile, Trump is continuing to make baseless claims about Biden's health.
TRUMP: He's done some kind of an enhancement, in my opinion. And I say we should both -- I should take a drug test. So should he.
DIAMOND: But, these days, it's the president who is facing questions about his health amid new reporting that vice president Mike Pence was put on standby when Trump made an unscheduled trip to Walter Reed Medical Center last year.
Biden declining to weigh in.
BIDEN: And I'm not going to speculate. I will let the experts do that. The only time that I have been on notice is when the president is out of the country and I'm in the country.
DIAMOND: During his trip to North Carolina on Wednesday, we saw President Trump do something he's been doing a lot lately, which is trying to undermine confidence in the 2020 elections. This time, the president suggesting that voters who send their votes
in by mail, at least in the state of North Carolina, should then go to the polls and try and vote again.
The president, of course, what he's doing there, is encouraging his supporters to commit voter fraud because that is what it would be if you would send your vote in already by mail and then you go and try and vote again in person.
That is either attempted voter fraud or voter fraud. So not clear what the president is trying to get at there but certainly it is his latest move to try and undermine public confidence in the elections -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.
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CURNOW: Well, the U.S. attorney general William Barr says China is the most aggressive country when it comes to interfering in U.S. elections. He spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer about what Russia and others are suspected of doing.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: The intelligence community says Russia, China and Iran are seeking to interfere in the U.S. presidential election for various reasons. But mostly they want to sow dissent in our country, exacerbate racial tensions, et cetera, like that.
Of those three countries that the intelligence community has pointed to Russia, China and Iran, which is the most assertive, the most aggressive in this area?
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I believe it's China.
BLITZER: Which one?
BARR: China.
BLITZER: China more than Russia right now?
BARR: Yes.
BLITZER: Why do you say that?
BARR: Because I've seen the intelligence. That's what I've concluded.
BLITZER: What are they trying to do?
BARR: Well, I'm not going to discuss that.
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CURNOW: Kristie Lu Stout is joining us now live from Hong Kong.
Any reaction from China yet? KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Not yet; we are still awaiting fresh reaction from China to that explosive claim by the U.S. attorney general.
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STOUT: Claiming that China is a greater election threat than Russia. In that wide ranging interview with Wolf Blitzer, you heard part of it just now, he made the claim that he had seen the evidence. But William Barr did not present any evidence.
And if the evidence against, the U.S. intelligence community has yet to show it. Now according to U.S. intelligence report on election security that was released earlier this year, at the beginning of August, it said that China would prefer that U.S. president Donald Trump not win reelection.
But that report did not offer any evidence indicating that China is interfering in this election to undermine or to weaken the candidacy of Donald Trump; whereas, according to this report, Russia is actively meddling and interfering in the election to undermine Joe Biden.
So the use of state-sponsored actors using social media, state-run TV to strengthen the standing of Donald Trump. Now this is an allegation that China has been hit with many times before.
China has responded to these allegations of U.S. election interference in April, also most recently in August. And it responds as it always does, saying that the U.S. election is an internal affair, that China is not interested in interference and, according to a ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson -- again, back in August -- saying, quote, "We also urge certain U.S. politicians to refrain from dragging China into election campaigns in pursuit of self-serving interests" -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Thanks so much, that live report from Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, the Korean Peninsula is getting slammed by a powerful tycoon (sic). Look at these images. They have little time to recover as a second storm is already on its heels.
Also a controversial pastor blamed for an outbreak of COVID-19 is threatening to harm himself unless South Korea's president apologizes for a raid on his church and home. Those details coming up.
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CURNOW: It is 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back, I'm Robyn Curnow, live here from the CNN Center in Atlanta.
So the Japanese Coast Guard is searching for a cargo ship with more than 40 crewmembers that went missing during Typhoon Maysak. So far, crews have released and rescued one man believed to be from that ship, which was carrying thousands of livestock.
The ship sent out a distress signal on Wednesday as the storm was approaching. Now the storm has since made landfall on the Korean Peninsula, with winds around 165 kilometers an hour and another strong storm is expected to hit the same region this weekend.
So Pedram Javaheri is following all of this. What can you tell us? Hi.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Robyn, this is a storm system -- of course, we often talk about tropical systems across the Western Pacific but really the rarity of this cannot be overstated.
Because you look back into history, since 1951, only six tropical systems of category two or greater, which you noted there. About 165 kilometers per hour at landfall makes it precisely that.
Only six storms since 1951 have made landfall of that magnitude. Of course, one of them being Maysak and there is a forecast for another system approaching this region within the next couple of days, potentially of similar magnitude.
But what is left of our previous storm quickly falling apart and a very rapid moving system once it made landfall -- so at least that was good as far as eliminating the rainfall amounts.
But it is Haishen that we're very concerned about. Winds already at 160 kilometers per hour which, again, would be equivalent to a category two system. And then you'll notice what is in advance of it.
Water temperatures among the warmest on our planet, bath water warmth here, sitting at 32 degrees Celsius. Twenty-eight degrees is typically what we look for the temperature for water to be warm enough to support a tropical system.
So anytime you're talking about the lower thirties, you know the potential exists for significant and rapid development.
And in fact, waters in this region are among the warmest we've seen in about four decades, two degrees above what is normal for this time of year.
So again, additional fuel for Haishen as it approaches this area of the northern Ryukyu Islands we think sometime say Saturday into Sunday.
And then beyond that, possibly again Sunday into Monday, we get another typhoon of similar category two magnitude which would be the seventh in the past five decades to make landfall across this region.
Again, coming in twice in less than a week span across very similar spots, southern and eastern portions of South Korea.
The concern with this, of course, Robyn, not only the devastating impacts when it comes to strong winds on these areas of landfall but the amount of rainfall, on top of what has already occurring, on top of what has been a very wet monsoon season is really going to be devastating in some of these mountain communities.
And, of course landslides, mudslides, all become a concern with this particular storm. Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes. The world very much dealing with the effects of climate change happening right now. And there it is there, on your screen.
Pedram Javaheri, thanks so much. It was good to see you.
So the South Korean pastor whose church was linked to a cluster of coronavirus cases is threatening to harm himself if the president doesn't apologize to him within a month.
Police in Seoul raided the church and his home on Wednesday saying they were looking for more evidence that the church interfered with the investigation of the outbreak.
More than 1,000 cases have been tied to this church.
Well, Paula Hancocks is live in Seoul with the latest. A thousand cases tied to just one church. And now this reaction.
Tell us more.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, the police investigation is ongoing at this point which is why they felt the need to raid the church, they said. And also to raid the home of the reverend of this particular church.
They say they're looking for any kind of evidence that they did hamper the investigation.
Now officials have accused the reverend in particular and this church of not being transparent of when this cluster emerged, not giving the full details of those who were are potentially part of the services.
They had to enlist police help to try and track down some of those who could have been in the services and could have been linked to the ongoing cluster.
Now there's more than 1,100 people have now tested positive in relation to this one cluster, nine people have died from being related to this church.
And officials say that it is because there was secrecy surrounding the church that it was allowed to get to this point.
Now the counter argument for that from the church's point of view, and from the reverend, is that they believe that they are being defamed.
We've heard from the reverend himself. He just came out of hospital on Wednesday -- he tested positive for the virus himself as well and has just recovered. And he gave a press conference saying that the president Moon Jae-In has to apologize for blaming his church and the congregation for this particular cluster. Saying if he doesn't within a month then he will self harm.
Now there is some history of animosity between this conservative church and the liberal South Korean president.
The reverend has consistently criticized the president calling him a communist, saying he's giving up South Korea for North Korea.
So, certainly, the political aspect of this is that this church in any way, shape, or form support the South Korean president. So that's the context of that.
But the investigation is ongoing with the police trying to figure out whether or not this church did hamper the efforts to try and contain the virus.
And if they did, then we've heard from officials that they will take action.
CURNOW: Yes. But it's just so interesting, this reaction. Even though this man had COVID.
He's still saying that he needs to sue for defamation, calling the South Korean leader a communist.
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Which is a pretty big thing under the current political climate.
HANCOCKS: That's right. The reverend himself, Jun Kwang-Hoon, he is very well known within South Korea.
He actually went to an anti-government protest rally on August 15th, the police did not want people to turn up but thousands of them did actually turn up.
And the reverend himself made a speech. He took his mask off before speaking to the rally. And then just two days later, he was found to be positive with coronavirus.
So there's been a lot of criticism from online netizens blaming the church, making similarities and connections to Shincheonji, the religious group back in February and March. Which was accused of being -- of hampering the efforts to try and contain the outbreak, of not being transparent, of not passing on information.
So certainly, there is some anger within South Korea itself that this appears to be a second religious group that is not being transparent enough.
And we're hearing from officials that the impact on South Korea, on businesses, on the economy has been enormous.
The fact they have had to increase social distancing and increase the level of social distancing because of this cluster among others.
Robyn.
CURNOW: OK, thanks so much. Paula Hancocks there in Seoul.
So still ahead here on CNN.
The airline industry is warning of mass layoffs in the weeks to come. Just how many employees could be at risk?
That is next.
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CURNOW: The airline industry is reeling from the effects of the coronavirus.
United Airlines says without additional help from the federal government the company will be forced to furlough more than 16,000 employees in less than a month.
American Airlines says it plans to lay off or furlough 19,000 employees. Delta is planning to furlough nearly 2,000 pilots.
And Europe's biggest airline says it will cut more than a quarter of its workforce.
Well, let's go straight to John Defterios. John joins me now from Abu Dhabi.
So, John, we certainly saw a strong burst in May and June. But there is a clear indication that business is planning for a slowdown ahead.
Despite, of course, what the stock market is suggesting.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, that's for sure.
We have two very distinct signals being sent right now, Robyn.
The stock market continues to rally with the Dow above 29,000, the NASDAQ broke a record yesterday at 12,000 based on the hopes of more stimulus and the fact that interest rates will remain low.
But we have very strong signals from industry here that they're expecting quite a radical slowdown and are not sure about the make up of this next bale out package.
So let's talk about United here and the furloughing of 16,000.
You talked about with the other airlines are doing here from American Airlines, and Delta. BA is not furloughing workers overseas but they're actually cutting some 12,000.
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I listened to what the chairman of United had to say. He's talking about an industry overall that needs to shrink down by
about 50 percent, Robyn.
And then saying if we do get a bailout after October 1 here of another 30 to $32 billion dollars overall, it is just forestalling the lay- offs in 2021.
This is an industry that just needs to slash back because this is the new normal.
Indications of that from the online travel site, Kayak.
The CEO was suggesting that we won't see a 2019 level or anything close to it until 2023.
And they're tracking some of the different buying trends right now when it comes to hospitality. People taking their cars in the United States going on short trips, not planning ahead.
Not using hotels and using bed and breakfasts or Airbnb instead. And they're retrenching -- when it comes to spending on hospitality and holidays.
This is because of the uncertainty that's coming in the fourth quarter. And very likely, Robyn, in the aftermath of the election in November, of course.
CURNOW: Of course. So travel and leisure are suffering, as you say.
But Ford, which is a major barometer for manufacturing, is also cutting back at the same time. So what's happening there, what does that tell us?
DEFTERIOS: Well, Ford is making money again because it's doing so by slashing back again and reducing itself in size. It's going through an $11 billion restructuring.
And these white-collar job losses are all part of that process, Robyn. Fourteen hundred is their target. They're looking at early retirement or basic payouts.
There's another thing that's taking place in the auto industry right now and picking up steam pretty quickly, although it is a five to ten- year trend.
Tesla's leading the move to electric vehicles, we're in an energy transition. The combustion engine is going to be fading away, it's just the timeline we don't know of yet.
But Ford is preparing for that. And to do so, it needs to cut down to size and then focus on connectivity, electric vehicles, research and development.
And the staff that they have now is not only bloated, 190,000 worldwide, it's just now prepared for that transition that I'm talking about. The Federal Reserve, by the way, the Central Bank at its recent Beige
Book survey, and the anxiety of the consumer right now is something they mentioned all throughout the United States.
They don't know what's happening next.
So, again investors are OK because they feel like the evaluation's going to go even higher, but the real economy is not. And that's what the Central Bank in suggesting as well.
CURNOW: OK. Well, it is. It's ordinary people who are feeling the pinch of this. The investors have got some money to play around with.
DEFTERIOS: Absolutely.
CURNOW: But ordinary folks who are potentially losing their jobs or have already lost their jobs and have got rent to pay, there's not a lot of spare cash.
No doubt there is a lot of anxiety, not just in the U.S. but around the world. And yes, we don't know where it's going.
John Defterios, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you there in Abu Dhabi.
DEFTERIOS: Good to see you. Thank you.
CURNOW: So I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks so much for watching.
I'll be back same time, same place tomorrow.
World sport with my friend and colleague Patrick Snell starts after the break. And then you have Rosemary Church. Enjoy. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:00]
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi there, thanks for joining us. And welcome to CNN WORLD SPORT this Thursday.
Ahead, another all-important game seven in the NBA playoffs.
Plus the very latest on the Lionel Messi situation at Barcelona.
I do want to get started though in New York City where once again we have seen Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka using her platform in a very powerful way indeed at the U.S. Open.
The 2018 champion on this occasion wearing a mask with the name Elijah McClain on it. Now McClain, a 23-year-old African American man who died last year in Colorado in police custody.
Earlier in the week, Osaka had pledged to honor victims during her run at this tournament and she's doing just that. Having arrived in New York with masks in tribute to seven different people she had revealed.
One for each match that would potentially take her all the way to the final. We'll see.
On Wednesday, the two-time grand slam champion just too good in the end for the Italian player Camila Giorgi here on Arthur Ashe advancing to round three in straight sets.
It was all pretty comfortable. But it's not the ease of her victory that's the story.
Remember, Osaka is just 22 years of age. She's again displaying a maturity way beyond her years. As she continues to develop a growing sense of purpose the deeper she goes at this year's U.S. Open.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAOMI OSAKA, U.S. OPEN PLAYER, TWO-TIME MAJOR TENNIS WINNER: I think tennis, people watch it all around the world.
And things that we think is like common names is probably not common overseas. And for me, I just want people to sort of just have more knowledge.
I'm not -- I feel like the platform that I have right now is something I used to take for granted. And for me, I feel like I should be using it for something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: As a platform. And she's using it very effectively indeed.
Well, Osaka next in action on Friday in round three when she'll meet the Ukrainian teenager, Marta Kostyuk.
Meantime, news of the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Karolina Pliskova, the number one women's seed from the Czech Republic is out.
Pliskova who reached the final at this event in 2016 tasting defeat in the second round against Caroline Garcia of France who was in truly inspired form here winning the first set very easily, 6-1.
Huge, huge disappointment for Pliskova, no question. She must have felt she had a great chance to go deep this year with six of the world's top ten players not competing.
This, remember, the first tennis slams of the COVID-19 era.
Garcia, who's currently 50 in the world delighted to get the job done here. Big shock out there in Louis Armstrong, the French player wins in straight sets.
And look at that, she is absolutely thrilled with the fruits of her labor. Congrats to her. Now on the men's side of things, top-ranked Novak Djokovic is going to
take some stopping, no question. As he eyes a grand slam title, number 18.
On Wednesday night in the Big Apple he eventually proving too strong for the British player, Kyle Edmund.
Though something unusual did happen here to the Serbian superstar. Not only did he drop a set, the first of the match, in fact, he also lost a tie break.
Big surprise this. Given he'd won 18 of his previous 20.
Order though eventually restored as Djokovic remains undefeated in 2020. Goes to close out the match three sets to one.
He faces the German player Jan-Lennard Struff next. Djokovic safely through.
Now the world's most expensive footballer Brazilian superstar, Neymar, is one of three Paris Saint-Germain players to have contracted coronavirus according to multiple reports including the "New York Times" which has cited people familiar with the matter.
French media saying that the 28-year-old along with Argentine teammates Angel di Maria and Leandro Paredes all tested positive after returning from a vacation in Evitha, Spain.
On Wednesday, in a press release PSG said three are confirmed positive after a SARS-CoV-2 test and have undergone the appropriate health protocols.
All players and staff will continue to be tested over the next few days.
CNN has reached out to each of the three players' representatives. The club declined to confirm the identity of the players to CNN.
Meantime, we're following the Lionel Messi situation at Barcelona very closely as speculation continues to swirl over his future at the Catalan club.
Now on Wednesday, the argentine forward's father and agent, Jorge, met with Barcelona leadership for 90 minutes to discuss the footballer's future with the club.
A source with direct knowledge of the meeting tells CNN Sport that Jorge was accompanied by Lionel's brother, Rrodrigo, plus and a lawyer and met with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and board member Javier Bordas.
[02:50:00] The source saying the club has no intention of ending Messi's contract. Adding in fact, it's interested in negotiating an extension for two more years. The 33-year old's current deal with run out due in June '21. It was
last week in fact, the south American shocked the Catalan giants by reportedly handing in a transfer request as well.
We'll stay across all the key developments for you.
All right. The latest from the NBA's Orlando bubble is just ahead with another all-important game seven on the line.
And we're one on one with PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan. His reflections on a golf season like no other.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNELL: We're back now with the NBA playoffs inside the Orlando bubble in Florida. Now on Tuesday night we witnessed a game seven thriller as the Denver Nuggets finally saw off the Utah Jazz by just two points.
A day later, in a case of "over to you" as the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder battled it out in their own all important decider. This was another pulsating contest, drama aplenty.
Late in the fourth quarter, Thunder trailing by three points but Lu Dort the Canadian player would continue his big night. That ties the game up at 99 apiece there.
He led all scores with a career-high 30 points.
But that wouldn't be enough for OKC. Moments later Houston James Harden putting Rockets ahead with a tough lay in. And although Harden would struggle offensively to -- by his standards
he would come up with a big play later on.
And this is going to be really important. We're going to show you what actually happens here.
Because he would actually block Dort in the final seconds, huge moment in the game, Venable tapping [ph] the ball thrown off him.
That gives the ball to the Rockets, Houston holds on for the win, they win by two points as well. They move on.
They'll now face LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
A night of high drama, another one.
All right. Let's get you caught up on the famed Tour de France now.
It was originally due to start in late June, but like most sporting events, it was postponed due to the global pandemic.
And a special moment on Wednesday to tell you about for the British rider, Adam Yates, who's moved into the lead of the race they call the toughest test in cycling.
Yates now the ninth different British rider to lead the Tour.
But the other side of the coin, actually seeing the homegrown hopes of French competitor Julian Alaphilippe taking a hit. He was given a 20- second penalty during the stage five, which was won by the Belgium racer, Wout van Aert.
Alaphilippe penalized for taking a bottle from a team support member inside the final 20 kilometers. He's now in 16th place.
By the way, always huge expectations on his shoulders. You have to go all the way back to the mid 1980s for the last time there was a French winner.
The Tour's stage six is later on this Thursday.
Now a season like no other on the PGA Tour which comes to a climax here in Atlanta with the FedEx cup playoff finale.
The sport shut down, just to remind you, for months due to the coronavirus.
Its return came in June overseen by the Tour's commissioner, Jay Monahan, who on Wednesday announced a 50-event super season for the year ahead, a schedule that will also include 14 events either postponed or canceled due to the pandemic.
He also revealed that the Tour would be stepping up its efforts to fight social injustice.
I spoke with the commissioner at East Lake golf club here in Atlanta to reflect on a truly turbulent last few months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:55:00]
JAY MONAHAN, PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER: Resolve has defined the PGA Tour for a long time. And I think as we've gotten through this, I'm particularly proud of our players, our caddies.
The way we have so responsibly returned to the communities where we play and be able to stand up the PGA Tour, inspire people to love this game, inspire more people to play this game.
And provide something that -- some entertainment for people to see Thursday through Sunday, that's been pretty extraordinary.
I think this is a period of time that we'll look back on and say that this was a great moment in the history of the game.
SNELL: Going into the tour championship, second consecutive season of the weighted scoring system.
How are you expecting it all, Commissioner, to play out before we get to crown a champion on Monday?
MONAHAN: Well, we've got -- you've got the number one, two and three in the FedEx Cup are the number one, two and three players in the official world golf rankings.
This return where we've had eight of the top 13 wins come from players inside the top 10 in the official world golf ranking.
Players are playing at a very high level. There is an awful lot of stake this week to win the FedEx Cup and its prestige.
So generally, when there is that much at stake you're going to see play at the highest level. And I'm hopeful we'll have a very similar circumstance like we had last year.
We had a number of players that had a chance when they teed it up on Sunday. And it was such a compelling finish. That's what -- candidly, that's what you see out here, week in and week out. That's why you never turn the TV off.
These guys are capable of turning challenging situations and opportunities and they do it all the time.
SNELL: I want to ask you what you made of the recent social justice statements we saw from the NBA recently.
MONAHAN: Yes.
SNELL: Players from other sports as well. Very powerful. What was your take on that?
MONAHAN: One of the things that we have worked on over the last several months as we pledge to be part of the solution was to go back to our tournament organizations, who understand that part of the fabric of every community where we play, and say we want to add racial and social injustice causes to the causes that were raising dollars for.
You are the experts in the community. And we want to do this holistically as a tour.
And so as we go forward, we're going to go back to our strength which is the platform of our tournaments.
And I was really pleased to say today that over the next 10 years we expect to generate over 100 million dollars for those causes. And that's just the start.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: Our thanks to the PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan there.
We seem to have what should be a thrilling season ender at the famed East Lake.
Thank you so much for joining us this Thursday. We're going to leave you though with our latest Rolex minute for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CNN HIGHLIGHT
MARIAJOSE ALGARRA, FOUNDER, CLEAN THIS BEACH UP: "Cleaning This Beach Up" is an organization that focuses on educating the community through weekly beach clean ups and educational programs as well as wellness activities.
We decided to start cleaning up our waterways mainly because we can social distance on the water with our kayaks or paddle boards.
So today we're going to be out here cleaning up the islands at Miami Beach.
You come out with us, you clean the beach. You get on a little bit of a workout. You go home and you're feeling way better, because you're giving back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: If you combine doing something good with exercise it can absolutely affect positively your mind, body and soul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALGARRA: We're actually saving marine lives when you're picking up the trash from the water.
It makes me feel really good afterwards. I feel happy. And it's exhausting, but it's always worth it.
[03:00:00]
