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India Now World's No. 2 For COVID; Djokovic Defaulted, Out Of The U.S. Open; Typhoon Haishen Lashes South Korea; Record High Temps On Coast, Snow In The Rockies; Trump Pushes Back on Disparaging "Atlantic" Report; Harris on Potential Mask Mandate: It would be a Standard; Study: American Individualism is Obstacle to Use of Masks; China Imposes New Visa Restrictions Targeting U.S. Media; Almost 300 Demonstrators Arrested Sunday in Hong Kong; Still No Deal on Additional U.S. Stimulus Aid; Chief Executive Officers on COVID-19 Economic Impact. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 07, 2020 - 01:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
YO-YO MA, CELLIST: And that's a degree of comfort that we can give.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Grim news for India and its battle against the coronavirus. The country has now passed Brazil and has the second highest number of cases globally.
Also, the downside of American exceptionalism. Why so many people are so opposed to wearing a mask to combat the virus.
Out at the Open a moment of frustration may have cost Novak Djokovic another U.S. Open title. Patrick Snell is here with the details.
And I'm Michael Holmes, and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
And this just in. India has now officially passed Brazil as the country with the second highest number of coronavirus infections in the world.
Minutes ago, Indian authorities confirming more than 4.2 million cases.
Now in recent days, the country's infection rate has just skyrocketed. And over the weekend, it not once but twice set a global record for most confirmed cases in a single day.
CNN's Vedika Sud is with us from New Delhi.
We were pretty sure this was going to happen, it has. It must be very worrying in India.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Grim situation here, of course, Michael. We're talking about two days like you just mentioned of over 90,000 new infections being reported in the last 24 hours respectively.
Now this is taken us to 4.2 million cases of COVID-19. We've surprassed Brazil only to be second to the U.S. now in the number of cases.
And if the average clearly pans out to be about 90,000 new infections a day, we could very soon be talking again how India is surging ahead in COVID-19 cases and even leaving the U.S. behind.
But of course that will happen, if it does, over the next few days.
But at this point in time, a few figures that I should mention to you.
We're talking about a population of 1.36 million people here in India whereas Brazil has a population of just 211 million people.
We also know that India is the second most populated country in the world so we have to keep that in the mind when we're talking about surpassing Brazil as a country when it comes to COVID-19 numbers.
India stands at a third position when it comes to the maximum number of deaths that have taken place across the world after the U.S. and Brazil.
What the Indian government has been saying specifically, the health ministry, is that our fatality rate still remains one of the lowest across the world because it's less than two percent.
Also the active number of cases is less than the recovery rate that India is seeing at this point in time.
Virologists also go on to say that these statements coming out from the health ministry at this point in time is making people complacent, because which -- they think they can now go about across India, they can avoid avoid talking about social distancing and sit around in groups.
And that is extremely dangerous for the country that has seen such a huge surge currently, Michael.
HOLMES: India is such a massive country. It's got a huge population, a lot of poor people who have to work daily just to feed their families that day.
What are the challenges of demographics and geography, and infrastructure?
SUD: Michael, 70 percent of India's population, nearly 70 percent, live in rural areas.
Now the public health care system in villages and rural areas is not that great, especially in the poorer states of India which include Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and some others.
So, of course, they don't get the treatment that one should when infected by this virus.
Also, a lot of migrant workers as we reported at the beginning of COVID-19 hitting India, the situation was a lot of migrant workers because they lost their jobs moved back to the rural areas where they belong to. Some of them took the infection back with them.
And a doctor that we have also spoken with has mentioned that now the rural areas are seeing a lot of COVID-19 cases as well.
Also at this point in time a lot of these migrant workers are coming back to cities to work because they don't have enough savings to survive on. Like you mentioned, for them daily wages is how they survive and how how their family survives.
So at this point in time the worry also is the expansion of the number of COVID-19 cases in rural areas, Michael.
HOLMES: Yes. It is a very worrying situation. Vedika Sud live in New Delhi. Thank you, Vedika.
SUD: Sure.
HOLMES: Well, while India is recording an increase in COVID-19 cases, another hot spot, Brazil, may just be starting to show some signs of improvement.
Still the country is still struggling. On Sunday alone, Brazil reporting more than 14,000 new cases.
CNN's Matt Rivers takes a closer look.
[01:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As Brazil passes a troubling milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, people in the capital city continue with daily life, with mixed emotions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through translator): I'm not calm, I'm very afraid. Because people here don't give much importance to COVID-19.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through translator): Yes. We need to get back to work, business have lost a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: After an outbreak that spread wide and fast, Brazil's coronavirus cases have surpassed four million, killing more than 120,000 so far.
But for the first time since May, there may now be some signs of reprieve in Latin America's worst hit country.
Brazil's COVID-19 death rate appears to be easing, showing a slight average decline in the number dying each day.
New daily infections may also be leveling off after peaking at the end of July.
But some experts warn that the downward trend is far from definite and the worst may still be ahead, others caution against relying too heavily on the data.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ALEXANDRE NAIME BARBOSA, BRAZIL (Through Translator): The under reporting of cases is three to five times the number of official cases.
Last week the average number of deaths was less than 1,000 deaths per day, a statistic that was celebrated by some political figures, whose strategy is to promote increasing flexibility in economic and social fields.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: Across most of Brazil, coronavirus restrictions have loosened, and businesses have reopened as the country's president continues to downplay the outbreak.
Jair Bolsonaro said any international vaccine would need further approval in Brazil. And that it would be up to each citizen to decide if they want it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIR BOLSONARO, PRESIDENT, BRAZIL: Many people want the vaccine to be applied in a coercive way, but there is no law that provides for that.
The existing law says that such measures may be adopted, they may be taken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: Bolsonaro's attitude towards the pandemic and a potential vaccine has seen some resistance from elsewhere in the government, including the leader of Brazil's biggest city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOAO DORIA, GOVERNOR OF SAO PAULO, Brazil (Through Translator): We have a leader who is a denialist, who continues to deny that the virus is serious.
We will be prepared. We will prepare (inaudible) some situation which the federal government for some situation turns its back on Sao Paulo.
Brazilians in Sao Paulo will have the vaccine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: Despite criticism, Bolsonaro's popularity continues to rise across Brazil, boosted by COVID-19 welfare payments, which he has extended through the end of the year. While an outbreak appears to plateau, his narrative may be winning.
Matt Rivers, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Eight months after the novel coronavirus was officially identified, the global number of infections from COVID-19, well, that's now topped 27 million.
Get your head around that number, 27 million.
And despite global efforts to contain the pandemic, the virus keeps spreading as we know at an alarming rate.
Now in Europe, the virus has been resurging with countries reporting some of their biggest infection numbers in months.
The United Kingdom recording nearly 3,000 new infections within a 24- hour period, its highest daily increase since May.
Over the past few weeks European countries have been easing coronavirus restrictions in an effort to boost their economies. But, of course these loosened measures coupled with an increase in testing has contributed to the surge that we're seeing.
Now back here in the United States, the kind of social gathering some health experts warned against over the big Labor Day holiday weekend actually happened.
A massive crowd of people showed up on Saturday night for an unofficial Burning Man Festival in San Francisco, California. And you can see there, no social distancing.
CNN actually spoke with Craig Fowler (ph) who took this video. He said, well, it was an amazing night but he didn't realize it would be so crowded.
City officials quickly moved to shut the area down.
Official Burning Man organizers say they were not involved in organizing the gathering.
And this was the scene on other California beaches over the holiday weekend, hordes of people apparently not heeding official warnings. That's quite a crowd.
Okay now let's turn to tennis as one of the biggest names of the game has been disqualified from the U.S. Open.
World number one Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the tournament after hitting a lineswoman with a ball accidentally.
CNN WORLD SPORTS' Patrick Snell is following the story.
HOLMES: Now, I guess he didn't mean it, and that's all well and good. But rules are rules.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: They very much so are. Yes. No question about that, Michael.
Yes, huge disappointment for Novak Djokovic. Of course, our best wishes to the female line judge in question there.
[01:10:00]
This is just a huge setback for him. This is a player whose top ranked, he's the number one seed he was expected to go on and win an eighteenth grand slam title.
You can see the incident there. He had just fallen, for context, 6-5 behind in the first set against Pablo Carreno Busta, the Spanish opponent. Just had his serve broken.
You can see the instant remorse there on his face. He was just trying to swat away the ball, accidentally hitting the female line judge.
But you can see to be fair, Michael, the distress in which she is in there. Happily, she does get back up on her feet.
The rules officials consulting. And in the end, there's just one outcome here.
Kind of like a red card in soccer, Michael. When you have a violation of that order, when you strike a ball and you hit an official, there is only one outcome.
As far as this year's U.S. Open is concerned, Michael, he is no more. Novack Djokovic out of the tournament.
HOLMES: Now Patrick, he left the stadium without having a news conference which some people were surprised about.
But he did eventually speak. Tell us about it.
SNELL: He did. He took to social media and gave a very heartfelt response on social media. I do want to get to that because it is lengthy, but the words are very powerful I feel.
"This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she's feeling OK.
I'm extremely sorry to have caused her such stress, so unintended, so wrong. I'm not disclosing her name to respect her privacy.
As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being.
I apologize to the U.S. Open tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I'm very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I am so sorry."
Words of apology and contrition there, Michael. From Novak Djokovic.
HOLMES: Yes. He loses the points, he loses the prize money, he loses all sorts of things.
But is he getting a bit of a rep as a bit of a bad boy? He's sort of had a few negative headlines in recent months.
SNELL: It's fair to say he's had a very challenging year, Michael, no question about that.
What comes to mind of course is the ill-fated ADREA -- Tour in the Balkans, at which a number of players including himself tested positive for COVID-19.
So that's something that he's had to try and move forward from, try and get past this.
And he was hoping of course for a good showing here just to get back on the winning trail. As I said earlier, get to within two of Roger Federer's record haul of 20 grand slams there. Victory there in New York would've taking him to 18, try and let his playing do the talking, so to speak.
But this is just another huge setback for him. It is something, as I said earlier, he has not covered himself in glory.
But I can tell you, those words, they are sincere. He wants to put this right going forward.
French Open coming up, we'll see in Paris how this all pans out.
HOLMES: Yes. And as you and I were chatting earlier, at least it means that there's going to be a first time grand slam winner now that he's out.
SNELL: Yes, yes. That is.
HOLMES: Yes.
SNELL: And that's refreshing for the men's game, no question.
HOLMES: It is, absolutely. Not for him so much.
Patrick Snell, you're refreshing. Good to see you. Thanks, my friend.
SNELL: Back at you.
HOLMES: All right. We're going to take a quick break here on the program.
When we come back, Typhoon Haishen has been hammering Japan. And now it's packing a powerful punch in South Korea. We're going to have a live report for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
We felt the effects of pandemic right away so -- quite badly.
VOICES OF THE PANDEMIC
OYUNA TSERENDORJ, FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, OYUNA: My name is Oyuna Tserendorj. I'm a Mongolian based in London and I'm a creative director of Oyuna, small independent fashion boutique wholesales around the world for 17 years.
[01:15:00]
And now, we're opening our very first physical shop in Nottingham, London. We felt the effects of pandemic right away. Sales gone down quite badly.
We could not travel to see our customers like we usually do. Fashion weeks were canceled, wholesale customers were canceling orders, cash was not coming in.
During the pandemic, we really reflected on what kind of a brand we want to be, what value do we want to bring to this world.
So during the pandemic we sent out a newsletter and the main message was "The sky is always blue." Meaning that it's so important to be positive, especially during these times.
Even if you're talking to an uber driver or someone -- UPS driver who delivers your package, I think it's very important to be optimistic and all of us need to do our best.
Every single moment it's important to uplift each other and give each other positive energy, which has a snowball effect. It's the most important thing right now.
CNN HIGHLIGHT
PIYUSH GUPTA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DBS GROUP: One of the things that we think will happen post-COVID is a pretty sharp focus on this idea of purpose. Why do companies exist, what is the social agenda they serve?
And I think it's very likely you'll wind up in two very distinct categories; you're either hero or you're a villain.
People will be looking for companies who will do real things for real people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:35:00] HOLMES: Welcome back. Typhoon Haishen is now hitting South Korea.
It is the latest in a series of major storms to hit the region in recent weeks.
What you're seeing there is a scene in Western Japan, as Haishen battered the island with wind and heavy rain.
At one point it was a strong as a category three hurricane. Dozens of people injured in Japan, four people still missing after their homes were washed into a river.
We're joined now by Paula Hancocks joining us live from Seoul in South Korea. What are you seeing there, Paula?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, certainly I think the impact has been felt heavier in Japan than it is in South Korea. But this is still a significant storm.
It made landfall in the southeastern part of South Korea at about nine o'clock this morning, it's now gone two p.m.
And we did see that hundreds of thousands of homes lost power. And, as you say, in Japan there were dozens of injuries and four missing. We're still waiting to see the impact here in South Korea.
So the storm at this point is believed to still be a category one hurricane, or the equivalent of. And it's scheduled up the east coast of South Korea.
Here in the capital of Seoul, this is closer to the west coast so certainly what you've seen behind me is not what people will be seeing on the east coast.
We know that the winds are still significant and there is significant rainfall. And that's the real concern here.
Because this typhoon is not happening in a vacuum, it has been an extremely active typhoon season for both Japan and South Korea.
This is the fifth typhoon and big storm to hit landfall in South Korea in the last four weeks.
Now the CNN weather team says that usually you would see one or two in that kind of timeframe. So that just gives you an idea of how significant this typhoon season has been.
And, of course, the amount of rainfall. We have just come out of the monsoon season here in South Korea. Historic levels of rainfall were falling, and it's a big issue for South Korea.
But clearly, it is a bigger issue for North Korea. They don't have the infrastructure that they have here.
And certainly, the concern is as well for the agricultural sector in North Korea. There are many who have food insecurity in North Korea already, and so close to the harvest. These typhoons and this rain is having a devastating impact on those crops and certainly that could be a concern going forward.
[01:20:00]
We have seen significant coverage of this from North Korean state-run television which is highly unusual in itself.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, had a meeting just yesterday, it was reported by KCNA, to discuss the damage that happened from the previous typhoon just a number of days ago and how to prepare for this one. Michael.
HOLMES: Yes. Five storms in four weeks -- yes, no kidding. Paula, good to see you. Thanks very much.
Paula Hancocks us in Seoul for us.
Meanwhile, record heat and raging wildfires creating a dire situation in California. More than two million acres have burned this year. That's the most ever.
It's actually bigger than 10 New York Cities if you can picture that. And we still haven't reached the critical months of October and November, of course.
We've got some time lapse satellite video to show you. This is from the from the National Weather Service.
Just gives you a sense of how big the blaze called the Creek Fire actually is. It's burned more than 45,000 acres in Central California since Friday.
And more than 200 people had to be rescued by air as the Creek Fire blocked the only road out of one area, this is in Madeira County. The county sheriff describing the conditions as hellish.
And have a look at this. A group of backpackers narrowly escaping that fire in the Sierra National Forest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Firefighters also battling severe heat this holiday weekend, as they try to contain the blazes.
Let's bring in CNN meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, to talk more about the wildfires and Typhoon Haishen. Fill us in.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Michael, you know this set up across the Western United States as impressive as we've seen it, we know of at least 50 million Americans underneath these fire weather alerts where it be red five warnings.
Just heat advisories and warnings covered across this region as well. But parts of 13 states dealing with this.
And you noted the Creek Fire, one of some 80 large uncontained fires across the Western United States. You notice the explosion of this particular fire, the Creek Fire in particular, 600 percent growth in a 24-hour period.
And of course that arid landscape, the tremendous heat in place and visuals like this certainly really put it in perspective of what is happening on the ground.
If you can imagine having to evacuate at a moment's notice because of the rapid explosion of growth of the fire.
And then in your car looking both directions, left side of the vehicle, right side of the vehicle, and seeing this sort of a pattern with fires essentially encroaching on your community.
But here's what the temperatures look like. In degrees Celsius in Palm Springs, close to 50 Celsius or about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the forecast high for Monday.
Work your way towards Los Angeles, into the lower thirties Celsius which puts it close to 90 or so degrees Fahrenheit.
But again, these are temperatures that are well above average. And the displacement of the Jet Stream, just to its east here is going to cause a nosedive in temperatures in portions of the Intermountain West.
So you kind of talk about the extremes. How about winter weather advisories in portions of the Intermountain West where snow showers in places such as Denver after highs into the upper 90s on Sunday afternoon.
Now, on the other side of the Pacific we go.
We know that the Typhoon Haishen and its incredible impacts there across the Korean Peninsula. One of now five tropical systems to impact this region within the last four weeks.
Keep in mind, typically one to two happen on any given year and again, we get five in a matter of one month. Certainly going to be historic.
And the impacts have been much the same. In fact, reports of at least a half a million customers across portions of the Ryukyu Islands without power.
And then you notice with winds of 200 plus kilometers per hour which sits in line with a category three hurricane, that shows you why this has been such a big story in this region.
Still, looking at what is equivalent to a category one storm, that is Typhoon Haishen, working its way on the eastern coast there of South Korea.
The forecast does show this weakening rather quickly but of course at the expense of portions of the Korean Peninsula and on to Eastern Russia. Where as much as a half a meter of rainfall is going to come down by the time this system fizzles out across this region.
So, Michael, certainly a lot going on in the world of weather. We've got the tropics, of course still active and then you notice we've had snow showers forecast in the Rockies and temps into the 120s.
In fact, Catalina Island, Michael, I'm not sure if you're familiar with that. About 20 miles off the coast of Southern California, even there temperatures were about 120 degrees or 50 Celsius in the past 24 hours.
HOLMES: That's just crazy. And then, yes, as you said like in Colorado -- the temperature range swing that's going to happen, it's crazy, isn't it? Ridiculous. Pedram, good to see --
JAVAHERI: It is remarkable.
HOLMES: Yes, it is. Good to see you.
JAVAHERI: Likewise.
HOLMES: Pedram Javaheri there. All right, quick break.
Trump Administration officials are yet again having to defend the U.S. president.
The latest on the fallout from that controversial article in "The Atlantic."
[01:25:00]
And then, is it ignorance, stubbornness or something else? We'll talk about why so many Americans still refuse to wear masks.
A new study has some answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JASON BOSWELL, UNDERWATER CINEMATOGRAPHER: My name is Jason Boswell and I am an underwater camera operator and technical diver based in Cape Town, South Africa.
I normally get to spend my days out in False Bay getting to film all the amazing wildlife that lives in this incredible part of the world.
Owing to the current situation, the beaches here have been closed and therefore access to the ocean is severely restricted. Which means that I now spend my days on the deck using a pair of binoculars to look out longingly towards the ocean.
I've been lucky enough to see massive pods of dolphins maybe five or 600 strong. There's seals playing in the kelp forest, there's loads of birdlife.
Whilst it's been fun being dry-docked on my deck and getting to look out on the ocean and see things from a bit of a different perspective, I'm really looking forward to the days that things normalize. And we can get back out there.
HOLMES: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes.
Just 57 days until the U.S. presidential election. And the Trump Administration in full-on defense mode.
The latest in what is a string of tell-all book disparaging the president is out this week. And it is called "Disloyal: A Memoir."
In it, the president's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, describes Mr. Trump as interested in using the presidency for personal financial gain.
And that bombshell article published in "The Atlantic," that's not going away either.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, with less than two months until election day, President Trump just can't seem to shake this "Atlantic" article that describes the president's disparaging fallen service members from World War I during a visit to France in 2018.
The president reportedly referring to those fallen service members as "suckers and losers." And now multiple news outlets including CNN have confirmed different parts of that "Atlantic" story.
As former senior administration official telling CNN that the president did indeed refer to those fallen service members in crude and disparaging terms.
Now the pushback from the White House has been tremendous, perhaps greater than we have seen for any other previous new story.
And part of that, of course, is because veterans and the military are an important part of the president's voting block.
Here is the pushback that we were seeing on Sunday from two cabinet members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Have you ever heard the president disparage U.S. service members or veterans? ROBERT WILKIE, U.S. SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: Well, absolutely
not and I would be offended too if I thought it was true.
STEVE MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I think this president has enormous respect for the military and for the generals.
And I've been at the tank at the Pentagon with him. I've been at 9/11 at Pentagon with him. This president respects and supports the U.S. military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: Now, the President has, of course, for his part already denied this story vehemently.
But his denial are complicated by some false statements that he has made as he has tried to make those denials. One of them is that he talked to first lady Melania Trump, who he claims was back in Washington D.C. when in fact she was on that trip to France with him in 2018.
And then the second part of the president's denial was claiming that he had never referred to the late Senator John McCain as a loser. That claim is defied by the video evidence of the president referring to former Senator John McCain in exactly those terms.
And of course more broadly, the president back in 2015 had referred to Senator John McCain as a loser. And then went on to say that he liked people who weren't captured. Saying that John McCain was not a hero but of course, that was also a broader denunciation it seems, of prisoners of war. Not all too dissimilar from what we're now hearing that the president said during that trip to France.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: The Democratic vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has seemingly walked back Joe Biden's call for a federal mask mandate.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Harris said the use of masks would not be legally enforced, instead, she said it would just be a standard, though, she did not clarify how that would be put into effect.
Here is more of what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: What Joe has been very clear about is his personal behavior. Much less in what he is admonishing and requesting of the American people, is that we all make the sacrifice to wear a mask, in the interest of love of our neighbor, in the interest of defeating, or at least, reducing the health risks and the number of deaths in America.
So it's about a national standard. Everyone should wear a mask. And here's the thing about this. None of us like wearing a mask. Nobody likes to wear a mask.
BASH: Right. But there's a difference between a standard --
HARRIS: It's about sacrifice.
BASH: -- right. There's a difference between a standard and a mandate. Would it be a federal mandate under the Biden-Harris administration?
HARRIS: It would be a standard. Listen, this is not about, in terms of the priorities of Joe Biden and myself. This is not about punishment. It's not about big brother. It is simply about saying what a leader -- what a leader says in times of crisis.
And this is -- you look at World War II, you look at the Great Depression where leaders said, we each have to sacrifice for the sake of the nation, and the collective. And that's what this is about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: New research from the Brookings Institute has attempted to answer why so many Americans still refuse to wear masks. Now, according to the study, the number one reason Americans gave is that it is simply their right to not have to wear one.
With that, researchers concluded that, quote, "American individualism could be causing significant health consequences, across the country.
Other people also say, they don't use masks because they don't want to be mistaken for a criminal. In fact, that is the answer most men of color who don't wear masks provided.
Professor Gabriel Sanchez is one of the authors of that study. He joins me now from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Good to see you professor. Let's start with the basics. I mean there were various reasons for not wearing one, including it's uncomfortable, but perhaps, I think the troubling statistic is 40 percent of Americans who don't wear a mask is because it is quote, "their right as an American not to".
Why -- did you find why was wearing a mask so political to the people you spoke with?
GABRIEL SANCHEZ, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO: You know, I think, unfortunately, we're seeing that about 20 percent of the U.S. population refuses to wear a mask to cover their face in public. And those folks indicate, look, it's their right as an American.
And unfortunately in the United States, we have a long-standing history of that strong American value of individualism, some times becoming extreme and turning into rugged individualism where folks basically say look if it's my right not to do so even if it harms others, that's my right as an American and I'm going to move forward with that which is an unfortunate reality of what unfortunately it's become very partisan here in the United States. HOLMES: Exactly. I mean yes, as you say, it's been an almost visceral
championing of individualism throughout U.S. history. As you also point out, in this case, it leads to significant health consequences for others.
[01:34:53]
HOLMES: I mean did you find the desire for individualism in 2020, this freedom of choice, outweighed what are literally life and death choices for fellow Americans?
SANCHEZ: That's the reality.
You know, the other thing that we found is not only Republicans who are self-identified at the individual level, but respondents who live in Republican governed states are less likely to wear a mask. So I think what is happening right now in the United States is folks are essentially backing this onto their partisanship and particularly, if they support President Trump.
They're wearing this somewhat as a badge of honor, saying I am basically telling you, I'm not going to do this, even if it potentially can harm others. And I think that's very dangerous for the public health standpoint of this really dangerous pandemic right now here in the U.S.
HOLMES: Yes. Clearly, it is. I mean what does it say about -- for those watching internationally? What does it say about the partisan divide in America today? I mean there is always been political division, but it feels like it has never been this stark, nor passionate really. I mean what -- did you get a hint of what got us here?
SANCHEZ: Yes, absolutely. Unfortunately, as political scientists have been tracking this for some time, we are more polarized right now in the United States based on partisanship, than ever before in American history. And I think mask-wearing has essentially become the symbolism of this partisan divide as it relates to approaching the pandemic.
And when we asked folks who are wearing a mask, what is your primary motivation. And as you would expect, a majority of folks are saying I want to protect myself, but also, protect other Americans.
HOLMES: Was there any conclusion on how best TO change these attitudes in terms of, I don't know, effective messaging, convincing doubters and deniers they're hurting people.
Well, unfortunately, on some of the responses you actually can make a difference. A sizeable segment, for example, indicated they don't have access to free mask. So public health experts, states can address that, but unfortunately, if at the end of the day, folks say either it's uncomfortable, or it's my right as an American, I don't think there is a public health intervention that's going to work to make this happen quickly.
And unfortunately, lives are at stake, and every, day folks are not wearing a mask. It potentially infects, a larger segment of the population.
So that was unfortunately one of the conclusions that we had is that when you have a significant underlying ideology that is preventing a large segment of the population from doing a very simple task, put a mask over your face to reduce the spread of COVID-19. That is a difficult challenge that I think speaks to the wider schism between Americans on their underlying ideology.
HOLMES: Agreed. I mean we haven't got much time left but I had to touch on this. The study found a convergence between masks and race. 67 percent of men of color, not wearing masks said, they did not want to be mistaken for a criminal. Wow.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And I think that speaks to the intersection right now of COVID-19 and a health pandemic, but also, police brutality and any other significant issue in the country right now.
The finding however is despite the fact that men of color recognize that they maybe putting themselves at harm from security of police by wearing a mask in public, they are still more likely than white men to actually do so.
So despite that discrimination, and that challenge, they are actually taking the right step in wearing the mask.
HOLMES: It is a fascinating study and I urge people to read it. It's a real window into America in 2020.
Professor Gabriel Sanchez, thank you so much.
SANCHEZ: Thank you
HOLMES: Hong Kong authorities arrest hundreds of people over the weekend. Ahead, the decision that set off these latest protests, and how police broke up the crowds.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: China has imposed new visa restrictions on foreign journalists, working for U.S. news outlets. Instead of being able to receive the usual one year renewal, some journalists have been given a temporary two month visa, while their application is under review.
Chinese officials tell CNN, it's a reciprocal move, for President's Donald Trump's treatment of Chinese journalists, working in the U.S. The two countries have been locked in a back and forth fight over media coverage with China expelling nearly a dozen U.S. journalists this year.
In Hong Kong, police broke up crowds of demonstrators, and arrested nearly 300. Police say the charges for some range from unlawful assembly to suspicion of attacking police officers.
CNN's Ivan Watson shows us the crackdown from the streets of Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the scene in Hong Kong right now. Take a look at the riot police come down. They are chasing demonstrators through the streets of the city. Demonstrators, who had been chanting, "riot police, your family, go to hell".
And this is coming -- we have to watch because the police vehicles are coming through -- this is coming after opposition leaders had called for a protest against the government's postponement of elections here by at least a year.
We have not seen any sign of violence on the part of the demonstrators. But you can see how swiftly the riot police move in.
They have been calling this containment operations. They have been grabbing protesters, searching them, taking down their identity cards. This is part of a larger crackdown against members of the political opposition in this city.
And what we can see very clearly here is that even peaceful, political protest is simply not tolerated by the authorities in Hong Kong.
Ivan Watson, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, how some of the world's top CEOs view the economic impact of the pandemic.
We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
Here in the United States, the Trump administration and House Democrats have agreed in principle, to fund the government past the end of this month. At least they agreed on something.
They don't however appear to be any closer to striking a deal on additional coronavirus stimulus and that leaves millions of Americans, businesses, and schools hanging in the balance.
Here is CNN's John Defterios here. This is crazy. It's been stalled for two months. I mean, what's going on?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, you know Michael, when they have the height of the pandemic, they came up with $3 trillion very quickly. Now there's a huge gap between the House Democrats and the White House of about a trillion dollars.
So they're working according -- according to Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, on a temporary bill to get past the September 30th deadline when the jobs benefits are past, right. So this is the crunch coming when the U.S. Congress comes back into session after the Labor Day weekend.
But global CEOs are already talking about the hangover of COVID-19 and living with COVID-19. I spoke to four of them at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit which was held virtually. They talked about higher taxes, budget cuts, a huge debt load especially in the United States, and even longer term youth unemployment. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARIUS ADAMCYZK, CEO HONEYWELL: The bad news is that now we have an even bigger debt crisis. And frankly that's been a problem before this crisis started. And now governments around the world are going to have to figure out a way how to pay for this.
And I think that's the part that a lot of countries, a lot of businesses that maybe not thinking into the calculus and I think that you're going to have to do that into ways. One is through revenue generation.
KHALDOON AL. MUBARAK, GROUP CEO, MUBADALA INVESTMENT COMPANY: think we have to take that into consideration as we talk about a second wave and a third wave, you have to put it in the context. Yes it's going to happen, but also I think there's going to be progress and there has been big progress when it comes to treatment and therapeutics.
And there's line of sight when it comes to vaccines. And then I would put on top of that the economies and governments have handled well, so far to a larger extent on the stimulus and the intervention side. But that has a cost, and the cost will catch up soon.
JEAN PASCAL TRICOIRE, CEO SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC: The governments have stepped up to the plate and fund (INAUDIBLE). My biggest concern today is for the use because all the protective measures have been rightly sought to protect (INAUDIBLE) the elders in our societies.
But at the same time people who are getting punished, don't manage to get a job potentially are the youngsters. And they are the future.
JOE KAESER, CEO, SIEMENS: It's crucially important that we not only, you know, have billions and trillions a government money in stimulus, but also that this money is going to be invested in the future, and not into backward-oriented (ph) industries. They got that former tie and anyway if you're not mindful about the future today. We actually have an awful (ph) fate, much of the future which we can design and truly important.
(END VIDEO CLIP) DEFTERIOS: Four global CEOs expressing their concerns, Michael going forward here. And the big one, of course, is the debt overhang in the United States, which is hitting nearly 100 percent of GDP this year surpassing that in 2021. And they're talking about this lingering effect of two to three years at least, right? And that's the highest debt level of the United States since World War II.
Even Japan has put up better than 20 percent of GDP for the crisis right now. and a lot of uncertainty in the U.K. due to the Brexit discussions. Reworking that bill and hitting a roadblock with the European Union on the eighth round as they go into it with the trade talks.
HOLMES: Yes, John, fascinating stuff. Thanks for that. John Defterios there.
Ivy Vance joins me now from Dallas, Texas. Ivy, it's great to speak with you -- I mean the unemployment numbers are staggering. But it's important to put a face on those numbers, and you are one of them.
COVID cost you your job, I mean just briefly how has that impacted your life from the moment that happened?
IVY VANCE, UNEMPLOYED RESTAURANT WORKER: Well, I have been unemployed since March. So you know, obviously that has negatively impacted me, right.
And I've been able to get on the unemployment and that has been what was coming in was great. But you know, I am among the ranks of the millions of restaurant workers in this country who are unemployed for the long term.
HOLMES: Yes, do you feel there's been enough government support for people in your situation? I mean how tough is surviving, you know, day to day? Financially.
VANCE: Well, the Cares Act was a huge, huge help for all of us. And it was huge for me as well, as it's been sort of tapering off. And now we're at a point where we don't know when we're going to get aid, it's a matter of life and death for a lot of us. Like the eviction moratorium -- that's great that it passed, right. Or it was by executive order.
But people can still like end up on the streets. Because with our industry, it's disproportionately affected by this crisis. There's just no way that we're going to be out of this anytime soon.
HOLMES: You know, it's interesting. Even before the pandemic, industry -- survey showed that as many as three-quarters of American workers were living paycheck to paycheck, you know. And yet -- you get this prevailing sense of thought among the political and the wealthy class, that hey if the stock market is doing great then everything is good, we hear that from the president, even though the majority of Americans overwhelmingly are not in the stock market.>
I mean do you see a disconnect between what -- let's say elite view of the economy might be versus the reliability on the ground for people who do live paycheck to paycheck?
VANCE: Absolutely, there's a total disconnect. And it's so frustrating to hear these mostly Republican lawmakers say, well, if workers just will get back to work then the economy would be fixed.
Well, with the restaurant industry, many of us -- our restaurants are permanently closed or are definitely -- no one is operating at 100 capacity, yet. We're just not at a place in the states where so I can do it.
So we were already as restaurant workers living paycheck to paycheck, right. And now, we are dealing with that, with no savings -- with very little savings. And then it's just been extremely difficult time, kind of a reckoning with the industry as a whole.
HOLMES: Yes. Are you optimistic right now, you know, for your immediate future? And what could change your outlook.
[01:54:47}
VANCE: Well, actually I'm pretty optimistic in terms of the groups that I have found of unemployed restaurant workers and restaurant workers who have returned to work. So I've been organizing with two groups: Restaurant Organizing Project, which is with the Democratic Socialists of America, and Restaurant Workers United which is with CSA support and support from the union here.
This is the first time I have as someone who's been in the industry for a coupled of year.
And support form the Union, United here. This is the first time I have -- as someone who's been in the industry for a couple of year -- seen restaurant workers actually talk about their work and like their working conditions, their wages and just like basically asking for respect in the workplace. So in that sense I am hopeful because the only way that we can enact lasting change is if -- us workers get together and demand what we need about the situation on the ground for people like you in this COVI- economy. what I know.
HOLMES: That's very smart and we're in an era where unions and worker representation is being decimated.
Real quick, I mean there's one thing you want people to know about the situation on the ground for people like you and this COVID economy. What would it be?
VANCE: I mean that is now -- it's not that we're just lazy and wan to cash in on the unemployment for as long as possible.
There are so many, you know, decisions that people have to make to return to return to work, especially restaurant work because it is so public facing.
You know, everyone is in a different situation, we're all just trying to get by. But as long as us workers stick together I think we might actually make a better future. HOLMES: Ivy Vance, great to meet you. Good luck and thanks for your
time.
VANCE: Thank you.
HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'll have more CNN NEWSROOM AFTER THE BREAK.
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