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Coronavirus Continues to Rise in U.S. Universities; Nine Vaccine Makers Pledge to Uphold Ethical Standards; United Kingdom Prime Minister to Limit Social Gatherings; Canada Experiencing Concerning Increase in New Cases; Biden and Trump Campaign Release New Political Ads; President Trump Pushes Unfounded Election Fraud Claims; U.S. Market Fall, NASDAQ in Correction Territory; South Africa Coal Mines Impacted by Virus; Trump Tell-All Books Hit the Market. Oscars Set New Standards for 2024 Best Picture Nominees; South Africa Slams Trump for Alleged Mandela Insults; Refugees Ran for Their Safety; AstraZeneca Vaccine Trials on Pause; No Shortcuts for Pfizer and BioNTech; Coronavirus Spike in Israel, West Bank, and Gaza; Wildfires in California Still Not Contained; Heavy Rain Inundated Sudan; Belarusian Activist Captured; Alexei Navalny's Headquarters Doused with Chemical; Students Back to School Amid Pandemic. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 09, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Welcome to all of our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow.
So just ahead here on the show, a refugee camp in Greece is engulfed in flames. We'll have a live report for you with the latest on that. Also, a setback in the battle against COVID. A major late stage vaccine trial is on hold after a participant falls ill.
And then later on, an exclusive look inside one of South Africa's largest coal mine and how the pandemic is impacting the industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Well, thanks for joining me. This story this hour. Firefighters are now battling a massive blaze in a crowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. One eyewitness says the Moria refugee camp is, quote, "completely destroyed." An estimated 13,000 people were living there.
Let's go straight to Athens. Journalist Elinda Labropoulou joins me now with more on this. What do we know? What has been happening?
ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: Well at the moment we know that all the refugees and migrants living at the camp have been evacuated. It's a -- it's a very difficult situation simply because this camp is extremely overcrowded. We're looking at least four times more people than should have been there at the first place. So, as you can understand, where you have a large fire going through a
camp like this, the first thought is how to get people out. That has been completed. So, far there be no reports of any casualties. The migrants and refugees in question seem to have tried to head to the main island town. There they were met by riot police who blocked their way and tried to contain these people from going any further into town.
The initial reports that we have and these are unconfirmed reports for the time being, is that the fire broke out after some people deliberately from people living in the camp may have put these fires simply as a protest to a lockdown that was imposed after the first cases of coronaviruses were found in the camp. It's the first case was reported less than a week ago and by now 35 people have tested positive.
So, these people were asked to go into isolation and everybody else to remain in lockdown. This has now obviously the situation has completely changed. Everybody is out of town by now. And an emergency meeting has been called by authorities in Athens. All their element ministers are taking part, it's presided by the prime minister. And we understand that more police forces are being sent on the island.
The eyewitnesses there, they say that some of the migrants and refugees are now returning to the camp. They're trying to look through their tents or containers trying to find their belongings. And at the moment, the fires have been contained and we're just trying to see to assess the exact damage so far.
CURNOW: But as you were saying, 13,000 people, that's a lot of people, a lot of lives impacted there. We'll check in with you a little bit later for an update with these images certainly devastating on many levels. Elinda Labropoulou in Athens, Greece. Thanks so much for that update.
Now the race to find a vaccine for the coronavirus has hit a roadblock. Drug giant AstraZeneca has paused its trial because of an unexplained illness in one of the volunteers. It's a standard precaution meant to ensure experimental vaccine don't cause serious reactions.
Well, AstraZeneca says the illness affected a participant in the U.K. but all trials worldwide will now be paused. The vaccine is being developed with the U.K.'s University of Oxford and is being tested in U.S. Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa. It's one of three coronavirus vaccines in late stage phase three trials in the U.S.
Well CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the importance of pausing this trial. Sanjay?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is in part how it should work, right? You have an unexplained illness. Sounds like it was a serious illness in one volunteer, this is what should happen. They haven't stopped it as much as pause this trial and they're going to try and figure out what these illnesses. Is it related to the vaccine? It may not even be related to the vaccine, they got to figure this out.
But this is, you know, this is in part making the case as to why you do phase three clinical trials. You're trying to prove that this thing works, you already have some idea that this trial is worth pursuing, but now you want to see if you find any of these unusual side effects.
[03:04:56]
Scale matters here. If you think about if you give this to a 100 million people. A point one percent of them develops some sort of side effect, that's 100,000 people. So, everything counts here when you're looking at these adverse effects. And they're going to try and figure out if this one is related to the vaccine or not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: OK. Thanks for -- thanks to Sanjay for that. So, I want to go to you, Nic Robertson. You're live in London, you've been following this. I mean, this is a big deal on one level but also, as Sanjay was saying this is a precaution, and it's standard fare with many of these big trials like this.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Phase three trial where we're at right now you listed all the places around the world where it's underway. The initial trials began here in the U.K. Phase one, only a, you know, a handful of people to test whether the drug was safer to go through this phase two, phase three.
So about 50,000 people around the world being tested. And what I supposed to saying is, look, when you test 100 or so people, you may just get, you know, a slight increase in temperature for a day or two. That would sort of be normal. But it's not until you go to that scale of, you know, tens of thousands that you can perhaps come across people that have a very strong immune response.
And so, this is the reason to go to that scale that Sanjay was explaining. So that's where AstraZeneca are and this is very normal procedure for them to put a pause in while they examine the safety of it. But, you know, it's probably, I think we can safely say abnormal for the rest of the world given that a, there is a pandemic, but most of -- most people are not really aware of how drug trials work.
And here in the U.K. where the trial began, there's been a lot of emotional investment in it by the government, political investment, financial investment. They gave, you know, over 100 million -- or about 20 -- $25 million in the early stages to get this trial up and running.
They already bought, prepared doses of the vaccine should it be ready. It paid for upfront 30 million doses to be ready. The health secretary was saying just in the past week was saying that this could be ready by the end of the year or early next year.
So, this in the U.K. terms will be felt as a blow to people around the country because so much has been invested in it. And I speak emotionally. This will be an emotional investment for people around the country as well because this was sort of to get out of jail free card, if you will, to coronavirus.
So, this is been knocked back and we are expecting the prime minister to announce today new strict, England-wide lockdown measures because the COVID-19 infection rate in the U.K. is rapidly increasing. People will no longer be able to gather in groups of up to 30, it will be limited to six people. So today we feel like a double blow for people here in the U.K.
CURNOW: So, that's live from London, Nic Robertson. Thank you, Nic.
So while AstraZeneca's vaccine is under review, it's just paused, another research group appears to be having much better luck with its own treatment.
As CNN's Fred Pleitgen now reports Pfizer and BioNTech believe their drug could be approved within weeks.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The German American cooperation of U.S. company, Pfizer, and the German laboratory, BioNTech, say that they are very close and in the home stretch of possibly having a vaccine candidate against the novel coronavirus ready for regulatory approval by the middle of October.
Now, the CEO of BioNTech in an exclusive interview with CNN says that their candidate called BNT162 could be ready by the middle of October but there are still some unknowns which could drag things out till the end of October possibly even until the middle of November. However, he says that he's very confident that this vaccine will be effective and also safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UGUR SAHIN, CEO, BIONTECH: It has an excellent profile and I consider this vaccine as a -- as a vaccine which is near perfect, which has a near perfect profile. We have done -- done pre-clinical experiments that have shown that this vaccine is able to protect animals from -- from infection in really tough challenge experiments.
And they have of course done much more, more testing than we have published so far. And this provides a lot of confidence, in combination of understanding of the mode of action, in combination with the safety data coming in from the running trial, yes, we believe that we have a safe product and we believe that we will be able to show efficacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: The CEO of BioNTech also said that the company is definitely not cutting any corners when it comes to making the vaccine safe and ensuring that it's safe. In fact, both Pfizer and BioNTech both signed a pledge together with seven other pharmaceutical companies saying that when it comes to the development of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, they will only abide by the highest standards and not cut any corners in the process.
[03:10:03]
Now, BioNTech and Pfizer say if everything goes according to their plan, they could have made us as many as a 100 million doses ready by the end of 2020 and 1.3 billion by the end of 2021.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
CURNOW: Well, Israel and West Bank and Gaza are setting new daily COVID-19 records as the virus surges across the region there. As CNN's Oren Liebermann now reports some cities are responding with new curfews. Oren?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coronaviruses cases are surging across the nation, not only in Israel, but in the West Bank and Gaza as well. On Monday, Israel set a new daily record of new coronavirus with 3,425 in one day, breaking the record set only last week as COVID continues to spread here.
In response, Israel declared curfews in 40 cities with high infection rates, so-called red cities, mostly ultra-orthodox and Arab cities. But the question is, as the country heads into the high holidays, with large religious and family gatherings, will it be enough to curtail the surge of cases here.
Meanwhile, one day earlier Gaza saw a record of coronavirus cases in a day at 182. That may sound like a small number, and truth be told it is, but when you look at the past year, only two weeks ago Gaza was about 10 new cases a day or less. So at 182 now indicates Gaza may have lost the control they once had over COVID that they used from quarantines and lockdowns.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian ministry of health on the West Bank which puts out numbers that include east Jerusalem and Gaza recorded 717 new cases earlier this week, that's not a record but 10 deaths in one day is a record.
All of these numbers troubling across the region. And in another blow to Israel, the country's coronavirus czar, Professor Ronni Gamzu also has to enter quarantine after a member of his team tested positive for coronavirus. He can still do his job and he says, he will continue to do his job from quarantine but it's another blow to a country and a region struggling to contain this outbreak.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.
CURNOW: So, in the U.S. now, three West Coast states are battling more than two dozen fast moving wildfire. It's made worse by extreme -- an extreme heat wave.
Now let's go to Oregon first. The fires as you can see here are so dangerous in some places, that even firefighters have been forced to evacuate along with thousands of residents. And in neighboring Washington, state they saw more acres burned in the past 24 hours than in a dozen fire seasons. That's according to the governor. And then take a look at this. A massive out of control wildfire in
central California has grown in size again with zero percent containment. Authorities have rescued hundreds of people and dozens of animals from surrounding flames.
Dan Simon is there and Dan has the latest. Dan?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It all looks the same after a while. A burned-out house, charred trees, but each pile of distraction represents another person, another family whose lives are being up ended by California's historic wildfires.
The new devastation hitting the Sierra National Forest in Central California, part of the growing Creek Fire. Dozens of campers and hikers were trapped in the forest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's fire on all sides around us all the roads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: The only roads out were blocked by the intense flames. Military helicopters were eventually able to rescue them. Twenty-five major wildfires are currently burning across the state, including three of the top four largest in California's history. A record 2.2 million acres have burned this year, with fears that the worst is still to come. Wildfire season usually peaks in October.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: The fires this year have been mainly fueled by lightning strikes in previous years down power lines. In this newest round, you can one add at least one oddity to the mix, a pyrotechnic device from a so-called gender reveal party, the unfortunate stunt east of Los Angeles forcing evacuations and charring more than 10,000 acres.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENNET MILLOY, SPOKESMAN, CAL FIRE: After the fire began, the family attempted suppression on their own. They try these water bottles which in four-foot high grass you're never going to capture a grass fire with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, Sudan is -- and we'll continue to keep you posted on that. The wildfires are certainly a huge story here in the U.S.
But I also want to keep you up to date on a state of emergency in Sudan. The country is facing an unprecedented rain and flooding situation there which is devastating the country. More than 100 people have been killed, and still, aid agencies warn the situation could get even worse in the coming weeks.
Here's Nina Elbagir.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In Sudan, a crisis in the heart of the capital. In the twin cities of Omdurman and Khartoum where the Niles meet, flood waters fill the streets. The government here says this is the highest they've been for a century.
[03:15:04]
IQBAL MOHAMMED ABBAS, PRESIDENT, WOMEN & CHILDREN ASSOCIATION (through translator): When I saw the young man blocking the water of the Nile with their bodies until the socks are delivered to them in order to raise the level of the barricade, I remembered what happened during the flood of 1998, when their grandfathers did the same by blocking the water with their bodies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: In a matter of days, over 100 people have died and hundreds of thousands displaced. People are coming together to do what they can, but the rising waters are unrelenting. For a country already struggling with crushing debt after years of dictatorship under former President Omar al-Bashir, this is almost too much to bear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED BASTAWY, RESIDENT, KHARTOUM'S OMDURMAN DISTRICT (through translator): The authorities came and saw the scene. They provided us with soil and socks. I said God bless you, but we fail to block the water and the houses were destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR: And more is still to come. September is rainy season in Sudan and the waters show no sign of subsiding. The question is, how much more of this people here can take.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Sudan.
CURNOW: So much more on CNN including dramatic details from Belarus activists after this. As they describe an allege abduction. We'll have the latest, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back. It's 18 minutes past the hour. I'm Robyn Curnow live from Atlanta.
So, secretary of state, the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo says the U.S. is considering sanctions against Belarus after recent human rights abuses and repression. Scores of protesters as you can see here have been detained since last
month's presidential election. Some claim they have been tortured. The latest is a prominent opposition leader who disappeared on Monday. Her party's press secretary describes what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTON RODNENKOV, PRESS SECRETARY, BELARUS COORDINATION COUNCIL (through translator): Maria Kolesnikova suddenly appeared. She was being escorted by force. It was all quite noisy. It was obvious that she was being led by force. That she was resisting. She was forcefully pushed into the back seat and locked inside.
They switched on the safety lock which prevents people from opening the door from the inside. They pushed her and they locked her. She was shouting that she wasn't going anywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, that press secretary says they were driven to the border with Ukraine where opposition -- where the opposition leader climbed out of a car window and started walking back towards Belarus. She was captured by border control.
Now the president of Belarus blames the U.S. for the month-long protests in his country. Activists say his reelection in early August was rigged. Well, one of the opposition leaders of Belarus is now living in self-imposed exile in Lithuania due to fears for her own safety.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya ran against the country's longtime president in the August election. She carried the torch for the opposition after her husband was jailed. She spoke to CNN about it. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:20:07]
SVETLANA TIKHANOVSKAYA, BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER: I was never involved in politics. I was just a wife and a mother, but of course, I was watching all of these videos and I knew about the opposition in Belarus. Though I was a politician before this, but I knew my own country together with him.
So, I stepped into this campaign instead of him, and you know, after step by step, it stopped to become a story only about my husband and me, it became the story about all the Belarusian people, because I have -- I saw the intention of Belarusians to fight for their right.
They wanted changes. They wanted new country. They didn't trust this president anymore. They wanted to build a new, free and safe country together with Sergei, so, together with me. And you know, this was extremely difficult. I was afraid every single day. For me, for my children, because people who didn't live in Belarus, they can't understand that of course. But and only because of people's support, I could bear it and I didn't step away from this. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is asking for all nations particularly neighboring Russia to respect the sovereignty of Belarus and not to interfere in the country's internal affairs.
In Russia meanwhile, at least three opposition volunteers have been hospitalized after masked men attack their office with an unknown yellow liquid. Now the office is the local headquarters for Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who German doctors say was poisoned last month.
Here is Matthew Chance. Matthew is in Moscow.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well this is yet more evidence of the dangers facing opposition activists in Russia. This time an office in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk which opposition workers linked with anti-corruption campaigner, Alexei Navalny have been using as a local headquarters ahead of forthcoming local elections there.
Security cameras recorded two masked men bursting into the office and dusting -- dousing it with an unknown liquid before running away. The office was evacuated. But some of those inside have both suffered breathing difficulties, one of them passing out. At least three of them were taken to hospital by ambulance where they were treated and later discharged.
But there are heightened fears among opposition activists in Russia, as Alexei Navalny himself lies in a Berlin clinic with suspected nerve agent poisoning. The latest update on his condition is that it's improved. He's out of a medically induced coma. He has been weaned off his mechanical ventilator. The clinic says he is also now responding to voices.
But doctors say it's still too early to know what long term effects his serious poisoning may have had. Russian officials meanwhile are still refusing to open an investigation into the suspected poisoning of the Kremlin's most prominent critic, despite growing international calls for them to do so or face consequences.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
CURNOW: Well leaders around the world including President Trump are urging Iran to not execute champion wrestler Navid Afkari. The 27- year-old faces the death penalty on Wednesday. Afkari was sentenced for the 2018 murder of a water and sewage department employee during an anti-government protest in Shiraz. The president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship is also coming to his defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA WHITE, PRESIDENT, UFC: This one of us, could be any of my fighters. And the only thing I thought to do was to call the president and see if he can help this man. And he said let us look into it. Let me talk to my administration, and see if there is something we can do to save his life. I just would like to say that I, too, respectfully and humbly ask the
government officials in Iran to please not execute this man and spare his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: The World Players Association is calling for Iran's expulsion from international sport if Afkari is executed.
Meanwhile, the police chief in Rochester, New York says he is stepping down at the end of the month after days of protests after the death of a black man while in police custody.
Daniel Prude died after officers forcefully restrained him during a mental health arrest back in March. In a statement, the police chief says a man of integrity, I will not set idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character.
The mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude's death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for. The city's mayor is promising changes.
[03:25:08]
MAYOR LOVELY WARREN, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK: While the timing and tenor of these resignations is difficult, we have faced tough times before. I truly believe that we will get through this, and I will be meeting with city council to chart a path forward. I can assure this community that I am committed to instituting the reforms necessary in our police department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, Prude's sister has filed a lawsuit against the city, the police chief and 13 officers. She says her brother was suffering from, quote, "a psychotic episode at the time of his arrest."
So, you are watching CNN Newsroom. Still to come, why Donald Trump says all ballots are not created equal where debunk case election fraud claims, next.
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CURNOW: So now for a recap of one of our top stories. A major drunk -- drug company is putting its coronavirus vaccine study on hold. AstraZeneca pause trials worldwide after one volunteer fell ill in the. U.K. Now the vaccine is one of three coronavirus vaccines in late stage phase three trials in the U.S.
Meantime, universities and schools are reopening around the U.S. And health officials say more than half a million children have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the U.S.
Here's Erica Hill with more on that. Erica?
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Buses, backpacks, masks. Back to school in the age of COVID.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter is thriving to be around other people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's going to be great to see them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Sixteen of the nation's largest school districts start today. Of those, 14, including Chicago, will begin the year online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR LORI LIGHFOOT (D), CHICAGO: As we said from day one, we're going to be guided by what the public health and others tell us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The first day in Hartford, Connecticut postponed after the city was hit by a cyberattack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR LUKE BRONIN (D), HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT: This was however the most extensive and significant attack that the city has been subject to that certainly in the last five years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Cases still rising in colleges nationwide. The University of Tennessee warning more drastic measures may be needed, and calling out fraternities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONDE PLOWMAN, CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE: Fraternity leaders, communicating to houses how to have parties and avoid being caught, telling fraternity members not to get tested, actively working to avoid isolation and quarantine, is reckless. And it will further spread this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: West Virginia University just suspended more than two dozen students for COVID-related violations, and moved classes online.
[03:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
News cases over the past week are holding steady and nearly half the states, 15 posting a decline but among the 11 seen in increase, the states in red, two former hotspots, Arizona and Florida.
Where new cases are up 20 percent in the last week. New York City announcing it will now stop buses from states required to quarantine upon arrival, to ensure compliance.
BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Officers will literally be going on the buses. This is so important, to keeping us safe.
HILL: Travelers from 35 states and territories must quarantine for 14 days when arriving in the tristate area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a virus that is still among us. It ebbs and flows.
HILL: New ads trying to recruit more diverse volunteers for vaccine trials.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone like you who wants things to go back to normal --
HILL: As nine pharmaceutical companies working on those vaccines issue a rare joint pledge in the face of mounting political pressure from the president.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to have a vaccine very soon, maybe even before a very special date. You know what date I am talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will develop our products, our vaccines, using the highest ethical standards and the most scientific, rigorous processes.
HILL: Dr. Fauci stressing a vaccine without public trust won't be effective.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALERGY AND INFECTOUS DISEASE: We have got to regain the trust of the community about when we say something is safe and effective, they can be confident that it is safe and effective. And that's the reason why we have to be very transparent with the data.
HILL: The key to controlling this virus is testing, according to multiple directors at the National Institutes of Health. They made that statement in a blog post on Tuesday, noting that both asymptomatic and symptomatic people should be tested.
If you think you have been in contact with someone who has the virus, get a test. That directly contradicts the revised guidance from the CDC, but the NIH notes that testing and contract tracing, these are measures that can be taken that can ultimately lead to people returning safely to the workplace and to school.
In New York, I'm Erica Hill, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the coming hours British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce a ban on social gatherings of more than six people amid a spike in COVID-19 infections. Now, the new tactic looks to control the coronavirus spread, as case numbers continue to climb, as you can see from this graph here. On Tuesday, Britain reported nearly 2,500 new cases in to 24 hour period.
Well, Scott Mclean joins us now from outside of parliament in London. So we're seeing an increase in the Prime Ministers in trying to tap down on it.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right, Robyn. The coronavirus is undoubtedly making a comeback across Europe. The U.K. is trying to figure out what to do about it. As you mentioned it seen more than 2,000 confirmed cases per day for each of the last three days. Because the virus is primarily affecting younger people, affluent younger people according to the health secretary.
The U.K. hasn't seen this massive surge in hospitalizations in the death toll has been fairly low. But France and Spain may provide a bit of a glimpse into the Britain's future. In France hospitalizations are hovering around 500 per day, due to the coronavirus. Spain has started to see a spike in death. The daily death toll in that country.
So, now the rules are changing. Social gatherings, the maximum size will go from 30 down to six on Monday. That's indoors or outdoors. The changes come after the Prime Minister have met with police who said that the current rules right now are simply too complicated and too difficult to enforce. So, what will be interesting to see though is whether or not Britain actually gets tough on enforcement of these rules.
I don't think that you'd find anyone who would say that in the U.K., police have been overly strict when it comes to the rules. Certainly not compared to other European countries. Britain's M.O. at the moment has been to get the economy restarted.
Schools are back open, the government is urging businesses to send their employees back into the offices. These changes are likely not going to have a big impact on that effort, Robyn but they might government hopes at least, help stem this tide of coronavirus.
The Prime Minister is going to be taking questions in just a couple of hours inside the House of Commons and you can bet he'll get some tough ones on this.
CURNOW: Thanks so much. Scott Mclean there. It looks like a chilly summer's day in London. Thank you.
So, we also have a recent spike in coronavirus cases causing concern in Canada. Infections are way up in the last week alone. Again, look at this map. The countries now surpassed 135,000 confirmed cases according to Johns Hopkins University.
Paula Newton is on the ground in Canada and has a details of a stark warning from officials. Paula?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Canadian health officials putting it
on the line, spelling it out for Canadians and saying look, if we're to avoid a rapid resurgence, people need to cut down on those social interactions. What's concerning is the rising cases, 25 percent in the last week alone. About 600 cases on average in Canada now, that may not seem like a lot but it's nearly double of what it was one time in the summer.
[03:35:07]
And of course that's due to the reopenings but authorities are saying look some of those social interactions people just have to cut it out. There are nearly four dozen cases related to a karaoke bar incident in Quebec and now a wedding in Toronto now linked to nearly two dozen cases, all of this very concerning for authorities here who so far have done a fairly good job of containing this pandemic. How is it different?
Well, really mask wearing, those orders aren't placed in the vast majority of locations in Canada. But what is also crucial is a close border with the United States, close to all but -- to all nonessential traffic and then also a 14-day quarantine. The minute anyone enters Canada here, unless you are a flight crew or perhaps a truck driver, you must quarantine for 14 days.
Canadian authorities saying look we do not want to really let go of all of that hard work, and especially now that the schools are opening. They are saying, it is time for people to just to cut down those social interactions. And British Columbia in fact, they've now close down nightclubs as that province continues to deal with more cases each week.
Again, a critical week here in Canada. They're not calling this a second wave yet and not calling for any kind of shutdowns but the concern is there.
Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Biden and Trump campaigns both released new political ads with less than eight weeks to go until the election. Well, Mr. Biden focused on easing social tensions in one ad saying that now is the time to leave behind the darkness of the past four years and start fresh.
And the Trump camp meanwhile is raising hopes of a possible coronavirus vaccine and focusing on the economy. The president is also on a campaign trail holding a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday. There were only a few masks dotted to the crowd as you can see here and little apparent social distancing. In his speech, Mr. Trump continued to push inaccurate election information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They are sending millions of ballots to you. People that never really thought in terms of it. Now sometimes you'll ask for a ballot. That's a solicited ballot. That's OK, you have to go through a process. You have to sign a form to get it. So, we have millions of unsolicited ballots. Make sure you send the ballot in and then go into your polling place and make sure it counts. Make sure it counts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: So Donald Trump there suggesting that solicited ballots are more secure than unsolicited. And to be clear, there is no distinction other than the acquisition.
So, Pamela Brown is debunking other inaccurate election claims by the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The final sprint to Election Day is on. But this year it's not just campaigning that looks different, already the incumbent in the White House is laying the groundwork almost daily for chaos, even encouraging voting twice which is illegal.
TRUMP: So let him send it in and let him go vote and if their system is as good as they say it is, then obviously they won't be able to vote.
BROWN: That prompted strong resistance from even Republican election officials.
FRANK LAROSE, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE: Don't test our boards of elections. They are good at this. Go ahead and submit your ballot once.
BROWN: On Monday, Trump once again railed on mail-in ballots.
TRUMP: Just sending 80 million ballots all over the country. 80 million ballots, non-requested.
BROWN: Trump is referring to the nine states plus Washington D.C. that will soon be mailing out ballots to every registered voter. A change this year in some places in response to the pandemic. The president is undermining mail-in ballot voting and states where it could hurt him and encouraging it in states where it could help him. Earlier this year he admitted why.
TRUMP: The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if you ever agreed to, it you never have a Republican elected in this country again.
BROWN: While the president and his allies claim without evidence, the increase in mail-in ballots will lead to widespread voter fraud, there is evidence of widespread rejection of mail-in ballots because of human error.
And this year's primary, more than half a million ballots were reportedly thrown out for simple mistakes, such as signatures not matching the states records. A missing signature, envelope problems and ballots arriving after the deadline.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to go through a process to verify that the ballot is legitimate. And of course, you know, human beings being human sometimes make mistakes.
BROWN: Election experts say one likely scenario is what is known as the blue shift. With Trump ahead, winning on election night in the rural states where he has more supporters and Biden pulling in front winning after election night through mail-in ballots. Counting of those ballots don't began in key battlegrounds states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania until Election Day.
[03:40:09]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama. 47 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump wins the presidency.
BROWN: Meaning a declared winner on election night is highly unlikely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In some swing states, Trump is plus 40 among voters who plan on voting on Election Day. Whose votes will be counted election night and minus 60 among voters who are planning on voting absentee or by mail.
BROWN: The transition integrity center who has played out this scenarios in MAC Elections says at the election count is close, every scenario that has gained out shows a political crisis and street violence will ensue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have two totally different narratives being promoted by different media ecosystem if people are living with really different factual understandings of what to place an election day.
BROWN: Even though the election is on November 3rd, voters in North Carolina can already send in their votes through mail-in ballots and early voting starts in several states soon such as Pennsylvania.
Now, election experts say that you should planned to vote just like you would plan to go to the grocery store during the pandemic. And they say if you are voting by mail to read the instructions carefully, to make sure your ballot counts.
Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: So, if voting regulations and President Trump's inaccurate claims are confusing, CNN has you covered. Head to cnn.com/votebymail for a new interactive that explains how each state is operating this election cycle.
And Saudi Arabia smashes its oil prices and sends waves through waves through the global markets. How traders are now facing a deluge of sell orders. And we'll also take you inside South Africa's coal mines were coronavirus is hitting one of the country's main energy sources.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back. I am Robyn Curnow here in Atlanta. So, Wall Street's losing streak is getting worse by the day. As investors are concerned over a coronavirus resurgence and this tricky U.S. China relations.
Now the DOW fell down more than 600 points on Tuesday. Take a look at these numbers. But the NASDAQ plunge officially put that index in correction territory, defined as a 10 percent drop from its most recent peak. Oil prices also fell to their lowest level in three months.
So, let's go to John Defterios to break this all down for us. Hi, John. So, it's been a pretty blistering six months of gains. I mean, what are investors waking up to now by looking at these numbers?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, there is a realization that evaluations matter. The price of these stocks, particularly after the run up we've seen over the last six months, since that trough of the COVID-19 shock, the gains of up to 50 percent, depending on the market you are looking at here.
[03:45:04]
Also, that uncertainty matters, Robyn. You know, the government has pump in $11 trillion worldwide against COVID-19, with the second wave now upon us. Can they continue to spend and the answer is probably no. And that's why some stability in the U.S. futures market today, but they are off their highs.
The NASDAQ futures listing was up better than 1.3 percent. So, it's just, flat basically is what we are looking at or just above the line, better than half a percent of the NASDAQ.
We have a similar trend taking place in Asia, with these selling that we saw Tuesday on Wall Street infiltrating the Asian markets. You can see the, down sharply. The Shanghai Composite and also Australia which is in a deeper recession right now, and the state of Victoria under an alert, seen the sharpest falls on a day.
And this circles back to what is bothering the market beyond COVID-19. It is the U.S. China trade relations here, and Donald Trump banging on the drum saying they want to decouple from China.
And also, what you are just reporting on -- here on the program, the uncertainty leading up to the November 3rd elections and the ballot counting and Donald Trump calling in fraud for mail-in ballots.
So, this is not what look like (inaudible) investors like to see, let alone domestic investors at the same time. Robyn, you talk about the oil sell-off. We had Saudi Aramco, some other state producers here in the gulf cut prices to Asia because demand is falling. We have record demand drop in 2020 of 10 percent and that could carry into 2021. That's why we see prices below $40 a barrel. That's not a good sign in terms of demand and the impact of COVID-19.
CURNOW: No it isn't, John. And also, let's talk about Tesla. It was on a tear in the lead up to this correction, but Tuesday, it was punished pretty badly. Why?
DEFTERIOS: This is an interesting twist to the market, right. Not only a sell-off that Tesla was facing with broader indices down, but it was left out of the S&P 500, it's almost like not getting an invitation to the big dance ball, right.
It was hoping to get into the broader index as a rocketing stock, but standard and poor which has the index publicly thought that Tesla's evaluations are too high right now, Robyn, and not in touch with reality in demand. Because only produces about a half million cars a year.
So, they left Tesla out, and as a result the stock went down better than 20 percent. That was a record fall for the stock. At the same time, we saw G.M. invested a competitor of Tesla called Nicola out of Arizona.
It's going to make electric trucks. They haven't produced just yet but again, this is looking towards the future. How about this? That stock went up 40 percent on the day. So quite a lot of gyrations and still some frothiness when it comes to Nicola, and Tesla taking a beating, Robyn.
CURNOW: Gyrations and frothiness. I didn't expect you to throw those descriptions into a financial report, but I love it. Anyway, thank you, John. You made my day.
DEFTERIOS: Why not.
CURNOW: I'll speak to you soon.
DEFTERIOS: Goodbye.
CURNOW: Thanks a lot, John Defterios there. So, the South African government is keeping its lucrative mining industry up and running, despite a surge of COVID-19 cases.
CNN Eleni Giokos got this access inside one of the country's largest coal mines to see just how dangerous the work is during a pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN MONEY AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Descending more than 200 meters into a coal mine has always carried a certain level of risk, and it settles in (inaudible) mines, they have always taken serious precautions. On my belt, an emergency breathing pack and a sensor that will stop the heavy machinery if I get too close. Still, working through South Africa's COVID-19 peak brings a new level of fear to even the most hardened of minors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pray for the (inaudible) greatest survival who tested positive in this mine. GIOKOS: (Inaudible) was this mines first employee to come down with
the virus. She's grateful to be back underground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life is (inaudible) because of this job.
GIOKOS: And the sector is just as essential for South Africa's economy. Around 80 percent of its power still comes from coal. How many of those jobs are essential and critical skills that aren't easily replaced?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 90 percent. Above 90 percent, but I must say everybody that we have on the mine is actually critical. Everybody that's working on the ground is critical.
GIOKOS: But even with the constant mask wearing, the constant sanitizing between shifts, the clinic on-site, cases here continue to rise. More than 100 positive cases at this mine alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got about 16 percent lost in production that we have experienced on this particular mine.
GIOKOS: I mean, look, we are still heading towards the peak. Does this wary you? Does it scare you that production losses again to be inevitable?
[03:50:05]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I said I was not worried, I would be lying to you. I'm definitely worried.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: COVID-19 will be an eye opener, especially in the mining sector, right across the boards. You could see the numbers are rising. Inhaling this dust for years. Now when this virus comes in and found immune system that is already weaken and then it attacks.
GIOKOS: It's community transmission outside (inaudible) that is driving the spread here. And the union says not enough is being done to address it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you live in the mine, I think -- they forgot them too. You have to look after yourself.
GIOKOS: (Inaudible) is returning home after nine hours underground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say COVID-19 attacks the lungs.
GIOKOS: Even at the (inaudible) owned housing complex where he lives with his wife and two sons, he says no one from his company has come to talk about COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never see someone came here. It's tough. It's tough.
GIOKOS: But he will keep going underground like so many in the sector. He is an essential employee, and the job means everything.
Eleni Giokos, CNN, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Just still ahead, Michael Cohen, the U.S. president's personal attorney has written a book, and he has some sordid tales about his former boss. And it's not the only tell-all bound for the bestseller list, how the White House is responding to all of them. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: So the Oscars are taking steps to ensure films vying for the top award meeting standards of inclusion, starting in 2024. Films will have to meet a series of inclusion and diversity requirements, both on and off the camera in order to be nominated for best picture. The changes come following outrage over racial disparities in the academy, including the so-called Oscars so white movement.
And South Africa is condemning U.S. President Donald Trump, over allegations in a new book by his former attorney, Michael Cohen, claims Mr. Trump crudely insulted South African President, Nelson Mandela after he died back in 2013, a statement from South Africa's ANC describe Mr. Trump as divisive and disrespectful.
The White House calls Cohen's book lies but, that is just the tip of the iceberg as Brian Todd now reports. Brian?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael Cohen now says working for Donald Trump was like being in a cult. The president's former lawyer, fixer and henchman is out with a new book titled Disloyal, in which he describes Trump as a bully, a liar, and as he told NBC news, a blatant racist.
MICHAEL COHEN, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY: Right after Nelson Mandela had passed away and I talk about this in the book, he asked me if I had known of any country that was run by a black that's not an s-hole, and I said well, how about America, in which he gave me the proverbial F-u.
TODD: The White House calls Cohen a disgraced felon who has lost all credibility and is trying to profit off of his lies. It's one of many denials and counterattacks that the president and his team have made this summer, as an onslaught of tell-all books about Trump and his family have hit bookstores.
ALEX BURNS, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: You know, I don't think I have ever seen this kind of avalanche of insider accounts on a presidency this close to an election, or even at any point while the president is still serving.
[03:55:07]
TODD: Another insider account, Melania and Me, by Melania Trump's former friend and adviser, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff depicts a cold relationship between Melania and Ivanka Trump, both denied it. Many of these tell-alls reinforce what some voters believe about the president's public personality. But his niece, Mary Trump, has another take on the family in her book titled, Too much and never enough.
MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: She really goes after his father and his mother in an analytical way and reveals the cruelty that was practiced against Donald himself as a child, the way that his father treated him, his mother's absence.
TODD: Trump tweeted that Mary Trump's book was an untruthful account from a quote, seldom seen niece who knows little about me. Investigative journalist Bob Woodward's book, Rage, about to be released, has shocking details of the president's behavior and decision-making during the coronavirus pandemic and the racial justice protests.
The season of bombshells began with a book by Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, which claimed Trump asked for China's help in this year's election and got played by Kim Jong-un. Trump called Bolton a warmongering fool, a common theme in many of these tell-alls, analyst say. They all paint unflattering portraits of the president's character and temperament.
D'ANTONIO: The people who work around the president and his family work with so much lying and deception. They experience so much fantasy and they are enlisted in promoting these lies and deceptions, that eventually they reach a point where they can't stand it anymore.
TODD: But will any of these books hurt the president on Election Day? Or will they have the same lack of impact as the Access Hollywood tape released just a few weeks before the 2016 vote?
BURNS: I don't know that these books are going to take people who are core Trump supporters and turn them into Trump skeptics. I don't know that it's going to crack the president political base, but I do think that it reinforces and emboldens the folks who were pretty much inclined to vote against the president to begin with.
TODD: One other trait that these tell-all books share? Their ability to fly off the shelves. They have all been hot sellers, especially the books that Trump says he hates. As one literary agent told The New York Times, quote, you pray for Trump to hate your book, and you pray for him to tweet about it.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: I am Robyn Curnow. You are watching CNN. I will be back with another hour of CNN Newsroom in just a moment. Stick around for that.
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