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President Trump Leaves Walter Reed Despite Risk; Medical Team Gave Trump a Green Light; Joe Biden Extra Cautious in Campaigning; COVID Cases Went Unreported in U.K.; Paris With More Tighter Restrictions; President Trump Takes Joyride to Wave at Supporters Despite COVID-19; Global Markets React to President Trump's COVID-19 Infection; Cineworld Confirms Temporary Closure of U.S. and U.K. Cinemas; An Underground Parking Garage is Being Used to Treat Coronavirus in Israel; Designers Navigate New Normal During Paris Fashion Week. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 05, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They've got Trump flags and they love our country, so I'm not telling anybody but you. But I'm about to make a little surprise visit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A COVID-infected U.S. president plays pandemic politics. Now experts warn his surprise drive-by may have put more people at risk.

Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are surging globally. We will go live to Paris, where French officials are placing the city under maximum alert. And then later, Israel fights its COVID crisis underground, building ICU beds in parking spaces and traffic lanes.

Good to have you with us.

Well, hopes the U.S. president might take his COVID diagnosis seriously may have gone right out the door on Sunday. Donald Trump left Walter Reed Medical Center to stage this drive-by photo op for supporters. The move is being widely panned but fits right in line with the administration's mixed messaging on the virus and Mr. Trump's condition.

The president wore a mask, as he waved to crowds. At least one member of his security detail went further with a face shield and medical gown. But the confines of that SUV make social distancing impossible. A physician at Walter Reed warns every person in that vehicle will have to quarantine.

And Sunday's photo op comes amid a stream of confusing reports from the White House. Among the most recent, President Trump saying he had gone to COVID school. The pandemic has lasted for the better part of a year and killed more than 200,000 Americans. But the president says he's finally getting up to speed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the let's read the book school, and I get it. And I understand it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And in photos, the president has been shown working diligently through his illness. And his doctors say he could be released as early as today. But they also admit he was given the steroid dexamethasone after his oxygen levels dropped two times. On Sunday, Mr. Trump's physician tried to defend leaving out some of that crucial information a day before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN CONLEY, WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president, the course of illness has had. I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction. And in doing so, you know, it came off that we're trying to hide something which wasn't necessarily true. And he is -- the fact of the matter is that he's doing really well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for more, CNN's Sarah Westwood joins us now live from Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Good to see you, Sarah.

So, medical experts they're shaking their heads at President Trump's photo op that put himself and others at risk including his Secret Service agents. Why did he do this?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN REPORTER: Why is the key question, Rosemary. It's not clear what the president had hoped to gain by getting into the motorcade, driving by his supporters who were gathered here at Walter Reed. And he's taken a fair amount of criticism for that trip and for risking the exposure of everyone who helped make that happen, but especially the Secret Service agents who rode in SUV along with the president.

They can be seen through the windows wearing full medical gear. But they may have to quarantine for 14 days because they came in such close proximity to the president who is a contagious, actively infectious patient right now. So a lot of risks involved in that drive-by.

But nonetheless, the White House says that appropriate precautions were taken before the president got into the motorcade and they say that President Trump's medical team cleared the decision for Trump to get into the car and do that drive-by.

[03:05:00]

It all seems to be part of Trump's efforts to project a sense of health, though including his tweeting out a videos of him, talking to camera here at Walter Reed and the White House sharing photos of the president hard at work all trying to keep up this perception that the president is still healthy and working, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, it's all about optics, apparently. And Sarah, what is the latest information you have on the president's condition. And of course, word of his possible discharge today in perhaps a matter of hours?

WESTWOOD: Well, Rosemary, we were getting mixed signals from the White House again today about just what is the true status of President Trump's health. Dr. Sean Conley, the president's lead physician and the team of health care providers working with the president did brief reporters here at Walter Reed on Sunday morning.

Dr. Conley disclosed that the president has had two episodes of what he described as transient drops in the president's blood oxygen level. So, some concerning signs there. And Dr. Conley also acknowledged for the first time that the president has received supplemental oxygen since his COVID diagnosis.

And today -- yesterday now -- the president received a dose of dexamethasone, which is a corticosteroid that is given to some COVID patients who have a more serious case of the illness who are on ventilators or on supplemental oxygen.

But despite all of those concerning developments, Dr. Conley said the president is doing very well and could be discharged as early as Monday, later today. That just doesn't really fit. That level of optimism doesn't really fit with the picture of a patient who is still requiring oxygen and who taking those very serious medications.

But Dr. Conley also sought to clear up some of the confusion and controversy from Saturday's press conference by saying he was not trying to be evasive when he refused to say whether the president had ever up to that point use supplemental oxygen. He said he was just trying to reflect the upbeat attitude of his patients and of the medical doctors. But of course, that episode has hurt his credibility as he continues to brief reporters on each day of the president's stay here at Walter Reed, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Sarah Westwood, many thanks.

Joining me now is Dr. Ali Khan. He is also dean of University of Nebraska Medical Center's College of Public Health. Thank you, doctor, for being with us. ALI KHAN, DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER'S COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Thank you, Rosemary.

So, what's your reading of the president's medical condition, and do you think his doctors are hiding anything as some have suggested?

KHAN: So, it's clear we don't have all the information on when the president first became sick, when his symptoms were, when his testing was done. But based on the therapy that he's been administered it suggests that he's been hospitalized for moderate disease.

CHURCH: Interesting because the president has received supplemental oxygen at least two times, we understand. He's on Regeneron, an experimental antibody cocktail. He's also taking the antiviral drug Remdesivir and a steroid typically reserved for those with the severest of symptoms. And yet, his medical team says he could be discharged in the coming hours. Does that make sense to you?

KHAN: Well, again, since I'm not part of his medical team, it's probably always prudent not to predict when somebody's going to be discharged until you have the opportunity to assess them before they are discharged. But everything that the medical team has told us suggests that he's had a moderate illness at this point and should be monitored to make sure that he doesn't get this sort of second phase of severe illness, which usually occurs about 7 to 10 days after onset of symptoms.

CHURCH: So, would it be wise to send him home at this juncture?

KHAN: Again, his physicians will make that decision. And we do know people with mild to moderate disease have isolated at home and done well. As long as he has good follow up, it is possible to be at home while he's ill.

CHURCH: Right. And the president's doctor, Sean Conley, was directly asked what Mr. Trump's X-rays and CT Scans show in relation to his lungs. And Dr. Conley said they showed expected findings. They were his words. What does that mean to you?

KHAN: What that means to me is that typically other patients who have this disease on their x-rays, on their CT, you'll see these little abnormalities in the air sacs. And he probably has the exact same findings because he's clearly infected with SARS Coronavirus 2 and has COVID.

CHURCH: And why are they not telling us when President Trump received his last negative COVID test, and explain to us why that is so important?

KHAN: Rosemary, obviously I have no idea why his physicians would not disclose his last negative test.

[03:10:00] But the reason why his testing matters, and more so his symptoms matter, is because that defines who his contacts were. So, two days two and a half days before he became ill, those would have been his contacts who now need to be quarantined. So, that's really a critical piece of information.

CHURCH: Right. And we're not seeing any information that is indicating that very much tracing is being done at this point from that Rose Garden event on Saturday. But as a doctor, what did you think when you saw Mr. Trump in his motorcade on Sunday waving at his supporters?

KHAN: So, this would be highly unusual. We isolate all of our patients currently in the hospital. And unfortunately, in most hospitals in the U.S., they don't even have access to their family members while they are being isolated. So, again, if you are sick with COVID for 10 days, you must isolate without anybody else around you and not put anybody else at risk.

CHURCH: Right. And so, you know, you look in the car there and you can see the security detail in the front of the car. There are two, two gentlemen. How exposed would they be? They have got an N95 mask on and apparently other gear. But does that cause you great certain?

KHAN: Well, I've not seen the images, Rosemary, so I can't comment on it. But physicians who take care of these patients usually have a number of protective measures to protect themselves. And we do not usually allow patients out of their rooms while they're acutely infectious.

CHURCH: All right. Dr. Ali Khan, thank you so much for your expertise. We appreciate it.

KHAN: Always a pleasure. Masks on.

CHURCH: It's a good message there.

A new poll shows most Americans believed it's President Trump's own fault he contracted COVID-19. The ABC News/Ipsos poll finds 72 percent of Americans think the president has not taken the risk of getting the virus seriously enough. And the same amount believed he didn't take appropriate precautions when it came to his personal health.

Well, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced that on Sunday he again tested negative for the coronavirus. A CNN source familiar with the campaign's testing strategy says Biden plans to take a test every time he travels. He's heading back out on the campaign trail this week, beginning with a visit later today to a key battleground state.

CNN's M.J. Lee has more.

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: While President Trump receives treatment at Walter Reed hospital for COVID-19, Joe Biden's campaign continuing their normal campaign activities. Later today we're going to see the former vice president travel to Florida. And what the Biden campaign has announced is that they are now going

to make sure that Biden is tested more frequently for the virus than he had been previously. And you'll recall that last Friday, shortly after news broke that President Trump had tested positive for the virus, Biden himself announced that he was tested twice for the virus and both of those test results came back negative.

And we also learned last night, Sunday night, that he had taken another test. That also came back negative. I also just want to point out heading into this week that the big political event that is coming up is the first and only vice-presidential debate. This is going to be between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris.

And what CNN can report is that the Biden campaign had raised some concerns about the amount of space between Pence and Harris on the debate stage. And after talks and negotiations, where they landed is that instead of there being seven feet between the two candidates, now we are going to see 12 feet. So, more space than originally planned.

And finally, the one thing that is entirely unclear right now because of the president's status is what is going to happen to the second presidential debate that was slated for later this month. Back to you.

CHURCH: Joining me now is Larry Sabato. He is the director of Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Always good to have you with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Larry, despite being infected with COVID-19, President Trump took advantage of a photo opportunity, taking a drive past supporters gathered outside the Walter Reed Medical Center, many of them not wearing masks as they wave back at him. What was your reaction to that image beamed across the country and the world?

SABATO: Horror and also a little bit of thinking about just how selfish Donald Trump is. Remember, he exposed the people in his car and probably some who helped him get in the car unnecessarily, the poor Secret Service and others who were in there. What can you say? This was completely unnecessary.

[03:15:00]

Trump shouldn't have done it. But he wanted his photo op, and he had his MAGA supporters out there who were going to back him up 100 percent and show him how much they didn't care about masks and social distancing either.

CHURCH: Right. And then of course, meantime the presidential race is less than a month away and New York Times and Sienna College polls for two battleground states show support for Joe Biden in Florida at 47 percent. That's compared to 42 percent for Trump. While in Pennsylvania Biden is at 49 percent and Trump at 42 percent.

Now, what do those and other battleground numbers reveal at this juncture, and how might Donald Trump's COVID infection expose the race?

SABATO: Rosie, you would much rather be Joe Biden than Donald Trump. Biden is doing better in the key swing states than Hillary Clinton was four years ago. Now that doesn't guarantee him a victory. A lot of things can happen. This has turned into the black swan campaign. You never know when another black swan is going to land in the lake.

Having said that though, I think Biden is in a pretty strong position. He's doing the right thing, which is counterintuitive. He isn't campaigning extensively every day nor should he. The old rule applies, when your opponent is in the midst of committing suicide, you let him do it. You don't interfere.

CHURCH: It's interesting because at this point Joe Biden has pretty much taken all the negative ads down, but the Trump campaign said we're not doing that. So, in a sense, they're taking advantage of Joe Biden, and should he allow himself to be taken on this ride given what played out in the presidential debate?

SABATO: A lot of Democrats think it was a mistake to take down the negative ads. But I can see why Biden did it. It makes him look gentlemanly. It makes him look concerned about the President of the United States regardless of party and their differences on issues. But I don't think that'll last too long.

You know, the Trump campaign has kept negative ads up. I've seen them all day long, targeting Biden and Biden's positions. Give it a few days. And particularly if President Trump is discharged from the hospital as quickly as some of his doctors suggest, then I think we'll see those Biden ads again.

CHURCH: Yes, they are suggesting he would go home Monday. But we'll see what happens with that. And just quickly, how important is it at this juncture that the president and his team recognize just how contagious this virus is and learn from this unfortunate experience of an infected president and his White House and convince Americans to protect themselves by wearing masks and social distancing?

SABATO: Rosie, that's what should happen. In a logical world, it would be happening. And yet today, a number of reporters, including your own, have come back to us and told us that many of the Trump people in and around the White House are still not wearing masks.

So, you know, at some point, you just throw up your hands. Most Americans learned to wear masks and to social distance and to wash their hands months and months and months ago. And apparently, there's a segment of America, the vast majority of them apparently supporting Donald Trump who simply don't want to do it. Fine.

CHURCH: We shall watch and see what happens in the coming hours. Larry Sabato, many thanks. Good to have you with us.

SABATO: Thank you, Rosie.

CHURCH: And make sure to join us for the vice-presidential debate. Senator Kamala Harris faces off against Vice President Mike Pence. CNN's special coverage begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the U.S. East Coast. That's midnight Thursday in London and 7 a.m. in Hong Kong.

And still to come, the U.K. admits it failed to report thousands of new coronavirus cases. How did that happen? We're live in London for the details. Back in just a moment.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: India has been seeing a steady fall in new daily coronavirus cases. That's according to figures from the country's health ministry. And the government has just outlined an ambitious plan to vaccinate 250 million of its citizens by next July.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's prime minister says restrictions in the city of Auckland will be eased. That means schools and businesses there can reopen. But in Paris, bars are set to close for at least two weeks starting Tuesday. The French prime minister has confirmed the capital will be elevated to the country's maximum alert level.

And in the U.K. officials say a technical issue meant that more than 15,000 new coronavirus cases went unreported last month.

So, let's bring in CNN's Melissa Bell. She's live in Paris. And CNN's Scott McLean joins us from London.

Good to see you both.

So, Scott, let's start with you. What more are you learning about this technical issue that meant thousands of cases were not included in September records?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary. So, we don't have a detailed explanation. But we know that these cases were underreported over a nine-day period but a pretty critical period. So, if you would have asked me on Friday how things were going in this country, I would have told you that based on the data, they were looking pretty good.

The daily new case counts were starting to flatten. A sign that perhaps new restrictions that had been brought in like closing the pubs early, like limiting social gatherings were actually working. But this glitch was caught overnight Friday into Saturday and it showed that about 15,000 cases, more than 15,000 cases, were underreported.

So, the good news is that everyone in those cases was actually notified of their positive test result as per normal on time. The bad news though is that it really throws the progress that this country has been making into doubt and makes it pretty hard to assess.

We can show you a graphic showing the seven-day rolling average of cases in this country. And that little spike at the end that's the technical glitch where those cases have been added on. And so, it makes it really hard to assess where things are at. The prime minister over the weekend said that the U.K. is not out of the woods yet. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:25:07]

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And the level of furiousness.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I jump in?

JOHNSON: They're furious with me and they're furious with the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are.

JOHNSON: But, but, but, you know, I got to tell you, in all candor, it's going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas. It may even be bumpy beyond, but this only the way to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: So, one of the biggest criticisms of the government and of the prime minister on these new restrictions is the one that forces pubs and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. The opposition Labour Party had actually supported it. Now they're calling for the government to release the evidence of why they believe that it will be working.

The prime minister this weekend didn't offer any evidence and he even acknowledge that some of the rules some of the restrictions are illogical, maybe even contradictory but he said that it is still important for people to follow them. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Of course. And Melissa, let's go to you now. More closures are expected in Paris. What's the latest on that?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A further tightening, it's what no one wanted to see but what is now inevitable, Rosemary, just because of this COVID-19 figures. Now authorities have laid out a series of criteria which determine whether a region past into a superior category. That's been reached several days ago here in Paris. Things like the incidence rate, the number of people in ICUs.

We've hit those figures here in the greater Paris region for several days now. From tomorrow, officially therefore we enter that maximum alert category. That brings with a fresh set of restrictions. As you mentioned, bars and cafes will close altogether. And we had expected as we'd seen in Marseille already in that category for the last couple of weeks, it had seen restaurants close altogether.

We had expected that to be announced for Paris as well. Instead, authorities have said that restaurants in Marseille will be allowed to open again. That gives you an idea of how strong the pushback was from restaurateurs. They simply couldn't bear the economic punishment of having to close for a second round of lockdown measures. So, cafes, bars, they will close from tomorrow. Also, fresh

restrictions on things like universities and the amount of people who can be in lecture halls. So, a fresh series of restrictions designed once again, Rosemary, to try and bring those figures under control.

For the time being, it has to be said no sign that the recent tightening restrictions has had much of an impact. The number of people entering ICUS again reaching worrying heights with hospitals struggling to cope. And the number of people being infected another record reached.

Nationally, over the course of the weekend, France is once again seeing very difficult figuring that are threatening its healthcare system, especially in some specific regions like the greater Paris region. And for the time being, further tightening of restrictions have simply not yielded what the authorities are hoping to see.

CHURCH: Yes. Tough but necessary measures there.

Scott McLean, Melissa Bell, many thanks to both of you.

Well the U.S. president is playing into pandemic politics while hospitalized with COVID-19. But just how seriously is he taking this virus? His own actions appeared to be undermining his message.

Plus, a look at how the markets are reacting to President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis and hospitalizations. We'll have that one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the "let's read the book" school. And I get it. And I understand it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: President Donald Trump is speaking from Walter Reed Medical Center, but his own actions seemed to contradict that message of understanding. Shortly after saying he gets it, Mr. Trump decided to leave the hospital and take a ride to wave to his supporters outside.

Health experts fear he risked the lives of his security team by going on this drive while infected with COVID-19. Critics say it was another moment of negligence from the president.

A senior administration official tells CNN the president was most likely infected with the virus at the White House Supreme Court announcement. Most in attendance were not wearing masks or social distancing. On Sunday, when pressed by CNN's Ana Cabrera, the Trump campaign defended the president's decision to leave the hospital for a photo op. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MILLER, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: I don't think this was a stunt at all. I think this was President Trump showing people that he's very gracious for the hospitality they've shown him, for the support that he has for the hundreds of people outside Walter Reed Medical Center there --

ANA CABRERA, CNN JOURNALIST AND ANCHOR: But he's also done that.

MILLER: So he's ready to get back into it.

CABRERA: He's also done that in videos that he's put out on Twitter without having to endanger the lives of Secret Service members by being in a car --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: -- in order to do this drive-by.

MILLER: But we know that Secret Service always takes great care of their agents. They make sure there is always extra layer precaution. Obviously --

CABRERA: We also know Secret Service agents --

MILLER: Ana, hold on.

CABRERA: -- have contracted the virus in the course of their duty.

MILLER: I know the Secret Service takes this very seriously. And I think it was great that President Trump was able to get out there and show he's ready to take this virus head on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN's White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins has been following this story for us in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, on a day where the president's physicians revealed that his levels of oxygen had been fluctuating over the last 48 hours, he actually started to be administered a steroid in addition to that other antibody cocktail that he had received a day before.

This is the day the president decided to leave Walter Reed only for a few moments to participate in a drive-by of his supporters who were standing outside the hospital. Of course, the trip started immediately raising questions about whether or not the president was putting the Secret Service agents who were in the car with him at risk. As you could see, as he was driving by and waving to his supporters, the Secret Service agents were wearing face shields, medical grade masks, and gowns over their clothing. The White House did later say that the president's medical team had cleared the trip. They did not say which physician specifically had done so.

Dr. Sean Conley is his primary doctor and the comments that he's been making at two of the briefings they held in recent days have only raised more questions than they've answered, because he has typically tried to avoid certain questions, specific questions about the president's vitals even though they are crucially important.

And even in a press conference on Sunday, he revealed that a lot of this has to do with the patient that he's treating, saying that he wanted to reflect the upbeat mood of the president though, of course, he's a doctor and that is certainly not his requirement.

[03:35:00]

COLLINS: It's more to provide an accurate assessment of the status of the president of the United States.

That's something that has raised several criticisms out of the White House, as well as the White House staff, including the chief of staff and the press secretary, who would not say if President Trump was tested before he went to that debate with Joe Biden in Cleveland on Tuesday or if he was tested before he went to that fundraiser in New Jersey on Thursday which, of course, we now know he had already learned that his top aide Hope Hicks had tested positive.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN, at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And as President Trump waved to his adoring crowd Sunday, some doctors harshly criticized the move, including an attending physician at Walter Reed, though he's not involved in the president's care. He spoke to CNN earlier about how irresponsible he found it to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES PHILLIPS, NONMILITARY, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, WALTER REED HOSPITAL: When we take care of patients in the emergency department, when the thousands of hours I've spent in the inpatient wards and surgery in medicine ICU, we don't let patients leave the hospital when they're sick unless they sign out against medical advice, offering some bit of protection to the medical staff and the hospital itself.

In the emergency department, if the patient wants to go smoke a cigarette, we can't let them leave the hospital premises to go do so. There's risk to the public and risks to the patient themselves. So the idea that this would be cleared without any medical indication is absurd.

The only reason why someone with COVID-19, severe COVID-19, causing hypoxia on multiple IV drugs should ever be leaving the hospital would be in an ambulance to be transferred to a higher level of care. There is no higher level of care than what our president is currently getting.

He's even being treated by the premiere military physicians in the world, being augmented by doctors from Johns Hopkins and potentially elsewhere. So, why leave? What is the purpose of this?

And certainly, you're looking at the risks of the transmission of COVID-19. What we know is that being in enclosed spaces is dangerous, masks or no masks, being inside a vehicle that is hermetically-sealed, circulates virus inside and potentially puts people at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Thanks there to Dr. James Phillips for his perspective. And now let us take a look at how U.S. markets are reacting as President Trump remains in the hospital following his coronavirus diagnosis. You can there all the futures heading there up into positive territory. And we've got the DOW Futures up at .39, NASDAQ up at .47, and the S&P 500 Futures is adding at .28 percent there.

CNN's John Defterios is with us from Abu Dhabi. So, John, the market is in positive territory now after Friday sell off. What is driving this? Do you think it is reaction to President Trump's apparent improvement or his rival Joe Biden's widening lead in the polls? Which would it be? How do you work that out?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN ANCHOR AND EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I would say, Rosemary, I think it's a combination of both, if you will. No matter who is sitting in the chair at the White House as president, to see that shock that we had Friday with the announcement of the COVID-19 positive indication for the president, notwithstanding the joyride which was a bit unusual, but it does remove some uncertainty.

But I think the Biden poll, in terms of long-term investment horizons is more important here. It is 14 points in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll here. That starts to remove this real cloud of uncertainty about a hung election here whether the president's sitting now would lead after all because of the mail-in ballots and some of the question marks that he has been putting out there ahead of the polls.

So, you have the U.S. Futures. Let's take a look at Asia. This is equal recovery to the losses on Friday. Most of the markets have three of the four up about one to one and a quarter percent. Australia had a gain of two and a half percent because of a new stimulus package that has been announced there by the government on infrastructure. So that is a net positive.

We have the European gains similar, just slightly higher than what we saw for U.S. Futures. They were up three-quarters of one percent in the first hour of trade. They're starting to stabilize right now.

One of the things we're worried about here because of COVID-19 and the spike of cases, Rosemary, is the fears about demand in the future. For example, like commodities and oil. Oil prices collapsed on Friday better than four percent. We now see them trading up. We're still below or just around $40 a barrel for the international benchmark.

That's not great because it's not a price that allows profitability for international oil producers at this time and other commodities are seeing similar falls and uncertainty.

There are two things on the horizon that we should watch out for here. Number one, the global economy has gotten very dependent on stimulus packages, and what happens after those are removed in 2021? That is a huge question mark.

[03:39:57]

DEFTERIOS: Number two, near term, at least, we still don't have a package formalized from the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate and the White House. They say it's near and it is coming any single day. It hasn't materialized and that does create some turbulence of uncertainty for investors.

CHURCH: All right. We will see what happens in the coming hours. John Defterios, many thanks.

DEFTERIOS: Thanks.

CHURCH: So, if you were hoping to catch the next Hollywood blockbuster in theaters, you may have to change plans. Movie theather giant Cineworld is temporarily suspending all operations at its Regal cinemas here in the United States. It's also closing its Cineworld and Picturehouse theaters in the United Kingdom.

The company blames marked closures due to COVID-19. "Superspy James Bond" may have also had an impact. The decision comes after news the release of the latest 007 movie has been moved to next year, becoming the latest high-profile film to face a delay.

Well, coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," we will take you inside Israel's giant new hospital to treat coronavirus patients, which was built underground. That is right. We're back with that on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Israel has recorded more than 266,000 coronavirus cases. And with thousands of new infections being found every day, one hospital is taking the fight underground.

Our Oren Liebermann joins us from Jerusalem with more on this. Good to see you, Oren. So talk to us about the latest on Israel's lockdown, because this hospital, it's intriguing. What did you find when you toured it?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, we're now two or three weeks into Israel's second general lockdown and the numbers remain high. Yes, there was a dip in the number of daily infections over the weekend, but that appears to be a function of fewer tests being carried out over the weekend.

[03:45:00]

LIEBERMANN: Crucially, the rate of positive tests remains high, according to ministry of health data, above 10 percent. It's because of these surging numbers. Let's not forget, last week, we saw a record of more than 9,000 cases in 24 hours, that the largest hospital in Northern Israel decided to take its coronavirus operation underground.

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LIEBERMANN (voice-over): In the largest hospital in Northern Israel, the COVID-19 crisis has gone underground. Sixty feet underground and 25 feet below sea level, Rambam Hospital in Haifa has turned a parking garage into the country's largest coronavirus center.

Despite the undeniable wow factor, this five-acre medical facility is very much part of the country's emergency plan.

MICHAEL HALBERTHAL, DIRECTOR, RAMBAM MEDICAL CENTER: We are entering the intensive care area.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The hospital has moved all its COVID treatment into this 1,500 vehicle parking structure. This isn't just a garage. It's a shelter against bombs and chemical warfare, built after the 2006 Lebanon war.

HALBERTHAL: In the war scenario, this area is supposed to be clean and the outside is under chemical cloud. And now it's exactly the opposite. So, this area is contaminated and outside is clean.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The hospital now has 770 beds strictly for coronavirus patients built into parking spaces and traffic lanes. About 80 beds are now full.

(On camera): Because this was designed as a parking lot that could be converted into a shelter, all of the connections here were already built into the wall, the electricity, the oxygen, the tubes, all of that was here already. And within 72 hours, they cleared up all the cars and turned this into the largest underground hospital in the world.

(Voice-over): There's no sunlight down here and few creature comforts.

HALBERTHAL: This is a regular parking garage.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): There is an infant ward here. It's empty, at least for now. Around the corner is the maternity ward. On floor minus three, in spot 911, Lamour Gazal is about to undergo a C-section. She has coronavirus and won't be able to see her baby for at least two days after the birth.

LAMOUR GAZAL, PATIENT (through translator): The plan was different, to be with the family, with my mom, with my husband, with people around. But suddenly to come here alone, the truth is that it is scary.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): When we last stepped into a coronavirus ward in April, Israel was among the world's best at containing and controlling the spread of coronavirus. There are a total of 14,000 cases in the first two months of the pandemic. Now, there are that many cases every two days.

Israel's entire health care system is under pressure. More than 40 percent of the country's internal medicine departments have been converted into coronavirus wards and more are being changed over every week. Elective surgeries have been delayed and the ability to treat problems other than coronavirus is diminished.

Seven months into the coronavirus pandemic in Israel, doctors and medical teams have learned much more about the disease and its treatment. Still, the number of patients and infections are soaring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We pray. We pray that we have the strength to go on and that the people outside understand the difficult situation, the severe situation that we are in now to do better.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): For each doctor and nurse on the hospital floor, there's another waiting outside. They switch every two or three hours. A shortage here is not of medical supplies or beds, it is of manpower. If these 770 beds fill up, hospital officials say they will struggle to do anything else.

HALBERTHAL: It's really tough work to be here, mentally and physically. And when you see the country, the rate of positive infection, people know that it's going to be only worse before it gets any better, if at all.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): There is hardly any silver lining here, no real good news to help the country get through this pandemic. The only light at the end of the tunnel is another patient arriving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN: Two other warring numbers, according to the ministry of health data, first, there are nearly 900 serious cases throughout the country and 215 patients on ventilators. Remember, Rosemary, this is a small country and both of those numbers are very high.

CHURCH: That is an incredible report. Many thanks to our Oren Liebermann for that. And much more ahead on "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the fashion world is now navigating through a new normal amid the coronavirus pandemic. And those challenges are currently being felt in Paris as designers look to promote themselves during a very different fashion week. CNN's Jim Bittermann is in Paris with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Earlier this year, in pre-pandemic times, this is the way the House of Dior put on display its latest fashion. Nine months later, masks, temperature checks and hand cleaning were more the order of the day.

For business that's very much about creating demand and excitement, the coronavirus has presented some unique challenges. Big name designer like Dior, for example, would normally have had 1,500 fashionistas on the invite list. This season, it was 350, all carefully socially distanced.

Those fashion houses with staged physical shows were in the minority. Many designers only show their creations on the internet. In fact, only 20 of the 83 fashion houses presenting spring and summer collections in Paris went to the expense of a physical show, which can run in the millions.

PIETRO BECCAN, CEO, DIOR COUTURE: Fashion is all about emotion, the emotion that we transmit to people. That emotion is the real thing when you have a performance where the actors perform without the safety net.

BITTERMANN (voice-over): Adding to the stress in what is already a high stress industry was a last-minute change in government rules on public gatherings because of an uptick in coronavirus cases.

[03:55:00]

BITTERMANN (voice-over): For smaller, newer brands like Koche, this season's collection was about showing fewer but higher quality designs.

CHRISTELLE KOCHER, KOCHE FASHION: The situation change. Every day, we need to change our (INAUDIBLE). Every day, we maybe need to adapt. But we are young, we are smart, we are very agile, and we adapt ourselves in a very positive way.

BITTERMANN (voice-over): For the fashion crowd, something else that needed adapting to was the absence of the usual kind of splashy party scenes. There was very little of this this year. The trendy bars are closed.

For models like Marilhea Peillard, who is used to flying around the world for shows and photo shoots, a little of the glamour has gone out of the business.

MARILHEA PEILLARD, MODEL: After the show, you usually have an after party sort of thing. Now, you're just going to do the show and go home and that's it. Yeah.

BITTERMANN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).

PEILLARD: In a way, we have to do it. BITTERMANN (on camera): But there's a larger question here, perhaps a more existential one for the entire industry. And that is that people buy fashion rather than just clothes to be seen in bars and restaurants or at the office. If there are fewer social gatherings and people are working from home, perhaps there will be less demand for fashion than there once was.

(Voice-over): That's the question that remains out there. But optimism is the whole cloth of the fashion business. Said Christelle Kocher, people have to dream, don't they? It is an observation that no doubt rings very true to someone working from home.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A very different year for everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me on Twitter at Rosemary CNN and I will be back with more news in just a moment.

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