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Cases Rising Rapidly across Much of Europe; U.S. Surpasses 8 Million COVID-19 Cases; Over 20M U.S. Ballots Cast; Japanese Tourist Gets Private Tour of Machu Picchu. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired October 17, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi, welcome to CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. So, coming up on the show:
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The light at the end of the tunnel is near. We are rounding the turn.
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CURNOW (voice-over): False claims from the president on the same day the number of coronavirus cases crosses 8 million in the U.S.
Also, Europe's second wave. People now facing new restrictions and nighttime curfews. We have live reports from the U.K. and France in just a moment.
But also, a Japanese tourist stranded in Peru gets the deal of a lifetime, Machu Picchu all to himself.
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CURNOW: Europe is fighting a difficult battle with coronavirus, one that is certainly getting worse each day. New infections are spreading and quickly. And now far exceed the rise of new cases in the U.S. That's what John Hopkins and the World Health Organization are now reporting.
So here are some of the latest headlines. Italy reported more than 10,000 new cases on Friday, a record high for the third straight day. That's more than any recorded at the peak of its first wave back in March.
Russia reported another record high number of new infections. Cases have surged in the country over the past two weeks, breaking records of single day increases almost every day.
German chancellor Angela Merkel closed an E.U. special summit in Berlin as cases rise across the country there. And then several cities in France are trying to stop infections from spreading by setting nighttime curfews that are now in effect.
Well, let's go straight to Melissa Bell. Melissa Bell is standing by live in Paris with more on all of that.
Hi, Melissa.
What can you tell us?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, it is a measure, a series of measures, these curfews, that came into effect at midnight, that are trying to bring down the number of people in ICU. That's what Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday then when he announced these fresh measures and the fact that from midnight last, France is effectively now in a state of sanitary emergency.
And that could mean, Robyn, that there will be further measures. But it's a measure, also, of just how worried authorities are. We've seen a series of record-breaking daily races in new cases of coronavirus announced daily. The latest Thursday, more than 30,000 cases announced in a 24-hour period. Last night more than 25,000.
The French president wants to get that back down to 3,000 to 5000 extra cases a day. So, there is a lot more that needs to be done. For now, they are trying with curfews. Almost anything to try and avoid a second lockdown that they feel the economy could ill afford.
So curfews to see whether that makes a difference in 10 French cities, which will be enforced by 12,000 police men and women who will be out there to make sure that beyond 9 pm in those 10 cities, including here in the greater Paris region, people are not out in the street unless they have a piece of paper explaining the exceptional nature of their outing.
So, you're going to have really quiet cities.
Will it be enough to bring those new daily cases down?
That's a big question. Because that, of course, has a knock-on effect, several days or weeks later in terms of ICU entries. And to give you an idea of how tight things are in the greater Paris region, we are looking at 46.8 percent of ICU beds already taken by COVID-19 patients, Robyn.
CURNOW: Goodness, OK. Thanks so much, Melissa Bell there live in Paris. Thanks, Melissa.
Cases also reaching alarming levels in the U.K., especially in the northwest. Prime minister Boris Johnson had a message for the mayor of greater Manchester. The mayor has been criticizing the British government for wanting pubs in the area to close, among other measures. Here's what Mr. Johnson had to say in response.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I urge the mayor to reconsider and engage constructively. I cannot stress enough. Time is of the essence. Each day that passes before action is taken means more people will go to hospital, more people will end up in intensive care and, tragically, more people will die.
Of course, if agreement cannot be reached, I will need to intervene in order to protect Manchester's hospitals and save the lives of Manchester residents.
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CURNOW: Salma Abdelaziz joins me now live from Manchester.
Salma, hi. Why is the mayor and why are folks in Manchester pushing back on this?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Quite clear (ph), Robyn, this is an economic calculation for the mayor. He says that he is unwilling to gamble the economy of this city for which he says is an experiment that this government's own scientists say might not work.
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ABDELAZIZ: Essentially, he is saying, if you want us to shut down our businesses, if you want us to close the doors of our pubs and bars, our gyms, our nightlife, you must provide an economic package that allows people to come back when it is safe again to come back.
And make sure that those businesses don't close their doors forever, Robyn. That is his first argument.
His second argument is essentially, why us?
Now there has always been tensions between the north of the country and the seat of power, of course, in London. And there's a sense here that people are being singled out. There's a lot of people asking, why us?
Why not London?
How is it going to work if you have small regional lockdowns?
Why not have a nationwide lockdown, rather, which is exactly what the scientists who advise the government are asking for.
And as this -- this is an extraordinary standoff, essentially. So over the weekend, we are still continuing -- I'm so sorry, there is someone shouting in the background.
But over the weekend we are waiting for these talks to give some sort of results in Manchester. Meanwhile, in London, that city has been raised to tier two, that is the median level. That comes with extra restrictions that will shut down the country's hospitality industry and make it essentially that you cannot meet with anyone outside your household in an indoor setting.
That means no meeting your friends at pubs, bars or restaurants. That will have a massive economic impact. Take a listen at what two staff members at a pub in London had to say about it.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At this rate, I can't see us being able to -- how we can afford keep the amount of staff on without any further furlough (ph) help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's had a massive impact. Almost immediately, we had cancellations through. And we've had to ring in (ph) and proactively reach out to people as well. It's the equivalent for us of about 3.5 thousand pounds worth of takings over the next -- over this weekend coming (ph).
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ABDELAZIZ: Now Mayor Sadiq Khan has said these measures are necessary to bring the rising number of cases down. The mayor is also one of those who are critics of prime minister Boris Johnson's strategy and calling for a nationwide lockdown. All this is happening while the number of cases continues to rise, Robyn.
CURNOW: Well, thanks. I'm going to leave you to the gentleman behind you and hope you have a pleasant day. Thanks so much.
So French authorities have four people in custody at this hour, following the beheading of a history teacher in a Paris suburb. Police say they shot and killed the suspected attacker.
According to multiple reports, the teacher recently had shown to students controversial caricatures depicting the prophet. Muhammad. Some parents are reported to have complained to the school, as Jim Bittermann now explains.
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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: The attack occurred in a suburb about 45 kilometers from Paris. The secondary schoolteacher was decapitated at the scene and in the moments that followed, the assailant was spotted going down the street.
Police gave chase. They confronted him, told him to drop his knife and when he didn't, they brought him down with a hail of bullets. He was killed at the scene as, of course, was the teacher.
President Macron, visibly emotional, went to the scene this evening and he had this to say.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): One of our fellow citizens was killed today because he was teaching students about freedom of speech, the freedom to believe and not believe.
Our compatriot was attacked. He was the victim of an Islamist attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BITTERMANN: The investigation into the attack has now been turned over to the terrorism prosecutor in France and this has been labeled by the president himself as an act of Islamic terrorism.
The minister of education, who also was tweeting and speaking about this tonight, said that he had -- attack, this attack was a despicable assassination of one of the republic's servants -- Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
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CURNOW: Thanks, Jim, for that.
So, you are watching CNN. Coming up, on the same day the U.S. passed over 8 million coronavirus infections, President Trump held three large campaign rallies. The troubling trends the country is facing. That is next.
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DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: That indicates people are really severely sick and they need to be in the hospital. And that curve has also started up again, which is really troubling. And that probably means, unfortunately, that we may start now to see also an increase in the number of deaths each day.
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CURNOW: A dire warning there from top health experts as COVID hospitalizations are on the rise in the U.S. It comes on the same day the nation surpassed 8 million confirmed infections. That's 1 million more than just 3 weeks. Ago
And there is no end in sight to this grim reality. We know dozens of states, as you can see from this image, are trending in the wrong direction. For the first time since late July, more than 68,000 new infections were reported in a single day.
But president Donald Trump is still holding crowded and largely mask less campaign rallies and continues to claim the U.S. is rounding the corner on the virus. But health experts warn, as bad as numbers are right now, they will likely get even worse, as Brian Todd takes us to communities already being pushed to the brink. Brian.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hospital beds on the move in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with hospitals pushing capacity. Officials in New Mexico say many coronavirus patients there need to be transferred from one hospital to another throughout the state.
And, tonight, they're worried about having enough people to take care of them.
DR. DAVID SCRASE, NEW MEXICO HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Our hospital leaders' greatest concern today is staffing up those beds. They point out that the health care work force that's been fighting valiantly against COVID in New Mexico, they're getting tired. There's some people who've stepped back.
TODD: Cases have spiked to such an extent in New Mexico that the governor is telling people flat out don't leave your home if you don't have to. The virus, she says, is winning.
GOV. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (D-NM): This is the most serious emergency that New Mexico has ever faced.
TODD: Wisconsin is also seeing horrific spikes. And officials say many new cases are tied directly to virus spreads in prisons and veterans homes, like the King facility in Waupaca County.
DIANE LYNCH, WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: There are 52 members currently in quarantine. And there are 25 staff members currently out of the work unit with positive COVID tests.
TODD: Wisconsin and New Mexico are two of 10 states that just reported their single highest day of new cases ever.
The numbers are daunting all the way around. The U.S. topped 60,000 new cases in a single day for the first time since August 14, 32 states today trending up in new cases. The U.S. just passed eight million total cases of this virus. And America's top experts are very worried about the months ahead.
DR. ANNE RIMOIN, UCLA EPIDEMIOLOGIST: As we move towards the winter and the weather is getting colder, people will have fewer and fewer opportunities to be outdoors and to be able to just naturally social distance. We're going to be creating opportunities, more opportunities for this virus to spread. It is a dangerous moment in history.
TODD: Experts say, this year, even with so many Americans desperate for some kind of celebration, holidays will have to be scaled back to combat the virus.
The CDC has just issued new guidelines for how Americans can stay safe at Thanksgiving, among them, assess the infection rates in your community, consider postponing or canceling activities. Think about having outdoor dinners, weather permitting, or hosting virtual dinners.
And limit the number of people at any gathering. Mask-wearing and distancing are more important than ever, America's leading voice on infectious disease says. And he's becoming impatient with people who aren't doing those things.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: So, if you think that by getting infected and saying -- pooh-poohing the prevention modalities, that you're living in a vacuum and you're not -- no, you're becoming part of the problem.
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TODD: But Dr. Fauci said it is still not too late to turn the tide for what will happen with the virus this fall and winter, if Americans act responsibly, if state and local officials take good public health measures and emphasize all of that can be done without shutting the country down -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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CURNOW: So despite the pandemic, millions of Americans are standing in lines around the country to cast their ballot. Election Day is 17 days off. But this is what is already playing out in cities around the nation.
It's staggering, really. Take a look at some U.S. states and how these early voting numbers are stacking up, compared to the 2016 election.
Here in Georgia, 62 percent more people have already voted in person, compared to this point in the last presidential election.
And in Illinois, there's a 400 percent jump. Tennessee and Kansas, also remarkably well up as well.
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CURNOW: Sabrina Siddiqui is a CNN political analyst and joins me now from Washington, D.C.
Sabrina, great to see you. We are seeing this massive early voting, voters that are energized, willing to wait. They want to get their ballots in early.
What does this turnout indicate?
SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It certainly means there is a record level of enthusiasm at this stage with less than 3 weeks remaining until the election. More than 22 million Americans have already cast their ballots in early voting.
That is roughly 16 percent of the number of people who voted in the 2016 election. Currently, Democrats have a 2:1 advantage over Republicans in early voting. But of, course that can change. Some states are not yet reporting their totals from early voting and, of course, there is the turnout we may see on the day of the election itself.
Some experts are saying -- again, these numbers can change -- that this may be the highest turnout since 1908 in a U.S. presidential election. If anything is apparent, it is we're seeing enthusiasm like we haven't seen in recent memory.
CURNOW: It'll be interesting to see whether that enthusiasm is for or against Donald Trump or for Joe Biden. That certainly can play into how this all comes about over the next few weeks.
I just want to talk about these battleground states. We saw both candidates going o key states and the president seems to be playing defense.
How much can he swing votes in key states, the ones that he won, with 17 days to go?
SIDDIQUI: It's difficult. Anytime you have an incumbent president up for reelection, it's typically a referendum on the person's first term in office. Many people have been comparing the polling in 2020 to that of 2016.
They say Hillary Clinton had a big lead at the stage, in the 2016 election, how much weight can you put in the polls that are showing Joe Biden comfortably ahead not just nationally but in battleground states?
It's different because Donald Trump is no longer a hypothetical candidate. And so opinions of Donald Trump are already pretty set in stone. It's Joe Biden who has the potential to, perhaps, persuade some of those undecided voters.
CURNOW: You mentioned, at this stage in 2016, it looked like Hillary Clinton was a clear winner. Despite being ahead in the polls and despite last night's great TV ratings for him, are many Joe Biden supporters and even Joe Biden, in his camp, are saying let's be cautious, don't write off Trump yet.
SIDDIQUI: I actually think there is much concern among Democrats about the prospect of complacency, maybe voters who this is already in the bag.
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SIDDIQUI: The Biden campaign and the Democratic Party more broadly have really been ramping up these efforts.
Initially during the pandemic, they were encouraging Americans to vote via mail because of public safety concerns. Now they just tell them to vote, whether it's in person or by mail. However, it is they can get out there and vote. There is a sense of urgency that Joe Biden's campaign believes it has capitalized on, to limit Trump's presidency to one term.
But Trump supporters may show up on the day of the election. Republicans have been less likely to vote by mail. Democrats have always had an advantage of early voting. So, they don't really want a repeat of 2016 where people think this election is already said and done.
A majority of the public thinks this country is heading in the wrong direction and it is very clear that this election is about something bigger than the issues that typically you would lead up to an Election Day in November. This is about Donald Trump and a referendum, really, on the direction
of the country under his stewardship, especially when the U.S. is still significantly lagging behind in its response to the coronavirus pandemic under his watch.
CURNOW: Sabrina, always great to have your perspective and your expertise, thank you for joining us. Have a great weekend.
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CURNOW: Polls are now closed in New Zealand's general election. Labor's Jacinda Ardern is seeking a second term as prime minister. She faces her main opponent, national leader Judith Collins, and the Labor Party has a huge lead in the early count. Just under 20 percent reporting.
According to New Zealand election officials, nearly 2 million of the registered 3.5 million voters got their ballots in early. We will continue to monitor that story and the results, as they come in.
Meanwhile, protesters in Thailand were sprayed by police water cannons after a third straight day of protests in Bangkok. In a mash of defiance, as you see here, thousands of demonstrators hit the streets, demanding the prime minister step down.
Despite a government ban on large gatherings. Jonathan Miller, from the U.K.'s Channel 4 News, has more from Bangkok.
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JONATHAN MILLER, JOURNALIST: So, the police continue to move in, causing panic in the crowd. But there is real anger here now. Listen to that. One of the shouts that they're chanting is, "slaves, slaves, slaves." They call the police slaves of the dictatorship.
The police are just over there. They have come down from police headquarters, just up the road. But these people are rushing back to the scene here, having fled well back (ph).
The police have to regroup now but they are coming back. They have got the water cannon back on. This is all about the government's credibility (ph). They have to do something. But you know what, this is the beginning of a new chapter.
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CURNOW: Jonathan Miller there, from the U.K.'s Channel 4, reporting from Bangkok. Some spectacular scenes taking place there. Thanks to Jonathan for that.
Coming up next on CNN NEWSROOM, a tourist stranded for months in Peru gets the private tour of a lifetime.
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CURNOW: Now a tale of patience over panic. A Japanese tourist was finishing up a trip around the world when he landed in Peru back in March. His goal was to see Machu Picchu.
Well then, coronavirus shut down the country and the airport, leaving him, of course, stranded for months. Matt Rivers reports on how this tourist finally got to fulfill his goal.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jesse Katayama was a tourist who went to Peru to see Machu Picchu. And that is about the only normal part of this story.
He says, "If I arrived a day earlier or a day later, this wouldn't have happened. It might be fate."
The 26-year old was nearing the end of the trip around the world in March. He got to Peru on the 14th and then the country locked down. Not only was Machu Picchu closed, so was the airport.
But panic?
No. He just rented a room. He stayed in Aguas Calientes, a town at the foot of Machu Picchu. He quickly made friends and says his neighbors cooked for him all the time. When some Japanese made it home on repatriation flights, Jesse close to stay.
Limited Spanish didn't stop the boxing trainer from setting up a local club for the neighborhood kids.
"Uno, dos, tres," was simple enough. And it worked.
He showed us the gifts the kids gave him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Japanese.)
RIVERS (voice-over): He says, "On the back, it says 'I love you.' So cute. I'm not the same person I was when I first got here."
Machu Picchu had become kind of an afterthought. He lived close enough that he could see it but figured he'd leave before it reopened. And then came the call. The Peruvian government heard his story and made an exception.
Jesse, this week, became the first and only tourist to enter the site since March. Just him and his photographer guides and a whole bunch of history.
He says, "In the beginning, I wanted to go home and there were some tough times. But what I gained from this is invaluable. If anybody else finds themselves in a similar situation, I say, do your best and go for it."
Or essentially just roll with the punches, fitting advice, from a boxing trainer -- Matt Rivers, CNN.
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CURNOW: Beautiful story. Thanks, Matt, for bringing it to us.
You're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. "AFRICAN VOICES" starts after the break.
