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U.S. Reports One-Day High, over 83,000 COVID-19 Infections; Experts: Masking Could Save 100K Lives by March 1; 51+ Million Early Votes Cast in U.S. Election; Coronavirus Reaches New Peaks across Europe; Israel and Sudan Agree to Normalize Relations; Asia Managing Pandemic; Mexican Cities Report Fresh Outbreaks. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired October 24, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello everyone, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM, appreciate your company, I am Michael Holmes.

We begin with breaking news this hour, alarming evidence that the country that already has the most reported infections and deaths in the global pandemic is not just headed in the wrong direction; it is heading down a dangerous path.

The U.S., on Friday, reported the most new coronavirus cases in one single day. Nearly 84,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Now if the U.S. is "rounding a corner," as the president likes to say, what is waiting around that corner is terrifying.

Just one state, that's the one in green, Oregon, has numbers that are headed down, by at least 10 percent. You can see what is happening in the rest of the country.

Hospitalizations, also rising nationwide. Experts worry, there will also be a rise in deaths in the next few weeks. The so-called lagging indicator.

All of this, happening with a presidential election, of course, more than a week away. Friday President Trump, holding 2 big campaign rallies in Florida. As usual, just a smattering of masks and no social distancing. That is a scary sight.

There was also a speech that did not square with the numbers, no matter how often he repeats this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All he talks about his COVID, COVID, COVID. They want to scare people. We have done so well with it, now it is 99.8 percent. Look at what is going on and we are rounding the turn, we are rounding the corner. We are rounding the corner beautifully. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: That is not true. Joe Biden's message could make you wonder if he and Trump are running for president of the same country. Have a listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I will go to every governor and mandate mask-wearing in their states. If they refuse, I will go to the mayors and county executives and get local masking requirements in place nationwide. As president, I will mandate mask-wearing in all federal buildings and all interstate transportation because masks save lives, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The president, of course, is not on board with mandatory masks. In fact, he has mocked Joe Biden for wearing one. For months, the nation's top infectious disease expert was not in favor of a nationwide mask mandate. But now, given these alarming trends, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN, it may be needed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If everyone agrees that this is something that is important and they mandate, it and everyone pulls together and say, we will mandate it but let's just do it, I think that would be a great idea, to have everyone do it uniformly.

One of the issues, though, I get the argument, saying, if you mandate a mask, then you will then have to enforce, it and that creates more of a problem. Well, if people are not wearing masks, then maybe we should be mandating it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: With the number of new COVID-19 cases skyrocketing in the U.S., the surgeon general warns that this could be the worst week since the pandemic began. More than half of states now reporting infections, increasing by 10 percent or more, compared with the previous week. CNN's Nick Watt with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are now in the fall surge, virus spread accelerating.

ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We're in a very serious moment right now. We're seeing increases in cases. And what we're seeing is, through the Midwest, Upper Midwest and the Plains, a lot of cases occurring.

WATT: A dozen states are suffering all-time record high average daily case counts. TRUMP: We're rounding the turn. We're rounding the corner. It's going away.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The truth of the matter is that we're turning the corner into a tsunami.

WATT: Nationwide, the three worst days for new cases were all back in ugly, ugly July, coming in fourth, yesterday, 71,671 new infections.

And the number of COVID patients in our hospitals has soared by a third in just three weeks or so. AZAR: Then, we will see results from that.

WATT: Results means deaths, our average daily death toll already higher than it's been in a month. And another 160,000-plus Americans might die before the first day of February, according to influential modelers.

[02:05:00]

WATT (voice-over): They say, if 95 percent of Americans wore masks, 100,000 lives could be saved through the last day of February.

AZAR: This is being driven by individual behaviors at this point.

WATT: Like going maskless, family gatherings, public gatherings, three cases now confirmed at this Los Angeles mega-church, which defies public health orders, meets inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will obey God, rather than men.

WATT: Big Ten football kicks off tonight, very few fans. Still, "We are expecting some potential new obstacles as a result of the upcoming football season," says the mayor of East Lansing, home to Michigan State.

We are in the fall surge. We know what we need to do.

REINER: Mask up and we can turn this around.

WATT (voice-over): Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The final U.S. presidential debate this week, opened with exchanges on, yes, the coronavirus pandemic. Each candidate asked how he would tackle the next phase. Joe Biden and Donald Trump as far apart on that as they were on pretty much everything.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We are about to go into a dark winter. A dark winter. He has no clear plan.

KRISTEN WELKER, MSNBC HOST: He says you have no plan.

TRUMP: -- have a dark winter at all. We are opening up our country. I say we are learning to live with it.

BIDEN: People are learning to die with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The election could come down to the battleground states you see here in yellow. That is Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia and, as always, Florida.

Now even without the current electoral college outlook, it does still give Joe Biden the edge. The magic number, 270 electoral college seats and, right now, it looks like 290 for Biden, 163 for President Trump. Of course, we must stress, anything can happen.

Ron Brownstein is CNN's senior political analyst, joins me now from Los Angeles.

Good to see you, my friend. Let's start with the, debate because why not. For Joe Biden, I think it is fair to say, the challenge was do no harm. But Donald Trump needed a home run or a pivotal moment, a course changer.

What was your read?

Did the dial move in any direction, in any substantial way?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's hard at this point to move very much. Obviously, the president was more effective overall, that he was in the first debate where he might have well just have doused himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire.

But I thought the key to the whole debate, was what you were showing before. It was the first 15 minutes of where the message the president sent to the country, as cases are spiking to the highest level ever, was unequivocal, that no matter how long he is in office, no matter how many get, sick no matter how many die, he's not going to take this any more seriously than he has so far.

And he will continue to prioritize reopening the economy over safeguarding public health. Of course, in the long, run it openly undermines the goal of reopening the economy.

He is playing, as he often, does to the short side of the field, to the minority of Americans who will oppose masks on ideological, grounds or want to open, up at all costs.

That is, he is sending the country a very clear signal, he is not going to change course, even as the virus spikes. And as we said before, 60 percent of Americans, consistently, disapprove of the way he's handling this.

HOLMES: And there are signs of actual spikes in counties where he is holding these rallies, by the way.

I wanted to ask you about polls, because you are our poll guy; 2016 versus 2020. We know they were wrong in 2016 but what changed in terms of methodology and also, the tangible things, changing demographics?

A lot of Trump's numbers, in terms of core supporters, have dropped. Biden's have risen, so what do you make of that?

BROWNSTEIN: In 2016, Donald Trump surprised pollsters and won. He turned out more non-college and more nonurban voters than expected, in 3 key Western states, that determine the election, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The national polling was actually quite close.

But in all of those states, the mix of the electorate was different than the pollsters and, for that matter, the Clinton campaign and their sophisticated election modeling, had anticipated, it. And that's how he won.

That could happen again. That is probably the only path he has toward winning, given that he has alienated college educated white voters to the point where he likely will have the weakest showing ever among them for a Republican candidate.

People of color are going to, vote overwhelmingly against him. He is looking at 2012 level deficits, maybe 2008 level deficits among young people. But he is still holding 60 percent of the non-college whites.

If they again turn out in much bigger numbers pollsters are expecting, he may have a shot at tipping those states.

Two problems. One, the polling has changed. Pollsters have now tried to wait for education they way they didn't in 2016, to avoid a repeat of that.

[02:10:00]

BROWNSTEIN: And the bigger problem the president faces, is one of the reasons why his turnout surge was so effective in 2016, was because turnout was depressed on the other side, particularly African American voters.

Basically, everyone is voting this time. The turnout, in these big white-collar suburban counties, in the urban centers, it is enormous. Even if Trump turns out more voters, the denominator is bigger as well. He's trying to influence a bigger pool and that is harder to do.

HOLMES: To that point, in a way, some states or parts of the country will have topped the 2016 total voting numbers before Election Day.

What does that sort of staggering early turnout tell you?

BROWNSTEIN: It is going to be an enormous turnout; 138 million people voted in 2016 and estimates are moving into the mid-150s, maybe as high as 157, 158; 20 more million people, the highest turnout as a share of eligible voters, since before women had the right to vote.

Used to, you would, say automatically, that benefited Democrats. But President Trump -- and this is probably his greatest political skill -- has been able to turn out his base. There will be a lot of his voters turning out, as well but the turnout in the urban centers, in the metro counties, it is just enormous. Harris County/Houston, 1 million people have voted already, as of today. There was 1.3 million total in 2016.

They are going to blow past that. Not only will they blow past it, Joe Biden will win a much higher share of the vote there than Hillary Clinton did. One of the things that is happening under Donald Trump, is he is exiling the Republican Party from the fast growing, economically dynamic, metro centers that are shaping America in the 21st century.

He lost 87 of the hundred largest counties. He will probably lose 90- something I, think this time. He may lose them as many as 18 million votes. He has a lot of rural strength still but that is a big deal to overcome.

HOLMES: And he won three key electoral college states by 70,000 votes.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWNSTEIN: -- votes combined in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWNSTEIN: To your point earlier, in all those states, those states are much more heavily, white much more blue collar, than the rest of the country. Even there, from 2016, until now, the share of the vote cast by non-college writes, is going down.

That is the inexorable demographic change. We're getting more educated, more diverse. Trump is locked into a strategy of trying to squeeze bigger margins from shrinking groups. It is a tough long term strategy for his party.

HOLMES: Ron, we will talk before this election, Ron Brownstein, thank you as always.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: Europe's second wave of coronavirus, seeming like it is getting worse, with more countries reporting record case numbers and new restrictions. We will be going live to Berlin. Scott McLean, he is waiting there.

Also, a warning for Americans in Turkey. Why the U.S. embassy is telling them and other foreign nationals, be on guard. We will be right back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

The five countries with the highest rate of infections per capita are all in Europe. That's what a CNN analysis found using data from Johns Hopkins University.

Those five countries?

Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France. France is reporting its highest number of daily coronavirus cases ever. French infectious disease experts say the country is now paying the price for ending its lockdown too soon over the summer.

Slovakia also reporting a record high of daily cases and announcing strict new rules for when people can even leave their homes. The country now undertaking a massive campaign of what it calls blanket testing. CNN's Scott McLean joins me now live from Berlin for more on the situation in Europe.

Good to see you, Scott. Worrying trends in the U.S. But just as much as where you are in Europe.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are right. I'll give you an example. Last week, German chancellor Angela Merkel brought new restrictions in to hotspots like Berlin and other cities in the country that fall into the category, saying the government would wait about 10 days to see if those measures were enough to flatten the curve.

Today, Germany recorded another record high case count. This weekend marks about 10 days since those decisions were made. So the government here is going to have to make decisions on whether or not they want to bring in even stricter measures than the ones they have in place right now.

Next door in France, it is a similar picture. They're also seeing record high case counts. They expanded a 9 pm curfew to most of the country, now infecting some 46 million people.

Again in Italy, also record case counts. One regional governor there is calling for a nationwide lockdown, arguing the partial measures in place right now simply have not worked.

But things are worse by far in the Czech Republic which is seeing the most coronavirus cases per capita, more coronavirus cases per capita than any other major country on Earth.

The Czech Republic has 5 times the rate of infection that even the U.S. has. Here is the really scary part. While in the first wave of infection, it was much more deadly for most of Europe, the United States for sure. Well, the Czech Republic, it's the opposite. The second wave of the virus is eight times more deadly than the peak of the first wave of infection.

The country went back into lockdown this week and brought back an unpopular effective mandate for everyone, to have to wear masks outdoors. Now it's going through a political crisis. The health minister was caught yesterday, accused yesterday, of violating his own rules.

The prime minister called on him to resign. He is refusing. The prime minister is vowing to replace him anyway.

Next door, Slovakia, as you mentioned, they are watching the Czech situation with horror. Their cases are also rising. They're going to try to test every single person in the country and that's more than 5 million people over the next 5 weekends. It will take an effort of some 20,000 health workers, 5,000 different testing sites, to get it done. Michael?

HOLMES: Wow, Scott, good to see you in Berlin. Scott McLean, thanks.

Manchester, England, also under new restrictions. Harsher in the U.K. The mayor of Greater Manchester had publicly fought the British government over the measures but talks with the government failed.

Now pubs, among other businesses, are having to stay shut. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz went to the number one spot for Manchester United fans as it poured those last pints.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): In an age of isolation, you can still find a little community here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just going to have a few drinks during this tough time. (INAUDIBLE).

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For nearly two decades, Manchester United fans have flocked to this pub.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This place has all the pictures and a real heritage of United fans.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): To meet friends, grab a pint. But nothing compares to game day.

JACK TENNANT, BARMAN: Every seat would be filled, everyone would have a pint. Everyone would be watching the match. And if we'd score on the day, noise like nothing you've ever heard before.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Owner Jamie Flynn hoped the football rituals would return.

JAMIE FLYNN, OWNER: -- live to come out for those weekends and it's been (INAUDIBLE), yes.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For days, local authorities refused to shut down businesses like this one in a bid to get more financial aid from the government.

ABDELAZIZ: Do you know what help you're getting for the government?

FLYNN: I have no clue, no. We're a bit in the dark a lot of the time.

[02:20:00]

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Prime minister Boris Johnson ordered the social restrictions saying the situation was grave.

ABDELAZIZ: The rebellion from city hall failed. But it showed the shortcomings of a regional strategy versus a nationwide one. The government can get locked into a dispute potentially for days with local authorities while businesses face uncertainty and infection rates multiply.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, told us he had no regrets.

MAYOR ANDY BURNHAM, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND: I'm confident beside myself that I did the right thing. In the end, politics is about representation, speaking up for people and particularly people on the lowest incomes.

ABDELAZIZ: Do you think that your decision will ultimately result in more lives being lost?

BURNHAM: (INAUDIBLE) say arguably more damage is being done beyond COVID to people's lives. And restrictions that the government have added, I don't think personally will make a huge difference in the number of cases.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For now Flynn is pouring his last pints.

TENNANT: Everyone just needs to tighten, do what they need to do otherwise it'll be gone. And then that's all that history, all that, those memories are gone.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): A plea for politicians to find the right strategy that saves both lives and livelihoods -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Manchester.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, President Trump says he scored a major foreign policy win, brokering a deal between Israel and Sudan. Up next, we'll find out how significant the deal really is.

And as the coronavirus spikes in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, parts of Asia appear to be getting back to normal.

What are they doing right?

We'll discuss with an expert.

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HOLMES: Welcome back. Less than 2 weeks before the U.S. election, President Trump is

claiming a major foreign policy victory. On Friday announcing that, thanks to a U.S. brokered deal, Sudan and Israel have agreed to start normalizing relations.

The 2 countries have agreed to start an economic relationship for the first time in decades although it's unclear if there will be full diplomatic ties. Trump signing an order removing Sudan from the state sponsor of terrorism list, one of Sudan's requirements for these talks to proceed.

The country's acting foreign minister says the agreement is just the beginning of the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR GAMARELDIN, SUDANESE ACTING FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): This is an agreement to normalize. It's not yet normalization. We must wait for Sudan's democratic institutions to be functional, including in the legislative council, so we can complete the ratification of this step so it can become, in reality, normalization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem for us.

Good to see you, Oren. It's a diplomatic coup of sorts. But it's not full of diplomatic recognition. No mention of embassies or anything.

What is the real world impact and significance regionally?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are exactly right. There were few details offered either by the prime minister of Israel or president Donald Trump or the Sudanese government, the transitional government. The impact for the U.S. and for Israel is largely political. For Trump it's a major foreign policy victory with just a couple of weeks to go until the election.

[02:25:00]

LIEBERMANN: For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu it is also largely political. He's under attack from his Right, public trust is down and his handing of the coronavirus and he's falling in the polls.

So this is another victory for him.

For Sudan it's a very significant agreement.

Why?

In removing Sudan from the state sponsors of terror list, it opens them up to financial institutions for a country in dire financial states. They needed international help. It was a U.S. that had the power to give it to them by removing them from the terror list. That's why U.S. had the leverage to push them towards normalization,

saying, if you do normalize or agree to, we will remove you from the state sponsor of terrorism list and give you access to international financial help that the country desperately needs right now.

HOLMES: Good point. At the same time, it's a gamble in some ways for Sudan. It's a transitional government. You have Palestinians not happy about these moves. They feel abandoned again. There is widespread support among Sudanese on the street for the Palestinian cause. So there are risks on the ground. Right?

LIEBERMANN: There are and they are significant. The transitional government of Sudan which is scheduled to last for 2 more years, is a very fragile thing, made up of different parties with different interests.

Some of them hold the Palestinian cause as very important. That's why something like this, a major step, could put pressure on the transitional government.

Will it cause it to fall?

That's a difficult question. But it certainly makes everything more fragile, more risky. That's what this was a big decision by the Sudanese. In the end, it looks like the transitional government decided the need for financial help, as of now, is more important or superseded the decision.

But the Sudanese foreign minister, in the quote we heard, kind of poured water on the idea that it would happen quickly. He says it has to be approved by a full government.

Does he mean after the transitional government?

If he does, we're waiting a couple years. But it's clear the U.S. and Israel want it to happen quickly when the Sudanese are slow, careful because of the pressures it puts on the government.

HOLMES: Good points. As you say, not a lot of detail. Oren, good to have you there to break it down.

Now the U.S. embassy in Turkey is warning Americans in the country to be on guard for a possible terror attack. They've issued a security alert, saying they have credible reports of threats to Americans and others in one of Turkey's biggest cities. CNN's Arwa Damon has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. mission in Turkey has warned of potential terrorist attacks against its own facilities and the possible kidnapping and targeting not just of U.S. citizens but of foreign nationals.

It has temporarily suspended all visa work, as well as all services provided to American nationals; for how long, we don't yet know. It's not necessarily the first time the U.S. has done this in Turkey.

But this is what is interesting about this statement. It specifically said in Istanbul, and specified against the U.S. consulate general. What the U.S. embassy is telling people to do is to exercise caution and to avoid crowded areas like malls and other places, where many people, especially ,foreigners would be gathering, and to be vigilant.

We don't exactly know the specific nature of what the threat was or what prompted it. We did ask U.S. embassy officials in Turkey as to whether or not this may have been linked to America's recent targeting of Al Qaeda in Syria and affiliate groups inside Idlib province recently. They have not responded to that at this stage.

Worth noting that, back in 2015, '16, '17, when there were heightened security concerns because of the prevalence of both ISIS and PKK attacks in Turkey, the U.S. took the step of evacuating family members of its staff at its embassies and consulates.

That's not what is happening just yet, America just urging everyone to exercise caution -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: People in parts of Asia appear to be back to living a somewhat normal life. IN the fight for the coronavirus pandemic, they wore masks, tested, listened to experts. We'll talk more about their success after the break.

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HOLMES: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Appreciate you doing so.

Health experts are warning the worst is yet to come as coronavirus numbers spike in the U.S. Let's bring you up to date on our top story.

The country reporting more than 83,000 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest daily numbers since the pandemic began. All the states in red on the map have seen increases of between 10 percent and 50 percent this week. That is more than half the country we're talking about.

The president insists, as he likes to put it, the U.S. is rounding the corner on the virus. Here's how a former director of the CDC responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: We are turning a corner but into a tsunami of an increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): This memorial in Washington, D.C., gives a stark visual of what the numbers look like. It features more than 200,000 white flags representing people who have died from COVID-19.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: As coronavirus cases spike in the U.S. and Europe, life across much of Asia appears to have returned to some normalcy. In South Korea, a packed subway, the country relaxing restrictions on restaurants, gyms, cafes, other businesses.

And it's worth noting the U.S. had its first COVID-19 case around the same time as South Korea.

While doctors warn Americans of the dark winter ahead, in Japan, crowds of sports fans watching football matches together in a stadium. In Taiwan, high school students pose for a photo before class. The experts say these countries did what the U.S. did not.

They followed the science. They wore masks, pushed testing and contact tracing early on.

When comparing COVID 19 cases in the U.S. to those in parts of Asia from the start of the pandemic to today, that image there is jaw dropping. The U.S. has shown, by the red line, struggled to contain the virus while South and East Asia, the yellow and green lines have kept low case counts.

Joining me now from Hong Kong to talk more about this is Dr. John Nicholls, professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Good to see you. I was reading the Columbia University study.

[02:35:00]

HOLMES: It suggested the U.S. could have avoided as many as 200,000 deaths if it managed the pandemic the way other countries did. One comparison said if the U.S. did what South Korea had done, the death toll could have been under 3,000. That's staggering.

What have Asian nations done right?

DR. JOHN NICHOLLS, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: We're looking at Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Taiwan, Sri Lanka. So a number of factors. Firstly, they're relatively well circumscribed. It means you can control the borders and ports of entry.

Secondly those who arrive can be tested, isolated, monitored.

Thirdly, they have a socialized form of health care. There's little disincentive for those infected to go and seek health care.

Fourthly, there's a robust form of contact tracing.

Fifthly, there's a central authority for isolation and treatment. So you don't get double messaging like from some big countries with individual states.

Finally, we had experience with SARS. So we know about the values of things like masks, isolation wards. So a lot of factors.

HOLMES: Yes, absolutely. We've been playing video all day. We will play now for viewers of just one of Donald Trump's rallies. He's having them multiple times a day. People can see it at home, no social distancing, no masks. I'm curious.

If countries in Asia that you're familiar with were going through what the U.S. is going through in terms of spikes, would that have ever happened?

Would have been allowed?

NICHOLLS: I think even in February, when there was warning it was going to be transmissible and the value of masks, there were all the warning signs, as you know about. But it's difficult to actually change people's perceptions. Even now, from the debate, we talk about the masks. Yet there are still people who say masks have no value.

One of the health secretaries in the U.S. said, masks, so what?

Yet in Hong Kong and all parts of Asia, there's no stigma associated with wearing a mask. In Hong Kong, we've doing it for 8 or 9 months. So we've had about 4 or 5 cases. We wear masks. We social distance. It's not considered a bad stigma. And we haven't done too badly.

HOLMES: That's an understatement, compared to the U.S.

Those cultural differences, how do they play into this Asian success?

What other things are done?

I suppose, in some places, government control as well.

NICHOLLS: I'm not a politician. But when you talk about government control, as I mentioned, when you have a central government with one policy, I think there's no double messaging.

What we saw in Australia, we had the individual state governments who had their own policies, leading to some difference in standards between what happened between one state and another.

And then the U.S., yet again, different authorities able to give different messages.

In the U.K., Scotland, who has done better than the U.K., had different messaging. It comes down to where the authority is coming from and the messaging which comes from central authority versus a diversified form of government.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: We're almost out of time. But I wanted to squeeze this in as well. Vaccines is the big talk. Only around half of Americans say they will take a vaccine because partly they fear it might be rushed. Others because of that anti-vaxer section of the population.

I'm curious, in Asia, is there more trust in a vaccine when it is released?

NICHOLLS: Not necessarily. In South Korea, I think only 16 percent say they would get a vaccine. Lots of things going on. In South Korea recently, people worried about the influenza vaccine. So I think it's not the vaccine but that people realize it's a vaccine plus social distancing.

So I don't think most of the Asian countries are relying on the vaccine, like other parts of Europe and the U.S.

HOLMES: Very true. Great to talk to you, fascinating stuff. Dr. John Nicholls, thank you.

NICHOLLS: Thanks, have a good day.

HOLMES: You, too.

HOLMES: Turning our attention to Mexico now. As that country looks ahead to seasonal festivities intended to draw hundreds of people, officials say there are fresh coronavirus outbreaks. There's also a rise in hospitalizations. CNN's Matt Rivers reports from Mexico City.

[02:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Mexico, we are now approaching 900,000 confirmed cases of the virus. We're also approaching 90,000 confirmed deaths.

Top health officials in the country are concerned about the number of new cases being seen across the country. If you look at the 7 day moving average of newly confirmed cases, you see the number has gone up over several days. Health officials are pointing to several different states where they say the number of cases are on the rise.

Health officials specifically pointing out the state of Chihuahua. It borders the state of Texas, Texas' western side. It's a border state between the U.S. and Mexico.

Officials in Chihuahua are concerned about the number of cases they have been seeing as a result of what officials say are not following the correct guidelines in public transportation. Also what they say are family gatherings leading to a rise.

There is more modeling, more data, that shows things will get worse in Mexico. New data from a model from the University of Washington suggests the overall death toll in Mexico by February 1st could be nearly 130,000 deaths.

Mexico already has one of the highest death tolls from the virus of any country around the world. Over the next several weeks, this is what we're watching.

Where do the number of new cases go?

Do they continue to rise?

How do health officials respond?

Mexico has been hesitant to put in strict quarantine measures. Different states have done different levels of quarantining.

But if the number of cases rises in Mexico, the question is do the measures increase?

That is something the government has been hesitant to do because of the economic impact that is so devastating to so many in the country -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: On Saturday, scientists in the U.S. state of Washington plan to destroy the first nest of Asian giant hornets discovered in the country. These are the things you may have seen on social media. They're called murder hornets.

Officials captured some of them last week and placed radio trackers on them. That led them to the nest in a tree on someone's private property. While they don't typically attack humans, experts say it's wise to stay clear of them. The hornet's venom is more toxic than a bee's and it can sting repeatedly. #2020.

I'm Michael Holmes. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" starts after a short break.