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Protests March Peacefully after Weekend of Violence; Germany Surpasses 3 Million Cases since Pandemic Began; St. Vincent Suffers Power Outage after Volcano Eruption; Matsuyama's Major Win; Iran's Nuclear Chief: Natanz Incident A "Terrorist Action"; England's Cautious Return To Normalcy; Festival Draws Millions As India's COVID Cases Spike. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 12, 2021 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:14]

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Massive crowds in India this hour as the country endures another massive spike. Officials say they're expecting up to 5 million people. We're live in New Delhi.

A cautious return to normalcy across England. Shops, restaurants, hair salons and even pubs are opening up.

And history made in Augusta as the first Japanese man wins a golf major at the Masters.

Hello and welcome. I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM WITH ROBYN CURNOW.

CURNOW: We begin with an incident at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. The country's nuclear chief is calling it a terrorist action, while an Iranian lawmaker says the blackout is, quote, suspicious. But Tehran says no one was injured and there are no leaks. The incident came a day after Iran's national nuclear technology day and amid efforts by Tehran and Washington to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, Israel's army chief began to hint a positive Israeli involvement in the incident. And the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the fight against Iran's nuclearization is a massive task.

Fred Pleitgen is following the story from Berlin -- Fred.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Iranians have called the terrorist actions which seem to strongly indicate that they believe that some sort of foreign power is behind incident that took place at the Natanz nuclear reactor, which is really one of the main sites in Iran's nuclear program. The Iranians are saying that they believe in some power that's afraid

of what Iranians have been doing. They're afraid of some of the advances that the Iranians have been making. Of course, we know that since the Trump administration put in place a lot of the sanctions that left the Iran nuclear dead, that Iran has actually expanded a lot of its nuclear activities, enriching more uranium, enriching it also to a higher grade.

One of the things that happened on Saturday is that the Iranians had their national nuclear day. On this day, they actually unveiled some new centrifuges which they say is more powerful, more efficient and that will help them enrich uranium even more and even more efficiently.

So, a day after this, there was an incident at the Natanz nuclear reactor. The Iranians are saying that they reserve the right to retaliate, but they haven't said they think is actually behind it. There have been interesting hints dropped by the army chief of Israel, where he was seeming to indicate that it might actually be the Israelis who are behind it.

One of the things that he said was a, quote, that Israel's operations throughout the Middle East are not in from the lives of the enemies, they are watching us, seeing the capabilities, and carefully considering their steps.

So, certainly that could indicate that maybe the Israelis were behind. It there were some sources apparently in Israel who are also hinting at that as well. So far, again, it's very much unclear whether or not it's the case. But, of course, all of this comes at a very important time for the Iran nuclear agreement.

That's, for the first time, and a very, very long time, both the U.S. and the Iranians are negotiating, not face to face but indirectly, in an effort to try to bring the U.S. back into the deal and bring Iran back into full compliance with the deal.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks, Fred, for that.

So, right now, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Israel. And in the coming hours, he's scheduled to meet with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier, Austin said the two countries will work closely together to advance shared security interests and priorities.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: As a major strategic partner for the United States, our bilateral relationship with Israel in particular is central to regional stability and security in the Middle East. And during our meeting, I reaffirmed to the Minister Gantz, our commitment to Israel is injuring and it is ironclad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, joining me now is Karim Sadjadpour. He's a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment.

Karim, wonderful to have you on the show. I'm really glad that you're able to join us this hour.

Iran is calling this nuclear terrorism. Why are they using that language?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Well, I think, Robyn, that Tehran is very embarrassed by the fact that their nuclear program has once again been penetrated. If you remember last fall, the nuclear scientist was assassinated, a guy called Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, also ostensibly by the Israelis.

[01:05:05]

And so, they are using very strong language now to condemn this. In particular, given the fact that they are actively involved in negotiations with the United States and Europeans about the nuclear program and are going to make the argument that the Israelis are potentially sabotaging the prospect of these negotiations being successful.

CURNOW: Yeah, I mean, that was literally going to be my next question. I mean, Israel's army chief appeared to hint that this possible Israeli involvement in the incident. The U.S., the Europe, and other signatories see this as Israel trying to sabotage the renewed talks? And what does that mean?

SADJADPOUR: Well, Iran's -- one of the tenets of the Iranian revolution is the opposition to Israel's existence. Iranian leaders have called for a one state solution. And the Holy Land, the moments when Iran -- when it tests new missiles, it writes "death to Israel" on those missiles. And so, if you're Israel, and you argue that you're not going to outsource your national security to anyone, including the United States.

And so, Israeli leaders have long made clear their opposition or ambivalence to the JCPOA, the nuclear deal with Iran. I think probably some Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu are a little bit skeptical. The instincts of some senior Biden administration officials on Iran.

And so, it's simply a signal to Iran to the United States and to others that Israel is not going to defer to the United States for its security. And it will not be being owned by these negotiations with Iran. It's not going to preclude Israel from continuing to commit acts of sabotage and potentially future assassinations.

CURNOW: In many ways, how then does this change Iran's leverage if at all in the talks? I mean, they started last week. They're supposed to continue in Vienna this week. Does this impact Iran's next moves? SADJADPOUR: Well, certainly, Iran will issue a condemnation and

accused the United States of being complicit in this operation. As you mention, the U.S. defense secretary was in Israel as this attack happened. And for the Iranians, that obviously is not going to be seen as coincidental.

So they are going to be complaining and voice outrage. But at the end of the day, they need sanctions relief. And the negotiations will need to continue.

Now Israelis have often talked about these operations as mowing the lawn, something that needs to be done every month. Every 10 months to essentially setback Iran's programs.

So I don't think we have seen the last of it. I think that these types of sabotage operations by Israel will continue. They will pose obstacles to these ongoing nuclear discussions. But my view is that sometime this year in 2021, we will see either full or partial revival of the nuclear deal with Iran.

CURNOW: Does this in any way impact domestic politics within Iran? Does that then change the equation?

SADJADPOUR: You know, at the end of the day, Iran's supreme leader, he's one of the most powerful men in Iran and one of the longest serving autocrats in the world. He's going to continue to be the most powerful individual in the country. And he's -- he is formally backed by the Revolutionary Guards.

And so I don't think that it has that profound an impact on Iran's June, 2021 presidential elections. And even if it does, the president of Iran really doesn't really sign off on these types of national security positions.

So, I would argue that sometimes the impact these types of operations have on Iranian domestic politics can be a little bit exaggerated.

CURNOW: And, Karim, is Tehran going to feel the need to retaliate? Even if it's the veneer of retaliation? What are the calculations politically right now in terms of options?

SADJADPOUR: So Iran has actually been in the situation many times, on their scientists, their military commanders have been assassinated. And they always have to work within a certain box which is if they don't show any retaliation, they risk losing face, they risk appearing weak. If they show -- they try an excessive retaliation, they risk losing their heads.

And so, Iran has to operate within those parameters. My guess is that they will try to retaliate in some way. But they aren't really great at retaliation. And they can say that, you know, they responded to.

[01:10:02]

It won't have that much impact. And I don't think that it will really sabotage the ongoing nuclear discussions because again, Iran wants this deal to be revived. And the United States, Europe, China and Russia are also committed to reviving the nuclear deal.

CURNOW: Karim Sadjadpour, thank you for your analysis.

SADJADPOUR: Thank you, Robyn.

(MUSIC)

CURNOW: In the coming hours, the House of Commons will meet for a special session to hear tributes to Prince Philip. The U.K. is in the midst of eight days of mourning for the duke of Edinburgh. Crowds of people have been leaving flowers at Windsor Castle since he died on Friday. Mourners say his passing marks the end of an era and it was important for them to pay their respects.

At Canterbury Cathedral, the archbishop said that he prayed for all those who now face a very great gap in their lives. And in, Windsor, Prince Andrew describes how his mother, the Queen, is doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE ANDREW, DUKE OF YORK: The Queen as you would expect is a very stoic person. And she described his passing as a miracle. And she's contemplating I think is the way that I would put it. There -- she described it as having left a huge void in her life. But we, the family, the ones who are closer are rallying around to make sure that we are there to support her.

And I know that there is a huge amount of support not just for her, but for everybody, as we go through this enormous change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So the rest of Prince Philip's children say that they are taking strength from the nation's outpouring of support.

Here's Max Foster. Max is in Windsor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Sunday was an opportunity for Prince Phillip's other children to express how they have been feeling since he passed. We heard from Prince Charles on Saturday. But on Sunday, Prince Andrew described Philip as the grandfather of the nation. We heard from Prince Edward as well.

And countess of Wessex spoke out of the church to well wishes and gave a bit of detail actually about how Prince Philip passed.

SOPHIE, COUNTESS OF WESSEX: It was right for him and it was just likes someone took him by the hand and off he went. It was very, very peaceful and that's all you want for somebody, isn't it?

So I think it is so much easier for the person that goes than the people who are left behind. We are all sitting here looking at each other going "this is awful".

But equally, look at all the tributes. It's just amazing.

FOSTER: Princess Anne was particularly close to Prince Philip. She issued this photograph of the two of them seeing at the Olympics in 2012. You can see how well they got on there.

Princess Anne saying despite his long and rich life, you can really never prepare for a moment like this. She said, you know it's going to happen but you're never really ready for it.

We expect to hear for the grandchildren, Prince William, Prince Harry, later in the week. But Sunday was really about Prince Phillip's children speaking out.

More details on the service on Saturday as well expected later this week.

Max Foster, CNN, Windsor, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Now, also a tribe in the Pacific islands is also finding Prince Philip's death difficult. Villages believed him to be a god. And he actually maintained a relationship with them for decades.

Will Ripley explains Prince Phillips connection to Vanuatu.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pristine beaches surrounded by turquoise water, filled with coral reefs. Vanuatu is a dream vacation for some, or --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yasur is one of nine active volcanoes on the island nation of Vanuatu.

RIPLEY: The setting of a season of an American TV series, "Survivor". Contestants competed against each other and the elements.

On Tanna, one of dozens of islands that make up the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, it's a place of mourning right now, for a prince half a world away.

For the past 50 years, the letters here have reported Prince Philip as a god. And Philip, known at times for his off color remarks and gaffes maintained a respectful relationship with them over several decades, sending them gifts. Some were even invited for a visit to the U.K.

The tribal chief sent a message to England expressing his sadness over Phillip's death.

YAPA, IKUNALA VILLAGE CHIEF (through translator): The connection between the people on the island of Tanna and the English people is very strong.

[01:15:00]

We are sending condolences messages to the royal family and the people of England.

RIPLEY: Anthropologists say that there was a legend in the sixties that a peel skin son of a mountain god would travel across the seas and marry a rich and powerful woman. Villagers would have likely seen pictures of Philip and the Queen in government offices. Somehow the connections stuck.

Though the royal couple never visited Tanna island, they did visit other parts of Vanuatu in 1974. They never even treated to a show of land mining, a local initiation rite somewhat a bungee jumping.

After Philip's death, it's unsure what's next for the people of Tanna. Prince Charles did visit another part of Vanuatu in 2018.

Whether the devotion to Philip is transferred to his son perhaps only the gods know.

Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Massive crowds are flocking to complete a holy pilgrimage despite COVID cases spiking in India. We'll go live to Delhi for the details on that. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:04]

CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says England is taking a major step forward by moving into step two of exiting COVID lockdown. Now, for the first time in months, many nonessential businesses can now reopen. But COVID precautions are still in place.

Anna Stewart now reports -- Anna.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, these doors have been closed for over three months. But from today, hairdressers in England could finally reopen just imagine how long the waitlist is going to be.

Today marks a real milestone for England in its roadmap to easing COVID-19 restrictions. From today, nonessential shops, indoor gyms, nail salons, even zoos can reopen if they have COVID secure measures in place. And perhaps, the most highly anticipated reopen will be that of the pub, although like restaurants and cafes, they can only reopen currently outdoors. Which means the first pints can be a little bit chilly.

And certainly not back to normal. So, households still can't mix indoors and travel abroad is banned. So, holidays not yet. But for business, this is a real turning point, so many have been on life support using various government loan schemes and furlough scheme and so on.

And for people in England, it's a morale boost. Finally, after such a long lockdown.

Anna Stewart, CNN in Eaton, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Monday marks a significant day in India where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are believed to bathe in the Ganges Rivers, part of a Hindu festival. It's long been a concern of health experts which feared this could become another COVID super-spreader event.

And bearing in mind, India just reported a daily record high for the 6th day in a row with almost 196,000 new cases on Monday. It comes just a day after India topped 100 million COVID vaccinations, in one of the fastest rollouts in the world.

Well, Vedika Sud joins me now from Delhi with more on this.

These infection rates are steaming ahead. Real concern.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: A very big concern indeed, Robyn. For the sixth consecutive day, India has seen a record high in daily cases. And now, we're almost at 169,000 cases as you pointed out, 904 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest at least this year.

So, yes, these numbers are really, really compelling. Along with that, as you mentioned, the world's largest religious festival, Kumbh Mela, is on the northern state of Uttarakhand and today is a very important day. It's known as an auspicious day for the Hindus who will be taking a dip in the holy river, the Ganges.

Now, this could turn into a super-spreader. A lot of experts are worried that the conversion of so many people in one location is a thought for concern, and a cause for concern.

We spoke to some officials and they said that on Sunday, 110,000 people converged at this venue. Imagine 110,000 people. Yes, there are some guidelines in place. But will they be tough enough? Will they be strict enough? Will they be adhered to is the question.

You need a pass to get to this location. You need a COVID-19 test to be done before getting to this venue. There will also be these random checks in airports and railway stations.

But when 110,000 people converge at one particular location, that's really not the way things should be when you have so many cases, with India experiencing a record high for six consecutive days. Even the union territory of Delhi has put down measures given that the measures are going up, the state of Maharashtra is topping the charts yet again when it comes to cases.

It most of the time has more than half the caseload for that given day in the state of Maharashtra itself, robin. CURNOW: I mean, so why is this festival even being allowed to go

ahead? I mean, if you consider just how bad the COVID cases are, why has it not just been canceled for this year?

SUD: Well, I'd write down to political compulsions, really, Robyn, because there are state elections also on five states. They (INAUDIBLE) mountain (ph). Even this religious festival is on the mountain (ph). And a lot of Hindus are attending this event. But 80 percent of India's population are Hindus.

And the fear is possibly that you could be upsetting religious sentiments here. Along with that, political compulsions is what politicians see when it comes to these rallies. Obviously, it really gets a downright ugly between the opposition and reigning party in India. These are five states we're talking about.

So, any opportunity they get to reach out to the people as with they're trying to do, but really, it is in contrast with what the health minister keeps saying. Keep your distance. Wear your mask.

What happens when it comes to these rallies and religious festivals, Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks for keeping an eye on that. Vedika Sud there in Delhi.

SUD: Thank you.

CURNOW: So, Thailand has approved a plan to allow vaccinated tourists to skip quarantine and get right to the beach.

[01:25:04]

But there's still quite a lot of fear about COVID and not enough vaccines to go around.

Blake Essig tells us what's at stake if tourism doesn't start back up soon.

Here's Blake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Phuket, off the coast of Thailand, the waves peacefully lapping up against the shore mask a race furiously underway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we had a vaccine, that would be really great news.

SU SUTSAM, LOBSTER AND PRAWN RESTAURANT MANAGER: We hope for a vaccine. If the vaccine is okay that we can come back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The vaccine is the best solution now.

ESSIG: Normally bustling this time of year, one of the world's greatest destination's been foul by the pandemic. The sooner Phuket reaches herd immunity, the sooner it can welcome back those well- heeled travelers from abroad.

VINCENT GERARDS, GENERAL MANAGER, PHUKET ELEPHANT SANCTUARY: Around 80 percent of the population in Phuket relies on tourism in some form or another, whether there were working in hotels, taxi drivers, fishermen. It's all connected to tourism.

ESSIG: For Vincent Gerards, who runs the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, the pandemic and the Thai government's strict quarantine rules have been existential threat to businesses.

GERARDS: We are a tourism company. So we're not a foundation. So, before COVID, our main income stream would be visitors who come here and join our tours. More than 150 elephants leaving in Phuket have left the islands since the beginning at COVID-19 because the camps have temporarily or permanently closed.

ESSIG: Mandating quarantine for outsiders has helped Thailand control the spread of COVID-19. Fewer than 100 people have died from coronavirus here.

Anthony Lark, the president of Phuket Hotels Association, says that the drop in tourism has caused untold damage.

ANTHONY LARK, PRESIDENT, PHUKET HOTELS ASSOCIATION: We know that the virus is not what is destroy this industry. It's the quarantine.

ESSIG: And the ripple effects go well beyond just one island. Since many tourists and workers come from outside of Phuket and send their income back home to support their families. After a year of struggle, many here are pinning their hopes on a new government plan to allow inoculated foreigners to start returning to the island in July and skip the quarantine.

Lark says that the way out of the crisis is not with vaccinated tourists but vaccinated locals.

LARK: The fear factor here is quite high. There's a lot of people here in Thailand that don't want foreigners coming in here with this -- you know, carrying the virus. So the secret is to get the local community vaccinated to a level where we feel safe enough with the presence of antibodies and people systems to welcome back tourists without that fear.

ESSIG: For a developing country like Thailand, getting vaccine doses has not been easy. The country has received just over 1 million doses so far for a population of nearly 70 million. With millions more doses on order the government has said that it will prioritize tourist- dependent Phuket, earmarking nearly 1 million doses for the island, hoping to speed up the path to herd immunity.

Gerards smiles at the thought of Phuket reaching that milestone.

GERARDS: It's great to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

ESSIG: He looks forward to welcoming back the international tourists that support his 12 elephants, along with many other businesses, in the heart of Thailand's tourism industry.

Blake Essig, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: And coming up on CNN, the ongoing threat of violence and death isn't stopping Myanmar citizens from marching. We'll talk about their latest struggles. That's also next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:53]

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of our viewers around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN. We're live from Atlanta.

So Myanmar's pro-democracy protesters are refusing to give in to fear and intimidation. Crowds of people marched peacefully in several cities on Sunday. This group in the middle of the night.

The demonstrations followed a weekend of military violence that happened in Bago on Friday. At least 82 people were killed according to one monitoring group.

It says security forces raided residential areas using assault rifles and even rocket-propelled grenades. And now the military has reportedly been charging families in Bago to collect the bodies of their loved ones.

Well, let's go straight to Paula Hancocks. Paula joins us from neighboring Thailand. And Paula, what can you tell us? That families are being forced to pay to collect their loved ones bodies?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Robyn. This is a very disturbing development in what is already an extremely disturbing event. Now, we are hearing this report from the Bago Student Union that posted on their Facebook saying that in fact the military is telling bereaved family members that if they want the bodies of their loved ones then they have to pay the equivalent of $85.

Now we are hearing this from a number of other sources as well. So it's clearly a horrifying development in what has been an extremely bloody situation in the city of Bago about an hour and a half's drive from Yangon.

Now, this all happened on Friday, we understand from those on the ground but the shooting started early in the morning. It went all day.

We heard from the advocacy group AAPP that there had been assault rifles, RPGs and hand grenades used against the protesters. And they say that at least 82 have been killed. Although as they always do, they do point out that the actual death toll is likely far higher. That is just what they can confirm.

Now, we spoke to one eyewitness on the ground who was -- who saw what was happening who is now in hiding. They say that many people have fled the city to neighboring villages. They believe that the military as of Sunday was still in the city going neighborhood by neighborhood looking for protesters.

Also saying that they believe hundreds of bodies were piled up in mortuaries and then, of course, those reports that the military had taken other bodies which now appears to be substantiated by the fact that they are charging for those bodies to be returned.

Now from the military's point of view, they have said that they believe just one protester died on Friday. So a massive difference there. Also pointing out that the protesters or rioters as they called them had handmade guns, handmade shields and hand grenades that they used against the military.

Of course a hand made shield doesn't do in an awful lot against a rocket propelled grenade but it just shows the vastly different narratives that we are hearing.

CURNOW: And what can you tell us about Aung San Suu Kyi. Obviously we haven't really seen her. Not a lot of information about her conditioner or where she's being held. But she is expected to appear in court today.

[01:34:58]

HANCOCKS: As far as we know at this point, she is expected to appear in court, we hear from her lawyer. It will likely be a video conference as they have been in the past.

But there is very little information that is shared with the public, with other people as to what is happening. You really get information through the lawyer who says at this point there are five charges against the ousted leader. The most serious of which was the most recent one which was violating the Official Secrets Act.

But what we do see is the military keeping close control of the proceedings. Making sure that images aren't leaked out and that people on the street cannot see what is happening, because, of course, that would be an immense rallying cry for those on the streets.

Aung San Suu Kyi is still hugely popular within the country itself. Those who are still daring to go out on to the streets are still holding posters of her and still saying that they support her and that they are on the streets to call for her to be put back into power in that democratically-elected government.

So it's really unknown at this point how much information we will get from this particular court proceeding but the lawyer and, of course, those from outside the country do say that the charges are trumped up, Robyn.

CURNOW: Paula Hancocks there in Bangkok. Thank you.

So rescue workers are trying to free 21 trapped coal miners in China's Xinjian region. Eight others are rescued after the mine flooded on Saturday, that's according to state news. Emergency workers are pumping water outside of the mine and trying to make contact with those still inside.

Coming up on CNN, COVID cases are surging in half of Europe as the E.U. really struggles to make up for lost time in its vaccination campaign.

And a massive power outage hits St. Vincent island in the Caribbean and the dangers from an explosive volcano are not yet over.

That is next on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:39:59]

CURNOW: So we told you a little while ago about England taking more steps to emerge from lockdown but that's not the case elsewhere in Europe. Germany has now reported more than three million cases. The director of the country's Intensive Care Association says the health care system is on the verge of breaking down.

Now the consistent rise in cases has prompted Germany's national rail operator to ban people from their trains if they refuse to wear a mask.

In France, though anyone over the age of 55 can now get an AstraZeneca vaccine. The country expects to receive its first delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Monday.

I want to discuss all of this further with Keith Neal, an infectious disease physician and professor at the University of Nottingham. Good to see you, sir. Thanks a lot.

I want to talk about Germany and Europe in just a moment but you're there in the U.K. It's opening. Folks can get a haircut, and have a beer in a pub's garden. I mean is there a sense that the worst is over now?

KEITH NEAL, INFECTIOUS DISEASE PHYSICIAN: I think it is really at the moment although there are still some caveats in the sense that our success has largely been driven by quite a severe lockdown. And on top of that a highly successful vaccine program delivered by our National Health Service.

The rationale -- we started with the very oldest people. And worked our way down rapidly in the sense that all over 50s in the United Kingdom are being offered it. And in fact in parts of the country like where I am, over forties are getting it. And also people who live with vulnerable members of households are also being done. So we are actually hitting this virus from all different directions.

CURNOW: And that's great news, which allows the situation to happen where people can be essentially let out. Is there a sense that this can be managed with this combo of vaccinations and infections? NEAL: I think the answers we are letting the restrictions off gently

to see if they have consequences. There was a big concern by some people that going back to school would cause major outbreaks across the country.

Quite clearly, in primary schools this was never really going to happen from what we knew. For older teenagers they were mixing outside of school as well as inside school. And the biggest possibility was that Paris could go back to work, or having to work at home or not work. What's probably the biggest consequence of opening schools up. And we've not seen that fortunately.

CURNOW: And let's then talk about Germany. So is the U.K. taking these steps and it's certainly great news for all of you folks over there in the U.K., there is a dire situation playing out in Germany with the numbers, the numbers of infections and deaths and then, of course, ICU beds maxing out. How did it get so bad there?

NEAL: I think they are seeing the same problem that we saw just in the run up to Christmas with the B-117 variant which is probably quite a bit more infections and it actually swept through the country in the same way that it swept across the United Kingdom.

I think we need to remember that Germany has a very large number of intensive care beds compared to other countries in Europe. It does depend a bit how you classify an ICU bed but they are still seeing major problems.

At the moment the government wants to do one thing over Easter and the 16 regional administrations wants to do something completely different. Not quite as different as the 50 different United States but still no centralized policy.

CURNOW: No centralized policy. But there is this warning that the German health care system is breaking down or on the verge of breaking down. Just saying that is staggering, particularly for the German economy and for Germans who, of course, are also still waiting to be vaccinated.

NEAL: I think yes. I think part of the problem they are seeing is the problem they have generated over the vaccines. Although the change of minds within Germany about the use of vaccines have probably been science-led, they originally wanted to give the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under 65 because of a lack of evidence that it was working in the older age group.

When they saw what was happening in Britain with the care home and the older people death rapidly falling they changed their minds. There has been particularly in other countries in Europe a very mixed message of vaccines.

CURNOW: France is rolling out AstraZeneca I think over 55s as well. It is certainly picking up pace there. But also, France trying to make up for lost time here.

NEAL: I think that has been the problem is the purchasing of the vaccine was way behind the United Kingdom. They have also kept changing their mind what they were doing.

[01:44:50]

NEAL: We've essentially changed our minds last week, but what we did was we've changed the vaccine we were going to give to one age group, who weren't actually ever getting it at the moment. And we're going to use the Moderna vaccine when we get it.

CURNOW: Keith Neal, always great to get your expertise. Thanks so much for joining us.

NEAL: Thank you.

CURNOW: Both Peru and Ecuador held presidential elections on Sunday even as both countries struggle with surging in COVID cases. Voters in Ecuador have elected Guillermo Lasso as their new president. The former banker celebrated before a crowd of supporters declaring democracy has triumphed.

In Peru, it is too early to call the results and a runoff in June is likely. But whoever wins will have to deal with the fallout from the pandemic. Peru has the highest COVID death rate in Latin America per capita.

And the counting is underway in Benin's election. Some opposition parties boycotted the poll in the west African country after demonstrations leading up to the election turned violent. Protesters opposed the president's reversal of a pledge he made in 2016 to serve only one term, and changes he made to election laws.

He faces two little known opposition candidates. Provincial results of the first round are expected on Tuesday.

And coming up on CNN, this year's Masters winner has just made history. And his first major win is more than just a personal victory. That is ahead.

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CURNOW: Day number 3 and everything looks like a battle zone. That message coming from emergency officials in St. Vincent. Much of the Caribbean island has lost power after La Soufriere volcano began erupting on Friday. Volcanic ash and the stench of sulfur are blanketing communities, even neighboring islands. And the tremors could last a while longer.

Well, for more on the volcano and also a rare tropical cycle in WA -- in western Australia, let's go to Gene Norman now. Gene, hi. What can you tell us?

GENE NORMAN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi Robyn. Good to join you once again.

YES, The ash continues to fall. It's blanketing these normally beautiful Caribbean islands like St. Vincent and nearby Barbados. I want to show you something very interesting that we have been

watching. You know, for years and years we have been looking at satellite pictures and that's been pretty important.

But watch that big explosion right there. These pictures are coming to us every minute. It used to be we had a satellite loop that we would watch. Sometimes it would be 30 minutes in between frames, 15 minutes. One minute imagery really lets you see the detail that is going on as the dust from the volcanic eruptions not only blanket St. Vincent. But as you can see, nearby Barbados.

Also, of course, see this is a big problem for people in the area. They're having to deal with this. having to stay indoors, officials are advising them to probably close windows and doors and if they can get a hold of some masks like the N95, we are all pretty familiar with those, to try to get a hold of those to keep the effect of the dust from irritating their lungs.

Also if they have contact lenses they are being advised, of course, to take those out because that can cause additional irritation.

Now something new that we got ahold of today was a computer model from the folks at Copernicus. This is a European outfit that monitors various weather conditions. Now, the bright red that you see there that's the sulfur dioxide coming from the volcanic eruption.

Watch what happens? It is supposed to spread across the ocean perhaps getting to Algeria and Libya and Tunisia and Morocco by the middle part of this week. So there could be some problems in northern Africa. And that's with the current eruption.

If there are more eruptions this model has to be re-run and there could be even more potential out falls from this situation.

Another thing that we are tracking today Robyn, is kind of really disappointing. We are starting to see some rain. That is not good because again all of that ash gets mixed with the water creates mud and since the ash is kind of hard, it kind of hardens as it falls and mixes in with the water as well.

Speaking of water we are also tracking a big tropical cyclone. Very unusual to have one hit western Australia. Sometimes they get pretty close. Hasn't been one this close in about six years.

But so (INAUDIBLE) it made landfall earlier today with 130 kilometer per hour winds which is a category one equivalent and it even destroyed a one mile pier where it made landfall. Pretty destructive but thankfully it's over.

CURNOW: That's pretty good news. Gene Norman, thank you.

So across Japan sports fans, broadcasters, even the prime minister are all celebrating the world's newest hero, golfer Hideki Matsuyama who is this year's Masters champion.

Coy Wire has more from Augusta, Coy. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Hideki Matsuyama just made history becoming the first man from Japan to win a major, let alone the Masters, the most prestigious of them all.

He will be an inspiration, a hero for young kids all across Japan and beyond, an icon for generations to come.

Entering the final round with a 4-shot lead he continued to distance himself from the chasing pack. Ended up winning by one shot in the end. The 29-year-old snaps a winless streak that dated back to 2017.

He credits part of his success here to the fact that there are huge groups of Japanese media members following his every move due to COVID and travel restrictions. He said it has allowed him to relax more, he feels less pressure. And he was enjoying this week more.

He told me that the first Masters he ever watched was at five years old in Japan when Tiger Woods won his first in 1997. That moment helped inspired him to play here one day and now he will forever return to this iconic venue as a Masters champion.

HIDEKI MATSUYAMA, 2021 MASTERS CHAMPION (through translator): It is thrilling to think that there are a lot of youngsters in Japan watching today. Hopefully in 5, 10 years when they get a little older and hopefully some of them will be competing on the world stage.

I still have a lot of years left so they're going to have to compete against me still. But I'm happy for them because hopefully they'll be able to follow in my footsteps.

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WIRE: This victory comes just three months ahead of the summer Olympics in Tokyo. And could you imagine if he were there to walk out during the opening ceremony representing his nation wearing the green jacket. Incredible to think about.

Coy Wire, CNN -- Augusta, Georgia.

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CURNOW: Thanks Coy, for that that.

Filmmaker Chloe Zhao also made history this weekend becoming the first woman of color to win the Directors Guild of America's top award for her film, "Nomadland"

The film's winning streak continued on Sunday at the BAFTA Awards seeking to level the playing field and focus on diversity. Women dominated the best director category with four of the six nominations with the award ultimately going Zhao.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the BAFTA is awarded to "Nomadland".

CHLOE ZHAO, DIRECTOR, "NOMADLAND": Thank you BAFTA again. Thank you so much. We would like to dedicate this award to the nomadic community who so generously welcomed us into their lives. They shared with us their dreams, their struggles, and their deep sense of dignity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the nomads are doing is not that different that what the pioneers did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to make the whole bigger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's part of an American tradition.

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CURNOW: The film took home four awards, most of the evening including best film, best leading actress, and best cinematography.

The award show also included a tribute to Prince Philip noting the support he and the royal family have given the arts over the years.

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EDITH BOWMAN, HOST: It was Prince Philip and Her Majesty, the Queen's support, throughout these years that in many ways has allowed BAFTA a leading track in the arts to continue in difficult times and still be here today in 2021. The Duke of Edinburgh occupies a special place in BAFTA's history and our thoughts are with the royal family.

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CURNOW: I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks so much for watching. CNN NEWSROOM continues after this short break.

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