Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Recession Of Historic Proportions For Europe; U.K.'s Leading Scientist Adviser On COVID-19 Resigns After Breaking Lockdown Rules He Helped Shape; Putin Says Russia Needs To Maintain Virus Restrictions. Aired 11-12p ET
Aired May 06, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We start this hour with the very sobering economic forecast for Europe this year, get ready for a recession
like no other in recent times.
Here's the E.U. Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAOLO GENTILONI, E.U. ECONOMY COMMISSIONER: It is now quite clear that the E.U. has entered the deepest economic recession in its history.
All E.U. member states are forecast to enjoy a severe recession this year. Economic activity in Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia, and to a lesser extent
France are forecast to contract the most.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: He is forecasting a contraction of seven and a half percent for the 27 E.U. member states. You heard there which countries are expected to
endure the worst financial pain, but one country positioned for -- potentially positioned for a strong rebound is Germany, Europe's top and
biggest economy. It's been able to keep death rates low throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
After the release of that economic forecast, Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Premiers of Germany's 16 states and gave her nation an update on
reopening plans.
Fred Pleitgen joins me now live from Berlin. So, as we were discussing last hour, Fred, the Chancellor is under pressure to reopen some portions of the
economy because people are worried this is going to cause, not unnecessary, but more economic pain then they'd like to see.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, more economic pain and potentially even, Hala, they are saying economic pain
that maybe can't be reversed.
I mean, there's some economic leaders here in this country who are saying some of the basic fundamental economic structures of Europe's largest
economy are in danger of being destroyed, the longer that some of these lockdown measures are in place, especially in light of the fact that over
the past couple -- say especially the past week and a half, you have seen a big decline in new coronavirus infections that have been detected and
confirmed.
Also, death toll has also gone down as well, or the new death tolls everyday have gone down as well.
So Angela Merkel certainly under pressure from the economic side, from regular people, of course, as well, and of course, from some of the state
governors that she spoke to as well.
A lot of them are saying, look, we believe that we can open up in a responsible way, and it's something that they believe they should be able
to do.
This country has strong federalism, and so therefore, they make a lot of their own decisions anyway and this is something that Angela Merkel then
had to cater to.
Now, some of the things that they decided that had been for instance, to open more shops and they have already, larger shops are also allowed to
open now in Germany.
Also cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to open, but of course under very strict hygiene measures, which means social distancing, physical
distancing still needs to be in place. Things like masks also need to be worn when people go to these establishments.
And then, big thing for German sports fans, which is something this country really has been waiting for, the German Soccer League, the Bundesliga is
also going to get going again, probably in the second half of May.
And there, the Soccer League is going to have its own hygiene concept that is going to be in place, which means probably not going to be any
spectators there and also a lot of coronavirus testing going on there among the players.
But again, you are absolutely right. Chancellor Merkel has come under a lot more pressure than she has been over the past couple of weeks, and you
really saw some of that front that was around here in Germany, that united front trying to deal with this pandemic really start to crumble over the
past days -- Hala.
GORANI: Yes, and speaking of this united front that wasn't so united in the early days of the pandemic, I mean, addressing the economic depression
that this region is inevitably going to be facing requires taking on debt.
I mean, these countries that already had huge debt problems a few years ago, and they felt like they were treated harshly by Germany and the E.U.,
now, a similar pattern will repeat itself.
And we know Angela Merkel is no fan of taking on big debt loads for other countries -- to relieve other country's economic pain. How are they going
to manage this?
PLEITGEN: Yes. Well, it's certainly going to be very difficult. And it was quite interesting to hear the European Financial Commission, I think it
was, named the countries that are going to be hit probably the hardest by the recession that is already ongoing, and it is the countries that have
had economic problems and debt problems ever since the last financial issues have been going on in Europe over the past, I would say 10 years or
so.
Countries like Greece, countries like Spain, countries like Italy that have been in trouble in the past, and you're absolutely right, this is something
that really divides the European Union member states and has for a very long time as to what to do as you try to deal now with this coronavirus
pandemic, but in general with debt and of course, one of the things that's been a big issue here ever since this crisis started has been the question
of these Euro bonds or corona bonds whether or not debt could be collectivized.
[11:05:10]
PLEITGEN: And that's something that the Germans continue to be against, but certainly also something that could continue to drive wedges in between
these European countries, especially if you look at the northern countries on the one hand, and then the southern countries who do have a little more
debt normally, on the other hand.
And that is something that continues to be a very big problem, and we're not, you know, where a few people are saying this is something that in the
long term could endanger the very fabric of the European Union.
GORANI: Right. Thank you very much. Fred in Berlin.
The U.K. has hit a milestone that it's been dreading. The country has now overtaken Italy with the highest COVID-19 death toll in all of Europe
according to Johns Hopkins University.
The number is staggering. More than 29,000 fatalities have been reported.
But during his First Prime Minister's Questions since March, Boris Johnson said it's not the time to make comparisons among the many nations affected
by this pandemic. And he also warned of easing lockdown restrictions too early.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We'll be working with the opposition, with unions, with business to make sure that we get the unlock-
down plan completely right.
And you know, what he says is absolute commonsense. It would be an economic disaster for this country if we were to pursue a relaxation of these
measures now, in such a way as to trigger a second spike.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And this is an embarrassing a scandal, one of Britain's leading health officials in this whole pandemic has had to resign after breaking
the lockdown rules he himself helped shape. Professor Neil Ferguson stepped down from his government post on Tuesday, after "The Telegraph" newspaper
reported that he ignored safety measures in order to meet his mistress.
The U.K. Health Secretary says it's extraordinary that Ferguson broke his own rules. Chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward is live in
London with more first on these numbers, almost 30,000 deaths. And this is coming at the same time as people are saying we need some of these lockdown
measures lifted so our economy doesn't completely collapse.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's almost surreal, Hala. I think it was about six weeks ago that we started hearing
some pretty dire predictions from various experts and scientists who said that the U.K. could possibly emerge as having one of the worst death tolls
in Europe.
And now, fast forward. Here we are, it's almost hard to believe because on the face of it, the country's healthcare system has not been overwhelmed in
the same way that we saw in Italy.
But nonetheless, here we are, nearly 30,000 people killed. At the heart of the problem are all the deaths that have happened in care homes. And this
was something that the government itself has acknowledged it did not adequately prepare for.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions earlier behind me in the House of Commons acknowledged that this was something he
quote, "bitterly regrets." He says that the situation is now getting better.
But by all accounts, the people who are working and living in these care homes did not have the appropriate PPE, and they were also basically being
turned away from hospitals when they did develop signs of COVID-19. Because the idea was that unless you were frankly at death's door, you didn't want
to admit someone to the hospital and risk overwhelming those hospitals.
Well, the end result was you were sent back to your care home, where the coronavirus proceeded to spread like wildfire.
However, as you mentioned, Boris Johnson really saying now is not the time to have that conversation. And now is not the time to compare the different
death tolls in different countries because of course, there are issues of population differences and population density differences.
But nonetheless, let's be clear, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, very much facing some tough questioning now and his government coming under some
harsh criticism for its handling of the virus.
That's, I would imagine why we're seeing them take a much more cautious approach to the next phase, to the lifting of the lockdown.
We expect to hear from the Prime Minister on Sunday as to what that might look like, and on Monday, some restrictions might start to be lifted, but
it certainly won't look anything like what you've just heard Fred Pleitgen outline is being done in Germany -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Thanks, Clarissa Ward.
And pressure is mounting on the Russian President Vladimir Putin because there, the number of infections in Russia continues to climb. He held a
virtual meeting with officials earlier where here is what he says about a plans going forward for Russia.
[11:10:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The coronavirus preventative measures need to be preserved or even be expanded. Somewhere,
it is possible to plan the reasonable lifting, but only based on the opinion of scientists and specialists.
And while taking into account all factors and possible risks, I emphasize again that we must not rush to lift coronavirus related restrictions.
Any negligence or haste can result in a breakdown or a step backward. The price of the slightest mistake is the safety, lives, and the health of our
people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, confirmed cases in Russia have gone up by more than 10,000 a day for four days in a row, bringing the total to nearly 166,000 cases in
the country according to Johns Hopkins University. Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is following Russia's response.
And we've been discussing, Matthew, you and I have been discussing how in the beginning, Russia essentially was communicating to the world that it
was doing okay, that it had almost as if it had somehow dodged the bullet.
But today we're seeing them get hit very hard. How did that happen?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it seems that that rate of infections that are being announced every day, 10 and a
half thousand today, it was about the same number yesterday.
In fact, for the past week, it's been over 10,000 people a day confirmed as having new infections.
You can see that the rate of increase in that country is amongst the highest in the world where we're seeing in Germany and in Britain, the
rates of infections are quite low, enabling the governments to consider in those countries to consider opening up the economy a little bit more, open
up the lockdown, ease the lockdown a little bit more.
And the Russians have a plan for that, and in fact, over the past couple of hours, Vladimir Putin has been meeting with regional officials to discuss
what their plan is going to look like.
But he is leaving it up to the regional governors and to the mayors of places like Moscow to decide if and when those measures are going to be
introduced and those lockdowns are going to be correct.
But the time is not now, because of the number of people who are still being infected in that incline stage in the disease and the pandemic in
Russia -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, Matthew Chance. Thanks very much.
China is blasting the Trump administration over its accusation that the novel coronavirus originated in a Wuhan lab.
The U.S. President and the Secretary of State has doubled down on that allegation in recent days despite the World Health Organization and
Intelligence from U.S. and allied countries contradicting it.
The Chinese government calls the claim a quote, "smear" intended to bolster Donald Trump's chances for reelection.
Joining me now is former U.S. senator and U.S. Ambassador to China, Max Baucus. Beijing has also promoted a conspiracy theory that the U.S.
military brought the virus to China.
Ambassador, thank you for joining us. What do you think of this sort of what Kevin Rudd called Cold War 1.5 between the two countries? What impact
is this having? Do you think sort of on the geopolitical environment that we're living in between the West and the big superpower that is China?
MAX BAUCUS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: I think it is having a very significant and deleterious impact. And I think it's to some degree
unnecessary.
The relationship now between U.S. and China is as bad as it was at Tiananmen. It is going south by the day, getting worse all the time.
And I think frankly, the Chinese rhetoric is somewhat restrained compared to that United States wherein the United States says it's going to punish
China for the virus or going to perhaps default the debt or perhaps we're going to enact other measures to punish China.
China will react negatively as one would expect. The Chinese are very tough. They're very strong.
When I served in Beijing, I was very impressed with their strength, their resilience. They, as an Eastern country, of course, they are concerned
about face, but they're very proud of their history. Thousands of years of history at their back and they're going to react negatively when the United
States and when Secretary Pompeo and other U.S. senators are over the top in their criticism of China.
It is going to -- and it is pushing us toward a Cold War. I don't know want kind of Cold War because it's not good.
GORANI: When you say they'll react negatively, what would you think they could do? What do you think their reaction could be? How far could this go?
BAUCUS: Well, I think, frankly, this doesn't directly answer your question, but we've seen this internal memo that surfaced in China where
the Minister of State Security is warning the top government in China that China should be prepared for armed conflict with the United States, the
relationship is going sour so quickly into such a great degree.
[11:15:13]
BAUCUS: I don't think China will start any incursion in any way. I do think, though, that China will hunker down more. They will be much more
self-reliant, much more self-sufficient.
They see the United States pursuing a decoupling. I think China would not want to decouple, but they feel they have to. They're going to work with
other countries in the region, maybe they've already joined other countries in the region with their own form of W.T.O. with the exclusion of the
United States.
They're a big country. They are four times the population of the West. They are not going anywhere. And every time we criticize them and push them,
they're going to react in a way that's going to help themselves and eventually it's going to be detrimental to the United States.
GORANI: Well, and it's not like China doesn't have any leverage. China actually -- and I learned this today -- it controls a huge portion of the
U.S. pharmaceutical market.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, quoting a Commerce Department figure, "China controls 97 percent of the U.S. market for
antibiotics, over 90 percent of the U.S. market for vitamin C." They obviously own a lot of U.S. debt as well.
They have huge leverage with the U.S., so any salvo directed from the U.S. toward China will kind of boomerang right back potentially. Right?
So, in that case, what is, in your opinion, knowing China as well as you do, what is the best strategic or the best strategy that the U.S. could
explore now with regards to China?
BAUCUS: Well, you make good points about the pharmaceutical industry. It's also so much of semiconductors. They rely so much on our semiconductor
industry and the more we push China, the more they're going to develop their own industry.
The approach that we should take, frankly, is it is difficult, but I don't think there's any alternative.
Number one, we have to strengthen ourselves at home. Economic power is the best way to project political power and the more the United States builds
its infrastructure, it focuses on the technologies of the future, education and build ourselves to a very strong country, that's going to be number
one.
Number two, we work with our allies. Don't push them away, work with our allies with respect to China. And then when we have a plan, the plan should
be one that is very respectful that says to China, it has to be strategic long-term.
The United States has been ad hoc reactive in its relations with China. China does something we react. We have to be very strategic, they think
long term, we have to be strategic and think long term.
So, we put a plan together and privately say, okay, China, you could do this, but you can't do that. If you do that, there will be repercussions,
and they have to know that we mean it when we say there will be repercussions.
It's basically -- it's dealing with a kind of a bully mentality. China will just keep moving forward, forward, forward, forward until they're checked,
and we have to check them working together with allies, get on a strategic plan, one that is solid, not one that in turn, tries to bully them.
GORANI: Do you think this is the Trump administration's mistake alone? Or does this predate the Trump administration -- this sort of approach to
China in your opinion?
BAUCUS: Well, I think previous administrations has been a little bit asleep at the switch, both Republican and Democrat. We really have focused
on developing a strategic plan toward China during the time that China has grown so much.
And we just -- right now, we're caught a bit flatfooted. Donald Trump has been trying to be tough with China, but he's been tough with China in my
judgment, the wrong way.
We slapped those tariffs on, frankly, that hurt Americans more than it hurt the Chinese, because that's essentially a tax on products that Americans
buy and the Chinese, they did react to buy more American products and they said they would deal with intellectual property and transfer of technology
and so forth.
They hadn't really done very much there. But if we keep pushing in a way that's solid, we're going to make progress.
You know, this is not rocket science. Here is what really concerns me. The administration -- the rhetoric is so strong against China. It's over the
top. We're entering a kind of an era, which is similar to Joe McCarthy back when he was red baiting in the State Department, attacking communism.
A little bit like Hitler in the 30s that a lot of people knew what was going on was wrong. They knew it was wrong, but they didn't stand up and
say anything about it. They felt intimidated.
And now, in the United States, if anybody says anything reasonable about China, he or she feels intimidated. Right? His head is going to be chopped
off and back in the 30s in Germany, it is very similar. People who were responsible in the U.S. and especially responsible in Germany couldn't
speak up.
And I worry that some of that is happening now and it was very dangerous. And I think I am happy in part because the Republican administration and
Donald Trump realizes that the economy is not doing well, partly because of the corona virus, and they therefore have to pivot.
They have to blame somebody, and they're blaming China, and it's going to be very difficult to get back on track after the election, whoever is
elected.
[11:20:34]
GORANI: Okay, before I go, I mean, the comparison you're making here between the current U.S. atmosphere in Washington and Germany in the 30s. I
mean, that that's a very -- that's a very, you know, kind of, is it -- are you being provocative or do you really believe that there are parallels?
BAUCUS: I think we're moving in that direction. And I am not saying we are there yet, but there are a lot of very responsible people in America who
know that this China bashing is irresponsible, and we're going to pay a price, the more it continues.
That's what I'm saying. But they're afraid to speak up.
GORANI: All right. Thank you so much.
BAUCUS: Because they are afraid that they will be criticized.
GORANI: Yes. Got it. Thank you so much, Ambassador, for joining us. We really appreciate having you on the program.
Thank you and hope to speak again soon. This story is not going away anytime soon.
Now, let us take a quick break and we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back. Now, we are learning more about U.S. President Trump's plans for his Coronavirus Taskforce.
A bit earlier he tweeted that the group rather than disbanding it would in fact continue indefinitely, but refocus its efforts on safety, reopening
the U.S. and finding a vaccine.
So, it's a bit confusing because for 24 hours, we were reporting that he had essentially implied that the Coronavirus Taskforce would be wound down.
So, this is not the same message. This is what he said on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that as far as the Taskforce, Mike Pence and the Taskforce have done a great job. But
we're now looking at a little bit of a different form.
And that form is safety in opening and we'll have a different group probably set up for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, well, Joe Johns joins me now live from the White House with more on what this means. So, it's confusing in the sense that that
really what was being reported that was that the White House was considering really just disbanding this Taskforce and now it's back and
it's indefinite, and it will refocus on other things.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: An apparent reversal from the White House and as you know, Hala, from covering this President,
probably not the first, certainly not the last.
[11:25:07]
JOHNS: The fact of the matter is the reversal is not that surprising. The President floating that idea, along with Mike Pence, the Vice President
suggesting they're going to wind down the Coronavirus Taskforce at a time when the pandemic continues to rage here in the United States.
And the Taskforce is the key source of expert opinion and advice for Americans about what they should do and what's happening.
So, the idea that the President was going to move forward with getting rid of the Taskforce probably wasn't going to settle well. And you also have to
consider the fact that this is an election year.
And at least to some extent, in some measure, the President is likely going to be held to account by the voters in the United States on how he handles
this pandemic going forward.
So, one of the things they certainly would not like to do is to get the ire of the voters up as to the way the President has handled this Taskforce.
As you know, Tony Fauci, who is the top epidemic disease expert here in the United States, along with Deborah Birx, who was the coordinator of that
very same Taskforce, a lot of high powered talent there.
And apparently, according the President's tweets today, they're going to be sticking around, though the focus is going to be on getting together
vaccines and treatments for coronavirus -- Hala, back to you.
GORANI: All right, Joe, thanks very much.
An economic adviser to Donald Trump is predicting a jobless rate of 19 to 20 percent in the United States, but doctors and health experts warn that
the cost in human lives lost to reopening could be even harder to take. CNN's Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The images make it clear people want to get out ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROTESTERS: Open Texas now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): ... and millions are desperate to get back on the job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE RICHARD, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, FRISCO, TEXAS: The Constitution says we have a right to life and liberty. I have a right to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): But the rush to get back to normal brings a stark warning from America's top infectious disease expert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: How many deaths and how much
suffering are you willing to accept to get back to what you want to be some form of normality sooner rather than later?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): The jarring choice offered by Dr. Anthony Fauci comes as new models project a possible sharp increase in coronavirus-related
deaths in America through August.
Those models tied to recent re-openings of businesses and public spaces across the U.S. and relaxed social distancing.
But the President was adamant, again, that people have to be allowed back to their jobs and he believes keeping them away could kill them, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If they held people any longer with the shutdowns, you're going to lose people that way, too, and
you already have, I'm sure. But between drug abuse and -- I mean, they say suicide -- a lot of different things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose state has been hit harder than most, told our Dana Bash as many lives as possible
should be saved.
But he asked if Americans could come to an acceptance of certain levels of death in order to get the economy moving again.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: We've got to let some of these folks get back to work because if we don't we're going to destroy
the American way of life in these families.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: But will people be able to swallow the notion, if these projections are right, of nearly 3,000 deaths
a day?
CHRISTIE: They're going to have to.
DR. SEEMA YASMIN, FORMER DISEASE DETECTIVE, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Some of this language from Chris Christie and other
politicians just lacks basic humanity, I think. In the long run, we will be able to replace some jobs. We're not going to be able to replace the lives
that are lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): That debate between American's political leaders and its top doctors over the human cost of reopening -- over the kind of
carnage Americans could be willing to accept is intensifying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASMIN: You can't have a strong economy when people are dying or are dead. How will you reopen offices and factories and schools if people have died?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): But one public health expert says Chris Christie's message is an important one, that Americans need the unvarnished truth that
reopening, whenever it happens, will come with a human cost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. AMESH ADALJA, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY: The fact that you're now admitting that there are going to be increased deaths
I think is a step to actually being honest with the American public, and that's what the stakes are here.
That's what -- that's what the trade-off is going to be. The costs of having an economy functioning are going to be increased cases and increased
deaths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (on camera): And despite the projections for an increase in deaths tied to early reopenings, two Trump administration officials have told CNN
those numbers are not expected to affect the White House's plans for reopening the country.
It could set up an excruciating, drawn-out debate between America's political leaders and top doctors, which could extend maybe into next year.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And coming up, supermarkets are limiting purchases and fast food chains are running out, we'll look at how the pandemic is disrupting the
supply chain of, in particular, meat in the United States, not for vegans this next segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:32:39]
GORANI: Meat processing plants in the U.S. have become hotspots for coronavirus outbreaks, it's having a direct effect on the supply chain.
Supermarkets are limiting how many packages of meat each customer can buy. Fast food chains are running out of beef and now, 11 states are asking the
Department of Justice to look into suspected price fixing by meat packers in the cattle industry.
CNN correspondent Dianne Gallagher is outside a supermarket in Atlanta. So, what's the situation at the very end of the supply chain, which is
obviously, the supermarket where customers can buy their meat?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Hala, that's the thing. For a lot of people, they're starting to notice, for the first time what we've
been talking about for a while, which are these interruptions in the food supply chain, as we talk about these meat processing plants that are
closing down.
Now, here's the thing. We're seeing certain grocery stores place limitations on just how much fresh meat consumer can purchase per trip.
This one behind me right here, you can only have three packages of chicken, three packages of fresh pork. There's no limit on beef right now and it's
sort of varying around the country depending on the store and the region of the country that you live in.
Now each store has come out and said that this is actually not about the amount of supply they have. But it's actually to prevent panic buying.
If you remember about a month ago, there was all that run on toilet paper in the United States and people were showing bare shelves of toilet paper
and hand sanitizer and people couldn't get their hands on that.
It was this increase in demand and then a panic that you weren't going to get it. And so the stores are rationing fresh meat right now, because of
this fear that we'll see something similar.
But it's also because they're getting less meat at the moment due to those plant closures, but also due to the fact that when those plants reopen,
they aren't reopening fully staffed.
They're not processing as much meat as they were to begin with. At this point, we're about 40 percent down on that meat processing that's happening
in the U.S., so there is a reduced amount of meat going out.
But in part, Hala, that's due to making sure these workers can practice good social distance, they can't pack them in the way they were before,
working shoulder to shoulder on these kill lines inside these plants.
[11:35:10]
GALLAGHER: Many of the workers are still sick because we've had thousands across the country in these plants who were testing positive for COVID-19.
So, it's a slow process.
Every economist, every agricultural expert we have spoken with has said there is not a meat shortage in the United States. There's plenty of meat.
There's plenty of food. There was just a slower process in getting from Point A to Point B right now.
GORANI: Well, maybe it's an opportunity for people to explore non-meat based meals. I don't know, maybe that could be an option some people will
explore.
I see you have your facemask kind of pulled down to do the live shot without having your face covered. But what's it like in Georgia where
technically some nonessential businesses are open and if you'd like to go get your haircut, you can. Are people kind of out and about? What is it
like on the streets?
GALLAGHER: Yes and no, Hala. So, I'm going to be honest.
So, we've seen quite a few people walking around, small groups of people not being too busy. But the roads have been a lot busier today than they
have been.
Yesterday for Cinco de Mayo here in the United States, celebratory day for a lot of people where they drink margaritas, there were a lot of
restaurants that had large crowds outside of them.
A lot of gatherings in communities that were happening where I am here in Atlanta, just up the street from me, there were extremely large crowds of
people who are gathering to eat tacos and drink margaritas.
This was again, it was kind of just a social thing. So, we're seeing more people go to work, but we're also not seeing the large number of
restaurants open up simply because people aren't really ready to go in, Hala.
So, they're allowed to open, but a lot of them are choosing not too because the business just isn't there yet. People are scared.
GORANI: Right. Dianne Gallagher, thanks very much, live in Atlanta. I know exactly where that supermarket is actually.
In Paris, doctors say a patient treated in December for the flu, didn't have the flu, but actually had the coronavirus.
So, this was all the way back in December. Researchers retested samples taken from patients back then including this man and his turned out
positive for the virus.
CNN's Melissa Bell spoke with one of the doctors researching all of this new evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These were some of the first pictures of the coronavirus crisis in Europe, Italy
locking down a few northern villages and towns around the epicenter of Codogno in late February.
But a group of doctors in Paris have rechecked old samples and found that one patient they treated in December for pneumonia was in fact sick with
COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. YVES COHEN, INTENSIVE CARE SPECIALIST (through translator): We weren't looking for it. We hadn't thought of that diagnosis at the time since
really the epidemic was declared in China in late December, early January. We didn't think there were cases here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL (voice over): But Amirouche Hammar turns out had COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMIROUCHE HAMMAR, CORONAVIRUS SURVIVOR (through translator): it was a dry cough, but first we thought it was just a seasonal flu. Five in the
morning, I decided to go to the emergency ward at the closest hospital. They said that maybe it was a lung infection, but that was all.
And they said it was very serious. I was coughing blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL (voice over): The World Health Organization is now asking countries to look back at much earlier suspicious flu-like cases.
What the finding means is that COVID-19 was in Paris in December, potentially spreading in a country still going about its business unaware.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And from Europe, we take you to Asia where schools are starting to reopen in Vietnam, Hong Kong, South Korea and elsewhere, students are
heading back to class this month for the first time since January.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is in Hong Kong.
Tape
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Across Asia, schools have been closed since as early as January, but finally, they are starting
to reopen, including here in Hong Kong.
Let me tell you, the students, the parents, the teachers are ready. The city is ready as Hong Kong has reported 16 consecutive days of zero local
infections and that is why schools will start to reopen on May the 27th, but in stages.
Secondary students will return to school first followed by primary students in June.
LU STOUT (voice over): School is already back in session in Vietnam. According to Vietnam state media, most of the country's 22 million students
returned to the classroom on Monday, three months of school closures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN XUAN KHANG, HEADMASTER, MARIE CURIE SCHOOL (through translator): For students in Hanoi, this is a special day, most special than the first
day of school on September 5th every year.
This is a special school day that we have never had before. We are all bursting with happiness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): Meanwhile in South Korea, the government has announced that schools will begin reopening May 13th, starting first with
older students. Classes will be fully open for all students by June.
In Singapore, schools will reopen starting, May the 19th. While in Thailand, schools won't be open until July.
In Japan, it's a mixed picture. Schools in major cities like Osaka and Tokyo may remain closed through May. The government taking a watch, wait
and see approach as it continues with its state of emergency.
Meanwhile, today, May the 6th in Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic is a significant day. Today, final year high school students are returning to
class. It's a major moment for them. They must prepare for the critical Gaokao Chinese University Exam.
This year, the exam has been postponed by one month to July.
LU STOUT (on camera): The school reopening across Asia is a long awaited and positive pandemic milestone.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: One of its largest broadcasts -- one of the largest broadcast networks in the Philippines is now silent. ABS-CBN has been forced off the
air.
It comes after lawmakers allied with President Rodrigo Duterte sat on a decision that would have renewed the station's license. It ended its
broadcast playing the national anthem late Tuesday, and critics say the move is an attack on the country's Free Press.
ABS-CBN is known for its unflinching criticism of the President. The cease and desist order covers all of its 42 television stations, 10 digital
broadcast channels, and 23 radio stations.
A lot of concern -- a lot of concern across the Philippines.
Coming up, a simple injection that some hope could bring an end to a global pandemic, a potential coronavirus vaccine from Germany is now undergoing
human trials in the United States.
How hopeful should we be? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: There are more than a hundred vaccines in the works worldwide and there's a lot of optimism about one of them that is just beginning human
trials in the United States.
Fred Pleitgen has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A simple injection that some hope could help bring an end to a global
pandemic.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announcing today they dosed the first participants in the U.S. with a vaccine candidate in a clinical
trial. Twelve study participants in Germany received doses last month.
BioNTech's CEO saying preclinical data showed good results.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UGUR SAHIN, CEO, BIONTECH: We've seen vaccine responses, we've seen strong vaccine response at even low dose. And we believe that this vaccine
response since we have seen that in different animal models and will also translate into vaccine response in human subjects.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:45:06]
PLEITGEN (voice over): The program is called BNT-162. And it's actually a group of four trial vaccines using what's called an mRNA, or messenger RNA
approach which causes the body to produce a protein that triggers an immune response.
Pfizer and BioNTech claim if the certification process goes smoothly, they could have millions of doses ready by the end of this year, hundreds of
millions in 2021.
BioNTech's CEO saying he believes regulators will move fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAHIN: The benefit of a vaccine in a pandemic situation is much, much greater. And therefore, therefore, an approval and authorization of a
vaccine in a pandemic situation has to follow other rules than what you have seen in the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (voice over): But there is a long way to go and a lot that can go wrong. Pfizer and BioNTech are only two of a flurry of companies and
institutes trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine ASAP.
The World Health Organization says there are currently more than a hundred vaccine candidates under development, though only eight have been approved
for clinical trials.
The first was an experimental trial vaccine spearheaded by the National Institutes of Health.
In the U.K., researchers at the University of Oxford are also in clinical trials with their own vaccine candidate. The chief researcher telling out
front they're hoping to make the vaccine ready for use by fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADRIAN HILL, DIRECTOR, OXFORD UNIVERSITY JENNER INSTITUTE: We'll probably enroll as many as 1,000 people into this trial, partly because we've used
this type of vaccine before for other indications, and partly because we believe the safety protocol should be very good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (on camera): While some of the early indicators seem promising, there are also a lot of experts around the world who warn there probably
isn't a quick fix when it comes to a coronavirus vaccine. Many of the candidates currently under development around the world probably won't be
ready anytime soon and many won't be certified at all.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right, optimistic but realistic. Another technology that could potentially be available to the public faster than a vaccine are
antibodies, you know, using antibodies to treat people who are infected.
Elizabeth Cohen has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The key to making a brand new drug for COVID-19 could be in this vial of blood. It comes from
this man, Eli Epstein who has recovered from coronavirus.
Now doctors at the Rockefeller University in New York City are searching his blood for just the right antibodies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEL NUSSENZWEIG, THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY: We really want something very potent. Potent means can neutralize, kill the virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): It's a twist on the use of convalescent plasma where someone who has recovered from COVID gives blood directly to someone who is
sick. That can work, but it's old technology.
Dr. Emil von Behring won a Nobel Prize for his research on convalescent plasma in 1901.
The new approach uses monoclonal antibodies and it's cutting-edge. Here's how it works.
When someone is sick with COVID, the antibodies inside their blood fight off the virus. After the person recovers, they donate blood. Scientists
select the most powerful antibodies and clone them and turn it into a drug. It's one of the hottest areas in COVID research.
Companies in New York and San Francisco, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, even the Department of Defense and many more are
involved in monoclonal antibody research.
We caught the team at Vanderbilt as they picked their favorite antibodies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of these -- these are all distinct, getting the same site, but distinct antibodies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): The treatment could possibly prevent infection or treat those already sick. Vanderbilt's lead researcher around the project,
Dr. James Crowe specializes in vaccines, but he says monoclonal antibody research will be faster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CROWE, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: I think antibodies will be finished first, and will be the bridge toward longer immunity which will be
confirmed by vaccines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): So fast that the pharmaceutical company Regeneron says they might be able to have their monoclonal antibody drug on the market by
the end of the summer.
Their technology is already used to treat cancer, arthritis and asthma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. GEORGE YANCOPOULOS, REGENERON: We can clone out the best of antibodies from recovered humans. We've selected the best ones to create an antibody
cocktail, as we call it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: With so much work on this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWE: I think the more groups we have working on it, all the better. And the more shots on goal we have for getting an effective prevention or
treatment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice over): The hope is high for this old therapy turned new.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come, how musicians are helping to heal patients and hospital workers on the frontlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:51:40]
GORANI: Well, every life lost in this pandemic is a tragedy and the death of one doctor in Northern England has resonated well beyond his friends and
loved ones.
It's always so moving to see this. Hundreds in the town of Ramsbottom lined streets to pay their final respects to Saad Al-Dubbaisi. He succumbed to
COVID-19 after treating others with the disease. This is right outside of Manchester in Northern England.
He came to the U.K. from Iraq, in fact, fleeing Saddam Hussein in the early 1980s. And what a legacy he leaves behind. His two daughters became doctors
themselves.
Everyone who knew Dr. Al-Dubbaisi described him as loving and kind and he was just 59 years old.
And as you can see, neighbors, patients, on lookers, well-wishers came to pay their respects to a doctor who truly left a mark on his community. And
these are the people that this virus is robbing from us.
With most professional sports postponed or canceled because of the pandemic, diehard fans have had to get creative. CNN's Anna Stewart looks
at a young soccer fan in Syria taking his talents to the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Twelve-year old Hazem Al-Hossain has a budding career in sports commentary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAZEM AL-HOSSAIN, YOUNG SOCCER FAN: I love commentating more than playing. For me, it's more interesting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART (voice over): Like many soccer fans around the world, he is missing the game, suspended due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL HUSSEIN: I don't support any one team. Any commentator should be neutral.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART (voice over): And staying neutral is of course critical when you comment on your friends' alleyway matches.
He also does play by play for online games at home in Damascus, with his big brother Mulham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MULHAM AL-HOSSAIN, HAZEM'S BROTHER (through translator): When I play PlayStation, he always sits next to me and starts commentating on the
match.
I wish him luck and wish to see him as a famous commentator one day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART (voice over): Hazem has a few followers on his Facebook page.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): His videos are very nice and he has a beautiful voice. We have to remember that he is only 12 years old.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART (voice over): Plenty of time to finesse his skills for the big leagues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And in COVID-19 hospital wards, the sound of the beeping machines is constant and obviously not very pleasant, kind of a reminder that you're
in a hospital.
So, a group of musicians in New York decided to give patients something much better to listen to. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is not Carnegie Hall. The gowns are a world apart. And yet --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRIQUE EINSENMANN, PIANIST: As I was playing live in the ICU --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Accomplished musicians are playing private concerts for COVID patients over phones placed by hospital beds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EINSENMANN: And all I could hear were the beeps of their machines, which is a scary sound to be hearing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: They don't expect applause for these performances. Many patients are unconscious, on ventilators.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOLLY CARR, VIOLIST: The ego is left behind and what is left is, I want to be here for this person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:55:05]
MOOS: The playlist ranges from Beethoven to "What a Wonderful World" to "La Vie En Rose," and almost always Bach.
This trio has played several dozen private concerts at New York Presbyterian Allen Hospital.
The program was the brainchild of ICU Doctor Rachel Easterwood who was a trained musician before studying Medicine. She told "The New York Times"
how it felt when she helped stream a live concert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RACHEL EASTERWOOD, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN ALLEN HOSPITAL: I was standing there next to this COVID patient. It was so surreal. I thought to
myself at that time, if I don't make it through this, then I've done what I'm supposed to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: She recruited some musicians from a nonprofit called Project Music Heals Us. Musicians call in. Most of the time they never see the patient,
but still --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE ROSS, VIOLINIST: I felt like I was in the room emotionally. I felt so, so close.
ANNA PETROVA, PIANIST: Sometimes this might be the last thing that they hear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have the phone at the bedside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. So we're going to play some music for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Sometimes, they play for staff as well. But what sticks with musicians is the beeping, the chiming -- sometimes overpowering the music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETROVA: That beeping actually starts to react to the music that we play in a way that we feel they are breathing gets calmer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: As if the patient had joined the trio.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: How amazing is that idea? There's nothing like music and Bach just to remind us of our shared humanity.
And to end the show, Happy Birthday to Archie. He is the son of Britain's Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Like millions of other children, he turns one today, and he celebrated by having story time with his mom. She's reading a book called "Duck Rabbit"
to raise funds for Save the Children.
The Royal Family joined in the festivities by tweeting out well wishes to Archie and sharing pictures from his christening last year. Yes, the
christening didn't happen today.
More up next, I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN. We will take you live to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's briefing after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
END
END
